Dumpsterdivers in Maastricht – Picture by Tim Strasser
It is that time of the year again. Glimmering lights and all kinds of red things take over the world, while people lose their sanity over the Christmas merry-go-round. It seems as if the celebration that used to be something sacred, something to be shared with our close ones, has changed into a carnival of consumption. Moreover, the bliss of abundance that surrounds us during this cinnamon-flavored period is so overwhelming that, anyone who dares to question it, is most definitely damned and declared as the Grinch.
However, no matter how uncomfortable it may be, Christmas should also be the time to look the truth in the eye – after all it is known for the idea of “sharing is caring.” Currently, out of the seven billion people living in the world, one billion is malnourished. Meanwhile, according to a recent study commissioned by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, 2011), one third, about 1.3 billion tons, of the food produced for human consumption every year gets lost or wasted (http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/74192/icode/). What is worse, is that most of the waste produced at the global Food Supply Chain (FSC) is caused by retailers and consumers of the industrialized countries. Urge for growth, and increasing demand for quality and variety create a utopian reality in which customers are provided with whatever they want whenever they want. An average European or North American throws away approximately 95-115 kilograms of food every year while an average Sub-Saharan African wastes only 6-9 kilograms per year.
Dumpsterdivers in Action – Picture by Tim Strasser
Best before it’s too late
Food waste is one of the most severe global issues, and nevertheless so few know about it or acknowledge its existence. Every day supermarkets, restaurants, and cafeterias throughout the retail level of the FSC throw away tons of edible food that will eventually rot in the wastelands. To elaborate, edible food in this context means products that have suffered from mere cosmetic damage. Crooked carrots, slightly dried bread, food cans that have dents on the side…all end up to the backyard dumpster. However, the daily waste of retailers and consumers consists not only of the ‘damaged’ products but also of products that have expired. And here lies the secret of the whole scheme: expiry dates! It has been said, that human beings are what they eat, and thus they should not eat something that is bad for them. Back in the old days, you knew that milk was spoiled when it developed weird looking lumps, or meat was not good when it started to smell. Today, you need a label on your product to tell you the same thing. We believe those expiration dates so religiously, that we throw away products without even checking whether or not they are still edible. Who was it that came up with this concept anyways?
On the one hand, it makes sense for the retailers to manipulate the expiry dates – today even water can expire – because when the products get ‘old’ faster, people buy more. On the other hand, the dates are a result of idiocy (ignorance?): due to the dates, retailers have the pressure to get rid of their still good but ‘expired’ products. Even if there would be, let’s say ten shelves of completely untouched chocolate-bars, they end up in the container, because someone might get sick and sue the retailing companies. In either way, a great deal of money is thrown literally to the trash.
(For more information on expiration dates: http://stilltasty.com/articles/view/5 )
Waste=food
Luckily there are also consumers who use their common sense. They only buy what they eat, and thus save money and the environment. Moreover, the growing awareness about food waste has led to a trend of alternative ‘grocery-shopping’ among consumers:
dumpster-diving. Unfortunately, often it is still considered as an act of desperate homeless people – or hippies. However anyone who has taken a dip into a supermarket container knows better. The amount of good food that is abandoned daily in Europe and North America, could feed multiple times all the billion hungry people in the world (FAO). At this point, some will argue that the supermarkets do donate for example to food banks. It is true, but the proportion of donations made within the total amount of what is wasted is but nominal. Most of the stuff, unfortunately, still gets wasted, because stores and cafeterias are not ‘advised’ to give away food that has expired. What is even more ridiculous, is the fact that in many countries accessing, for example, a supermarket dumpster can get you arrested. The waste is supermarket’s property and taking it is illegal. (Oh yes, in Maastricht as well). Apparently, for the retailers it makes more sense to throw away tons of food, loose all the money spent on it, and then spend more money to replace the products that were thrown away.
It is easy to live in ignorance and believe that we are not responsible; it is the fault of bad supermarkets and the capitalist system. However, the ones who keep buying and demanding various, exotic, and cheap products 24/7 are not the retailers. The waste problem exists at all levels of the food chain, and each of its parts should participate in reforming the system towards a better direction. Dumpster-diving or donating for the food banks are only temporary solutions to reduce the current problem. It is the consumerist and competitive attitudes throughout the FSC-system that must be changed. In the spirit of Christmas, wouldn’t it be nice to take a first step towards improvement? It is time to dig into the trash and realize that the valuable food (that one billion is missing) lying in the containers should be on our dinner plates instead.
Broaden your view:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/pdf/bio_foodwaste_report.pdf !
Ida Roivainen 2011
