Food waste in Australia

Sources and extent of food waste in Australia and environmental and financial problems that it causes are reviewed. Major contributors to food waste are identified. Policy decisions and strategies to minimise and distribute wasted food are examined. Efforts by "food activists", charities and non-government agencies to recover and distribute wasted food are described. A call is made for collaborative partnerships between government, food producers and manufacturers, social activists, scholars and consumers to challenge the current business paradigm that "tolerates" waste. For this paper, food waste/wastage refer to food items considered to be edible but for whatever reason not consumed.