Meatless Monday – A Success Story?
As the Coursera course “Introduction to the U.S. Food System” draws to a close (so sad, it was great!), the staff highlighted a great initiative in their last set of lectures – the story behind Meatless Monday!
Category: Environment
Are You A 'New Consumer'?
In preparation for my exam on Ethics in Food Consumption, I read a fascinating expose by New York-based marketing firm BBMG which characterize a ‘new consumer’ (download it here). While their report is mainly aimed at firms who want to market their products to these new consumers, it is really enlightening to explore what they … Continue reading Are You A 'New Consumer'?
"Are vegetarian diets Earth-friendly?" – About Research in the Media
Flashy headlines are generally needed to grab our attention. The average reader wants information, quickly, and presented in digestible bites, preferably without too much cautioning. However, many times, and especially in this subject, such blanket statements end up being misleading, confusing, or even plainly wrong. I read an article the other day with the headline … Continue reading "Are vegetarian diets Earth-friendly?" – About Research in the Media
Connecting The Dots – Syria's Destroyed Agricultural Sector
Sometimes it’s easy to follow along the news and never really connect the dots. I would venture to say that everybody has heard about the civil war in Syria, although as the novelty wears off it sadly gets less and less news coverage, though conditions for locals are far from improving. I most certainly was … Continue reading Connecting The Dots – Syria's Destroyed Agricultural Sector
Aquatic Agriculture – Growing Food on Water?!
You know when sometimes you can’t decide whether research ideas are ingenious or ridiculous? This is one of those cases. Apparently, in Costa Rica researchers are working on agriculture that doesn’t require any more land, because crops are grown directly on rafts floating on freshwater lakes and reservoirs. In aquatic agriculture (not to be confused … Continue reading Aquatic Agriculture – Growing Food on Water?!
The EU wants to know – Organic Agriculture Yay or Nay?
The European Union is known for its extensive bureaucracy and intricate policies – we talked about the cucumber-straightness regulations before -, but it is also pretty good at trying to gather public opinions on its policies before reforming them. Its newest project: A consultation for the review of the European policy on organic agriculture! It’s … Continue reading The EU wants to know – Organic Agriculture Yay or Nay?
Meal worms – the future for meat lovers?
I was catching up on news the other day and listening to the BBC World Service podcast of February 8th where, in response to the European horse meat scandal (if you haven’t been following it, frozen prepared lasagna had contained up to 100% horse meat though it was labeled as beef), a story on new … Continue reading Meal worms – the future for meat lovers?
What are a hamburger’s real ingredients?
Over at NPR’s The Salt blog, they published an awesome infographic to visualize how much is needed until a typical quarter-pound hamburger (apparently in France they call it a Royale with Cheese ;)) – just the patty – can land on your plate. Head on over to their site for a great overview, or check out the stats below … Continue reading What are a hamburger’s real ingredients?