To combat the food waste in France, the supermarkets are banned from throwing away food that is not sold, and it is mandatory for restaurants to provide doggy bags when asked for it These measures have helped France to secure the top spot in a ranking of countries by their food sustainability.

A WAR ON THE FOOD WASTE

France is followed by Japan, Germany, Spain and Sweden in the index published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) that has graded), which graded 34 nations based on food waste, environment-friendly agriculture and quality nutrition.

Vytenis Andriukaitis, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, says that it is “unethical and immoral” to waste resources when hundreds of millions go hungry across the world.

Though High-income countries performed better in the index, United States was on the 21^st spot due to poor management of soil and fertilizer in agriculture, and excess consumption of meat, sugar and saturated fats, the study said.

The United Arab Emirates, despite having the highest income per head of the 34 countries, was ranked last, reflecting high food waste of almost 1,000 kilos per person per year, rising obesity and an agriculture sector dependent on depleting water resources, it said.