A shocking photo shared by a Walmart employee on the r/Walmart subreddit shows what happens to unsold fresh food during a power outage.
A now-viral photo shows dozens of shopping carts packed with food waiting to be collected by cleaning services – after a 12-hour power outage, the food was deemed unsalable and sent to landfill to rot.
“All the money is gone,” the employee wrote in the caption.
“Nobody cares about money,” one user replied. “The amount of food waste that happens here is astonishing…”
The food in this photo adds to the 92 billion pounds (145 billion meals) of food wasted in the United States each year.
After being dumped in landfills, discarded food decays and produces methane, a polluting gas that is 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide and traps heat in the Earth's atmosphere. Food waste in landfills produces more methane than any other type of waste in landfills, accounting for about 58 percent, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
While consumer-facing businesses like Walmart account for the majority of total food waste — about 29% when restaurants are included — most of the food waste in the U.S. actually occurs in consumers' homes, which account for about 37% of all waste generated, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Luckily, there are many ways to limit the amount of food waste produced at home. Composting is a simple and effective way to reduce household food waste and return important nutrients to the earth for future food production.
Cool Down also features a variety of food waste and storage hacks to help you make more meals from one shopping trip and extend the shelf life of your food.
In response to the sheer amount of food waste captured on camera by a Walmart employee, Reddit users expressed wish that the food had been delivered to people in need instead of being sent straight to the landfill.
“It's crazy that this is ok, but if you were texting on Facebook telling people they could come and buy this food then that would be illegal,” said the top comment on the post.
“I can't [Walmart] “Just say, 'If you eat this food and get sick, it's at your own risk. We don't recommend you eat it, but we can't stop you from doing so,'” one person wrote.
“If you give it away, you can't claim on insurance,” someone replied.
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