The European Parliament's Environment Committee has voted to introduce EU-wide targets to halve food waste by 2030.
The targets, which aim to slash food waste all the way through from the primary production stage to the consumer, go further than pledges made by the European Commission last year to halve only retail and consumer food waste.
A movement of 48 organisations from across 16 countries, led by food waste campaigning organisation This Is Rubbish, is calling for the EU’s Circular Economy Package to support the 50 per cent reduction in food waste by 2030, and for this target to be legally binding at member state level.
The campaign is also backed by over 59,000 people who have signed petitions through Change.org and Global Citizen. These were submitted to MEPs ahead of the vote.
Martin Bowman, campaigner for This Is Rubbish, said: 'We welcome this landmark vote to halve EU food waste by 2030, which is a huge victory for our campaign and the food waste movement.
“We particularly welcome that supply chain food waste, on farms and in manufacturing, is included in the target, which is a vital step forward to ensure not just consumers but businesses pull their weight in reducing food waste.
“We also welcome the adoption of the food waste hierarchy, which prioritises food waste reduction and redistribution to those in need, and was vitally needed.'
The campaigner expressed disappointment, however, that the target is aspirational rather than binding for the EU’s member states, priaising the Landfill Directive as a policy that has created a level playing field and led to swift and dramatic improvements.
Some forms of food losses on farms are also excluded from the targeted reduction.
Bowman said: “We are calling on the European Parliament and Council to support a truly binding food waste reduction target. Binding targets are vitally needed to face the urgent challenges of climate change, land and water depletion, and food poverty.'
Kierra Box, food campaigner at Friends of the Earth, added: “This is a significant vote because for the first time, we have a really clear, shared plan of how food waste can be reduced and prevented. However, if we’re serious about slashing food waste we need to stop aiming for change and instead make it happen. It was a lost opportunity that today’s targets aren’t binding which means countries can wriggle out of their commitments.”
