Musings on sustainable food systems, agriculture vs. agroecology, and more!
Close your eyes for a moment and wipe every notion of “it’s this way because it has always been this way” from your mind. Now let’s try a thought experiment. What does a human need to survive? The very basic needs? You’ll probably find three, just as Jose Luis Vivero Pol found in his paper “Food … Continue reading What If Food Were A Common Good? – A Thought Experiment
For some reason the comparison really made apparent to me the immensity of the broiler industry – helped, undoubtedly, by the fact that chickens have much shorter growing cycles than other animals. Still, as this number will only get bigger if demand for meat increases in transition countries such as India and China, should … Continue reading Wait, How Many Chickens?
A couple of days ago I finally managed to finish up one of the last hurdles of settling somewhere new – getting a new Swedish bank account – and was so happy that I was able to circumvent the system (normally you need a Swedish residence number which we don’t have) that, frankly, I gave … Continue reading Returns with Responsibility – How Ethical Is Your Investment?
via The Organic Center (http://www.organic-center.org/), which sounds like a pretty useful resource on organic facts and science in general.
Feedlots is a powerful series of images by British artist Mishka Henner. They are made up entirely of publicly available satellite images that have been altered only in color, and show the immensity of American factory farming in an impressive way. Especially since the latest so-called ag gag laws that prohibit taking pictures or videos … Continue reading Feedlot Art
Uppsala is setting itself up to be amazing in terms of opportunities to discuss issues of relevance to me both inside and outside of the classroom. I am currently auditing a class called “Environmental and Social Responsibility Marketing”, and the teacher is doing a fantastic job in alerting us to opportunities of events that could … Continue reading Recap: Panel Discussion on "Ethics in Food Consumption"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUtnas5ScSE Once again we see the power of marketing done right – this short film is an ad both for Chipotle (known for its dedication to sourcing only “responsibly raised” chicken, beef and pork that were not treated with antibiotics, live in humane conditions, fed a vegetarian diet and are allowed to display their natural … Continue reading Chipotle Ad Strikes at the Core of the Industrial Food System
This question is discussed over at Civil Eats, where Michael R. Dimock advocates for a framing of the ‘good food movement’ that allies itself strongly with public health advocates and puts public health in center stage. His argument? Part of what makes us human is our ability to think ahead to avoid or reduce … Continue reading Can Public Health Be the Unifying Frame for the Food Movement?
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
Have you ever looked at mud stuck in your shoes or splashed on the back of your car and cursed it for making your belongings dirty? Watch this movie and I assure you it will change your mindset about this most valuable resource that sustains all life on Earth.