A Post and Painting About Waste and What We Ignore

“Where Plenty Lies Fallow”

What This Painting Means

“Where Plenty Lies Fallow” acrylic on unstretched canvas.

“Where Plenty Lies Fallow” is about seeing something we don’t usually notice,which is the waste of food.. Not just trash, but the kind that hides in plain sight. The kind that comes from unused food, empty fields, and forgotten land.

I live and paint near nature, and I’ve seen how rich the earth can be. But I’ve also seen how much we let go to waste. This painting uses colors and texture to shows a field that should be full but has been left to sit, unused. That’s what “fallow” means: full of potential, but not being used.

“Where Plenty Lies Fallow” acrylic on unstretched canvas.

The Bigger Problem Behind It

You might not think throwing out food is a big deal. But when we toss food, we’re also wasting the water, fuel, land, and time it took to grow it.

The Hidden Cost of Food Waste

Every apple, every slice of bread took real resources to make. When we throw it away, that’s all wasted too. According to reports, about 1/3 of all food in the world gets tossed. That’s like buying three bags of groceries and throwing one out as soon as you get home.

The painting shows that waste visually that the bright colors are buried under gray and muted tones. Things that were alive or full of energy are covered up. Left behind. That’s the story underneath.

Why It’s Bad for the Planet

Rotting food in landfills releases methane, a gas way worse than carbon dioxide. And it adds up fast. If food waste were a country, it would be the third largest source of greenhouse gases in the world. That’s the stuff we ignore until it becomes a bigger problem.

Why I Painted This

Art can’t fix the food system. But this is a reminder to myself that we live in a world with more than enough to go around, but not everyone gets it. Plenty of food. Plenty of land. Plenty of resources. But when we let all that go to waste, what are we really doing?