Roughly a third of the food d worldwide is never eaten.
In richer countries most of that loss happens near the end of the chain.
Supermarkets reject for shape and size before it reaches a shelf.
Farmers absorb that loss, since the order was made and the was grown.
Date cause a second wave of waste.
Many products carry a quality date rather than a safety date, and shoppers rarely know the difference.
Removing the date from fresh vegetables cut household waste measurably in British trials.
near the end of the day also works, but it shifts the loss to .
Some chains now redirect to charities and claim a tax benefit.
Critics note that this makes the useful without reducing it.
The deeper cause is a promise: a full shelf at nine in the evening.
A shop that never runs out will always throw something away.
Changing that expectation is harder than changing any label.