Celebrity chefs, including Tom Collichio, descended on Capitol Hill this week to testify about the roughly 70 billion pounds of food wasted annually in the United States. They will join experts and advocates before the House Agriculture Committee, which is holding its first full hearing on the topic. The chefs urged lawmakers to support a bill sponsored by Representative Chellie Pingree, (D-Maine) that would adjust food labels with the goal of waste prevention. From there, the chefs head to the White House for a round-table discussion on food waste. Of course, they also ate--“recovered” food, pasture-raised beef tartare tendon, and trap-caught mackerel and Maryland oysters served with green garlic and herbs.
Source: NYT, 5/25/16, Celebrity Chefs Don't Waste Food
Scores of new companies are trying to spin profits out of food waste. Several start-ups are chasing ways to use food waste to make other edibles. Some are aiming to quickly distribute food that is about to be thrown out. And yet others are working to use every last ounce of ingredients. The business of food waste is not well tracked; most data available now is on funding for individual companies. But Back to the Roots, which sells products such as a mushroom-growing kit that uses coffee grounds, recently raised $5.8 million from individual investors like Michael Pollan. EcoScraps, which turns food waste into gardening products, has raised $13 million. Cerplus is an online go-between, linking farms and wholesalers with food on the verge of going to waste with restaurants and other businesses. The company started serving the Bay Area in January and now has shipped more than 13,000 pounds of food to more than 60 clients.
Source: NYT, 5/25/16, Food Waste for Profit
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