Not having cable, I didn’t catch the show. But I’ll be sure to add it to this post if video becomes available. In the meantime, who saw it? Thoughts?

What I can say is that it’s heartening to see a major television network tackle the topic of food waste and enlist a major food personality like Bobby Flay to do so. So I’m optimistic that this is a positive sign!

(Also–the show reairs Saturday at 4 p.m. EST. )

There’s a little about the environmental impact, but that’s not the main focus. I’m sure that was intentional, to shift the focus elsewhere.

The document is part of the food section of the NRDC’s Smarter Living initiative. From what I’ve seen, the entire section is worth a gander.

That saying is problematic, partly because it guilts us into overeating. But a burgeoning non-profit called Halfsies has a better idea. At participating restaurants, customers can select a Halfsies version of a dish, giving them less food and ensuring that the value of the unserved half goes to hungry.

It will take a little bit to get ramped up, but Halfsies has the potential to reduce food waste, feed the hungry and keep us from overeating (protecting us from both massive portions and ourselves, when we keep eating even though we’re full.) You can hit three birds with one word.

As you can see in the PDF explaining the idea, I’m a big fan. But I can definitely see Halfsies succeeding. It’s catchy enough to imagine “I’ll go halfsies on that” entering the lexicon. And it’s high time someone tackled restaurant portion size.

Now all we need is one savvy and/or benevolent restaurant chain to be the first to sign up. Any takers??

Here’s an opposing editorial on why tortilla tossing is great, which includes this gem:

Tortillas represent the Argentinian Cowboys, the Gauchos. It’s a feeling of who the Gauchos are, and that’s who we always try to be.

Ah yes, now I remember hearing tales of grizzled Argentine cowboys roaming the pampas, casting aside tortillas left and right, as tradition dictated.

Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but I have a suspicion that tortillas aren’t even common in Argentina. (A suspicion upheld by some two-bit web research)

What’s your take on this practice? Innocent fun? Worthless waste? Something in between?

While it wouldn’t be as seamless a process as the Mr. Fusion, Waste Management is close to creating fuel from food waste:

You know composting is spreading when you see a federal prison in Texas puts out an RFP for food waste removal.

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Just so we’re clear–pythons should not be composted. And you probably should try to avoid having to compost a snake.

But I have to say: the person who left that python in a compost bin may have been a crappy pet owner, but at least they went for the environmentally friendly green bin instead of using the nearest dumpster.

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A tale of non-cold chain woe from northern India, made even more disheartening by the rampant hunger. The Forbes article features this stunner:

[India] loses an estimated 40 percent of its fruit and vegetables to rot because of a lack of refrigerated trucking, poor roads, inclement weather and corruption.

Volunteers take the donated money and buy produce from the local growers (win-win-win!). Anyway, we try to stretch the money to get as much food as we can for the local shelter.

And that’s how we ended up with this series of charismatic potatoes. They’re a good reminder that food doesn’t always look uniform, nor does it have to look perfect to taste great. (I tried a similar one and it was peachy.)

There’s only one problem: fruit and vegetables are already the most wasted items in school lunches. Serving more of them to each student will only mean more food in the trash. Cue the video.

One other problem–the fruit and vegetables many schools (and this YMCA) serve aren’t the best. They’re often canned or frozen, which won’t help avoid waste.

Along with the changed guidelines of MyPlate, The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 is supposed to be more money allotted for buying fresh (hopefully local) produce and starting school garden programs. With the latter, the more connection kids have to their food, the more they eat. Even healthy foods…

I wonder whether there is a general lag in implementation, the funding only applies to schools, or if there’s another explanation. Any ideas?

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P.S. Check out this neat history of USDA food guides.

A large chunk of the film centers on Trader Joe’s food tossing and Seifert’s crew’s reclamation of those perfectly edible, gourmet items. That led to a Change.org petition telling Trader Joe’s to stop wasting food.

In the CNN piece, Seifert explains further his focus on Trader Joe’s:

“Trader Joe’s are doing a pretty damn good job, and doing a lot better job than a lot of other stores,” he said.

“This is like a family quarrel. I like Trader Joe’s. I shop there. I Dumpster dive there. And I want them to do better. So I’m not really trying to go after them or harshly criticize them, I just want them to do better.”

Seifert thinks Trader Joe’s is squandering a chance to be a leader in the zero waste movement. I have to agree. Even worse is the chain’s silence on the matter of this film and the petition. The quote in the CNN article was the first response I’d heard.

Seems like the perfect opportunity for TJ’s to create a bold new zero waste plan, just as…Walmart has done (with no pesky documentary prompting them). We shall see…

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Programming Note: I will be giving away three copies of Dive! next week, so stay tuned.

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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. How can waste and hunger coexist? Two words: poor distribution.

From farm to fork, America squanders 40 percent of its food. Every day, Americans waste enough food to fill the 90,000-seat Rose Bowl. So much of the food that isn’t consumed is perfectly edible, yet we lack the will and the means to collect and distribute it to those in need. That must change.

Food insecurity is the highest it has been since the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) began tracking in 1995. In all, 15 percent of American households were “food insecure,” meaning they did not have the resources to obtain adequate nutrition and lead a healthy lifestyle.

Given the number of hungry Americans – and the environmental impact of waste, which is another story altogether – it’s high time we harness the food we now squander. While we struggle to feed everyone today, it won’t get any easier as national and global populations continue to grow.

Utilizing a decent chunk of what we now waste wouldn’t be terribly difficult. We would just need to redistribute edible but unsellable foods. In other words, harvest all of our crops, encourage donations from food manufacturers and wholesalers, and, where necessary, collect unsold food from supermarkets, restaurants, and industrial kitchens. This would go a long way to feeding the low-income Americans who face food insecurity.

Several diligent, non-profit food recovery groups already perform these tasks. In agricultural settings, this usually takes the form of gleaning, where volunteers descend on a farm to pick what would otherwise be plowed under. Major farm food recovery operations, the Society of St. Andrew being the largest, also receive donations by the pallet or truckload on a fairly regular basis. More retail-based solutions occur in urban settings through food recovery groups like City Harvest and D.C. Central Kitchen, which rescue millions of pounds of edible food each year.

A few other steps will help reduce waste.

First, we can adopt a more systematic approach to recovering and redistributing the excess. In particular, agricultural excess could have a major impact. That’s why the USDA should promote food recovery and encourage its constituents to donate. That would mean reminding growers that donation is the best option for extra crops or products they don’t plan to sell.

To keep it simple, the USDA could return to having a federal gleaning coordinator – as was the case under the Clinton-era Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman – a position which didn’t exist before and hasn’t since.

Second, we should establish incentives for farmers to harvest all that they grow. Whether by carrot or by stick, this encouragement needs to happen. Unfortunately, all too often, the price of a good means that it’s not economically viable to harvest entire fields. And, with hand-picked crops, our choosiness sometimes means that produce that is the wrong shape, size, or color stays in the field or tree.

Third, we must begin streamlining tax deductions for food donations and make them open to all donors. This would boost the charitable giving that helps an estimated 21 million Americans to feed their families. Under the current tax code, unincorporated farms aren’t eligible to take such deductions. For growers and retailers able to take these deductions, doing so is anything but easy. As a result, many farms and stores don’t receive any financial benefit when they donate valuable, nourishing goods to those who need them most.

To be clear, many farmers and supermarkets are currently donating food. Yet more could participate.

That’s why the fourth step would be a national database of available recipients and collecting agencies. While most supermarkets donate some items, they’re usually not the foods most needed to provide healthy meals for those in need. Coordination through a database could ensure food donations are better targeted.

Fifth, while stores donate baked goods freely, they’re often hesitant to give perishable foods like proteins and produce. That’s why we must remind potential donors that the 1996 Federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act protects them from liability when they donate food in good faith, and that donating food is an opportunity to garner positive publicity.

If we as a nation make a commitment to reducing waste and putting our food to better use, the potential rewards are considerable. Based on the numbers, cutting a quarter of our food waste could provide sustenance for all who need it.

In practice, that probably wouldn’t eliminate the need for other hunger relief tools like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps) and the National School Lunch Program. But trimming our food waste surely wouldn’t hurt. It would go a long way toward diminishing American hunger.