Tackling food waste is not rocket science

Anna Vainikainen

Anna sits at the centre of the story of how Finland is tackling the problem of food waste, and why that story seems to be heading for a happy ending. But how does the story begin? The characteristics of Finnish society play a crucial role here. Finland is cold, vast in size, and has a relatively small population of about 5.5 million. Survival imperatives mean that in general, Finnish society has had to develop a solutions-based, practical attitude to life, with a strong tradition of working together, even when the various actors don’t always agree.

—

Anna is chief policy adviser on sustainability and environment for the federation of Finnish food and drink industries