Saturday, Sept 28

Tomorrow is Food Loss Awareness and Waste Reduction Day, and boy oh boy, is that singing Dot’s song. One might think I was raised during the Depression to hear me lament food waste. But it’s not just that I’m a bit of a cheapskate (though I am!) — food waste contributes significantly to carbon emissions. How? When food decomposes, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas significantly more potent than carbon dioxide. Keeping food from decomposing — either by eating it (preferably) or ensuring that it’s used as biofuel or turned into compost — keeps that methane from entering our atmosphere and warming it further. Why is composting food better than letting it rot in a landfill? Good question! In a landfill, food decomposes anaerobically (meaning there’s an absence of oxygen), which produces methane gas, 72% more potent than CO2. Composting occurs in aerobic conditions (meaning a presence of oxygen), thereby producing CO2, which is (mostly) captured and stored in the soil rather than being released into the atmosphere. What's more, organic carbon and nutrients that become compost can be used to improve soil health.

So today, in a departure from the usual Dear Dot, I’m sharing with you …

Bluedot’s Guide to Avoiding Food Waste: 

Keeping your groceries fresh for as long as possible is important to maintaining both a balanced budget and a healthy planet. Wilted and moldy produce in your vegetable crisper equals food waste — the unfortunate fate of 40 percent of all food produced in the United States. Food waste not only leads to a higher grocery bill; it also accounts for around ten percent of global carbon emissions.

There are plenty of preventative measures you can take to fight food waste, and here are just a few …

What are they? Read on.