A panel of more than 150 European citizens thinks that the EU countries should do much more against food waste. Some of their recommendations also apply to the European agriculture and food industry. In the EU, 57 million tons of food is lost annually.
The European Commission will present legally binding targets for reducing food waste in June. In 2015, the EU member states already committed to halving food waste by 2030, but little has come of this so far.
The citizens' panel on food waste brought together 150 people from all EU member states in Brussels in mid-February to devise plans for the EU countries to reduce the 57 million tonnes of food waste generated each year in the Union.
While each EU citizen wastes approximately 127 kg of food annually, there are approximately 36 million people worldwide who cannot afford a decent meal every second day.
More than half of food waste comes from households, but primary producers and retailers also make an important contribution. The citizens' panel's first recommendation was 'The closer the farmer, the happier the consumer'.
The EU Citizens' Panel called on the EU to encourage food manufacturers and retail chains to source their supplies from the nearest producer. This would reduce the need for retailers to over-order as products can be replenished more quickly from close range.
The practice of throwing away 'ugly' or 'misformed' foods should also become a focus as retailers' defensiveness encourages food waste. This was also addressed in the recommendation 'Broaden the definition of food waste'. It states that unharvested food should also be seen as food waste.
In addition, farmers must be able to market “less than perfect, but still edible products”. Also, every country should encourage their farmers to place signs along their fields stating that their unharvested food may be taken by passers-by and citizens.
The panel also suggested financially supporting associations such as food banks, which help local farmers deal with food waste.