Andy Platt

 I love being part of a team effort  with a goal to keep the Drawdown solutions right in front of us. By practicing and taking action  -we act our way into beliefs  especially in these restricted movement times--- we can;'t protest but we can still do something.
The food waste and related solutions are very powerful. I read a book Calle "Food Foolish:" that may have been a Drawdown resource --but it really struck me that small steps by millions can really make a difference.

As the creator of BFAS (Bruised Fruit Avoidance Syndrome)  we have been really careful to examine all incoming fruit and eat the less attractive, but still edible first- we relish the white of  the strawberries, we love nipping the distorted ugly oranges. and  do not overcut the brown of cabbage. But alas a bunch of quinoa fell to a distant place on the frig  and announced itself by its fermented bouquet. We could not figure a rescue so out it went but  at least to compost!!!  My wife and talked endlessly of the guilt  of letting down our Mass Audubon Team--how could we ever explain--then we said --ah just skip that days checkin
and do better tomorrow. Tomorrow is now today . 

 

Obsessing about food wastes...is good. Yesterday my wife made applesauce and was ready to compost the skins and the attached apple parts. I interrupted the journey to the compost by doing a “second pressing” removing the core an seeds.   Boiled  and added a little sweer wine for a dessert only slightly less than the applesauce.

Zero food waste goal is interesting ---even composting has become a second best choice . It is a good option but only for food that truly is not edible. I get pangs of guilt when I throw food I did not eat into the compost.  My wife is great at taking the tiny leftovers and combining them and  then adding to the main meal---mixed vegetables get more mixed

 Besides Covid, we are cautioning our friends about BFAS (Bruised Fruit Avoidance Syndrome). Its a simple concept --we are brainwashed to seek out the beautiful first --the perfect strawberry the lovely spherical orange and each day we ignore the slightly bruise or mis shaped fruit or vegetable  at the bottom and pick the nicer fruit we waste food.. The ignored  become inedible within days  and out it goes. The same principle holds for things like the white part of a strawberry--why throw it our just because not is not red!!!!  So pass on this new disease which we can control

 we have added two levels of comporting to  our waste management,. We have our home composting but we also have the industrial composting of bones,shells, waxed cardboard  and meat  and most any organic  at our local landfill. We now throw away so little food. Today I confess that we found little spinach hidden in the back of the frig-----that was composted --so nit a total loss.

Covid 19 means we must more closely monitor our food purchase and consumption. We have the time to be more careful so less bought, less consumed and less wasted.