The French national assembly recently voted in a new law that makes it illegal for grocery stores {larger than 400 square meters} to throw away edible food waste. Grocery stores will now have to sign a contract with a local charity for all of their excess unsaleable, but still consumable food. The initiative is in response to “7.1 metric tonnes” of food waste in France alone each year. The country is aiming to cut food waste in half by 2025. It will also be illegal to pour bleach and other cleaners into the dumpsters along with thrown out food, as was the common practice until now {in an effort to deter dumpster diving}.
In the interest of the pros and the cons, some opponents of the new legislation worry that charities are not equipped to sift through the MASSIVE amounts of donations they will now receive, not to mention, they do not have the proper refrigeration to store the food. In addition, many of the grocery stores already have arrangements with local charities to take what they can manage.
I am sure there will be bugs to work out, but still, at least the concept that food waste is a huge problem is coming to the forefront. Leave it to Europe to take the first step toward grabbing the bull by the horns…
I found two pretty decent articles explaining France’s legislation {here and here}, if you are interested in more information. Meanwhile, how would YOU feel about legislation here in the States for managing food waste? Do you think it’s necessary, or should we be taking steps privately to manage it?
It is catching on, people!
~Mavis
Julie says
I know that Whole Foods do that with all the prepared food, the amount is not huge but if they have prepared food that they can’t sell anymore they will give it to local charity. I think that’s pretty cool and I’m sure they will find a solution to store all that. Some other firm will give them fridges or they will buy some at a discounted price, I’m not worried about that.
Aileen says
A fantastic idea that highlights food waste at the retail level. Here in Ireland, 2 college graduates have set up Foodcloud.ie – a community-based social enterprise that brings food businesses and charities together with an easy-to –use and reliable app, matching those with too much food with those who have too little. It is a win-win situation as the charities get food & the companies save money on waste disposal & get positive PR!
Mavis says
That sounds like such an amazing idea! I’m headed over to check it out now.
Gina says
This country has so far to go that it sometimes boggles my mind! I often think about how many fresh vegetables Walmart must throw out – rather than discount it a little bit and get it sold. Some of my favorite treats come from those paper bags of overripe bananas sold at locally owned grocery stores for cheap. But, Walmart doesn’t discount any of their produce or meat. We all know what probably happens to it. Such a sickening waste!
Raising awareness is sometimes all we can do, I guess.
Good post! Thanks for the info!
Abl says
Most if not all Wal*Marts work with their local food banks and the like to donate food and merchandise that they cannot sell.
Jen Y says
I’ve volunteered at our local food bank for many years & so many of our local businesses donate food. They rarely throw anything away that could be donated to the food bank or the local soup kitchen.
After being on the front lines for many years I think my perspective is beginning to change though. I would rather see businesses do a better job with planning ahead, not buying more than they can sell for example & trying to have little left over that needs to be disposed of. I think we have second & third generations of families who have come to depend on charity & freely having an overabundance of free foods does not motivate anyone to change. Many of us need to pushed to change & things have to be uncomfortable sometimes or bad things that happen to us are often the trigger that gives us the courage & motivation to change.
i realize that there are exceptions, those who are physically or mentally not capable of caring for themselves. But I think we are harming people more by giving so freely rather than helping them find ways to improve their circumstances in their own power. It is SO much easier to just give than it is to walk along someone & help them change.
I think adding more legislation can add more expense to the cost of food for those who don’t want to depend on charity. Which will push more people in the wrong direction – turning to charity for help with food rather than being able to buy/grow it themselves.
Renay says
Exactly!
Benjamin Franklin said “I am for doing good to the poor, but…I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. I observed…that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.
Linda says
Dear Mavis,
I know how much you love dealing with your HOA and I feel that such legislation puts the same snoopervisiors going thru the grocery store’s garbage. In American, people are generous and are always helping the poor and needy. With all the Food Stamp programs, welfare, free phones, etc. etc., why do we have hungry people? Leave contributions to charity instead of bringing the govt. into it. We’re suppose to be a free people.
Katie C says
Amen!
Judy Anderson says
There are 91 million people in the U.S. with food insecurity, the majority are children. SO MUCH food goes to waste. There are some food recovery programs in a few cities but not in most. I think we should absolutely outlaw food waste in this country. Look how much water it takes to grow vegetables and fruit and to feed cattle, poultry and pork. It is an absolute disgrace how much food that is perfectly good goes to waste.
Lisa Millar says
That number does my head in! That’s about 4 times the population of Australia!
I couldn’t find that number on google with food insecurity, but the numbers and percentages I did find were still awful.
Renay says
Amen again!
Tamara says
And AMEN!
CathyB says
I hate to see anything legislated when I know that we have creative ways of working the problem out without legislation involved. Because it seems like whenever you get laws involved you end up adding an additional cost of bureaucracy that generally ends up being counterproductive. However I would love to perhaps see some sort of protective legislation that protects stores from frivolous lawsuits related to giving away their excess and makes them more likely to play along with people trying to address the issue without opening themselves up for more liability.
Martha Doane says
What saddens me is how much food is wasted before it even reaches the store! We Americans have an obsessive desire for perfect food, so any with blemishes is discarded. Tons of food is wasted because of this, and we never see it. I would love for less than perfect food to be discounted and sold to those of us who know value. Then, let the silly people who “need” to have perfect pay for it!
Starbeamer says
Any company worth its salt has an alternative place for those imperfect produce. Imperfect carrots get made into baby carrots. Imperfect potatoes get turned into french fries. Imperfect tomatoes get turned into catsup and soup. Imperfect apples go into cider. Produce that can’t be sold to one of these goes into livestock feed. Not every imperfect item of produce is wasted.
This is, however, a mindset that a lot of Americans have simply because they are so separated from the food they eat. If they had a garden, they would love that carrot with two ‘legs’ and the tomato that isn’t perfectly round just as much as the perfect ones.
Martha Doane says
I was part of Gleaners for many years and saw what was plowed under There is enormous waste of edible food.
http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/05/29/washington-farmers-dump-100m-worth-of-apples/28139655/
Liz says
Help, what is the recipe you have pictured here?? It looks like an apricot tart.. Thank you.
Liz
Mavis Butterfield says
It’s an apricot tart from a museum cafe in Paris. I WISH I had the recipe. 🙂
Melissapedia says
I think your 7.1 metric tonnes might be a t typo. The source article indicates 7.1 million tons.
So glad to hear they are doing this. I work at a food bank. We get 45% of our 22 million lbs of food a year from grocery store rescue.
MaryLena says
I live in the South and our local food stores donate their “picked over” produce and day old bread to the local soup kitchen. Volunteers there, sort and clean it so clients can “shop” it when they come for lunch. Many of our clients are people who are on disability. Sorting through the food before putting it out has lowered the “indignity” factor considerably. I know that because of conversations with people who used to live on the street and dumpster dive before the soup kitchen was organized. Local restaurants donate cooked food from the day before and that is incorporated into the daily lunch and dinner meals. Often, people who work in town will come over once a month for lunch and donate to the kitchen the amount they would have spent in a restaurant. They sit with the regular clients and chat as neighbors do in the here. Many of our former clients (aka “street people”) return to volunteer after their lives get sorted out. The local fish and game officers bring in confiscated fish and meat for the kitchen to prepare and serve.