One of my earliest jobs was dishwasher. I saw so much waste. Part of my work involved jumping into the dumpster and stomping/hopping around to pack down the g

One of my earliest jobs was dishwasher. I saw so much waste. Part of my work involved jumping into the dumpster and stomping/hopping around to pack down the garbage so it wouldn't overflow before pickup time. This is an impressively detailed piece and I agree with most of it, but changing the culture around these things is very hard. There are people salvaging food which would otherwise be wasted, and on many occasions I've been one of them... it makes me glad to know there are backchannel options for those who are struggling or can put the food to good use. Sadly, the social stigma is still very high, and that will continue to be a major barrier. As the author points out, we are never going to give up the current system voluntarily. If it is to happen at all, it will be a result of some kind of crunch. I guess the silver lining is that there's still plenty of slack in the system to feed the most desperate among us right now. In any case, my parents taught me to fold leftovers into casseroles or stews and I'm glad for it-- you never know when those skills might be more than just an ideological preference.