The USDA and EPA kicked off the US Food Waste Challenge today in Washington, D.C. The launch event, timed to coincide (loosely) with World Environment Day, featured speeches on the importance of food waste from Secretary of Ag Tom Vilsack and acting EPA chief Bob Persiasepe, in addition to private sector partners. By just about any [...]
More than 100 New York City restaurants–including ones owned by Mario Batali, Lidia Bastianich and Danny Meyer–have pledged to cut their waste in half. One thing conspicuously absent in the writeup was any kind of timeline. Still, great news! — — The GRACE Communications Foundation (the folks behind The Meatrix) just launched a new site on food waste, and [...]
With a nice ‘not only on Earth Day’ lead, Iowa City’s Press-Citizen praises the voluntary composting of many area restaurants and supermarkets. That’s encouraging. Less encouraging news from the article: a bill that would curb the amount of food waste sent to landfills remains stalled in the Iowa House Natural Resources Committee. The bill previously passed the Senate, [...]
Earth Day is a good time to consider just how much we throw away–and not just food. We create 4.4 pounds of trash per day, which is pretty ridiculous. This infographic conveys just how wasteful we are. And food waste’s impact is even greater than pictured, as the numbers represent the percentage of waste created, not [...]
With food packaging, you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Too much, and you’re using unnecessary materials. Too little and you’re risking damaged food in transit and elsewhere. I suppose the ideal is going uber-local and bringing your own reusable containers like at Austin’s in.gredients (check out their incredible 6-month sustainability numbers). But until that sweeps [...]
While there has long been composting activity in NYC, the Bloomberg Administration is launching a pilot program to try it on the municipal level. The pilot program will be on Staten Island, home to the massive (and closed) Fresh Kills Landfill. Let’s hope the program succeeds despite State Island Borough President’s pessimism: ”I think most people [...]
I spent a few days last week with about 50 other sustainability thinkers and doers on snowy, secluded Muhu Island in Estonia. We were there as part of the Clean World Brainstorm, an offshoot of the Let’s Do It! organization. Why Estonia? Because that’s the home of Let’s Do It!, which got its start by [...]
At last–a peer-reviewed analysis of trayless dining! Two American University researchers found that removing trays at their all-you-can-eat cafeteria cut food waste by 32%. What’s more, diners use 27% fewer dishes, leading to water and energy savings. — — As we learn here, cutting food waste would go a long way toward making our food [...]
The NRDC is at it again, this time publishing an issue brief on fruit and vegetable loss at the farm and packing level. Hot off the press! — — Here are a few Big Facts: 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted globally every year. That equates to 6-10% of human-generated greenhouse gas emissions. — [...]
