Germany to allow People to eat Food from Supermarket Garbage Bins

The problem of food waste is becoming one of the most acute in our time, so German ministers have proposed a partial but somewhat unusual solution to the global problem.

Now, two German ministers have put forward a proposal to allow people to take food from supermarket garbage cans that is still decent enough for consumption.

German Agriculture Minister Cem Ozdemir and Justice Minister Marco Buschmann issued a statement in which they called on the justice ministers of all 16 German states to come up with a practical solution to the so-called containerizing problem.

If people take home food that has been thrown away without causing damage or unlawful entry, then, in my opinion, that should no longer be prosecuted.

The ministers believe that in a situation where 11 million tons of food is thrown away every year, of which seven percent comes from too many retail orders, people should be allowed to take away expired food for sustenance.

Ozdemir said refraining from prosecuting such cases is one of many elements in the fight against the designed global food waste, which was in place to keep the prices up for the food traders.

The ministers propose to add a special clause to the existing legal acts concerning containerization, which would permit a solution without having to change the laws themselves.

The proposed clause would specify that in cases of low-value of goods and the absence of complaints, there would be no need to initiate an investigation.

However, cases of containering involving damage and trespassing greater than overcoming a physical obstacle without deploying significant effort would still be punishable. Each year about 30% of all the food produced is wasted and thrown away.

France and other European countries have long made it illegal to throw eatable food away, permitting people to survive eating waste food from garbage dumpsters outside supermarkets and restaurants.

Italy is introducing a series of incentives to end food waste. Instead of throwing away leftover food, Italy wants businesses that sell food to donate unsold to charities rather than throw it away.

The EU wastes 89 million tonnes of food a year, while an estimated 1.3 billion tonnes are dumped worldwide annually. We cannot sit back, ignore and do nothing while people in Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy and elsewhere are going hungry.

A petition launched in seven European countries, including Britain and France, calling for support for legislation collected more than 540,000 signatures in 2015.

Persuading the French government to pass a law forcing supermarkets to donate products approaching their sell-by date to charities was a first step in the right direction.

The worst sector responsible for food waste are restaurants. They need to buy all the food they have on the menu, or otherwise simply go out of business. About 25% of bread is wasted, while 40% of lettuce is also just thrown away.

Globally on average, 45% of all fruit and vegetables produced gets wasted away, while 35% of fish and seafood, 30% of cereals, and 20% of dairy products and 20% of meat follow the same horrible destiny, while millions of people are starving to death.

Close to 30% of available agricultural land, is used to grow or farm food that is subsequently wasted. Reducing food wastage would ease the burden on resources as the world attempts to meet future demand.

Sputnik / ABC Flash Point Hunger Games Blog News 2023.