<P> Reducing the amount of food waste has been deemed critical if the UK is to meet international targets on climate change, limiting greenhouse gas emissions, and meet obligations under the European Landfill Directive to reduce biodegradable waste going to landfill . Equally great emphasis has been placed on the reduction of food waste, across all developed countries, as a means of ending the global food crisis that leaves millions worldwide starving and impoverished . In the context of the 2007--2008 world food price crisis, food waste was discussed at the 34th G8 summit in Hokkaidō, Japan . UK prime minister Gordon Brown said of the issue "We must do more to deal with unnecessary demand, such as by all of us doing more to cut our food waste". </P> <P> In June 2009, then Environment Secretary Hilary Benn announced the government's "War on waste", a programme aimed at reducing Britain's food waste . The proposed plans under the scheme included: scrapping best before and limiting sell by labels on food, creating new food packaging sizes, constructing more "on - the - go" recycling points and unveiling five flagship anaerobic digestion plants . Two years after its launch, the "Love Food, Hate Waste" campaign was claiming it had already prevented 137,000 tonnes of waste and, through the help it had given to over two million households, had made savings of £ 300 million . </P> <P> Food waste was identified as a problem in the UK as early as World War I. Combating food waste was one of the initial goals of the Women's Institutes (WI), set up in 1915, and remains a subject of their campaigns . Rationing was adopted during World War I, although it was voluntary, from February 1917; it was only between December 1917 and February 1918 that rationing began, in stages, to be made compulsory . As well, there is no evidence to suggest that by 1918 fines were imposed on either individuals or businesses for wasting food . Meanwhile, in the USA (where shortages were hardly comparable), legislators considered laws restricting the distribution of food in order to cut waste, breaches of which might be punishable by fines or imprisonment . </P> <P> During World War II, rationing was imposed almost immediately . Restrictions were immediately more stringent than in the Great War as with effect from 8 January 1940 ration books were issued and most foods were subject to ration . By August 1940, legislation was passed that made the wasting of food a prisonable offence . Posters encouraged kitchen waste to be used for feeding animals, primarily swine but also poultry . </P>

How long has food waste been an issue