Government adopts ambitious plan to tackle food waste

Flemish minister-president Kris Peeters has launched an ambitious plan to cut down on food waste. The goal is to tackle the problem at every stage in food production by creating a “food chain road map” involving six of the biggest organisations involved in food distribution. 

The world currently wastes 1.3 billion tonnes of food every year, according to a recent report by the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations. “Globally, one-third of all the food produced ends up in the rubbish bin,” Peeters said. “This is something that we have to stop.”

Six organisations are involved in the plan: the Farmers’ Union; food industry federation Fevia Vlaanderen; the Flemish trade federation Comeos Vlaanderen; the Belgian Catering Union; Horeca Vlaanderen, which represents the catering industry; and OIVO, a research and information centre for consumers.

Some 120,000 tonnes of food is thrown away every year in Flanders, representing €300 worth of groceries per person. Peeters believes that there are economic gains to be made from tackling the problem. “We want to turn all this waste into profit,” he said.

Most of the food thrown away consists of bread, vegetables and fruit, but some 10,000 tonnes of food is discarded in its packaging, even though one-fifth is still suitable for consumption when it is binned. “With the signing of the new joint declaration, we are sending a clear signal to citizens and to European policy makers that we intend to take steps to deal with the problem,” Peeters said.