Category Archives: History and Culture

A Message for December 25…and after

First off, Merry Christmas! Many of us will enjoy a nice family dinner on Christmas–and I hope you do enjoy it! I also hope you make good use of your leftovers. As does my man Hilary Benn, UK Environment Secretary, who hit out at the practice of binning Christmas leftovers. Meanwhile, in a related topic, the […]

December 25, 2009 | Also posted in Composting, International | Comments closed

Thanksgiving Wrap

Washington’s King County (home of Seattle) is pushing the envelope on food waste collection. Why should Thanksgiving be any different? Monday, a neighborhood in Renton, Wash., dumped turkey carcasses and other Thanksgiving leftovers in a public location as part of a composting demo organized by the County recycling team. I’m guessing the county carted away […]

December 2, 2009 | Also posted in Composting, Waste Stream | Comments closed

A Video to be Thankful for

If I was going to make a short video summing up the problem of wasted food, it’d look something like this. Good did a great job of illuminating the problem and then suggesting ideas on how to take action. — Speaking of taking action, with Thanksgiving upon us, I just wanted to add a few […]

November 25, 2009 | Also posted in Household, Stats | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Really? Planned food fights as birthday party entertainment? That’s the best you can do? There is an interested skirmish in the comments section, but to throw another 2 cents in, I’d say there are environmental and ethical implications to wasting food as opposed to money. — — Howard County, Md, is rocking recess before lunch […]

November 20, 2009 | Also posted in Friday Buffet, International, School, Waste Stream | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

In addition to being my brother’s birthday, Saturday is (the) International Climate Day of Action. 350.org, has issued this call to action to get our atmospheric CO2 below 350 parts per million. It’s imperative stuff. You can find local events on the site, and don’t forget that reducing food waste helps the environment, too. — […]

October 23, 2009 | Also posted in Composting, Friday Buffet, Restaurant, Waste Stream | Comments closed

Wasted Food at the Movies

I’m torn here. Whip It looks like a pretty good flick and I’d probably go see it (if I had any time to see movies). Then again, it contains this horrible food fight. Not surprisingly, I don’t love a food fight (in theory or in practice). While I try to have a sense of humor […]

October 5, 2009 | Posted in History and Culture | Comments closed

Iftar’s Leftovers…Save Them

It’s about that time of year again. No, not back to school–not quite yet. Ramadan. While the Muslim holy month doesn’t begin until Friday, the pre-holiday anti-waste press is ramping up. In Turkey, an anti-waste group warned that the nation’s troubling food waste levels (3.5 million loaves wasted/day!) rise during Ramadan. The Turkish Foundation for Waste Reduction […]

August 17, 2009 | Also posted in International | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

For those wondering what life is like at Food Banks these days, watch this engrossing video from the NY Times. “The food bank opens at 4 p.m. every Thursday, but the line outside begins to form as early as noon.” Increased demand has made it challenging for food banks to feed all of those in need. One […]

July 30, 2009 | Also posted in Composting, Friday Buffet | Comments closed

The National School Waste Program

Here’s an interesting piece on waste in the National School Lunch Program. I’ve discussed school food waste before, but I find all stories on the topic fascinating. The attention grabber is that tax payer dollars are being thrown out. Does that make it worse than when kids throw out their parents’ (also tax payers) money by tossing their veggies […]

July 22, 2009 | Also posted in Hunger, School | Comments closed

Free Fallen Fruit

Among the originators of tree gleaning, L.A.’s Fallen Fruit have a different way of going about it. They bill themselves as an “activist art project.” The group started by mapping and gathering public fruit, “which is what we call all fruit on or overhanging public spaces such as sidewalks, streets or parking lots.” They now have a […]

July 13, 2009 | Also posted in Tree Gleaning | Comments closed