Exec at second-biggest consumer goods company: "Food is too cheap" says if prices increase, could cut down on waste

An executive at the world’s second-biggest consumer goods company told a conference that food is 'too cheap' and far too much is being wasted as a result.

Jan Kees Vis, the global director for sustainable sourcing development at Unilever said that half of the food that is purchased in the city of London is never eaten.

He added that consumers and catering firms do not put enough value on the food that they buy, even though the cost of meals and snacks in supermarkets, takeaways and restaurants, The Daily Telegraph reported.

'Places that offer food for lunch – chilled, day-fresh [food] - have made incredible growth, but the result is a lot of food is wasted,' he said.

'A big factor in why we waste so much food is that food has become too cheap. If it weren’t, we wouldn’t waste so much of it,' said Mr Vis.

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As prices rise, driven by a growing global population, Mr Vis said that if people could bring down levels of waste the increase in production required would slow down.


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