Changing the McEnvironment?

I wanted to follow up with our discussion about Food, Ethics, and the Environment (part 1). Eric Schlosser stated his viewpoints on how McDonalds has led the way to a beef industrial complex which has had negative effects on our health and our environment. One of our questions was, was this ethical? What are the effects on our environment and our health? Any concern for animal welfare? What about the ethical responsibility of other corporations?

Well, one thing's for certain, McDonald's is caving in from consumer pressure to be better and more responsible when it comes to these issues. Especially in the last 3 years. McDonald's has officially banned some antibiotics and growth hormones in the beef it buys. But in what ways and how much is actually changing? Here's a few articles about how McDonald's is changing their tune with antibiotics in chicken and cattle, and the environment in general. Are they big enough to change the system they helped put in place? Only time (and continued consumer pressure) will tell.

• "McDonald's says no more playing chicken with antibiotics" -Environmental Defense
• Discussing "McLibel: Two Worlds Collide " -Elisa Freeling
• Rainforest McFriendly coffee? -Environmental News Network
• McDonald's New Worldwide Corporate Responsibility Report Now Available
• McDonalds Recognized for Social & Environmental Efforts by Ceres -Treehugger

Burning Pile of Poo

Today in Environmental Science class, we talked about Eric Schlosser's presentation about McDonnalds and how it has changed the food industry and our world. One surprising and terrible yet humerous example of the problems associated with the beef industry is a mountainous pile of unwanted manure that caught on fire. Here's a picture of that burning pile of poo.

UK, Cars and Food

This report focuses on the rise in the ammount of polution due to a rise in food popularity in the UK. It talks about how 25% of the entire traffic in europe is caused by food related driving, ie; driving to stores, restaurants or other food/eating establishments. The argitextual group is the UK is trying to reduce this by 20% in the next 6 years.

I think any decrease in the ammount of oil used, and pollution created is a step in the right direction. But in the same context, i'd rather see humans traveling for food, then foods traveling thousands of miles by plane, which seems like it would be a much more signifigant issue.

Global Warming Could Sour Wine Industry

With the global climate on the rising. Wine drinkers are going to be saying cheers with a little less enthusiasm. Temperature effects the growth of grapes greatly it can wipe out entire vineyards. The models discussed in the article show that growing areas will be greatly reduced in the future. Especially in the United states quality wine grapes are an important source of commerce.

http://www.livescience.com/environment/060710_climate_grape.html


By Phil White

drink locally- west coast sake

Sake is an alcoholic drink that has become popular in America in recent years. California and Oregon are starting to make their own and selling it, instead of buying from Japan. It's good that the U.S. is making their own because then it doesn't have to be shipped over here and pollute the earth.

sharks go on endangered list

Scientists added several species of deep sea sharks on Thursday to the World Conservation Union's (IUCN) endangered Red List due to overfishing. Scientists in London say that the sharks are in a vulnerable stat and near threaten. when the sharks go on the endangered list it shows that even the most dangerous water animals are in trouble and there has to be something that we should do.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070222/sc_nm/climate_sharks_dc;_ylt=Ah_MaqlBa6l3.eHNTyY.fvkPLBIF

Portland Farmer-Chef connection conference

I think this is a great event and should be done more often. It gives people from many different careers a chance to connent and understand eachothers views as related to the food industry as a whole. Events like this also allow businesses to keep the dollars they spend local, something very important to small businesses.
http://farmerchefconnection.org/portland_fcc_2007.cfm

animal feed

after reading the article, The Reality of Feed at Animal Factories, found on this link i was also concerned with the issue of animals not being raised and fed properly. It made me wonder what kind of meat im eating everyday. Also it listed 8 types of feed the animals were given such as:
Same Species Meat
Diseased Animals
Feathers, Hair, Skin, Hooves, and Blood
Manure and Other Animal Waste
Plastics
Drugs and Chemicals
Unhealthy Amounts of Grains
This made me realize the dangers that may occur to our food and somethings should be done about this. Also after watching a portion of the video today in class got me thinking what about the safety of the people who eat this food? Anyway, the info was interesting and really got me thinking what do I eat? if anyone else wants to check it out just click a link.

My environmental science article

The article I found is about wetlands absorbing carbon dioxide, which is the predominant greenhousegas in the atmosphere responsible for climate change. Up to 70% of wetlands have dissapeared in setled areas of Canada. The article explains that wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. The capability of wetlands to store carbon is largely a result of their productivity. This article is connected to the restaurant business because the wetlands are home to many game animals, such as duck, which can be a delicious meal. find more info at http://www.ducks.org/news/1110/WetlandsImportanttoC.html

Genetically modified foods

Genetically modified foods have many benifits. Foods can be modified to resist many different types of diseases, grow larger with a larger numbers of seeds. Resisting different types of disease can save farmers millions of dollars in pesticides. On the flip side, pollen from the GM plants could also create a new breed of super weeds that are completley resistant to pesticides. Genetically modifying foods could also introduce allergens into foods not present before causing many people to become sick.

Here is the website for the article... http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312650/food.htm

Global Warming of Low Priority?

This basically discusses the overall urgency of global warming as a concern of Americans. In 2003, the concept of global warming was discussed, and Americans ranked it as a lower priority in relation to other issues including heath care and the war in Iraq. There has been no large affects on human health or human behavior, thus making it an issue that we continue to put on the back burner until the issue rises.

The full story can be found at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20070219-07501200-bc-us-globalwarming.xml

Gardens of Eagan

I am thankfull that the Gardens of Eagen organic farm is able to go on with it's day to day growth without worry since they have made an agreement with the Minnesota Pipleline Company not to cross into their fields. It takes multiple years to turn over the soil on an organic farm to make it elgible to be considered "organic". Any spill from the pipleine would throw years of work out the window and be very unlikely that any organic farm would ever recover from such a disaster. Such a disaster is very likely in the likeness of operation the Minnesota Pipleline is attempting. The Gardens of Eagan have taken an extreme role in the nature of expanding and continuing the growth of such farms throughout the United States and will continue their role as "firsts" and "ol' man on the river" position to make sure that organic and local foods will be availiable for all to enjoy and that nobody will bully them into a position that will contradict their ideas, hopes, and dreams of safe, fresh foods for all to enjoy. I encourage all of you to visit their website at http://www.gardensofeagan.com/ and take a little time to find, visit, and enjoy all of the delicacies they have to offer in your local metropolitan area.

Purchasing Local Produce

"The authors say organic farming is also valuable, but people can help the environment even more by buying food from within a 20km (12-mile) radius.
The team calculated a shopping basket's hidden costs, which mount up as produce is transported over big distances. The study found 'road miles' account for proportionately more environmental damage than "air miles".
Therefore, the researchers' message to consumers is this: it is not good enough to buy food from within the UK - it is better if it comes from within your area, too.
Co-author Professor Tim LangHowever, they admit that consumers are prevented from 'doing the right thing'because of inadequate labelling.
'The most political act we do on a daily basis is to eat, as our actions affect farms, landscapes and food businesses.' said co-author Professor Jules Pretty, from the University of Essex, UK.
'Food miles are more significant than we previously thought, and much now needs to be done to encourage local production and consumption of food.'"

Read the full story at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4312591.stm

OVERFISHING

today is the day when i am glad that someone has finally said that we are overfishing. There has been a lot of people who over fish without thinking of the consequences. This article said that it wasn't just the normal fish, that it was also salt water fish that collapse by 2048. You would of thought that when we cut down all the trees. We need to learn that we can't keep taking advantage of our natural resources.http://www.startribune.com/789/story/784039.html

rotten fish

I was not happy to find out that male fish are growing female parts and alot of fish in the mississippi river are on prozac and other prescription drugs. If this is happening to the fish that live in the water trhen what does this mean for us and all of mankind. We have to be aware of what we are doing to the environment and somehow find solutions to these growing problems.

Focus on farmers

I found this article on one of the websites that Jay had given us (Treehugger). It talks about how now that the boom on organically grown products is slowing, the attention may be turning to the people that grow it. The motto Buy Fresh, Buy Local is what the industry seems to turning to more and more for their produce allowing family farming operations to continue. Here is the article if anyone wants to read it. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/02/sexy_farmers_an.php

Peace.

Why Should You Care About Pesticides?

There is a growing consensus that small doses of pesticides and many other chemicals can have adverse affects on humans, especially young children and newborns. Exposure of these chemicals can have long lasting effects.

Peeling and washing fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of coming in contact with pesticides but they aren't eliminated. Peeling also takes away valuable nutrients from food.

In this website http://www.foodnews.org/

It shows a list of the highest and lowest pesticide Ranking from 1 - 43
Peaches ranked #1 for the highest pesticide and Onions ranked #43 for the lowest pesticide load.
I never paid attention to pesticides in food so I take a closer look on where food comes from.

Meat contributes to climate change

A report by the U. N. Food & Agriculture, is saying that this global warming might be cause by livestock, I guess anything could be possible. You can go to the DailyIndia.com, and the report
also gave some precentages.

CRP Funding Changes

This article from the Trib (http://www.startribune.com/531/story/985364.html) reports that in Bush's upcoming budget no money is allocated for new land to be put in the Conservation Reserve Program. In the CRP, farmers are paid to leave acreage unfarmed as a conservation measure. It's been very effective... in SD, for example, every 4% increase in CRP land leads to a 22% increase in the pheasant population. The issue is rising corn demand. The increased drive for ethanol has pushed the price of corn ever higher, and made actual farming more economically desirable for farmers. That's where this environmental issue intersects with food policy concerns. What is the proper balance between conservation, growing grain for fuel, and growing grain for food? Myself, I'd tend to fall on the growing food or conservation side of things. But then again, we produce and use way more corn for food purposes than is really sustainable (see "The Omnivore's Dilemma"). A sticky wicket.

Compost At Home

Okay, so I was looking around trying to find something to do with the environment and food and how they are combined everyday that some people don't realize. Well in today's society organic foods are becoming more and more common. Growing organic food is easier than what one thinks. In the article from the Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet, (http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1189.html), it tells a homeowner exactly what compost is and the good uses for it. A paragraph stated in the article is this; Compost returns organic matter to the soil in a usable form. Organic matter in the soil improves plant growth by: stimulating the growth of beneficial microorganisms, loosening heavy clay soils to allow better root penetration; improving the capacity to hold water and nutrients particularly in sandy soils; and adding essential nutrients to any soil. Improving your soil is the first step toward improving plant health. Healthy plants help clean air, conserve soil, and beautify landscapes. So really all in all atleast if you start the compost procedure you know what is in your dirt that is growing your food. Also this way you know for fact that there are no chemicals in your food soon to be entering your body.

Judy