Grocery prices and the forsaken foods at the back of your fridge seem to increase weekly. After reading "American Wasteland," you will never look at your shopping list, refrigerator, plate, or wallet the same way again. Jonathan Bloom wades into the garbage heap to unearth what our squandered food says about us, why it matters, and how you can make a difference starting in your own kitchen--reducing waste and saving money. Interviews with experts such as chef Alice Waters and food psychologist Brian Wansink, among others, uncover not only how and why we waste, but, most importantly, what we can do about it.

Reviews

"Kirkus Reviews "(starred review")," 8/15/10
"An eye-opening account of what used to be considered a sin--the willful waste of perfectly edible food...Bloom is full of condemnation without being unduly scolding...Refreshingly, Bloom offers solutions as well as jeremiads, and not a minute too soon--an urgent, necessary book.""Booklist, "10/1/10"Journalist Bloom documents 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." "Publishers Weekly," 9/27 "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...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...[He] makes s