Somewhere, Doc Brown is smiling. OK, OK, he’s a fictional character from Back to the Future, but still…
If Metro Vancouver gets its way, it will soon build a plant to convert food waste to fuel. Instead of fueling Deloreans like Doc B did, the plant could power municipal vehicles. Apparently, this is done in Sweden […]

It’s 2008, y’all (Happy New Year!), and high time to cut the amount of food going down the drain. Here are eight wishes for preventing food waste in this year:
1. Wal-Mart resumes food donations of edible but unsellable goods (The store halted its program two years ago).
2. More cities and towns follow the lead of Seattle, which will require […]

Last week, the kind people at Oliso sent me a Frisper Freshkeeper to test. What the heck is that, you ask? Why, it’s a vacuum food sealer of course. 
Basically, it’s a home version of the machines that vacuum pack meats, seafood and other food items. The Freshkeeper comes with ziplock-like bags into which you seal […]

Say what you want about McDonald’s (and folks around the world have plenty to say), at least they’re experimenting with environmental responsibility. In the UK, anyway.
The world’s largest fast food chain is currently undertaking two experiments. First, McDonald’s is finally doing what many companies have done–turning to biodiesel as an environmentally friendly fuel source. Sorry “grease car” enthusiasts, the […]

How much does refrigerator size play into food waste? I hadn’t considered that question until reading this interesting discussion of the pros and cons of small refrigerators. In her post, “futurebird” explains how she chose a compact 8.8 cubic foot model.
Part of her rationale is that when we tend to fill our refrigerators, no matter the size. […]

Picking tree fruit is a tricky business. Timing is vital, as apples, pears, etc. must be picked before they’re ripe. If not, they won’t survive cross-country shipping and great quantities of fruit are wasted. 
Making matters worse, orchard owners have a hard time finding pickers. In addition to standing on 15-foot ladders while balancing 35-pound bags of fruit, harvesters […]

A few weeks back, I wrote about a mysterious magnet that preserves food. Well, Richard Chua, President of the magnet’s manufacturer (ESMo Technologies), read that post and graciously offered to send me a sample.
The package arrived late last week and I’ll begin testing its powers as soon as I think of a scientifically appropriate experiment. In the […]

The National Restaurant Asociation’s 2007 Restaurant Show concluded Tuesday. While I wasn’t able to attend–they make journalists jump through many, many hoops–apparently environmental awareness was a big theme there.
Exhibitors displayed plenty of recycling innovations like compostable cups made from corn. Much more exciting, though, LeanPath, Inc. unveiled its ValuWaste product. This product assesses the composition of food waste […]

We recently discussed military food waste, where I noted that more than a third of MREs are wasted. I learned this during my visit to the US Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass.
From what I was told, most of the waste comes not from half-eaten items so much as untouched ones. Soldiers “field strip” their […]

We recently discussed storage times for Meals Ready to Eat in the aftermath of FEMA throwing away $43 million of food improperly stored.
On a related note, I just visited the Natick (Mass.) Army labs, where they develop MREs and all of the U.S. Armed Forces’ food. There, I met separately with Dr. Herbert Meiselman and Gerald Darsch, director of the Combat […]