(GP): For
the assistance of the House, I believe the noble Baroness, Lady
D'Souza, was probably talking about FairShare. I hope the
Minister is aware of the letter sent this week to the CEOs of the
six largest supermarkets by
#getfairaboutfarming. One of the requests in that letter is
relevant to this Question as it asks supermarkets to
buy what they have committed to buy. Farmers suffer major
economic loss and a huge amount of food is wasted
because supermarkets order
food and then refuse to take it and put it on the shelves, so it
rots in the fields. Are the Government going to
force supermarkets to
get fairer with farmers and with all the benefits of cutting food
waste?
(Con): I take the noble
Baroness’s point. As I said in my declaration of interests, I
come from a farming background, so I think it is essential for
farmers, many of whom are, in effect, small producers, to get a
fair price for what they produce.
(Lab): My Lords,
when did the Government last advise the population that they
should reduce their waste, and which Minister said it?
(Con): My Lords, this is an
ongoing public information campaign. Advertisements are placed in
supermarkets
online and on social media. We are not in the business of
mandating or telling people how much or how little to buy. We are
in the business of advising people so that they save money and
buy what they need for their households.
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