France just took a stand against hunger and waste. French legislators passed a bill that will change the lives of hundreds of people, and set an example for the rest of the world. The bill aims to ban food waste in large supermarkets by forbidding the destruction of unsold food. The legislation was approved as part of the Loi Macron, a law that covers economic activity and equality in France.
According to the Guardian, the average French person discards up to 30kg of food a year.
Some food retailers deliberately spoil food with bleach while the homeless, poor and unemployed struggle to satisfy their hunger. Many homeless people venture into supermarket bins at night to feed themselves of products that have been discarded prior to their best-before dates. In order to prevent potential food poisoning by eating food from the trash, some supermarkets deliberately spoil products with bleach. According to the Guardian, “Of the 7.1m tons of food wasted in France each year, 67% is binned by consumers, 15% by restaurants and 11% by shops”. The food that is thrown away from supermarket shelves is generally fine for consumption, even if it isn’t up to the industry standard.
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Offenders can go to jail
Supermarkets with a surface larger than 4,305 sq ft will now have to donate the food to charities or for animal feed. Retailers will no longer be allowed to bleach the dustbins in which the food was thrown away, and if they do, they will face the consequences. By July 2016, any supermarket caught throwing away edible food will face fines up to 75 000 euros, or a two-year imprisonment.
Supermarkets criticized the plan
Unfortunately, most supermarkets are not as keen on this idea as the French government is. The Fédération du Commerce et de la Distribution, the organization representing the supermarket chains, claims that supermarkets “represent only 5% of food waste”.
A good cause
Considering the high number of homeless in Paris alone, it is easy to see this policy change lives. For those starving on the streets, this could be the difference between life and death. The French may face some backlash over this, but their overall goal is noble. They simply want to feed the hungry.
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