Every day, millions of people around the world struggle to put food on the table, while perfectly good food is wasted for the sake of online entertainment. Families facing food insecurity watch as viral videos encourage people to dump litres of milk, bathe on thousands of eggs, or throw away entire meals just to gain likes and followers. Social media has the power to shape behaviours, and when platforms allow food waste to go viral, they send the message that wasting food is acceptable. Meanwhile, food banks are overwhelmed, and nearly 10% of the world’s population faces hunger. This isn’t just careless—it’s cruel.

What is at stake?

If this reckless trend continues, we risk turning food into a mere prop rather than the essential resource it is. At a time when climate change threatens global food supplies and households struggle with rising grocery prices, allowing social media platforms to monetise and promote food waste is irresponsible. If we demand change, platforms can set new guidelines to demonetise extreme food waste, promote food-saving content, and stop rewarding wastefulness with visibility and profit. If they refuse, the message is clear: wasting food for views is more important to them than feeding people in need.

Why is now the time to act?

We are at a tipping point where social media’s influence on real-world behaviour has never been stronger. Food waste is already a massive issue—nearly one-third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted, while millions go hungry.

Platforms have already shown they can regulate content that promotes harm, so why do they still reward those who waste food for entertainment? If we act now, we can push for policy changes that discourage these trends before they become even more widespread. When enough people speak out, social norms shift, and reckless behaviour loses its appeal. Every moment we delay, more food is lost, more harmful habits are encouraged, and more people go hungry.

Sign the petition today and demand that TikTok, YouTube, and META take responsibility for the content they amplify. They must stop rewarding wastefulness with visibility and profit and start promoting responsible food use instead.

It's time we hold platforms and creators accountable and foster a culture of responsibility rather than harm.