I think my eco-footprint is getting heavier even though I ride a bike 95% of the time I'm on the road, I don't have a clothes dryer nor a dishwasher and my composter is always working overtime. The heaviness I feel, it seems, is the weight of this polluted world on my shoulders. The message out there seems to be to continuously do more or else the world will sink in a stinking mass of smog if I don't.
That's why this article caught my eye. With confusion and green double speak rampant regarding how much is enough, I can't help but feel most times that the environmental movement has given up some of its credibility to capitalism and all it's annoying banter of products and must haves. This definitely qualifies as noise to me. Read on to see how you can reduce the volume and clear the conscience at the same time.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/fashion/15green.html?ref=fashion
How to Put Meat in the Back Seat
When it comes climate change, here's where my opinion has landed....I think we're no longer in saving mode, I think we are "evolving" into adaptation mode. It's as if the planet has taken the reigns and now is controlling the show. An appropriate analogy comes from some reading I've done on Bruce H. Lipton author of "Wisdom of Your Cells". He talks about the myths of evolution and our perceptions of why we evolve. The two which apply here are:
#1 Survival of the Fittest drives evolution (revision: cooperation drives evolution)
#2 Evolution is a random process (revision: organisms evolve to conform to environment)
What is happening is that the climate is changing in drastic ways and the consequences are mostly unavoidable. The solution is to use all the information we have to adapt our lives to our changing environment. In other words to cooperate with the planet and each other; in our communities and on a global scale. How will it happen? Judging by gas and food prices rising, the economy will have the greatest impact on our changes on a mass scale. Soon most of us will be forced to adapt because we can't afford not to.
There are some of us who have an idea what is on the horizon and adapt a little ahead of schedule; this is where our consumption of meat plays a role. Mark Bittman from the New York Times is my current "all things food inspirational guru" and has jumped the gun by outlining how we, as a society, can cut back on meat without making a big deal about it. He offers a 7 point plan that outlines how one can cut back on meat consumption without becoming a vegetarian and how to keep it personal and not offend those closest to us that may be on a different path. Oh and I love the photo which accompanies the article so I've included it up top. You can read the full article here
By the way, keep in mind Personal Fit meal catering when reading this as a way to nudge yourself and your eating style into the future...I like to call it "food for the evolving appetite".
1. Forget the protein thing. Roughly simultaneously with your declaration that you’re cutting back on meat, someone will ask “How are you going to get enough protein?” The answer is “by being omnivorous.” Plants have protein, too; in fact, per calorie, many plants have more protein than meat. (For example, a cheeseburger contains 14.57 grams of protein in 286 calories, or about .05 grams of protein per calorie; a serving of spinach has 2.97 grams of protein in 23 calories, or .12 grams of protein per calorie; lentils have .07 grams per calorie.) By eating a variety, you can get all essential amino acids.
2. Buy less meat. How many ounces of meat is a serving? For years, the U.S.D.A.’s recommendation has been four ounces a person, yet most of us have long figured one-and-a-half to two pounds of meat is the right amount for four people. (Our per capita consumption of meat hasn’t changed much over the years, and remains at about a half-pound a day.) Change that amount, and both your cooking style and the way the plate looks will change, and quickly.
Remember that most traditional styles of cooking use meat as a condiment or a treat. This is true in American frontier cooking, where salt pork and bacon were used to season beans; in Italy, where a small piece of meat is served as a secondo (rarely more than a few ounces, even in restaurants); and around the world, where bits of meat are added to stir-fries and salads, as well as bean, rice and noodle dishes. In all of these cases, meat is seen as a treasure, not as something to be gobbled up as if it were air.
3. Get it out of the center of the plate. You don’t have to jump into utterly unfamiliar territory; just try tweaking the proportions a bit. You might start by buying skinnier pork chops, or doling out smaller slices of steak .
Build the meal around what you used to consider side dishes — not only vegetables, but also grains, beans, salads and even dessert, if you consider fruit a dessert — rather than the meat. Nearly every culture has dishes in which meat is used to season rice or another grain. Consider dirty rice, fried rice, pilaf, biryani, arroz con pollo: the list is almost endless.
Similarly, there isn’t a country in the world that cooks legumes that doesn’t toss a little meat in now and then. And mentioning stir-fries and pasta dishes here seems almost too obvious.
4. Buy more vegetables, and learn new ways to cook them. If you’re a good cook, you already know you can make a meal out of pretty much anything. If you open your refrigerator and it’s stocked with vegetables, that’s what you’re going to cook. You’ll augment the vegetables with pantry items: pasta, rice, beans, cheese, eggs, good canned fish, bacon, even a small amount of meat. We’re not discussing vegetarianism remember?If you’re not a good cook, you have the opportunity to learn how to cook in what could turn out to be the style of the future.
5. Make non-meat items as convenient as meat. There is a myth, even among experienced cooks, that few things are as convenient as meat. And while there’s no arguing that grilling, broiling or pan-grilling a steak or chop is fast, it’s equally true that almost no one considers such a preparation a one-dish meal.
By thinking ahead, and working ahead, you can make cooking vegetables as convenient as what in India is often called “non-veg.” Spend an hour or two during the course of the week precooking all the non-meat foods you think take too long for fast dinners.
Store cooked beans in the refrigerator or freezer and reheat as needed, with seasonings. Keeping precooked beans in the freezer will change your cooking habits more easily than any other simple strategy.
Reheat cooked whole grains (the microwave is good for this) for breakfast with milk or dinner with savory seasonings. Wash tender greens and store in a salad spinner, covered bowl, or plastic bag. Most other vegetables can be poached, shocked in ice water, drained, and served cold or reheated in any fashion you like — sautéed quickly in butter, steamed, grilled or made into a gratin or something equally substantial.
6. Make some rules. Depending on your habits, it may be no bacon at breakfast; it may be no burgers at lunch; it may be no fast food, ever; it may be “eat a salad instead of a sandwich three times a week,” or “eat a vegetarian dinner three times a week.” It may mean meatless Fridays. It may mean (this is essentially what I do) meatless breakfasts and lunches and all-bets-are-off dinners.
7. Look at restaurant menus differently. If you’re cutting back on meat, there are three restaurant strategies. Two are easy, and one is hard, but probably the most important.
The first: go to restaurants that don’t feature meat-heavy dishes. It’s harder to go overboard eating at most Asian restaurants, and traditional Italian is fairly safe also.
The second: Once in a while, forget the rules and pledges, and eat like a real American; obviously you can’t do this every time, but it’s an option.
The third is the tricky one: Remember you’re doing this voluntarily, for whatever reasons seem important to you (or at least seemed, until you were confronted with the lamb shanks on the menu). Then order from the parts of the menu that contain little or no meat: salads, sides, soups and (often, anyway) appetizers. If all else fails, offer to share a meat course among two or even three or four people; many restaurant entrees are too big anyway.
I distinctly remember (no great feat; it was just over a year ago), the first time I was in a restaurant and ordered two salads and a bowl of soup.
My companion, who had long known me as a meat-first kind of guy, asked, “Really?”
The waiter asked, “How would you like that served?” And then life went on as usual. Wasn’t bad at all.
Mike Nickerson In the Sault
"Living on Earth as if we want to stay" by Mike Nickerson
A talk and discussion about shifting toward sustainability.
Date: June 19, 2008
Place: Room L1120 Sault College
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Human beings will be around for a very long time, but we are in for a rough ride if we do not recognize the problems that our success has brought. A case in point is our success at splitting atoms. The investment opportunities of things nuclear have to be weighed critically against the social and environmental dangers.
Cures do not result from treating symptoms. The cause must be addressed. While Climate Change and gasoline prices have captured public attention, they are symptom of a greater challenge. That challenge is that the human species has grown to fill its planet.
Mike Nickerson and his wife Donna Dillman are touring with Mike's latest book, "Life, Money & Illusion: Living on Earth as if we want to stay." The book details the differing views on how to be successful in our changing times. One, the "Life" perspective, says we need to preserve and enhance ecosystems and communities, the other, the "Money" perspective, says we need to continuously expand production and consumption.
The event will be a talk and discussion about how these two approaches differ significantly on how to deal with today's most serious problems. "Life, Money & Illusion" outlines new ways of organizing mutual provision (the economy) and a change in priorities that can lead to a long and fulfilling future.
More information at: http://www.SustainWellBeing.net
A talk and discussion about shifting toward sustainability.
Date: June 19, 2008
Place: Room L1120 Sault College
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Human beings will be around for a very long time, but we are in for a rough ride if we do not recognize the problems that our success has brought. A case in point is our success at splitting atoms. The investment opportunities of things nuclear have to be weighed critically against the social and environmental dangers.
Cures do not result from treating symptoms. The cause must be addressed. While Climate Change and gasoline prices have captured public attention, they are symptom of a greater challenge. That challenge is that the human species has grown to fill its planet.
Mike Nickerson and his wife Donna Dillman are touring with Mike's latest book, "Life, Money & Illusion: Living on Earth as if we want to stay." The book details the differing views on how to be successful in our changing times. One, the "Life" perspective, says we need to preserve and enhance ecosystems and communities, the other, the "Money" perspective, says we need to continuously expand production and consumption.
The event will be a talk and discussion about how these two approaches differ significantly on how to deal with today's most serious problems. "Life, Money & Illusion" outlines new ways of organizing mutual provision (the economy) and a change in priorities that can lead to a long and fulfilling future.
More information at: http://www.SustainWellBeing.net
Thomas Homer-Dixon in the Sault
I feel sorry for those who take on the challenge of climate change. I mean really take it on by going out there and talking to people about it and encouraging them to move forward by changing a light bulb or leaving the car keys at home. Invariably the audiences walk out of these discussions feeling like it's all futile and wonder "where do I start?" or even why bother.
But this is not where Thomas Homer-Dixon wants us to end up. He gave an articulate and information-filled talk at the Sault College media centre on Thursday that included video footage of the permanent polar ice cap breaking up last winter. This scares already frazzled climatologists who are bracing themselves for what may be the first ever ice-flow free summer in the arctic.
He showed graphs, of the inconvenient sort, that predicted how 2007 may well have been the "flip" year for our climate due to the fact that complex systems like our climate do not change gradually but change like a light switch...drastically.
You may be saying to yourself, hey, it's cold and wet out and my lawn is greener then ever, no doomsday here. This, according to Homer-Dixon is due to "La Nina",the temperature fluctuations worldwide created by surface waters in the southern Pacific ocean. In other words it's business as usual probably next year, with rising temperatures and extreme weather conditions creating havoc around the world.
There are two nuggets I took from this discussion. One is that things are going to change so start getting used to it. Just imagine life as usual when the price of a barrel of oil doubles...very soon. Think about your car, your work, your food, your house and start making some changes now to prepare. We are getting a taste of it presently...be prepared for a very different world. Even the coming change in the American government (either Barak or McCain) will herald drastic policy changes to tackle these problems.
Another truth is that whenever you are ready to change, no matter how small, there are already grassroots associations in your community ready to lend a helping hand whether it's by changing a lightbulb, or planting a garden to feed your family. It's all here in the Sault. Oh, by the way, that's another important point; there is no better place to start changing the world than in your very own community.
Find out more about Thomas Homer-Dixon here
But this is not where Thomas Homer-Dixon wants us to end up. He gave an articulate and information-filled talk at the Sault College media centre on Thursday that included video footage of the permanent polar ice cap breaking up last winter. This scares already frazzled climatologists who are bracing themselves for what may be the first ever ice-flow free summer in the arctic.
He showed graphs, of the inconvenient sort, that predicted how 2007 may well have been the "flip" year for our climate due to the fact that complex systems like our climate do not change gradually but change like a light switch...drastically.
You may be saying to yourself, hey, it's cold and wet out and my lawn is greener then ever, no doomsday here. This, according to Homer-Dixon is due to "La Nina",the temperature fluctuations worldwide created by surface waters in the southern Pacific ocean. In other words it's business as usual probably next year, with rising temperatures and extreme weather conditions creating havoc around the world.
There are two nuggets I took from this discussion. One is that things are going to change so start getting used to it. Just imagine life as usual when the price of a barrel of oil doubles...very soon. Think about your car, your work, your food, your house and start making some changes now to prepare. We are getting a taste of it presently...be prepared for a very different world. Even the coming change in the American government (either Barak or McCain) will herald drastic policy changes to tackle these problems.
Another truth is that whenever you are ready to change, no matter how small, there are already grassroots associations in your community ready to lend a helping hand whether it's by changing a lightbulb, or planting a garden to feed your family. It's all here in the Sault. Oh, by the way, that's another important point; there is no better place to start changing the world than in your very own community.
Find out more about Thomas Homer-Dixon here
Earthward Eatery Opens At Arcadia
I just got back from the Arcadia Coffeehouse and am happy to announce that is has opened it's doors once again. Business was brisk as they had already sold out of the wraps and the ambiance is cool and casual as usual. Steve from Earthward mentioned that they were testing the waters for the month of June regarding hours of operation and will have a permanent schedule come July. So get out to the edge of Queen and show Steve and Matt how much you appreciate having them around.
Hours for June:
Arcadia Coffeehouse serving fair-trade coffee open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm
Earthward Eatery serving vegetarian lunches Wednesday to Friday 11:30pm to 2pm
823 Queen St. East
Hours for June:
Arcadia Coffeehouse serving fair-trade coffee open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm
Earthward Eatery serving vegetarian lunches Wednesday to Friday 11:30pm to 2pm
823 Queen St. East
The Ethics of Eating
It's the day before the Farmer's Market opens its gates. It should be an interesting season with topics such as organic and local on more people's minds this year then ever before. Corina Milic has an article in the Sault Star which tackles the topic from a Sault perspective.
read article here
read article here
Sault Ste Marie Farmer's Market This Saturday
What are you doing this Saturday? Maybe I'll see you at the farmer's market down at the Bondar Pavilion. I can't think of a better way to welcome the warmer weather (by the way, it is supposed to get up to 29 C on Saturday) and get in tune with the summer months. Despite the fact that this season is a late starter, I have my bike revved up and my basket fastened tight and hope to come home with a few precious picks evens if it means an armload full of rhubarb. Once the season gets rolling you get to benefit from supporting local farmers; the insane amounts of eye-popping produce, which is often less costly than the mass-produced stuff at the supermarket; and you get to meet your neighbors, or at least elbow your neighbors aside while fighting over that last pound of perfect green beans or cherry tomatoes. Besides vegetables, you will also find a variety of baking, crafts, honey, maple syrup, cheese, preserves, and local fruits in season.
See you there,
Saturday June 7 from 8am to 12pm
See you there,
Saturday June 7 from 8am to 12pm
Cinema Politica in Sault Ste. Marie
Cinema Politica is a social gathering intended to enlighten, educate, and inspire local citizens. We wish to create a positive environment for individuals to gather and discuss relevant issues within our community and the world. Our goal is to inform and empower local citizens with the knowledge to make positive changes in all aspects of the global community. We welcome everyone willing to meet new people and think outside the box.
Held every Friday in June, July, and August at Algoma University College
7:00 PM in the Great West Life Amphitheatre (Room NW 200)
FREE ADMISSION
This week: The Corporation
The Corporation explores the nature and spectacular rise of the most dominant institution of our time and asks "What kind of person is it?" It includes interviews with 40 corporate insiders and critics - including Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, Milton Friedman, Howard Zinn, Vandana Shiva and Michael Moore - plus true confessions, case studies and strategies for change.
1520 Queen Street East
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
To find out a list of upcoming films go to www.cinemapolitica.org/saultstemarie
What's Wrong With What We Eat
Mark Bittman has a lot of my respect. He is not only a talented chef (he wrote the Personal Fit bible...How to Cook Everything Vegetarian) he also loves to eat good food and cares passionately about it. His concern about the ecological and health impacts of our modern diet, which he characterizes as overwhelmingly meat-centered and hooked on fast food, is channeled into this 20 minute speech at last years TED Conference. It's an illuminating and entertaining presentation.
Mark Bittman is currently at work on a new book, Food Matters, which explores the link between our eating habits and the environment, offering an accessible plan for a planet-friendly diet.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/263
Mark Bittman is currently at work on a new book, Food Matters, which explores the link between our eating habits and the environment, offering an accessible plan for a planet-friendly diet.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/263
What Did You Eat For Breakfast?
The following is an informal poll concerning what New Yorkers eat for breakfast. It really illuminates the strange choices we make and how far we've come from oatmeal or bacon and eggs. It peaked my interest especially since I have a particular ritual in the morning that goes like this: short run, tasty coffee and usually a big bowl of soup and homemade bread for breakfast. People tend to look at me funny when I mention the soup for breakfast....what can I say; it hits the spot.
http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/breakfast/47393/
http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/breakfast/47393/
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