The following newspaper article provides food for thought and discussion: http://www.bernerzeitung.ch/leben/essen-und-trinken/Was-uns-taeglich-antreibt-Lebensmittel-zu-verschwenden/story/26666267

For some time now, the results of a study have been discussed in the press, according to which more than a third of the food produced in Switzerland is not consumed but destroyed. What is particularly remarkable is the fact that the lion's share of wastage occurs among consumers. If you try to understand the figures in the newspaper article, it looks like this:

In Switzerland, 800 kg of food is produced per inhabitant each year, 300 kg of which ends up as waste, of which 37% (i.e. 111 kg) is due to agricultural production, 9% (27 kg) to transportation and storage and 18% (54 kg) to processing. Of the 800 kg produced, 608 kg end up on the market. The latter in turn produces 9% of the waste, i.e. 27 kg, which means that consumers ultimately buy around 580 kg. However, only 500 kg of this is consumed, whereas 80 kg (the newspaper text even says 94 kg) is thrown away by consumers. So much for the figures.

Migros Aare's "slightly irritated" media spokesperson is now quoted as saying: "Nobody has an interest in throwing food away, because it's an expense item." Well, from a self-centered point of view, this statement is true. However, if consumers could be persuaded to buy only as much food as they actually consume, this would mean, according to the figures above, that each person would no longer buy 580 kg of food per year, but only 500 kg. The result: a 14% drop in sales for the food trade. Even if this were to happen to even a small extent, it would undoubtedly be an unparalleled disaster for companies in the sector!

Now I ask myself: to what extent is a supermarket chain really interested in motivating its customers to buy at least roughly as much as they actually consume? I have never noticed such an appeal in either the Migros magazine or the Coop newspaper. Or is it rather the case that these companies cannot exert much influence at all, because the main wasters are obviously the responsible consumers?

The population throws away 14% of the food it buys - actually a huge figure. Where should we start? Who plays what role in the whole game?