minnesota ranked 3rd

look at what i found out. minneapoils is ranked 3rd for the greenest city! woot GO us!


http://promo.realestate.yahoo.com/the_top_ten_greenest_cities.html

Jay's Arizona wilderness adventure

Hey there flatlanders,

I've just barely returned from an epic adventure in the Blue Range Primitive Area on the Arizona/New Mexico border. Myself and 4 others were one of 11 separate teams who were doing "recon" for the new Prescott College incoming Wilderness Orientation class. There's 150 students coming in this fall and nearly all of them will journey over three weeks into the Arizona wilderness while learning about Prescott College. As one of the orientation instructors, I went on a 5 day recon with 4 other instructors. On this trip, we check out part of our route, get to know our co-instructors, and prepare for the 3.5 week course.

This all sounds fine and exciting, except 3 days into our recon trip, 20 miles in, over 8,000 foot mesas, box canyons, steep terrain, forest glades, and cool streams, I came down with a deathly illness. We arrived at camp on day 3 after climbing Government Mesa, a tall and exposed high area on our route. Once I arrived in camp, I immediately threw on my fleece and climbed in my down sleeping bag. It was a hot day and I had just finished a long and strenuous hike, but I could think of nothing more than getting myself warm. The next 30 hours was hell: chills, nausea, vomiting, body ache, fever, and an inability to eat or drink almost at all. We were still 2 days away from our van. My group took all of my gear and the next day we hiked up and over a small pass where we camped for the night. I slept. Next morning we walked out 6 or so miles while my group again took all of my gear. What a great group, they took great care of me. We arrived on day 5 at the van, visited a stream to clean ourselves and debrief, and headed over to the Hoffman ranch where we spent a wonderful evening recovering and reuniting with others who were doing recon in the area. I was able to get hot soup, a hot shower, talk with Jen, and sleep in a soft bed.

I'm now back in Prescott and feeling nearly recovered. We meet the new students in a few days and we leave back for the field the end of next week. I'm sure I'll be fully recovered by then. I'm looking forward to the next stage, but I'm definitely relishing in the fact that I made it safe and sound out of our epic adventure. I've got a great crew of colleagues and I know that I'm better prepared with an experience like I've just had under my belt.

Overall it was a beautiful trip through "the Blue." It's one of Arizona's finest wild places and is filled with amazing canyons, waters, wildlife, and abundant vegetation. Overall, it was a great experience for everyone, we all enjoyed our time together. The entire group, including myself, performed very well within our circumstances. It may sound weird that it was a great trip, but somehow that's how we all feel.

I'll post another general update when I return from the trip with the students. For now, take a look at a few photos I took (before falling ill) on my Flickr website. http://www.flickr.com/photos/15057302@N00/sets/72157601629413775/show/

Happy trails,

Jay

People are starting to realize.....

August 15, 2007 - With US bottled water sales growing nearly 10 percent annually - and the trash from tossed containers climbing just as quickly - calls for Americans to go back to drinking tap water have surged since the beginning of summer.
"This country has some of the best public water supplies in the world," the New York Times said in an editorial earlier this month.
"Instead of consuming four billion gallons (15 billion liters) of water a year in individual-sized bottles, we need to start thinking about what all those bottles are doing to the planet's health."
As was pointed out at World Water Week in Stockholm on Monday, US personal consumption per capita, including water from all sources, hits 400 liters (106 gallons) each day -- compared to 10 liters (2.6 gallons) a person in developing countries.
And US consumers are drinking more bottled water by the day. According to the Beverage Marketing Corporation, growth in bottled water sales last year was 9.7 percent, making the total market worth about 11 billion dollars.

Bottled water in the United States does not mean mineral water, even if Americans grumble more and more about paying a high price to drink water with little to distinguish it.
At the end of July beverage giant PepsiCo was forced by public pressure to explain on its Aquafina bottled water that the contents inside come from ... the tap.
Pepsi's response "is an important first step," said Gigi Kellett, director of the "Think Outside the Bottle" campaign.
"Concerns about the bottled water industry, and increasing corporate control of water, are growing across the country," she said.
From mineral springs or from public pipes, water once in a bottle is expensive. The New York Times estimated that for some consumers the bill could hit 1,400 dollars a year - for an amount that, taken from a home faucet, might cost less than half a dollar.
And it is not always better.
"Bottled water sold in the United States is not necessarily cleaner or safer than most tap water, according to a four-year scientific study," the National Resources Defense Council recently reported. It also said regulation has not guaranteed more pure water in bottles.

Saying goodbye to a great teacher.....

Jay Krienitz is no longer the envrionmental science teacher at LCB. He was a great teacher who opened my eyes to look at the world for truly what it is and what is happening to it. The good news is that I will keep posting blogs and hopefully Jay will keep us updated on how is expedition is in Arizona. Good luck Jay, and have fun.

Potato Chip Ingredient Provides Longevity Boost to Concrete

Who would've thought that the flavoring that helps give "salt & vinegar" chips their tasty tang could also help protect concrete from water damage? A new study by Awni Al-Otoom and his colleagues in Jordan has revealed that sodium acetate, a chemical commonly used in flavored chips (and a variety of other products and processes) — can work as a cheap and effective concrete sealant by providing a waterproof coating.
As they note in their study, concrete — though one of the most widely used construction materials — suffers from a high porosity that allows water to soak in and cause cracks and other problems when the water expands or changes state. And while sealants are widely available, most have serious shortcomings. In their trials, the scientists demonstrated that sodium acetate could seep into pores in concrete and crystallize upon exposure to water — blocking the entry of any further moisture. Once the crystals shrink back under dry conditions, the moisture is allowed to evaporate.
The net benefit according to Al-Otoom and his team: a large reduction in water permeability that "can be expected to increase the service life of the concrete." And though we're no big fans of concrete, it'd be nice to see a similar, more environmentally-friendly approach taken to strengthen other construction materials.

seafood from china unscreened

In the united states we are supposed to have tight regulations on food that is imported for consumption. Then why did over one million pounds of seafood make it to dinner tables across america without being screened. This is another story of departments saying they have all of these strict rules, but somehow forget to follow them. We as americans need to hold people accountable for their actions and try to be a collective group of citizens that are worried about their well being.

IMPACT OF POPULATION GROWTH ON FOOD SUPPLIES AND ENVIRONMENT

by David Pimentel, Xuewen Huang, Ana Cordova, and Marcia Pimentel

Submitted for publication to Population and Development Review, New York, NY, USA

As the world population continues to grow geometrically, great pressure is being placed on arable land, water, energy, and biological resources to provide an adequate supply of food while maintaining the integrity of our ecosystem. According to the World Bank and the United Nations, from 1 to 2 billion humans are now malnourished, indicating a combination of insufficient food, low incomes, and inadequate distribution of food. This is the largest number of hungry humans ever recorded in history. In China about 80 million are now malnourished and hungry. Based on current rates of increase, the world population is projected to double from roughly 6 billion to more than 12 billion in less than 50 years (Pimentel et al., 1994). As the world population expands, the food problem will become increasingly severe, conceivably with the numbers of malnourished reaching 3 billion.

ttp://dieoff.org/page57.htm

I think this a huge concern right now in the world. As our population grows the amount of areas in which there is adequate land has decreased. As the years pass and our population grows how will we be able to make up for the shortage that is already effecting our earth.

Riam Fox

Industrial agriculture and corporate power

Within past50 yrs industrial agriculture has become the dominant for producing food,instead of the small family oriented farms. why?because of high demand for more food .the smaller farms can not produce so much food so now the machines have taken over.today industrial food system is the biggest agribusiness.




www.panna.org/resources/gpc/gpc /200308.13.2.02.duhtml

Expensive Water

Pablo Paster did a study of how much a bottle of Fiji water costs. It starts with the bottle made in China, the transportation of the bottle to Fiji, the cost to fill the bottle of water, and the cost to ship it to the U.S. It show the statistics to produce 1 kilogram of water and ship it to the U.S. The numbers are astonashing. To read more go to this link.........

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/02/pablo_calculate.php

deforestation plays critical climate change role

This article is about the role deforestation plays in adding greenhouse gases by way of slash and burning and how it will effect the worlds temps in the future. Deforestation acccounts for 20% of the carbon released into the atmosphere and will play a major part in the increase in global temps for many years to come. If it is to be stopped many governments need to inflict stronger rules as to slash and burning and strip farming. The way alot of deserts are formed in areas where they were once fertile is by clear cutting and farming until all of the nutrients are gone then abandoning the land and letting wind erosion take over. If we are to control the effect we have on the planet these all need to be carefully addressed.

Zero Waste....Or Darn Near

Zero Waste is a movement designed to end almost all waste. They are pushing for redesigned products and packing materials through reuse, recyling, or composting. Designing products for the environment, not for the dump. They are also holding manufacturers responsible for the waste and environmental impact their product and packaging creates, rather than passing on the responsibility on to the consumer. Another good point is that more jobs can be created through recycling than landfills. These options sound good to me!

http://www.grrn.org/zerowaste/articles/biocycle_zw_commentary.html

Marketing Junk Food to Children

In June, Kellogg announced new guidelines for marketing to children and won praise from the people who make health policies. The Center for Science in the Public Interest,dropped a lawsuit against Kellogg after this announcement. But by the end of the month, Kellogg had introduced another product aimed at children..Froot Loops Cereal Straws, which sweetens the milk children drink as it passes through the straw, in order to get the same effect as the sweetened milk left at the bottom of a bowl of Fruit Loops.

Here are the ingredients:

Ingredients: WHEAT FLOUR, SUGAR, VEGETABLE OIL (PALM, SHEANUT, AND COTTONSEED OILS), MALTODEXTRIN, FRUCTOSE, NONFAT MILK, CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF GLUCOSE SYRUP, EGGS, SOY LECITHIN, SALT, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, PGPR (POLYGLYCEROL POLYRICINOLEIC ACID), NATURAL ORANGE, LEMON, LIME AND OTHER NATURAL FLAVORS, YELLOW #6, RED #40, YELLOW #5, NIACINAMIDE, BLUE #1, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), TOCOPHEROLS FOR FRESHNESS, RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), SESAME FLOUR, VITAMIN B12, VITAMIN D.

140 calories, including 12g of sugar and 3.5g of fat, including 2g of saturated fat

Who is watching the food industy ??

http://usfoodpolicy.blogspot.com/2007/06/kelloggs-fruit-loops-cereal-straws-and.html


Chris Olson

Lets not boil our pasta in sewage.

With over 70% of the earth consisting of water and the human body consiting of 81% water why do people still pollute our water? Many of us do not realize that we are polluting our drinking water. What about when you ferilize your lawn and then over water it for the fertilizer to run into the drainage systems? What about when you don't pick up after your dog each time they go to the bathroom? What about when you wash down your sidewalks or driveway and let all the leaves go down the sewer drain? Lastly what about chemicals, oil, and gas leaking and then carried into the sewer drains? Humans are very good at consuming water, but are not very good when it comes to protecting water. Please think about the next time you are going to wash those leaves down the sewer drain.

www.grinningplanet.com

Local Foods Happy Hour

Greetings all,

Since early this year, local food lovers, supporters, and advocates have been coming together on a monthly basis to get to know one another, to dream, to inspire, to be inspired and to celebrate local foods!



Please join all of us on the first Tuesday of every month for a local foods happy hour! And, invite others whom you think would be interested!



That being said, on Tuesday August 7th we will be meeting at the newly opened Common Roots Café in Minneapolis. (To clarify any confusion, we had been meeting at Chang Bang's restaurant, which recently closed). There will be local beer and wine available and Common Roots will be offering free appetizers to our group. (Thanks Common Roots!)

The quick details....
At Common Roots Café, http://www.commonrootscafe.com
Tues., Aug. 7th, starting at 5 PM, ending around 7PM
5:30PM-Danny Schwartzman, owner of Common Roots, will talk about the many ways he is implementing sustainable practices at the Café
Free street parking
Happy hour, for our group, from 5-7PM
-free appetizers
-local beers $4.75
-local wines $5.00

-4 local beer sampler with chips $5.00



Wishing you well and hoping to y'all soon!

- your local food friends

Their everywhere! Their everywhere!

Im sure my uncle Roy may have eliminated several hundred of them as he sat on his front porch in the summer afternoon's passing the time away. His backyard plot of fruit and vegetables is like and open invitation for these winged pests to deposit their eggs in the variety of food plots Roy had spent endless hours nuturing. The eggs hatch into maggots and feast on just about anything that ferments. The "fruit fly" is probably the most hated, yet most studied insect at the present time and with recent breakthrough studies some believe they may change the way scientists think about life in general. www.medicalnewstoday.com

I guess what we need now is electric cattle?

Which causes more greenhouse gas emissions, rearing cattle or driving cars? Surprise!
"According to a new report published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent – 18 percent – than transport. It is also a major source of land and water degradation."

This doesn't mean that you can drive that gas-guzzling SUV more often than you need to.

http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.html

Monasnato Goes GMO-Free?

Don't get to excited guys its only in their cafiterias. thats right in june Monsanto decided to stop feeding their employes GMO foods. they did however relese a new study that says there is still no sign of any negitive effects in the GM process.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_6401.cfm

Stop the Wine!!!

I recently came asross an article that had to do with one of my favorite subjects: wine. In it they were discussing types of stoppers used on wine bottles and which were the best to use for the environment. The three most widely used types of stoppers are natural cork, plastic stoppers or metal screw caps. Suprisingly enough the natural cork stoppers were the most environmentally friendly because harvesting cork actually keeps the relatively scarce trees alive.

http://environment.about.com/od/greenlivingdesign/a/wine_stopper.htm

deforestation for agriculture purposes

The stats are crazy. 90 percent of the worlds natural resources have been used up already, and Brazil and Indonesia are among the two largest rainforests in the world and they are being stripped at an alarming rate for logging agriculture and cattle grazing. This is an issue that is very important nopt only for us, but future generations to come. They act as the worlds filter to help in creating oxygen and repairing the damage we have caused by chemical abuse to the ozone. If you would like to know more I will be happy to post my paper on the blog when it is finished.


Jason k.

Controversy over Farming and Global Warming

http://library.thinkquest.org/J003411/ag.htm



Many scientists believe that global warming is due to the increse of CO2 in the atmosphere. Farmers believe that the increase in temperature will create a longer growing season for fruits and vegetables. The United States Environmental Protection Agency ( U.S.E.P.A ) predicts a 7% increase in precipitation by the year 2060 and a 5 degree increase in the temperature. A key question arises from this increase in temperature, if the plants have an increase in precipitation, they will have plenty of fruit, plus they will have plenty of CO2, why would this harm the earth?

Many scientists believe that this theory is faulty, for the rise in temperature will bring a variable in overall weather causing drought, and floods, as well as irregular growing seasons.

How Much is too Much?

http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fishadvice/advice.html


We have all heard rumors of the mercury content in seafood for many years, but due to pollution and the dumping of garbage, the mercury levels in seafood has risen. Unfortuately, fish and shellfish contain a massive amount of protein, essential nutrients, are low in saturated fat, and obtain a large amount of omega-3 fatty acids. The FDA has released new information stating that the amount of mercury a pregnant women may consume could possibly harm their unborn child's nervous system and brain development. It has been advised that all pregnant women do not eat swordfish, shark, king makerel and tilefish. It has also been stated that they do not consume more than 6 ounces of fish per week.

Where have all the Tigers gone?

http://earthtrust.org/tiger.html




In the past decade, most international trading companies have focused on trading animal products such as ivory, and rhinoceros horns, paying little attention to the vast decrease of the tiger population. Three of the eight subspecies of tigers are already extinct, and the numbers of the remaining tigers is falling rapidly. Recently the medicinal purpose of tiger by product has been listed on the black market, especially in the Chinese culture. A new establishment has created an investigation system to stop the poaching of these precious animals, as well as the increse in punishment. I wonder, are these new laws enough to prevent the extinction of tigers all together?

Organic Tomatoes Have More Flavinoid Compounds

well today i red an article about tomatoes. i love tomatoes! i will eat them any time any where. and i do have to say that i get all of my tomatoes from cubs foods. i don't know how organic they can be but they sure do taste good. in this article they talk about how over a 10 year study they found that organic tomatoes can help prevent high blood pressure and reduce the likelihood of heart disease and Stokes. and maybe help stave off some forms of cancer and dementia. well if you would like to know more about this article click on this link http://www.treehugger.com/food_health/ it is about half way down the page.

Soon to be a rare delicacy?

Once again, I sit here wondering if our oceans will survive the next 50 years or longer. I am talking again about how mankind is fishing the seas to extinction. I found that our appetites are exceeding the limitations of oceans' ecological limits. The marine scientists are warning us about overfishing and that it can hurt the ecosystem. They say that overfishing the top predators like cod, marlin, halibut, and tuna can cause a shift in the marine ecosystem. Will it come down to some day that fish and chips will become a rare and expensive delicacy? If these fish disappear, all we will have is plankton to eat. I am not a big fish consumer in the first place. I agree that there should be some type of fishing policy that creates a certain area or boundaries where it is off limits to fish. That way, that area can come back to full strength and balance out the shift. Greenpeace is trying ever which way they can to help this ecosystem. I support them 100%, and would like to see a differnce ten to twenty years from now!

http://oceans.greenpeace.org/en/our-oceans/overfishing

Healthier cookies, Nice or a bit fishy

In this article you will find out that many companies are starting to add omega 3 fatty acids to their product to help fight heart disease and hypertension. The only problem is oxidation of the omega 3 acids to deliver an off taste to the product. They need to develop a material that will help in storing the acids and will make the product last longer and taste better. The concept is their, but the procedure needs to be refined.
http://www.foodsciencecentral.com/fsc/ixid14851
Jason k

Can You Dig These Spuds? You Don't Have To.

By the looks of things, it’s essentially a set of three reusable polythene sacks, each with carrying handles and drainage holes. The idea is that you plant your potatoes, and then gradually fill up the containers with compost as your spuds grow. In the UK they are trying to get people to grow their own food by selliung these potatos so you get grow you own and know they are good. Matt

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/no_dig_potatoes.php

Squids settling in on the beach

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/31/science/31squi.html?ref=science

This article is about how in 1997 during an el nino squids were showing up on beaches while they normally remained in the warmer waters of the eastern pacific ocean. They dissapeared but showed up again in 2002 and stuck around. These large carnivorous creatures are aggresive towards their pray and are starting to devour the hake fish which are an important commercial fish in the upper west and British Columbia. The reasons for this are undetermined but it could be because of overfishing of the tuna and billfish allowing much room for reproduction and spreading also the warming of the waters are too blame. The squid are able to tolerate large temperature changes and adapt well making this coastal area the perfect place for them to stick around.

Making Necklaces to Change Lifestyles and Preserve Wildlife

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/31/science/31snar.html?ref=science

This article is about some people in Zambia who are making necklaces, bracelets and decorative items out of old snares that which were once used in the poaching of animals. More than 40,000 former poachers have joined a co-op which allows them to exhange these snares for training in organic farming, beekeping, carpentry, and gardening. Sence 2002 this has made more than $350,000 for the co-op.

Grass fed

When i was living in Canada one of the staff members at my college owned a cattle ranch, but not just any cattle ranch, but an actual grass fed, black Angus ranch. They actually still move the cattle from pasture to pasture, they use no hormones or antibiotics , this was beef! From the first time I tasted the meat I was hooked, the diet and the conditions of the cattle made a huge difference in the taste, since I returned home every steak has been a disappointment. I was very interested to find this article of just such a ranch. Not only did it remind me of that great beef up in Canada, but it also talked about the environmental effects of this style of cattle raising

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/05/lasater_grassla_1.php

US organic food food and bev sales continue to rise

this article talks about how organic food sales @bev have gone up .but Europe's %is higher about 7-10% of total .US in 2006 was up 22%over the previous you.Also it talks about the supermarkets and the small chains and natural grocery stores.

Sustainable what?

We've talked about sustainable agriculture and organic farming and who knows what else. I've been able to pull some meaning from what's been said in class and in the textbook from the context in which it was used, but still did not have a clear definition for the concept. What are the overlaps? What is involved?

So, I went looking. The Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA) is much more than a scary name. It is a resource for the curious and involved. By going to http://www.attra.org/fundamental.html you can click on an URL to read the organization's Sustainable Agriculture: An Introduction. This small booklet provides a very high level over view behind the principles for sustainable agriculture.

--Robert

Glabal Warming

With it being the start of global warming week i figured i would throw this post out there. We all know that global warming is a major issue in the world today, but to what extent ? Climate is on of the major factors in animals habitats and if the temperature is constantly on the rise, year by year, some of our produce and other rare meats may becaome even more rare. Not just talking about the animals, but the vegetation as well.

http://www.climate.org/topics/agricul/index.shtml

More Monsanto

I thought this article would be fitting after seeing the movie on GM crops last week. This article takes the movie to another level by getting the acutal questions and interviews from the companies who produce the GM crops. The big name you allready know, being Monsanto, gives their thoughts and answers to some of the questions.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/jul/26/gmcrops

Celebrate Good Times... with Organic Confetti!

Throwing a party? Do you want to throw one that doesn't hurt the environment? You can now with organic confetti! They're made of flower petals so your party will turn out smelling great when you throw them in the air. Being flower petals, they're bio-degradable so they won't hurt the environment.

Source:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/shropshire-petals.php

The 2000 Acre Scam

Alaska allows oil companies to purchase oil leases in the state, and to downplay any environmental impact, the oil companies claim that they would restrict their drilling and exploration to 2000 acres. Not quite true, says the opposition factions. Oil deposits are in small pockets spread out over a large area of the coastal plain. In order to explore and mine these pockets, the oil companies would drill 100 acres here and a couple hundred acres somewhere else, adding up to the given 2000acres. But they would have to build miles and miles of roads and pipelines to connect each section, covering up a large section of wildlife habitat. A serious risk to the migrating animals would impact the entire Alaska eco-system. Maybe we should leave Alaska wild and get our fuel somewhere else.

http://www.savearcticrefuge.org/learnmore.html

Safe Food

Author Marion Nestle dares to speak out about Safe Food - Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism. Food safety is a matter of intense public concern, and for good reason. Millions of annual cases of food "poisonings" raise alarm not only about the food served in restaurants and fast-food outlets, but also food bought in the supermarket. I think we've all experienced this at one time or another?! How concerned should we be about such problems?

Marion argues that ensuring safe food involves more than washing hands or cooking it to a high of enough temperature. It involves politics. Who decides when a food is safe? She demonstrates how powerful food industries oppose safety regulations, deny accountability, and blame consumers when something goes wrong. Century old laws for ensuring food safety are no longer being followed and protecting our food supply. Things are about to get much worse, from what is sounds like?

www.foodpolitics.com

Does it take more energy to produce a gallon of ethanol for E85, than the energy we get out of it?

No. This has been a common misconception of the ethanol industry, that it takes more energy to make ethanol than is available to the final consumer. Remember, ethanol is produced from plant matter, today dominated by corn, wheat, potatoes, sorgum, etc. Plants grow through the use of energy provided by the sun and are a renewable resources. In the future, ethanol will be produced from waste products or "energy crops."

Food and Environment

genetic engineering

During the past decade, biotechnology companies commercialized the first generation of genetically engineered crops—primarily corn, soybeans, and cotton altered to control insects and weeds. U.S. commodity crop producers responded by planting millions of acres of these engineered crops. Because corn and soy are widely used in food processing, small amounts of engineered ingredients show up in a majority of processed food products. But most foods—the vast majority of vegetables, grains, fruits, and nuts—remain unaltered. Of the eight other engineered food plants allowed in U.S. grocery stores, it appears that only engineered canola and papaya are currently available.

Among food animals, only engineered fish are under active consideration by U.S. regulators. Other engineered plants, animals, and microbes are farther down the research pipeline but few are poised for introduction in the near future.

Scientists are concerned that engineered organisms might harm people’s health or the environment. For example, engineered crops might contaminate the food supply with drugs, kill beneficial insects, or jeopardize valuable natural resources like Bt toxins. Engineered fish may substantially alter native ecosystems, perhaps even driving wild populations to extinction.

http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_environment/genetic_engineering/

As we advance in this field, there are points when the producers of these crops/live stock have to step back and consider what is going to far. The food and drug administration has approved many products mainly to keep up with the demand of US consumers. The article above details some of the items that the FDA has approved and or considered.

Riam Fox

Local Food & Food Democracy

"Consumers, farmers, environmentalists, and other sane people don't want the Monsantos to use us as their guinea pigs, so they have already gotten more than 100 local governments to ban GMO crops within their area. This has infuriated the corporate powers, who have spent tons of money to defeat these local bans... but lost. So, for the last couple of years, they've been sneaking off to state legislatures to pass laws (often with no debate) that take away our local control over this health issue."
- Jim Hightower

http://www.environmentalcommons.org/local-food.html

The quote that i posted above is a farmer speaking out about the current laws that protect big company's GMO cross contamination of farmers crops. The largest part of this article is about farmers and people that support them are going to there local governments to make it so the farmers are not responsible for big companies cross contamination. The farmers are also protected from big companies trying to claim there crops because of contamination.

Riam Fox

The Business of Food

Helping Food Producers Make Healthful Products and Consumers Make Healthy Choices

Posted on: 08/05/2004

Environmental Defense staff met with managers of a Smithfield contract farm to tour a hog barn. Sanitation suits were worn to protect the hogs from the spread of disease.

With some 6.4 billion people sharing this Earth, speaking thousands of different languages in about 193 different countries, there is at least one thing we all have in common: We need healthful food and clean water to survive and thrive.

More than ever buyers and consumers around the globe are concerned about the health and quality of their food. As newspapers splash headlines about mad cow disease outbreaks and contaminated fish, questions about the quality of what we're eating increasingly arise. Is meat free of contaminants and dyes? What role did antibiotics play in this animal's life? Does the seafood contain mercury or PCBs? What kind of pesticides were used on the vegetables? Is the food my grocer stocks genetically modified and what does that mean for my family?

Issues like these are causing more people to pay attention to the origin of their food, and consumers are realizing more and more they have a breadth of choices when it comes to eating. Vegetables, seafood and meat are all produced in a variety of good and not-so-good ways, from the small farmers and ranchers who tend several acres of farmland or own a small herd of cattle to the agribusinesses and ranching conglomerates that control thousands of acres and animals. Environmental Defense is working with a range of food producers to ensure the food you and your family eat is good for both you and the environment.

Greening the Supply Chain

If you're not serving food straight out of your garden, it has probably traveled through several links before it reaches your dinner table. Take meat, for instance. This food chain starts with the livestock farmer, who raises the animal. It then goes to a meat processor, who slaughters and butchers it, and then to a supplier, who in turn finds it a buyer. The buyer could be as large a company as McDonald's or a niche buyer like a small grocery chain.

All along this supply chain, members of the food industry have a responsibility to address consumer concerns and respond to consumer demand for food choices that reduce the environmental footprint of food production while guaranteeing healthful products.

Source:
http://www.environmentaldefense.org/article.cfm?contentID=3893

This article begins with stressing the importance of healthy food and water supplies. It continues to speak about awareness that companies are beginning to take on these topics. It makes some great points on how the media effects the awareness of the public. the article ends with a short paragraph on how companies are addressing food concerns.

Riam Fox

Why commodity prices are rising?

Commodity prices are rising partly because of the ethanol plants that are build throughout the Midwest. Corn is the bus and it's driving the grain market. Because corn can be sold at a premium price, farmers that used to plant soy beans, black oil sunflower seed, millet or Milo are now planting corn. This year the planting intention for corn was 92 million aces which is much higher than any previous years. This year increase in corn acreage caused a shortage in black sunflower seed which is the prime ingredient used by Fritolay the largest snack manufactuer in the country. Fritolay used to pay $9.00 per 100 lb a year ago now they are paying $22.00 per 100 lb. In addition, as a result of the high corn based ethanol demand dog food, and catel feed are compiting with those plant for corn, which in turn creates an increase in price of dog food and beaf meat.
Michee mpeti

Mid Term practice test answers

Class,

Here's the answers to the midterm practice test

1. B
2. B
3. C
4. D
5. B
6. C
7. A
8. D
9. E
10. C
11. D
12. A
13. E
14. A
15. C
16. B
17. C
18. B
19. E
20. D
21. A
22. E
23. B
24. C
25. D
26. E
27. A
28. C
29. E
30. E
31. E
32. E
33. D
34. E
35. E
36. T
37. T
38. T
39. T
40. T
41. T
42. T
43. T
44. F
45. F
46. F
47. T
48. T
49. T
50. T

Don't eat pork in Nam.....

HANOI -- Vietnam must speed investigations into a pig disease that has struck 42 people killing two, the agriculture minister said, calling for urgent measures to contain the bacteria.


http://www.enn.com/med.html?id=1568

WHAT'S ALL THE BUZZ (OR IS THERE) ABOUT?

EVERYONE HAS PROBABLY HEARD THE STORY OF THE BIRDS AND BEES FROM OUR PARENTS AT SOME POINT IN OUR YOUNG LIVES. HOWEVER THEY NEVER TOLD US ABOUT THE COLAPSE OF WORLD FOOD PRODUCTS. THE FIRST TIME I ENCOUNTERED A BEE SITE, I ENDED UP WITH A SWOLLEN EYE. FOR MANY YEARS I WOULD TRY TO KILL THEM WHENEVER I SEEN ONE. LITTLE DID I KNOW THEN THAT THEY WERE A MAIN CONTRIBUTOR TO SOME OF THE MANY FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND GRAINS WHICH I ENJOY TODAY. TODAY HONEYBEES POLLINATE OVER 14 BILLION SEEDS AND CROPS ANNUALLY. HOWEVER, THERE IS GREAT CONCERN AMONG RESEARCHERS, UNIVERSITYS, AND BEEKEEPERS AROUND THE WORLD. THE HONEYBEES ARE DISAPPEARING AT AN ALARMING RATE, MANY CALL IT THE "AIDS OF THE BEE INDUSTRY". WEST COAST LOSSES RANGE FROM 30 TO 60 PERCENT AND UP TO 70 PERCENT FROM THE EAST COAST AND TEXAS. MANY THEORIES ARE BEING EXAMINED BUT THE END RESULT COULD BE DAMAGING. TO BEE OR NO(T) TO BEE! by lknutson

Why are grocery prices rising?

The Alabama Farmers Federation, which conducts a monthly price survey, says higher energy costs, increased global demand and dry weather in parts of the country continue to put pressure on grocery bills. The group said the average cost of 20 basic market items in Alabama was $49.95 during the first week of July, up 2 percent in a month.
State shoppers found double-digit increases in per-pound prices for pork chops, chuck roasts, chicken breasts, eggs and tomatoes, the Farmers Federation said. Slight savings were found on bacon, Boston butts, lettuce and some dairy products. Its all because of everything that is going on in our world. Global warming???

Paleolithic Diet

Basically, the diet consists of foods that were consumed by Stone Age Ancestors. The food cosisted of such thigs as root vegetables, meat, nuts ans eggs. they are saying this diet showed a significant increase in health, over in Sweeden. The food is so simplistic, it is almost hard to believe.

This diet would save a lot of people and produce in the world. I believe the environment would benifit from humans eating correctly, in the long run anyway.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/care_for_some_paleocuisine.php

World Grain Supplies Will Barely Meet Demand Despite Record Harvests Forecast for 2007

World cereal production is forecast to reach a record high in 2007, and food analysts anticipate that total supplies will be barely adequate to meet increased demands. Over the past several years, grain harvests have consistently fallen short of consumption. This has reduced our carry over stock, which is at its lowest level since the 1980's. International cereal prices have risen to their highest levels in a decade, creating concern for low income food deficit countries and hunger hotspots like Sub-Saharan Africa. One of the reasons for this is the rapidly expanding biofuels industry, and also because of the growth in the food and feed sectors. Biofuel markets have caused a increase in the price of corn, which indirectly boosts the price of other cereals, particularily wheat.


http://www.earthtrends.wri.org/updates/node/201


Chris Olson

Class,

The farmers market is located at 375 Jackson St, St Paul Minnesota. It's downtown. I'll see you all there by 12:15. We should be able to find eachother, and I'll take roll when we meet.

"Click here for directions to St Paul Farmers Market"

Do you know where botulism comes from and are you eating food that may contain botulism poisoning.

Botulism is a muscle-paralyzing disease caused by a toxin made by a bacterium, Clostridium botulinum. Such bacteria are commonly found in soil. Botulism can be found in food packaged in defective cans, including those with leaky seams, can become contaminated because the bacteria can be sucked into the containers as the product cools, according to health officials. The FDA and CDC have found over 90 items that Americans commonly eat that contain botulism. Botulinum toxin is extremely potent. Even opening a contaminated can may expose consumers to the toxin if it is inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through the eye or breaks in the skin.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070720/ap_on_he_me/chili_sauce_botulism

Congo Bishops Alarmed by ‘Uncontrolled Pillaging of Natural Resources’

If the Catholic Curch is willing to say somthing about this problem than it must really be bad.

trilateral energy agrement passed

The first ever energy agrement between US canada and mexico was passed today. They all finaly decided to work together to reduce energy uses. They just don't have any idea what they are going to do yet. But it has been called " another step -we belive a major step-toward enhancing global energy and security and environmental protection. We shall see, I hope it works out. http://www.thestar.com/News/article/238977

The Ethics of Eating

NPR's acclaimed show "Speaking of Faith" recently had Barbara Kingsolver on the show, discussing the most important points about local and sustainable food philosophy. It will give you another perspective on why we are focusing on this subject in class.

"Krista speaks with celebrated author Barbara Kingsolver about the longings and lessons behind her new book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle — a chronicle of a year her family spent eating primarily what they could grow or raise themselves. "

If you're interested, listen to the show "here"

Missing Mountains

Many years ago, I traveled from Joplin to the eastern half of Tennessee for spring break. Yeah. I know. Not your idea of a spring break hot spot. It wasn't then, either. Still, it was up in the mountains. The asphalt on the roads had turned green from ore smelting in the area. Copper ore, I think. The elderly couple we stayed with had a great home up where the mountain violets bloomed in the night time fog that settled over the mountain tops. From their porch, you could see the pond that they formed to hide the coal from nosy corporate types.

After watching the introductory video at iLoveMountains.org, I wonder if their home, their lake, their mountain top survived these thirty-five years. It seems that coal mining is more active today than it has been for a while. The quick, efficient, cheap way to mine the coal is to blow the tops off the mountains, shove the debris in the valleys, and forget that nature, people, environment are there; forget that thought is required before major surgery. Such actions are damaging the environment, including water supplies that are used down stream.

Go to http://www.footprintnetwork.org/download.php?id=104 for yourself and view the first video on the page.

--Robert

why farmers use hormones
by: larry klein

this artical isnt about why they us hormones as to the reasons why they started useing them. it is a long artical but use full in the world in wich we will be venturing into. i liked it but it was a bit to long for my taste but i think that if you choose to look it up you wont be dissapointed.
check it out for yourself @ http://www.westonaprice.org/farming/hormones.html

from your helpful friend ivry rose morseth

Milk crates

Everybody would use milk crates here and there. It is one huge thing for college dorm rooms. But now it might getting a little hard to get them. In 2005 milk crates were priced at 7 cents a pound now in 2007 the are priced at 22 cents a pound. There are even being sent to china becasue people are useing them for everything. People have even used the for lights and other various things you would never think they could be used for. It is crazy what we can use now a days.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/recycling_milk.php

organic farms and financial trouble

There are alot of farms struggling with paying the bills because of sizes of farms. Most organic farms are smaller in size and cost more to run, so the farmers end up having to take out lots of loans and just keep digging themselves a hole they cannot get out of. There is success in organic farming, but only when farms can get recognized by other chefs and start using thier products. I hope this makes us all aware of how important it is to buy local, and support our producers of fine goods.

Waiter, there’s a shark fin in my soup!

Not like there's anything wrong with shark fin soup (unless the soup's not meant to have a shark fin in it). There is, however, something wrong with the overfishing of sharks. Some may become extinct if this problem persists. Many sharks are caught just only for their fins and the rest is just wasted. Shark populations have dropped significantly in the last few years. Sharks been around since the dinosaurs. Let's keep it that way.

http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/features/index.cfm?uNewsID=105060

Another GM foods article

I know people love to post about geneticaly modified foods, but this one is a little different. This article is completely biased in the sense that, this person hates them even more than the next, and is not afraid to talk about it. Now some of the information given is opinion based, but that is sometimes the most important expresion one can recieve on a topic this broad and well talked about.

http://www.karinya.com/gm2.htm

A different view on food science

This mans research brings to mind many other problems that are involved with modern day ways of agriculture and the farming of live stock. He mainly focuses on Globalization. Even if you dont have an interest in this growing issue, you may want to familiarize yourself before reading any more biased articles.

http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/00000002D3EE.htm

The End of Fine Dining?

Chef Pierre Gagnaire, one of the world's premiere chefs, says that the boom in fine dining is causing a negative impact on the environment. "Habitats are being destroyed, killing off wild fish stocks and making some vegetables and fruits so scarce that a number of dishes will have to be dropped and restaurants will be forced to close."

Source:
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Top_Chef_Warns_Of_Environmental_Impact_Of_Fine_Dining_999.html

school lunches

i was reading this post about school lunches in enland that serves "pub" style lunches. i guess it more healthy then the school lunches that the school was serveing. know reading this, it started making me think about our school system and what their serveing.


http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/pub_food_for_ch.php

organic tomatoes

This article is about how going organic makes for a healthier life style. The article discusses many ways of how organic nutrition can prevent many diseases. In this particular article it focuses on tomatoes. People that chose organic fruits and veggies to avoid pesticides and other chemicals have another reason to buy organic tomatoes. A new study showed that organic grown tomatoes have higher levels of flavonoids which may protect against cardiovascular disease.






http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/255833.html

Fishing the Oceans Extinct

80 million fish are harvested each year to produce fish oil and meal for farming fish. What this does is takes away from other fish and animals in the oceans. A lot of the oceans stock has been over fished and exploited beyond safe boundaries. What this means is that tuna, cod, and haddock will have less food to eat. If there is less food, the survival rate will go down. As Jason K. explained, "Once the swordfish is gone, we cannot plant new ones for next year." What we need to do is find a more sustainable way or different resources to feed and let nature have its own food back.

http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/features/index.cfm?uNewsID=5921&uLangID=1

When fat is ok

I read an article in the clinical advisor brochure, and they where talking about extra weight in patients who are elderly, have lung disease, heart failure, arthritis, and kidney. We all know that people are more aware about there overeating habit in America, also people are talking more about eating less and watching the portion size of food. But if you are urging elderly people and those with lung disease, heart failure, arthritis, and kidney disease to eat less, may be you shouldn't experts said. To have more information about this, go to www.clinic advisor.com

Is GE Food safe?

Is GE Food safe? There are still some reasons that GE Food could be dangerous and that is because there has been no adequate testing to ensure that genes will be the same if they are injected or just natural. They are really worried about that. It may be a long time before GE food could provide us with a safe alternative food and benefit us. But we will not know anymore about it because of the lack of safety testing.

Global Warming

Well I read Global Warming 101 and I thought that it was an ok story. I did a speech on global warming and I learned a lot more on other sites than this one but it worked. Global warming is a very scary and real thing that is happening to us. We are like under a big blanket which is our atmosphere and it is trapping all of the heat and crappy air under it with us. Which is hurting us slow and it is definitely going to kill us sometime (that is how I feel)...we are killing ourselves one gallon at a time.

Poachers, hurting our enviroment

Here is a good example of an energy pyramid. To support this and to keep it flowing smoothly, we have to take a stand against poachers. These poachers hunt outside of designated hunting times of the year, or kill an animal on the endargered species list. We can all help by turning these people in to the DNR. If we are going to work on saving the ecosystem and ourselves, we need to start by doing our own things and watching out for poachers. Follow the link on how to stop poachers.

http://www.turninpoachers.org/

GOLD IS GOOD, GREEN IS GOOD, CAN INVESTING IN GREEN BE BEST

I spend some of my free time investing in the market (stock). Everyone is always looking for a better way of life. I'm trying to do my part by giving up smoking after lighting up for over 25 years. It's been tough but i feel i'm getting close to breaking the habit (cold turkey). If your able to financially check out some of the companies throughout the world that are trying to do their part to clean up the world. A mutual fund that invests in green companies is the "spectra green fund". They look for company's with good growth and have taken a step forward to help the planet. One such company in the fund is "starbucks", which pay the coffe bean farmers more money for their beans by growing their crops in a way to help them become more sustainable. Cold Water Creek which buy "wind power credits" to replace the energy which they use up in their stores. Croc's which use a material in the procuction of their shoes which use less energy to produce. Many companies are on the move to go green to help save the planet in many ways, so why not make some green while supporting companies that are going green.

Fair Trade Coffee

deforestation

Deforestation for the use of farming has caused several problems for the environment. Eighty percent of the forests that once covered the earth are gone or degraded. This causes problems such as the rise in CO2, fires, erosion, loss of species and climate changes. http://www.globalissues.org/EnvIssues/GlobalWarming/Forests.asp

Turn green, or stay gold.

Environmentalists and support groups everyday are pressuring large coroporations and countries across the world to change the way they currently deal with growth and the environment on a daily basis. Wheather it be through capital production, business affairs, population, waste, or to something as simple as everyday life, one such person who is concerned about the increasing dilemas is Harold A. Mooney, author of the book "Millennium Ecosystem Assessment". He states by the year 2020 meat production will double and that the grains once produced to feed humans will now be needed to feed the increase of livestock. So how the heck are we going to feed ourselves (human population growth), feed twice as many livestock, and use "new" biofuels to power the "earth friendly vehicles" which are made from many of these crops?

Does the airfreighting of organic food go against it's principles?

There is a huge debate on whether the increasing use of air freighting organic foods goes against the principles behind such products. At this point there is a proposed prohibition being talked about for all airefreighted organic food. Are we putting our principle before practicality? Is there a danger that by removing the certification from suppliers that continue to air freight and thus restricting the supply, the whole organic market could fall to a point below its critical mass? If this ban goes into place there will be a huge void and will restirct the amount and kind of products available to us.


http://www.foodqualitynews.com/news/ng.asp?n=77044-soil-association-organic-monitor-air-freight

One man's rat....might be dinner

There was a heavey rains in central China that lead to a deadly landslides and also floods that have driven billions of roadents out of there homes and into the open.So the people do catch them and are selling them in the restaurants in southern China. The restaurants have been offering the ratmeat banquets at $9 a pound.

THE HUMDINGA!

Today i read a little article on a new type of car called a humdinga. yea what the heck is that right? well it is a hummer that can go on land and water. on land it can go from 0-60 in 9.2 seconds. and the top speed is 100. in the water it can go as fast as 40mph. that is so awesome but the problem is how much gas it uses on land and how much it disturbs the marine wild life. Right now the Humdinga is only over in the UK. if i was rich i would love a truck like this. want to read more?? http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/new_ways_to_des.php

fair trade coffee

valkanic coffee is the name of an article I found about Fairtrade coffee. This article is about more women in uganda being treated more equally by the men in there country . Oliver Kishero is a mother of seven and is caring for her orphan cousins. She improved on her income and improved the standing of women in the local society. Men now are realizing it may be better to treat women equally. Not only has Oliver successfully gained respect from men and improved rights for women in Uganda. She also has become a successful farmer and voice in co-op. Now women are becoming interested in joining the co-op and also Fairtrade is giving women the freedom of speech.
http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/downloads/pdf/fc-sum07.pdf

the food we eat

the food we eat is a very long artical that is dealing with the quality of food. it deals with labling food and how the world( mainly erope- britten) works and wants to put lables on all food products. it tells you that they want to put on the lable how much undesirable things are in the food, like bug guts and rodent dropings. they beleave that by putting that info on the lables it will help people determin wether or not they want to buy that given product. i beleave that that would be a good idea but i dont think about how much crap is in my food. so if this intrest you check out the web site for your self.
http://www.food/food005.htm
your friend ivry morseth

Mozart ate, therefore he was...

Mozart, of the Amadeus and Wolfgang sort of family, has his own year-long festival. A whole year! Who would have thought it? Artists, musicians and of course, chefs, from around the world gathered in Vienna to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Moz's birthday. Such delights as Mozart Balls, Wolfgang Cake, Mozart Sausage and Mozart Schnitzel were offered (and, it is supposed, eaten) along with performing artists from far-flung lands. A good time was had by all and by "all" I mean those who also used this fair to celebrated the Freemasons, which Mozart was a member. Isn't this fun?

Organic Options at Yale

Starting with only Yale, but having now spread to many other schools - Students are embracing the option of an organic menu. This program works with local farmers to obtain produce, eggs and meat. Students are learning more appreciation for food and farmers. Those working in the kitchen have learned to appreciate the program over time, but since everthing is received fresh, they are responsible for prepping and cleaning everything. This takes much more time. They were advised though to think more about flavor and taste, rather than speed. This option, I believe could spread all over quite quickly!

http://www.yale.edu/sustainability/foodproject.htm

Space Sticks

"A food tray used in the Skylab space station program of the 1970s. Packages outside the tray (from bottom left): grape drink, beef pot roast, chicken and rice, beef sandwiches and sugar cookie cubes. Inside the tray (from back left): orange drink , strawberries, asparagus, prime rib, dinner roll and butterscotch pudding in the center. NASA "

Now, astronauts can choose from a long list of meals instead of the same old frozen and tubed things. People are constantly testing food and beverages to take into space.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10792763

a different kind of house

a guy named andrew maynard has a solution to the drought in australia that he calls "poop house". the inner walls will hold enough water for up to twenty years, while the outer shell will house the solid waste. it is definately different.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/poop_house_by_a.php

bottled water, how good is it?

it talks about the quality standards between bottled and tap water, how it takes a toll on the environment, and that nearly 90% of the water bottles are in landfills. also, where to check what is in your tap water, with other links to f.a.q.


http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/reasons_to_ditch_bottled_water.php.

Vatican agrees to reforestation...

July 13 the Vatican accepted a certificate from a Hungarian-based firm stating that the reforestation of a large area in Hungary would compensate for all its emissions this year.

http://www.enn.com/anim.html?id=1929

Sushi powered

I thought this was an interesting article. Japan has pledged to reduce carbon emissions by 6 percent by 2012. Japan is one of the pioneering countries in climate change policy and research. The plan is to replace the 132 million gallons of gas that fuel Japanese care and replace it with a domestic biofuel. The University of Tokyo is looking at ways to extract ethanol from seaweed. The paln is to put a seaweed farm in the middle of the Sea of Japan. They think a farm this size could produce enough to fuel one third of the gasoline that Japan uses each year.


Chris Olson

http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/7/12/15441/9615

Is the food you eat from other countries safe?

As you can remember a few months back dogs and cats were dying because of the tainted food they were eating. This food came from China and until now China has had some relaxed food restrictions. The US and other countries have stepped up and are forcing China to have tighter restrictions on food production. Since the tainted pet food outbreak, the US has been testing other foods China has been importing to the US and has found them to contain potentially toxic chemicals and other adulterants. I do not think China is the only country that needs to be looked at for food safety. It is the job of the FDA to ensure only foods that are safe are imported into the United States.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289449,00.html

Chef Rubin and Bistro West Restaurant

Class, a possible chef/restaurant that may be interesting to you...

Thousand Hills Cattle Company Chef Featured at Bistro West Restaurant

Bistro West Restaurant hosted Rachel Rubin, Executive Chef for Thousand Hills Cattle Company, on Thursday, July 12 as part of University Dining Services‚ monthly Guest Chef Series. Chef Rubin prepared Peruvian Beef Kabobs, featuring locally grown Thousand Hills Grass Fed Beef, with Rice, Peruvian-Style Vegetable Salad, and Grilled Corn on the Cob.

Chef Rubin, a Minnesotan with Peruvian roots, specializes in cooking with fresh, local and organic ingredients. As the Executive Chef for Thousand Hills, a Cannon Falls, Minnesota Company, Rubin develops healthy, flavorful recipes featuring the Grass Fed Beef products. „It‚s wonderful that Bistro West features Thousand Hills Grass-Fed Beef regularly in their menu,‰ said Rubin. „I‚m thrilled to be here to help the campus community better understand the healthy benefits of our beef.‰

Bistro West Restaurant hosts local chefs each month as part of the Guest Chef Series. As a member of the Minnesota Heartland Food Network, Bistro West also participates in Third Thursdays, a celebration of locally grown foods. The next Third Thursdays event is scheduled for July 19, 2007.

Bistro West is open to the public Monday ˆ Friday from 11:00 AM ˆ 1:30 PM. For information or reservations to upcoming events, please call (612) 625-2588.

To learn more about University Dining Services' sustainability initiatives, visit www.umn.edu/dining.

Meet you Meat

More than 27 billion animals are killed by the meat industry each year, in ways that would horrify any compassionate person and that would be illegal if cats or dogs were the victims.
More chickens are raised and killed for food than every other farmed animal combined, yet not a single federal law protects chickens from abuse.
Chickens raised and killed for their flesh spend their entire lives in filthy, ammonia-laden sheds with tens of thousandsof other birds.
What if we can protect chickens as much as we do for dogs and cats, because after all, research has proved that chickens are smarter than dogs and cats, even other primates.
wouldn't that be good for all human being to go vegetarian? We can easily get all the protein, iron, and calcium that we need by eating plant food. So what do you think?

www.vegcooking .com

by Michee mpeti

Fair Trade

I've heard the term Fair Trade, but I didn't have a real understanding of how it worked. The article I read, "Playing Fair:Understanding Fair Trade." did a good job of explaing it. While it's always best to buy locally, it's not always possible. Fair Trade principles align with support of local producers and organically grown products. Fair Trade cuts out the middle man and allows farmers in developing countries to receive two to three times more for their product than on the commodities market. The non-Fair Trade coffee farmer receives less than a 2 cent return on $3 latte!! Every one in the food business should have a full understanding of Fair Trade.

Chris Olson

https://www.chefscollaborative.org/uploads/Fair_Trade_Communique_01-07_Chefs_Collaborative.pdf

Kinda wierd, isn't it?

I heard a while ago that bovine faltulence is one of the biggest contributers to global warming. Yes they were talking about cow farts. Big deal you probably think. It actually is. flatulence and burps contain methane, which traps heat within the ozone layer. This is causing global temperature changes. I thought it was interesting considering we raise tens of thousands of cattle in the US alone. http://www.show.me.uk/site/news/STO873.html

Class,

Here's some more resources for your research project about a chef working on sustainability issues. Take a look at EcoFish's culinary advisory board. Any of these people would be great chefs for your project.

"The EcoFish Culinary Advisory Board lends its vast culinary knowledge and expertise assisting EcoFish in selecting the finest seafood to offer fine chefs around the country. The Board also serves as a liaison between EcoFish and the culinary world."

Culinary Advisory Board:

Rick Bayless
Ann Cooper
Stan Frankenthaler
Greg Higgins
Nora Pouillon
Susan Spicer
Ming Tsai

Polluting our waters

I personally would not want this water in my body. My understanding is that a lot of people and corporations do not care enough about the earth, therefore, do as they want and duck under the tape. There is not enough policing of these companies and other people. The attitude of "let the next generation clean it up" is a bunch of bs. They have to realize that eventually it will come back to them. They will order that fish or purchase an apple from a grocery that is contaminated and will become ill in some way. Hopefully, just enough where they will open their eyes and see the global mess they are creating for future generations. Like I have said before, there is ways to dispose or purify these waters and to make it better for everyone.

http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~cy34/

Genetic engineering

http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_environment/genetic_engineering/

In the last decade biotechnology has introduced food that has been genetically altered to help reduce insects and weeds like corn, soybeans, and cotton. These were then planted in large quantities. But research has found that the engineered organisms may harm people's health or the environment. they may also kill beneficial insects, reduce natural resources, or contaminate the food supply with drugs. To protect our health and the environment from these products we must convince the federal government to regulate these products and urge the FDA to require safety testing and labeling on these products.

Hottness

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/bears_climbing.php

This was very good becasue it shows how it is even hot outside for the animals not only for Humans. That even aminals are climbing up trees to get in the shade. They are leaving there own homes to travel to new places to get food becasue of the heat. It is crazy what if every summer it keeps getting hotter what are we going to do years from now. -Matt Kilbride

Seafood, Healthy or Not ?

Seafood is often considered to be incredibly healthy. A lot of people dont realize that they are eating a lot more than just fish or shellfish. This article brings awareness of all the things seafood is exposed to including and focusing on Mercury. It talks about affects on the body and why it should or should not be avoided.



http://environment.about.com/od/health/a/mercury_fish.htm

Carry On Eating: Bring Your Own Chopsticks

Ever go to a restaurant and get these really cheap disposable wooden chopsticks? You're concious about the environment so you don't wanna waste wood products? Don't like the reusable metal ones because they suck at gripping things? You can forget about all that now. They got these really cool chopsticks now are metal but have wooden tips that gives you the friction you need grip little bite sized foodstuffs! What's great about them is that they are reusable meaning you dont have to toss out those wooden chopsticks everytime you eat anymore.

source: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/travel_chopsticks.php

Tightening waste shipments

European Union tightend waste shipments due to health problems in Africa and Asia. They are tightening down because when they dumped on the Ivory Coast at least 10 people died.

http://www.enn.com/todays-news/13129

one million cars ban

i found an artical about beijing banning one million cars next month for two weeks. they are testing to see if this will help with air pollution problem and is trying to get ready for next years summer olympics. this aritcle says that brijing is about to hit three million cars riseings from 1.5 million only five years ago. they said that the problem mybe that they're lacking in public transporation. i think that this is a really good idea that beikjing is trying to do this. if this really works maybe the rest of the world would try it out too, but till then we'll just have to wait and see.



http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/1_million_cars_ban.php

Warm-up

Global warming is the world's most serious enviro problem. According to the author (see URL) global warming is responsoble for a reduction of the Arctic sea ice thickness and overall surface area by 25%. With less area of reflective ice, the darker water in the exposed areas absorbes more heat and in turn warms the water and melts more ice. This cycle will continue to raise the world's water levels to such levels that inland agricultural areas may become flooded, and more growing areas will be lost.

www.globalwarming101.com/content/view/396/88888961/

unhealthy lifestyle

well i read an article on Fast-food culture serves up super-size Americans, it talked about how america is producing and advertising fast food more than healthy food. it stated that americans are getting lazier and soon at gas stations youll be able to pump gas and punch in what you want and someone will bring it out to you. It also compared Ronald Mcdonald and Joe Camel saying smoking is bad, so joe camel is down but ronald is cute so they advertise him... but is there really a difference between them? this article was ok but it did really state a point so i enjoyed it.

Garbage All Over

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/naples_buried.php

Naples and surrounding cities are running out of room for thier waste. Basically, people are taking matters into their own hands and making things worse. they are burning garbage and sending potentally hazadous fumes in the are along with unmanagable fires. The government actually has to warn people about their cities and the dangers that are there. It is disturbing in this world, we are finally at that point, where we may have too many people, or people do not know how NOT to waste things and just throw away things that do not need to be thrown away.

Slow Food

I read an interesting article about a new organization that is encouraging Americans to slow down when they eat and learn to appreciate the flavors/texture of their food and savor what is in front of us. Due to the fast paced life we live, we've become fast-fooders and end up always buying the same groceries at the store (quick and convenient). If we continue in this way, our children will never know the abundant amounts of options that are out there for us to explore when we cook.

www.slowfoodusa.org

Go Green with Coffee and Tea

Well i am not a big coffee or tea drinker. But coffee is the second biggest world trade after crude oil. Wow. Tea is the second most liquid drank in the US water is first. But I do love this world that we live in. But some of the stuff on this a bit on the like duh side. Here are some of those ways. Local shops, reuse mugs, organic coffees and teas, home brew your own, make a compost out of your coffee and tea grounds, give good coffee and tea grounds for gifts. In the end I think some of these can really help how much coffee and tea we get imported.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/02/how_to_green_your_coffee_and_tea.php

slick swine

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0701_040702_pigoil.html

here is the address to an article in national geographic that tells of the U of I turning hog manure into crude oil. Dr. Zahng states that at this point they are only recieving 9 oz of oil from each 1/2 gallon of crap.but if 50% of america's swine farms adapted this procedure we could cut back on importing oil by up to 1 1/2 billion dollars yearly. hog farmers would also make a considerable amount more per hog( 10-15$) this is quite a bit since only a few years ago the price of a market hog dropped to under $30.

Grass Fed Cows Produce better milk!

In the article that i read it mainly talked about CLA's (conjugated linoleic acid) and how they are higher in cows that are feed grass compared to that of feed. The important thing about CLA's is that they are proven to be one of the biggest fighters of breast cancer. Grass feed dairy is also rich in essential fatty acids which help fight many diseases such as; cancer, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders, allergies, obesity, diabetes, and dementia. To me it looks like a pretty clear choice as to which one i would chose if given a choice of dairy products. http://www.eatwild.com/articles/superhealthy.html

don't eat that dirty duck

www.scwds.org
this website includes information on what types of species of bird are most likely to catch influenza during certain times of years. such as ducks are most likely to catch it in late summer or early fall. outside of those seasons they only have about a 1 0/0 chance of catching it. there are tips to hunters and fowl farmers of when to be suspect of odd-acting birds.

A basic over look on light pollution

http://www.cnn.com/NATURE/9903/29/light.pollution.enn/



This article is an overview of a survey done on the effects of light pollution. The article tell about how only 10% of the US population has the ideal conditions regularly to see the 15000 visible stars and the milky way. It also talks about how light pollution can affect national parks up to 100 miles away.

Sustainable Development in a Dynamic World

This 2003 report discusses the importance of long term thinking with taking action now. In other words it is better to start a project now while continuing to do research for the long term. Doing nothing until you have completed all research will put us further behind in solving the harmful effects caused by the business decisions made yesterday. This report provides a road map to guide us as we make decisions today that will effect future generations. It is a long read but well worth looking at.

You can read the chapters at your leisure.

ozone and climate change

this article talked about how we are ruining the ozone. The gases from are cars go into the atmosphere and kind of clog it up. Then sunlight comes in and stays in because it cant get out. Which causes global warming and makes the stratosphere colder.

Algae

This article talks about how a new research project that is going on in the great lakes area is using algae to determine climate change. the national reasources research institute and the university of minnesota dulut were awarded 1 million, five year grant for the project

http://www.mepartnership.org/mep_whatsnew.asp?new_id=2306

equiptment

this article talks about the benefits of new farm equiptment, the lower emissions and more efficent fuel use. and the negatives like how this specalized equiptment is so expensive.
http://attra.ncat.org/

FDA suppressed report on harmful effects of GE food

This article was really fascinating. The fact that the FDA just by passed what their scientist said about GE Foods, is really scary. This article talked about the fact that warnings were given to the FDA by their own scientist about GE-tomato Flavrsavr, yet they were ignored. These are the same people we trust everyday with our lives, when it comes to the food we consume. The scientist also warned the FDA of consequences related to the GE Foods, because the technology is still so new, and not enough testing has really been done on it.
http://www.psrast.org/importantnews.htm#suppr

How Far Does Your Food Travel? Eating your way to a healthy environment, community and body.

How Far Does Your Food Travel?
This is another article on bying locally. It also talks about organic foods as well. It is based out of Canada, but you can get the idea. This is a very informative article. The thing that interested me most was that 1/2 kg of lamb bought locally gives off 7g of CO2, but when it is shipped from New Zealand it puts off 8kg of CO2 into the atmosphere. You can learn a lot from this site. For any of you interestide in changing the global warming situation, I would recommend reading this article. If not read it anyway!

Minnesota Food Works

Minnesota Food Works

This is not really an article, what it is, is more of a starting point for the idea of promoting local foods. It has about 15 links to different organizations and projects that are happening in Minnesota. Also just some list of "local" restaurants, and even a magazine about farmers markets in the Twin Cities. There are a lot of links provided. If you want to learn more about promoting local foods, just check out this site. But like I said its just a starting point, you'll have to look a little harder but it has all the links you need.

gas prices around the world

it was a pretty interesting graphic of prices around the world, showing what other countries paid for gas per gallon. makes you think of how countries like china, whose population is greater than ours, are able to handle daily life with gas being so expensive, and they also dont have nearly the same wages as us. check it out.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/06/gas_atlas.php

You are what your food eats

This article talks about a study that was done in 1996. The study is the article was, that livestock producers fed stale gum, still in the aluminum foil to cattle. They said that it did not alter the quality of meat. Also that the aluminum levels were within normal limits. It also goes on to talk about most experts in human nutrition are blind to the feed/food aspects of farming. they don't see that there is a direct quralation between what they eat and what we will eventually consume ourselves. http://www.eatwild.com/articles/youare.html

California produce is no good

http://www.foodpolitics.com/pdf/spinachfal.pdf

This article is stating that much of California's spinach is unsafe due to an e-coli break out. There have been 199 hospitilizations and three deaths. There have been law suits filed and companies invested in the spinach industry have gone bankrupt due to the law suits and shut down of companies producing spinach. A very interesting article, a little long but worth the time.

death from above

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/en/index.html

this is another website dedicated to the avian influenza.The WHO(not the band) reports that to date there are no known cases of human infection through PROPERLY cooked food. Since December 2003 over 50 countries have had outbreaks of h5n1. only ten countries have reported human infection. of the 311 cases of human infections, 190 died. this website tells yearly case reports, deaths, and where they occurred. it also gives the different types of influenzas and the warning signs to catch the disease early. it also tells what kind of birds are carriers. it also tells of past outbreaks of pandemic influenza in 1918-Spanish, 1957-Asian, 1968-Hong Kong.This is the best website I have found to date, on avian influenza. Read it

this seems pretty interesting

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_pollution

so this is something that i never really put any thought behind, how too much light can be pollution. i think this might be where i go with my project. if you got a sec. check it out and let me know what you think
peace

50 Harmful Effects of Genetically Modified Foods

This article goes into so many aspects of what could possibly go wrong with genetically modified foods, it is truly incredible. The thing that amazes me the most is the simple fact you have the pretty much other countries not allowing the "Frankenstein food" as it is called to enter their markets, farms, or any part of their lives at all. And they fight it with such passion that they are actually succeeding, where as a country like the United States, says nothing about the food that is spear heading every single one of our markets. The consumers don't seem to mind companies like Monsanto's to be genetically modifying our food supply and putting it out there for us and our children to consume. We have become the largest human guinea pigs, without really being informed about it. Our health, our safety long term are being shortsighted by the power, money hungry people who want control of the biggest part of our lives, our food system. They like many before them have their pocket interest over,the health of the people. The article goes into depth about the affects be it health, environmental, the affects on our small farmers, the political, and social affects. These are the things that seemingly get ignored all for the purpose of making money and controlling the largest aspect of our human nature which is our food supply. I really feel that this is a must read if you really do care as future chefs, about the future of the food you will be feeding your consumers.
http://www.cqs.com/50harm.htm

Walking on Eco friendly floors

This article is for people who would like more information about floors made from renewable and sustainable resources. Building environmentally friendly homes and business is a great idea, however finding the products can be tricky. Paul Shahriari started Greenmind, inc to assist people in choosing flooring that is Eco friendly. He makes some great suggestions, however he is quick to point out that if your flooring choices cause the use of a lot of fossil fuel you have defeated the whole purpose.

Check out this article to see his flooring suggestions.

This is another Nick Johnson post, he still can't figure it out.

http://www.localharvest.org/organic.jsp
This one talks about the way the health of the soil affects the quality og the produce. It also mentioned that the local farmers use less chemicals in the fields. It tells the benefits of organic and local grown foods.

Imported fish

Publications & Press

This article was about different types of fish imported from around the world. It talks about common fish such as salmon, tilapia, and catfish. This article doesn't only talk about the types of fish that are imported, but it talks a little about how fish are not being raised in there natural habitat. So my question is, and maybe it said and I didn't read enough, does this change in there upbring change the way the fish tastes. This link also talks about how to find a good provider and what questions to ask. I liked this article and it would most likely be helpful for anyone looking to open up a restaurant.

controlling bird flu

this is a continuation on my series of research on avian influenza. i found some interesting preventative measures to clean and disinfect equipment to prevent outbreaks. for all of us in the food industry should be well aware of any possible diseases in our food. i would strongly recommened looking at this site
"www.usda.gov/birdflu

when fowl go bad

http://attra.ncat.org/avian.html
here is the link to my first blog on avian bird flu- sorry i thought the link was attached from me

this is nick johnsons posting. he couldnt sign on to the blog for some reason

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/conditions/asthma-allergies/peanut-allergy/


This artical is about the food allergies and there effect on the human body. How the new food allergies have possiblly come from the

Support Grass

It has been found that grass-fed livestock are healthier for human consumption. They are lower in fat content. They say that the beef's fat content is almost as low as a skinned chicken breast. They go on to tell about the many numerous health benefits that naturally raise livestock posses. It even goes to the limits of saying that if all consumers of beef in the U.S ate grass-fed beef ,the obesity problem could diminish. If you would like to learn more look no further.

http://www.eatwild.com/healthbenefits.htm

organic growing

this article talks about organic grown foods and why they are superior to chemically fertalized produce. It also speaks a lot about the strict qualifications that need to be met to have your product labeled "organic." I found this article interesting because i am a sucker for organic produce and free range meat.