A third of the food we produce is wasted

The U.K. government said a third of the world's food is wasted. It said this high level is "unacceptable". Over 7 million tons of food is wasted in the UK every year. A politician said: "One-third of food…is lost or wasted globally." The government talked about solutions to the food waste problem. First, schools could raise children's awareness about it from a young age. Secondly, supermarkets could sell vegetables they throw away because they are the "wrong" shape. Finally, "sell-by" dates and "best before" labels need to change. Good food is thrown away because of these labels.

The politician said throwing away so much food was socially and environmentally unacceptable. He said: "Socially, it is a scandal that people are going hungry and using food banks when so much [food] is being wasted." He added that: "Environmentally, it is a disaster, because energy and resources are wasted…only for the food to end up rotting in landfills where it produces…a climate-changing gas." He also asked supermarkets to sell vegetables that have a funny shape. He said: "It's ridiculous that perfectly good vegetables are wasted simply because they're a funny shape."