This site will help you fined what is fresh near you. Just enter your state and season.
http://www.nrdc.org/health/foodmiles/default.asp
"Food and nourishment are right at the point where human rights and the environment intersect." -Alice Waters Excerpt from Thinking outside the Lunchbox- Center for Ecoliteracy
Showing posts with label environmet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label environmet. Show all posts
Monday, June 16, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Eating Bugs
Thanks to Chris once again. This article is facinating! Makes you wonder.
June 9th 2008, Time Magazine, pp. 47-49
by: Bryan Walsh/Richmond
Eating Bugs. They're packed with protein and environmentally friendlier than other meat. But can greenies kick the ick factor?
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1810336,00.html
Article excerpt:
In the US, we're more accustomed to exterminating insects that to eating them, but in scores of countries around the world - including Thailand, where food markets are stocked with commercially-raised water beetles and bamboo worms - bugs have long been a part of a well-balanced meal.....
Incredibly efficient to raise, insects are also crawling packets of nutrition. A 100 grams (3.5 oz) portion of cooked Usataterpsichore caterpillars - commonly eaten in Africa - contains about 28 grams of protein, slightly more than you'd get from the same amount of chicken. Water bugs have four times as much iron as beef.....
'We think bugs are dirty, disease laden or otherwise dangerous to eat - though they're not, as long as you cook them properly, are not allergic to shellfish (which, like insects, are arthropods) and aren't collecting bugs from fields that have been hit with pesticides......'
I can see body builders trying to up their protein by snacking on these suckers. If food prices keep going up, we may have to think about some alternatives. Water bug prescription for your anemia? Yum.
June 9th 2008, Time Magazine, pp. 47-49
by: Bryan Walsh/Richmond
Eating Bugs. They're packed with protein and environmentally friendlier than other meat. But can greenies kick the ick factor?
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1810336,00.html
Article excerpt:
In the US, we're more accustomed to exterminating insects that to eating them, but in scores of countries around the world - including Thailand, where food markets are stocked with commercially-raised water beetles and bamboo worms - bugs have long been a part of a well-balanced meal.....
Incredibly efficient to raise, insects are also crawling packets of nutrition. A 100 grams (3.5 oz) portion of cooked Usataterpsichore caterpillars - commonly eaten in Africa - contains about 28 grams of protein, slightly more than you'd get from the same amount of chicken. Water bugs have four times as much iron as beef.....
'We think bugs are dirty, disease laden or otherwise dangerous to eat - though they're not, as long as you cook them properly, are not allergic to shellfish (which, like insects, are arthropods) and aren't collecting bugs from fields that have been hit with pesticides......'
I can see body builders trying to up their protein by snacking on these suckers. If food prices keep going up, we may have to think about some alternatives. Water bug prescription for your anemia? Yum.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Yippee!
This may not be food related, but its good news to me!
Now what are jerks going to drive?
End of The Road For Hummer After Sales of ‘World’s Most Anti-Environmental Car’ Dive
by Andrew Clark
Loathed by environmentalists, military-style Hummers have survived years of vandalism, arson and abuse. But the lumbering American gas-guzzling vehicles have met their match in the rocketing cost of filling a tank with petrol.
Alarmed by a slump in demand for vehicles that consume vast quantities of fuel, Hummer’s owner, General Motors, is reviewing the future of the Hummer brand which was originally a civilian version of the US military’s armoured Humvee. The struggling Detroit-based carmaker said it was considering off-loading the business - and with US sales plunging, its prospects are cloudy.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Beef...it's not for dinner anymore!
Yesterday, in the Austin American Statesman, I read an article about a research scientist at A&M(a strong Ag school) called Aggie Finds Healthy Fatty Acids in Brisket.
http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/05/26/0526brisket.html
I was appalled to see a biased school touting more reasons to consume beef. I wrote a letter to the editor.
Editor,
As a Registered Dietitian working in the field of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition, I am appalled and concerned of the implication of this story. In the midst of energy, food, and global warming crises, finding more reasons to eat beef is dangerous and irresponsible at best.
Americans have started the trend of eating meat at every meal and the movement has now spread to China and India. We are growing more corn to feed cows and cars, than to nourish starving humans in order to supplement our overly extravagant and calorie dense habits. People need to realize that eating lower on the food chain (grains, fruits and vegetables) is the answer to better health and to our food and energy crisis.
If you are going to eat beef, make sure it is certified organic and grass fed. Raising cattle on pasture, improves animal health, and reduces antibiotic usage, and lessens environmental damage. If you are concerned about human nutrition, Greener Pastures, a scientific literature review has shown that grass-fed beef is higher in “good fats,” lower in “bad fats,” beta carotene and Vitamin E.
The grass-fed concept is a step toward environmental stewardship: it doesn’t rely on petroleum-guzzling corn fields, it helps sustain the ecosystem and clean water, and it forces us to eat mindful and in season. Even still, beef should only be eaten once a week, if at all.
http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/05/26/0526brisket.html
I was appalled to see a biased school touting more reasons to consume beef. I wrote a letter to the editor.
Editor,
As a Registered Dietitian working in the field of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition, I am appalled and concerned of the implication of this story. In the midst of energy, food, and global warming crises, finding more reasons to eat beef is dangerous and irresponsible at best.
Americans have started the trend of eating meat at every meal and the movement has now spread to China and India. We are growing more corn to feed cows and cars, than to nourish starving humans in order to supplement our overly extravagant and calorie dense habits. People need to realize that eating lower on the food chain (grains, fruits and vegetables) is the answer to better health and to our food and energy crisis.
If you are going to eat beef, make sure it is certified organic and grass fed. Raising cattle on pasture, improves animal health, and reduces antibiotic usage, and lessens environmental damage. If you are concerned about human nutrition, Greener Pastures, a scientific literature review has shown that grass-fed beef is higher in “good fats,” lower in “bad fats,” beta carotene and Vitamin E.
The grass-fed concept is a step toward environmental stewardship: it doesn’t rely on petroleum-guzzling corn fields, it helps sustain the ecosystem and clean water, and it forces us to eat mindful and in season. Even still, beef should only be eaten once a week, if at all.
Ashley Colpaart, RD LD
Along the same lines, Amanda gave me a link that is super neat, where you can score your diet on its environmentalism. Enjoy!
http://cspinet.org/EatingGreen/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)