Adieu to food waste: French govt forces supermarkets to donate to charity

[Richard S.]

The French government has taken steps to minimize food waste, banning large supermarkets from destroying unsold products. They will instead be forced to donate the goods to charities or farms.

The National Assembly unanimously voted in favor of the ban on Thursday as part of a larger environmental bill. It explicitly prohibits the practice of intentionally spoiling food so it cannot be eaten.


http://rt.com/news/261173-france-food-waste-supermarkets/

[Pam]

I have mixed feelings on this. Of course, it is ridiculous to throw away good food and I totally agree that it should be made available to those without. On the other hand, the idea of the government mandating that it be done makes me feel we are one step closer to the Orwellian concept of government.

[kirolak]

A step towards caring for others, I hope! I remember as a child approaching the sea, and being puzzled that it looked orange - when we got to the beach, we realized that it was orange because thousands of oranges had been thrown into the bay, to keep the prices high, I was told! Now that is sinful . . .

[A Voice from the Mountains]

I have mixed feelings on this. Of course, it is ridiculous to throw away good food and I totally agree that it should be made available to those without. On the other hand, the idea of the government mandating that it be done makes me feel we are one step closer to the Orwellian concept of government.

This law seems to target only companies and not individuals. Companies cannot be allowed to run free or else you get a very bad situation, monopolies and blatant corruption similar to the corporate situation you see in the US right now. Wal-Mart also shreds clothes it doesn't sell before dumping them into the trash, so that homeless people or anyone else can't dig them out and still wear them. Just as a matter of policy.

Individual liberties should definitely be protected. Companies and corporations, despite arguments to the contrary from wealthy businessmen, are not people, and do not act in the best interests of people so long as they can make a dollar from doing the contrary.

[Gaia]

In France most supermarkets are close on a sunday. It's very difficult to even buy milk... But it is pretty appalling that they need to legislate to make this happen. That's a good news!!! In my country Canada there is plenty of examples of supermarkets that refuse to give food to charity and it ends up in dumpsters out back.

[Tesla_WTC_Solution]

here's an American perspective:

I worked in a deli in a very large grocery store (commercial chain) in the Appalachian region between 2001 and 2003.

One day, the manager told me and another worker to check all dates on the perishables in the cases near and around our section, being cheese, cakes, bread, etc. sandwiches, you name it :( containers of salad, stuff of that nature.

Well, to my great dismay, about 1/3 of the merchandise in some of these categories was on the verge of being unsalable.

We were told to put it all in a cart (or two) and wheel it to the dumpster out back.

Given, American stores are often larger than European markets.
It really was a huge amount of food, though.
Not all of it was spoiled (not any!).

It felt wrong and horrible to throw it away, and when I quit later, for unrelated reasons, I was glad!!

:(

Yay France!!!

[Flash]

i am in a bind here about food being given when near to end date.

The reason is that of course, poors should be fed, mostly if it cost nothing. On the other hand, with the habit of American to go to legal processes for about everything, and the habit of some to find things to be sued for, even if it has to be basically created (because some literally live on the benefits of lawsuits after lawsuits after lawsuits), it won't be long before supermarket owners are sued for spoiled free food, moslty if there is a slight doubt that some stomach ailments for example may have started with the almost end of date food.

If I were a supermarket owner in the US, I would be very uneasy with giving the food, in case I end up losing my business through endless lawsuits from the hungry (so sad to think that way).

However, not all countries have this habit of suing (US has the most jailed people in the world per capita, and also the most lawyers). When it does not pay that much to sue, people just don't. So in Canada, most of these kind of lawsuits would be considered as frivolous and would not go very far in court, nor in France. In these countries, such laws makes therefore much more sense for the poors, and for the business owners.

[shadowstalker]

Nothing ever goes rotten when you have folks desperate enough to go dumpster diving (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bizzar+foods+dumpster+diving+).

When it is pre-packaged the dates are only there to make folks think they have to consume it quicker, it makes for more sales. As for the fresh stuff as it where. they will even throw away bananas when they turn brown, that is when certain enzymes are activated and so on (look it up).

Ppl wouldn't know a ripe fruit or veggie if it bit them in the butt these days thanks to programming.

If i owned a food market and wanted to give the poor food and worried about the so called law suits I would just design a waiver (take at ur own risk waiver) keeping from being sued, it's just a matter of common sense. (but then again not much of that left these days is there) You know like E.R.'s do when you go in, they make you sign a waiver not to sue if something goes wrong.

[onawah]

How much kinder the French government is to their poor than in the US, where in many places it is a crime to feed the homeless!

[Carmody]

In France most supermarkets are close on a sunday. It's very difficult to even buy milk... But it is pretty appalling that they need to legislate to make this happen. That's a good news!!! In my country Canada there is plenty of examples of supermarkets that refuse to give food to charity and it ends up in dumpsters out back.

It can be legislated that old past date food is given to charities, or to the given designated places. Basically ---- enforced.

In the same breath, it needs be legislated that individuals or entities cannot sue the people or companies that are giving the past date foods -- to the given charities or whatnot.

One of the reasons the food is destroyed, is that it is a tax break loophole in some cases and secondly...a doorway for being sued for poisoning. The potential for being sued is probably the greater threat for the given corporation. Thirdly, comes the idea of people seeing their level of sales success, for good or bad. It is a good way look into their capacity to sell product, or the quality of sales of the given product in the given marketplace. In vs out over given time windows gives a perfect sales record to anyone who cares to investigate. Corporations like to keep those aspects as murky to outside viewers as is possible.

We used to see bags of day old donuts, over and over gain, at all donut shops.

The donuts are still there, they are now just thrown away.

The supermarkets are far worse in that regard, in the aspect of sheer volume and mass of tossed foodstuffs.

[Ikarusion]

i dont know the details, but finally! the amount of eatable food that gets thrown away by supermarkets is tremendous.
if the goverment needs to step in to change that, then so be it.

[yuhui]

Looks like French has good lawyers there.
A short documentary asks "Why can't we feed the world?" rethinking poverty, related to the issue of waste here:


https://vimeo.com/52468431

[Richard S.]

Britain's Largest Grocer Is Giving Unsold Food To Those Who Need Ithttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/05/tesco-grocery-store-food-waste_n_7521838.html

A trend?

[Carmody]

It also means that a true marker of a 'great depression' has emerged, in the so called affluent first world. A real and actual signpost.

[Earthlink]

"If government is the answer, it was a stupid question."