Food Recovery Act Aims to Tackle Food Waste Across Supply Chain : Maine Congresswoman Introduces Food Waste Bill
Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, is to introduce a bill which includes nearly two dozen provisions to reduce food waste across the economy.
Launched at a recent event Portland Food Co-Op, the Food Recovery Act was introduced to Congress yesterday and is aimed at reducing the amount of food that is wasted each year in the US.
"Forty percent of all food produced in the United States each year is wasted," Pingree said. "The Food Recovery Act takes a comprehensive approach to reducing the amount of food that ends up in landfills and at the same time reducing the number of Americans who have a hard time putting food on the table."
The Congresswoman was joined at the event by dozens of representatives of groups and organisations from throughout Maine, including speakers from Hannaford Supermarkets, the Good Shepherd Food Bank, Portland Food Co-Op and Agri-Cycle Energy.
The bill aims to tackle food waste in four ways: food-at the consumer level, in grocery stores and restaurants, in schools and other institutions, and on the farm.
Labels Labels Labels
At the consumer level, Pingree's bill requires any manufacturer that wants to put a date on their food to use the words "Best if used by" and also, in letters of at least the same size, the words "Manufacturer's suggestion only."
"Currently there are no federal laws regarding expiration dates," Pingree said. "Manufacturers can go overboard with the dates they put on food - and it can lead to consumers and retailers throwing out perfectly good food."
"Wasted food costs us over $160 billion a year in this country," she continued. "That works out to about $125 a month for a family of four. We can save money and feed more Americans if we reduce the amount of food that ends up getting sent to landfills."
Endorsements
Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio, co-founder of Food Policy Action and owner/chef of Crafted Hospitality, praised Pingree's bill.
"Wasting food is bad for the economy, bad for the environment and bad for Americans who are struggling to afford healthy food to feed their families,” he said.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Bloom, author of American Wasteland and WastedFood.com, called Pingree's bill a roadmap to reducing wasted food.
"Today is a great day for Americans who love food and hate waste," he enthused. "In fifteen years, we may well look back on this bill as a watershed moment in the fight against food waste."
Emily Broad Leib, director of Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic, agreed that the bill tackles an important problem with the nation's food supply.
“Food waste is one of the most pressing environmental and economic issues facing our food system, yet so much of the food we waste could go to better use in our households or shared with people in need,” she commented.
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