Over the years I have become increasingly disillusioned with the commercialisation of Christmas, which is supposed to be a religious festival, but has become an obscene spending spree to the extent that the progress of high street sales at this time of year are now a regular news item.

 

The press have coined phrases like Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Manic Monday to describe the different notable peak times for consumer purchasing in the run-up to Christmas. Indeed today is now referred to as Mayhem Monday (December 22nd), because this is the day that supermarket aisles are expected to be at peak congestion.

Despite all the excessive spending by many in our society on unnecessary items or unwanted presents, there are many less-fortunate for whom Christmas will be bleak.

Perhaps one of the most significant challenges faced by those on limited incomes , is the difficulty of keeping themselves warm, particularly in the depths of winter. Old housing stock, in exposed rural locations, with fuel choices limited and significant delivery costs for others all combine to make staying warm a major expense even before considering the needs of the elderly and infirm.

Government assistance, in the form of Winter Fuel Allowances, has failed to address rising fuel costs, perpetuating the hardship of those who fear the next bill arriving and choose to leave their heating switched off.

The rural charity, the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institute (RSABI) launched their "Help for Heating Fund" at the beginning of this month (December). It has an initial £30,000 available on a first-come, first-served basis to provide single grants, each of £300, throughout Scotland - the aim being to alleviate the effect of fuel poverty amongst people who have depended on land-based occupations.

Those who are no longer able to work and are worried about keeping their home warm this winter should call RSABI on 0131 472 4166 for more information and an application form.

Of course a Winter Fuel Allowance is paid to everyone born on or before 5 July 1952, regardless of need or circumstance. Perhaps those receiving a Winter Fuel Payment, who don't really need it to keep themselves warm, should consider donating it to RSABI so that they can pass it on to someone for whom it really would make a difference to their living conditions. Now that really would be in the spirit of Christmas!

Apart from the issue of fuel poverty, there is the increase in the number of food banks handing out free food to the needy at a time when farmers are experiencing falling prices due to over-production.

Some studies estimate that up to 50% of food in Europe is lost along the food chain and becomes waste. European evidence indicates that about 90m tonnes of food waste are generated in the EU every year, or 180kg per person, at the same time as 16m people are receiving food aid in the EU, and 925m people are estimated to be malnourished around the world.

There is a systemic failing along the entire global supply chain - from food losses during harvesting in developing countries, to inadequate storage facilities which causes food to go off, to poor distribution networks, and to the disgraceful marketing standards of supermarkets which reject food for not being the right size or shape.

Then there are the profligate consumers who buy too much and throw food out because it has reached its "best by" date, and who also lack both information on proper methods of food storage and preparation, and who are just lazy.

Food waste is by no means a soft peripheral issue about people dumping excessive leftovers from festive meals, but is an ongoing outrage for a dozen different reasons. It is a key issue that strikes at the heart of the critical debate about European and world food security, and how we deal with the challenges of an ever-increasing world population with rising demand for food "luxuries" coupled with the threat of climate change and diminishing natural resources.

In a world where we will have to increasingly conserve scarce resources, waste on this scale is simply not acceptable and we shall have to re-learn the old maxim - "Waste Not, Want Not".

Sadly, it is only when the affluent West experiences food shortages on the scale that Europe endured during the war years that addressing food waste on a meaningful scale will become a priority.