American Wasteland cover

American Wasteland

by Jonathan Bloom

This book examines food waste in the United States, what it says about Americans, the economic and environmental impacts of food waste, and how to lessen what is wasted. As more people are going hungry while simultaneously more people are morbidly obese, this work sheds light on the history, culture, and mindset of waste while exploring the parallel eco-friendly and sustainable food movements. As the era of unprecedented prosperity comes to an end, it is time to reexamine our culture of excess. Working at both a local grocery store and a major fast food chain and volunteering with a food recovery group, the author also interviews experts from Brian Wansink to Alice Waters to Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen and digs up not only why and how we waste, but, more importantly, what we can do to change our ways.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?