On Wednesday 23 October 2019, EU Debate Student Club was held in Room 403 of Academia Hall for Social Sciences at Rokkodai campus of Kobe University.
　After checking facts regarding the scale of the problem with food waste and looking at major measures taken at the international and European level, 5 participants discussed this topic mainly from the consumer level. Participants agreed that despite some initiatives, there still seems to be an insufficient level of awareness. Many consumers care about the size and appearance of fruits and vegetables; therefore, the fruits of wrong size and shape end up being thrown away. It was suggested that people living in rural areas tend to recycle more than people living in big cities. It was also noted that cultural influences may play a role, as not finishing your meal may be regarded positively in some cultures. Some possible solutions were proposed, for example teaching young people how to recycle food better or holding regular farmers' markets like in the UK, where farm products not matching the supermarkets' standardized version of shape and size could be sold at affordable prices.