Guardian - France has become the first country in the world to ban supermarkets from throwing away or destroying unsold food, forcing them instead to donate it to charities and food banks.
Under a law passed unanimously by the French senate, shops will no longer bin good quality food approaching its best-before date. Charities will be able to give out millions more free meals each year to people struggling to afford to eat.
The law follows a grassroots campaign in France by shoppers, anti-poverty campaigners and those opposed to food waste. The campaign, which led to a petition, was started by the councillor Arash Derambarsh. In December a bill on the issue passed through the national assembly, having been introduced by the former food industry minister Guillaume Garot. French councillor calls on Europe to adopt 'food waste' supermarket law Read more
1 comment:
Good for them! I have long been a believer in doing that. I once had a conversation with a grocery store employee who talked with me about this very issue....how any produce with the slightest blemish would be relegated to the dumpster in the chain linked area (to keep people from dumpster diving for food). 'Sell by' labels do not mean the item is bad, but out it goes. My husband loves a particular bakery bread at our local store. The bin was empty, but there was a stack of loaves behind the counter. The employee apologized for not being able to let me go ahead and get one. They were being thrown out because the store policy required they be sold within 3 days. At home, I may have a loaf of bread in the breadbox for 5-6 days. Google how much food is thrown out in the US (and obviously it isn't just us if France is the first country to ban the practice). I just did and read that 30-40% of our food supply is wasted. How often have you heard it be said that we just don't have enough food to feed the number of people in the world? Isn't that one of the reasons the GMO producers claim that we must have them? Google Singing Frogs Farm (it's in Sebasopol, CA)....an awesome example of sustainable farming. But I digress... Good for France! Let's hope their ban is contagious.
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