Category Archives: Stats

Imperfect Implications

We all love the fun pictures of produce oddities, epitomized by the  @UglyFruitandVeg feed and sold in the East Bay by Imperfect.  Yet, a new study from Minnesota raises some interesting questions on how increased adoption of  “off-spec” fruits and vegetables might impact farmers’ bottom lines. On the plus side, new markets for produce with slightly […]

November 6, 2015 | Also posted in Farm, General | Comments closed

Something To Shoot For: US Sets Food Waste Reduction Goal

Today, the USDA and EPA joined forces with charitable organizations, faith-based organizations, food companies and local governments to set the first ever national food waste reduction goal. For sure, it’s a happy day in the land of wasted food. Yet my initial elation is now tempered with a few reservations. The Great: It’s a whopper! […]

September 16, 2015 | Also posted in Campaigns | Comments closed

Survey Says…

There has been plenty of attention on wasted food in America recently, but very few assessments of how Americans feel about the topic. That changed yesterday with the publishing of the first national consumer survey on wasted food in the US. There’s an abundance of findings to be gleaned from the Johns Hopkins report, which […]

June 11, 2015 | Also posted in Composting, Household, Restaurant, Supermarket | Comments closed

But How Do You *Feel* About It?

How the heck do Americans feel about all of this wasted food? Until now, we didn’t really know. Fortunately, researchers at Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health asked that question (and many more) in the first nationally representative consumer survey focused on wasted food in America. Today marks the long-anticipated (at least in this neck of […]

June 10, 2015 | Also posted in Household | Comments closed

Making Fresh Food Last Longer

We all want to maximize the life of our fresh food, and this infographic from Pounds To Pocket provides plenty of novel ideas for doing so. And I do mean plenty! Be sure to read the ‘why it works’ explanations. Hope you learn some new tricks!

January 6, 2015 | Also posted in Infographic, Storage | Comments closed

Visualizing UK Waste

Here’s a neat infographic on food waste in Britain, courtesy of Rangemaster. One of the more telling details: 86 million chickens are wasted every year in the UK. What the cluck?! Another effective part of the infographic is the Wembley Stadium indicator. But it’s worth noting: UK food waste would fill that stadium 8 times […]

July 17, 2014 | Also posted in Infographic, International | Comments closed

Putting a Price on Food Waste

The FAO Food Wastage Footprint project released their second video, and it’s a gem. This particular video focuses on trying to calculate the myriad costs of global food waste. Spoiler alert–it’s a lot of money! Nonetheless, the video makes for required viewing.

April 10, 2014 | Also posted in Campaigns, International | Comments closed

Food for Thought

I just came across this recent EPA infographic on waste and particularly enjoyed this portion: That 95% statistic comes from the EPA’s Municipal Solid Waste report, which shows that composting levels have doubled from 2008 to 2012. (It went from 2.3% to 4.8%.) While those low amounts enable such dramatic improvement, at least we’re improving! I also […]

April 4, 2014 | Also posted in Campaigns, Environment, Household | Comments closed

School Lunches Healthier, Just as Wasteful

Last week, a Harvard School of Public Health study exploring the impact of recent changes to school lunch came out with mixed news: students are eating more fruits and vegetables, but waste remains a problem. After the passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, new federal standards went into effect for the start of the 2012-2013 […]

March 12, 2014 | Also posted in Institutional, Legislation, School | Comments closed

New Numbers on US Food Waste

In case you missed Friday’s big news, the USDA released a new food waste study! Here are some of the key findings combined with corresponding analysis. Finding: 31 percent of the available food supply at retail and consumer level were not eaten. What it means: Obviously, we’re wasting a lot of food! Yet, as the authors […]

February 25, 2014 | Also posted in Household | Comments closed