Fifty percent of all food is wasted in Europe.

In France, food wastage is estimated at over two million tons every year.

In Europe, it is estimated at 89 million tons. While many people are struggling to feed their families, each supermarket in the European Union throws away over 40kgs per day of food that mostly remains edible, albeit not as fresh as before or appearing substandard. This wastage means €500 going straight into the trash can, food that could have fed a hundred people. 

In this context, amendments to the law have been proposed. In France, the National Assembly enacted a law against food wastage that bans supermarkets from throwing away unsold food, but the Constitutional Council has struck it down for procedural reasons. Consequently, the French Environment Minister Ségolène Royal has been trying to persuade the big supermarkets to establish commitments aiming to fight against food wastage. Although they are not obliged to do so, many supermarkets are taking up this cause. 

In 2015 Intermarché, a French supermarket chain launched a campaign trying to fight against food wastage. In the Paris region, one store sold the food that had been left on the shelf because of its appearance with up to 30% off. That “ugly food” was given specific labelling and a dedicated space in stores. 

Carrefour, another big French supermarket, has also contributed to this fight. In the 16th arrodissement of Paris, Carrefour Auteuil has established contracts with five charities. Their trucks mass several times a day at the back of the store to load shopping carts filled with unsold food. A special three-person team is responsible, several times a day, for gathering products that will soon pass their sell-by date or are damaged. "Last year, 160 tons of food were donated, the equivalent of 320,000 meals", said Soëd Toumi, Manager of Carrefour Auteuil. 

Supermarkets are not the only ones responsible for food wastage. Fifty percent of it is generated in French homes. Between 20 and 30kgs of food are wasted per person every year, of which 7kg are still packaged, representing an economic loss estimated at between 12 and 20 billion euros. Therefore, reducing food wastage could represent not only social benefits helping us to fight against hunger but also economic ones. 

Lucas VARGAS TASSONI, Helena FIGUEIREDO DE ALMEIDA ALVES 

Sources: 

http://sciences.tv5monde.com/articles/gaspillage-alimentaire-comment-la- grande-distribution-lutte-deja 

http://www.lefigaro.fr/conso/2014/05/21/05007-20140521ARTFIG00194-des- fruits-et-legumes-moches-mis-en-avant-aussi-sur-les-etals.php 

http://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2015/07/21/mettons-fin-au-gaspillage- alimentaire-en-europe_4692338_3232.html 

http://www.rfi.fr/france/20150827-le-gaspillage-alimentaire-amiable-segolene- royal-supermarches 

http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2015/08/27/gaspillage-alimentaire-segolene-royal-revient-a-la-charge_4737820_3244.html