Destroying produce rather than giving it away: rationale?

[vivalostwages]

@iamthewalrus(:3=

Assuming that they’d be selling them to the employees at a discount (which is the only way this makes sense. Otherwise, why wouldn’t your mom just buy one?), this makes sense using the same logic that not giving away apples makes sense. If you give away (or sell at a reduced price) the apples you don’t sell, you give your customers an incentive to not buy them at full price. If you let your employees buy merchandise at a reduced price when it doesn’t sell, you give them an incentive to not sell that merchandise and you give their friends an incentive to not buy it.

I can see what you’re saying. It’s just that the thought of good, useful gazebos being destroyed bugs me, somehow.

[Lumpy]

@Martin Hyde

Explain, how is the law trying to have it both ways by saying the person A can’t steal from person B and person B can’t steal from person A? The law shouldn’t make exceptions just because person A is rich and person B is poor.

Which leads to a famous quotation: “(…)the majestic equality of the laws, which forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets and to steal bread.”. -Anatole France

[athelas]

…And murder each other. How inequitable! What a travesty of justice!

[Kalhoun]

@Sitnam

Kalhoun, I suspect like most people you have Saturday and Sunday off from work. Please report to your local soup kitchen bright and early. There are hungry poor people and there is no reason you can’t help…it costs you nothing and you have the weekend off of work anyway right? Also, bring rubber gloves and a plunger, it’s backing up in here.

I have donated both time and money.

And you didn’t answer the question. Maybe you were too busy donating your time and money, huh?

[LtnJck]

When I was young I worked at Burger King and we had to not only throw away but we destroyed old food at the days end. We poured foul smelling bleach (or some industrial cleaner on it) to stop the homeless people. We could’ve given it to them, but then you get hundreds of homeless begging and hanging around your store.

Same thing one summer when I worked in a resort. After the banquets we got to take things home or got to eat the mistakes the pastry chef made. Soon the chefs were making them on purpose and people were stealing the “equal packets” (Those are expensive) so then it came down to no fighting over it just destroy it. I mean some of these guys I worked with were basically feeding their families on the leftovers. And they weren’t poor either, they’d just rather have cell phones and computers and Ipods then pay for food they could easily afford.

So I do understand why companies choose to destroy food rather than give it away

[Sitnam]

@Kalhoun

I have donated both time and money.

And that’s terrific. The distinction I am drawing is that there is no obligation to help, as opposed to saying you must help your children, relatives, friends and close neighbors. If a neighbor asks for a cup of sugar you’re an ass for not giving it to them, you are not an ass for walking passed the beggar on the street.

@Kalhoun

And you didn’t answer the question. Maybe you were too busy donating your time and money, huh?

“If the food is going to be thrown away, and isn’t a donation that is costing you money, why wouldn’t you do it? Why wouldn’t you try to help the poor?”

Growing food costs money, even if distribution is free, a situation is created where people no longer have to pay for food, they can simply wait the farmer out. Three farmers A,B,C are all next door and their apples are selling at 5 cents, but they can’t sell all of them so farmer C gives the rest of his away, driving the price down for the other farmers to 2 cents an apple (much less than the cost of growing them). All the farmers are screwed the next year as well since the market expects to get free apples at the end of the season. They won’t be fresh but they will be free. The farmers will make no profit and will go out of business. There wont be any apples whether anyone has money or not. There, does that answer your question.