Jonathan Bloom: Wasted Food

for more stories & Food News: http://cookingupastory.com
Part 1.Did you know that around 40% of the food we produce gets thrown out? A whopping 40%! How did that come to be? I know we're considered to be the 'throw-away' society - if it breaks, tears, or tarnishes just buy a new 'one' - but food?

Category:

Education

Tags:

• food
• recycling
• garbage
• trash
• disposal
• wasted food
• food waste
• environment
• sustainable
• politics
• green
• stories
• cooking
• pollan
• bittman
• kirschenmann
• cooking up a story
• yt:quality=high
• video log
• talking

[PapaKenny777]

I used to work in an Italian restaurant, the amount of wasted food would always sadden me. 40% of the food that isn't served sounds about right, and then the amount of food that comes back on the plate too and goes straight to the garbage.

[cookingupastory]

What got me on to this subject of wasted food,

PapaKenny777, came from my years working in restaurants and knowing the unfinished food on the plate went right into the trash. I imagined humongous piles of food waste building up over time! I did a video story on a local restaurant who participates in a city program to take that waste and compost it for future gardens. Put Commercial Composting into YouTube's search bar and it will come up.

[yami990]

there's a good solution for the non fatty food waste, take it and feed it to worms. it's easy to do and just takes a bit of time get it started. plus it cuts down on what goes in the garbage by quite a bit. free soil and plant food comes out of it, makes it easier to try and grow a container garden in the desert.

[cookingupastory]

Great idea! Personally, I put most of my food scraps into my compost bin for gardening purposes. But I know not everyone has a composter or a garden. Any other suggestions?

[12oranges]

As anyone studied if there is a relationship between the distance food travels and waste ?

[cookingupastory]

I don't know of any study, but I'm sure there is a bit. After traveling across highways, etc., especially in the heat of summer, I can only imagine some of the fruits and vegetables just don't make it to the produce tables in the stores. Anyone else?

[psykomantium]

P.S. America is by far the most wasteful nation in terms of food, water and energy, and its citizens are amongst the most cavalier profligates by the very nature of their lifestyles in contrast to that of the Third World. You know what I mean, all the people who leave the faucet running while brushing their teeth, leave the lights on for no reason, and throw away 1/2 of what they cook. And before you assume I must be some flagburning kumbaya neohippie, I am an American myself. :steps off pulpit:

[psykomantium]

I love how comments immediately deflect blame onto some other factor than their own personal accountability for wasting their own food. The whole point of this dialogue is not to focus on portions or abundance, but the active choices that are part of the business model and cultural paradigm called reality (i.e., hotels wasting upwards of 50% by weight of prepared meals daily, especially in NYC). Detractors will argue against this man, but he deserves credit for bringing awareness to this topic.

[LT0WnWaRi0]

2:59 pigs are so cute XD but also tasty ;-)

[FaintWhistle]

I agree with that idea - take apples for example.

Those that are deemed "pretty enough" to be sold in supermarkets instead of being chopped up and turned into applesauce because they were not perfectly shaped - they will in some cases travel tremendous distances and naturally some of the fruit will arrive bruised.

Once at the store, it is too late to send them to processing companies - but bruised fruit does not sell. So? The get dumped.

Same with the heat - yogurt, meat,...

[FaintWhistle]

@cookingupastory I agree with that idea - take apples for example.

Those that are deemed "pretty enough" to be sold in supermarkets instead of being chopped up and turned into applesauce because they were not perfectly shaped - they will in some cases travel tremendous distances and naturally some of the fruit will arrive bruised.

Once at the store, it is too late to send them to processing companies - but bruised fruit does not sell. So? The get dumped.

Same with the heat - yogurt, meat,...

[XxIgotsnipexX]

AT 9:10 SOMEONE WILL CALL YOU OR TALK TO YOU ONLINE AND SAY I LOVE YOU OR ASK YOU OUT BUT HERES THE CATCH Send To 3 vids

[takadi]

People in America waste food for the same reason why they spend beyond their means and buy homes they can't afford

[lillith886]

haha! i've never been able to afford to throw away food:) i'm the leftover queen lol ! we home compost and recycle so i hope they start to charge by the weight for rubbish collections soon. mine weighs almost nothing! :) my partner works in a local village recycling and he can't believe what people throw away. the decadence!!!

[garycalgary]

everytime i see wasted food i think of people who didn't eat today.....

[tommedia101]

Such a great point you've made here! All our food waste is fed to our chickens. We live in an urban area but have a good size yard to keep our birds(5). They eat everything we throw at them and we try to use everything they put out too. This has reduced the the amount of trash we put out each week. I know it's not for everyone, but it really has taught us that there is a whole range of possibilities out there for what we throw out.

[gabriellesunheart]

Another awesome production by my favorite youtube channel! You guys rock and that guy is cute!

[gabriellesunheart]

Where did you gather those statistics...?