this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2023
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:

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Instead of the perfectly-fine "expired" food going to the dumpster, feed people. Help the community.

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[–] LimitedDuck@septic.win 18 points 2 years ago (4 children)

This would be a good thing, though I think it's trickier than it appears:

  • How arbitrary are "best before" and "expires on" labels and how do they differ from food to food?
  • How do the labels themselves differ from each other and how to do they differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction?
  • Could acknowledging that "expired" food is still good cause expiry dates to just be extended? How far could they be extended before food actually is dangerous past the label?
  • How does liability work when someone gets sick from "expired" food? Does it change when it's part of a structured donation system?
[–] neptune@dmv.social 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I mean, to the last bullet, we have good Samaritan laws. We could totally pass a law that says "grocery stores can and should provide reasonably safe, leftover food to poor people and will not be punished if those reasonable actions result in bad things happening". You are allowed to just wail on an unconscious dudes chest for minutes until paramedics arrive and then not be sued for the three cracked ribs.

But cmon. We all know that grocery stores know that once people realize expired food is generally safe a) people will buy less food and b) people will show up to get free expired food and buy less food.

Scarcity is a necessity under capitalism. Movie theaters aren't going to release blooper reels for free. They add them to the credits or put them in the editors cut release. A luxury clothing brand isn't going to sell seconds, they will destroy or rework material that isn't sellable.

[–] Starglasses@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] ByteWizard@lemm.ee -5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Capitalism, which provides such an excess of food that we're throwing it out, is the problem? True, when the shelves are bare and no-one has food this won't be a problem anymore.

But it's not exactly a step forward is it?

[–] Sloth@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 years ago

You are completly right. It's not capitalism's fault that companies would rather destroy essentials to save a few bucks rather than give it to those who need them. No, obviously the poor people just need to stop being poor. That'll solve global hunger without cutting into the profits of those poor CEOs.

[–] Starglasses@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 years ago

I don't understand your meaning of your comment. Not having capitalism means bare shelves in the future? How?

[–] altima_neo@lemmy.zip 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

I work in retail. Stuff already goes to food banks. The dates on those products are usually the sell by date, and quite arbitrary. They're mostly for quality sake, rather than "not safe to consume" sake. Like a loaf of bread may not be as moist and soft as it was when it was fresh, but it's perfectly fine to eat. Companies want you to be able to buy a product and expect consistent quality. But if you're hungry and in need, stale Oreos are better than no cookies at all.

[–] Starglasses@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Agree 100%

Not that it is expected to be content with stale oreos, but yea. Some is better than none :)

Perfection of quality expectations ruins so many things way too fast.

[–] Starglasses@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 years ago

A note: stores throw out unexpired goods all the time.

As for food safety, yup, that's important. Some goods could be too risky, like raw meat. But so so many goods are processed and stay good long past the expiry.

Expiry does take into account oxygen. Once you open a bag, air gets in and then it could get stale, mold, etc. If it has been sealed in its package the whole time, there was never any (*a lot of) air to start those food-ruining things.