Time to tackle food waste

The government is finally making noises about tackling the fact that Britons waste up to 40 per cent of the food we purchase (see here).

There are wise words for every single person in a western household to mull over in this article. It's grossly indecent that we waste so much food on the one hand while complaining about the price rises in food on the other. Think about where that food could go - to feed starving people in the third world for starters (and if that sounds fanciful, ask yourself why Kenyan produce is flown all the way to Britain when it could be distributed more locally). That's why when I read about people in this country complaining about the price of food I want to bang their heads together - we're incredibly lucky to be living where we are, and while we moan about having less money in our pockets to frivolously waste, there are billions out there who don't even have basic luxuries like a roof over their head or the security of knowing they can afford their next meal, never mind anything else.

The only downside of the report comes in its conclusion, which once again hints at trying to open the door for GM: "The solution lies in raising the potential of food production in the developing world," it says. "If yields in Africa and elsewhere reached their potential, global food output would be much higher, far fewer people would go hungry and social instability around the world would decrease."

That sounds wonderful, but to we honestly think that GM companies would put hunger and social stability above their bottom line? After all, they're like just about every other company out there today - shareholders and profit line first, everything else second.