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Man who forced French supermarkets to donate food wants to take law global

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I completely agree with what this man is trying to do.

Man who forced French supermarkets to donate food wants to take law global | World news | The Guardian

A councillor whose campaign against food waste led to a law forcing French supermarkets to donate unwanted food to charity has set his sights on getting similar legislation passed globally. Arash Derambarsh said it was “scandalous and absurd” that food is wasted and in some cases deliberately spoiled while the homeless, poor and unemployed go hungry. Derambarsh – a municipal councillor for the “Divers Droit” (diverse right) in Courbevoie, north-west of Paris – persuaded French MPs to adopt the regulation after a petition gained more than 200,000 signatures and celebrity support in just four months. The amendment was approved as part of a wider law – the Loi Macron – that covers economic activity and equality in France and is expected to be passed by the national assembly on Tuesday, entering the statute books shortly afterwards. It will bar supermarkets from throwing away food approaching best-before dates and deliberately poisoning products with bleach to stop them being retrieved by people foraging through bins.

Now Derambarsh wants to convince European countries and the wider world to adopt similar bans. “Food is the basis of life, it is an elementary factor in our existence,” he told the Guardian. “I have been insulted and attacked and accused of being naive and idealistic, but I became a local councillor because I wanted to help people. Perhaps it is naive to be concerned about other human beings, but I know what it is like to be hungry. “When I was a law student living on about €400 a month after I’d paid my rent, I used to have one proper meal a day around 5pm. I’d eat pasta, or potatoes, but it’s hard to study or work if you are hungry and always thinking about where the next meal will come from.” Derambarsh started his campaign by collecting and distributing unwanted food from his local supermarket. “Every day we’d help around 100 people. Half would be single mothers with several children, pensioners or public workers on low salaries, the other half would be those living on the streets or in shelters,” he said.
 
I do not support this law. One, it should be a business's choice what to do with product that doesn't sell. For another, what if people get sick from eating expired food?
 
Such is always noble. I hope his plan works.
 
I do not support this law. One, it should be a business's choice what to do with product that doesn't sell. For another, what if people get sick from eating expired food?

You Probably go to bed well fed every night, easy to say. Food doesn't spoil on its ex date, and depending on the product, can still be viable sometime after. There's nothing wrong with the program, it has merit.
 
I completely agree with what this man is trying to do.

Man who forced French supermarkets to donate food wants to take law global | World news | The Guardian

A councillor whose campaign against food waste led to a law forcing French supermarkets to donate unwanted food to charity has set his sights on getting similar legislation passed globally. Arash Derambarsh said it was “scandalous and absurd” that food is wasted and in some cases deliberately spoiled while the homeless, poor and unemployed go hungry. Derambarsh – a municipal councillor for the “Divers Droit” (diverse right) in Courbevoie, north-west of Paris – persuaded French MPs to adopt the regulation after a petition gained more than 200,000 signatures and celebrity support in just four months. The amendment was approved as part of a wider law – the Loi Macron – that covers economic activity and equality in France and is expected to be passed by the national assembly on Tuesday, entering the statute books shortly afterwards. It will bar supermarkets from throwing away food approaching best-before dates and deliberately poisoning products with bleach to stop them being retrieved by people foraging through bins.

Now Derambarsh wants to convince European countries and the wider world to adopt similar bans. “Food is the basis of life, it is an elementary factor in our existence,” he told the Guardian. “I have been insulted and attacked and accused of being naive and idealistic, but I became a local councillor because I wanted to help people. Perhaps it is naive to be concerned about other human beings, but I know what it is like to be hungry. “When I was a law student living on about €400 a month after I’d paid my rent, I used to have one proper meal a day around 5pm. I’d eat pasta, or potatoes, but it’s hard to study or work if you are hungry and always thinking about where the next meal will come from.” Derambarsh started his campaign by collecting and distributing unwanted food from his local supermarket. “Every day we’d help around 100 people. Half would be single mothers with several children, pensioners or public workers on low salaries, the other half would be those living on the streets or in shelters,” he said.

The idea is good. But who pays for it? Someone has to collect and box the food, and weed out the good from the bad. I don't think a business should have to pay for it. Maybe a business should do that if a non-profit org. agrees to foot the bill. And certainly not the taxpayers. We already pay taxes to feed the poor and homeless. Food stamps, shelters. We already do food drives at holidays. More should be done, and wasting food is unconscionable. But the devil is in the details.

Next, should homeowners be ticketed if someone finds edible food in their trash cans? People who throw away half a cake or whatever?
 
For another, what if people get sick from eating expired food?

Supermarkets chuck food as it approaches the sell by date. In any case, most food is OK a day or two after the given date. You use your judgement, as we did back in the days when sell by dates didn't exist (which I'm old enough to remember). If the top's about to blow off a yoghurt, you don't give it away, in date or not.

Food is so fundamental to our existence (and are we not ashamed that in "rich" countries people are reduced to using food banks?) that it is scandalous that supermarkets are chucking edible items in this way. Loath as I am to applaud anybody from the right, this is a great initiative which I fully support.
 
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Next, should homeowners be ticketed if someone finds edible food in their trash cans? People who throw away half a cake or whatever?

More fundamental is to ask WHY people are throwing food away.

Our parents looked in the pantry and said "Right, what needs using up?" Today people don't even think about stock rotation, they simply look in the fridge and say "Right, what do I fancy today?"
In the 60s and 70s my parents never had to chuck food away - it would have horrified them, and we didn't even have a fridge until I was about 6 (circa 1969). We had a pantry that they knew how to keep cool, and they knew how to plan, shop and cook (quality products from local shops, not celophane wrapped supermarket cr@p). Education, education, education. And support your small stores before they disappear. I realise for many in the US, that's already too late.
 
I do not support this law. One, it should be a business's choice what to do with product that doesn't sell. For another, what if people get sick from eating expired food?

Yeah because starving to death makes more sense.
 
The idea is good. But who pays for it? Someone has to collect and box the food, and weed out the good from the bad. I don't think a business should have to pay for it. Maybe a business should do that if a non-profit org. agrees to foot the bill. And certainly not the taxpayers. We already pay taxes to feed the poor and homeless. Food stamps, shelters. We already do food drives at holidays. More should be done, and wasting food is unconscionable. But the devil is in the details.

Next, should homeowners be ticketed if someone finds edible food in their trash cans? People who throw away half a cake or whatever?

I'm more worried about my tax money being used to fund pointless wars.
 
Well, if we can pass laws requiring recycling I don't see how this is any different.
 
Two remarks:

1) This man didn't force the supermarkets to do this. fortunately there is still something like a democratically elected Parliament in France and they passed the law.

2) However well-intentioned this law may be, I oppose these sort of intrusive laws on principle. We have way too many laws already.
 
I do not support this law. One, it should be a business's choice what to do with product that doesn't sell. For another, what if people get sick from eating expired food?

I haven't read the law, but I would suspect that being forced to donate food would sort of clear you of any sort of accidental liability if the food is spoiled. Having said that I worked for a grocery store and the amount of food thrown away is amazing. The 50 gallon rubber maid waste cans. We used to fill 2-3 of those with bread, bagels, donuts ect on some nights, but I can tell you this, supermarkets take that stuff off the shelf far before it's gone bad as they don't want to risk liability either and they are very proactive about removing food long before it spoils.
 
I completely agree with what this man is trying to do.

Man who forced French supermarkets to donate food wants to take law global | World news | The Guardian

A councillor whose campaign against food waste led to a law forcing French supermarkets to donate unwanted food to charity has set his sights on getting similar legislation passed globally. Arash Derambarsh said it was “scandalous and absurd” that food is wasted and in some cases deliberately spoiled while the homeless, poor and unemployed go hungry. Derambarsh – a municipal councillor for the “Divers Droit” (diverse right) in Courbevoie, north-west of Paris – persuaded French MPs to adopt the regulation after a petition gained more than 200,000 signatures and celebrity support in just four months. The amendment was approved as part of a wider law – the Loi Macron – that covers economic activity and equality in France and is expected to be passed by the national assembly on Tuesday, entering the statute books shortly afterwards. It will bar supermarkets from throwing away food approaching best-before dates and deliberately poisoning products with bleach to stop them being retrieved by people foraging through bins.

Now Derambarsh wants to convince European countries and the wider world to adopt similar bans. “Food is the basis of life, it is an elementary factor in our existence,” he told the Guardian. “I have been insulted and attacked and accused of being naive and idealistic, but I became a local councillor because I wanted to help people. Perhaps it is naive to be concerned about other human beings, but I know what it is like to be hungry. “When I was a law student living on about €400 a month after I’d paid my rent, I used to have one proper meal a day around 5pm. I’d eat pasta, or potatoes, but it’s hard to study or work if you are hungry and always thinking about where the next meal will come from.” Derambarsh started his campaign by collecting and distributing unwanted food from his local supermarket. “Every day we’d help around 100 people. Half would be single mothers with several children, pensioners or public workers on low salaries, the other half would be those living on the streets or in shelters,” he said.

Sad that the only way this man see a way to get something done is through government force. In my area, there is a private charity that organizes the collection of "expired" food from stores and other organizations and distributes to those in need: How We Work | Philabundance. There is no government mandate and yet good work gets done.
 
I completely agree with what this man is trying to do.

Man who forced French supermarkets to donate food wants to take law global | World news | The Guardian

A councillor whose campaign against food waste led to a law forcing French supermarkets to donate unwanted food to charity has set his sights on getting similar legislation passed globally. Arash Derambarsh said it was “scandalous and absurd” that food is wasted and in some cases deliberately spoiled while the homeless, poor and unemployed go hungry. Derambarsh – a municipal councillor for the “Divers Droit” (diverse right) in Courbevoie, north-west of Paris – persuaded French MPs to adopt the regulation after a petition gained more than 200,000 signatures and celebrity support in just four months. The amendment was approved as part of a wider law – the Loi Macron – that covers economic activity and equality in France and is expected to be passed by the national assembly on Tuesday, entering the statute books shortly afterwards. It will bar supermarkets from throwing away food approaching best-before dates and deliberately poisoning products with bleach to stop them being retrieved by people foraging through bins.

Now Derambarsh wants to convince European countries and the wider world to adopt similar bans. “Food is the basis of life, it is an elementary factor in our existence,” he told the Guardian. “I have been insulted and attacked and accused of being naive and idealistic, but I became a local councillor because I wanted to help people. Perhaps it is naive to be concerned about other human beings, but I know what it is like to be hungry. “When I was a law student living on about €400 a month after I’d paid my rent, I used to have one proper meal a day around 5pm. I’d eat pasta, or potatoes, but it’s hard to study or work if you are hungry and always thinking about where the next meal will come from.” Derambarsh started his campaign by collecting and distributing unwanted food from his local supermarket. “Every day we’d help around 100 people. Half would be single mothers with several children, pensioners or public workers on low salaries, the other half would be those living on the streets or in shelters,” he said.

I agree. I'd support such a law here in the US also. Though I don't think it should be done federally. While I'm sure that there are those that think the government should be able to do...well just about anything it pleases... there just is nothing in the Constitution which would support such a law. State wise though I'd be more than happy to support it.

Bold: This type of thing should be stopped ASAP. If someone ate such food and died because of it that is imo murder in at least the 2nd degree. (knowing our "justice" system though it'd at best be involuntary manslaughter)
 
This is a noble thought. However, there are a couple of reasons why businesses don't normally contribute excess or about-to-expire products.
The first is the safety and spoilage (already addressed in this thread)
The second is that if there is too much waste/excess, then it is obvious that too much was ordered or produced. Management mistake. They are constantly trying to optimize inventory levels.
Third, they do not want any organization or people to become dependent on the charity, they could be disappointed if management guesses correct on inventory level.
Finally, an extension of my third point, This dependence can result in decreased profits by the seller, because those that would normally purchase the goods could just wait and be the recipient of the charity.

Many years ago I was just out of HS and worked for Winchell's donuts. Great job! Except, the company's policy is to make donuts fresh daily. This means that at the end of the business day, the donuts left were either thrown away or taken home by Winchell's employees. I personally threw away many dozens of donuts. I also took boxes and boxes home. (very popular with the family)
They did not give the leftovers away for the reason that I stated, afraid of less profits as a direct result.

I do like the idea of using, not wasting, consumables as well as other non-compostables. I don't think that a govt should tell a business to do this.
It approaches a slippery slope I would rather not approach.
 
The world is going to strangle itself on red tape.
 
The world is going to strangle itself on red tape.

I'd take a little bit of red tape to let hungry people eat. It's easy to say garbage like ^that^ from a position where you aren't, and never have been hungry.
 
Let France experiment.
 
I'd take a little bit of red tape to let hungry people eat. It's easy to say garbage like ^that^ from a position where you aren't, and never have been hungry.

I would rather we spent our time figuring out why people in western society are still going hungry. Forcing supermarkets to look after the poor is a bit cheeky in my opinion and logistically it could be a nightmare.
 
I would rather we spent our time figuring out why people in western society are still going hungry. Forcing supermarkets to look after the poor is a bit cheeky in my opinion and logistically it could be a nightmare.

Whats your position on food stamps?
 
This is a noble thought. However, there are a couple of reasons why businesses don't normally contribute excess or about-to-expire products.
The first is the safety and spoilage (already addressed in this thread)
The second is that if there is too much waste/excess, then it is obvious that too much was ordered or produced. Management mistake. They are constantly trying to optimize inventory levels.
Third, they do not want any organization or people to become dependent on the charity, they could be disappointed if management guesses correct on inventory level.
Finally, an extension of my third point, This dependence can result in decreased profits by the seller, because those that would normally purchase the goods could just wait and be the recipient of the charity.

Many years ago I was just out of HS and worked for Winchell's donuts. Great job! Except, the company's policy is to make donuts fresh daily. This means that at the end of the business day, the donuts left were either thrown away or taken home by Winchell's employees. I personally threw away many dozens of donuts. I also took boxes and boxes home. (very popular with the family)
They did not give the leftovers away for the reason that I stated, afraid of less profits as a direct result.

I do like the idea of using, not wasting, consumables as well as other non-compostables. I don't think that a govt should tell a business to do this.
It approaches a slippery slope I would rather not approach.

Great points.

In the US, most out-dated non-perishable foods are sold to wholesalers that sell them off to discounters. Perishable foods are either re-sold in the Deli/"ready-to-eat" sections or pitched. Would be interesting to see who's on the hook for refrigeration when it would normally be tossed.
 
Whats your position on food stamps?

Its a pretty new idea for us here in the UK but its better than what was happening previously which was handing out cash. From what I gather they are very limited though and it can be hard to have a balanced healthy diet whilst on them.

My problem isnt with feeding the poor but rather the government dragging business owners into a fight which they should be handling on their own. A better liveable wage, more jobs and healthier food opitions are all things wich are going to help the poor in the long run. Feeding them stale bread and old veggies is small-time.
 
Sad that the only way this man see a way to get something done is through government force. In my area, there is a private charity that organizes the collection of "expired" food from stores and other organizations and distributes to those in need: How We Work | Philabundance. There is no government mandate and yet good work gets done.

I guess the problem is that unless someone, or more likely a large group of someones, consistently works to make something like this happen it just doesn't get done.

Folks can't take nights and weekends off, so to speak, there can't be periods of weeks or months where nobody is working on it, and it needs to happen in small towns where everyone might be suffering as well as in big cities where the "haves" can afford the volunteerism necessary in order for the "have nots" to benefit.

Quite clearly this isn't happening in all municipalities in America, big and small, every day, year round.

If it were, there would be no need for a law like this.

I'm not saying that it's right or wrong to mandate that businesses donate food. Personally I'm on the fence about it. But quite clearly the need is there.
 
This is a noble thought. However, there are a couple of reasons why businesses don't normally contribute excess or about-to-expire products.
The first is the safety and spoilage (already addressed in this thread)
The second is that if there is too much waste/excess, then it is obvious that too much was ordered or produced. Management mistake. They are constantly trying to optimize inventory levels.
Third, they do not want any organization or people to become dependent on the charity, they could be disappointed if management guesses correct on inventory level.
Finally, an extension of my third point, This dependence can result in decreased profits by the seller, because those that would normally purchase the goods could just wait and be the recipient of the charity.

Many years ago I was just out of HS and worked for Winchell's donuts. Great job! Except, the company's policy is to make donuts fresh daily. This means that at the end of the business day, the donuts left were either thrown away or taken home by Winchell's employees. I personally threw away many dozens of donuts. I also took boxes and boxes home. (very popular with the family)
They did not give the leftovers away for the reason that I stated, afraid of less profits as a direct result.

I do like the idea of using, not wasting, consumables as well as other non-compostables. I don't think that a govt should tell a business to do this.
It approaches a slippery slope I would rather not approach.

The issue of decreased profits is a legitimate one, however, if the leftovers hare given to homeless shelters, then the only question is, were the homeless shelters purchasing items from the grocery stores before they were forced to give away excess. The answer is probably no. Most shelters use wholesale foods like Monarch Foods or something similar. These kinds of organizations provide high volumes of low cost food for places like schools, prisons ect. Chances are if the state or local gov is buying food for homeless shelters, it's not coming from local supermarkets. However, it's also fair to say that companies like Monarch would be negatively effected.
 
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