American wasteland: how America throws away nearly half of its food (and what we can do about it)

385 Pages·2011·2.437 MB·English

by  Bloom, Jonathan

Jonathan
“With so many American children going hungry,
Bloom
this book should be required reading!”
—MARIO BATALI
“[A] good read that somehow inspires EENNTTIIRREE FFIIEELLDDSS UUNNHHAARRVVEESSTTEEDD..
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rather than defeats. Bloom’s first- HHaallff--eeaatteenn rreessttaauurraanntt mmeeaallss aabbaannddoonneedd..
person reportage draws you in and FFrreesshh ffooooddss rroottttiinngg iinn tthhee ffrriiddggee .. .. .. FFrroomm
m
will have you promising to always ffaarrmm ttoo ffoorrkk,, wwee aass aa nnaattiioonn wwaassttee aa ssttaagg--
bring Tupperware from home when ggeerriinngg aammoouunntt ooff ffoooodd——aass mmuucchh aass 4400
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you go out to eat (for a waste-free ppeerrcceenntt ooff aallll tthhee ffoooodd wwee pprroodduuccee.. NNooww,,
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doggy bag) and to never, ever leave aawwaarrdd--wwiinnnniinngg aauutthhoorr aanndd jjoouurrnnaalliisstt
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ccciiilllaaannntttrrrooo tttooo rrrooottt iiinnn ttthhheee cccrrriiissspppeeerrr dddrrraaawwweeerrr...””” JJJooonnnaaattthhhaaannn BBBllloooooommm wwwaaadddeeesss iiinnntttooo ttthhheee gggaaarrrbbbaaagggeee c
———TTTHHHEEE AAATTTLLLAAANNNTTTIIICCC hhheeeaaappp tttooo uuunnneeeaaarrrttthhh wwwhhhaaattt ooouuurrr sssqqquuuaaannndddeeerrreeeddd
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“Humorous, shocking, depressing, n
mmmooosssttt iiimmmpppooorrrtttaaannntttlllyyy,,, hhhooowww yyyooouuu cccaaannn mmmaaakkkeee aaa
hopeful, American Wasteland paints
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a frightening portrait of Americans’ W
——rreedduucciinngg wwaassttee aanndd ssaavviinngg mmoonneeyy..
wasteful practices. Not all doom
TThhrroouugghh bbeehhiinndd--tthhee--sscceenneess rreeppoorrttiinngg
and gloom, however: Bloom’s book a
aanndd iinntteerrvviieewwss uupp aanndd ddoowwnn tthhee ffoooodd
is peppered with humor and offers
cchhaaiinn——iinncclluuddiinngg eexxppeerrttss lliikkee cchheeff AAlliiccee s
positive suggestions to change our
WWaatteerrss aanndd ffoooodd ppssyycchhoollooggiisstt BBrriiaann
t
course. With so many American chil- WWaannssiinnkk——BBlloooomm’’ss eexxppoosséé eennssuurreess tthhaatt e
dren going hungry, this book should
yyoouu wwiillll nneevveerr llooookk aatt yyoouurr sshhooppppiinngg lliisstt,, l
be required reading!” a
rreeffrriiggeerraattoorr,, ddiinnnneerr ppllaattee,, oorr ttrraasshh ccaann tthhee
—MARIO BATALI
ssaammee wwaayy aaggaaiinn.. n
“An eye-opening account . . . Refresh- d
ingly, Bloom offers solutions as well
With a new appendix
as jeremiads, and not a minute too chock full of more money- Amerıcan
( N H
soon—an urgent, necessary book.” and food-saving tips an e o
d a w
—KIRKUS REVIEWS W rly A
m
h H Wasteland
JwOhoNsAe TwHorAk Nh aBs LaOppOeaMre dis ian jtohuer nNaeliwst at W alf o erica
York Times, the Washington Post, and the e C f Its Th
Boston Globe. He lives with his wife and an Fo row
son in Durham, North Carolina. Do od s A How America Throws Away Nearly Half of Its Food
www.wastedfood.com A w
a
b y (and What We Can Do About It)
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t

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ISBN: 978-0-7382-1528-0 $16.00 / £10.99 / $18.50 CAN FOOD / CURRENT EVENTS
51600 DA CAPO PRESS
Jonathan Bloom
Lifelong Books
A Member of the Perseus Books Group Cover design by Jonathan Sainsbury
www.dacapopress.com
9 780738 215280
Bloom_9780738215280_cvr_r1.indd 1 6/20/11 11:07:13 AM
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PRAISE FOR AMERICAN WASTELAND:
“[A] terrific introduction to our country’s food system through the lens of what
gets lost and tossed as food moves from farm to truck to retailer to table. We
all can—and should—play our part in preventing food waste, and Jonathan
Bloom has loads of useful ideas about how individuals, businesses, and govern-
ments can cut down on waste at every step in the food chain.”
—Marion Nestle, author of Food Politics and What to Eat
“Journalist Bloom documents some specifics about the nature of wasted food
in the twenty-first century and calls into question both the economic efficiency
and the morality of such profligacy. Bloom has found some hopeful signs that
this trend may be waning.”
—Booklist
“Bloom gives us the trash stats, but he also helps come up with everyday solu-
tions you can put into action today.”
—Daily Green
“Bloom’s book is a fascinating look at how the food industry and we its cus-
tomers waste food. Thankfully, it is also a guide to ending that waste.”
—San Francisco Book Review
“Combining first-rate reporting, keen insight, and lively prose, Jonathan Bloom
has taken what’s hidden and put it in plain sight. The message not only has uni-
versal resonance but, even better, it offers pragmatic solutions. Anyone who
eats will be shocked, chastened, and driven to reform. A superb achievement.”
—James E. McWilliams, author of Just Food
“From seed to cultivation to processing to retail, ending ‘waste’ has been the
justification for industrializing the food chain from seed to table. American Waste-
landblows this myth, and shows that an industrialized, commodified, corpora-
tized food system is a system for creating waste, and a system for creating
hunger.”
—Dr. Vandana Shiva, author of Stolen Harvest and Soil, Not Oil
0738215280-text_Layout 1 5/25/11 4:12 PM Page b
“Carefully considering the impact of food waste on the planet and the poor,
[Bloom] makes a lively and convincing case for reform—from farm to fork and
back again.”
—Elizabeth Royte, author of Garbage Land and Bottlemania
“Bloom has gone where few have dared to tread—right into the waste bins of
kitchens, restaurants, grocery stores, and farms. It would be maddening if
Bloom didn’t also tell us what to do about it, but thankfully he does. This book
should not to be wasted.”
—Samuel Fromartz, author of Organic, Inc.
“From farm to table, Bloom susses out where good food falls in between the
cracks, and serves up suggestions for what we can do to lower our collective
‘waste print.’ Put this at the top of your to-do list.”
—Kim O’Donnel, author of The Meat Lover’s Meatless Cookbook
“Wake up and smell the landfill! Who knew a book about edible garbage could
be so entertaining? If we’re serious about fixing food in this country, Bloom’s
masterful investigation has got to be one of our starting points.”
—Anna Lappé, author of Diet for a Hot Planet
“As much about the food we eat as it is about the food we discard, American
Wastelanddraws our attention to a culture of excess and wastefulness and the
threats that this cultural mindset poses economically, environmentally and ethi-
cally. Bloom challenges us to open our eyes and engage ourselves in an issue
that we can not ignore.”
—Josh Viertel, President, Slow Food USA
“Jonathan Bloom’s fact-filled book is an important wake-up call and prod to
action.”
—Joel Berg, Executive Director, New York City Coalition Against Hunger,
author of All You Can Eat, and former USDA Coordinator
of Food Recovery and Gleaning
“Bloom does a thorough job identifying places in the food chain where food is
wasted—food that could feed the hungry instead. American Wastelandis an ex-
cellent read for anyone who wants to know how surplus and scarcity can exist
in the same country or in the same city.”
—Jilly Stephens, Executive Director of City Harvest
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Ame ric an
Wasteland
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A m eric
a
n
W a stela
n
d
How America T(harnodw sW Ahwata yW Ne eCaarnly DHoa lAf boofu tI tIst )Food
Jonathan
Bloom
A MEMBER OF THE PERSEUS BOOKS GROUP
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Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish
their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear
in this book and Da Capo Press was aware of a trademark claim, the designa-
tions have been printed in initial capital letters.
Copyright © 2010 by Jonathan Bloom
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior writ-
ten permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America. For
information, address Da Capo Press, 11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA
02142.
Set in Dante by the Perseus Books Group
Cataloging-in-Publication data for this book is available from the Library of
Congress.
HC ISBN: 978-0-7382-1364-4
PB ISBN: 978-0-7382-1528-0
E-book ISBN: 978-0-7382-1562-4
First Da Capo Press edition 2010
First Da Capo Press paperback edition 2011
Published by Da Capo Press
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
www.dacapopress.com
Note: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our
knowledge. This book is intended only as an informative guide for those
wishing to know more about health issues. In no way is this book intended to
replace, countermand, or conflict with the advice given to you by your own
physician. The ultimate decision concerning care should be made between
you and your doctor. We strongly recommend you follow his or her advice.
Information in this book is general and is offered with no guarantees on the
part of the authors or Da Capo Press. The authors and publisher disclaim all
liability in connection with the use of this book.
Da Capo Press books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in
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formation, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus
Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA, 19103, or
call [phone], ext. 5000, or e-mail [email protected].
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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to emily,
without whom this book would not exist
and the sun would not rise.
to bruce,
without whom this book would have been finished sooner,
but for whom I count my lucky stars.
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CONTENTS
Introduction, xi
One
Waste from Farm to Fork 1
Two
Does Food Waste Really Matter? Why You Should Care 13
Three
The Disgrace of Plenty: The Coexistence
of Hunger and Food Waste 41
Four
A Culture of Waste: Our Fall from
Thrift and Our Imminent Return 59
vii