Eight out of 10 Londoners call for less food waste

Seventy-nine per cent of Londoners want to see businesses in the capital reduce their food waste, a survey by ethical eating magazine The Jellied Eel[1] has revealed.  Nearly seven out of ten (sixty five per cent) also stated they would choose to spend their money at restaurants, shops or on brands that are doing their best to avoid wasting food. A similar proportion said they would sign a pledge to reduce their own household waste and to voice their support for food waste reduction in the food industry.

The survey [2], of almost 500 Londoners, was commissioned for the latest edition of The Jellied Eel magazine, which features a special food waste report on what’s being done to tackle London’s leftovers, along with campaigner Tristram Stuart as its cover star.  Together with a band of other organisations, Tristram will be ‘Feeding the 5000’[3] on food waste, in Trafalgar Square this Friday 18 November. 

Deputy Editor of The Jellied Eel, Kelly Parsons, said:

“It’s clear that the overwhelming number of London’s residents want more to be done to reduce the shocking amount of food that gets wasted by homes and businesses in the capital.  A company’s attitude to food waste could have a direct influence on consumer shopping habits, so our city’s restaurants, shops and food producers will either have to gear up for the war on waste, or lose out to more forward-thinking businesses.”

She added:

“As an ethical eating magazine, it has been fantastic to be able to highlight the many campaigns tackling the millions of tonnes of leftovers created by Londoners.  Organisations like Feeding the 5000, the Sustainable Restaurant Association with its doggy box campaign, and pop-up restaurants like the People’s Kitchen in Dalston, are all drumming home the message that, when food is thrown away, what also goes into the bin is all the effort, fuel, animal feed, water and natural resources that went into making that food in first place.”

NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The Jellied Eel is a quarterly London magazine about ethical eating.  It is produced by BIG Media and London Food Link, part of the charity Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming.  20,000 copies of the free magazine are distributed via 130 outlets across London.  www.sustainweb.org/jelliedeel/stockists
2. Completed using the Toluna Quick online tool. www.tolunaquick.com/registerq?camp=sustainactivity
3. Feeding the 5000 is an event being held in Trafalgar Square on 18 November 2011.  A free lunch for 5000 people will be made entirely out of fresh ingredients that would otherwise go to waste: wonky carrots, misshapen potatoes and other fresh surplus produce. www.feeding5k.org/

Survey Results:

Q1 - Would you like to see businesses cut their own food waste and encourage their suppliers to do the same? Yes - 78.63%; No – 10.68%; Don’t know – 10.68%
Q2 - From November, a new campaign will ask members of the public to pledge to reduce their household waste and voice their support for food reduction initiatives in the food industry. Would you, in principle, sign such a pledge? Yes - 68.32%; No - 17.95%; Don’t know - 17.74%
Q3 - Would you choose one food company (retailer/restaurant/food brand) over another if you knew it was doing its best to avoid wasting food? Yes - 65.38%; No - 14.96%;  Don’t know – 19.66%

For enquiries contact Kelly Parsons or Ben Reynolds, tel: 0203 5596 777; email: kelly@sustainweb.org. The Jellied Eel website is at: www.thejelliedeel.org.