For almost a year, the Food Waste Committee has been looking at how we can in practice manage to halve the amount of food that is thrown away. According to the report, it is urgent to put measures in place if the target is to be reached by 2030. At the grocery store in Svolvær in Lofoten, Eline Mosan McMillan and Michael McMillan are on their first shopping trip of the year. They try to keep their own food waste as low as possible. Therefore, they try to plan what they will eat during the week, in addition to keeping track of the fridge. – I think that shopping in moderation can be part of the solution, and using the leftovers the next day, says Mosan McMillan. At the bottom of the article, you can give your best tips to avoid food waste! – I think having a relationship with the value chain and where the food comes from is important. Then it’s not just a matter of cost, but the food gains value in itself, says Eline Mosan McMillan. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad / news – Can you do it? – We try our best, but it’s not always easy. The couple in Svolvær are not the only ones struggling to reduce food waste. Private households account for around half of the food waste in Norway. In 2020, 84.7 kilograms of food was thrown away per inhabitant in the country. See the Food Waste Committee that submits the proposal to the government directly: Here the Food Waste Committee submits the proposal to the government. NHO director: – It is urgent to reduce waste Petter Haas Brubakk, managing director of NHO, has led the work with the Food Waste Committee. He says it is possible to reach the goal of reducing emissions by 50 per cent from 2015 to 2030. But it is urgent. – We have to do many things at the same time. And what we do must play well together, says Haas Brubakk. In order to achieve the goal, both private individuals and the food industry must step in. NHO director Petter Haas Brubakk says that we are not on target when we have halved food waste in 2030. – I will be very surprised if we do not get a new target of lower waste going forward in time. Photo: Hans Fredrik Asbjoernsen, Hans Fredrik Asbjørnsen / NHO The Food Waste Committee therefore proposes 33 different measures. The NHO director highlights two: Strengthen and expand the existing industry agreement, so that public enterprises join. Everyone who works with food must assess their own food waste. The committee also proposes in the report to oblige the shops to reduce the prices of food that will soon expire. In addition, they propose requiring the industry to donate old food to charities instead of throwing it away. The road to halving food waste is still long. From 2015 to 2021, Norway reduced food waste by 14 per cent. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad / news Haas Brubakk says that it is difficult to provide a concrete measure that will apply to all businesses that work with food. – Food waste occurs from the soil and the cages and the sea, right up to the dinner table at each and every one of our homes, says the director. – We must all always look for alternatives to throwing away food that is edible. – What kind of consequences will there be if the businesses do not take measures to reduce their food waste? – In the extreme, one would probably be able to imagine financial sanctions in the business, if they do not agree to do what they should do to reduce their own waste. – In Canada, there is more of a mentality that you look in the fridge before going to the store to buy food. I see that it is not so difficult for Norwegians to throw away food, says Canadian Michael McMillan in Svolvær. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad / news The director adds that they have been asked by the clients, i.e. the Minister for Climate and Environment and the Minister for Agriculture and Food, to look at what a Norwegian food box legislation might look like. Businesses will then be guided and asked to give an account of their work to waste less food. The future in our hands: – Not enough The couple in Svolvær say they buy food from the half-price counter if they can use it in the near future. – But there is a risk that you buy it because it goes on sale, but then forget about it, says Eline Mosan McMillan. And that is precisely one of the reasons why Anja Bakken Riise, head of the Future in our hands, does not think the proposals the committee makes in the report are enough. Riise believes that the main part of the problem with food waste is that it is cheaper to buy large quantities of food. – In Norway, we have a million single-person households, so it is unfortunate that the store pushes goods in large packages at a lower price. Riise shows off two onion stockings that both cost NOK 20, but one is twice as big as the other. The future in our hands has been included in the selection. Photo: Zofia Paszkiewicz / news Riise refers to Swedish research which has shown that much of the food waste at people’s homes is largely due to attractive offers and other sales tricks in food stores. Over 20 percent of Swedish households’ food waste can be explained by large packages that are difficult to eat, she explains. – I am happy that there will be a new law. But this is not enough to halve food waste, as the government aims to achieve, says Riise. The future in our hands calls for new food waste legislation. Most food waste from the fridge But the managing director of NHO does not agree. He refers to NORSU’s mapping report of food waste in the food industry and the consumer sector from 2021. In this report, only 9 percent of Norwegian residents state that they bought too much because of large packaging. What makes us throw away so much food then? The couple in Svolvær say that lately they have thrown away mostly rice porridge. They put it in the fridge to make rice cream, but nothing came of it. The NHO director points out that it should not be at the expense of food safety when the Norwegian food industry is to reduce its waste. – You must be sure that the food you buy is safe to eat, says Haas Brubakk. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad / news And precisely forgetting food in the fridge was the most important cause of food waste in the report to NORSU, says Haas Brubakk in NHO. Nevertheless, the NHO director points out that the new report from the Food Waste Committee proposes requirements for caution on the size of packaging and sales campaigns in light of the food waste it can lead to. – Food waste costs everyone money. Therefore, there is a very strong incentive in the entire food value chain to reduce wastage, he says. – Is this report strict enough for us to reduce food waste quickly enough? – I think it should give politicians a good basis for making decisions, and it is an important reminder to everyone who works with food. Hello! Welcome to dialogue at news. Since you are logged in to other news services, you do not have to log in again here, but we need your consent to our terms of use for online dialogue
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Food waste in Norway is to be halved by 2030 – today the government receives the proposals from the Food Waste Committee – news Nordland
