Review
When I was little, my siblings and I always enjoyed watching the kids' game show
Double Dare on television. We'd laugh at the ridiculous stunts, which often involved kids (and their hapless parents) performing feats like catching tossed pies in a pair of clown pants or navigating obstacles like a slide coated in hot fudge and whipped cream. This seemed like harmless fun to me, but I still remember the look of horror on my grandmother's face the first time she watched the show with us. "That's just disgusting," she proclaimed, and left the room, unable to watch. She wasn't talking about the messes they were making; instead, she was revolted by the amount of food the show wasted on a daily basis, all in the name of fun. After reading Jonathan Bloom's new study of the pervasiveness of waste in the American food system, many readers may feel like walking away in disgust as well -...
Beyond the Book
Every day Americans waste enough food to fill the Rose Bowl football stadium.
Food waste makes up as much as 25% of what's in America's landfills.
Household recycling of items like aluminum, glass, and plastic increased 400% in the decade to 1999; meanwhile, only 2.5% of eligible food waste is composted.
The average family of four loses $2,200 per year in food waste.
17% of American children live in food insecure homes.
In 1982, the average bagel was 3 inches in diameter; by 2002, it had doubled to 6 inches.
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama were photographed leaving a Chicago restaurant after a Valentine's Day dinner, holding a doggie bag of leftovers.
Simply switching school schedules so that...
