¡Pura Vida! is a really common greeting or comment here in Costa Rica. It literally means “pure life” and stands for the relaxed approach Ticos take to their day-to-day. And today, with temperatures in the high twenties and sunshine all day, it was easy to see why! Alas, I had to work, but still, I think the beach is calling me this weekend… 🙂 Anyhow, let’s see what was on my radar these past couple of days, shall we?
– If Apple Made iMilk And Nike Sold Fruit: Designer Groceries As Art: cool exploration of what food packaging could look like if it were trendy and high fashion. I remember a high-end yoghurt line in Switzerland that had silver, very stylized packaging that always made me feel especially luxurious when eating it… Marketing works, guys!
– Much less entertaining, but all the more chilling – U.S. Research Lab Lets Livestock Suffer in Quest for Profit. The US Meat Animal Research Center has been operating for decades with very little supervision, being exempted from the Animal Welfare Act, and continued experiments that lead to unfathomable levels of animal deaths and suffering.
Certainly, the production of meat is a rough enterprise. Yet even against that reality — raising animals to be killed, for profit — the center stands out. Some of its trials have continued long after meat producers balked at the harm they caused animals.
Makes you realize that not only GMO research should be privy to careful public supervision to safeguard our ethical standards – and that the quest for cheap and plentiful meat is on its best way to get more and more ruthless, as the following quote shows:
“We’re just as concerned about the humane treatment of animals as anyone else,” said Sherrill E. Echternkamp, a scientist who retired from the center in 2013. Still, he added: “It’s not a perfect world. We are trying to feed a population that is expanding very rapidly, to nine billion by 2050, and if we are going to feed that population, there are some trade-offs.”
– On Grist, Nathanael Johnson penned a great series about the challenge to feed the world under the name of “Hungry, hungry humans“. He takes on the debate of expanding our food supply vs. distributing it equally with his usual zeal and objectivity, interviewing many interesting people along the way. Definitely worth the read.
– And, to end on an uplifting note, breakfast has become quite the foodie topic. First, and widely published, breakfasts from around the world were shown in this photo story, then Gastropod turned their attention to the topic in a recent podcast, and finally, the tables were turned and American children were presented with the breakfast their counterparts eat around the globe. Their reactions? Priceless. Watch:
[best line: “What’s Finland?” – “A country in Europe.” – “Oh.”]