Category Archives: Hunger

Friday Buffet

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization continues to tackle waste with the SAVE FOOD initiative. — — The anaerobic digestion hit parade continues, as the California Energy Commission just awarded a $6 million grant to a Sacramento food waste-to-energy facility. That’ll definitely cover their shovel costs. — — The EPA recently recognized several New England […]

June 15, 2012 | Also posted in College, Energy, Friday Buffet, International | Comments closed

Using What We Have

In case you missed it, there was a fabulous op-ed in Friday’s Times. Its two authors looked at global food waste and characterized it as an opportunity to feed the 925 million undernourished people on this earth. The authors do a nice job conveying the scale of our waste. But it also gets beyond the numbers, illustrating […]

October 17, 2011 | Also posted in International | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

What’s not to love about making beer from the otherwise-wasted abundance around us all? Fullsteam (brewery) makes me proud to live in Durham. — — Also in my city–there’s now a program that encourages people to leave food on their porch for raccoons volunteers to collect. Believe it or not, it works well! — — If […]

September 30, 2011 | Also posted in Food Recovery, Friday Buffet, International | Comments closed

Unnecessary Hunger

Famine x Waste = Terrible Well worth a read: This thought-provoking piece on how famine in East Africa is made all the more absurd by the waste in that region. Shrinking prices lead to no market for some crops. And because there is so little irrigation in use, a draught worsens the situation. But, as […]

August 15, 2011 | Also posted in International | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Portland City Council will vote next week on whether or not to make curbside composting a citywide program (and reduce regular trash collection to every other week). Come on Stumptown, both Salem and Keizer (Oregon) have such a program! — — Connecticut’s governor just signed a bill requiring composting for businesses producing more than 104 […]

August 12, 2011 | Also posted in Composting, Friday Buffet, International | Comments closed

Through the Lens of Poverty

The following commentary ran on the Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity site this Monday. It’s a bit longer than most posts, but hopefully it’s worth your time. — An increasing number of Americans face poverty and, as a result, hunger. Meanwhile, we waste close to half of all food produced domestically. It’s an American paradox. […]

May 11, 2011 | Also posted in General | Comments closed

Why Waste Matters

If you’ve ever thought about food waste, this thought has probably passed through your mind: Why do I even care? Or maybe you’ve heard about wasted food’s ramifications before but find yourself in need of a refresher. In either case, it’s never a bad thing to consider why we shouldn’t squander food. So here goes: […]

March 29, 2011 | Also posted in Energy, Environment | Comments closed

The Declaration of Independence (from food waste)

In December, I wrote about the Danish group Stop Wasting Food. After that post ran, their founder, Selina Juul, pointed me to a fascinating product–the Joint Declaration Against Food Waste. While it’s not quite as grandiose as our Declaration of Independence, the joint declaration has grand ambitions. Most notably, it pushes for: A global reduction […]

January 12, 2011 | Also posted in Institutional, International | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

It’s heartening to see Congress fight hunger and obesity while supporting local foods (even if it’s sad that it took them this long). All good news, right? Well… About half of the $4.5 billion cost is financed by a cut in food stamps starting in several years. In your best Jon Stewart voice: Wha-wha-what?!? So […]

December 3, 2010 | Also posted in Composting, Friday Buffet, International, Legislation, School | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Jennifer Rubbel, America’s favorite “vegetable butcher,” also makes art that calls attention to food waste. Or is it just a waste? Depends how you look at it. Here’s her take: People sometimes look at what I do and think about decadence and waste. They see 150 roasted rabbits in a pile and think it’s obscene. […]

September 24, 2010 | Also posted in Friday Buffet, International | Comments closed