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American Wasteland Jonathan Bloom, Author, American Wasteland Michael Dimock, President, Roots of Change A.G. Kawamura, Former Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture Greg Dalton, Founder of Climate One, moderator The ubiquity of food in the United States blinds the mind to a tragic fact: much of it is wasted. Exact numbers are elusive, but estimates suggest that at least a quarter and as much as half of the food produced in this country is never consumed. A panel of food experts convened by Climate One says that much of the waste is unnecessary. Lest consumers think most of the waste ends up in supermarket or restaurant trash bins, Jonathan Bloom, author, American Wasteland, cites a study from New York State, which found that households account for 40% of wasted food. \u201cIn terms of the American consumer\u2019s psyche, we\u2019ve gotten to this point where we see beautiful food everywhere \u2013 the rise of food TV and glossy magazines \u2013 everywhere we turn, it seems, we\u2019re constantly seeing images of food that looks pretty. Appearance trumps taste,\u201d he says. \u201cWe have tremendous inefficiencies on both sides, pre-harvest and post harvest,\u201d says A.G. Kawamura, former Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture. If prices collapse, he says, a farmer might not be able to afford to pay for the fuel and labor needed to harvest a crop. Fortunately, he says, groups such Farm to Table are partnering with farmers to offset the cost of a second or third harvest to prevent food from wasting in the field. For Michael Dimock, President, Roots of Change, the primary driver of waste in the food system is how we think. \u201cIt\u2019s really changing our consciousness about what is waste and what is not. That\u2019s the first step in combating this problem,\u201d he says. There are reasons to be optimistic that the system is evolving, he says, citing the food separation and composting efforts underway in San Francisco and Sonoma County. Also encouraging, he says, is the increased interest in \u201cfood sovereignty.\u201d Everything from families and communities planting and tending gardens to consumers \u201cmining\u201d trash bins at supermarkets and restaurants for green waste to feed to backyard chickens. \u201cI\u2019m thankful that we have a system of abundance,\u201d says A.G. Kawamura. \u201cCan we make it a system of efficiency? We\u2019re lucky we don\u2019t have a system of scarcity.\u201d This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club of California on March 2, 2011\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices