Tesco, Nestle and Coca-Cola were among at least 70 leading companies to sign up to a government-backed plan to cut the amount of food that is wasted annually in Britain — estimated to be about 10 million tonnes to the value of £20bn.

Food waste is increasing viewed as unethical in a world of rising hunger, as well as environmentally destructive, dumped in landfills where it rots, releasing greenhouse gases, while fuel, water, and energy needed to grow, store and carry it is wasted.

“Today’s announcement is truly a game changer for food waste prevention,” said Carina Millstone, the executive director of anti-food waste charity Feedback.

“Crucially, these companies are committing to halving food waste from farm to fork by 2030, including waste in supply chains and not just the lower hanging fruit of waste in operations,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

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