California Food Law has been implemented recently. This law is aimed to minimize the amount of wasted foods. Wastage of food has been a significant concern in the recent decade. A study has been conducted on how much food is wasted in one year.
The results have been staggering. Wasting food and edible products have a number of downsides. One of the main drawbacks is that it contributes to environmental pollution.
Wasted foods are supposed to be treated scientifically by methods such as composting. However, it is not possible to treat the wasted food products every time. This leads to several consequences.
The food decomposes and the microorganism that grows on it releases dangerous gases. The gases are anaerobic and are the result of the digestion process of the microbes. These gases from landfills predominantly consist of Methane.
Methane is one of the contributing factors to the rising greenhouse effect. Reducing the wastage of food is also critical to minimizing the land required for agriculture. Less land required means less water and other factors are being exhausted.
Another biggest problem with a large amount of food waste lies within society. There are thousands of families that live below the poverty line all over the world. Certain households cannot even afford basic foods daily.
The pandemic has contributed significantly to the rise of food shortages in many countries. Residents have lost their jobs and were unable to make a living. Thus, wasting of foods should be minimized to have a lesser number of hungry faces.
The recently approved California Food Law emphasizes just that. The law states that no amount of food must be wasted in California. The law asks all the grocery and other food stores to donate excess foods to food banks. The stores can also do a charity themselves or donate the same to a non-profit organization.
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The California Food Law is also known as the Senate Bill 1383. It will be enforced in the early part of 2022. Let us learn more about the California Food Law in detail below.
California Food Law To Put Smiles Back To Hungry Faces
The California Food Law has been praised all over the state. Prior to the advent of the pandemic, the number of people dealing with food insecurity was massive. Almost thirty-five million residents were listed under food insecurity.
After the pandemic, things have only gotten worse in the United States. Thus, there is no prize in guessing that the recent law was much required. One of the residents, Patty O’Connor, has expressed her delight at the order.
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Patty owns a leading food supply chain in San Diego. She stated that her late father had taken up the initiative of minimizing food wastage. Patty’s father started feeding leftover foods to local people twice a week.
John Votava is the head of Ralph’s Groceries. He also heaped praises on the newly passed California Food Law. Votava said that the law felt like an official validation of the work they already were doing.
He elaborated their vision of delivering excess foods to the underprivileged sections of society. Votava has been associated with noble work since 2017.
Cements Food Security Concerns
The United States Of America tops the charts in food wastes. The country records a wastage of forty million tons of food per year. The wasted foods are usually thrown away into landfills.
However, with the California Food Law in effect, there should be a significant improvement in the scenario. Officers like O’Connor have reported receiving multiple calls. More and more people are willing to join the food movement. This would, in turn, help to improve the issue of food security in the state.
Food supply officers are expecting more people to join the quest for a hunger-free America. California now features in the elite list of States that has its own food law. New York, Vermont, Connecticut are some others that implemented the food law.
