Author Archives: Jonathan

Bloody Good?

We’re all familiar with that Dracula line: “I vaant to suck your blood!” But these days, the non-Twilight set may be more interested in eating it. No, it’s not a post-Halloween joke: many cultures use animal blood as part of their cuisine. You have blood pancakes, blood pudding and blood porridge. And blood is used […]

November 1, 2012 | Posted in History and Culture, International | Comments closed

Tuesday Buffet

There’s some evidence that the issue of food waste is catching on in China, albeit in a fairly political way. According to the official newspaper of the Communist Youth League, the abundant food waste can be blamed on the wealthy. — — Waitrose, the British grocery chain, just announced that it now sends no food […]

October 30, 2012 | Posted in Anaerobic Digestion, Friday Buffet, International, Supermarket | Comments closed

Hooray for Food Day!

Happy Food Day, y’all! While the rest of the globe celebrated World Food Day earlier this month, we independent Americans are sticking with our own version (for some reason). Regardless, it’s a good day to be mindful about our food. That mindfulness can take many forms. It can mean “eating real.” Hopefully, that will also include […]

October 24, 2012 | Posted in History and Culture | Comments closed

Waste Weigh Debrief

On Friday, I oversaw a waste weigh at Bucknell University. I updated Friday’s post with the results, but I want to provide more context. Here goes… The logistics: students scraped their plate remains into a clear container atop a large scale. This waste weigh setup was just in front of the plate return belt, making […]

October 22, 2012 | Posted in College, Personal | Comments closed

Waste Weigh Friday

I’ve spent this past week at Bucknell University. I gave a campus talk, guest lectured in a variety of classes and met with professors and students. It has been an engaging, fun few days. But the main participatory activity of the visit takes place today at lunch, when we’ll hold a waste audit in the main […]

October 19, 2012 | Posted in College | Comments closed

Food *Waste* Revolution?

Fresh off tackling obesity, Jamie Oliver will now turn his attention to food waste with his next TV project. At least that’s what his pal, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, he of the valiant Fish Fight campaign, announced for at a recent press conference. It’s not clear whether this would be on US or UK television, but I’d bet on […]

October 17, 2012 | Posted in College, History and Culture, International | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Exciting news: the National Restaurant Association announced a partnership with the US Composting Council. We shall see what comes from this collaboration, but at first glance it seems like a major step in the right direction. I like the second item the best: “We are pleased to join with the US Composting Council to better […]

October 12, 2012 | Posted in Composting, Restaurant, Waste Stream | Comments closed

Taking the Pulse: Perfection

Wednesday’s The New York Times offered a few takes on one topic: the appearance of our food. First, this fascinating piece on food photographer Laura Letinsky details her subversion of glistening food perfection. I’m particularly interested in her propensity to photograph a meal’s aftermath, leftovers included. I was even more interested in this quote from […]

October 10, 2012 | Posted in History and Culture | Comments closed

European Produce Pondering

On Friday, I was surprised to hear the finding that 50% of Europe’s fruits and vegetables aren’t eaten. Turns out I missed one small word–that close to 50% is wasted. Not a big deal, though, as nearly everyone uses tiny modifiers for impact. With or without modifiers, European produce waste is shocking. Yet even worse is North […]

October 9, 2012 | Posted in Composting, Household, International, Stats | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Wait, what?! According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 50% of Europe’s fruit and vegetables are wasted. I’ll have more on this staggering news on Monday. — — Lots of food waste discussion up in Canada. A recent report found that 51% of Canadian food waste comes from homes. I’m not sure I’d classify that as […]

October 5, 2012 | Posted in Composting, Energy, Friday Buffet, Household, International, Stats, Waste Stream | Comments closed