🧵
🎧The new UK government is committed to #ZeroWasteEconomy as a key policy. #BBC #TheFoodProgramme new episode on #FoodWaste explores the subject from many angles. ❤️
Highly recommend it to everybody, with big certainty most of this information holds true for any developed country.
So let’s dive in and let me add some further important facts, examples and context.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0022cpb
#UKFoodWaste #FoodSystems #podcast #ClimateChange #ClimateAction
In the UK 10,7 million tonnes of food is wasted per year, but there is neither official government gathered & controlled information, nor policy to prevent #FoodWaste.
The widely published UK food waste figures are self-reported data collected by the NGO #WrapUK without any checks whether these numbers are true or not: https://www.wrap.ngo/
Self-reporting is extremely deceptive, anybody can easily spot the elephant in the room.
According to #WrapUK:
- only 2% of all the #UKFoodWaste is generated by the retail sector
- while the households waste 60%
- farmers 15%
- the #FoodIndustry 13%
- and #HoReCa 10%
Well, I have my doubts…
Given that #DumpsterDiving / #skipping is not allowed in the UK, we actually do not know how much food is really wasted by retailers. Here is the British dumpster diver living in Copenhagen, where dumpster diving is legal, and he depicts a very different picture about the dark side of grocery retail: https://www.matthomewood.com/
So let’s talk about #DumpsterDiving and the negligence behind the policies which prohibit it or do not make it accessible.
Who actually profits from such policies? The retailers, because they can hide the real amount and nature of #FoodWaste generated, and also can get rid of those pesky low-class people who would show up around their stores (yes, those people would probably create some mess which has to be cleaned up by the retailers).
Who losses out? All the poor people and the general public who would be continuously informed about the contents of those dumpsters.
A simple #policy suggestion: make easy access to retail food waste a requirement. It will help the poorest of the poor, but will also help retailers to be more conscious about their food waste. Are you annoyed by those #DumpsterDivers rummaging your bins? Well, just introduce a #ZeroWaste policy and the problem goes away.
If grocery stores had to report and prove they had zero #FoodWaste or otherwise pay penalties for all the waste generated, it would help push down grocery bills.
Here is an example of a Japanese discount #GroceryStore going #ZeroWaste thanks to its food procurement, in-house cooking (!!!) & smart discounting policies.
Note the wide consumer base they are serving, including the very poor, who thus can have proper meals at extremely low prices.
A #GroceryStore can be well managed if:
- they know their customer base
- have short supply chains
- have smart pricing and discount policies
- the balance of fresh/frozen prepared meals is shifted towards frozen by making them much cheaper than the fresh meals
- have in-house cooking team (or a nearby small business as subcontractor) to transform all the waste into ready made meals (either fresh or frozen) to suit the needs and palate of the local clientele
Here is another brilliant Japanese example: how you can better integrate #LocalFarmers into the #FoodSystem with very short and flexible supply chains by also optimising the amount of fresh produce in the shops.
Two key problems are tackled:
- the amount of #FreshProduce delivered to the stores
- #price optimisation
(the relevant part starts at 13:40)
[On-Site Report: Supporting Japan's Future Farmers] This episode features businesses that are providing education and assistance to Japanese farmers to ensure that Japan's agriculture industry is left in capable hands. *Subtitles and transcripts are available for video segments when viewed on our website.
Grocery chains usually are terrible at discounting food: they discount almost at the very end of shelf-life, when people will not buy them, because they shop one-two weeks ahead, and that almost expiring food would soon become their own #FoodWaste (a lot of food waste in the households is generated by the discounted food: they really spoil so fast!).
But the biggest sin of all is the ready-made meals, which are prepared by suppliers, and not by using up the chain’s own food waste.
#Policy suggestion: introduce compulsory #CircularEconomy in grocery stores by only allowing to sell fresh ready-made meals if they are prepared by using up the retailer's waste (obviously other ingredients should be allowed as well, but using up 100% of the waste should be a basic requirement). In countries like the UK, where a staggering part of the grocery store shelf space is occupied by prepared meals, this policy alone would be a massive breakthrough.
Another important topic is #FarmFoodWaste. Allowing and facilitating the sale of #Grade2Produce either in separate shops or in normal grocery stores should also be a government supported and promoted initiative. It will help both the poor and the environmentally conscious. Placing these vendors in neighbourhoods with struggling communities and in farmers markets would be a quick win.
Here is one example how it is done in Germany.
We also have to talk about #FrozenFood and their bad rep. This is another sin and a complete failure in #PublicPolicy and government communication.
In our modern world we have stunningly good #FreezingTechnology and #ColdChains and it is still continuously improving.
It should be a government PR priority to educate and promote how healthy and affordable quality frozen food can be.
This is well-known in Japan, check it out:
*First broadcast on July 28, 2022. In Japan, frozen food is an essential part of many people's lives. Companies are constantly developing new techniques that make products tastier, longer lasting and more convenient. Our guest, consumer consultant Miura Yoshiko, explains why frozen food is so popular. She introduces some of the latest developments, such as flash freezing. And in Plus One, Matt Alt learns about new types of ice.
#FrozenFood can be tasty and top quality, therefore the market for the prepared meals should shift towards frozen food by creating a significant price difference between the fresh and the frozen meals. Even workplaces have microwaves, reheating frozen food is easy and it should bear no stigma.
Here is how potent the freezing technology of our times actually is (relevant part starts at 12:46):
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/2074199/
#FoodSystems #FoodWaste #FoodRetail #ShelfLife #ClimateAction
[On-Site Report: Fresh Ideas in Food Preservation] This episode introduces new food preservation technologies that offer next-level performance when it comes to protecting flavor and freshness. *Subtitles and transcripts are available for video segments when viewed on our website.
Penalising #FoodWaste should be done proportionately: bigger chains and #multinationals should be scrutinised and penalised the most and should have to follow stricter rules.
And if a new and comprehensive food waste regulation would come into force, let’s bring it in line with #PublicHealth and #ClimateChange aspirations and policies. A general overhaul of the grocery store design and food placement is needed to promote healthy diets.
Healthy food should get the prime shelf space, the central, most visible spots and should be highlighted as healthy food section, while all the unhealthy food should go at the back of the store, in the more hidden spaces.
Besides, protein-rich, fibre-rich, healthy low carb food should get a special focus and prime location, so that it will be the first thing all shoppers spot.
Also: ban the display of unhealthy foods around the cashiers!
Given the state of the NHS and the increasing obesity and poverty rate in the UK, comprehensive food waste regulation and health-oriented retail space regulation is needed more than ever. And this is surely true in many other countries, I am not picking on the UK specifically.
#FoodSystems #FoodWaste #FoodRetail #PublicPolicy #HealthPolicy #ClimateAction
As a summary, what has to be understood is that big corporations can easily change if they have to, because they have the required money.
Nevertheless, these behemoths will NEVER make the first move by themselves, and will cut corners whenever possible.
They are not evil, just organisations with tens and hundreds of thousands of employees, and with mid and top managers sticking to their routines and playing safe.
#FoodSystems #FoodWaste #FoodRetail #PublicPolicy #HealthPolicy #ClimateAction
Organisations are by default risk averse and only commit to as little change as possible. That’s why regulation and public policies play a crucial role in bringing change by forcing these giants to throw some money at solving the pressing problems of our times, which many times are either generated or aggravated by these businesses.
#FoodSystems #FoodWaste #FoodRetail #PublicPolicy #HealthPolicy #ClimateAction
Tünde Nagy-Bántó
