The subreddit r/mildlyinfuriating is where people post things that bother them but typically aren't egregious issues. However, what one Redditor posted about food waste at their job could be considered more than mildly infuriating.
The post shows delicious-looking sandwiches along with several nice pieces of bread that they were forced to throw away. You can see the sandwiches are wrapped and nearly photo-perfect.
They also happen to be in the garbage. The photo is captioned, "The amount of food I have to throw away at work."
In the United States, between 30-40% of food produced goes uneaten for a variety of reasons. Grocery stores and food retailers like the sandwich shop in the Reddit post account for a decent percentage of that waste.
According to Business Insider, many retailers toss perfectly good food out of concern for legal liability if someone were to fall ill. There is a law on the books, however — known as the Good Samaritan Food Donation Act — that protects people and companies from said liability.
Some stores do take the occasional opportunity to donate food rather than let it go to waste. When their freezers and refrigerators went out, a Trader Joe's in Louisiana let customers take items for free rather than toss them, giving away thousands of dollars of goods. In another instance, a Kroger in Arkansas allowed a food bank to take grocery items during a power outage.
While it's not as simple as donating any food waste to a shelter or food pantry, we should all work to reduce the amount of food that goes uneaten.
When food ends up in the landfill, it creates methane gas as it decomposes. According to the EPA, the methane produced by this waste is a significant source of greenhouse gases.
Unsurprisingly, commenters had something to say about this waste of perfectly good food. "Seriously this should be a crime with fines," one person said. "At least it should be donated."
Another person said, "Perfectly good sandwiches. That's terrible."
This type of food waste is all too common, but one commenter suggested they give it to someone, while someone else let readers know that "most restaurants/stores have policies against this."
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