Coronavirus in Yorkshire: Crisis must change attitudes towards wasting food

People observe social distancing while queuing at a Sainsbury's supermarket at Colton, on the outskirts of Leeds, the day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the UK in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

The last 30 years has seen an unprecedented increase in the amount of waste in the UK.

I’ve seen perfectly edible food which could be kept in a freezer wantonly chucked away.

There is also huge waste in the hotel and cruise industries, where the pampered turn away expensive good food for the slightest of reasons.

It’s an insult to those who produce our food, to those who risk their lives in the fishing industry, and all the efforts people go to in food shops and the preparation industries.

During this pandemic, we’ve seen supermarket shelves stripped as if by locusts, with little regard for elderly people or vital workers who have not been able to obtain staple foodstuffs.

This crisis should be a game changer in terms of food waste. However, when the crisis ends, we will probably lapse back into our old wasteful habits.