“Taste the Waste” is a German documentary film that shows how European mega-companies and retailers are destroying almost half of all products.
In Germany alone, 15 million tonnes of food are sent to landfill every year. A convoy of vehicles laden with discarded food could circle the equator three times:
It’s not just those who buy everything indiscriminately who are to blame – much of the food is thrown away before it even reaches our table. For example, almost half of all potatoes grown are left on the fields because the fruit is culled for size and appearance.
Fearing to scare away shoppers with empty shelves, supermarkets are pushing the widest range of products. As a result, supermarkets are forced to throw away products, even though many are still fit for consumption. Every second packet of leaf lettuce and every fifth loaf of bread fails to make it to the dinner table.
Not only the environment has to pay the price, but also the customers. Food waste disposal is ultimately paid for by us: it is included in the high prices of supermarkets and in agricultural subsidies.
As a result – in monetary terms – Germans are throwing away 20 billion euros a year on rubbish dumps. And the food thrown away in Europe alone would be enough to feed all the world’s hungry twice over.
