The Food Fuzz

More than 20,000 lucky Britons will receive visits from trained food waste reduction officials.

photo by icebone (via Creative Commons)These “food champions” will tutor citizens on cooking with leftovers, preparing appropriately-sized portions, understanding “best before” dates and making better use of their freezers. Critics are calling the officials the “food police.”

The pilot program, launched by the government agency Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) this week, could really help waste in the UK. Heck, they’re already making significant progress (and saving a few quid). At the very least, you can’t say the British government is ignoring the issue of food waste like a certain nation that declared its independence from England in 1776.

Sure, officials risk pestering citizens and/or boring to skilled homemakers, but isn’t that better than taking no action?

Of course, some people aren’t quite so enamored with the idea. Objections range from ‘waste of government money’ to ‘invasion of privacy.’ Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance voiced his displeasure:

This is a prime example of excessive Government nannying, and a waste of public money and resources. In the grip of a recession, the last thing people need is someone bossing them about in their own kitchen.

Yet, those not interested can always give a polite ‘No, thanks.’ And the program will make adjustments based on the findings of the seven-week trial in Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

The eight food champions have received a day’s training on how to…champion food. That should be enough–shoot, I haven’t had a day of training and that hasn’t stopped me from lecturing dishing out advice.

What’s your take? Useful public service? “Excessive government nannying?” Or something in between?

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