Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ian Williams, Professor of Applied Environmental Science, University of Southampton
Europe is wasting huge amounts of food while millions of people globally experience hunger. Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have squeezed supply chains. The cost of living crisis has pushed many families to the edge.
Without strengthening environmental sustainability, supply chain resilience and household affordability, food security risks will increase significantly. Yet households still throw away huge amounts of edible food. This is not just waste. It is lost calories, lost money and a growing climate problem.
My team’s new analysis of European households find they discard more than 70kg of food per person each year. An estimated 69 million tonnes of food was wasted in Europe and the UK in 2025 according to our calculations, based on average food waste for the EU and the UK, and the current combined population. But it’s a global problem: around the world in 2022 – the latest year we have data for – households, retail and food service wasted 1.052 billion tonnes.
The European Commission reports that a four‑person household would save €400 (£346) per year on food that is ultimately wasted. But the problem is not simply about money. The main drivers of food waste are lack of knowledge and understanding, as well as health-related concerns about supposedly out-of-date food, plus an increase in eating for convenience.
Here’s why Europeans waste food and what we should do about it.
Shopping: why we buy more than we eat
Promotions and panic buy triggers push people to buy more than they need. Multi-buy deals, three-for-two and buy-one-get-one-free offers nudge shoppers to take more than they need. Time pressure and shopping while hungry make this worse. Our analysis shows planning matters: people who check their fridge and shop with a list waste less.
Retail design plays a key role. Large pack sizes and limited small portion options mean single households buy food they cannot finish. Near-expiry discounts can help, but only if shoppers have a plan to use or freeze the food. Retail nudges must be paired with household tools, not left to chance.
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Once food is home, everyday management determines whether it is eaten or discarded. Confusion over date labels is a major driver of avoidable waste. Many people treat “best before” as a safety cutoff. They throw food away to avoid the risk of illness. This fear outweighs guilt about wasting food. Simple clarity on labels would cut discards fast.
Storage skills matter too. Freezing, batch cooking and first in, first out routines (using oldest stock first, with newest stock used last) dramatically reduce spoilage. Frozen food is wasted far less than fresh. Teaching basic storage and quick preservation techniques is a high‑return, low‑cost fix.
Food planning can be hard: modern life is busy – people eat on the go and many rely on convenience meals. That convenience culture increases waste. Social norms push buying too much food. Hosting, hospitality and the desire to offer choice leads households to cook more than they need. In some cultures, abundance equals care – and that creates more uneaten food being left on plates.
Income alone does not explain the pattern. We found no simple link between national GDP (the standard measure of the size of an economy and of economic growth) and household food waste. Wealthier countries can waste less, but the relationship is inconsistent and shaped by local habits, tourism and measurement methods. The real drivers are behavioural and contextual.
Next steps
Our study points to three clear ways to strengthen policy and build resilience of food supply chains by cutting waste.
First, fix the signals. Standardise date labels and run a public information campaign. When people understand the difference between quality and safety, they throw away less.
Second, change retail practices. Encourage smaller pack sizes, resealable formats and messaging on promotions to encourage items are frozen for a future date. Incentivise supermarkets to sell imperfect produce and to price near expiry items clearly to encourage people to buy them.
Third, support households directly. Fund community cooking classes, fridge management campaigns and simple digital tools that track what’s in the home. Invest in kerbside food collections and food digestion treatment so unavoidable waste is diverted from landfill.
No single policy will solve household food waste. Interventions must combine retail reform, clear regulation and consumer support. They must be tailored to local cultures and household types and designed to strengthen the maintenance of food security.
We can cut household food waste quickly by encouraging clear labels, smarter shopping and better storage. Small changes at home add up to big savings for the planet and for family budgets.
The next step is simple: design policies that work for people where they live, shop and cook. That not only cuts down on food waste – we will also save money, emissions and dignity (by enabling people to access and use food without shame or judgement and without the need for charitable food banks).
This all increases our food security. The solutions are practical, cheap and ready to scale. There is no time to waste.
Ian Williams receives funding from UK Research Councils, including the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s Impact Acceleration Account.
– ref. Why European households throw away so much food – and how to curb the waste mountain – https://theconversation.com/why-european-households-throw-away-so-much-food-and-how-to-curb-the-waste-mountain-282198
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