Category Archives: Processing Plants

Cap’n Cattle Feed

Forget grass-fed beef, how about Cap’n Crunch-fed? An article in Harvest reports that, often, more than half of cattle feed comes from food manufacturing excess. The mix of scraps and seconds that used to be the domain of hogs, is becoming increasingly common with cattle. My first thought: what a nice use of excess materials that keeps […]

February 1, 2012 | Also posted in Waste Stream | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Sodexo reported that they’ve reduced waste by 30% on eight campuses. How? Identifying their waste by using LeanPath waste tracking systems. — — Half the fish caught in the North Sea are being thrown back…dead?!?

November 19, 2010 | Also posted in College, Composting, Energy, International | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Here are some ideas on Obama’s food policy. Strange that there’s no mention of a Food Waste Czar. He must want to keep it hush-hush. — — Reminder: Nov 26 is your last chance to submit your comments on the proposed Green Seal Environmental Standard for Restaurants. — — OK, University of New Mexico, it’s […]

November 14, 2008 | Also posted in College, Composting, General, Restaurant, Trayless | Comments closed

Where’s the Beef? In the Landfill

Not surprisingly, there’s been some fallout from the largest beef recall in U.S. history. You know, the one that didn’t really need to happen. Many retailers are frustrated at having to toss perfectly good food. Recently, Seattle-area landfills have started burying cases of meat that were at school cafeterias. A King County landfill received 230 […]

February 27, 2008 | Also posted in Food Safety, Waste Stream | Comments closed

My Beef with the Recall

Yesterday, Westland/Hallmark Meatpacking Company recalled the most beef in US history. The 143 million pounds of meat was more than four times greater than the next highest amount. In fact, the recalled beef is enough to serve two burgers to roughly every American. Now imagine every man, woman and child throwing away two hamburgers (minus […]

February 19, 2008 | Also posted in Food Safety | Comments closed

8:30 to 5:30

As I mentioned before, I’ve begun working for a renewable energy company planning to convert food waste to electricity. So far, so good. In trying to find sources of bulk food waste, I’ve spoken with folks at food processing plants. One canning factory executive told me that the speed of their production line leads to an abundance of […]

January 10, 2008 | Also posted in Composting | Comments closed

Pot Pie Pandemic?

After concerns that some of its Banquet poultry pot pie products may be linked to an outbreak of salmonella, ConAgra recalled all Banquet and store brand pot pies last week. The reason more than 165 people in 31 states got sick is because they didn’t get the freezer pies hot enough. Because these pot pies are not ‘ready […]

October 17, 2007 | Also posted in Food Safety, Supermarket | Comments closed

About that 27 percent

Whenever the discussion of food waste comes up, the 27 percent figure soon follows. According to the USDA’s helpful research wing–the Economic Research Service (ERS)–that amount of the edible food available for human consumption in the US at retail, restaurant and consumer levels is “lost to human use.” My 3 cents: 1. It’s incomplete. It […]

June 21, 2007 | Also posted in Farm, Restaurant, Stats, Supermarket | Comments closed

Waste in Your World

One of the perks of running this site is getting feedback from readers. Recently, I was excited to receive this question from Kelley, a middle school student in Russelville, Ark. I’ll let her explain: My name is Kelley and I’m in the seventh grade. Our class is a part of Project Citizen, it is where you find […]

March 6, 2007 | Also posted in School | Comments closed