Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) and the Food Rescue Alliance have released a joint paper outlining five approaches to prevent food waste.
These include binding reduction targets, improved data, food use hierarchy, legal certainty for rescuer organisations and more appreciation for food.
Both organisation have called for an end to food waste in light of the worsening food crisis ahead of the third International Day against Food Waste on 29 September.
DUH also noted that the German government's approach of relying on voluntary commitments by the industry has failed and urged the minister of agriculture, Cem Özdemir, to ensure that all players in the chain pledge to reduced food waste.
Sascha Mueller-Kraenner, national managing director of the DUH, commented, "Food waste is expensive, environmentally and climatically harmful [...]. Nevertheless, the new German government has not yet initiated a turnaround to save edible food.
"Back in 2012, it committed to halving waste. Ten years later, it still can't show any progress: Instead of legally obligating supermarket chains and food companies to save food, the focus continues to be on consumers."
Diverse Causes
Franziska Lienert, responsible for strategic impact projects and partnerships at Too Good To Go, believes that food waste has diverse causes, and solutions should be the same way.
Lienert added the formulation of solution models is only possible on the basis of current, comprehensive and meaningful data and urged the government to improve the data situation as the German government has pledged to reduce food waste by half by 2030 in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Hanna Legleitner, business guide of Restlos Glücklich registered association, said, "Food must finally experience more appreciation. A change in diet will not succeed without increased nutrition education.
"The topic must be included in the educational plans for day care centres and in the curricula for schools and in the training and study regulations of the relevant professional groups."
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
