Combating food waste in France: focus on the AGEC law and regional initiatives REGAL

Food waste represents a major challenge in France, with more than 9.4 million tonnes of food waste generated in 2022. In response to this problem, France has adopted ambitious legislative measures, notably the AGEC law, and encouraged local initiatives such as the RÉGALs to mobilise all the players in the food chain.

The AGEC law: a legislative framework to reduce food waste

Law No. 2020-105 of 10 February 2020 on the fight against waste and the circular economy, known as the AGEC law, has set ambitious national objectives: reducing food waste by 50% by 2025 in the food distribution and mass catering sectors, and by 2030 in the consumption, production, processing and commercial catering sectors. This law also specifies the definition of food waste and prohibits the destruction of food that is still edible, thus promoting its redistribution through donations to associations.

REGAL: regional networks for collective mobilisation

To achieve these objectives, local stakeholders have set up RÉGAL, which stands for Réseaux d’évitement du gaspillage alimentaire (Networks for the prevention of food waste). These networks aim to mobilise all stakeholders in the food chain at a local level: producers, processors, distributors, local authorities and consumers. Their mission is to disseminate information, create collective knowledge, bring about innovative projects and share good professional practices. The RÉGALs function as true working communities of collective intelligence to respond to the challenges of food waste. ​

Concrete examples of regional mobilisation

Several regions have already set up RÉGALs to effectively fight against food waste. For example, in Hauts-de-France, the community of municipalities of Pévèle Carembault and the metropolis of Amiens created their own RÉGALs in 2022. These local initiatives bring together regional actors around common projects, adapted to the specificities of each territory, and thus contribute to the achievement of national objectives to reduce food waste.

In short, the combination of a strong legislative framework with the AGEC law and territorial initiatives such as the RÉGAL illustrates France’s commitment to the fight against food waste. These concerted actions, both national and local, are essential to meet this environmental, economic and social challenge.

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Image credit: s-tushiya – unsplash

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