Category Archives: Household

Creature Double Feature

Oops. Even I forget about food every once in a while, discovering items after they’ve sprouted tentacles and started torturing the neighborhood. I’m disappointed about wasting my basket of potatoes, but also a tiny bit proud of how scary these spuds have become. The one on the right almost looks like a brain. Normally, when […]

April 16, 2008 | Also posted in Personal | Comments closed

Food’s Violent Inflation

Food prices are on the rise domestically (especially for pizza) and even more so in the developing world. While that may prompt home budget adjusting for some, it causes others to go hungry and/or take to the streets. This weekend in Haiti, unrest caused by inflation brought violence and death. The Prime Minister (but not the […]

April 14, 2008 | Also posted in Hunger, International | Comments closed

Fridges Fingered

I was at a sustainable energy conference yesterday and someone threw out this statistic: From 1974 to 2003, the average refrigerator volume increased from 17.5 to 22.5 cubic feet. (Sorry, I don’t have a link right now.) On the plus side, refrigerators’ energy efficiency has increased by 74 percent. The average 1974 ‘fridge used 1825 […]

April 9, 2008 | Also posted in Energy, Stats | Comments closed

Apple Frittered

Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) released a staggering figure the other day: 4.4 million whole apples are being thrown away every day in Britain. That’s 12 double decker buses full. These apples are termed “avoidable losses,” meaning perfectly good fruit that could have been consumed. You know the old saying: An apple a day…gets thrown away. Or […]

April 8, 2008 | Also posted in Stats | Comments closed

Sprout On

Last week, I wrote about having to buy a half-pound bag of bean sprouts when I just needed a handful. This week, in making an encore entree out of cold sesame noodles, I went to the Asian grocer nearby and bought just the right amount. Not only did I preclude any extra sprouts, which I […]

April 2, 2008 | Also posted in History and Culture, Supermarket | Comments closed

Jon and the Bean Sprout

I like different food items from different grocery stores. But, in an effort to not have food consume all of my free time, I’ve reined myself in and only go to two stores a week. As a result, I’m occasionally asked to compromise on price, quality or quantity. Last week, it was the last of […]

March 26, 2008 | Also posted in Personal | Comments closed

Food Waste Rate Cut?

Well, The Fed is at it again, cutting interest rates. But could the recession sparking these moves “cut” the rate of food wasted? As you’d expect, there’s less eating out in lean times. This article documents that trend from a trash collector’s perspective. Less business, means less food waste, right? Maybe. Fewer diners equals less […]

March 19, 2008 | Also posted in History and Culture, Restaurant | Comments closed

Talkin’ Trash

With college basketball’s season reaching its peak, it’s only fitting that we talk some trash. Or rubbish. In The Rubbish Diet, British blogger “Almost Mrs. Average” completed her eight-week challenge to reduce what she sends to the landfill. After composting and giving some items to her three-year-old for art projects, the family produced one item […]

March 17, 2008 | Also posted in Composting, Waste Stream | Comments closed

Abandoned Apple

What do you do when you bite into an apple and find part of it is bruised? This apple’s former owner dropped it on the ground outside of Trader Joe’s, where apples sell for 59 cents each. Personally, I eat around soft spots or prune them when I’m at home. Sure, this kind of food […]

March 13, 2008 | Posted in Household | Comments closed

Finish Your Liver!

I attended the 8th annual Organics Recycling Summit yesterday in Massachusetts. It was a useful conference that focused on how to prevent food waste from going to landfills. Lots on composting and, my favorite, anaerobic digestion. Among other things, I learned more about the impressive Massachusetts Supermarket Recycling Program, in which almost half the states’ […]

March 5, 2008 | Also posted in Composting, History and Culture | Comments closed