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09/05/2004:
"US: Food Waste and Hunger Exist Side by Side"
by Haider RizviNEW YORK - ''Do you want these? They are so fresh,'' says Catherine, holding up a bunch of grapes she just pulled out from one of the trash bags piled up on the sidewalk. ''Take this, man. It's good too,'' adds her friend Morlan, holding out a loaf of bread.
Though happy to have found something for dinner, both Catherine, 21, and Morlan, 19, wonder why some edible food is thrown out as garbage in New York City
''They only sell this food to the rich,'' says Catherine pointing to the upscale grocery store that put out the bags.
Inside the store, the manager is visibly upset with Catherine and other young people who are stuffing their backpacks with fruits and vegetables from the trash bags. ''They are picking up garbage,'' says the manager. ''I don't know why they are doing this.''
''I have zero cash right now, and no place to stay,'' Morlan told Tierramérica. ''What do you expect me to do?''
Such scenes are becoming increasingly commonplace on the streets of U.S. cities, despite the enormous quantity of food that the world's most affluent nation produces every year.
Official surveys indicate that every year more than 350 billion pounds (160 billion kg) of edible food is available for human consumption in the United States. Of that total, nearly 100 billion pounds (45 billion kg) -- including fresh vegetables, fruits, milk, and grain products -- are lost to waste by retailers, restaurants, and consumers.
By contrast, the amount of food required to meet the needs of the hungry is only four billion pounds, according to Food Not Bombs, an advocacy group, which estimates that every year more than 30 million people in the United States are going hungry on regular basis.
Full Article: commondreams.org
