Monday July 7, 06:24 PM
Brown: We Must Stop Wasting Food
By Sky News
Gordon Brown has urged British families to stop wasting so much food to help keep down prices. New research shows families throw away 4.1 million tonnes of good food every year, costing each around £420.
The study, by the Cabinet
Office, also found the average UK household now spends 9% of their income on food.
The Prime Minister said "unnecessary" purchases were contributing to the price rises that have left many people struggling to pay bills.
He suggested families take more care storing fruit and vegetables so they last longer, reducing waste.
He also said everyone should plan their meals better so less food ends up in the rubbish bin.
But Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Steve Webb said the problem of food waste is partly due to the Government's failure to get tough with supermarkets.
"They refuse to stock small portions, which are essential for one-person households, and offer too many buy-one-get-one-free deals on perishable goods," he said.
Mr Brown was speaking as he arrived at the G8 summit of the world's leading industrial nations on the japanese island of Hokkaido.
The soaring cost of food will be high on the agenda along with record oil prices and their impact on the world economy.
A joint report from the US and the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development warned world food prices will go up by another 5% this year.
Meanwhile, the Government has said it will "proceed cautiously" over the introduction of biofuels after a report found they could be contributing to food price rises.
The Gallagher review says current policies could push up grain prices in the EU by 15%, sugar by 7% and oil seed by 50%, while in other parts of the world millions more people could fall into poverty.
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