Did you know that up to 40 percent of food in the U.S. is thrown away while over 40 million Americans struggle with hunger annually? Aside from hunger, the slower-moving catastrophe tied into food waste comes from the waste itself — as much as 25 percent of the nation’s water use is tied up in wasted food, and the same can be said for greenhouse gas emissions. The issue of methane seep from rotting food in landfills exacerbates the issue further. The majority of this food waste comes from households, followed by commercial waste — mainly grocery stores and restaurants. Why, one may ask, do we not simply pass a law that enables businesses to donate this excess food to the needy? The fact is, we did already. President Clinton signed the “Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Act of 1996,” which protected food donators from liability except in cases of gross negligence. What can we do? In addition to composting food waste at home and shopping more frequently and carefully to avoid overstocking and throwing out old food, we must start demanding that grocery stores and restaurants take advantage of the Emerson Good Samaritan Food Act fully. By patronizing and publicly praising food businesses whose practices include regular food donation, and avoiding and shaming those who simply throw food away (the worst) or dump it into compost (better, but ignores hunger), we as consumers can extend our impact beyond our own kitchen and mitigate the redundant horrors of food waste and local hunger.
Sam Henke
Boulder
