| Topic: | Re:Re:Shocking food waste - Chiswick M&S | |
| Posted by: | Jenny Smith | |
| Date/Time: | 06/01/26 11:50:00 |
| Why would a refrigeration or handling issue automatically mean this food couldn’t be redistributed? Food banks routinely accept food that can’t be sold but is still safe — that is exactly what redistribution schemes exist for. I’ve looked into this since seeing the footage, and M&S are well known for dismissing these issues when questioned. Perhaps something did go wrong, or food was over-ordered — that’s certainly what it looks like — but then what did the farmers grow all this produce for? It’s wasteful and indefensible. Much of what’s shown in these videos becomes contaminated because of how it’s disposed of. If it were genuinely unusable, why wasn’t it at least separated from plastic and composted? Sending tonnes of food straight to landfill is a choice, not an inevitability. This also isn’t an isolated incident. There are dozens of documented cases across multiple M&S stores (and others, I might add), alongside public data showing large-scale, systemic food waste by major retailers. I am a regular M&S customer and have been all my life, but this seriously makes me question their values. I don’t have an “agenda” beyond wanting to understand why enormous amounts of food are destroyed where I live and shop, while food banks, shelters, and homeless people are overwhelmed and going hungry. They could have sold it off for 5p a bag or similar — dismissing that concern instead of addressing it doesn’t change the facts. There’s even someone online who makes jacket potatoes for people in need; a quick cab ride with surplus potatoes wouldn’t have gone amiss. Perhaps it’s worth reassessing where the real agenda lies. |