Waste not

• In the USA, organic waste is the second highest component of landfills, which are the largest source of methane emissions
• In the USA, 30-40% of the food supply is wasted, equaling more than 20 pounds of food per person per month

The sheer volume of food wasted in the U.S. each year should cause us some shame, with all the hungry people on earth.

In terms of keeping organic materials out of landfills, our composting law in Seattle is well-intentioned, although unenforceable.  But the answer to the problem isn't just composting all that food.  Composting sounds simple and natural, but composting municipal waste is an enormous and expensive operation. 

Portland makes it look like "down home on the farm," but turning urban filth into useful product is high tech and big business.
 
I've been reading lately about the new food waste reduction movement, which educates people on things like thoughtful shopping, meal planning, using up leftovers and managing your refrigerator. The stuff we watched our mothers do, or learned in Home Ec class.

I guess it's one thing to throw away half of a frozen pizza (which I don't buy anyway) but when I've cooked something from scratch with the best ingredients, I can't stand to waste the effort not to mention the good food.  The problem is we're getting to be old people in this house, who shouldn't eat so much.  Big meals like soup, stew, pasta sauce and chili get carefully divided and stored in the freezer for later.

Speaking of waste not, want not.  Here's what two Costco rotisserie chicken carcasses look like after you stuff them in the pressure cooker and let her rip for an hour.  Possibly the nicest broth I've ever made.  Hey, I wonder if I could cram a turkey carcass in there?

Of course this mess had to be strained, chilled and skimmed, which is some amount of work. But the next day you have the base for a fabulous chicken soup. 

John keeps telling me I should write a book called "101 Things to Do With a Costco Rotisserie Chicken." Maybe Costco would sell it, and I'd become so rich and famous I'd never shop there again. ha!