Here is a guide on how to write to your MP, with the latest actions you can take part in!
Who is my MP?
Find who your MP is and their email address using this link.
At the beginning of an email, it is a good idea to include your address, so they know you are one of their constituents. This will mean they are more likely to respond to you.
Ask your MP to support the food waste amendments in the Environment Bill
Example email
Here is an example email to send to your MP about food waste and the Environment Bill. Please personalise and edit as you see fit!
Subject: Please support Amendment 149A on food waste in the Environment Bill
Email body:
[Your address]
[Date]
Dear [Name of your MP]
I am writing to urge you to support Amendment 149A of the Environment Bill about food waste prevention, tabled by the Earl of Caithness.
Food waste accounts for 8-10% of greenhouse gas emissions and 1.4bn hectares of land is used to produce food that is never eaten (FAO, 2013). If this land were a country, it would be the second biggest country in the world. In the UK, we waste 9.5 million tonnes of food every year, which equates to more than 25 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions (WRAP, 2020).
There are only six mentions of food waste in the Environment Bill, and they all relate to disposal – what to do when food waste has been created. I urge you to support Amendment 149A which will prevent food waste at the source.
The current approach of measuring food waste means that retailers are only responsible for 3% of all food waste. This approach is deeply flawed and will not address the root causes of the issue. This is firstly because the data omits farm-level waste completely, and secondly because it does not account for how large retailers like supermarkets are responsible for food waste throughout their supply chains.
At the moment, retailers do not have to measure or report how much food waste they are responsible for, and food waste targets are currently weak and unenforceable. The amendment will address these issues, as well as recalibrate how we hold different sectors responsible for food waste.
With COP26 on the horizon and nations all over the world increasing their climate ambitions, this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve food waste prevention for when we leave the EU.
Thank you for your attention, and I hope you take these concerns and actions into consideration.
Kind regards,
[Your name]
Ask your MP to table a Parliamentary Question on food waste
Example email
Here is an example email to send to your MP about raising food waste in Parliament. Please personalise it and edit as you see fit!
Subject: Raising the issue of food waste prevention in Parliament
Email body:
[Your address]
[Date]
Dear [Name of your MP]
I am writing to urge you to raise the issue of food waste prevention in Parliament, preferably as a Parliamentary Question.
Food waste accounts for 8-10% of greenhouse gas emissions and 1.4bn hectares of land is used to produce food that is never eaten (FAO, 2013). If this land were a country, it would be the second biggest country in the world. In the UK, we waste 9.5 million tonnes of food every year, which equates to more than 25 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions (WRAP, 2020).
Currently, the government seems to only be concerned with food waste disposal, and not prevention. There are only six mentions of food waste in the Environment Bill, and they all relate to disposal – what to do when food waste has already happened. I urge you to raise the issue of food waste prevention in Parliament.
Although 70% of food waste happens in peoples’ homes, campaigns rarely scrutinise how supermarkets and the wider food system contributes to this waste, and we currently have no data on how much food is wasted on farms. Studies have shown that public awareness campaigns can only go so far, and more attention must be paid to larger systemic changes, such as mandatory food waste reporting.
With that in mind, I recommend the following Parliamentary Questions to be tabled:
- To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: when will the UK start measuring the amount of food that is wasted on farms.
- To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: how will the government make food waste reporting mandatory in all sectors.
- To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: how will the government place more responsibility for household food waste on food businesses and supermarkets.
Thank you for your attention, and please let me know if you have tabled a question.
Kind regards,
[Your name]
FOOD WASTE STORIES 