Monthly Archives: December 2011

Food Waste Primer

The NRDC recently put out this handy two-page summary on food waste. It provides a compact answer to how much we waste, what it costs and what we can do about it. There’s a little about the environmental impact, but that’s not the main focus. I’m sure that was intentional, to shift the focus elsewhere. The […]

December 28, 2011 | Posted in General | Comments closed

T’was the Day After Christmas…

Christmas leftovers, anyone? — —

December 26, 2011 | Posted in Household | Comments closed

Holiday Buffet

Tree gleaning and Chinese food on Christmas?! (And the movie comes afterward, right?) If only I lived in L.A… — — Wait, what?! A report out of LA says that 62% of students there don’t have enough time to eat all of their lunch? That can’t be good for food waste. — — Glad to hear […]

December 23, 2011 | Posted in Food Recovery, Friday Buffet, Household, School | Comments closed

The Gift of Food Recovery

Lest you have any doubts on how utterly doable food recovery is…the below video will hopefully communicate that just a few people working together can make a huge dent in local hunger by rescuing and redistributing food. (Heck, one woman and a van can work wonders.)

December 21, 2011 | Posted in Food Recovery | Comments closed

Giving the Gift of Reduced Waste

With the holidays fast approaching, I wanted to pass on a few quick tips to help you minimize holiday food waste: 1. Don’t cook too much food. Thanksgiving celebrates abundance. As far as I know, none of the winter holidays do. Get a good guest count and try not to go overboard. After all, we can […]

December 19, 2011 | Posted in History and Culture, Household | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

It’s official: You can ignore those ‘best before’ dates on your eggs. (At least that’s the word in the UK.) — — This article on Bon Appetit Management food waste minimization at Penn is music to my ears. — — Wish you had a sleek kitchen compost container? Now UCan. — — Finally, it’s nice to […]

December 16, 2011 | Posted in Composting, Food Safety, Friday Buffet | Comments closed

Paying for Your Waste

Straight from Saudi Arabia…here’s a restaurant charging a fee for uneaten food…that goes to a Somalian charity. Hard to argue with that last part. My second thought: I guess taking home leftovers isn’t big in Saudi Arabia. Also, showing the words “the greedy are punished” burning embers flicker on screen made me think the video was […]

December 14, 2011 | Posted in International, Restaurant | Comments closed

Corn for Kitties

I just learned about this kitty litter made from corn. And I am speechless. Okay, deep breath. Wow, this is a terrible idea! Talk about a waste of potential food, farm land, the ag inputs (natural resources) that go into growing our food. And a clear sign we are producing too much food. Given the impact that […]

December 12, 2011 | Posted in Farm, Household | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Whenever a publication as august as The Financial Times weighs in on dumpster diving, I always link to it (and try to match the paper’s salmon color). — — Donating prepared foods can be harder than you think, but it’s important! As is reducing the overall excess at holiday or other gatherings. — — If […]

December 9, 2011 | Posted in Casino, Energy, Friday Buffet | Comments closed

(British) Progress!

While the US grocery industry is slowly turning to the topic of food waste–huzzah!–their British counterparts are already a year into a voluntary agreement to trim waste. More than 50 UK grocery retailers have signed on to The Courtauld Commitment Phase 2, which sets many waste reduction goals. Food is one of them. Interestingly, the food […]

December 7, 2011 | Posted in Energy, Environment, Household, International | Comments closed