According to London Business School, supermarkets in the UK wasted food equivalent to over 350 million meals
A campaign calling for a new law which would ban supermarkets from throwing away ‘edible’ food has seen suppose soaring. According to London Business School, supermarkets in the UK wasted around 200,000 tonnes of food, equivalent to over 350 million meals – this costs them around £1 billion per year.
The call comes as the UK is in the grip of another heatwave – which has impacted farmers. Farming leaders are warning they face “the worst harvest in years”, amid drought and successive heatwaves following a very wet winter, and are calling for more Government support to help them build resilience.
Gavin Lane, president of the CLA (Country Land and Business Association) that represents 28,000 farmers, said: “Farmers are telling us this is the worst harvest in years. A sodden winter followed by drought has left wheat at half its usual height and some crops not worth harvesting.”
Parts of the country are suffering their third drought in five years, following 2025 and 2022. Mr Lane said: “What was once extraordinary is becoming part of farming in Britain, and Government must start planning for it.
“We know that proper government investment in resilient farming systems, from reservoirs to wildfire prevention, could help farmers cope with these new extremes.” He said a well-funded “sustainable farming incentive” – the main plank of the Government’s agri-environmental subsidy scheme – that was open to all farms regardless of size or type of business “would also give farmers a reliable source of income should the weather wipe out their harvest”.
“Farmers have shown again and again that they can adapt and deliver solutions, but resilience has limits. If we want them to keep feeding the country, they need proper support. Otherwise, this harvest could be their last.”
A petition on the Parliament website says supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Morrisons, Waitrose and Lidl should be banned from throwing away all ‘edible’ food. It said: “Everyday, UK supermarkets throw away tonnes of edible food while millions of people rely on food banks to survive. We believe this is wrong, and that food that is safe to eat should not end up in bins when many families, pensioners, and workers are going hungry.
“We call for the Government to ban all supermarkets from throwing away all edible food, and require them to donate any surplus food that is edible and is approaching the best-before-date or with minor imperfections to be donated to food banks and local charities. Ending food waste could reduce hunger, cut environmental damage, and show real social responsibility. No one should go hungry while good food is thrown away.”
If the petition, which has been signed by 6,800 people gets to 10,000 it will prompt a response from the Department for Environment, Fisheries and Rural Affairs, and 100,000 will see it considered for a parliamentary debate.
Last week, food industry giants including Tesco and Danone joined charities to call on Andy Burnham to make food security a national priority alongside energy and defence, showing how the nation could face serious issues around food production, and how waste should be minimised as well. The letter, also signed by Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Waitrose and Co-op, charities including Barnardo’s, Amnesty International UK and WWF-UK, health campaigners, investment companies and farming organisations, warns that the next “food shock” is “not a question of if, but when”.
It says: “Each new shock lands on a food system with less capacity to absorb it. British production of fruit and vegetables has fallen 16% since 2015, and we now import 78% of our supply. The next food shock is not a question of if, but when.
“To meet it prepared, food has to stop being an afterthought for the Government: we need mechanisms to put food high on the priority list of every part of government, both national and local, so that any decisions that impact on health, farming, planning, and trade secure better access to healthy and sustainable food for everyone.”
It goes on: “The cost of doing nothing on this issue is already falling on those with the least resource, with food insecurity already affecting 15% of households with children.
“Economic pressures continue to push a healthy diet further out of reach for many, with the NHS then left to pick up the bill.”
It calls on Mr Burnham to urgently introduce a Good Food Bill to act as a legally binding framework to improve national food and nutrition security, public health and food system resilience.
To view and sign the petition, click here.
