By Kiran Bengard The food industry is full of confusing and even misleading labels. Every time I go to the grocery store, I am bombarded with false notions of health foods and all-natural flavorings. While I enjoy it when my food is “made with real fruit” and “fat-free,” I’d be lying if I said I knew with absolute clarity what it all meant. When I read a label on my food I’d like to believe it at face value. Expiration dates are no exception — but in this case, the confusion can lead to a very serious problem: food waste. The Problem of Food Waste The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimat ..read more

By Darren Don, MD Welcome back. In part I we discussed the environmental impact of food loss and waste (FLW). We also saw some examples of how the world is responding to this issue. You may be interested in how you can reduce your own food waste — so step up to the plate and read on! Create Better Habits Okay, let’s reach for the low-hanging fruit first: the tried and true shopping list. Make a list before you go shopping, which will prevent you from buying items you already have or purchasing impulse items that you may not end up using. Of course there’s an app for that. Many of these apps c ..read more

By Darren Don, M.D. Do you waste food? Of course not. You know food is a valuable resource, you spend your hard-earned money on it, and your parents taught you to clean your plate. But in reality, we all waste more food than we think. We all forget about the leftover takeout food from last month or the can of peaches in the back of the refrigerator. The good news is that we can all take simple steps to cut back on our food waste. Let’s first review why this matters for the planet, then dive into different strategies for taking action on this big environmental problem. The Global Picture Why i ..read more

by Nicolle Portilla, Recycle Track Systems Today, Americans waste 30% to 40% of the total food supply throughout its entire life cycle, from growing or production to post-purchase. That may seem like a shocking statistic. However, unless you are already dedicated to a low-waste lifestyle, the statistic starts making sense quickly if you record all the waste you have and compare it to what you buy. You can avoid excess waste by not letting food spoil, storing it correctly, and shopping efficiently. This blog will show you some ways to cut food waste at home, which will help you save money as y ..read more

By Robbie Brown In celebration of this year’s Earth Month as well as Stop Food Waste Day, which is on April 28, I couldn’t think of a better individual to meet with than Anne-Marie Bonneau, aka the Bay Area’s Zero-Waste Chef. Anne-Marie is well known in the community as a leader when it comes to educating others on how to reduce waste, cook with food scraps, use induction cooktops, and work with local businesses to encourage the use of reusables. Anne-Marie and I sat down to talk more about what it means to be zero-waste, and her recently published cookbook The Zero-Waste Chef: Plant-Forward ..read more

Restaurant openings seem more the exception than the norm in the Covid-era . One bright spot: Chef Traci Des Jardins, the noted award-winning Bay Area chef and restaurateur, is launching a new restaurant in Los Altos called El Alto. In celebration of this occasion, we’re sharing, with permission, the official remarks from Chef Des Jardins’ Keynote at our Climate Friendly Cuisine conference on September 11, 2018. Acterra is also grateful to Des Jardins for providing additional images from her personal collection. These remarks have been lightly edited and condensed, but the full transcript is a ..read more