News for October 13, 2011
News Today includes stories about death, Diet, Gorillas, Plastic Bags, Ocean, Alligators, Chimp, Orca, Snakes, Crickets, Wine, Bananas, Meat, recycle, Dinner Clubs, Cage-Free, Farmers, and recipes.
China Study on sudden cardiac death
From nutritionfacts.org
The China-Oxford-Cornell Diet and Health Project directed by T. Colin Campbell and colleagues showed that chronic diseases such as heart disease are not inevitable consequences of aging.
Vegan Baked Squash with Red Quinoa and Pumpkin Seed Stuffing
From The Daily Greeen
Vegan Baked Squash with Red Quinoa and Pumpkin Seed Stuffing
The Role of Media in the American Diet
From Good Housekeeping
Fabio Parasecoli, author of Bite Me and Associate Professor of Food Studies at The New School, kicked off the conference as the first presenter. His presentation touched upon the competitive relationship between food and media and the media’s influence on gender roles and self-identity. Food and media are competing worldviews that are fighting to become the mainstream and get the audience’s attention. For example, the popular documentary, Supersize Me, shed light on the health dangers of a fast food diet while a contrasting documentary, Fat Head, parodies Supersize Me and claims that the obesity epidemic has been wildly exaggerated and we’ve been fed incorrect facts.
Baby Gorilla Saved From Black Market Sale, Conservationists Fear Growing Demand
From Huffington Post
The trafficking of baby gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is reportedly growing at an alarming rate.
Aspen Bans Plastic Bags, Sets Fee For Paper
From Huffington Post
The Aspen City Council has voted to ban plastic bags from the Colorado mountain resort town’s two grocery stores and place a 20-cent fee on paper bags.
One World One Ocean Campaign Highlights Need For Conservation
From Huffington Post
A new multi-year, multi-platform campaign hopes to raise awareness about the state of the world’s oceans and focus on how they can be protected. The One World One Ocean campaign is an extended film, television and online campaign led by filmmaker Greg MacGillivray.
Pennsylvania Alligator Spotted On Shore, Pittsburgh Zoo Plans To Set A Trap
From Huffington Post
Zoo officials plan to set up a trap in hopes of capturing an alligator that’s been spotted on the shores of a Pittsburgh-area reservoir.
Baby Chimp Dances Until He’s Dizzy
From Huffington Post
The adorable little chimp spins and spins until he plops to the ground in a dizzy daze. Also, make sure you don’t miss the flash of those big brown eyes and, wait for it, camera kiss at 0:46.
Orca Whale To Be Transferred From Wadden Sea To Spain Zoo, Not Safe In Wild
From Huffington Post
Agriculture Secretary Henk Bleker ruled Wednesday that the orca, rescued last year ailing and emaciated from the Wadden Sea off the northern Dutch coast, should be transferred to an amusement park on the Spanish island of Tenerife.
Two-Headed Snake Shocks Tenn. Wildlife Officials
From Huffington Post
When Paul Carver saw what looked like a baby king snake crawling around in the backyard of his Clarksville, TN, home, he did a slight double take.
Crickets Benefit from Protecting Mates
From Huffington Post
Jiminy Cricket may not actually hold the door open for his lady friends, but he can still be chivalrous: researchers from the University of Exeter discovered that when threatened by predators, a male field cricket will protect his mate by letting her enter their burrow first. The work is published in the journal Current Biology. [Rolando Rodríguez-Muñoz, Amanda Bretman and Tom Tregenza, "Guarding Males Protect Females from Predation in a Wild Insect"]
From Huffington Post
Nowadays, showing off your wine IQ is less about rattling off fancy chateau names and more about knowing good value — both environmentally and in the wallet. Here are some quick tips for drinking wine smarter:
Banana Cartel Busted: EU Fines Pacific Fruit, Blames Chiquita For Price Fixing Scheme
From Huffington Post
U.S.-based Chiquita Brands International Inc. has escaped a fine over conspiring to fix prices on bananas in Greece, Italy and Portugal between July 2004 and April 2005, because it blew the whistle on the cartel.
From VegNews
A recent report has found that worldwide meat production has tripled over the past 40 years.
how clean is clean enough for the recycle bin?
From The Kind Life
“Have any of you wondered about this too? Whenever I recycle used food containers, like from my rice milk or maple syrup, I always stop for a minute and have the same thought: Yes, these things are recyclable, but what about the food residue that I can’t get off? I mean, have you ever tried getting every last bit of maple syrup cleaned out of a container? It can be an all-morning activity if you let it! Obviously I want to recycle everything I can, but I’ve always feared that leaving any leftover residue on containers would make them un-recyclable. Plus, cleaning your empties just seems like the polite thing to do, right?“
Vegan Dinner Clubs Are Where It’s At
From Link
Across the pond, there is a noteworthy vegan dinner club that has grown by leaps and bounds — so much so that one of the members might turn it into a cafe. As reported by longtime animal activist, Kim Stallwood, in Hastings Life, some residents of the “fishing villages” of Hastings and St. Leonards created a tiny rebellion against the ubiquitous consumption of sea “food,” a “secret vegan society” of sorts. Starting with just a small handful of vegans who were interested in expanding their food horizons and creating “more adventure in the culinary arts for those who don’t want their food killed for them,” the Hastings Vegan Dining Club was created — and Kim is a proud card-carrying member. And it’s clear that Kim has indeed expanded his own personal food horizons: “I testify willingly to enjoying a delicious Sunday afternoon English cream tea, discovering Bombay street food, taking comfort in a traditional Christmas dinner and even experimenting with such dishes as chocolate ravioli. We’ve also had TexMex, Caribbean, 1970s dinner, classic French, Burmese, Thai, Korean, faux Domino pizza, Italian and Halloween Scary!”
Harvard Students Bring Cage-Free Campaign to University President
From Change.org
Nearly 7,000 people have signed on to student Marina Bolotnikova’s petition asking Harvard University to switch to 100 percent cage-free eggs.
Should Urban Farmers Be Allowed to Slaughter Backyard Animals?
From The Atlantic
As anyone who reads Marion Nestle knows, industrial food thrives on obscuring the truth. Exaggerated health claims, selective labeling, and misleading scientific qualifications underscore the sad reality of big food’s habit of obfuscation, a habit that refuses to let accuracy interfere with profit. Given the depth of this problem, and the need for genuine reform, it’s especially disturbing when groups who oppose industrial food — organizations that conscientious consumers count on to provide the straight dope — engage in the same sort of duplicity to promote their own interests.
