Organisations are by default risk averse and only commit to as little change as possible. That’s why regulation and public policies play a crucial role in bringing change by forcing these giants to throw some money at solving the pressing problems of our times, which many times are either generated or aggravated by these businesses.

As a summary, what has to be understood is that big corporations can easily change if they have to, because they have the required money.

Nevertheless, these behemoths will NEVER make the first move by themselves, and will cut corners whenever possible.

They are not evil, just organisations with tens and hundreds of thousands of employees, and with mid and top managers sticking to their routines and playing safe.

Given the state of the NHS and the increasing obesity and poverty rate in the UK, comprehensive food waste regulation and health-oriented retail space regulation is needed more than ever. And this is surely true in many other countries, I am not picking on the UK specifically.

Healthy food should get the prime shelf space, the central, most visible spots and should be highlighted as healthy food section, while all the unhealthy food should go at the back of the store, in the more hidden spaces.

Besides, protein-rich, fibre-rich, healthy low carb food should get a special focus and prime location, so that it will be the first thing all shoppers spot.

Also: ban the display of unhealthy foods around the cashiers!

Penalising #FoodWaste should be done proportionately: bigger chains and #multinationals should be scrutinised and penalised the most and should have to follow stricter rules.

And if a new and comprehensive food waste regulation would come into force, let’s bring it in line with #PublicHealth and #ClimateChange aspirations and policies. A general overhaul of the grocery store design and food placement is needed to promote healthy diets.

#FrozenFood can be tasty and top quality, therefore the market for the prepared meals should shift towards frozen food by creating a significant price difference between the fresh and the frozen meals. Even workplaces have microwaves, reheating frozen food is easy and it should bear no stigma.

Here is how potent the freezing technology of our times actually is (relevant part starts at 12:46):

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/2074199/

#Policy suggestion: introduce compulsory #CircularEconomy in grocery stores by only allowing to sell fresh ready-made meals if they are prepared by using up the retailer's waste (obviously other ingredients should be allowed as well, but using up 100% of the waste should be a basic requirement). In countries like the UK, where a staggering part of the grocery store shelf space is occupied by prepared meals, this policy alone would be a massive breakthrough.

A #GroceryStore can be well managed if:
- they know their customer base
- have short supply chains
- have smart pricing and discount policies
- the balance of fresh/frozen prepared meals is shifted towards frozen by making them much cheaper than the fresh meals
- have in-house cooking team (or a nearby small business as subcontractor) to transform all the waste into ready made meals (either fresh or frozen) to suit the needs and palate of the local clientele

If grocery stores had to report and prove they had zero #FoodWaste or otherwise pay penalties for all the waste generated, it would help push down grocery bills.

Here is an example of a Japanese discount #GroceryStore going #ZeroWaste thanks to its food procurement, in-house cooking (!!!) & smart discounting policies.

Note the wide consumer base they are serving, including the very poor, who thus can have proper meals at extremely low prices.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/4026220/

Who losses out? All the poor people and the general public who would be continuously informed about the contents of those dumpsters.

A simple #policy suggestion: make easy access to retail food waste a requirement. It will help the poorest of the poor, but will also help retailers to be more conscious about their food waste. Are you annoyed by those #DumpsterDivers rummaging your bins? Well, just introduce a #ZeroWaste policy and the problem goes away.

So let’s talk about #DumpsterDiving and the negligence behind the policies which prohibit it or do not make it accessible.

Who actually profits from such policies? The retailers, because they can hide the real amount and nature of #FoodWaste generated, and also can get rid of those pesky low-class people who would show up around their stores (yes, those people would probably create some mess which has to be cleaned up by the retailers).

Given that #DumpsterDiving / #skipping is not allowed in the UK, we actually do not know how much food is really wasted by retailers. Here is the British dumpster diver living in Copenhagen, where dumpster diving is legal, and he depicts a very different picture about the dark side of grocery retail: https://www.matthomewood.com/

Self-reporting is extremely deceptive, anybody can easily spot the elephant in the room.

According to #WrapUK:
- only 2% of all the #UKFoodWaste is generated by the retail sector
- while the households waste 60%
- farmers 15%
- the #FoodIndustry 13%
- and #HoReCa 10%

Well, I have my doubts…