Food waste crisis: Farmers preparing to kill thousands of fish as £30bn food waste mountain grows Fish farmers, potato growers and brewers are preparing to ditch thousands of tonnes of edible food and drink

It takes 18 months of care and attention to rear a full-sized trout ready for the supermarket shelf. But for trout farmers across the UK, the coronavirus crisis means those months of hard work could be for nothing.

Fish farmers, potato growers and brewers are preparing to ditch thousands of tonnes of edible food and drink in the coming weeks, as the food industry reels from the closure of pubs, restaurants and cafes.

Fish cull

The food waste mountain could total up to £30bn worth of produce, and trout farmers are on the front line of the crisis. The sector has been hit hard both by the closure of restaurants and by supermarkets closing wet fish counters, according to Oliver Robinson, CEO of the British Trout Association.

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Unless restrictions are eased – or supermarkets sell more stock – thousands of fish could be culled in the coming weeks, he warned. “We’re gridlocked. We are stuck with a huge amount of fish,” he told i. “In the end if we can’t sell it, fish have to go.”

Food waste

As in other developed countries, about a third of food in the UK goes to waste each year. That could rise to 40 per cent as a result of the lockdown, according to Andre Laperriere, executive director of the Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN). That represents a “direct loss” of £30bn, he told i.

The Government is scrambling to make sure the wasted food does not prompt a spike in emissions. Last week it emerged that Defra is working with industry to identify extra capacity in the anaerobic digestion (AD) plants across the country, in preparation for a surge in food waste in the coming weeks.

The plants will break down food waste to produce biomethane, a low-carbon alternative to natural gas. That is at least better than leaving food to rot in landfill, where it emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

The Government said that it is too early to estimate how much extra food waste could be created. However, anaerobic digesters could be called on to break down 10,000 tonnes of additional food waste every day, the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association told i.

“Fractured supply chains, loss of demand from certain sectors and downstream processing capacities may mean that AD is required to treat additional surplus,” it said.

Industries in crisis

The crisis has already hit the dairy industry, with farmers forced to dump thousands of litres of milk earlier this month after coffee chains closed. GODAN estimates the best part of one million litres of milk is being dumped every day as a result of the lockdown.

Robert Mallett, a dairy farmer in Wiltshire, had to discard 17,000 litres of milk earlier this month. He told i he has had to sell 10 cows from his 235-strong herd and cut production by 10 per cent to cope with the drop in demand for his milk caused by the lockdown. “It’s not our fault more than anyone else’s fault, but we the individual farmers have been clobbered by the closure of coffee shops,” he said.

Other sectors are also preparing to offload surplus food. The Campaign for Real Ale is warning brewers are preparing to pour away 50 million pints of beer if the pubs stay closed. And the shuttering of fast food chains and chip shops has left farmers with a 190,000-tonne backlog of potatoes, according to the UK’s Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board.

The Government insists it is working to prevent food waste during the crisis. “We are taking bold action to tackle food waste and have made available £3.5m to overcome barriers to the distribution of surplus food that would otherwise be wasted in the wake of coronavirus,” a spokesperson said.

But until the lockdown lifts, food producers supplying the UK’s restaurants, cafes and pubs fear they will struggle to save their food from the bin.

Oliver Robinson, CEO of the British Trout Association and trout farmer, Wiltshire

Oliver Robinson has thousands of fish sitting in ponds on his trout farm, ready to go to the supermarkets. But the Covid-19 crisis means few supermarkets are stocking trout at the moment, meaning his fish have nowhere to go.

With no money coming in, feeding the fish is draining his cash reserves. “The biggest issue is the cost of keeping these fish alive and feeding them for no growth,” he tells i. “That in itself is very, very expensive to do.”

Soon the only option might be to kill some fish, to free up pond space and ease his expenses. “If things haven’t unlocked by mid May, there will be a situation where farmers will have to decide what they will slaughter and dispose of,” he warns. “If it starts you’re talking about many thousands, getting into millions of fish [being culled]…I hope to God we don’t have to do that.”

But culling them could leave Mr Robinson in an even trickier financial spot. He will have to decide whether to kill market ready fish, ‘teenage’ stock, or the juveniles – but removing any group leaves a gaping whole in his product cycle. “You do that to a supermarket and they will drop you [as a supplier],” he said.

Robert Mallett, dairy farmer, Wiltshire

Robert Mallett runs a herd of 235 dairy cows on his farm in Wiltshire. Earlier this month, he was forced to dump 17,000 litres of milk after the closure of cafes left his contracted supplier Freshways with a surplus. Since then, he has sold 10 cows and cut milk production by 10 per cent to cope with the drop in demand.

Ordered to dump milk tonight. No collection due “to staff shortages, slower production” What a waste of all the effort that goes into producing quality food. #teamdairy pic.twitter.com/gOdWuFf2FD — Robert Mallett (@NorthleazeFarm) April 5, 2020

More worryingly for Mr Mallett, the price of milk has plummeted since the start of lockdown. He fears he will lose 10p a litre on every pint of milk he sells this month. “Dumping two days’ milk is horrible but I can survive it as a business if the price comes back,” he said. “A year at a price below the cost of production I can’t survive.”