Apparently in France it is. Is there any other country that has this type of law implemented? Mandatory donations or something of the sort?
No, but for some reason taking food stores throw away is.
That would be great, here they use trash compactors to destroy the food to prevent hungry people from going through the trash and filling their bellies.
EDIT: Whole Foods in particular does this, and I think I’ve seen Walmart doing it as well. Also, I worked at a grocery store where I was instructed to destroy the food when I threw it into the dumpsters to prevent people from being able to eat it, though they were too cheap to actually buy and operate a trash compactor.
I hadn’t heard of that. I do know the US passed a law allowing restaurants to donate unused food at the end of the day without fear of lawsuits.
Also there’s a new app where restaurants can sell food at the end of the day at a discount rather than throwing it away called “too good to go”.
I’m lucky to live in a southern city where we have citywide composting as well. I wish more places would do that. It’s a waste to simply landfill food scraps when you could funnel it all to the farming industry as fertilizer.
Years ago, I worked sales at an Apple Store (like 2005) and we were instructed to destroy marketing materials when they were retired. I would mark them up with a large black marker. I didn’t consider that problematic, but I don’t like the idea of food being destroyed.
Well for me it’s simple, I’ve worked places where we had to destroy food and I just didn’t. I’m lucky enough that it’s always been pretty easy to find another food service job, and I’ve told any managers that I think food waste is the only true sin, and I’m willing to lose my job over it. I know not everyone can afford to walk away from a job, but all of my managers(in two countries) have thus far found a way to look the other way. Your middle manager almost certainly doesn’t want food to be wasted either, so if you tell them it’s a moral issue, that gives them plausible deniability for not destroying it.
There is a movement to make it illegal, but the goal isn’t to feed the needy. It’s to help keep it out of landfills, incinerators, and waterways.
For example: https://www.bergmanndirect.co.uk/articles/new-food-waste-regulations-in-england
In New York City, it is illegal for restaurants and food stores to throw away perfectly edible food. They are required to donate it, and the city even comes and picks it up.
