I love produce that has…character. You know, the stuff that looks–pick one–quirky, ugly or odd. When I find especially striking examples, I do this: Uli Westphal is a German photographer who also enjoys “non-standard fruits, roots and vegetables.” Except when he finds interesting examples, being a professional photographer, he does this: What could be better [...]
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 [...]
This weekend was a wasted food feast over on NPR. First, The Splendid Table quiz asked: What is a Saudi restaurateur doing to reduce food waste? Head to the 32:00 mark for the question and answer. — — And over on A Praire Home Companion, Stephanie Davis sang the only gleaning song I’ve ever heard. “Give [...]
While out in Vegas to give a few talks to restaurant staff, I had the chance to visit a shrimp farm. I’m not one to turn down an aquaculture opportunity, let alone such a thing happening in the desert. The facility, Blue Oasis Pure Shrimp, is a pretty neat place. The tent-like white building shimmering [...]
Happy World Population Day! Later this year, we’ll hit 7 million people. That’s why one of the 7 billion actions should be getting more efficient with our food. In other words, to waste less. Just something to think about the next time you find an article about changing agriculture to feed the growing planet that [...]
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 [...]
Given the name of this blog, I can’t condone the practice of shooting pumpkins at a bus. But I can’t get too worked up about it, either. Especially when it produces the same end result as a jack-o-lantern: an uneaten pumpkin. Enjoy this odd scene… Incidentally, a researcher of a soon-to-be published study told me [...]
This past Saturday, I volunteered at Yam Jam 2010. It’s the grand daddy of all gleaning events, and this year didn’t disappoint. The hundreds of volunteers collected 21,407 pounds of sweet potatoes. True, we did collect sweet potatoes, not yams. You’ll have to pardon the slight misnomer–all in the name of attracting a good crowd. [...]
I’ve been fascinated/horrified/interested in this whole 4th of July Milk Dump that I wrote about on Friday. The coordinated dumping of hundreds of thousands of gallons hundredweights of milk took place on Sunday as planned in many locations. What follows is a little recap: This article details the happenings in Cement City, Michigan and supplies [...]
I haven’t heard tons about how the 4th of July milk dump went down, namely how much milk went down the drain. But here’s one update from upstate New York. I’ll post more as I hear about it.
