There should be a new Law against Throwing Food in the Trash Bin .. (Very Shocking Pictures)

Humans are such babies. Yeah if a food is old, rotten, has things growing on it then by all means throw that stuff away. But if you are throwing stuff out because it is a day past it's sell buy date or whatever then that is just waste. People always buy more then they are going to eat anyway. I only buy what I know I am going to eat pretty soon (within the next few days). I don't do huge monthly shops because that is always a bad idea

This is something I could really get behind. I worked in the restaurant business for a while and I've seen first hand how much waste there can be. It's sad that all this food gets discarded when it could go to feed people in need.

I work at a country club and we reuse food, but also throw a good bit away.

We reuse hot food to feed ALL the employees on a daily basis 3 times a day. Cooks, dishwashers, wait staff, managers, caddys, golf instructors, cart people, pool people, pool cooks, ladies that work in the office, grounds crew, house crew.... You get it

So that is reused within the workplace, however...

We throw away bins and bins of bread. We use some for bread crumbs or croutons but when you have fresh bread made everyday, yes everyday, you can only save so much. A waitress had the idea of taking it to a local homeless shelter, but once the gm found out he threatened to fire her

Why? He never gave a straight answer. She would take a garbage bag full to the shelter every night she worked cause we are just going to throw it away. I was sick when he threatened her job over donating day old bread we are throwing out.

Years ago, when I was a dishwasher, I would take the bread and throw it all over the place at the end of the day so birds, raccoons, cats, and whatever else was around would eat it.

It's a shame to waste

Originally posted by Numbers33four
You are asking Obama and Harper to sign laws? Well that is your problem right there: asking NWO shill puppets for help.

The time for asking is over. Its time we start demanding. And putting the greater good above our own petty lives.

Originally posted by AlreadyGone
Having worked in the grocery and retail business for over 25 years, let me tell you that the last thing that grocers and restuarants want to do is throw food away.

Food thrown away is money and profit thrown away. The reason they have to is laws...LAWS. Over regulation. Dictates from the County health Office. The FDA, Dept Agriculture...both state and federal...safety concerns and the big one...LIABILITY.

Did you know that dates on food packaging is voluntary...it is NOT mandated by law. It is done to assure maximum quality by the grocer and or resturant.

However, when a health inspector comes in and checks dates...dating is part of the inspection process... if not current or rotated...points are deducted...as they should be.

A good operation knows how much to have on hand and how much to produce because over production is shrinkage. And a department head will not be there long if there are consistant losses and shrinkage in profit. He/She looks at trends on order forms, sales, knows the cycles and upcoming events so that proper orders and production can be in place when needed or cut back as demand goes.

For instance, a good market manager knows that come the 4th of July.... he needs lots of steaks, hamburger, and hotdogs in his meat cases. Plus tie in items for impulse sales like charcoal, lighter fluid, spatula and grill sets...ketchup, mustard, mayo, cans of baked beans, tinfoil etc.

However, after the 4th... spreads on steak go down, any large cuts are reduced or then ground into hamburger and sold at a price to get it out the door with as little loss as possible. The area formerly held by steaks and premium cuts are filled with hotdogs which have a longer shelf life and have a lower minimal cost. We call it "bluffing up" an area... or filler. Likewise, in produce where premium spreads of party platters and veggie platters where...you'll find spreads on carrots and apples... last longer with minimal cost.

Any good operation hates waste...it is literally money and labor being thrown out the door.

So...as a consumer, how do we contribute to the problem?

When we walk into a bakery, do we scoff at the day old breads and discount area? Do we demand variety to excess when we only will buy that variety on occassion. The grocer doesn't know when you will show up... so everyday they have to provide the excess variety... and if someone doesn't buy the premium artesian breads..oh, well...throw them out. They do try to cut their losses...turn Italian and French breads into garlic breads or croutons... but that only saves so much. If they cut back on production with only a couple of loaves each...We, as consumers, cry they don't have enough variety or they look like they are going out of business.

Again, any good retailer does not want waste and it breaks their heart to throw their money away.

A poor operation will throw product away only for so long and then they will be out of business.

There you made a very good point, while people are waiting and expecting the government or some corporation to make a change why haven't we looked at ourself? If we bought and ate what we NEED and not what we WANT than you would not have businesses throwing away so much product.

Its all supply and demand and we DEMAND a lot.

reply to post by Ben81


I am not enraged, but fact is the centralization of our food supply is to blame, and it is highly wasteful.

I get vegetables from my garden they last for a month or two usually without any refrigeration. I buy the same things from the grocery store and have noticed 1/8th to 1/4 the longevity. Our food distribution model reflects that which the government wants, more centralization and thus more control for further regulation. The disease in our food system is the control freak government getting in the way.

I think I can take my chances without the government's help, much of the contamination found in food becomes a problem only if things are not cooked properly. So why would I be responsible and made to pay for idiots that can't figure out how to look at something and see that it is cooked? It's that important for the government to stamp something and really what does that stamp ultimately mean (not much, considering the garbage they try to pass off as food in grocery stores nowadays). How is it a loaf of bread from the grocery store is mouldy in days but when I bake my own loaf it can stay good for weeks? It's almost like our food is made to look good but go bad so we buy more of it Looks like we are stuck in crony capitalism, and transitioning to crony environmentalism with a government that is taking a huge power grab along the way.

My mother for some time offered to pick up food from a buffet restaurant to deliver to soup kitchens. They don't want to pay for someone to do it, so no one will do it. If anyone feels inclined they should go around to these buffet places an restaurants and work out a deal with said places and soup kitchens to be the delivery man. Won't make you rich though.

Anyone else remember few stores used to have the "end of the day sale" esp bakery and sandwich shops?

I barely seem them, actually i haven't seen one in at least 7-8 yrs.

Here in Delaware they arrest and publicly humiliate dumster divers. Just yesterday they went after this poor woman - God knows if she was hungry or just doing the best she knew how in an area that is not exactly rolling in jobs for older females:

www.wgmd.com...

Instead of helping her, the locals used her plight as an opportunity to completely humiliate her and saddle her with a police record. Typical "Christian" behavior for this area.

reply to post by butcherguy


Well bread can be given to sheep and goats. For example. Grains to the petting zoo birds.

For all we know that bread could be made from GMO flour and such and probably belongs in the trash...

To give people a little bit of hope: I have a friend that knows the manager at a local Panera Bread restaurant. The manager knows exactly when he must throw away food that is too old to be sold (due to health code regulations / laws), but instead of just waiting for that moment he takes the food a day early, before it has to be discarded, and throws the bread, bagels, etc. in a giant trash bag. He then donates the bag (full of bread) to churches and other organizations that can redistribute the food to the poor, needy, and otherwise hungry in the local community.

In this way, he isn't breaking any laws, and he isn't wasting food unnecessarily. We need more restaurant managers like this guy. He really has a great thing going. I hope this brightens your outlook on the situation. There are people out there who care, and are doing something about stuff like this on a daily basis.

Cheers,
Cody

I only read through 5 pages. First off, Getreadyalready has a fantastic point. Instead of a law that hurts business owners (it cost money to repackage and deliver food through packaging cost and employee time), YOU take up the effort to start a charity that works with major chains to help collect the food and deliver it safely with no liability to the original shop owners.

I think most of my points have already been mentioned but a few examples as a fast food manager for 7 years and a grocery manager for 2....

On several occasions I've had customers sit outside until we turn the lights off and then come to the window to ask for the free food we were going to throw out. If I do this on a regular basis, why would anyone pay for food. S*** flows downhill. If the store isn't making any money, I have to let good employees go or cut hours. If the store still doesn't make money, we close.

Every night, up until close, we had to have at least 12 pieces of both flavors of chicken, half a pan of biscuits, and 2 large of all side orders, for those last minute customers. If you come to a business near close, and I have you wait 20 minutes for food, you are less likely to be a late night customer again.

After fresh food cools, it enters into a temperature known as the "Danger Zone". This temp zone is very large and goes from just above freezing to about 95. This "Danger Zone" is the perfect temperature for bacteria to form.

If you received an incorrect order and it crossed the counter before you brought it back, I can no longer be sure that you have not cross-contaminated it somehow and it must be thrown away. I can not even put store soda or food into a container that was not purchased by us and behind our counter. I can not verify that the container is safe to eat from. If it isn't, we can be sued. We once had a customer file a complaint because the person who picked up her food allowed her order to come into contact with someone else's who had shrimp even though we packaged it seperately (she informed us she was allergic while on the phone). The restraunt is responsible for the food even after it leaves the business.

Some hurricane seasons we get a lot of evacuees staying in local churches. IF I am aware of the situation, I am happy to donate BUT... all that food has to be repackaged, and packaging cost money, employees time to package costs money and has someone else doing their work which adds time to everyone's day costing more money AND I am putting my company at risk of a lawsuit but my boss at the time (an owner) would agree it's the right thing to do.

I have, more than once, found employees loading up trash bags with entire cases of uncooked chicken or bags or side orders and setting them inside the fenced in dumpster area for someone to later pick up. On another occasion, pulling into work early one very cold morning I found and employee's uncle and cousin loading up the bags out of the dumpster that has twice weekly pickup. When asked why they said they were trying to help and take our trash to the dump for us.... I made them leave the trash but did not go through it.

So again. Do you really want to help or do you want to pass a law? If you wanted to help you would do something about it with your own money and time and not someone else's.


ETA: There is not a homeless shelter or food bank nearby otherwise, I think, my employers would have been happy to attempt to work something out with them that was equally beneficial. Making money is not greedy. Supporting your family and paying bills is not greedy. Expecting someone other than you to pay for yet another person to eat IS greedy.

It doesnt need another law, it needs a change in current laws so companies do this to avoid law suits. In reality they should be able to donate to food banks and give away.

Originally posted by Unity_99
It doesnt need another law, it needs a change in current laws so companies do this to avoid law suits. In reality they should be able to donate to food banks and give away.

Yes it doesnt need to be a law
it need to be common sens rules for everyone working at a food stores
but since many are to lazy and greedy focusing only on food that bring real money
in this kind of system we live .. people are scared to be fined and lose profits
thats why a law might be the only choice we have left to avoid mass wasting

In reply to:
ETA: There is not a homeless shelter or food bank nearby otherwise, I think, my employers would have been happy to attempt to work something out with them that was equally beneficial. Making money is not greedy. Supporting your family and paying bills is not greedy. Expecting someone other than you to pay for yet another person to eat IS greedy.
edit on 21-6-2012 by Larrelye because: (no reason given)

It must be sooo cool to know EXACTLY what is what and to be able to tell everyone EXACTLY just what that is! Good for you!

Why shouldn't people be scared to lose profits? A business can not operate without profits. Employees can not be paid without profits. Without an employer making profit potential employees can not buy electricity. And while giving away a little food may cost them 30-50 a day per store that own, plus packaging, employee and transport cost, it's the million dollar lawsuits that shut a business down. Don't get me wrong, I am not for big business. Many companies pay entirely too much while complaining that minimum wage (about 1000 a month full time) is too much for the "little people" who do a majority of the work. But generally speaking, business is a good thing. Making money is a good thing.

Originally posted by anywho

In reply to:
ETA: There is not a homeless shelter or food bank nearby otherwise, I think, my employers would have been happy to attempt to work something out with them that was equally beneficial. Making money is not greedy. Supporting your family and paying bills is not greedy. Expecting someone other than you to pay for yet another person to eat IS greedy.
edit on 21-6-2012 by Larrelye because: (no reason given)

It must be sooo cool to know EXACTLY what is what and to be able to tell everyone EXACTLY just what that is! Good for you!

Greed would be a subjective term and a matter of opinion. We would all have our different thoughts on what exactly is greedy, you are absolutely correct there. But, I do feel that asking someone else to do things that you want done for someone else without any effort on your part is greed.

I worked in a Wal-Mart produce department a long time ago, and we would throw all the "mark down" fruits and veggies away. We usually had 30-40 bins of throw-aways every day. I brought it up to my manager, "Why can't we sell this stuff for half price, or quarter-price? We would make money!" He said it was Wal-Mart policy to throw it away, for health reasons. Based on my observations, it is an easier process to mark down and toss a bin of "bad" tomatoes than it is to try and sell them for less. In the case of fresh produce, they can go bad very, very fast. If there is only a tiny bit of mold on one little tomato somewhere at the bottom of a pile, within a few hours, the entire lot is moldy. Not sure how it is with bread and meat, but I bet it's similar. Yes, homeless and starving people will eat out of a trash can, even eat molded food. That's because they are starving. It still isn't healthy for them to do so. The starving masses in Africa would be delighted to eat from our trashcans. But how do you fly and drop already rotting food to Africa or India before it is completely inedible? Unfortunately, the logistics involved with such an endeavor render that idea impossible. And do you really want to be known as someone who gives rotten food to the hungry?

America: "Has stores of fresh food. Gives rotten food to the less fortunate."

Sorry, but no. There are better solutions. Like staying away from Florida and their "zombies" and their laws against feeding the homeless. If you're so set on helping the homeless, go out and volunteer to give free food to them.

WOAH!!
Those pictures are just WAY TOO shocking for me. I appreciate the warning though