About a third of the food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. That represents a major squandering of resources, including land, water, energy, fertilisers, labour and capital. The reasons for this profligacy vary, but in countries such as New Zealand, consumer behaviour is a big factor. Food that could easily be used is routinely thrown out, a situation compounded by the failure to put the wasted produce to good use. The cost of this discarded food has been estimated at $458 for each New Zealand household each year.
That waste makes no sense on any level. It is particularly regrettable in a country whose economy is so strongly tied to food production. The pursuit of a clean green image also suggests we should be a leader in reducing food waste. Unfortunately, many of the best ideas are coming from the other side of the world. One to emerge this week was the European Union's proposal to scrap "best-before" labels on a range of products that typically remain in pantries for a long time. These include dry pasta, coffee, rice, jams and pickles.
The pursuit of a clean green image also suggests we should be a leader in reducing food waste. Unfortunately, many of the best ideas are coming from the other side of the world.
In New Zealand, all packaged food items with a shelf life of less than two years must have a best-before or use-by date. This is apt to cause confusion, and the throwing away of food that, in many cases, could be eaten months or even years after the best before date. The best-before label has nothing to do with safety; it refers only to quality in terms of factors such as freshness and texture after that date. It should be left to consumers to assess whether a product is still usable or has gone off. Yet the policy of some stores denies that and serves only to increase the amount of wasted food.
