[Claudus]

My grandmother had a plum bush about 12 feet high that would produce thousands of plums every year. We would eat a few hundred, but about 90% would be “wasted”. Of course, they rotted back into the soil and provided nourishment for other living things.

Luckily, the bush is dead now, and all that food is no longer being wasted.

[arcticbull]

How much fertilizer, pesticide, labor and water from underground was applied to this bush? Were the fruits diverted to landfill after or composted? How much fossil fuel was used to transport the plums from her back yard to a sort facility, to a grocery store, to someone’s house and then back to the landfill? Landfills btw emit significant quantities of methane that are not present in aerobic composting.

This is a silly response that misses the forest for the trees if you will.

It beggars belief that the difference between industrial agriculture and ornamental plants is lost on you. Especially since my focus was on animals not plants - with a particular focus on water use.

Your average grandmother by the way (in the 70s), wasted 50% as much food as the average American wastes today so it might be worth a follow-up conversation with gammy about why that was.

[rpastuszak]

What's your point?