The ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ campaign is aimed at raising consumer awareness of waste, encouraging householders to reduce the quantity of edible food that goes straight into the bin.
A third of all food bought in Britain ends up in the rubbish, according to campaign organizers Waste & Resources Action Program (WRAP). This amounts to around 6.7 tons of food thrown out with an estimated cost of £8bn and serious environmental impacts each year.
The campaign is supported by the Government and backed by celebrity chefs. Minister Joan Ruddock, stated “WRAP’s work with retailers and consumer groups to spread the message and raise awareness is vital. But we also need the food industry to change”. To this end, “the Government has introduced the Food Industry Sustainability Strategy (FISS), so that we can work with them to improve their environmental, social and economic performance.”
Food waste has a serious impact on the environment because most of it ends up in landfill where it decays and produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. In addition, the embedded energy costs of producing, packaging and transporting food produce the equivalent of at least 15 million tons of carbon dioxide every year, according to WRAP.
The campaign’s website offers practical advice:
www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
Source: The Telegraph