Congratulations

The latest figures from WRAP show how that the amount of household food waste has fallen from 8.3 million tonnes a year to 7.2 million. However, we are still throwing away more than seven million tonnes of food and drink away every year. The cost of which is still £12 billion as food prices have been rising. 

Back in 2006/07 we were throwing away over 8 million tonnes of food and drink a year, just from our homes, most of which would have been perfectly edible if only we’d managed it better. This has now reduced by around a fifth of all the food we buy, to 7.2 million tonnes!

The reduction of 1.1 million tonnes has saved councils up to £80 million a year by sending less food to landfill.

We still throw away enormous amounts of food and drink and due to the price of food going up it is still costing us £50 a month, around £680 a year for families or £480 a year for the average household!

The recession has of course helped. Shoppers are now more careful about what they buy and shopping lists are coming back into fashion with people actually sticking to them! Hopefully when the bad times end the good habits we are re-learning will continue as they did after the World Wars.



No such thing as a free lunch?

FOOD campaigners have hit out over the millions of tons of fruit and vegetables dumped each year — because they are misshapen. Supermarkets insist that shoppers will not buy them.

Campaigners say nearly 50 per cent of UK carrots end up in the bin and they claim the scandalous waste helps keep prices artificially high.

Food industry analyst Tristram Stuart said stores must start letting shoppers decide whether to buy wonky produce.

He added: "We've got to stop this madness. We must tell shops we want to buy good-tasting fruit and veg regardless of how it looks."

On Friday 19^th Nov 2011, campaigners will highlight the scandal by cooking a meal for 5,000 in Trafalgar Square using discarded fruit and veg.

The event will feature guest speakers such as Tristram Stuart, and activities including apple pressing and wonky veg sorting. You can even visit the enclosure of real waste-eating pigs!

Feeding the 5000 will show how easy it is to reduce the unimaginable levels of food waste in the UK and internationally, and how governments, businesses and individuals can help.