Green Parent Chicago™

EarthTalk: Leftovers and Landfills, The Cost of Food Waste in the U.S.

Dear EarthTalk: What are the environmental implications of all the food we throw away here in the United States-- Mike Schiller, Cambridge, MA

Food waste is a huge issue in America, especially in light of the growing divide between the profligate rich and the hungry poor. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Loss Project, we throw away more than 25 percent—some 25.9 million tons—of all the food we produce for domestic sale and consumption. A 2004 University of Arizona study pegs the figure at closer to 50 percent, finding that Americans squander some $43 billion annually on wasted food. Lead researcher Timothy Jones reported that on average, U.S. households waste 14 percent of their food purchases. He estimates that a family of four tosses out $590 per year in meat, fruits, vegetables and grain products alone.

Once this food gets to the landfill, it then generates methane, a greenhouse gas 23 times as potent as carbon dioxide in trapping heat within our atmosphere. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, landfills account for 34 percent of all methane emissions in the U.S.—meaning that the sandwich you made and then didn’t eat yesterday is increasing your personal—and our collective—carbon footprint.

Furthermore, researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kid­ney Dis­eases (NIDDK) concluded in a 2009 study that each year a quarter of U.S. water consumption and over 300 million barrels of oil (four percent of U.S. oil consumption) go into producing and distributing food that ultimately ends up in landfills. They add that pe­r-capita food waste has in­creased by half since 1974, and suggest that the “U.S. obesity epidemic” may be the result of a “push effect” of increased food availability and marketing to Americans unable to match their food intake with the increased supply of cheap food. 

In spite of all this, environmentalists are optimistic that Americans can reduce their food waste. For one, restaurants and markets are increasingly finding outlets—including soup kitchens feeding the poor and farms looking for cheap animal feed—for food they would otherwise toss. Some communities now pick-up and centrally compost food waste from commercial and residential buildings and put the resulting nutrient-rich soil to use in municipal projects or for sale to the public. And a few enterprising cities now have waste-to-energy technologies that extract methane from landfills for use as fuel.

An extreme reaction to the food waste issue is “freeganism,” a movement of people who live on the food cast off by others. These “dumpster divers” share, in the words of movement founder Warren Oakes, “an anti-consumeristic ethic about eating” and not only avoid creating waste but live off that caused by others. Going freegan might be a bit much for most of us, but we can all take action to minimize food waste. The University of Arizona’s Jones suggests more careful purchase planning, including devising complete menus and grocery lists, and knowing what foods are lurking in the fridge and pantry that should be used before they go bad. And don’t forget that many foods can be frozen and enjoyed later. Jones contends that if we as a nation were able to cut our food waste in half we’d extend the lifespan of landfills by decades and reduce soil depletion and the application of untold tons of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.

CONTACTS: University of Arizona Food Waste Study, www.communitycompost.org/info/usafood.pdf; N IDDK, www.niddk.nih.gov; Freegans, www.freegan.info.

SEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS TO: EarthTalk®, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php. EarthTalk® is now a book! Details and order information at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalkbook.

photo credit: Patrick Michael Mcleon, courtesy Flickr

With Vote, Chicago Would Move Closer to Becoming a Fair Trade Town

Update: The Chicago Fair Trade resolution has passed the Chicago City Council vote.

The Chicago City Council votes today on the Chicago Fair Trade resolution, an important first step in the effort to promote fair trade products in Chicago and fair work conditions across the globe.

If approved, Chicago would meet the first of five requirements to become a Fair Trade Town and a leader in North America as the largest Fair Trade town in the U.S.

A Fair Trade Town is any community in which people and organizations use their everyday choices to increase sales of fair trade products and help promote positive change for farmers and workers in developing countries. Since 2000, over 600 communities in three continents have worked to promote the ideals of Fairtrade Towns.

In addition to passing a city-wide resolution, the five requirements needed for a city or town to be designated a fair trade town by the Fair Trade Towns USA include:

• Forming a steering committee
• Outreach to area retailers
• Engaging the community
• Gain Media Attention
• Pass a Fair Trade Resolution

-photo credit: net efekt, flickr

A Bitter Fruit: A child's plea to the city

The little locavore delved into political activism last night, writing his first letter to a political official. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the issue that piqued his ire was food-related.

As many of you have already heard, Chicago's health department engaged in some boneheaded, yet ultimately unsurprising, behavior on Thursday. In the course of a health inspection, the city inspectors destroyed twelve hundred dollars worth of granola bars and seven thousand dollars of frozen local fruit owned by small business owners Sunday Dinner Chicago and Flora Lazar, respectively. This jaw-dropping exercise of waste occurred despite the fact that there was nothing wrong or unhealthful about either the fruit or granola bar. The city’s rationale isn’t entirely clear – it seems that they based their action on the fact that the products had been processed prior to the granting of individual licenses to the businesses in question even though they were operating out of a licensed shared use kitchen, Kitchen Chicago.

I knew that this terrible news would affect the little locavore as the products made by both of these small companies are among his favorites. When he returned from school, I relayed the bad news about the destruction. His eye welled up with tears,
his voice trembled as he asked whether this meant no more granola bars and fruit candies.

Sadness turned to anger and then righteous indignation. How dare the health inspector waste that fruit? Why couldn’t they have allowed the bars to be donated to the people in need? What was the city thinking?

Unfortunately, I had no answers as these questions were swirling about in my head as well.

He then decided he had to do something. First, he suggested that we offer to Flora some of our stock of frozen fruits so that she could start again. Very sweet, I told him, but neither Flora nor SDC received a business license so our supply would not help. I suggested a letter to the editor, which I would transcribe. I should have known that an editor is not a concept with which he is familiar. Instead, he decided to write a letter to the mayor and here it is, spelled phonetically, of course.

And the question posed to the health inspectors:

Later that evening, we enjoyed the last of our Flora pate de fruits. While delicious, they indeed were a bitter fruit.

-Melissa Graham is a former attorney and chef and owner of Monogramme Events & Catering, a boutique catering company specializing in seasonal and sustainable cuisine. She's also president and founder of Purple Asparagus, a non-profit dedicated to bringing families back to the table by promoting and enjoying all the things associated with good eating. When she’s not in the kitchen or the classroom, you can often find Melissa shopping at the Green City Market where she serves as the membership chair.

Lincoln Park Zoo to Offer Summer Nature Camp Scholarships

If you're looking for a wildlife camp experience for your child this summer, but concerned about the cost, you may want to consider applying for one of Lincoln Park Zoo's 2010 Conservation Camp scholarships.

30 one-week scholarships will be offered this spring to attend the Zoo's summer Conservation Camps, which are open to all children from preschool (beginning at age 4) to eighth grade.

Scholarship recipients may register for a second week of camp at 50 percent off the regular cost. The program will consist of two week-long sessions. "The Web of Wildlife" will explore relationships in nature and show how animals team up and depend on one another and "Nature and You" will focus on what humans have in common with animals. Conservation Camp may be attended as a one-week, or full two-week experience.

See the zoo's website to print a scholarship application or call the Lincoln Park Zoo Education Office at 312-742-2056.

**Scholarship forms must be received by February 13, 2010.**

A scholarship application does not guarantee a spot at camp. Recipients of the awards will be notified by phone or e-mail on February 19.

Regular online registration opens February 23 at 10 a.m. Standard tuition prices range from $125 to $300 per week, depending on half day or full day selections and whether the applicant is a zoo member.

Full day programs (1st – 8th grades) run from 9 a.m.  to 3 p.m. and half day programs (4-5 year olds) will run from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. or 12:30 to 3 p.m.

-photo credit: Lincoln Park Zoo

Swap-O-Rama-Rama: 2-day DIY Workshop and Clothing Swap Extravaganza Returns

After a one year hiatus, Swap-O-Rama-Rama, the weekend-long clothing swap and do-it-yourself workshop promoting creative reuse through clothing recycling is returning to Chicago this spring. 

This year's SORR event will be held at Chicago Waldorf School March 19, 20 and 21. With the mantra "Creators Not Consumers" the event is part of an international movement and was first held in New York City in 2005. Organizers plan to make the Chicago event annual each spring.

The weekend will include two-days (Saturday and Sunday) of clothing swaps and handcraft workshops. In addition, a Friday night show and a Saturday evening documentary screening will be featured as well. The swap portion boasts live music, hundreds of pounds of swapped clothes, volunteer-assisted sewing machines and silk screening stations, workshops in sewing, button making, jewelry making, embroidery, knitting and fabric art, mini-fashion shows, and a new “kids section,” to better facilitate the swapping of childrenʼs clothes. 

Green Parent Chicago recently spoke to local organizer Katie Hawkey Swindler about the history of SORR Chicago:

Is Swap-O-Rama-Rama local or part of a national movement/group?

"Swap-O-Rama-Rama is an international phenomenon. Wendy Tremayne organized the first SORR in NYC in 2005 and she licensed the event through Creative Commons so it could be spread around the world. Events have been held across America, Canada and as far away as Jerusalem and New Zealand. You can read all about the national organization and events in other cities at http://swaporamarama.org/"

What would you say are the goals of the event?

"We originally brought the event to Chicago as a fund raiser for Three Sisters Folk Art School in Chillicothe, IL, a retreat for students of all ages with the unique opportunity to learn skills that have been passed down for generations but are becoming less customary in modern times. Our host, the Chicago Waldorf School and the national Swap-O- Rama-Rama organization, will also receive a portion of the proceeds.

But beyond our fund raising efforts, the philosophical goals of SORR are very inspiring. We hope everyone will come out of the event more knowledgeable, inspired and empowered "makers" than they were when they arrived. The event was originally inspired by the DIY ethos of "creators not consumers." We do everything we can to create a community where experienced crafters and the craft-curious come together in a supportive, creative, energetic group where they share ideas, knowledge, skills, tools, designs, opinions and materials. The event has certain rules (like "no mirrors") to force interaction - the catalyst for community.

Entrance to the swap is a bag of clothes and a small donation. The clothes are then added to the community pile. Once participants enter the space, they have unlimited access to everything at the swap: donated clothes and fabric, sewing machines, silkscreen stations and other tools, workshops and our knowledgeable volunteers. After a day (or weekend) immersed in learning and making, we hope that people will start to look at their older or unwanted belongings not as items to discard and replace, but as raw material that can be refreshed or re-purposed and given new life.

Who are the people behind the Chicago SORR?

I am the primary organizer of the SORR Chicago. I receive significant support from my mother, Jennie Hawkey - she's one of the founders of the Three Sisters Folk Art School. Also this year, Talia Hagerty has joined our team as our Fashion Events Director and will be jurying and organizing our "Inspiration Fashion Show" to be held as a kick-off event on Friday.

Cathey Stamps is our contact at Chicago Waldorf School and she has been an amazing resource and supporter. I also had a couple dozen amazingly talented volunteers staff the event in 2008. I expect many of them to return, but we are expanding the offerings of SORR 2010 significantly so I am currently reaching out to find more volunteer crafters and craft enablers.

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Submissions are still being sought from fashion designers who use re-purposed materials in their collections to feature in the "Inspiration Fashion Show" on March 19. The show will feature collections from local designers who use these “green” materials. Designers of all ages may enter in one of three categories: K-12 Student Designers, College Student/Pre-Professional Designers, and Professional Designers. Contact SORR Chicago Fashion Events Director Talia Hagerty (talia@swap-il.com) for submission instructions.  
 
A screening of the documentary "Handmade Nation: The Rise of D.I.Y., Art, Craft, and Design" will be held Saturday, March 20 at 6 p.m at the Chicago Waldorf School auditorium. Filmmaker Faythe Levine traveled 19,000 miles to document the marriage of historical technique, punk culture, and the d.i.y. ethos. The film celebrates the birth and growth of the indie-craft community.

Volunteers are also still needed for the event. A  volunteer meeting will be held February 4 at 7 p.m. at Chicago Waldorf School. Details on volunteering and positions needed may be found here.