British campaigners say they are proud to dish up rubbish if it means eliminating unnecessary food waste.
Want to do something to save the world? How about sitting down to a meal made from food waste?
The term conjures up unglamorous images of digging around in festering bins for edible leftovers and out-of-date food. But our preconceptions are about to change, according to food waste campaigner Tristram Stuart.
‘It’s becoming cool and sexy to make feasts with rubbish,’ says Stuart, who fed 5,000 people last year in Trafalgar Square using fresh ingredients that would otherwise have been landfill. ‘Chefs aren’t afraid to dish up rubbish at all these days.’
We discard a staggering 14 to 18million tonnes of food every year in Britain, according to the government’s waste adviser, Wrap. At home, we waste about a quarter of all the food we buy â an estimated 7.2million tonnes a year. In real terms, all the world’s nearly one billion hungry people could be lifted out of malnourishment on less than a quarter of the food wasted in the US, Britain and the rest of Europe. Even more shocking is the fact most of this food is ‘perfectly healthy and nutritious’, according to Stuart.
Nutritious rubbish might sound unlikely but the practice of dumping edible food before it even reaches the shops is rife. Each year, 40 to 60 per cent of all fish caught in Europe is discarded, either because it is the wrong size or species, or due to the quota system. Meanwhile, 15 to 30 per cent of British fruit and veg is rejected for not meeting the supermarkets’ strict cosmetic standards, mostly because it is misshapen.
But it seems Brits are happy to eat not-so-perfect produce. Figures from Wrap suggest we are wasting 13 per cent less food at home than we did two years ago. And the launch of restaurant The Forgotten Feast (www.tomsfeast.com) this month saw diners pay for meals made from food waste.
Opened by activists Eloise Dey, Emily Elgar and chef Tom Hunt, The Forgotten Feast aims to support the ‘ugly, the unwanted and the unloved’. Hunt, who has worked at Dorset’s River Cottage, served up potted hare with chilli and cocoa and harira soup with sourdough, all made from wild food and leftovers. Punters paid £25 for the Moorish-inspired feast and, as most of the profit was donated to charity FareShare, each meal sold fed four people who otherwise couldn’t afford to eat.
The logic is hard to dispute and for Stuart, who has written a book on the subject called Waste, the fact such projects are flourishing is positive. Yet there is one faction still opposed to change â the supermarkets.
While we cut waste at home, supermarkets reduced theirs by just 0.4 per cent â way below their unambitious four per cent target. ‘It’s abysmal,’ says Stuart. ‘Their failure has no excuse.’
Some businesses are making inroads: M&S claims it has reduced food waste by 40 per cent in two years. Pret A Manger proves it can be done, says Chris Wilkie, a volunteer with charity PlanZheroes.
‘For 25 years, it’s been transferring its old sandwiches to charities,’ he says.
PlanZheroes is a service linking food businesses with charities needing food for the homeless. If you live in London, enter your postcode at http://www.planzheroes.org and your nearest charity becomes available. It is in talks about launching maps in Manchester, Lewes and Dublin.
‘We’ve got some major hotel chains on board but supermarkets have been the hardest to engage,’ says Wilkie. ‘They’re all closing ranks, which is a shame.’
The fear of litigation is the common argument for food waste not being given to those in need but Wilkie says this is no excuse. ‘Yes, some businesses are fearful of giving out free food but charities sign a waiver for good nutritious food,’ he says. ‘Health and safety is not an issue.’
As both experts agree, it’s time the supermarkets caught up with the national consciousness â we’re proud to dish up rubbish.So how do the supermarkets hide their food waste? Metro asked food waste campaigner Tristram StuartWhat’s this hidden waste, then?
The supermarkets have become expert at pushing their food waste on to their suppliers’ shoulders. They use a contentious method called ‘forecast ordering’. This means a supermarket might ask a supplier for 10,000 sandwiches daily in the summer. Nearer to ordering day, the supermarket might suddenly reduce its order to 8,000 sandwiches even after the ingredients have been purchased and made into the finished product.
What happens to the rest?
The surplus is stuck with the supplier, which won’t get paid for the unwanted sandwiches. Because the company causing the waste doesn’t bear the cost of it, it lacks the financial incentive to reduce it.
Aren’t supermarkets already banned from doing that?
Well, there is the Groceries Supply Code of Practice, which instructs them not to do this, but it isn’t enforced. The government needs to ensure the code is policed by introducing a thing called the Adjudicator Bill.
OK. No one wants food waste, so let’s do it.
The government is dragging its feet. Supermarkets don’t want to lose the powers they wield and suppliers are too scared to come forward with complaints for fear of being blacklisted by supermarkets and losing trade.
What’s the solution?
If the government really cares about food waste and small businesses, it should commit to having the Bill read in the next parliamentary session. Watch this space.