I first stumbled over Ensia when it was literally just being established, bookmarked it, and inevitably forgot about it for a couple of months. As I was doing some housekeeping in my overflowing “Blog”-related bookmark category, I decided to check it out again and was delighted by the set-up and the high-quality content. The site is run by the University of Minnesota’s Institute for the Environment and thus concentrates on a couple of interlinked categories, including business, culture, ecosystems, energy, technology, water, world and of course food! It’s set up in a very appealing magazine style and combines feature articles, infographics, opinion pieces and interviews in an innovative way.
In the food category right now, you can find a pretty awesome infographic on food waste, an interview with the senior vice president of market transformation for the World Wildlife Fund on how to produce more food with less environmental impact, and a really great opinion piece on “how farmers, the food industry and the rest of us can invest in a sustainable future” by the Director of Sustainability of Annie’s, the organic food company.
Overall, it’s a really great mix of opinions and viewpoints that combine policy, business and environmentalist concerns and perspectives. I also really like the aesthetics of the site overall – the interview for example is set up in a back-and-forth, easy to read style reminiscent of smartphone text messaging. Oh, and a lot of the illustrations are gorgeous. Head on over if you have a leisurely weekend hour or two!