Natural Resources

Feed farm animals, not incinerators
9 November 2011

From plough to plate Britain wastes an estimated 16 million tonnes of food every year.

That's enough to fill Wembley stadium 16 times over.

Instead of ending up in landfill or being burnt, much of this food could be eaten by humans.

Much of what people can't eat could feed farm animals. And the rest could be used for composting and anaerobic digestion (treating food scraps to produce heat and gas).

And it gets worse.

By importing animal feeds like soy - rather than feeding animals our leftovers - the UK is driving deforestation abroad.

Please tell the Government this isn't good enough

Ask Environment Secretary, Owen Paterson, to promote food waste as an alternative to imported animal feeds.

Write to Owen Paterson now

Dear Minister,

It's a scandal that 16 million tonnes of food are wasted in Britain every year when much of it could be used to feed people and animals. More needs to be done to help farmers reduce reliance on imported feed, which has such a damaging impact on forests and communities overseas. There is huge potential in the UK for food that can't be used for people to be diverted to animal feed, particularly for pigs and chickens. This should complement action to boost home-grown feed production and encourage extensive grazing. I urge the Government to lead the way and set guidelines for local authorities that encourage them to promote and facilitate the diversion of legally permissable food waste for animal feed - for example by setting up hubs to connect food businesses and farmers. I also call on the Government to incorporate the food waste hierarchy (see www.feeding5k.org) in all relevant policy and practice. I look forward to hearing from you.

You can contact me by email (preferably - to save resources) or at the following address:

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Natural Resources

Feed farm animals, not incinerators9 November 2011

Please tell the Government this isn't good enough

Write to Owen Paterson now

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Feed farm animals, not incinerators
9 November 2011