Two pieces of research have been released today looking into consumer attitudes to food waste. A survey by Birds Eye and YouGov shows that people grossly underestimate the amount of food that they waste each year, while a long form report by the Fabian Society focuses on people’s attitudes to food waste and how they may inform future food waste policy. The Fabian Society findings will be discussed in parliament today.
Although we now waste less food than we used to, the issue still has great environmental and economic cost. A 2011 WRAP report into the extent of food waste found that in the UK over 11 million tonnes of food are thrown away every year. The environmental impact of food waste amounted to 17 million tonnes of CO2, or around one fifth of all the emissions produced by cars in the UK.
A survey commissioned by Birds Eye and carried out by YouGov focuses on people’s attitudes to food waste and found that while 91 per cent of respondents admitted to wasting food, they consistently underestimated how much they were throwing away. On average most families estimated losing £270 worth of food to the bin every year. But WRAP’s 2011 report puts the figure at more than double that amount, at £680 every year, or around a fifth of all food bought.
The most common reason cited for throwing food away, was buying too much in the first place (37 per cent), while two-thirds of people admitted to not planning their meals, with 15 per cent the sample attributing waste to this.
The Fabian Society have produced a separate report which was also released today. ‘Waste not, want not’ looks at how consumer attitudes could influence future food waste policy and analyses discussions with members of the public to show how people respond to food waste issues. Natan Doron, a senior researcher at the Fabian Society and lead author of the report, said that the most important aspect of the research was that more people were motivated to reduce food waste because of concern for the environment rather than simply saving money. He suggests that policy makers, industry figures and activists should promote this aspect of environmental responsibility rather than the traditional tactic of focusing on the benefits to individual consumers.
Another notable finding was the perceived need for businesses, and supermarkets in particular, to publicise their environmental credentials. The report outlines how forcing supermarkets to publish the amount of waste they produce could have the dual effect of raising customer awareness and promoting a ‘race to the top’ for image-conscious businesses.
The Fabian Society’s report will be presented in parliament this afternoon. The authors will argue the case for food waste reduction and the importance of the government being proactive in driving publicly supported policy.
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