Illustrating Abundance

Whenever I’m asked why we waste so much food, ‘abundance’ is one of the first words I utter.

We grow far more food than we need, averaging 3900 calories per person per day.* One result of our abundance is that we’re inundated with food. Supermarkets have a seemingly bottomless supply of food (When was the last time you saw a store out of something?). And grocers favor heaving, heaped displays.

Yet, increasingly, we see food at other locations. We’ve grown accustomed to food taking center stage at gas stations. But another trend, as The NY Times notes, is increased food offerings at big box retailers and pharmacies.

These added offerings aren’t necessarily harmful. Pharmacies can be an oasis of fresh foods in urban food deserts. That’s if they’re stocking fresh fruits and vegetables. Big box retailers are redefining the retail food business, lumping food purchases in with other household goods (a trend happening in reverse at some traditional grocers).

Yet these increased food options communicate our abundance in a somewhat harmful way. They contribute to the sense that we have so much food that we don’t need to treat it carefully. And so we don’t.

—

*Amazingly, despite this abundance, we don’t manage to get food to all of those in need. Redistribution remains a problem, although it’s improving via food recovery. And the USDA doesn’t help as they once did in the 90s.

January 19, 2011 | Posted in History and Culture | Comments closed

Why I Write About Food

Today’s post will also appear on GOOD’s new food site. As part of their Food For Thinkers series, the site has asked a bunch of food writers (I’m honored to be one) to wrestle with this question:

What does—or could, or even should—it mean to write about food today?

An intriguing question, for sure. And so…

For many of us, writing about food today means considering the environmental impact of our food choices. Knowing what we now know about monocultures, factory farms, petrochemical fertilizers, pesticide runoff and transcontinental shipping, it’s hard to write about anything but the sustainability of what we eat. To extol local and organic, hopefully not at the expense of enjoying our food.

I believe food writers can celebrate the joy that food brings while raising the right food flags. As I see it, my role in the sustainability cause is spotlighting one of its seldom considered facets: food waste.

And I think it’s a vital part of the discussion. Waste undermines sustainability to an extent. If you buy a locally-raised, organic-fed whole chicken, and it sits in your freezer for a year before being tossed, those adjectives matter less. On the macro level–what’s less sustainable than growing about twice the amount of needed calories and then discarding about half of them?

As I see it, waste is one of the largest threats to our food supply. I’m not alone there, as the recent State of the World 2011 report warned about waste. As hunger persists, reducing waste and improving (re)distribution are vital. And as the global population inches toward 7 billion, we need to be more efficient with what we grow to ensure that all are fed.

Food waste also has a significant environmental impact. Agriculture is a real resource hog. A massive amount of oil goes into growing, harvesting, processing, shipping and cooling our food.  At least 2% of all U.S. energy consumption goes to produce food that is thrown away. And agriculture represents about 80 percent of all water consumption.

To invest all of those resources in producing food that we then freely waste is a real shame. Yet, waste we do. We squander about 40 percent of our food. Our wasting is on the rise, as it has increased 50 percent since 1974.

And that waste has a double impact. In addition the aforementioned squandered resources, food that rots in a landfill emits methane, a greenhouse gas more than 20 times as potent at trapping heat. We’re aiding climate change through our trash cans.

I believe that food should be treasured. Certain items a bit more so than others (deep-fried Twinkies come to mind). At the very least, we should value our edibles. Because all foods serve a purpose, whether it’s to nourish, delight or unite. Whether you grow, cook, eat, or write about food (maybe all of the above), minimizing our food waste is the ultimate way to honor it.

January 18, 2011 | Posted in Energy, Personal | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

I’ve always enjoyed the Worldwatch Institute’s State of the World reports. But now I really like them after the State of the World Report 2011 classifed food waste as a major concern. From Wednesday’s release:

Moreover, “roughly 40 percent of the food currently produced worldwide is wasted before it is consumed, creating large opportunities for farmers and households to save both money and resources by reducing this waste,” according to Brian Halweil, Nourishing the Planet co-director.

(Their blog has plenty of useful info, too.)

— —

Those who get the Travel Channel can watch some dumpster diving on Tuesday’s show. Here’s a teaser.

— —

A startup making anaerobic digesters to fit behind large cafeterias and supermarkets helmed by a guy with an awesome name like Hunt Briggs? How do I become an investor?

— —

Finally: Might “Poo-gloos” be the solution to processing food waste?? Probably not, but it is fun to see that word on the screen…

January 14, 2011 | Posted in Anaerobic Digestion, Energy, Freegan, Friday Buffet | Comments closed

The Declaration of Independence (from food waste)

In December, I wrote about the Danish group Stop Wasting Food. After that post ran, their founder, Selina Juul, pointed me to a fascinating product–the Joint Declaration Against Food Waste.

While it’s not quite as grandiose as our Declaration of Independence, the joint declaration has grand ambitions. Most notably, it pushes for:

  • A global reduction of food waste by 50% at all steps of the food chain
  • The UN to add reducing food waste to Goal #7 (ensure environmental sustainability) of its Millennium Development Goals
  • International aid agencies to push food efficiency alongside improvements in agriculture and development
  • The European Commission to take a stance on food waste

The document provides a nice model of what could be. Of how we can assert important goals for reducing waste, which will likely prompt action. Next up, hopefully, will be a declaration signed by representatives from all corners of the globe.

January 12, 2011 | Posted in Hunger, Institutional, International | Comments closed

Naval Gazing

I recently came across an amazing collection of vintage Navy posters dealing with–you guessed it–food waste. Avoiding waste, to be more specific.

I’d only previously seen one of these posters, so you can imagine my excitement–especially as I’m a bit of a propaganda geek. The Navy’s Bureau of Supplies and Accounts produced this set of posters in 1944 as World War II was in full blaze.

With some, the rationale for not wasting is fairly war- or Navy-specific. But the message is universal: Watch Your Waste!

There are some nice ones in the set, but this Chow Hound one is my favorite. My dog doesn’t have any trouble eating all that she “takes,” but I’m still working on getting her to walk upright while holding her cap on her tail.

January 10, 2011 | Posted in History and Culture | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Don’t look now but…here comes another app to help avoid food waste: Consume Within.

— —

Recently, PBS cooking maestra Lidia Bastianich posted a commitment to reduce her waste. She even asked her readers to follow suit and share their experiences at her site’s community table.

— —

Who wouldn’t want to learn a bit about composting from BioCycle’s resident expert?

— —

Portland’s Be Resourceful campaign is pretty handy, especially when we’re being asked to be resourceful In the Kitchen.

— —

Finally, here’s a fun-ish video on food waste recycling in Singapore, complete with retro sound effects:

January 7, 2011 | Posted in Composting, Energy, Friday Buffet, Household | Comments closed

New Estimates for a New Era

It’s not every year you get a new USDA study on food waste! 2011 is off to a great start with the recent release of Consumer-Level Food Loss Estimates and Their Use in the ERS Loss-Adjusted Food Availability Data.

It’s a mouthful, for sure. So what does it mean/contain? In short, the publication updates the USDA’s loss estimates for just about every food item you can imagine. It’s the study that I alluded to earlier that found that fresh pumpkin was the most wasted food in our homes (not a shocker).

FYI, by “consumer level,” the study refers to food both in our homes and away from our homes (at restaurants, schools, cafeterias, hospitals, etc.).  The reasons for this waste, which doesn’t include inedible stuff like peels, cores or bones, include:

  • Losses during cooking and preparation
  • Discards due to preparation of too much food
  • Expired use-by dates
  • Spoilage
  • Plate waste

It’s fun to take a stroll through the 123 pages (OK, ‘fun’ may not be the right word) to see how much of each food we waste and how much the estimates have changed. So have a look. And keep in mind that the authors are looking for feedback on the estimates–don’t be shy about giving it!

January 5, 2011 | Posted in Household, Institutional, Restaurant, Stats | Comments closed

Clean Plate Club?

As we ease into 2011, it’s a decent time to revisit the ‘clean your plate’ ethic, as this Kansas City Star columnist does.

In this obesity-heavy era, it’s easy to scoff at the idea that we should eat all that’s on our plates. There are the eating disorder worries. And with today’s portion sizes so huge, eating all we’re served can be a dangerous proposition. 

At the same time, the ‘clean your plate’ ethic teaches a healthy respect for food. Especially if we’re served (or take) a modest amount of healthy food.

The K.C. column features a neat little tale toward the end. It’s worth reading, for a chuckle and a little inspiration on getting kids not to waste food (Hide the ketchup!).

What do you make of the ‘clean your plate’ idea? Does it have any value or is it just a harmful relic?

January 3, 2011 | Posted in History and Culture, Household | Comments closed

The Happy New Year Friday Buffet

This time of year is rife with New Year’s Resolutions. Here’s a pretty good one, in my humble opinion.

— —

Here’s a safe bet for 2011: We’ll see more composting schemes launching, like this commercial one in St. Louis.

Of course, public funding to boost composting, as in Australia, wouldn’t hurt.

— —

A less safe bet for 2011: Publicly-funded tree gleaning in a city other than San Francisco.

— —

It may not be out next year, but here’s a report on the ‘fridge of the future.’ Among other things, it will move older items to the front–reducing our wasting of those back of the fridge, forgotten foods. (HT to Vitamin M)

— —

Finally, I hope you have a happy, healthy, not-so-waste-heavy 2011. Thank you all for reading and engaging.

December 31, 2010 | Posted in Composting, Food Recovery, Friday Buffet, Household, International | 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 variety of means. There’s the site, which does plenty to raise awareness (and I’m sure does plenty more if you understand Danish). There’s a forthcoming cookbook on how to use up leftovers, in which top Danish chefs, politicians and food personalities lend their expertise.

Plus, the group does plenty of legislative lobbying. SWF recently got the Danish government (via the Minister for the Environment, Karen Ellemannto) to pledge $3.5 million toward waste prevention outreach. And below, you can watch SWF founder Selina Juul preach the good word to the European Parliament (she comes in at the 2:50 mark):

December 29, 2010 | Posted in Energy, Environment, International | Comments closed