One of the amusing conflicts in my make-up is that I abhor waste but that, as a food addict, I must limit my food intake at levels established by my nutritionist because I my internal governor for volume is hopelessly broken.

Early in my recovery, my drive for efficiency eroded my willingness to respect my food plan because, for example, I'd eat the piece of of carrot that wouldn't fit in my measuring cup instead of returning it to the fridge (what, one little piece?) or throwing it out.

In more recent times, part of what has made that easier is composting — I'm now building a healthy benefit, instead of just wasting — but all of this is merely prelude to a couple of worthy food-waste articles that appeared beneath my cursor this morning.

The first was came via NPR's The Salt, which shared five instances of what people are doing to mitigate food waste, which a new NRDC report estimates at 40 percent. Instance No. 2:

"Caleb Philips founded Boulder Food Rescue, a group that collects produce and packaged goods that grocery stores consider no longer "sellable" and bikes them to shelters, housing projects and at-risk community outlets. Since September 2011, BFR has rescued more than 128,000 pounds of nutritious food ..."

I saw the second one on Civil Eats, though it appeared originally on EcoCentric Blog. It also offered a list, but of 18 facts the headline says will motivate you to cut back on your part of the waste stream. No. 3:

3. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, in 2010 discarded food represented the single largest component of municipal solid waste reaching landfills and incinerators.

If you're going to read only one, I recommend the latter. Everyone knows 18 is better than 5, though of course, our shared national devotion to "more is better" is partly why we waste so much, and partly why we're so large.