Musings on sustainable food systems, agriculture vs. agroecology, and more!
I have not one, but two great links for you today to help you in your consumption decisions. The first one refers to the latest research on fish stocks and gives a (very pretty!) overview of which fish is okay to eat and which stocks we should let recuperate. Click through to get to the … Continue reading New Fish and Meat Guides Help to Choose Responsibly
Yesterday, we visited a pig farm which also had a ‘genetic bank’ with pigs of particularly desirable characteristics. While those pigs looked fairly healthy, it still brought the issue of breeding livestock animals to the forefront of my mind. In our agricultural economics classes, we often talk about ‘technological progress’ and ‘efficiency increases’, which in … Continue reading How Far Should Breeding Go?
Hi again from Budapest! Sorry for the lack in posts but we are pretty busy here and internet is few and far in between. Nevertheless, I found another interesting article for your viewing pleasure here: “Experiments reveal that crabs and lobsters feel pain“, a new article in the Nature News Blog. Generally, it is considered … Continue reading Do Crustaceans Feel Pain? New Evidence
Hi from Budapest! I am here in summer school and have only sporadic internet access, but didn’t want to leave you without any news of what is going on in the food policy and food tech world – guess what? The taste-testing of the first in-vitro burger finally took place in London! The verdict? “The … Continue reading The First Lab-Burger Was Eaten!
I’ve been a vegetarian for 10 years, out of ethical and increasingly environmental considerations – and we have talked about the environmental impact of livestock production in abundance. However, I realize that the probability of most people switching towards an herbivore lifestyle is rather low, whether they want to maintain protein intake or plainly like … Continue reading Lab-Grown Meat – the Future of Farming?
One of the first writers that got me (as so many others, I presume) interested in food politics was Michael Pollan. His book “In Defense of Food” , along with “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “A Botany of Desire”, really flipped the switch in my mind on what kind of politics I wanted to specialize in. Well, today … Continue reading The Biography of a Cow
If you live in the US, you may have heard about the recent proliferation of regulations in around a dozen states that opponents call “ag-gag laws”. These laws make it illegal to covertly videotape livestock farms or to apply for jobs without disclosing ties to animal welfare organizations. Such undercover taping however is often crucial … Continue reading "Ag-Gag" Laws – What Stands Behind Them?