What must we do about food waste scandal?
My Worcester News editorial leader about food waste. Published October 22.
HOW many times have you walked into a shop and walked out with food you did not need?
Probably quite frequently, if the findings of a shocking new survey are anything to go by.
It exposes the people of Worcester as being the fifth worse culprits for wasting food in the country.
The average city household throws away more than £670 of food every year, it says.
The survey’s revelations were coincidentally supported by another study – this one from Tesco – that also lifted the lid on our throwaway culture.
It reported that up to two-thirds of supermarket food ends up in the bin – some because it has been discarded by customers, and other produce because it has been on display too long.
What a disgrace in a world of so many starving people and even in our own country, where – shamefully – food banks are becoming more commonplace.
The responsibility rests in several places.
Firstly, as consumers we must be less greedy, less fussy and more organised about buying only what we need when we need it.
Secondly, retailers must rely less on the two-for-the-price-of-one promotions that can sometimes entice customers to buy more than they need and are skewed towards larger households.
And thirdly, regulators such as the European Union must strive harder to get the balance right between protecting the consumer through sell-by date policies and causing excessive waste.
This is a scandal that cannot continue.