Sommerman wrote:
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bodhipooh wrote:
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JadedJC wrote:
Very ironic proposal in a country where asking a restaurant for a doggie bag is frowned upon.

More or less along the same vein, I once came across a supremely ironic line that really captures the dichotomy of this here in the US:

In the US we are fighting a war on both hunger and obesity.

PS - And, to make the topic more "local", consider this: the South Bronx is widely considered to have some of the most severe hunger-related problems, as well as one of the highest rates of obesity in the US.

I wonder if we are wrong in using the word hunger, and should be using a phrase like 'lack of heathful foods' or 'alternatives to cheap carbs' (which aren't cheap, because I think a pound of chips is a lot more expensive than a pound of fruit).

bodhipooh wrote:
Quote:

JadedJC wrote:
Very ironic proposal in a country where asking a restaurant for a doggie bag is frowned upon.

More or less along the same vein, I once came across a supremely ironic line that really captures the dichotomy of this here in the US:

In the US we are fighting a war on both hunger and obesity.

PS - And, to make the topic more "local", consider this: the South Bronx is widely considered to have some of the most severe hunger-related problems, as well as one of the highest rates of obesity in the US.

bodhipooh wrote:
Quote:

JadedJC wrote:
Very ironic proposal in a country where asking a restaurant for a doggie bag is frowned upon.

More or less along the same vein, I once came across a supremely ironic line that really captures the dichotomy of this here in the US:

In the US we are fighting a war on both hunger and obesity.

PS - And, to make the topic more "local", consider this: the South Bronx is widely considered to have some of the most severe hunger-related problems, as well as one of the highest rates of obesity in the US.

JadedJC wrote:
Very ironic proposal in a country where asking a restaurant for a doggie bag is frowned upon.

hero69 wrote:
Quote:

bodhipooh wrote:
I think this is a misguided gesture by the French Assembly. While it is true that there is a lot of wasted food in the world, you can't just address that issue by forcing supermarkets to donate food that is already spoiled. Certainly, some food past its stated/printed expiration date is still safe to eat/consume, but that also gets tricky. As for putting the onus of food safety on the consumer, I think that is a slippery slope. Once you make it possible/legal for a consumer to buy expired item, what is next? "Hey, this fish is slightly spoiled, but hey, season it well, and it will taste ok" or "you can buy food from this section where it is prepared with clean utensils, and stored in clean containers, or you can buy from this other section, where utensils and containers are washed weekly, and the employees don't have to bother with gloves, hair nets, etc., and we pass on the savings to you!". Food safety is here for good reasons, some of them historical ones that people fail to grasp.

As for supermarkets in the US, you are always free to go dumpster diving. Or, the modern, urban version, which is essentially free outdoors shopping. What do I mean? Go to any Trader Joe's and figure out the date/time when they put out their trash of "expired" meats, chicken, groceries, etc. I have seen people line up at the TJs on Atlantic Avenue, right after closing (on trash collection nights) when they put out their bins with expired food. It is like shopping outdoors. People go through the contents of the bins and walk away with perfectly good food that happens to be "expired". Sometimes I see it as something sad, and sometimes I see it as savvy people that are saving a ton of money.

lots of food is still quite good after the sell-by date. in fact, i have had stuff (processed foods) in my fridge for like 5 years after the sell-by date. instead of tossing bread, why not mark it down 50-75% off - some shoprites in other states do this but you have toget to the store late-ish

jerseymom wrote:
There are several organizations in place that accept food to reduce the food waste issue. However, food safety is at the top of their priorities to maintain the health of their end users.

Donation guidelines are very strict:

City Harvest

Wasted Food

NYC Food Donor Resource Guide (Interesting!)

Food Bank for NYC

bodhipooh wrote:
I think this is a misguided gesture by the French Assembly. While it is true that there is a lot of wasted food in the world, you can't just address that issue by forcing supermarkets to donate food that is already spoiled. Certainly, some food past its stated/printed expiration date is still safe to eat/consume, but that also gets tricky. As for putting the onus of food safety on the consumer, I think that is a slippery slope. Once you make it possible/legal for a consumer to buy expired item, what is next? "Hey, this fish is slightly spoiled, but hey, season it well, and it will taste ok" or "you can buy food from this section where it is prepared with clean utensils, and stored in clean containers, or you can buy from this other section, where utensils and containers are washed weekly, and the employees don't have to bother with gloves, hair nets, etc., and we pass on the savings to you!". Food safety is here for good reasons, some of them historical ones that people fail to grasp.

As for supermarkets in the US, you are always free to go dumpster diving. Or, the modern, urban version, which is essentially free outdoors shopping. What do I mean? Go to any Trader Joe's and figure out the date/time when they put out their trash of "expired" meats, chicken, groceries, etc. I have seen people line up at the TJs on Atlantic Avenue, right after closing (on trash collection nights) when they put out their bins with expired food. It is like shopping outdoors. People go through the contents of the bins and walk away with perfectly good food that happens to be "expired". Sometimes I see it as something sad, and sometimes I see it as savvy people that are saving a ton of money.