I grew up in a household where we embraced leftovers, composted actively and had a dog with an iron-clad stomach, so very little food went to waste. As I got older and started living on my own, I realized what a feat of meal planning and conservation my mother had been pulling off all those years, as I found myself tossing heads of lettuce, moldy cheese and sour milk at the end of each week. I worked to change my habits, learning how much food I needed for each given week, working hard to use up my leftovers and buying an indoor composter to ensure that my vegetal waste didn't go into the landfills.
As food and fuel prices rise, more and more people are becoming concerned with the amount of food that we waste. This morning the Today Show
aired a segment on food waste and in it they interviewed journalist and blogger Jonathan Bloom. Bloom runs the website
Wasted Food and is currently writing a book about the amount of uneaten food that gets sent to landfills each day.
The segment is interesting and is an excellent primer for those people who are new to the idea of food conservation. They suggest that more frequent trips to the supermarket, in which you buy less, is one of the answers to preventing food waste. While I think that's a good idea, I wish they had stressed tactics like shopping at farmers markets (the food is fresher, so it stays good longer, giving you more time in which to use it) and using your freezer (if you make a large meal, halve it and freeze a portion for another time).
The Today show is running a contest in which they are attempting to name 
New York Times Magazine's food issue
Chicken McNuggets frolic at New York City pet store
Eat your broccoli orbs! 
