France A Leader in Curbing Food Waste

France has made it the norm to reduce waste! Hurrah! Check out how in this article.

While France has made obvious strides towards reducing food waste, we must think critically before implementing policy that forces supermarkets to donate their food to charities and food redistribution organizations without stipulating guidelines around quality and nutrition. Far too often – these organizations are given unhealthy or moldy foods they cannot utilize or do not have the people power to rummage through. Further, these organizations are then burdened with the costs of disposal. Can this type of policy actually incentivize waste of poor-quality food by the food industry while `dumping` the costs of disposal on non-profit organizationsWhat do you think? How can we avoid dumping, but still incentivize donations of nutrient-rich, fresh food?

Either way, surplus food is not a solution for solving food insecurity and hunger. Let`s also look towards more upstream solutions that help to strengthen local food systems and income security.