VOA文化艺术2023--US Restaurants, Companies ‘Upcycle’ Leftover Food

Tyler Malek is the head ice cream maker¹ at the Portland, Oregon-based Salt & Straw.

He uses leftover² yogurt to make his lemon curd³ ice cream. For chocolate barley⁴ milk, he mixes leftovers⁵ of rice and grains used to make beer to give it a creamy taste.

"Instead of calling this food waste, we need to call it wasted food and start decreasing how much wasting we're doing," Malek said.

Malek's ice cream company is among those at the start of a movement called upcycling. It is a process of creating high-quality products from leftover food.

The movement is gaining ground as buyers want to know what is in their food, where their food comes from, and how it affects the environment.

The Upcycled Food Association said more than 31 million metric tons of food are wasted every year in the U.S. The organization estimated that waste makes up about 40 percent of the country's food production, costing the national economy more than $200 billion.

Upcycled food is becoming increasingly common in food products like cake mixes and veggie chips at natural food stores. Others include fruits and vegetables that are rejected by restaurants and food stores because of their shape or color.

The Upcycled Food Association gives out an official "Upcycling Certified⁶" seal to qualifying products. These seals, found on the new Salt & Straw ice cream, bring attention to buyers that this company is upcycling food.

The organization approved 30 food products in 2021 to carry the seal. But now, 450 different products have received the marker.

Angie Crone is the organization's chief executive. She said outdated⁷ guidelines led to a lot of wasted and uneaten food. Crone added, "So this is a mark that you can see on the products wherever you go shopping, to be able to understand how that company is reducing food waste..."

The organization's marker is also found on all products made by Renewal⁸ Mill. The Oakland, California-based company is turning leftover food products from plant-based milk into food products like flour to reduce waste at the manufacturing level.

Caroline Cotto, the company's founder⁹ said, "And then we use that flour to make things like baking mixes and ready-to-eat cookies." Its flour is also used in Salt & Straw's new "Salted Caramel & Okara Cupcakes" ice cream.

The movement is not limited to recycled products found in ice cream stores, farmers' markets, or natural food stores. In San Francisco, a restaurant is now serving pizza and wine with upcycled food such as ugly mushrooms and discolored tomatoes.

Words in This Story

seal – n. an official mark that is stamped on paper or on a small piece of wax to show that something (such as a document) is genuine and has been officially approved

shop – v. to visit places where goods are sold in order to look at and buy things

1 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

2 leftover   

n.剩货，残留物，剩饭；adj.残余的

参考例句：

• These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
• Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。

3 curd   

n.凝乳；凝乳状物

参考例句：

• I'd like to add some pepper to the bean curd.我想在豆腐里加一点辣椒粉。
• The next one is bean curd with crab roe.下一个是蟹黄豆腐。

4 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。

5 leftovers   

n.剩余物，残留物，剩菜

参考例句：

• He can do miracles with a few kitchen leftovers.他能用厨房里几样剩饭做出一顿美餐。
• She made supper from leftovers she had thrown together.她用吃剩的食物拼凑成一顿晚饭。

6 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

7 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

8 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

9 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。