Dear constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about food waste.

Over 13.6 million tonnes of food are wasted every year in the UK, incurring a significant carbon cost. At the same time, millions of people are struggling to afford to eat and foodbank use has sadly risen during the coronavirus pandemic.

I believe rising food poverty and the severe consequences of the climate crisis on our weather, landscapes and crops, means that business as usual for our food industry is not an option. In my view, the Government must take bolder, faster action to tackle the problem of food waste if we are to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 on halving global food waste at retail and consumer levels by 2030. It should look at how other countries report surpluses and waste, as I feel it is clear our current system does not work.

Indeed, in January 2020, the Committee on Climate Change, the UK’s independent advisor on tackling the climate crisis, recommended the Government implement steps to reduce food waste produced annually by 20% as part of a range of recommendations on achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

The Government brought forward powers to implement on mandatory food waste collection in the Environment Act. It is currently analysing responses to a consultation which sought views on the implementation of separate food waste collections. It says it will publish its response in due course.

I am aware Part Two of the National Food Strategy was published in July and that it recommended a statutory duty for all food companies with more than 250 employees to publish an annual report containing figures on food waste.

I believe this report is a massive wake-up call to fix Britain’s food system and to ensure every family can afford for their children to get a healthy hot meal every day. The Government has pledged to respond to this report within six months, and I will follow developments on this closely.

In my view, the amount of food going to waste is a scandal when millions of children go hungry.

Thank you once again for contacting me about this issue. I can assure you that I will continue to call for greater action on reducing food waste.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Dowd MP