Everything in excess is an enemy to nature. Hippocraces

This is Rubbish exist because the UK food industry is responsible for generating approx 60 per cent of the 18 – 20 million tones of food wasted in the UK every year.¹ Globally, as much as 50 per cent of food produced is wasted. As it stands, I have encountered food waste in large quantities at every stage of the supply chain in Wales and the UK. Both public and private sector policy makers are responding to evidence of the vast quantities of food being wasted, but change is slow.

The problem is, that avoidable waste comes at a cost to society and the environment. In the UK food poverty is on the rise, and globally, 1/7 people do not have enough to eat. ² Meanwhile, the food industry consumes large amounts of natural resources while contributing to climate change. Cutting food waste will reduce hunger and greenhouse gas emissions while lessening demand on natural resources such as water and land.

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This is Rubbish held a talking shop at Small Is Festival over  the 1st & 2nd September. A low key and relaxed info field hosted our pop up stall. With the sun, along came interesting conversations exploring political changes needed to prevent food surplus in the supply chain and at home, as well as thinking and talking about new food waste feast communication events. There is an  emerging interest in organising monthly theatrical food waste feasts in Bristol. These would act as a platform to engage audiences in the ceremony of food waste feasting, as well as engaging people with the case for political action. Central to such events would be the inclusion of political action that uses participatory arts as a main tool. If anyone is interested in forming a Bristol based food waste feasting arts activist group, get in touch! info@thisisrubbish.org.uk.

This is Rubbish landed a shelf in the shop of Crafted Chaos at Cloud Cuckoo land. The shop was a labryinth of hand made, hand drawn recycled and upcycled good exhibting for the first time. Within the wider festival This is Rubbish also made an appearence in the cloud of unknowing, with This is Rubbish newspapers, Feast brochures and a shout out about This is Rubbish in the discussion following the Best Before film screening. Now onto Small Is festival!

We have our Feast evaluation film and publication up on line! Hurrah. View it here. In the meantime, here’s the film for your delection.

Here is the FEAST evaluation report and video. Made over the dark winter months, involving direct consultation with our audiences and partners, we hope that these resources help tell the story of what we were up to over 2011. Download the TiR FEAST Evaluation report pdf here.

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This is Rubbish gathered their tablecloths, wicker baskets, framed photos of FEAST and a few other trinkets integral to the food waste campaign, and became part of the wonderful Oxfam GROW campaign tent at 2012’s Festival of Nature. Held on the Waterfront, adjacent to the tidal ebbs of the port water, the festival was a pituresque meeting place for all people interested in celebrating and stewarding the natural world. This is Rubbish was celebrating the 2011 Feast tour, talking to the public about our two key aims, and shairng information on their newest project; Industry Food Waste Audit project, funded by Esmee Fairbairn. Rubbisheers were also signing people up to the mailing list, to ensure that all interested could stay up to date with our news and projects. If you would like to sign up to our mailing list, click here. This is Rubbish are still open to giving talks / holding stalls. However we are currently unfunded, so travel expenses will need to be covered.

On the 16th May the Fabian Society launched a report, Waste Not Want Not

Rachel from This is Rubbish attended the launch at the House of Lords, which brought together politicians, industry representatives, activists and campaigners to discuss the findings of the report and to try and find positive actions for movement forward.

The two more interesting findings of the repots were that individuals are just as likely to respond to environmental reasons for changing habits as economic ones, and that industry should be transparent and open about public leading the way in food waste reduction.

Discussion in the room was varied and fast moving, with little time to get into the nitty gritty on anything in particular. There was as always a disproportionate focus on consumer waste, and although there was some gentle support for TiR’s proposal of mandatory food waste auditing in industry very little focus was given to market regulation of any kind.

An interesting event worth attending, and the report is a good quick read, so have a gander.

Forum and Feast at the Centre for Alternative Technology was a roaring success! See our event page here and feast your eyes on these new photos form the day.

You can also read CAT’s write up on the CAT blog.

More resources such as video clips from the day will follow in the coming weeks.