Conservation 101: the Compete to Conserve Blog

photo credit: minor9th

In the midst of my foray into all that is organic, I recently came across a familiar-ish name from the past. Instantly an image came to mind—a chilly New York night, me coasting ‘round the back corner of Washington Square Park, and leaving my opponent buckled over and choking on my dust. (Oh, and did I mention I was wearing cowboy boots?)

While it wasn’t exactly organic wine that caused me to heed the call by Russell (now Adam) Morganstern to run the gauntlet around WSP, times have changed and we have (possibly) matured.

Now Morganstern is Editor-in-Chief for Organic Wine Journal, a useful resource for more than just wine. The journal’s website offers recipes, book, restaurant and wine reviews, and opportunities to learn, including articles on what makes a wine “organic,” all you wanted to know about sulfites, and help for the wine store timid.

To check out these features (and more), visit: http://www.organicwinejournal.com/

As for Mr. Morganstern, feel free to let him know I’d be happy to grant him a rematch, if he’s willing to put up some tasty vintages as a prize. But this time, I get to wear sneakers. 

photo credit: Darwin Bell

Possibly tired of taking hits from the anti-processed food push, the Corn Refiners Association launched a comeback campaign highlighting how high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) stacks up against other sweeteners. The aim of their message is to show that, like sugar, HFCS is “fine” in moderation.

The campaign, which includes television, radio, magazine and newspaper ads, centers around an informational website—where visitors can learn the HFCS facts. The site’s info includes a breakdown of how HFCS stacks up next to table sugar and honey, including the calories, taste, use in the products you eat, and manufacturing process.

Some highlights: HCFS is considered a “natural” food ingredient (according to the USDA’s definition), it promotes freshness and inhibits spoilage in food products, it is responsible for maintaining softness and texture in baked goods, it preserves flavor in beverages and keep ingredients “evenly dispersed” in condiments, and it is equal to sugar in caloric content and sweetness.

Overall, the Corn Refiners contend, “Research confirms that high fructose corn syrup is safe and no different from other common sweeteners like table sugar and honey.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, “some nutrition experts blame increased consumption of high-fructose for the growing obesity problem.” The idea, albeit not proven, is that fructose converts to fat more readily than sucrose (aka sugar). Meanwhile, a link between HFCS and adverse health effects like diabetes and high cholesterol has been seen in animal studies, but “evidence is not as clear in human studies.”

Despite these inconclusive results, the Mayo Clinic points out that the types of foods containing HFCS tend to be high in calories and low in nutritional value—which may be reason enough to avoid them.

Meanwhile WebMD.com found that “Researchers from Rutgers University tested 11 soft drinks sweetened with high fructose corn syrup and detected high levels of compounds that are normally raised in the blood of people with diabetes.”

Add to this the fact that industrialized corn production, the primary source of corn for refiners, seems to ravage the land where it is grown, as well as regions that may be downstream. A Washington Post article points out that “most corn is grown as a monoculture, meaning that the land is used solely for corn, not rotated among crops.” While this maximizes yields, it depletes soil nutrients, requires more pesticides and fertilizer, and weakens topsoil.

But since nearly all crops require some level of energy to harvest, process and transport, the Corn Refiners Association may still have some ground to stand on.

For more of the HFCS facts, care of the Corn Refiners Association, check out: www.sweetsurprise.com or http://www.hfcsfacts.com/

Slow Food Nation '08 in San Francisco.

Slow Food Nation ’08 came to a close in San Francisco yesterday, leaving, organizers hope, very little waste.

Festivals, fairs, amusement parks, and sporting events are notorious for the amount of garbage left in their wake. Along with porta-potties and drunken dudes, trash is an unfortunate reality associated with otherwise joyous county fairs and street fairs. That’s what made Slow Food Nation’s commitment to zero waste such a welcome relief. (”Zero waste” strives to eliminate waste, regarding trash as a resource that can be reused or re-purposed.)

Bins, Staff Made Zero Waste Easy

The weekend-long festival was like Disneyland for foodies with a conscience. Featuring a farmers’ market, a bevy of speakers, a large “Victory Garden” of fruits and vegetables growing outside City Hall, and lots of “slow food” from local restaurants, Slow Food Nation also sported plenty of easy-to-find bins for separating waste into three categories: recyclables, compostables, and landfill. Vendors were careful to offer only items that could be composted or recycled.

The festival also hired a helpful, energetic, friendly staff to help festival-goers place the right items in the right bins. Contamination continues to be the bugaboo of recyclers, so adding a human element no doubt aided organizers’ efforts.

Who Else Is Moving Toward Zero Waste?

Of course, while Slow Food Nation as an organization goes to great pains to not be elitist, the festival was clearly populated by people who already have an interest in sustainability and zero waste practices. More interesting, and maybe even more valuable, would be seeing these efforts in practice at events like the Sonoma County Fair or a 49ers’ game, where larger and more diverse population segments come together.

The Sonoma County Fair did host a “sustainability pavilion” this year, but the fair’s sustainable efforts seemed to end there. When I attended, garbage bins were overflowing with heaps of non-biodegradable utensils and food scraps and food-soiled papers that could have easily been reclaimed and composted.

Still, bit by bit, various festival organizers across the country and trying to make love for a good party compatible with zero waste. Alameda County, across the Bay, employed zero waste practices in its last county fair. Walworth County, Wisconsin, published a case study on their efforts to encourage less waste. And this year’s Silver Lake street fair in Los Angeles worked to get vendors to switch to biodegradable carryout containers and to get people to “think before you toss.”

More resources:

Slow Food Nation ‘08:
http://slowfoodnation.org/

Case Study: Walworth County Fair, Wisconsin:
http://www.besmart.org/publicplacerecycling/Case-studies/Walworth-County-Fair/wc-fair.html

“‘Wasted’ at the County Fair,” on Mom Goes Green:
http://www.momgoesgreen.com/%E2%80%9Cwasted%E2%80%9D-at-the-county-fair/

“The Greening of a Los Angeles Street Festival,” August 24, 2008, The Los Angeles Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-sunsetjunction24-2008aug24,0,1134965.story

“Slow Food Brings Many Issues to the Table,” August 29, 2008, San Francisco Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/29/MNKQ12K54L.DTL

Environmental issues took center stage in Hollywood when Al Gore’s AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH came out in 2006 and won the Oscar for “Best Documentary” the following year.  It wasn’t the first film to draw attention to the alarming ecological issues our world is facing today and certainly not the last.

For all you eco-enthusiasts who are hungry for more ”green” cinematic fare, here is a glimpse at some of the latest offerings to hit theaters soon:

FLOW

Opening in NY and LA on September 12th (then rolling out into other markets)

Salina builds a case against the growing privatization of the world’s dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel.

FLOW Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGd9D4J0lag

FIELDS OF FUEL

Opening this Fall/Winter 2008/2009 (TBD)

This documentary, directed by environmental activist Josh Tickell, exposes the problem of America’s dependence on foreign oil and explores the use of biodiesel as an economical and sustainable alternative fuel as a solution to the looming energy crisis we are facing. 

This highly anticipated film, won the “Audience Award” for Best Documentary at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and is sweeping the film festival circuit across the nation on its way to a theater near you.

FIELDS OF FUEL Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAqmw0cyRco

Also, be on the look out for Participant Media’s FOOD, Inc. which will have its world premiere at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival. 

In FOOD, INC., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that’s been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA.

Featuring Eric Schlosser (”Fast Food Nation”), Michael Pollan (”The Omnivore’s Dilemma”) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield Farms’ Gary Hirschberg and Polyface Farms’ Joe Salatin, FOOD, INC. reveals surprising — and often shocking truths — about what we eat, how it’s produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.

photo credit: hlkljgk

Saving fuel is on nearly everyone’s mind these days, and one area that sucks up a lot of petroleum and energy is food production and transportation.

According to Sustainable Table, a study done in 2000 estimated the food industry claims about ten percent of the energy used annually in the US. About 40 percent of that energy is expended making pesticides and artificial fertilizer. Another 23 percent goes to processing and packaging.

This doesn’t even touch on the energy used to transport food (and keep it cool en route). The Center for Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan estimates that the average US food product travels about 1500 miles before it is consumed—that’s a lot of fuel and refrigeration.

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photo credit: pfala

While I’m not usually one to buy into shameless promotions, I was intrigued by organic yogurt producer Stonyfield Farm’s recent “Bid with Your Lid” campaign.

Stonyfield, which started as an organic farming school 29 years ago and launched the climate-conscious non-profit, Climate Counts, in collaboration with Clean Air-Cool Planet, has long been a favorite brand in our household, mainly due to a desire to avoid high-fructose corn syrup when possible. But the “Bid with Your Lid” campaign provides another health-focused reason to stock up on the active cultures of acidophilus.

This fall, the company plans to divvy a pot of $100,000 among three environmental organizations…and it’s up to you to decide who gets what.

The “big three” all have worthy causes. They include: Physicians for Social Responsibility (which focuses on keeping toxic chemicals from the environment), Ocean Conservancy (which focuses on climate change affecting our land and seas), and Worldwatch Institute (which focuses on sustainable agriculture systems).

The more votes they get, the more of the pot they receive. Simple enough.

While the main idea is most likely to promote purchases, like most campaigns in the US “Bid with Your Lid” contains a “no purchase necessary” option—which means you can give a gift to your favorite without having to open your wallet.

For more on the promotion, these organizations, or even to place a vote for your cause, check out: www.stonyfield.com

(I swear, it’s not everyday that I recommend an individual corporation’s website, but this could be a way to give without having to give up much.)

photo credit: SqueakyMarmot

If you love seafood as much as I do, you should know that there is less of a reason to fear for your health or that of the ocean’s when you are armed with the knowledge to make educated choices about the type of fish that you buy (where it comes from and what species it is) as well as how you prepare it.  You can stop avoiding the fish market or the fish entrée served at your local restaurant if you follow a few easy guidelines in making your selections:

Sustainable Fishing Certification: One of the keys to making smarter choices when purchasing fish has been simplified through the sustainable seafood certification methods implemented by the Marine Stewardship Council. This non-profit organization works with independent, accredited certifiers to ascertain whether or not various fishery practices meet the following standards of sustainable fishing methods.

Every fishery must demonstrate that it meets 3 core principles:

Principle 1: Sustainable fish stocks
The fishing activity must be at a level, which is sustainable for the fish population. Any certified fishery must operate so that fishing can continue indefinitely and is not overexploiting the resources.

Principle 2: Minimizing environmental impact
Fishing operations should be managed to maintain the structure, productivity, function and diversity of the ecosystem on which the fishery depends.

Principle 3: Effective management
The fishery must meet all local, national and international laws and must have a management system in place to respond to changing circumstances and maintain sustainability.

The blue MSC ecolabel can be found on seafood products at fish markets and retailers throughout the world.  Check out their website (http://www.msc.org/) to see which retailers in your area are carrying MSC certified products.  You may be surprised to find retailers, such as Target and Walmart listed among the likes of Whole Foods.

Choosing Safe Fish: Different types of fish are known to be more harmful than others, depending on the general preferred fishing practices for each species. There are a handful of downloadable pocket guides that you can keep in your wallet and reference the next time you are out shopping for seafood.

Some safer seafood to purchase include:
Anchovies
Catfish (farmed)
Mussels (farmed)
Oysters (farmed)
Salmon (Alaska, wild-caught)
Scallops, Bay (farmed)
Striped Bass (farmed)
Tilapia (U.S. farmed)
Tuna: Ahi, Yellowfin, Bigeye, Albacore (pole/troll-caught)
White Seabass

Some seafood to avoid:
Cod (Atlantic)
Crab, King (imported)
Chilean Seabass (Toothfish)
Halibut (Atlantic)
Monkfish
Orange Roughy
Shrimp (imported)
Snapper (imported)
Swordfish (imported)
Tuna: Bluefin

For complete downloadable pocket guides, visit one of the following websites:

http://www.audubon.org/campaign/lo/seafood/
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/
http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=1521&redirect=seafood

Cooking Your Fish:
Since seafood can be contaminated with toxins, including mercury and PCBs, the way you cook your fish is another factor to consider since these toxins tend to build up in the fat of the fish:

• Before cooking, remove the skin, fat (found along the back, sides and belly), internal organs, tomalley of lobster and the mustard of crabs, where toxins are likely to accumulate.
• When cooking, be sure to let the fat drain away avoid or reduce fish drippings as much as possible.
• Grilling or broiling fish is much better than frying fish in order to avoid sealing in chemical pollutants that might be stored in the fish’s fat.

Additional Resources

Environmental Defense Fund:
http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=79

WWF:
http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/marine/our_solutions/sustainable_fishing/sustainable_seafood/index.cfm

photo credit: gregor_y

As interest in eating organic grows, the range of what carries the “organic” label increases exponentially. Organic food is now available in nearly every section of the grocery store. But just because something is labeled “organic” doesn’t mean it follows the criteria you may think of as organic.

According to the Organic Trade Association, being certified as organic assures that the crop has been grown according to strict standards that were verified by an authorized third-party organization or the state government. Certification involves “inspections of farm fields and processing facilities, detailed record keeping, and periodic testing of soil and water to ensure that growers and handlers are meeting the standards which have been set.”

But some critics point out that this does not guarantee the items are “sustainably grown,” “cruelty-free,” “worker-friendly,” or “fuel-efficient”—important aspects to many organic product consumers. In fact, many organic operations do not sell “certified organic” items, because some smaller farms cannot reap enough reward from certification to cover the costs of becoming certified.

Sources add that the desire to cash in on the “organic” dollar has extended to the country’s giant food conglomerates. The concern is these big operators have the ability to use lobbyist pressure to get rules bent in their favor, potentially altering the definition of “organic” even further.

While the “certified organic” label may leave some aspects up to question, most sources agree that buying organic is preferable over standard industrial farm products. To find out more about what qualifies as “organic,” check out the Organic Trade Association frequently asked questions here: http://www.ota.com/organic/faq.html

Call me stupid, but when I saw Heirloom tomatoes at the local grocery store, it never dawned on me that these were actual antiques. Or maybe they are more like ancient family recipes, handed down the generations.

Either way, the current debate around the lack of diversity in the global food supply has more people buying heirlooms—both the food and the seeds.

Small groups of local and organic farmers have made it almost an elite practice/underground supply chain/cult following—more than a hobby, not quite an obsession, but possibly something close.

And who could blame them? The idea of a genetic strain of tomato that extends back 50 to 100 years is pretty cool. Though not all heirloom fruit and vegetable varieties go back that far, all have been passed down within a family or community. They are also unique and genetically distinct from commercial options. (more…)

When talking about conserving natural resources, we usually think of energy, gasoline, water…not our food supply. But in reality, the food supply may be one of, if not the most important resources we have. Especially for those of us not currently growing a year’s supply of veggies in our backyards or on our fire escapes.

We have all seen images of poverty and famine from across the globe, and tuned them out over time. But some experts hold that these images could just as easily be from parts of the United States—and the potential threat could be growing. (more…)