Instagram generation is fuelling UK food waste mountain, study finds

Research highlights generational divide in attitudes towards food as millennials focus on its appearance while buying too much

A generation gap in attitudes towards cooking and eating is helping to fuel the UK's food waste mountain, research reveals, driven by time-poor millennials who do not understand the value of the food on their plate.

In contrast to savvy older consumers familiar with post-war rationing, the study suggests, those aged 18 to 34 are preoccupied by the visual presentation of food to photograph and share on social media while failing to plan meals, buying too much and then throwing it away.