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Last Wednesday, Feb 3rd, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene held a public hearing to discuss a proposed amendment to Article 161 of the New York City Health Code, which prohibits the keeping of wild animals, currently including honeybees. A proposal to amend this section was presented in December, which would “allow New Yorkers to keep hives of non-aggressive honeybees.”
Just Food, a nonprofit working to build a just and sustainable food system in New York City, has done considerable community organizing around this issue. Carly Hutchinson, who spoke on behalf of the organization,was excited to report that thousands of people had signed their petition. “Urban farming is a key to environmental sustainability, and honeybees and beekeepers are an essential part,” she observed.
Members of the public who wished to comment on the proposed amendment were asked to pre-register, with statements limited to five minutes. Comments were offered by New York City residents, fourth generation beekeepers and local food activists. Those who spoke overwhelmingly argued in favor of the proposed amendment, noting that legalized beekeeping could create jobs, enhance quality of life in New York City and support local food production. [Read more →]
Two weeks ago the New England Journal of Medicine released a study that found cutting back on the salt in our diets has the potential to prevent 32,000 strokes, 54,000 heart attacks and 60,000 cases of heart disease a year. This Valentine’s day the best thing you can do for your heart is cut the salt. But does that mean your candlelit dinner is destined to be bland?
Not at all! Cooking your own food from scratch is the most effective way to eat less salt without sacrificing flavor. The USDA recommends Americans consume no more than 2300 milligrams of salt per day, which translates to approximately one teaspoon of table salt. But that doesn’t mean you get to shake a teaspoon of salt on your food everyday. 80% of the average American’s sodium intake comes already cooked into processed foods. Two tablespoons of store bought Italian salad dressing already has 18% of your daily recommended salt, so why not try making your own?
Food cooked from scratch doesn’t need the extra salt that’s added to processed food so it can sit in the grocery store for weeks on end without going bad. In the comfort of your own kitchen you can control everything that goes into what you consume. When shopping for ingredients, try to buy whole foods that are fresh, dried or frozen. Canned foods, especially pre-made soups, are notoriously high in sodium, so should be used sparingly.
Although our tongues have grown accustomed to today’s salt heavy fare, after you cut back for a few weeks you’ll adjust to feel the full flavor. As you begin to cut back, there are several ways to trick your taste buds to enact sensations similar to salty foods. While cooking, try emphasizing a contrast of flavors by using pepper, citrus and fresh herbs liberally. If a recipe calls for breadcrumbs, try dry oats instead to add that crunch without the sodium. Experiment with new cooking methods, like sweating vegetables or cooking with a clay pot. These techniques allow the foods to roast in their own juices, adding flavor without any additional salt.
Cutting back on sodium is really just a matter of breaking out of our salty standard and trying new things. What better time to experiment then when you’re surrounded by those you love? This Valentine’s day expand your culinary repertoire, expand your taste buds and expand your life. Your heart, and your honey’s heart, will thank you.
No More Mr. NAIS Guy The USDA is announcing plans today to kill the National Animal Identification System proposed by the Bush Administration in 2004, which was widely criticized by groups like the American Farm Bureau. Secretary Vilsack is expected to announce work on an alternative tracing system today.
Who Ya Gonna Call? Speaking of the USDA, food activists have long known that the overtaxed agency is not the end-all, be-all in food policy. But who does what? A helpful new report released yesterday from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy provides a roadmap for those wonky enough to care to find out.
Much Ado About GMOs? Responding to the media attention garnered by a new report linking genetically modified food to organ damage, Dave Love and Keeve Nachman seek to put the findings into context at Center for a Livable Future.
Not Enough! Jill Richardson bemoans the small steps advancing toward better child nutrition and points out a preference toward biotech in Obama’s agenda.
With unemployment in the dismal double digits, there’s a lot of chanting and ranting about jobs right now. China’s cleaning our clock when it comes to clean tech, even as its growth continues to rely on dirty ol’ coal. And so does ours, for that matter. The difference is that China’s forging ahead with alternative energy while we bury our heads in the tar sands.
Our national unemployment rate seems stuck at 10 percent and in some urban areas, it’s risen above 15 percent, according to CNN. Creating more jobs is clearly job number one. But what color will those jobs be? A generation or so ago, jobs came in just two basic colors: blue collar and white. Now, we’ve got one black-collared Jobs, trotting out another supposedly game-changing gadget in his trademark mock turtleneck (color Pee Wee Herman among the unimpressed ).
The real game changer, though, is the thousands of green jobs we could be creating, if only we’d reallocate our deficit-depleted resources. And the Steve showing us how to do this is named Ritz, not Jobs.
Steve Ritz is a trail-blazing teacher with an impressive track record of achievement working with students in one of the most challenging environments in New York City, the South Bronx–that eternally dumped-on borough whose name is synonymous with urban blight.
Ritz has figured out how to grow good food, good jobs and good citizens by tapping into one of our greatest wasted resources–urban youth. And he’s doing it in Hunts Point, a quintessential “food desert” that, ironically, just happens to also be one of the world’s largest food distribution centers; 2.7 billion pounds of fresh produce from 49 states and 55 foreign countries passes through Hunts Point’s New York City Terminal Market annually on its way to more affluent neighborhoods.
Sadly, those endless truckloads of fresh fruits and vegetables don’t do the locals much good. In fact, all the fumes from that commerce contribute to the South Bronx’s extraordinarily high rate of respiratory illness, with a death rate from asthma that’s about three times the national average.
Hunts Point is also part of the poorest congressional district in the country, with over half the population living below the poverty line. The unemployment rate is at a whopping 28 percent. And the neighborhood’s 41st police precinct consistently records the highest violent crime rate per capita in New York City.
Undaunted by these grim statistics, Ritz took classes with a 40 percent attendance rate and brought them up to 93 percent. More remarkably still, his students have consistently achieved 100% passing grades on the state Regents exams in math and science.
In a ruling certain to discourage communities from fighting the construction of factory farms in their areas, last week the Illinois Supreme Court rejected an appeal by residents who are being sued for $300,000 in costs and damages after their unsuccessful attempt to have environmental issues addressed before construction of a Cargill-affiliated pork CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation).
This case hinged substantively on whether the construction was defined as a new facility, or an expansion of an existing facility, under the Illinois Livestock Management Facilities Act. The act was amended by the Illinois legislature in 1996 in recognition of the fact that market forces were leading to the construction of larger CAFOs, which increased the threat of groundwater and air pollution. To balance these issues with the state’s desire to promote agriculture, the updated law requires “minimum setbacks, stiffer design requirements, and an opportunity for public notice, comment and hearing” when a new animal confinement facility is proposed.
According to the Illinois Appellate Court – which issued the ruling the state Supreme Court refused to review – the farmer who is the defendant in this lawsuit, “admitted [that] the location of the proposed facility would violate setback requirements” if the CAFO he plans to construct was considered new. However, the same court accepted the defendant’s argument that the planned structure qualifies as an expansion of an existing CAFO under the law, and therefore does not trigger the more stringent environmental requirements imposed on new facilities.
The farmer’s claim that he is “expanding” his facility, rather than building a new one, was based upon his plans to build on the site of a hog confinement building that was demolished in 2004 and which housed, at times, as many as 2,300 animals. Supporting his claim was a finding by a state agriculture department employee that the cost of the proposed “expansion” would be less than half the cost of a “new” facility. Under the Livestock Management Facilities Act, an expansion that costs less than half of what it would cost to build a new CAFO is not deemed a new facility.
The CAFO to be built will house 3,750 hogs – about 62 percent more than the one that was demolished in 2004 – bringing 62 percent more waste to a community with at least 60 homes within a two mile radius. In fact, even as they ruled against the community, the appellate court wrote, “plaintiff no doubt has valid concerns about the arrival of 3,750 hogs in the neighborhood.” [Read more →]
Today, Civil Eats editor Paula Crossfield sent word that Food, Inc. has officially earned itself an Oscar nomination. This is no major surprise — it’s an amazing film that caught fire upon release and is still burning bright, having caught the attention of Oprah Winfrey, who parlayed her recent interview with Michael Pollan into a whole little food section on Oprah.com.
Having spent the last several years following the issues outlined in the film, I did not expect to be surprised by much that it covered and I wasn’t, but as I was caught off guard by my emotional response to it. Food, Inc. basically left me crying like a baby for the people — farmers and consumers alike — who’ve been hurt by our food system.
That said, if you eat food and haven’t seen this film yet, you should.
While you’re at it, there are more great food documentaries out there with which to feed your head. A few years ago, I curated a “Shortlist” of food films for Art’s Engine, the group that runs the Media That Matters Film Festival, so I’ll not revisit the ones I mentioned there, except to say that The Real Dirt on Farmer John is still one of my favorite movies of all time. Here’s a few fresher cinematic tidbits that I’ve eaten up since:
Fresh A touch more positive and less polished than Food, Inc, Fresh too has made some waves this year.
Homegrown This snapshot of a (relatively) traditional family operating an urban homestead in Pasadena, California shatters the notion that urban farming is for hippies or their more contemporary counterparts, hipsters. Homegrown documents the story of the Dervaes family, who grow (literally) tons of produce on less than a quarter of an acre, and operate a website where they share their journey. I interviewed director Robert McFalls at last year’s Maryland Film Festival, check out the video below.
Julie and Julia Much more mainstream and less political than any of the others mentioned here, Julie & Julia was great because it inspired people to get back into the kitchen. Also, Meryl Streep (who also earned an Oscar nomination for her role as Julia Child) virtually channeled the giant of French cooking, forcing the viewer to at once fall in love with her and share her pure love for good food. [Read more →]
Stuffed and Starved author Raj Patel is back with his new book The Value of Nothing. It’s slim but it’s brimming with ideas challenging our market system and the consumer passivity that brought us to economic collapse. The Value of Nothing shows how the environment and the economy come together on your plate.
You talk about cheap food, or “cheat food” as you call it. What is the $200 hamburger?
A regular hamburger is full of hidden costs – the long-term cost to our health, the cost of environmental destruction, the cost of unfair labor practices. It’s all been hidden from us.
What would happen if hamburgers really cost $200?
We would eat differently. One of the things modern capitalism has brought about is to boot out the consequences of our actions. The problem is that markets don’t work if the full cost of things doesn’t cover the full cost – and consequences – of the way we behave.
What role does Meatless Monday have to play?
It’s important. Absolutely. The first step. If the whole world were to go more vegetarian, it would have a tremendous positive effect!
The Value of Nothing is largely about the hidden cost of consumerism, but it’s also about the value – and risk – of doing nothing.
We have a very narrow idea of what personal responsibility means. We’re not geared to be good citizens – we’re geared to be consumers. But people need to feel they can be involved in an engaging, fulfilling way. It’s not, Yes I can, I voted for this dude, everything will be fine…it must be: there are community groups in my neighborhood that I’m interested in. I’m going to be an engaged citizen.
You’re advocating activism on a very basic level.
Right. It needn’t be an impoverishment. It’s thinking about ways of living that are sustainable, and joyful. How do we build up community? How do we transform? Food is exactly the way to do this, by sharing meals, by bringing people together for an exchange. The real promise of things like Slow Food is a radical commitment to democratizing pleasure. Everyone deserves the right to joy!
An Unappealing Appeal In a ruling certain to discourage communities that don’t want a factory farm as a neighbor, the Illinois Supreme Court denied an appeal filed by residents who are being sued for $300,000 in damages after their unsuccessful attempts to have environmental issues addressed before construction of a Cargill affiliated pork CAFO.
There’s an App for That Mother Jones lists 10 favorite “eco-apps” for iPhones, some food-related, some not.
Tyson Plays Chicken with Advertising Claims Tyson Foods has settled a consumer lawsuit over false advertising, after claiming their poultry was “raised without antibiotics.” (It’s not.) Friends at Animal Welfare Approved wonder whether the company has “shot itself in the foot” by inserting the false claim and practically acknowledging the problems with the overuse of antibiotics in the industrial food chain. (via Livable Future blog)
MackeyCare A leaked memo to Whole Foods employees outlines a new program whereby staffers who weigh less, don’t smoke and have lower cholesterol can earn up to 10% additional discount on their groceries (all employees benefit from a 20% discount on WF products).
“Agriculture’s Role in Today’s Economic Savagery” Whoa! The Yes Men, as part of an elaborate prank on the World Economic Forum, overdubbed a video of ADM CEO Patricia Woertz. Watch the video below, and check out the whole fake site. Good stuff! (hat tip to Huffington Post)
Meet FLUPSY (Floating Upweller System), the solar and wind powered clam nursery. This brilliant boat is good for the economy (because it’s increasing the number of clams in Hempstead Bay) and good for the bay (because the clams they’re growing are bivalves and help filter it) and it utilizes only renewable energy. Love it. From our colleague Dulce Fernandes at Network for New Energy Choices.
At Point Lookout, Long Island, an innovative project is using solar and wind energy to nurture juvenile shellfish. The FLUPSY (Floating Upweller System) is a floating solar and wind powered clam nursery with an entirely self-sustaining design that is accelerating the restoration of shellfish populations in Hempstead Bay. What makes this FLUPSY unique is that it’s entirely solar and wind powered. When the baby clams grow big enough to leave the nursery, they are deposited in local beds to support both recreational and commercial shell fishing. As an added benefit, as they feed, the clams act as environmental filters, playing a critical role in maintaining water quality and the ecological health of the Bay. The first of its kind in Long Island’s waters, the renewable-powered FLUPSY is also a demonstration project that will serve as an important example for other communities in the region. If you are interested in the FLUPSY project you can contact the Town of Hempstead Conservation and Waterways Department at 516.431.9200.
The term “activist designer” may sound kind of funny to those of us who associate designers with swanky showrooms and high-end hedonism. But there’s a growing cadre of designers, architects, and do-it-yourselfers whose clientele is the citizens of the world, instead of the privileged few.
They’re pooling their tremendous talents through a non-profit organization called Project H, a social design community founded in 2008 by dynamic young architect Emily Pilloton, who launched the website working from her parents’ dining room table at the age of 26.
Pilloton goes beyond thinking outside the box and dives right into the dumpster; she once made high-end one-of-a-kind freegan furniture entirely out of materials she salvaged. In Pilloton’s view, “design that does not improve life is a form of apathy,” and to settle for merely “doing no harm,” is more than a missed opportunity–it does the world a disservice.
Hence, the “H” in Pilloton’s Project stands for “design initiatives for Humanity, Habitats, Health, and Happiness.” Pilloton and her socially conscious colleagues are choosing to use their creativity not to feather the nests of over-compensated executives, but rather to empower underserved and disenfranchised folks whose needs have been too long ignored. Project H innovations run the gamut from the life-improving to the truly life-saving: safe drinking water, cleaner cooking fuels, affordable forms of alternative energy and transportation, creative educational tools, innovative health aids, and so forth.
Pilloton highlights these projects in her new book Design Revolution: 100 Products That Empower People. As she told Dwell, the book is “one part rabble-rousing rant about why industrial design has become a severely misguided industry, and some tactics for bringing it back to something that’s about social impact and making people’s lives better.”
Design Revolution is full of nifty ideas and products; some on the market, others still in development. Some are DIY projects, like a rainwater catchment system or a soccer ball made from plastic shopping bags. Others, like the Hippo Water Roller or the spider boots that Stephen Colbert clowned around with when Pilloton was a guest on his show last week, aspire to solve more profound problems.
Colbert introduced Pilloton as an architect who “wants to fix the world through humanitarian design.” He speculated that these endless global needs must offer a potential goldmine for Pilloton and her creative colleagues.
But, as Pilloton told Colbert, she prefers to pursue “the triple bottom line: planet, people, and profit.”
From the most affluent nations to the poorest, we wrestle with the questions of how to feed and house people decently, educate our children, generate renewable energy and deal with waste, combat disease, address social inequality, and how to protect our dwindling natural resources. The news is full of global gloom, from naturally occurring disasters–the so-called “acts of God”–to the merely mortal missteps that have brought us such homegrown horrors as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and the diabetes epidemic. And don’t forget the compound catastrophes, the collusions between nature and man that made Hurricane Katrina and the Haiti earthquake doubly disastrous.
Pilloton and her team of visionaries are not only seeking solutions to these problems, but encouraging other folks to rise to the challenge, too. On February 1st, Project H launches the next phase of its campaign with the Design Revolution Roadshow, turning a vintage Airstream into a rolling exhibit of some of the empowering, socially conscious designs depicted in the book.
The Roadshow is sure to inspire plenty of problem-solving thinkers and tinkerers, but you don’t need to wait till it comes to town to board the bandwagon for a better world. Project H is now offering a free Design Revolution Toolkit, intended to help not just design students and educators, but “anyone who wants to apply creative problem solving to social issues.” The Toolkit “outlines 13 values and corresponding strategies for not just how to design for the greater good, but how to produce GREAT design for the greater good.”
Will this revolution be televised? Colbert gave us a glimpse of it, but this is one movement whose tenets will triumph thanks to boots on the ground, not butts on the couch. Calling all creatives! Get your toolkit and get to work–or play–for the global good.
