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Food System
Bowls Full of 'Chowda' with Zero Waste
Jan 27th, 2014 | By Amy Leibrock
Sustainable America is headquartered in New England, which means we love our chowder. So when we had the chance to help make the 6th-annual Chowdafest a zero-waste event, we jumped at the opportunity.
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Food System
Super Bowl Will Put Food Waste to Use
Jan 24th, 2014 | By Amy Leibrock
For some people, the Super Bowl is as much about food as it is about football. Fans stock up on chips, dips, chicken wings, and sandwiches measured by the foot. But what happens to the leftovers after the fourth quarter?
MetLife Stadium, the arena for Sunday’s Super Bowl XLVIII, has put some real work into addressing the food waste issue this game day.
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Food System
Flipping the Farm-to-Table Equation
Dec 13th, 2013 | By Amy Leibrock
A handful of high-end farm-to-table restaurants in cities like New York City and Orlando have found a new way to get the most out of the close ties they keep with local farmers. Vegetable peelings from the kitchen and leftover fare from diners’ plates is catching a ride back to the farm to become gourmet livestock feed. The arrangement means savings for farmers and, thanks to better-fed birds, cows and pigs, better-tasting meals on customers’ plates.
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Food System
Desperately Seeking (Black-Eyed) Susan
Dec 11th, 2013 | By Ellen Niz
Did you know there are 10 million acres of front and back yards in America—enough to produce 43.5 million tons of food—but only 35 percent of U.S. households grew food in 2012? Growing where you are gives people the power to eat healthier and revitalize their communities, but many gardeners lack the land they need, and those with the land don’t always know what to do with it.
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Food System
3 New Urban Farm Projects To Watch
Nov 27th, 2013 | By Nicole Rogers
The urban farming movement is going strong, with organizers worldwide working to bring food production into urban areas. Urban food production improves city dwellers' access to fresh food, promotes food justice, and reduces transportation costs. Check out three up-and-coming urban farming projects tailor-made to suit the needs of their communities.
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Food System
New Meaning for “Airplane Food”
Nov 18th, 2013 | By Amy Leibrock
While rushing to board your next flight, you might not expect farmers’ markets and urban farms among the airport’s fast food joints, mani-pedi stations, and newsstands. At four U.S. airports, however, travelers are encountering exactly that. Check out how the local food movement has arrived at airline terminals in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
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Food System
What Is Agroforestry?
Nov 12th, 2013 | By Cedric Rose
If you’ve ever sipped a cup of shade-grown coffee, you’ve savored the fruits of agroforestry, the subject of a new USDA report about an age-old practice now used by growers in developing nations to boost production and profits while conserving resources and promoting biodiversity. Using shade trees, an agroforestry practice called “forest farming,” reduces stress on coffee crops, retains moisture, and shelters pest-eating, pollinating critters, all of which means a better product and healthier operation.
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Food System
Behind the Scenes at a Zero-Waste Event
Oct 28th, 2013 | By Amy Leibrock
Earlier this month, as the official Food & Waste Education Partner for the SXSW Eco 2013 conference in Austin, Sustainable America worked to capture and compost food waste from the third-annual event. Well, the numbers are in, and the conference was successful in diverting almost all of its waste—an impressive 97%!—to recycling and composting facilities instead of landfills.
Here's a look at what goes into corralling a bunch of sandwich crusts and compostable forks into the proper places so it can be recycled into compost rather than go to waste in a landfill.
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Food System
"Ugly" Produce Can Be A Beautiful Thing
Oct 18th, 2013 | By Nicole Rogers
In recent years, an international movement to embrace "ugly" produce has taken root. The idea is simple – by using the edible, but slightly less beautiful fruits and vegetables that are typically discarded, we can decrease food waste and feed more people. Some of the U.K.'s biggest supermarkets have embraced this concept. Here in the states, while some charities and food banks have been doing this kind of work for years, many American businesses are just starting to consider the problem and potential of ugly produce.
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Food System
'Growing Cities' Digs Into Urban Farming
Oct 17th, 2013 | By Laura Waldman
Recently we had the pleasure of speaking with Dan Susman, director and producer of the new documentary *Growing Cities*. The film follows Dan and his co-producer Andrew Monbouquette across the United States as they examine the growing urban farming movement. The Nebraska natives visited a total of 80 farms in vacant lots, rooftops, and backyards and interviewed the passionate people from all walks of life who tend them. Along the way, they learned a lot about community, food justice, and eating urban squirrels (spoiler: try at your own risk).
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