Waste Not Want Not: The Grocery Store Waste of Food and The Dollars it Costs

I know some of you are going to call me crazy for this one but I hate waste of any sort. I have just read an article from the Penny Hoarder and was shocked by the USA numbers given for food waste. 40% yes you read it right FORTY percent of the food that is grown, imported, caught, and/or produced in the USA is thrown away. AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! We have starving people and obesity at large how can this be happening????????

The article first caught my attention as it says ways to reduce your grocery bill without coupon clipping. I am not a fan of coupons as they kill trees but use them because it is what I have right now along with price matching the flyers to conserve our limited grocery budget. So I read the article. The first paragraphs were relatively uninteresting until I got to the number two “Rescue Otherwise Wasted Food” this not only infuriated me but made complete sense. The infuriation came with the report of the amount of wasted food, which made me think of all the money wasted and now how frivolous I feel as a westerner. By the way I disagree with what is happening and would love to change the world. But this young couple from the US has begun dumpster diving behind grocery stores to lower the food bill. Don’t go ewwey just yet. They wear gloves, they was all packages before they open them and they have never gotten ill according to the article!!! I am not surprised we throw food away when it is at its best before date. My experience is that a lot of product can last beyond that date. Sour cream is one of those products. Check it out next time yours is at its date. It will not be bad I promise unless it was left unrefrigerated.

 

So anyways they have a grocery bill of about $50.00 per month, mind you they are a vegan couple so they are not eating expensive meat and that helps but they also donate to food banks and other sustainable places that can use the food. So is this stealing? No once something is in the garbage that is what it is and is now open property for anyone to take. The police often use this in finding evidence so why can we not use it for finding food. I know it sounds so gross but if the package is sealed and it has not been in the searing heat for days chances are that the food is good. Most grocery stores close around nine pm so when the food is disposed of it is later than that and dark and cool outside.

Another article I read, Food Waste in Canada Costs $31 Bill on per Year,was how much food was wasted in Canada. It was to the tune of $31 billion dollars each year!!!! Yes that is right, $31 billion. That is more than the gross economy of some countries on this planet. Shocking I have inserted the link take a look at the article.

There is a hope on the horizon this article France Makes it Illegal for Grocery Stores to Throw away Ratable Food, states that France has made it illegal for grocery stores to waste perfectly eatable food. So the next time you are at the grocery store and picking out that perfect package of bacon (I am so guilty of that) or choosing the apples that do not have bruises remember most of what you see will go in the trash and ask yourself what can you do to stop the waste???

 

I have always said charity begins at home.

Photos courtesy of Google Images.

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Check Yourself for Rudeness

 

After living through the last few months of winter and a particularly upsetting issue it has come to my attention that nothing has changed. People are still the same. I find it impossible to see how change is going to occur when we are not a maturing race of humans.

I went to my local gym this morning for the second time and was harassed by a man who was just sitting there wasting time with nothing to do but speak rudely to a woman. It astounds me that some men have not grown beyond this illegal and disgusting behaviour. We as a society have made this behaviour against the law so that people get the message that it is not acceptable. So where did the message not get through to this guy???? Does his own arrogance help him believe he is above the law???? I suppose I cannot answer that but my best guess would be “Yes”.

 

 

There are a multitude of reasons why people are rude, some being that they just do not know that they are rude and that is blind stupidity to ones personal behaviour. Now not saying yours truly is perfect because I can be cantankerous with the best of human beings. But it is to me so obvious that we have lost our ability to be polite. No one says excuse me at the grocery store people just barge right through. If you are looking at the shelf from across the aisle someone will inevitability park their cart right in front of you and stand between you and the shelf and block your view. This is where I have no patience. I have been known to speak up and say “Excuse me, is there something on the shelf behind me I can get for you as I see that I am blocking your view of the shelf?”. Usually I get a cross and very confused look.

 

 

But human stupidity is linked in my mind to poor behaviour. We concentrate so hard on ABC’s and 123’s we forget that teaching respect and discipline is so very important. The English brought a very stiff and proper manner of behaviour to us centuries ago. Now I will not agree with it all being called civilized but I will say that many of the concepts of respect are a good place to start and should be in our daily lives. Simple things such as courtesy. If you do something wrong then apologize. Be aware that you have hurt some ones feeling and have the nerve to make it better. Or better yet have the frame of mind to know when you are hurting someone and stop. Think about repercussions before you act. Be a proactive person not a reactive person.

 

 

Please understand this is not my view of the entire race of humans that roam this planet, there are kind people out there. I have met some very lovely ones in the last few months, but in the same breath I say I have recently felt the sting of the whip too. There is only so much negativity we can shoulder before we need an outlet for it. I get it I am human too. I will never look at your emotional explosion as you being crazy as I get we are all under the same pressure of mankind, but I will not stand for rudeness or arrogance or a combination of the two.

 

 

Please be aware of your own self and know what is polite and what is not.

 

All photos courtesy of Google Images.

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