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 food from going to the landfill. My second: What kind of stuff are we talking about?

Jeff Clausen manages 3,000 cattle in two feedlots outside of Omaha, Neb. He says the majority of his cattle’s feed is bakery byproduct – bread, dough and pastries that get burned or misformulated.

Hmm…But they also use Quaker Oats byproduct, which feels a little better. But as we keep reading, we learn that:

Even candy manufacturers have seconds. For example, the Hershey Company sells their candy that isn’t up to snuff for humans to the ag company Cargill, for use in livestock feed.

Rest assured, though–Twizzlers aren’t included, as they’re too gummy. Just a guess, but feeding excess candy, pastries, and sugary cereal (in addition to below-grade soybean oil) to livestock must have side effects.

I could be wrong, but I’m guessing it isn’t healthy for cattle to consume high amounts of sugar.  A quick web search reveals that there is such a thing as bovine diabetes. Going one step further, do those of us who eat beef want to consume meat of unhealthy or sugar-addled animals?

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Half the fish caught in the North Sea are being thrown back…dead?!?

Fish Fight wants to do something about it.

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Talk about using the whole cow! Amtrak has begun powering a train  between Oklahoma and Texas with 20% ethanol made from rendered cow fat. That’s one of the “industrial uses” the EPA hierarchy talks about.

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Finally! After receiving my on-publication check, I’ll be able to afford my new summer cottage complete with a built in composting system.

[for those not clicking on the link, I'm kidding...]

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Reminder: Nov 26 is your last chance to submit your comments on the proposed Green Seal Environmental Standard for Restaurants.

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OK, University of New Mexico, it’s cool that you’re trying out traylessness. But Trayless Mondays? You couldn’t wait one more day for the alliteration? And you’ve decided to quit composting??

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In the name of health, frugality and avoiding waste, the author of Taste: The Story of Britain Through its Cooking pushes for a return to eating offal. Bath Chaps, anyone?

Recently, Seattle-area landfills have started burying cases of meat that were at school cafeterias. A King County landfill received 230 20-to-30-pound cases of meat and plans to take thousands more cases in the next week.

I’ve begged The Seattle Times to take some photos of future dumpings, because I think a photo of someone throwing away 4,600 pounds (2.3 tons) of meat could really outdo my measly words.

In addition to wasting 143 million pounds of beef that the Undersecretary of Agriculture said was not a health risk, the over-cautious recall could send Westland/Hallmark out of business. While I’m not shedding any tears for the beef processor, given that shocking video of their cattle abuse and their flouting of regulations, a lot of people would lose their jobs if the company went under.

We do not feel this product presents a health risk of any significance,” said Dick Raymond, the undersecretary of agriculture for food safety. “But the product was produced in noncompliance with our regulations, so therefore we do have to take this action.”

Obviously, health concerns take precedence over avoiding food waste. Yet, in this case, safety doesn’t seem to be the main motivation. What then? Retribution.

Apparently, the USDA pressured Westland into the recall due to that “noncompliance,” even though the regulatory agency believed most of the potentially harmful food had already been eaten.

The largest recall in U.S. history for a product that doesn’t have a health risk? Is this 2008 or 1984?

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 vegetable waste. When an employee sees a a bad potato or carrot, they reach in and grab a bunch because they don’t have time to just pick it out individually. The exec said:

They don’t get one, they get more like 30 pieces.

Also, here’s a gratuitous pat on the back: After a few days of irresponsibility, I’ve been bringing my banana rinds and orange peels home to compost. Sarcastic self-righteousness aside, I challenge the rest of you working stiffs to do the same!

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 to eat,’ they must be heated to at least 165 degrees to be safe from foodborne illness. Determining how long that takes isn’t easy, considering the variety of microwaves. ConAgra’s instructions listed cooking times for high, medium and low-wattage microwaves and didn’t mention anything about temperature.

According to the New York Times piece on the topic, ConAgra originally blamed consumers for not following directions. That has changed, as illustrated by my conversation with ConAgra spokesperson Stephanie Childs:

We do know there is some confusion regarding the cooking instructions and it is our responsibility as a company to provide the customers with clear and concise instructions so they can prepare the product. We’re moving forward with plans to enhance the cooking instructions so that consumers are able to cook the product and enjoy it at home safely.

The directions are the problem and the thousands of recalled pot pies (Childs said they didn’t have a count yet) are fine. Yet, they’re going to be “destroyed,” said Childs. USDA Spokesperson Amanda Eamach said that destruction means either incinerating, rendering or sending the product to landfills. “The end goal is to make sure that the product is not edible and it is not available for resale,” said Childs.  

Let me be clear–the Salmonella strain of bacteria is a serious health risk and I think food recalls are usually appropriate. But in this case, when the problem isn’t with the food but the directions on the box, couldn’t we do something besides toss the pies? Couldn’t stores to cook them in a regular oven, ensure they reach 165 degrees with a food thermometer and feed their employees? Give them to food shelters with the same instructions? Heck, why not have a big pot pie hoedown at ConAgra’s Missouri headquarters. 

Yet, can you imagine any one of these scenarios ever happening?

My 3 cents:

1. It’s incomplete. It only counts food waste in those three areas, ignoring loss on farms, at food processors, wholesalers and in transit. And it’s not like these losses are insignificant:

Although ERS was not able to quantify food losses that occur on the farm or between the farm and retail levels, anecdotal evidence suggests that such losses can be significant for some commodities.

2. It’s a very rough estimate. As ERS noted themselves:

The loss estimates presented here are tentative and are intended to serve as a starting point for additional research.

3. It’s old. While it is the latest official research we have, it was published in 1997 using data collected 12 years ago! This research has been more of a resting place than a starting point. I e-mailed Mary Reardon, a spokesperson for ERS, to ask when we might see new numbers. Her reply:

“We are currently in the process of updating and validating all of the food loss assumptions at the different stages. Some of these tasks are complex. We are not pinpointing any specific deadline.”

I use the estimate “America squanders nearly half of its food” because University of Arizona anthropologist Timothy Jones, who has studied food waste for more than 10 years, says we waste 40 to 50 percent of all food. I think that range provides a much more accurate assessment and, while I can’t say he’s a “USDA researcher,” I can call him a “USDA-funded researcher.”

My name is Kelley and I’m in the seventh grade. Our class is a part of Project Citizen, it is where you find a problem in you community and try to fix the problem. I am writing to you today to ask your help. We are trying to find alternative ideas for the use of food waste. Could you please tell me some ideas that are taking place to use up food wastage.

In a follow-up e-mail, Kelley told me that she’s trying to save food in his school cafeteria from being thrown out. I told her I’d try to help him rescue this potentially wasted food and set out to learn about the Arkansas food recovery scene.

After a quick map consult, I called the food bank nearest Rusellville, the Little Rock branch of the Arkansas Food Bank Network. Unfortunately, they don’t take prepared food. They referred me to another Little Rock operation, Potluck Food Rescue, that picks up prepared food that would otherwise be thrown out. Sadly, they won’t make the three-hour round trip to Rusellville for anything but a large load. As I’ve found elsewhere, the near infinite waste trumps non-profits’ finite gas budget, time and supply of trucks and drivers.

Carol at Potluck said that they have gone as far as Russellville on a few occasions to pick up from ConAgra and Tyson Foods. These national suppliers will call Potluck when they have 20,000 to 25,000 pounds of meat to donate. Stunned by those figures, I asked how that happened. Carol mentioned that such excess occurs from processing mistakes like printing the wrong date on packages or damaging boxes so they can’t be sold.

As you can see, our food chain is far from perfect and errors can lead to great waste. Fortunately, food rescue groups like Potluck are positioned to prevent vast waste. But when a student notices her school cafeteria is squandering food, that small-scale waste is harder to prevent. “There are no rules for how far we go to make a pickup,” Carol said. “But if it’s less than 50 pounds, we usually don’t get it.”

As Carol suggested, I told Kelley to look for local shelters and retirement homes that might collect food from the school. We’ll see how she fares in this project. Regardless, she’s off to a great start as an involved citizen.