Monthly Archives: January 2011

Un-Greening the Capitol

It was somewhat surprising to hear that the GOP leadership decided to scrap the Capitol composting plan last week. Surprising, because who doesn’t like composting? Somewhat, because you can find opposition to anything except ice cream and puppies in Washington. The UPI reported that House Administration Chairman Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) decided to cut the program instituted […]

January 31, 2011 | Posted in Composting, Energy | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Food’s cheapness is a major factor in why we waste so much of it. A BlogHer writer makes a compelling case that buying expensive food reduces waste both from overeating and discards. Waste comes in two forms: food disposed of in the garbage and food disposed of in the human body. When you eat beyond […]

January 28, 2011 | Posted in College, Composting, Friday Buffet, Household, International | Comments closed

Stocking Up

I went through a phase of making my own soup stock, but my interest waned along with my enthusiasm for soup. Well, there’s been a resurgence on both fronts. When I recently found myself making more soups and stews, I thought it was high time to reintroduce the practice of setting aside veggie skins, scraps […]

January 26, 2011 | Posted in Household, Personal | Comments closed

2050: A Hunger Odyssey?

The Independent (UK) recently spent some time considering how we’ll feed everyone in 2050. Today’s publication of a report on the topic by a governmental group  prompted the article. The Foresight Programme’s Global Food and Farming Futures report preaches that we’ll need to use all methods at our disposal (including GM crops) to have enough food for […]

January 24, 2011 | Posted in International | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Check out this neat NPR story on gleaning in Tennessee. Great press for the valiant Society of St. Andrew. — — Ag giant Archer Daniels Midland and the University of Illinois are teaming up to figure out how to avoid waste in the developing world. ADM is contributing $10 million to fund the Institute for […]

January 21, 2011 | Posted in Composting, Farm, Food Recovery, International, Waste Stream | Comments closed

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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