Category Archives: Environment

Why Waste Matters: Water

One of the real problems with wasting food is that we also squander the embedded resources. Mainly, oil and water (and I have found a way to mix the two here). While I usually focus on oil, water is increasingly coming to the fore. To wit, this fascinating Dutch study that tallies foods’ water footprint. In […]

June 8, 2011 | Also posted in Energy, International | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Here’s the NYT Green blog’s take on the FAO food waste study. Amen: Further research in the area is urgent, especially considering that food security is a major concern in large parts of the developing world. — — This blog post on the FAO study is well done, but it overlooks the cost of unharvested […]

May 20, 2011 | Also posted in Composting, International, Personal | Comments closed

Challenge Your Group

Yesterday, I participated in my first webinar. Once you get past the oddness of talking into a void with no audio or video feedback, it’s a neat way to reach a wide audience. The event featured two other speakers, both EPA employees who work on food waste reduction. One of them brought up the EPA’s […]

May 4, 2011 | Also posted in Energy, Institutional | Comments closed

Why Waste Matters

If you’ve ever thought about food waste, this thought has probably passed through your mind: Why do I even care? Or maybe you’ve heard about wasted food’s ramifications before but find yourself in need of a refresher. In either case, it’s never a bad thing to consider why we shouldn’t squander food. So here goes: […]

March 29, 2011 | Also posted in Energy, Hunger | Comments closed

Stop Spild Af Mad!

Monday I linked to an editorial from a writer advocating eating our Christmas trees (more or less). Perhaps it’s no surprise that the author is Danish, given the strength of that nation’s Stop Wasting Food group(Stop Spild Af Mad in Danish). The non-profit aims to reduce the amount of food wasted in Denmark through a […]

December 29, 2010 | Also posted in Energy, International | Comments closed

Atop the Soap Box

Yesterday, my op-ed ran in the Los Angeles Times. As a newspaper lover, I was excited to see it appear in one of the country’s best. You can read the piece on the Times site, or here: — Help the Planet: Stop Wasting Food Let me guess: You’re concerned about the environment. You recycle, buy […]

November 8, 2010 | Also posted in Personal | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

More fallout from Monday’s topic of energy lost in food waste. In her Discover blog, Sheril Kirshenbaum asks ‘how do we change attitudes and behavior on waste?’ Well, I hope it starts with a book. — — Not that you’d ever think of wasting peanut butter, but just in case…here are 10 other uses for […]

August 20, 2010 | Also posted in College, Friday Buffet, Hunger | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

A late addition to the steam table: New York’s Dept. of Ag says it’s okay to change the sell-by date on food. The rule itself isn’t terrible, considering the sell-by date is aimed at stores. But it seems like a bad idea in that it could lead to abuse. — — A year into San Francisco’s mandatory […]

June 4, 2010 | Also posted in Composting, Friday Buffet, Household, Waste Stream | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Vancouver implemented curbside food scrap composting yesterday, er…Earth Day. It’s limited to single family houses now and is only accepting some organic materials this year. The city site has some nice promo posters, a video showing how composting is part of cooking and a 35% of home waste is food stat that seems a bit high. But the real question […]

April 23, 2010 | Also posted in College, Composting, Events, Food Recovery, Friday Buffet | Comments closed

Earth Day Correspondence

Dear Wasted Food reader, Tomorrow is Earth Day. You may have heard. You know, it’s a time to be inundated with offers to buy green products contemplate our planet’s fragility. To mark the occasion, I have one simple request: Don’t waste any food. That’s not too much to ask–for one day, at least–is it? Thanks and enjoy the […]

April 21, 2010 | Posted in Environment | Comments closed