Use of English

Cutting Food Waste

Reducing food waste sounds like an obvious goal, yet putting it into practice is far from straightforward. Households, shops and restaurants all contribute to the problem, though not always for the same reasons. Consumers often buy more than they need, partly because special offers can be hard to (0) RESIST. At the same time, confusion over date labels leads many people to throw food away that is still perfectly safe to eat. Businesses, meanwhile, may reject fruit and vegetables simply because they do not (1) .......... to cosmetic standards. Even when organisations are committed to change, progress can be slow. Staff need training, storage systems must be improved, and habits that have developed over years are difficult to (2) .......... . In addition, some managers worry that reducing waste will (3) .......... at the expense of customer satisfaction if shelves look less full at the end of the day. There is also the wider issue of coordination. Farmers, suppliers and retailers need to work in (4) .......... if food is to reach consumers efficiently. Without that, perfectly good produce may go to waste before it even reaches the market. Although public awareness campaigns have helped, lasting change depends (5) .......... clear policies, better planning and a willingness to rethink long-established routines. In the end, cutting food waste is not a single action but an ongoing effort that calls (6) .......... persistence, cooperation and practical judgement. Only by tackling the problem from several angles can real progress be (7) .........., and even then, success is likely to be gradual rather than immediate. That may be frustrating, but it should not (8) .......... us from trying.