In an effort to curb food waste, which accounts for roughly one-third of all food produced worldwide, France is making it illegal for supermarkets to throw away any food that is considered edible. The European country’s parliament voted unanimously for the new law, which will force grocers to either donate the food to charity or make sure that it is used as animal feed.

The law, as written, is one of the most stringent attempts to cut the amount of edible but unbecoming produce tossed out every day. As of July 2016, large supermarkets in France – those approximately 4,300 square feet and larger – will face fines of up to $82,000 for failing to comply.

The French parliament voted unanimously to require supermarkets to either give edible food to charities or to make sure it is used as animal feed. Reuters

France’s pivot comes on the heels of a pledge by the European Union to reduce food waste by 50 percent by 2025. But it also follows a number of other forward-thinking measures in France, aimed at halting the practice of tossing out food because of overly conservative expiration dates. In 2013, for instance, the country pushed forth legislation that forced food sellers to label foods in a way that more closely reflected their true shelf life.

Food waste is hardly specific to France, or Europe. Inefficiencies have led to a reality in which countries everywhere – especially developed ones – throw out more food each year than is needed to feed every hungry mouth around the world. In the United States, perhaps the most flagrant example, some $160 billion in food never gets eaten each year. America, as it happens, throws out more food than plastic, paper, metal and glass.

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