Claim: Convincing People to Eat Out of Date Food would Reduce Climate Impacts

[rangerrebew]

Claim: Convincing People to Eat Out of Date Food would Reduce Climate Impacts
10 hours ago Eric Worrall 
Essay by Eric Worrall

“… It is nearly impossible for the globe to meet … the Paris Accords without reducing waste from the food system …”

Food waste is a major contributor to climate change. What are the solutions?

by Christine Clark, University of California – San Diego
APRIL 17, 2025

…

“It is nearly impossible for the globe to meet emissions targets set forth by the Paris Accords without reducing waste from the food system,” said Robert Sanders, an assistant professor of marketing and analytics at the Rady School of Management who is one of the world’s top experts on this issue. …

For example, policymakers and scholars have a hypothesis that 7–10% of all food waste stems from confusion about the meaning of expiration-date-label formats (e.g., “best by” vs. “use by”). California even passed a law (AB 660) on the basis of these claims about these date labels, hoping to motivate people to not dispose of food that’s safe to eat, but there’s still no scientific evidence of how these date-label formats actually affect purchases and waste in the field—that is, when real choices are made.

…

The other solution I investigate is dynamic pricing. More than 10% of food waste comes from grocery retailers that throw out surplus perishables past their expiration date.

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/04/21/claim-convincing-people-to-eat-out-of-date-food-would-reduce-climate-impacts/

[rangerrebew]

Would dumpster diving help?

[Knuckles Neanderthal]

Would dumpster diving help?

Close..... why not distribute to the homeless?

[Wingnut]

Close..... why not distribute to the homeless?

In some states LIKE Californica  It is illegal to do that. 

[rustynail]

Stop calling CO2 a pollutant would 'reduce climate impacts'.

[GtHawk]

In some states LIKE Californica  It is illegal to do that.

How odd, since grocery chains routinely donate those goods that are approaching expiration date to food banks and senior centers. I know because we did work at a Vineyard church plumbing in washing machines and dryers at their outreach center and saw the food brought in and have also picked up food at our senior center. ( don’t do that anymore, I leave it for those seniors less fortunate)

As far as out of date food, I guess it would depend on the food.

[Knuckles Neanderthal]

In some states LIKE Californica  It is illegal to do that.

That figures.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Watching Tiger King... apparently perishable food that you bring to the register cannot legally be returned the fridge/freezer. Seems like such a waste. They used it to feed the tigers on the cheap.

[Smokin Joe]

Would dumpster diving help?

People did during hard times. Fearful of getting sued if someone got sick, the stores started dousing the food with bleach to discourage dumpster diving.

Some folks here had a meeting with the store owners and made their case for IF the stores donated baked goods (for instance) just a couple of days before they went 'over', then the stores could take a deduction for the donations. Nonprofits were set up to distribute food to the needy, and food pantries at the churches around town were brought in on it, the stores got tax deductions for donations and people in need got the food, reducing waste substantially. A true Win-win-win deal. The only people who 'lost out' were the guys who had a couple fewer dumpsters to haul away every week.