France Moves Toward a National Policy Against Food Waste

In April 2015, French policymakers released an ambitious set of proposals for a national policy against food waste. They encompass a rich set of ideas for food waste prevention, food recovery and recycling. As the original, 75-page report, "Fighting Food Waste: Proposals for a Public Policy," is not currently available in English, NRDC is providing this distillation of the report's key elements.

The report asserts that the estimated level of food waste in France -- about 300 pounds per person per year -- reflects a crisis in food production and consumption systems. Particularly in a context of limited resources, fighting food waste is viewed as integral to building a more ethical society. The authors build upon France's earlier commitment to cut food waste in half by 2025 and aim to create a new form of collaborative policy development in partnership with civil society, business, government, and grassroots movements.