By law, certain foods must be disposed of after a certain amount of time, even if there's nothing wrong with it. For example, if you ever go to a Dunkin' Donuts just before closing, you'll notice that they throw away everything that wasn't sold that day (at least they used to). I'm not sure if that's by law or company policy, but it's a good way to score free donuts. Not that anyone needs to be eating a whole shitload of donuts . . .

Some companies that get rid of their stock at the end of each day, for example, some bakeries, will donate the food to local homeless shelters or churches. It really is crazy how much food is wasted in the U.S. and how it permeates the culture.

When towns and cities are organized around roads intended for cars, it seems like food moves farther away from people. When people are less familiar with what fresh foods look like, it seems like the trend is to trust in a governing body to issue standards for what constitutes food as being "fresh" or at least safe for consumption. I really, really don't like it, but most people in America aren't able to go to the market each day to get fresh food, or even have the time built in to their schedules to take the time to prepare food. In my mind, it's a huge contributor to the general fatness of the population.