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At every point in the supply chain (grow, pick, sort, package, deliver...) a % of produce becomes more expensive to keep than to throw. So it being dropped.
by avip 8y ago
At every point in the supply chain (grow, pick, sort, package, deliver...) a % of produce becomes more expensive to keep than to throw. So it being dropped.
- osrec 8y agoIs that not overproduction in a sense?
- avip 8y agoNot exactly. For example, if you have a picker machine harvesting 80% of crop, and manual work ain't cheap (it's Norway), you'd probably throw 20%. But you can't "ungrow" it in any meaningful sense. Agriculture is complex.
- justinator 8y agoOne "solution": Invite people to come down to hand-harvest the rest of it. Charge them a nominal fee (if at all).
- jhanschoo 8y agoThis sounds more wasteful to me. In terms of manpower and cost of commute.
- ShinTakuya 8y agoIf it's cheaper for that person to commute in order to eat then it's probably less wasteful from a financial perspective at least. Definitely possible to be even less wasteful of course, but I think without perfect weather and population models (which will never truly exist) it'll be hard to eliminate waste to a certain extent.
- ascar 8y agoSomething like this is usually not done out of economic incentives, but because of ethical and emotional incentives. In the end people do it to feel good, but might do more harm, just in another way.
- avip 8y agoYes that is what we do here. It’s inspiring but the impact on food waste is negligible.
- mrep 8y agoFood shortages are really really bad even for small amount of time which is why food is over produced in excess.
- Razengan 8y agoShouldn’t that be exported to underfed populations?
- ethbro 8y agoAt what energy cost?
- alphakappa 8y agoDonating your overproduced (and likely subsidized) food to poorer countries also disincentivizes food production there, thereby perpetuating the food shortage problem.
- jhanschoo 8y agoI'd think that most such waste are still used efficiently. They may not be fit for the stresses of being shipped and stored the full distance to the supermarket and in your home, but much can still be used for animal feed and compost.
- vram22 8y agoRight. Also, there are plenty of other uses of vegetable (by which I mean all non-animal, not just veggies) waste matter too, uses of all kinds, including industrial, home, medical, etc. Just randomly check out say Wikipedia articles for 10-20 common vegetable matter sources, such as corn, coconuts, bananas, soy(a)beans, guar, etc., to get a better idea about this.
- kungfugz 8y agoThis is true. Often times it is tilled back into the ground. Food Banks get this produce for free(less the cost of packing and shipping)