adminLast week the US Department of Agriculture and the EPA announced they plan to cut food waste in half by 2030. How, I don’t know, but it’s still excellent news considering how much food is piled up in our landfills rotting away each year (creating toxic emissions and contributing to global warming –which is off topic and something for another day, oops).
In May of this year, France passed a law, which will make it illegal for food retailers to throw away or destroy unsold food (yeah… apparently this is a thing). Around the world grocery stores and food retailers chuck out food that is perfectly good but doesn’t meet certain industry standards, or is not good looking enough to be stocked on shelves. So anyways, France is deciding to do something about this, and it looks like the US will be doing something about it too. The EPA and the Department of Agriculture are working together to make their goal a reality.
Now you may think that grocery stores are the ones at fault considering France’s new law. But most grocery stores and restaurants only account for 10% of all food waste. You and me are the ones who account for 40% of the food that ends up in the landfill. Most of us don’t realize how much food we waste in a day. A week. A year. According to one article, the average American wastes up to $1500 in groceries a year. That adds up!
An insightful resource with more information about food waste and the effects on the environment is the award winning documentary, Just Eat It. It chronicles the journey of two food lovers as they live off of rescued food for 6 months.
Rescued food? –> Food that they saved from the garbage. Your jaw will drop at the amount of edible food that gets thrown away because of one reason or another (none of which pertain to the quality of the food. All the food they rescue is safe to eat). You can find out more about it here: http://www.foodwastemovie.com/. 10/10 would watch again. Highly recommend.
For the rest of the week we’re going to be taking a look at food waste, with advice on reducing your own. Check back tomorrow for some good tips!
http://bit.ly/1Kl5Vqf <– relevant articles!
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