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Pantim t1_j2xnlsl wrote

Simple, stop wasting food.

The amount of food waste through the whole system is insane.

We keep focusing on how to increase yields and that is just not the answer. We need to focus on shipping logistics. We also need to admit that growing and disturbing food is not really profitable and never should be. That it should be at most a 1-2% above cost profit industry across the board from growing to selling it.

Or better yet, take the profit out of the whole thing and just make it a sustenance industry.

All this would mean that we'd have to make it illegal for grocery stores and restaurants to throw out perfectly good food.

Which btw, I'm pretty sure that those same industries are responsible for the laws we have about food having to be thrown out instead of donated.

I've heard endless amounts of stories of people dumpster diving and finding tons of good food in them that still has days and days before the expiration date. Then of course, most grocery stores now take measures to make sure that you can't dumpster dive via locking away the dumpsters or using compactors. They claim it is for people's safety.

I call BS. It's all profit motivated. They could easily partner with food banks to give away food before it goes bad.

... And some do. Most don't though.

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ExquisitExamplE t1_j2znj00 wrote

>We also need to admit that growing and disturbing food is not really profitable and never should be.

Alright, but we can still commodify housing, utilities, and education, right? I'm trying to profit at the expense of my fellow man here, I've got a huge tribute I need to pay to Mammon this month or I'll be flayed!

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bryan_jenkins t1_j2yxryk wrote

It's really not simple though. If it was simple we'd probably have solved it because improving efficiencies typically makes people more money. Waste is inversely proportional to profit.

60% of waste is commercial. Farms waste food because they are collectively guessing at the markets and productivity in a given season. Distributors and grocery waste food because of the above AND because they need to have more than enough of all products so as to not lose disappointed customers. "More than enough" is inherently waste. Most grocers actually operate produce as a loss leader. 40% of food waste is in the home because people buy more than they need because they don't want to buy less and food is cheap.

Simple solution: nationalize all farmland and ration food to all households. /s

Also, grocers enclose access to dumpsters to reduce their liability. Good Samaritan laws ostensibly protect them but do not prevent spurious lawsuits that require massive legal fees to fight.

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Primordial_Snake t1_j311l2x wrote

In the context of the store I worked in, throwing food away (and making it inedible) was supposedly profitable. We needed the shelf space filled in case we had a day in which people would buy more than expected. But of course it doesn't stay fresh, so in the bin it went.

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roidedgoose t1_j318aas wrote

The interesting notion is a project me and friend did about this. We began looking for these lawsuits grocery stores go in about. To no one’s surprise we actually couldn’t find a single lawsuit that went anywhere. The only one we found was over a deli in a grocery store selling and serving expired hot food.

I am of a very strong opinion that these groceries and business don’t want to fix the problem. They give excuses and reasons why they can’t but if compelled would do it. Sad this goes undone

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Primordial_Snake t1_j311af8 wrote

I'd just like to pitch in that I was required to poison perfectly good food so that it couldn't be dumpster dove

It smelled horrible, I really hope nobody still et it

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