New program from U of I, EPA examines food waste

Posted on August 17, 2020
It’s part of a fifth- and sixth-grade science curriculum, “Where Does My Food Go?,” available free online. (Facebook/Illinois EPA)

 

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Learning about food waste – from an environmental perspective – is the goal of a new partnership between the University of Illinois and the state Environmental Protection Agency. IEPA’s Kristi Morris says this is not about joining the clean plate club and starving kids in China.

“Reducing the amount of waste that we generate, buying what is really needed, preparing meals, and then going into the leftover waste products that can be composted,” Morris says. “And composting is one of the activities given in the lesson.”

It’s part of a fifth- and sixth-grade science curriculum, “Where Does My Food Go?,” available free online.

We throw away about a third of our food, and IEPA’s James Jennings says that’s a problem.

“Over the past decade and a half, food waste has been one of the largest waste streams that is generated in Illinois. The impact of that is it takes landfill space that can be devoted to other materials, and it also has greenhouse gas implications” as it decomposes.

pathways.mste.illinois.edu

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…