There have been calls in force of over 100,000 people for David Cameron to force supermarkets to deal more economically and more charitably with their waste food.
In France, supermarkets are being banned from getting rid of waste and leftover food in a bid to tackle the infamously high waste levels that supermarkets generate.
The campaigners are calling for the food which does not get sold because of passing a best before date, should be donated, as it is still ok to eat, but people would rather purchase fresher products.
The petition which has been signed by so many people declares: “Under the next 5 years of Conservative government, people will be encouraged to live an ever-more healthy lifestyle to reduce pressure on the NHS.
“What better way to do this than to ensure the most needy have access to fresh fruit and vegetables and other basic essentials they currently can only class as a luxury?”
The French superstores are risking penalties of over £50,000 if they don’t sign into contracts with charities such as FareShare to distribute their waste food more morally.
The last five years of the Conservative coalition government saw the use of food banks rocket. 2010-2011 saw just over 60,000 people given three day’s worth of emergency food by the Trussell Trust, whereas 2013-14 saw just over 900,000 people given the same.
There was another recent case of a couple from Sunderland who were taken before court for stealing old food set out for discarding from the back of a Tescos. In this case, the judge asked “how are they expected to live?” and said “I clearly can’t make a financial order,” as the couple had no money and no other way to feed themselves or their children.
Supermarkets aren’t entirely bad with their waste, however. Sainsburys have managed put their bio waste towards generating electricity.
With over 100,000 signings on the petition, it should be enough to spark at least a discussion in parliament, and maybe we could see out supermarkets going the same way as the ones in France, and redistributing and helping people rather than throwing mountains of food in the bin.