Food Not Bombs: How To Feed The Hungry And Build Community (p01)

WHY FOOD NOT BOMBS ?

Food...

The world produces enough food to feed everyone, if distributed equally. There is an abundance of food. In fact, in this country, every day in every city, far more edible food is discarded than is needed to feed those who do not have enough to eat.

Consider this: before food reaches your table, it is produced and handled by farmers, co-ops, manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers. Some perfectly edible food is discarded for a variety of business reasons at every step. In the average city, approximately 10% of all solid waste is food. This is an incredible total of 46 billion pounds nationally per year, or just under 200 pounds per person per year. Estimates indicate that only 4 billion pounds of food per year would be required to completely end hunger in America, and there is clearly an abundance of edible, recoverable food being thrown away.

To recover this edible food and use it to feed people, three key elements must be combined. First, the food must be collected. Second, it must be prepared in a form appropriate for consumption. Third, the food must be made easily accessible to those who are hungry.

The reason this is not already happening is no accident. We do not have a democratic say in how food is produced or distributed. People would certainly elect to eat, but in hierarchical economies, the threat of job loss allows owners to keep wages low. An underdass results from such policies that encourage domination and violence. In our society, it is acceptable to profit from others' suffering and misery.

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