Essay by Eric Worrall
Your Taxes at Work – I’ve read this three times and it still sounds like a salad word. But there is a disturbing question – why?
Community resources to combat climate change, food loss and waste
Posted by Nina Bhattacharyya, Natural Resources Specialist, USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Manufacturing inClimate Ability to judge
June 21, 2022
Local communities face many challenges when mitigating and adapting to climate change. Cities across the country are suffering from the effects of increased natural disasters, limited resources, sea level rise and other impacts. Cities and stakeholders have the opportunity to limit greenhouse gas emissions and increase food security by addressing food loss and waste.
It is estimated that 4% of US greenhouse gas emissions are due to food waste[1]. In the US and beyond, food is wasted along all parts of the supply chain. Therefore, a variety of local strategies and tools are needed to address this issue, including prevent food waste, connect healthy leftovers with those who need it, and compost food. Resilient cities are those with sustainable and equitable food systems that include robust food recovery networks and food waste reduction solutions.
The United States Department of Agriculture recognizes the need for community resources to address food loss and waste. Through the 2018 Agriculture Bill, the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Manufacturing (OUAIP) established a pilot program Composting and Reducing Food Waste. The program supports projects that develop and test strategies for planning and implementing food waste reduction and composting plans. OUAIP has announced its latest funding opportunity for local government, school districts and Native American tribes organize pilot projects for fiscal year 2022. Applications will be accepted on Grants.gov until September 1, 2022. Learn more about the program and past recipients by visiting the website for Partnership agreement to compost and reduce food waste.
Finally, and on a related note, learning from others is a great place to start exploring solutions. USDA has compiled food loss and waste resources for farmers, businesses, consumers, schools and more. Our partners at the Environmental Protection Agency have put together useful links about waste food show across the United States and have regional representative ready to answer questions about how to reduce food waste. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration provides important information about maintain food safety and avoid wasting food.
Get started today and be part of the solution to combat climate change and food loss and waste.
[1] Food waste: Challenge, REFED, refed.com/food-waste/the-challenge/#overview (last accessed on April 1, 2022).
I clicked the link food loss and waste resources for farmers, and it looks like it’s mostly about cheap loans for better spot preservation and advice on how to turn berries into jam. Financing may be welcome, but seriously?
The simplest way to reduce food waste is to eat carrots that look droopy at the bottom of the refrigerator drawer. And I did it, when money was tight. You have to spend half a minute cutting off the rotten parts, usually the top of the carrot and the skin, which can be a bit moldy. Even after all that, there’s still the risk that trimmed carrots will spoil the food, and a very small risk that it will make you sick.
I’d rather have fresh vegetables, eliminate the risk of contamination at dinner tonight, and throw expired foods in the trash.
Food waste is a luxury that people with money can afford. We’ve all seen Venezuelans chasing garbage trucks, and people in poor countries living in landfills, picking up discarded food. It’s amazing if you can live on, people who have survived for generations, scavengers are so adaptable, they can eat things that would kill most people. But personally, I don’t want to have to learn how to live like that.
Honestly, I find it a bit alarming that Biden’s USDA suddenly feels an urge for people in the United States to learn skills that only the really poor need to know.
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