Feature: Italians look favourably at new law against food waste

By the look of it, rarely had a new law been so overwhelmingly welcomed by Italians, who are known to become easily quarrelsome on politics.

A new legislative approach to deter waste of food in the country has been introduced by the Italian parliament this week. Senators passed the bill with a large majority of 181 votes in favour and two against in the last reading held on Aug. 2.

The provision comprised a series of measures aimed at cutting the waste of food averagely registered in the country each year by at least one million tonnes.

Most important, it is based on the principle of rewarding good behaviours among citizens and businesses instead of punishing bad ones.

Consumers who were shopping in supermarkets and vegetables shops on Friday sounded quite favourably impressed.

"It seems a good step, and a due one, considering the huge amount of food we trash away here and in other developed countries," Daniele Fonde, a 47-year-old teacher, told Xinhua.

"I just doubt the measure will not be much effective in changing private behaviour on food, which I believe plays a large role," said Fonde.

Indeed, some 5.1 million tonnes of food for an estimated value of 12.6 billion euros (13.9 billion U.S. dollars) are wasted each year in Italy, according to a 2012 study by Politecnico University in Milan on which Italian lawmakers based their draft bill.

Overall, some 94 kg are wasted per capita on average, some 53 percent of which originates from the food chain and 47 percent from the families, the study said.

The domestic waste of food would amount to 0.5 percent of Italy's national gross domestic product (GDP), according to the Ministry of Environment.

Global figures are also alarming. Some 1.3 billion tonnes are lost or thrown away worldwide each year, according to the "Global Food Losses and Food Waste" study published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2011.

"This is one of the most beautiful and tangible legacies of the Milan Expo 2015," Italian Agriculture Minister Maurizio Martina commented on the law after its definitive approval.

The provision was also hailed by food charities.

"With the new law, we now aim at doubling the tonnes of food we gather and distribute (to other charities assisting poor)," Marco Lucchini, director-general of Italian Food Bank Network foundation, told local media.

"We expect to reach one million tonnes in few years, from some 500,000 tonnes we collect on average now," he said.

The package removed some bureaucratic hurdles concerning the laws that supermarkets, shops, and farmers had to follow in order to donate food to charity.

It also eased health and safety rules for donating food that have just passed their sale-by date, and for maintaining sanitary and traceability standards.

Companies like supermarkets will be allowed to record their food donations to charities with one simple form each month. There will be no sanction for those giving away food past its sell-by date.

Furthermore, businesses will be granted a tax cut: the more food they donate, the less they will pay in terms of waste taxes.

Farmers will face no extra cost for donating their unsold products to charity organisations.

Finally, the new law encouraged the practice of so-called "doggy bag", which allows dines to take home food they have not finished in restaurants.

The practice has never been common among families dining out in Italy. Yet, a pilot project called "The Family bag" promoting this habit was launched by Italy's Ministry of Environment in Feb. 2016 in the northeast province of Padua, and would be extended nationwide.

Italy has taken a "non-punitive" approach to the issue, with no penalties for those who do not want to donate, unlikely similar provisions in other countries in Europe, Italian analysts highlighted.

Indeed, a bill against food waste was recently passed in France, providing fines for supermarkets failing to sign contracts with charities in order to donate unsold food.

"I think our approach is a good one, especially considering Italy's legislative system is already very bureaucratic and punitive, if you miss to obey some rules," 33-year-old Adriana Volgi from Rome told Xinhua.

"For once, we will be awarded for making something useful, and not punished for doing nothing. This is likely to be appreciate by Italians, who do not like being forced, generally speaking."

Most of all, the woman believed the measure granting a progressive tax break for businesses donating the unsold food would be the most effective one in changing, day after day, behaviours and awareness in the country. Endit