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| Fresh produce simply thrown away |
Those of you who read this blog will know that I feel
strongly about the amount of food that goes to waste in the world. So why does
this get me in a lather? Well, all the
world's nearly one billion hungry people could be lifted out of malnourishment
on less than a quarter of the food that is wasted in the US, UK and Europe –
that’s why.
So I have huge admiration for Tristram Stuart, who is the
founder of “Feeding the 5,000”. I hope he does not mind that I have not only
nicked his title for this particular blog, but I have also copied out
part of an article he has written, as I think that everyone should be aware of
what is happening out there! Here it is:
“Farmers visited by the Feeding the 5000 team in Kenya are
wasting 40% of the food they grow thanks to the unfair and unnecessary trading
practices of European supermarkets whom they supply. One exporter outside
Nairobi visited by the team, while working in partnership with UNEP, wastes at
least 20 tonnes of edible produce every day. Worst of all, waste handlers
collecting the unwanted produce are made to sign a contract guaranteeing that
none of the “green waste” will be used to feed people, even though most of it
is perfectly fit for consumption – and meanwhile millions go hungry on the
other side of the depot’s perimeter.
Typically the produce is wasted either because the European
retailer has cancelled a forecast demand at the last minute, or because it has
failed the ultra-fussy cosmetic standards of the retailers. Farmers incur the
cost of this waste even though it has been caused by the policies of European
supermarkets.
A recently passed law in the UK, the Groceries Code
Adjudicator Bill, ensures that UK supermarkets abusing their power in this way
can be subject to public naming and shaming and ultimately fines of up to 1% of
turnover (the equivalent of up to half a billion pounds). Measures to introduce
similar regulation across Europe are under way and Feeding the 5000 will
indicate that this would help to reduce waste by encouraging supermarkets to
make more accurate forecasts, and avoid unfair trading practices.
Within Europe, much needs to be done to optimise the
conditions for donating unsold food for charitable purposes. The parliament of
the Brussels region recently voted to force supermarkets to donate unsold food
rather than destroy it: should other countries follow suit? Or should we follow
France and the US in offering companies a tax rebate on the value of donated
food? At the very least, all countries that still impose VAT on food that is
donated, presenting a clear barrier to food redistribution, should surely
follow Poland and Belgium’s example and scrap VAT on food donations”.
I hope that many of you will find this as unacceptable as I
do. If you want to find out more of what Tristram’s “Feeding the 5000” project is up to
– then go to: http://www.feeding5k.org/
I wholeheartedly agree with your sharp and unsparing analysis. The funny part is that it all leads back to waste management. There's a principle in here, which reminds us about the type of stuff we tend to throw away and why we should aid in the wiser distribution of resource, so that one doesn't get too much while the other gets too little. I believe that with following so, we wouldn't have too much waste. Thanks for sharing!
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