March 4, 2010 Now if this isn’t a waste:
“According to the Agriculture Department, each year Americans toss more than 25 percent, of all domestically produced food. A 2009 study showed that a quarter of U.S. water and 4 percent of U.S. oil consumption annually go into producing and distributing food that ultimately ends up in landfills”
The recently published article from Scientific American goes on to say
“Once this food gets to the landfill, it then generates methane, a greenhouse gas 23 times as potent as carbon dioxide in trapping heat within our atmosphere. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, landfills account for 34 percent of all methane emissions in the U.S.—meaning that the sandwich you made and then didn’t eat yesterday is increasing your personal—and our collective—carbon footprint.”
After reading something like this it gets me to thinking how I might better improve my personal food waste. Leftovers from dinner? Eat them for lunch or create something different from it for the next night. Making a meal and have bits of pieces of carrots, lettuce, onion, and the like? Hold some for a soup stock. If you know someone with backyard chickens, perhaps they could use your unused greens. Forgot about that casserole you made 2 weeks ago? Composting isn’t too hard, or maybe start a worm bin. Sometimes it’s just a matter of changing a few habits on this road to living a more sustainable lifestyle.
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