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Posted by Anthony Nicalo

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Coffee and Transparency: Is Nestle joining the transparency revolution?
via nestle.com

Not sure if you'll soon be able to know the names of your coffee farmers Ethical Bean style, but looks like this could be a step in the right direction. I've had some interesting discussions about coffee transparency in the past and there is certainly some concern around marketing speak versus authenticity.


Posted by Anthony Nicalo

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The Story of Food
via usc-canada.org

Excellent summary of what has happened to our food. Probably oversimplifies in a few instances, but I found the nuance they used to describe "new food" interesting. Really need to eliminate these adjectives.


Posted by Anthony Nicalo

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The Locavore Fad
via maydamedia.com

In many cases, local food is better. But certainly not in every case, and especially not when you define local in terms of political boundaries. The borders of your country, province or state are not going to be the basis for a sustainable food system. "Physical and ecological regions do not follow politically shaped borders. The political boundaries of the United States and Canada are unsustainable units, artificial boundaries that have fragmented ecosystems and have helped cause environmental degradation and pollution."

Health professionals caution that local may not always be better for you- http://consumer.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=635091

I've commented in the past that even for some produce, further afield may be better. http://ceo.foodtree.com/red-peppers-from-israel-why-we-need-better-su

Our world is a complex place. Our human nature encourages to fall in love with simple, often reductionist solutions. Unfortunately, those are doomed to fail http://thegreenhorns.wordpress.com/essays/essay-in-distrust-of-movements-by-w...

My hope is that we can use technology to make us more human. Utilize an internet database to make complex information available and digestible. Instead of oversimplifying the problem or the solution, try to communicate both better. EAVB_DUUBEFJDTE


Posted by Anthony Nicalo

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The Diet on Htrae
via images.comicbookresources.com

I may have been Irwin Schwab in a past life. Somedays I just can't believe that bizarro is actually reality. Just think about all of the adjectives we have to use to describe food that is actually the good fuel we need to survive...

- Clean
- Safe
- Real
- Healthy
- Organic
- Wholesome/Whole
- Sustainable
- Nutrient Dense
- Bears a close resemblance to food in its natural state, aka Lightly Processed

Isn't food just supposed to be these things? Shouldn't we reserve the modifiers for food that has been, well, modified?


Posted by Anthony Nicalo

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Oil Spill Widely Reported, But Our Oceans Die Daily

Destroying natural habitats is something at which humans are uniquely adept. The NYT this week is reporting about the long history of pollution and dumping in the Gulf of Mexico. 

 “This has been the nation’s sacrifice zone, and has been for 50-plus years,” said Aaron Viles, campaign director for the Gulf Restoration Network, a nonprofit group. “What we’re seeing right now with BP’s crude is just a very photogenic representation of that.”

 The Times magnifies the point, "But like no other American body of water, the gulf bears the environmental consequences of the country’s economic pursuits and appetites, including oil and corn."

This appetite extends to our daily bread. The Rodale Institute shared some of the dramatic impact our broken food system has in the Gulf last year, 

"Agricultural pollution flowing out of the Midwest kills aquatic life in the Gulf of Mexico, with seafood harvesters and eaters paying the price for this displaced cost of “cheap food.”

 

 


Posted by Anthony Nicalo

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Food is not safe today

 

"EVERY day, about 200,000 Americans are sickened by contaminated food. Every year, about 325,000 are hospitalized by a food-borne illness. And the number who are killed annually by something they ate is roughly the same as the number of Americans who’ve been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003.

Those estimates, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggest the scale of the problem. But they fail to convey the human toll. The elderly and people with compromised immune systems face an elevated risk from food-borne pathogens like listeria, campylobacter and salmonella. By far the most vulnerable group, however, are children under the age of 4." From the NYT

----While government has a role to play in providing a baseline of standards, we need new levels of verification too. In a food system grounded in transparency, we all have a role to play in food safety. With more information citizens could more readily participate and verify practices. One thing is certain- government verification is not sufficient.

Posted by Anthony Nicalo

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Skipper Otto- Gone Fishing
via vimeo.com

My family and I were at the dock for the send off party for Skipper Otto. We're members of his community supported fishery with our friend Grace. It is an awesome way to get great fish (which means delicious, good fishing practices, known provenance, etc). Otto's daughter-in-law, Sonia, helps run the business and is generally amazing. Otto recently had hip surgery and stubbornly managed to get out on the boat at the start of the season even though he was on crutches. It's really the kind of dedication you only see (and required) in fishermen and farmers.


Posted by Anthony Nicalo

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Rebecca Gerendasy: Paul Hawken: The High Cost of Cheap Food (video)
via huffingtonpost.com

Integrating cost and price will require a transparent food system. The feedback Paul talks about can only happen when practices and data are open.


Posted by Anthony Nicalo

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Provenance and butchery in Gastown
via vimeo.com


Posted by Anthony Nicalo

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