NFU joins supermarkets in pledge to cut food waste
© Tim Scrivener More than 100 of the UK’s biggest food players have signed a government pledge to halve food waste by 2030, which costs £20bn each year.
Retailers including Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose, Aldi, Tesco – along with industry organisations, such as the NFU – have signed up to the pledge.
The commitment comes after the government’s Food Surplus and Waste Champion, Ben Elliot, urged organisations to “Step up to the plate”.
See also: How one beef farmer uses waste food for a sustainable system
Defra secretary Michael Gove said: “Together, we will end the environmental and economic scandal that is food waste.”
According to the Waste and Resource Action Programme (Wrap), 10.2m tonnes of food and drink is wasted each year, equivalent to £500 per average household.
Last February, a report by the feedback, food and environment charity on UK fruit and vegetable production found that up to 16% of food produced on farms goes to waste.
This amount would feed 250,000 people their five-a-day for a year.
NFU President Minette Batters, said: “It is very clear that a whole supply chain effort is required to effectively reduce our food waste.”
In November, there will be a week of action to highlight the problems of food waste and the changes that can be made.
Defra says it is committed to supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, to help halve food waste by 2030.