The European Commission will introduce legally binding targets to reduce food waste in June. In 2015, EU member states already committed to halving food waste by 2030, but little progress has been made so far.
The citizen panel on food waste brought together 150 people from all EU member states in Brussels in mid-February to develop plans for EU countries to reduce the 57 million tons of food waste generated yearly in the union.
While every EU citizen wastes approximately 127 kg of food annually, around 36 million people worldwide cannot afford a decent meal every other day.
More than half of food waste comes from households, but primary producers and retailers also make significant contributions. The first recommendation from the Citizen Panel was 'The closer to the farmer, the happier the consumer.'
The EU citizen panel called on the EU to encourage food producers and retail chains to purchase their supplies from the nearest producer. This would reduce the need for retailers to over-order since local products can be replenished more quickly.
The practice of discarding ‘ugly’ or ‘mis-shaped’ food products should also become a focus, as the rejecting attitude of retailers promotes food waste. This was addressed in the recommendation 'Broaden the definition of food waste.' It states that unharvested food should also be considered food waste.
Moreover, farmers should be able to market "less than perfect, but still edible products." Each country should also encourage its farmers to place signs along their fields indicating that unharvested food may be taken by passersby and citizens.
The panel also proposed financially supporting organizations such as food banks that assist local farmers in managing food waste.