Food waste and other fun things that make me sick

OK, I knew we threw away food (and by "we" I mean us rich nations), but I didn't know HOW much... Take a look at these.

The one that got me was the bread one... I mean, who doesn't eat the ends of their bread?!  What a waste!  AND WHY ISN'T THIS GOING TO THE FOOD BANK?  There are people starving in the city I live in - let alone entire nations in other parts of the world - why isn't this food going to help feed people that can't afford to feed themselves?  Why is it OK to throw away perfectly good food because it doesn't look right?

I did a quick google to find out more about why we throw away so much food and found this video.

One of the things that got me was food that had travelled 10,000 km from Kenya only to be thrown away.  Think of the water that was wasted on watering it, the fuel used to get them there and the food that could have fed a hungry person.

Why is this OK?  How can I help put a stop to it?  How can I make my voice heard? 

About 3 years ago I started doing research on food and what it can or can't do for you, I had no idea what went into the food I was eating.  I slowly started to cook at home more and to try and eat more plants then from cans, bottles and boxes (nasty processed food).  Last March I started to cut out meat by making more vegetarian choices when I was cooking or eating out.  Last August a baby cow licked my hand at the PNE and it was then that I stopped eating them.  I have started learning more about the meat industry and what exactly goes into this diet that the western world has developed; I don't like it.  Factory farms, sick animals that live in pure hell and are slaughtered in unimaginable ways.  Chickens that never see the light of day and cows that are feed corn simply to make them bigger in a faster amount of time so they produce more meat - even though it's not what their diet should be - just so companies can make more money off them.  These cows are standing on piles of their own shit (and guess what shit causes?  E-coli!  That's where all the fun outbreaks are coming from.  Here's what's happening today down in Ohio.  The cow shit runs into the water that then runs down into crops spreading E-coli everywhere.  Yum)!  After watching Food Inc. I can honestly tell you that I will never eat meat again and I decided to start going to Farmers markets instead of always going to Safeway, but I still go to Safeway.  How do I tie all this together?  How do I "vote" for food that is actually good for me?  How do I "vote" for food that doesn't come from a company that is throwing away so much food simply because it doesn't look right?  Where do I go to get these things in my neighbourhood?  I want organic, natural, healthy, fresh vegetables and fruit that I can grab on my way home from work everyday so I don't throw out "bad food".  I guess I have some research to do.

If you haven't seen Food Inc. I think you should watch it, it's an eye opener (I've watched it twice... Just to make sure I never wanted to eat meat again).  I found this and this (have I mentioned how much I LOVE Bill Maher before?) which are 2 interviews with Michael Pollan (the dude that made Food Inc) and he has some good stuff so check them out right now before you watch Food Inc in the next few days (trust me, watch it).

I'm off to research where I can get local, organic food from a source that doesn't waste.  Wish me luck!