"The Future Lies in the Past"

Environmental & Science Education

STEM

Sustainability

Reduce Reuse Recycle
Waste

Climate Change

Edward Hessler

Do you ever think of the food you waste? We waste?  And its contribution to climate change?

An essay in The Atlantic introducing the documentary, "The Future of Food is Zero Waste" begins by calling attention to a few facts. "[E]very year, one-third of the food produced globally for human consumption--1.3 billion tons--is wasted. (Americans in particular throw away 40 percent of their food, despite the fact that most of it is perfectly edible.)  In aggregate, the world's annual food waste produces 3.3 billion tons of carbon. That's more greenhouse-gas emissions than from 37 million cars. Needless to say, a global effort in the reduction of food waste would go a long way toward mitigating our carbon footprint."

The documentary is by by Matt Hughes and features British chef Douglas McMaster who, after traveling the world visiting some of the very best restaurants, returned disillusioned by the waste he had seen. He decided to open a zero food waste restaurant. Silo in Brighton was opened in 2014. Silo in London opened recently. Surely there must be some waste no matter the efforts and there is. It is compressed and composted.

The documentary (9 m 37 s) and short essay introducing it are found here.

You may take a tour of Silo in Brighton, opened in 2014, here (7m 57s). Information about Silo in London, A PreIndustrial Food System is found here. And if you'd like to know more about Chef Douglas McMaster, he is well represented on the web. I chose this one.