Worms – Friends of Our Planet

One of the most satisfying aspects of writing this weekly blog is when someone sends me an article, or a video clip, or a book suggestion, that they came across and wanted to share with me, knowing I’m interested in our climate change and how it’s affecting our planet.  Well, that happened recently when a good friend (thank you Rosann) forwarded me a video clip of a Tedx talk she had seen on the subject of sustainability.  I’ve attached the link below but as a foreword, let me offer some relevant stats:

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture: “In the United States, food waste is estimated at between 30-40 percent of the food supply. This estimate, based on estimates from USDA’s Economic Research Service of 31 percent food loss at the retail and consumer levels, corresponded to approximately 133 billion pounds and $161 billion worth of food in 2010.” As illustrated in the chart to the right, there are so many better options for food than going to a landfill.

A 2018 article in Forbes states: “Food waste ends up wasting nearly a quarter of our water supply in the form of uneaten food or over $172 billion in wasted water. If the land that we cultivate growing food that goes to waste in the US were all in one place, it would cover more than 3/4 of California!  When food is disposed in a landfill it rots and becomes a significant source of methane – a potent greenhouse gas with 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.  Growing and transporting the food that goes to waste emits as much carbon pollution as 39 million passenger vehicles.”

So, today, Mardi Gras, I thought talking about food waste was timely.  I first talked about the amount of food wasted in my Mardi Gras blog last March and offered some ideas as to how I personally can reduce the amount of food wasted.  And in April’s What Matters Most, I wrote about the book Drawdown which identifies the top 100 initiatives that would reduce CO₂ emissions.  “Reduce Food Waste” is the 3^rd most important thing on that list.  That’s a big deal!

So, since the video clip I mentioned above addresses food waste, and today is Mardi Gras, I decided to share it.  It’s 16 minutes long; I hope you find this as inspiring as I did. Click here for the video. Happy Mardi Gras and Laissez les bons temps rouler.

Ps – as I did last year, I’ve decided for this season of lent, to abstain from alcohol during lent and also to recommit to reducing wasted food. Good for the planet; good for me!