Unused food not sold by supermarkets should be donated and/or recycled, not simply thrown away (2)

Food that has not even reached its expiration is being thrown away by supermarkets in order to dodge customer complaint. Marketplace"staff looked for food waste at all the major retailers, including Costco and Walmart. While staffers found bins full of food at some Walmart locations, other chains had compactors making it impossible to see what they throw out. (CBC News Marketplace"found cartons of milk days ahead of their best-before date, and Parmesan cheese with months left before it needed to be thrown away (CBC News). On one trip,"Marketplace"staff found 12 waist-high bins full of food. After Walmart was contacted, it locked up the bins behind the stores where the food was found (CBC News). As one could see, these items are being thrown away without even being expired, and may I reiterate, there are several foods that may be eaten far past its expiration date as mentioned by Food Network. Supermarkets are throwing these items away to avoid complaint that they do not "look" as fresh or are too close to their expiration date to make the price worthwhile, not that the foods are actually dangerous to consume. In addition, donating food is not covering up the larger problem which is poverty. Here is how food banks work according to Feeding America: Food banks act as food storage and distribution depots for smaller front line agencies; and usually do not themselves give out food directly to people struggling with hunger. The food banks distribute food and grocery items through food pantries and meal programs that serve families, children, seniors and individuals at risk of hunger. Therefore, it is under the discretion of those agencies to decide whether or not the consumer is in need of the donated food. There are no hand-outs. Lastly, according to The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),"produced but uneaten food vainly occupies almost 1.4 billion hectares of land; this represents close to 30 percent of the world"s agricultural land area. Not to mention, in a"2011 report, the United Nations" Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that, in 2007, about 1.6 billion tons of food were wasted. For comparison, about 6 billion tons of food were produced globally that year."In addition, the FAO estimated that in 2007, the global carbon footprint of all the wasted food was about 3.3 billion tons of carbon-dioxide equivalents ""that"s 7 percent of all global emissions and the numbers have only risen since then (Washington Post). Imagine the impact we could make if that food was actually consumed. Less land would be wasted and our global carbon footprint (which occupies 1/3rd of all global emissions), could be reduced. In conclusion, we must work harder to make sure that the food we produce ends up on the table, but not handed under it. We must support the FAO"s drive to better resource allocation and fight to pass news laws that ban supermarkets from throwing away unused food. In France, for instance, a"new law"bans supermarkets from throwing out unsold food, requiring them to donate it instead (according to The Washington Post). We must also strive to pass such laws to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and support the well-being of our citizens. If we do not act now, we will only contribute more to wasteful landfills, greenhouse emissions, and implications with food security. May we honor the 5 second rule and donate our unused goods for a happier, healthier population and planet. Sources: 1. Mancini, Melissa. "Here's How Much Food Walmart Throws Away over 12 Days | CBC News." CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 25 Oct. 2016, www.cbc.ca/news/business/marketplace-walmart-food-waste-1.3814719. 2. "Our Network." Feeding America, www.feedingamerica.org/our-work/food-bank-network.html. 3. "Food Waste Worsens Greenhouse Gas Emissions: FAO." Climate Central, 22 Sept. 2013, www.climatecentral.org/news/food-waste-worsens-greenhouse-gas-emissions-fao-16498.