Last night I spoke to a local group of young professionals about food waste. As much as I like blogging to you discerning readers, the talk was a nice opportunity to converse with an audience that could and did ask questions and challenge some assumptions. 
Some attendees were curious about the statistic that we don’t eat a quarter of the food […]

Yesterday we talked about how the desire for flawless produce leads to much waste. Pushing the issue further, who’s to blame for this desire?
While Wayne Roberts’ article impugned food magazines, I’d also blame most supermarkets, especially Whole Foods. Most retailers make a point of having bountiful, beautiful displays. Doing so means throwing out imperfect, nonuniform produce.
As Whole […]

Wayne Roberts, a Toronto journalist and occasional farmer has written a fascinating article in the current issue of Canadian publication NOW on how glossy magazines instill a desire for perfect looking produce. This causes unrealistic expecatations, and ultimately, waste.
…most of the food we toss, perhaps one-fifth of the harvest, is wasted simply because it disappoints visual expectations […]

I just read this nice tribute to Clayton Taub, a real mensch who was essentially a one-man food recovery operation.
The column describes Taub as having “an intolerance for waste and a passion for helping others.” Is it just me, or are there fewer and fewer folks in America’s younger generations who fit that first description?
Your thoughts, please.

Kottke.org brings the bread menu holder to our attention. Le Pain Quotidien, a Belgian chain with franchises in N.Y. and L.A, uses bread with slices to store menus.
“Cool idea” is the prevailing sentiment in the commentary below Jason Kottke’s photo of the menu holder on flickr. I have to disagree. While it’s by no means the most flagrant wasting I’ve seen, it sets a […]

This piece provides a little culinary exploration into the origins of traditional African American foods and a bit of watermelon history. In it, there’s a nice nugget about thrift:
Nothing was ever wasted in the African American kitchen. Leftover fish became croquettes (by adding an egg, cornmeal or flour, seasonings and breaded then deep-fried). Stale bread became […]

I imagined writing a breezy, Friday-friendly post, but this entry on eating disorders sparked my interest.
Karen Koenig, an expert in the psychology of eating, writes that people can’t change their unhealthy eating practices without first changing their underlying beliefs about food/body/weight. (I have a similar belief that people won’t stop wasting food until they change their attitude about food […]

Is this a waste of food, an American tradition or both?  
Also, is it ridiculous to equate beating Japanese competitive eater Kobayashi, the 5-time Nathan’s hot dog champion, with patriotism? In the leadup to the 4th of July competition, the American challenger in the contest took that line:
“I’m going to push harder on our Independence Day to […]

Here’s a little light weekend reading. It’s not brand new, but a recent scientific study has ramifications on food waste. 
Also, here’s an older study of that oh-so-vaunted law of food hygiene, the five-second rule. If this traditional theory is discredited, will more food be wasted?

Don’t judge a book by its cover. Beauty is only skin deep. It’s what’s on the inside that counts.
With the summer/local produce season upon us, I wanted to remind you that those expressions apply to produce as well as people. Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon, the folks who wrote the book behind the 100 Mile Diet, address this issue on […]