The
eco-diet ... and it's not just about food miles
James Randerson,
The Guardian
Consumers need more information about the environmental
impact of the food in their shopping basket if they are to make eco-friendly
choices, according to researchers who have carried out a detailed analysis of
the ecological costs associated with food. They argue that the focus on "food
miles" is missing the bigger picture and may be counter-productive.
Food
stores such as Tesco and Marks & Spencer have said that they will label
products that have been transported by air. But according to the researchers,
only around 2% of the environmental impact of food comes from transporting it
from farm to shop. The vast majority of its ecological footprint comes from food
processing, storage, packaging and growing conditions. So food grown locally
could have a considerably bigger footprint than food flown halfway around the
world, and consumers who make their choices on air miles alone may be doing more
environmental harm, according to the scientists.
"I'm a bit worried about
the food miles [debate] because it is educating the consumer in the wrong way.
It is such an insignificant point," said Ruth Fairchild at the University of
Wales Institute in Cardiff. "Those [foods] could have been produced using
pesticides that have travelled all the way around the world. If you just take
food miles, it is the tiny bit on the end."
A better system, she argues,
would be one that considers all environmental impacts from farm to dinner plate.
One option is ecological footprint analysis, which takes into account the amount
of land needed to provide the resources to produce food, both directly on the
farm and indirectly from the energy that goes into growing, harvesting,
processing, packaging and transporting it
(4 June 2007)
Deconstructing
Dinner: Farming in the City II (Audio)
Jon Steinman, Global Public
Media
Many forms of urban agriculture have existed for thousands of
years. For city dwellers growing food in backyards or even on window sills, this
is essentially, farming in the city.
As practical and environmentally
friendly as growing food within a city can be, the art of gardening has
seemingly disappeared in many urban settings. As current farming practices are
proving to be unsustainable in the long-term, urban agriculture is looked upon
by many as being a critical shift that needs to take place if we are to ensure a
level of food security in the near and distant future.
This broadcast
marks the second of an ongoing series that will explore urban agriculture in
British Columbia, Canada, and around the world (listen to part 1 here). Featured
on the broadcast will be the launch of an on-line community of gardeners with
the hope that every lawn in British Columbia will contain a food producing
garden. We will learn of an innovative project that links up underutilized
backyard garden space with those willing to urban farm it. When we think of
urban agriculture, rarely do we think of growing mushrooms! The steps on how to
go about becoming an urban mushroom grower will be shared on this
broadcast.
(10 May 2007)
How
to Save Cooking Energy and 90% Reduction Reminder
Sharon Astyk,
Casaubon's Book
Today, the last day of May, is your last chance to get
in on the ground floor of the 90% reduction project!! There are nearly 100
people signed up, and more than 25 blogs going! We would be thrilled if you
wanted to join as well. Remember, you can start anytime, and you don't have to
achieve 90%.
Here's the link to Miranda's blog where the rules, FAQ and
Intro are posted if you want to learn more about the project: simplereduce.wordpress.com/riot-for-austerity-90-reduction-project-intro/
If
you want to discuss the project, we have a yahoogroup devoted to the subject -
you can join by sending an email here: 90PercentReduction-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
How
many people do you think we can get this up to? Enough for a press release? A
movement? A revolution? When Miranda and I cooked this up, we had no idea it
would be so popular - we're so excited.
In the spirit of our really
riotous reduction, I've been thinking about how to cut my cooking energy down as
much as possible. Here are 25 ways I've come up with to cut cooking
energy.
1. Turn off the stove/oven before you are finished. This is
fairly simple - when you soup is almost hot, turn off the stove - it will
continue to heat for a while. When your bread is 15 minutes short of baked, turn
off the oven and let it sit in the hot oven. You can do this for longer with
things that are hotter for longer, or less sensitive, like casseroles. Be
cautious with meat - you don't want food poisoning. Experiment.
2. Eat
more salads, sandwiches and raw foods that don't require cooking.
(31 May
2007)
Principle 18:
Sustainable Food
WorldChanging Team
Nothing is more
personal than food. It forces us to make decisions every day that have real and
immediate impact, which means learning about what we're eating and figuring out
how to make good choices is essential. As environmental issues move to the
forefront of public consciousness, the meaning of a good choice doesn't just
have to do with a food pyramid or a nutrition label, but with knowing where your
food came from, how it got to you, and who was involved in that
process.
Food is one of the primary subjects with which we deal when
talking about backstory, since it's one of the most accessible means of
understanding the life of an item prior to its arrival in your hand. In many
ways, food is also one of the best and easiest places to push for a change in
that backstory, whether calling for different conditions for the producers,
demanding a change in a product's contents, selecting a new source, or deciding
to grow your own.
It's also becoming more common for schools to offer
healthier food in the lunchroom and better education in the classroom (or the
school garden), setting kids up at a young age to feel empowered with good
knowledge enough to make good decisions as they grow older. Many of these
educational programs, particularly in urban areas, work to establish urban-rural
connections that support farmers and make city-dwellers more aware of and
connected to the origins of their food.
In order for food to be
sustainable, it must be grown, processed, sold and consumed in such a way that
it doesn't deplete the earth's resources, create injustice, or cause harm. The
more we know about the whole story of our food, the better able we are to judge
whether it's good for the planet and good for us.
(30 May
2007)
.
livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing
List archive
[Livingontheland] Food & agriculture news - June 4
- From: "Douglas Willhite" <drwillhite@earthlink.net>
- To: "Douglas & Hillary Willhite" <drwillhite@earthlink.net>
- Subject: [Livingontheland] Food & agriculture news - June 4
- Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2007 08:49:33 -0700
Food & agriculture news - June 4 |
-
[Livingontheland] Food & agriculture news - June 4,
Douglas Willhite, 06/05/2007
-
Re: [Livingontheland] Food & agriculture news - June 4,
TradingPostPaul, 06/05/2007
-
[Livingontheland] Maybe The Guardian scientists will catch up,
Douglas Willhite, 06/06/2007
-
Re: [Livingontheland] farm incubator,
Ken Hargesheimer, 06/06/2007
-
Re: [Livingontheland] farm incubator,
TradingPostPaul, 06/06/2007
- Re: [Livingontheland] farm incubator, Michael Nevin, 06/07/2007
- Re: [Livingontheland] farm incubator, Michael Nevin, 06/07/2007
-
Re: [Livingontheland] farm incubator,
TradingPostPaul, 06/06/2007
-
Re: [Livingontheland] farm incubator,
Ken Hargesheimer, 06/06/2007
-
[Livingontheland] Maybe The Guardian scientists will catch up,
Douglas Willhite, 06/06/2007
- <Possible follow-up(s)>
- Re: [Livingontheland] Food & agriculture news - June 4, Pego Rice, 06/06/2007
-
Re: [Livingontheland] Food & agriculture news - June 4,
TradingPostPaul, 06/05/2007
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