Retailers representing more than half the UK grocery market have now made commitments to increase sales from healthier products. A year ago, just Sainsbury’s and M&S had set a target to increase sales of healthier products according to the NGO Changing Markets. Since then, Tesco, Aldi UK and Lidl have joined them in setting sales-based…

Businesses are being urged to embrace ‘wonky’ fruit and vegetables to help cut farm waste after a report found farms account for 1.2 billion tonnes of food wasted annually. The Driven to Waste report produced by WWF in partnership with Tesco suggests that each year an estimated 2.5 billion tonnes of food goes uneaten around…

Some of the world’s biggest processors and sellers of beef have set a target to reduce its net global warming impact by 30% by 2030. The Global Roundtable on Sustainable Beef (GRSB), whose members include processing giants like JBS and Tyson along with restaurant chains McDonald’s and Burger King, made the commitment as part of…

Using insects as animal feed could replace over half a million tonnes of soy from the UK food supply, according to WWF. The research, commissioned by the environmental NGO in partnership with Tesco, identifies “huge potential” for insect farming to help tackle the climate and nature crisis. Replacing soy with viable alternative feeds could help…

Plant-based and vegetarian meals are the fastest growing and most affordable ready meal options available at leading supermarkets, according to new research. The latest snapshot survey of almost 3,000 ready meals across ten UK supermarkets by the Eating Better coalition revealed plant-based ready meals is now the fastest growing category, up by 92% since the…

Supermarket chains have found themselves in the firing line for hiking shareholder returns during the coronavirus pandemic. A new report from Oxfam found that major supermarkets from the UK, Netherlands and US increased their dividend payouts to shareholders by an average of 123% – from $10bn to over $22bn – during the first eight months…

A national shortage of HGV delivery drivers could threaten food supply to pubs, restaurants and care homes without government intervention, a trade body has warned. The Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD) has suggested the government use army drivers to deliver to vulnerable communities after the driver shortage reached “crisis point” for some of its members.…

Adults and children are falling well short of eating the recommended amount of vegetables each day despite business efforts to promote greater consumption. A new report by the Food Foundation found diets low in vegetables and legumes are associated with almost 18,000 premature deaths a year in the UK. It found a third (29%) of…

Five of the UK’s largest food manufacturers are to join forces to increase recycling rates for flexible plastics. FMCG giants Mars UK, Mondelēz International, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever have formed a £1m fund to make flexible plastic recycling economically viable for recyclers and easier for consumers. The scheme, which is being led by producer compliance…

Campaigners have welcomed a new government plan for animal welfare that will end the export of live animals for fattening and slaughter and explore a ban on the sale of foie gras. This week, the government published an action plan for animal welfare that it said would revolutionise the treatment of animals in the UK…