3 Reasons supermarkets waste so much food & what we can do about it
Sure, they restock to replace what they sell to their customers.
But it also turns out that they restock to replace the perfectly good food they throw away every day.
According to Tossed Out: Food Waste in America, a series being produced by Harvest Public Media, grocery stores throw away ten percent of the food they stock. Why?
1) It’s got a bump or a bruise. Consumers have gotten used to buying fruits and vegetables that look cosmetically perfect. The produce can still taste yummy, but if it’s got a blemish or has gone a little ripe, many shoppers will leave it on the shelf. Take a look around the next time you head to your market. You’ll probably see stock employees sorting through the bananas, apples, onions and potatoes and tossing what looks like perfectly fine food into a box they clearly intend to throw away. That food IS fine. It’s just not perfect.
2) It’s already prepared. Grocery stores are increasingly catering to harried people who show up on their way home from work to buy ready-to-go meals. Some of that food is pre-packaged into single servings or servings for two. Much of it is set out in salad bars and buffets so people can choose what they want and pay by the pound. Either way, at the end of the day, prepared food by law can’t be resold the next day, so out it goes.
3) It’s expired. Or not. Packaged food, which includes chicken, hamburger, sea food, lunch meats, dairy products, condiments, juices, sauces, even grains and pasta, often comes with a “use by” or “sell by” date printed on its label. The label doesn’t actually mean the food is going to spoil by the date on the package, but that’s what most consumers believe. Consequently, they don’t buy food that’s near its expiration date, and stores can’t return it. Out it goes.
Wasting so much food seems like a particular tragedy because it could be used to feed the one out of seven American households that don’t have enough to eat. Throwing away so much food also wastes a lot of money – $160 billion a year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Tossing good food is a real waste of natural resources, too. Billions of gallons of oil and water and untold tons of paper and plastic are consumed every year to grow food, package it, and transport it to the nation’s grocery stores. Throwing food away is like throwing away the resources used to produce it.
What Can You Do?
If you notice your supermarket throwing food away, talk to the store manager about these options to get the maximum value out of the food in the store.
Gleaning – In communities that permit it, non-profit organizations pick up non-prepared food and take it to food banks, where it gets redistributed in care packages or sent to local food kitchens. The store can probably earn a small tax write-off for making the food donation to the group.
Compost – Composting companies can pick up food that’s about to be thrown out and take it to a facility to be turned into organic matter that will rebuild the soil. The store could either sell bags of the compost material, or direct consumers to that purchase option on its website.
Compute - Computer software exists to help stores plan how much food to prepare for its salad and hot bars. Stores should be encouraged to prepare less ready-to-go food rather than more. Allowing employees to take home the leftovers is a good idea, too.
source: care2.com
