FOR most people, the past two years have been utterly dominated by the cost of living crisis, a fall in their living standards and the struggle from one pay day to the next.
The idea that there would be as much food wasted as there is while people struggle to feed their families seems extremely perverse, but here we are.
Every year there are roughly three million tonnes of food wasted throughout the supply chain.
That’s seven billion meals, which works out as breakfast, lunch and dinner for every man, woman and child in the UK for a month.
Just imagine how much food that actually is. Perfectly good food going to waste as cases of hospital admissions due to malnutrition skyrocket, as 13 million people face food insecurity and as charities struggle to obtain the food they require to meet this need.
READ MORE: Patrick Harvie speaks out after end of Bute House Agreement
In a supply chain that is predicated on food being plentiful and cheap, the multiple economic shocks of the past few years have been devastating. Of course, the UK is not the only country with a food waste problem, but as an increasing number of its citizens are not only feeling the pinch, but being thrust into severe poverty, all politicians have a duty to tackle this.
Where the UK differs from other G7 nations such as France and the US is that it has not legislated to address this. With the bulk of the work on this front being carried out by charities and community groups, it is essential that a legislative and economic framework is in place to support those businesses already contributing and to force those who are not yet engaging to do so.
FareShare is one of those charities at the coalface. Last year, it redistributed 128 million meals via 8500 charitable and community organisations across the entire UK. Its work is quite often the difference between people eating or going to bed hungry that day.
Not only does this redistributive model keep hungry people fed but the environmental benefits are huge.
Diverting good food from landfill or destruction and on to people’s plates tackles poor health and inequality, supports the journey to net zero and addresses the moral imperative we have to ensure that people in one of the world’s largest economies are not literally starving in their homes.
There are a few immediate steps that any incoming government needs to take to address both food insecurity and waste. The most important one being to incentivise surplus food redistribution across the supply chain. Everyone involved, from the farmers who grow the food to the supermarkets who sell it, must be supported to ensure that as much of what is produced ends up on plates as possible.
Very few MPs or policy writers in Whitehall will have experienced food insecurity or its impacts on every aspect of a person’s life. There are organisations, like FareShare, that do have that expertise and it is vital that their experience has a place at the table when this legislation is being written.
In my constituency alone I have organisations such as Ruchazie Pantry, The Courtyard Pantry, North Glasgow Community Food Initiative, Lambhill Stables, Blackhill’s Growing, Spirit of Springburn and many, many more who deal with food poverty and insecurity on a daily basis.
READ MORE: Patrick Harvie says 'dinosaur' Fergus Ewing pushing SNP to the right
The Scottish Pantry Network is another such organisation, started by Mandy Morgan and Ruchazie residents with one pantry a few years ago. It now has 23 member pantries across Scotland. This organisation, which I am proud to be a trustee of, can offer a wealth of knowledge and experience to the conversation and be an important part of developing the solutions our communities need.
We need to empower families, local people and communities to continue to expand the fantastic work they are doing and to stop the short-term policy-making.
The absolute basic necessity of a healthy population is that their nutritional needs are met and if we can’t even guarantee that for our citizens then something is going very, very wrong.
Whoever is the next prime minister needs to stop the navel-gazing and self-harm that has preoccupied Westminster for years and get back to the job of improving lives.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel