If you're like me, the best part of a big holiday meal might be the leftovers. Some foods just taste better that second day! But then there are those leftovers that get pushed to the back and forgotten - the ones that turn into a science experiment about fungi growth. Those join my banana peels, stale bread, and cooking scraps in the trek to the trash can.
I'm not the only one tossing food away; it's estimated that about 40 million tons of food in the US makes its way to the landfill each year from homes, restaurants, and grocery stores. Is there anything to be done about this staggering amount of food waste?
We can't turn back the clock to save perishable food once it has gone bad, but scientists are starting to perfect ways to turn scraps and other by-products of food prep into something tasty. The solution? Fungi! 🍄Filamentous fungi, to be exact.
Fungi come in two varieties: single-celled, like yeast, or filamentous, like molds and mushrooms. Neurospora intermedia is a filamentous fungi that has been used for centuries in Indonesia. There, after soy is made into tofu, N. intermedia is grown on the leftover soy to make a tasty meat substitute called oncom.
Scientists are learning that when other food scraps and food waste products, like the liquid left over from creating oat milk, are fed to N. intermedia, amazing things happen. After about 36 hours, the fungus turns the scraps into a nutrient-rich, high-protein meal. Unlike many other fungi, N. intermedia doesn't create any toxins, either.
What about flavor? Odds are pretty good that you already enjoy other foods that are made with other fungi. Soy sauce, blue cheese, brie, miso, and tempeh are just a few popular foods made from other species. With N. intermedia, taste testers have said the fungus has a pleasant, nutty taste. Scientists are even inviting world-class chefs into their labs to create recipes with the fungus!
Reading about food waste got me thinking: are there some US states that are better at others at managing excess food than others? Here's a breakdown of what I found:
If I shared this graph with my students, here are some questions I'd ask them:
💡"Per capita annum" means "per person, per year." The graph shows how much money, on average, one person wastes per year in each state. What is the difference in wasted money per year between the first- and second-worst states on this graph? Vermont wastes nearly $1375 per person per year, while Maine wastes about $1275. $1375 - $1275 = $1000 per person per year.
💡Hawaii is an island where nearly 90% of its food is imported rather than grown locally. This makes food much more expensive because buyers are also paying for shipping costs. How could this affect how Hawaii ranks on the chart? Hawaii is ranked third highest in the cost of wasted food, but this does not necessarily mean they waste more food than the other states. It might just mean their food is more expensive.
💡Thinking about the graph, what are two more questions about the topic of wasted food that you could investigate? There are so many possibilities, but here are a few starters:
- "Why are people throwing away so much food?"
- "Do groceries cost more in some states than others?"
- "Which are the most expensive types of foods that people throw out?"
- "What volume of food is being thrown away in each state?"
