Probably trying to make a buck off blighted fetid fowl.
[T]he U.S. discards nearly 60 million tons—or 120 billion pounds—of food annually, amounting to about 40% of the national food supply. This equates to 325 pounds of waste per person, or the equivalent of each American throwing away 975 average-sized apples every year. Alarmingly, food waste is the largest component of municipal solid waste in landfills, making up 22% of the total. The environmental cost is staggering, with food waste generating methane emissions that significantly contribute to climate change. - forbes link from jan '25
In case anyone was wondering, signs of avian flu at the market: bloody legs; slimy, filmy meat.
After reading the article, I'm left wondering how US food waste breaks down between originating from individual households vs grocery retailers, commercial retail food/restaurants and ag suppliers.
It's been a while, but I remember reading about how there's little incentive (maybe it's even prohibited?) for retailers to send reject and expiring food to food banks instead of throwing it out. I feel like this should be more of a concern considering the demand to food banks is probably going to increase rapidly while funding and donations will likely decrease with the current economic turmoil.
I suspect we could curb a significant amount of food waste by creating a pathway to divert food waste instead of disposing it outright. Of course, such pathway would need to meet food safety standards while providing a clear regulatory framework to address liability and logistical aspects to make it more profitable to divert vs dispose.
Anyone from outside of the shithole have any input on how this works in your country?