Following the French government’s decision to prohibit supermarket food waste in 2016, the rest of the world has begun to take notice. Fed up with food waste on an outrageous scale, it has been suggested unsold food be donated to homeless charities and food banks.
Among reports that like Morrisons, Tesco have committed to donating unsold food to the needy, we’ve been wondering about the practicalities of such a decision. What will be the process to acquire unsold food? Are there are criteria or pre-qualification? Or will the homeless simply visit their nearest Tesco?
It isn’t only homeless people who go foraging in supermarket bins nowadays. Growning numbers of people from all walks of life are partaking in ‘dumpster diving’, highlighted in the 2009 film Dive! by Jeremy Seifert.
With many supermarkets taking drastic measures to prevent this practice – padlocking bins, spoiling perfectly edible food with bleach – we are left questioning the morality of the consumerist giants; in 2013, it emerged that Abercrombie & Fitch immediately dispose of any blemished clothing. An unnamed store manager said, A&F doesn’t want to create the image that just anybody, poor people, can wear their clothing.
It isn’t simply food that’s past its sell-by date which ends up in the bin. Often perfectly edible but visually imperfect food is discarded – a bruised apple, a dented tin of beans.
Discarded meat is a subject of particular controversy, the animal having often been bred purely for the sake of food. During the 2013 horse meat scandal, Tesco disposed of the perfectly edible meat because British culture deemed the consumption of horse meat as disgusting. The chain neglected to ask the needy themselves if they would care to try the meat.
By regulating food waste, citizens of lower means will be able to acquire food with dignity. Unspoiled food will go directly to food banks, where it must be stocked hygienically and distributed with human interaction and a sense of community, as opposed to handed out on the street.
There is the question of whether simply donating to the homeless is enough. In the face of benefit sanctions, wage levels remaining stagnant and high amount of people in debt, many people with a roof over their head are also struggling to make ends meet.
Although the decision to donate all surplus food to the needy is admirable, it does raise the question of whether the government is simply transferring responsibility to supermarkets, instead of dealing with the poverty issue.
