Next month will mark 10 years since France enacted “Loi Garot”, a law to regulate food waste from supermarkets. As of 2016, 18% of the food produced in France went to waste, approximately 10 million tonnes. Originally pioneered by councilman Arash Derambarsh, this law proposed that supermarkets larger than 400 square meters be “forbidden to destroy unsold food products and require them to donate it instead”. It was passed unanimously by France’s senate.
It was not uncommon for supermarkets to prevent the foraging of their discarded food waste by pouring bleach or other chemicals over it, despite most still being fit for consumption. If supermarkets violated this law, they faced “fines of up to 75,000 euros ($83,700) or two years in prison”. Not only did this law provide tangible consequences for supermarkets that failed to comply, but it also outlined exactly what supermarkets should do with all that extra food.
The law outlined a 5-level hierarchy for the handling of commercial food waste. Any food remaining after one step was complete would simply move onto the next one. First, the supermarkets were required to prevent food waste through community education and customer discounts.
Next, food was donated to approved charities. These charities would then use the food to provide free meals for those in need. It was estimated that these donations would allow millions of additional well-balanced meals to be given out for free each year.
After donating everything they could to charities, any food left over that didn’t meet human consumption regulations would be repurposed as animal feed. The final two levels of the hierarchy are composting and disposal.
The law also required schools to educate students on food waste and its environmental impact. Most food waste gets discarded in landfills, where its decomposition emits the greenhouse gas methane, which is one of the largest contributors to climate change. This law ensured that only the bare minimum amount of food waste ended up directly in the trash.
Over one-third of the food produced in the United States is never eaten, and “more food reaches landfills than any other material in municipal solid waste”, according to the EPA. At the same time, 14% of US households face food insecurity. Our country somehow has too much food and not enough at the same time. Things don’t have to be this way. Over the last 10 years, other countries in Europe saw the success France had with this law and worked to enact their own. America needs to prioritize passing a similar law here to minimize food waste, eradicate food insecurity, and limit environmental consequences.
