American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half of Its Food (and What We Can Do About It) [Hardcover]

Jonathan Bloom (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 12, 2010

What Tom Vanderbilt did for traffic and Brian Wansink did for mindless eating, Jonathan Bloom does for food waste. The topic couldn’t be timelier: As more people are going hungry while simultaneously more people are morbidly obese, American Wasteland sheds light on the history, culture, and mindset of waste while exploring the parallel eco-friendly and sustainable-food movements. As the era of unprecedented prosperity comes to an end, it’s time to reexamine our culture of excess.

Working at both a local grocery store and a major fast food chain and volunteering with a food recovery group, Bloom also interviews experts—from Brian Wansink to Alice Waters to Nobel Prize–winning economist Amartya Sen—and digs up not only why and how we waste, but, more importantly, what we can do to change our ways.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Since the Great Depression and the world wars, the American attitude toward food has gone from a "use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without" patriotic and parsimonious duty to an orgy of "grab-and-go" where food's fetish and convenience qualities are valued above sustainability or nutrition. Journalist Bloom follows the trajectory of America's food from gathering to garbage bin in this compelling and finely reported study, examining why roughly half of our harvest ends up in landfills or rots in the field. He accounts for every source of food waste, from how it is picked, purchased, and tossed in fear of being past inscrutable "best by" dates. Bloom's most interesting point is psychological: we have trained ourselves to regard food as a symbol of American plenty that should be available at all seasons and times, and in dizzying quantities. "Current rates of waste and population growth can't coexist much longer," he warns and makes smart suggestions on becoming individually and collectively more food conscious "to keep our Earth and its inhabitants physically and morally healthy." (Nov.) (c)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

In one of the twenty-first century’s most appalling ironies, developed nations throw away massive amounts of food while people in remote lands starve. Journalist Bloom documents some specifics about the nature of wasted food in the twenty-first century and calls into question both the economic efficiency and the morality of such profligacy. He finds food crops lying rotting in fields owing to intentional social policy, economic vagaries, and sheer ignorance. In restaurants, portion sizes have ballooned under the mantras “Bigger is better” and “Would you like to supersize that?” And many Americans allow food to decay on refrigerator shelves out of carelessness, lack of meal planning, and sheer ignorance. Bloom has found some hopeful signs that this trend may be waning. Many grocery stores and restaurants dispose of surplus edibles through food pantries and similar charitable outlets. Some socially conscious farmers are trying to revive the ancient practice of allowing the poor to glean. --Mark Knoblauch

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books (October 12, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738213640
• ISBN-13: 978-0738213644
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.3 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #427,265 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #94 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences > History

More About the Author

Jonathan Bloom is a journalist and blogger who created WastedFood.com. His book on food waste, American Wasteland, will be published in October by Da Capo Press. He lives in Durham, North Carolina with his wife, son, dog, composting worms and many, many containers for leftovers.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling and entertaining November 3, 2010

By Caitlin Linden

Format:Hardcover

Before you even read my review of American Wasteland, I urge you to buy it. Or reserve it at your library. Or put it on your Christmas list. Just find some way to get your hands on it. Because it is truly the most compelling, entertaining, and inspiring book I've read in a long time.

I'm amazed by how comprehensive this book is. Bloom explores food waste at every step of the supply chain: from farms to processing plants to supermarkets to restaurants to cafeterias to the average American home. The amount of food that's wasted in America each and every day-while millions go hungry-is astonishing. Meanwhile, ridiculous amounts of methane are releasing into our atmosphere because of the literal tons of food in our landfills.

Bloom spent several years studying food-waste in depth, and it shows. He worked at McDonald's, a supermarket, and Orbit Energy. He traveled to Britain to meet with prominent politicians. He journeyed to California's vast farms. He ate lunch with students at elementary schools and universities alike. And he visited ordinary households to observe their food waste.

I love Bloom's dry sense of humor, which is peppered throughout the book, and I was really surprised by his upbeat tone. I expected a riveting--but dismal-- story. Instead, I found an eye-opening and hopeful narrative. The last chapter is titled "If I Were the King of the Forest," and it's full of information about drastically reducing our nation's food waste. While it's not realistic for the average consumer to expect to end waste, Bloom offers many helpful tips for cutting down on in-home waste. After finishing the book, I found myself challenging myself to use up odds and ends of food in our kitchen. I will never look at food waste the same way again!

(I did receive a free review copy of this book; however, I was not rewarded for a positive review, and all opinions are my own).

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting book October 22, 2010

By Judith A. Holoway

Format:Hardcover

This is a very interesting book on how wasteful we are with our food. I was stunned that half our food ends up in landfills. What an eye-opener. It is obvious, when reading this book, that Mr. Bloom investigated this topic for many years. This is an issue that we can all improve on and Mr. Bloom offers many solutions and recommendations that will assist in mending our wasteful ways. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read If You Want to Understand and Reduce Food Waste February 15, 2011

By Renee

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

As someone who manages my family's food inventory and stash of leftovers with an ardent zeal usually reserved for much more glamorous pursuits, I am so glad that Jonathan Bloom wrote this book!

This book is a must-read if you want to understand the sources and effects of food waste--and what you can do to reduce food waste in your life and community. Bloom extensively researched every aspect of food waste, from California lettuce fields to school lunches to the back rooms and dumpsters of supermarkets. He discusses existing solutions such as higher rates of composting and increased opportunities for gleaning (harvesting left-behind produce) from farms. His combination of journalistic research and first-hand experiences makes for convincing arguments. His sense of humor helps to make a potentially heavy and depressing topic accessible and readable.

If you're trying to reduce food waste in your own home, you'll find plenty of practical tips and advice throughout the book but especially in Chapter 8, Home Is Where the Waste Is. My family is committed to keeping our own food waste to a minimum--and I think we actually succeed--but I still found so much useful information in this book, particularly on what I can do beyond my own kitchen. Bloom's exploration of the broader social and environmental effects of food waste were especially enlightening and add an important dimension to something you might already be doing simply for budget reasons. While controlling your food budget can be an important reason for avoiding food waste and a sufficient motivation in itself, you'll find the wider ethical and environmental reasons both compelling and inspiring.

I wish everyone would read this book so that we can see a meaningful reduction in food waste. It's a big problem that is actually pretty easy to address--a rare combination and a great opportunity to make a difference!