{"id":27032,"date":"2023-03-09T08:30:09","date_gmt":"2023-03-09T08:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/research-blog\/?p=27032"},"modified":"2023-03-09T09:06:34","modified_gmt":"2023-03-09T09:06:34","slug":"win-dont-bin-wraps-food-waste-action-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/research-blog\/2023\/03\/09\/win-dont-bin-wraps-food-waste-action-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Win. Don\u2019t Bin: WRAP\u2019s Food Waste Action Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

If food waste were a country, estimates are that it would have the third highest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions after China and the US. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 12.3 aims to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels by 2030.<\/p>\n

In the UK, 70% of UK food is estimated to be wasted by retailers and consumers combined: households throw away \u00a314bn worth of food, leading to 25 million tonnes of GHG emissions from landfill, with 1.1 million tonnes discarded during food preparation, cooking and overlarge plate servings in the home. This equates to around \u00a3700 per year for the average UK family.<\/p>\n

\"Huge<\/p>\n

At the same time, the UK government reported an increase in food poverty to 6% in 2020\/21, including 9% of children. This means that 4.2 million people in the UK suffer uncertainty about being able to access \u201can adequate quality of sufficient quantity of food in socially acceptable ways\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In line with World Resources Institute recommendations, the climate NGO WRAP<\/a> is working with businesses to roll out their\u00a0Food Waste Reduction Roadmap and Toolkit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Target Measure Act\u2019 approach is already being adopted by UK businesses from farm to fork, enabling better understanding of how to develop actions to reduce citizen food waste. Food waste research, in the meantime, has focused on a range of barriers and opportunities, including information and awareness, food labelling, and consumer skills.<\/p>\n

Environmental awareness<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The University of Reading\u2019s \u2018Don\u2019t be a food waster<\/a>\u2019 EIT Food-funded project used a food waste quiz to explore knowledge about food waste, its environmental impacts, and how to prevent food waste with 2,248 consumers in the UK, Germany and Belgium.<\/p>\n

Knowledge around the environmental impact of food waste \u2013 water use, CO2 emissions, economic value and volume of waste \u2013 was poor, with less than 30% of questions answered correctly.<\/p>\n

Our findings suggested that people hadn\u2019t yet made the link between food waste and climate change. Meanwhile, other Reading research showed that people may have positive attitudes towards foods offering environmental benefits, such as upcycled ingredients<\/a> normally discarded during manufacturing. Consumer understanding of this critical relationship therefore needs to be strengthened by campaigns like \u2018Win. Don\u2019t Bin\u2019 that highlight the value of food and the impact on both people and planet if it is wasted.<\/p>\n

\"Campaign
Campaign graphic for WRAP’s Food Waste Action Week 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Food labelling \u2013 \u2018best before\u2019 or \u2018use by\u2019?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u2018Best before\u2019 dates, an indicator of peak quality for things like texture, visual and olfactory quality, are sometimes used by consumers as a cue to discard food that is still edible. Cereals (including bread, pasta), vegetables and fruits are among the most wasted foods, and traditionally display \u2018best before\u2019 dates.<\/p>\n

The \u2018use by\u2019 date, mainly applied to meat and dairy products, is an indicator of food safety, and foods stored beyond this date are not considered safe to eat. In the \u2018Don\u2019t Be a Food Waster\u2019 research project, while 4 out of 5 consumers understood the meaning of \u2018best before\u2019, only half were familiar with the meaning of \u2018use by\u2019.<\/p>\n

In WRAP\u2019s research, milk one day past a \u2018best before\u2019 date would be discarded by one third of those asked, and by half of those asked if a \u2018use by\u2019 date was given. However, WRAP also found that food continues to be safe days, weeks or even months after its \u2018best before\u2019 date. As a result of WRAP\u2019s campaigning, several large retailers in the UK have now committed to phasing out \u2018best before\u2019 dates.<\/p>\n

Skills and food redistribution\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u2018Don\u2019t Be a Food Waster\u2019 consumers demonstrated better knowledge about how to combat food waste in the home, especially in relation to planning, storage, preparation, use, cooking, and disposal of food. However, only just over half these questions were answered correctly, suggesting the continued need for better education on such \u2018action-based\u2019 information.<\/p>\n

Findings from this and other food waste research argues for policy-makers and NGOs to launch more consumer education campaigns using action-related information around planning, storage, re-use of leftovers, and recipe creation.<\/p>\n

With the current economic crisis, there is a greater need for more innovative food redistribution and food sharing channels and opportunities. This includes food banks, where supply is being outstripped by demand, apps and databases for bargain, surplus or unwanted food, and services providing door-to-door delivery of pre-measured ingredients with recipes to help consumers reduce food waste and facilitate meal donation.<\/p>\n

In terms of recognising the extent of the problem with food waste, linking food waste with environmental impact and climate change is an important step in getting consumers on board with food waste prevention. Initiatives involving food charities and businesses that support food waste prevention and food redistribution are another critical step in this transformational process.<\/p>\n

Anna Macready<\/a> is Associate Professor in Consumer Behaviour and Marketing in the Department of Agri-Food Economics and Marketing at the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If food waste were a country, estimates are that it would have the third highest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions after China and the US. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 12.3…Read More ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":693,"featured_media":27035,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1785],"tags":[189,2277,2333,1507,1037,1040],"class_list":["post-27032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture-food-and-health","tag-climate-change","tag-feature","tag-food-labelling","tag-food-poverty","tag-food-waste","tag-greenhouse-gas-emissions"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWin. 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