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Thursday, September 13, 2007
China fact of the day - milk
I still eat meat, albeit I'm trying to stop eating beef all together. Pork on the other hand will be hard for me to give up, so tasty. Plus pigs can feed up leftover human foods, less damaging to the land, no grazing needed. I could care less for chicken, but I usually get chicken or vegetarian burritos at Chipotle.
"In China, for instance, people are eating double the amount of meat they used to a decade ago."
Link to article here.
Another thought, dairy cows also pollute a lot. I don't see environmental groups targeting the Milk ads? Fact, humans are the only mammals that consume milk on a regular basis in adulthood. In the US, Americans are milk faithfuls, drinking several gallons a month.
Other than calcium, what other benefits of drinking milk are there? Calcium pills are abundant and affordable these days. It seems obvious that the dairy farmers and milk industry boards sponsoring the Got Milk? ad series benefit the most from us consuming more dairy.
I'm not saying drinking milk is bad, but a glass a day is probably over-rated and driven by commercial interest, not health. It leaves a huge carbon footprint when a cow is generating methane and eating up perfectly nice grasslands.
Don't even get me started on the stupidity and short-sightedness of celebrity endorsements in environmental causes, diseases, Toyota Prius and world-poverty issues. The talking heads sure haven't been hesitant to promote milk drinking either!
Some interesting facts about milk via MR blog. One particular comment:
"2. In some parts of the United States, milk is more expensive than gasoline."
This is true where I live. However, I don't think it should be a cause for concern. If anything, we are drinking way too much milk. More importantly, gasoline prices have a lot of catching up to do. The market price of gasoline, without US meddling in the middle east, government subsidies and interferences from OPEC, etc, world-wide gas price should be a lot higher. And it will only get higher as fossil fuels are finite resources. Quit whining you polluters! (me included)
"In China, for instance, people are eating double the amount of meat they used to a decade ago."
Link to article here.
Another thought, dairy cows also pollute a lot. I don't see environmental groups targeting the Milk ads? Fact, humans are the only mammals that consume milk on a regular basis in adulthood. In the US, Americans are milk faithfuls, drinking several gallons a month.
Other than calcium, what other benefits of drinking milk are there? Calcium pills are abundant and affordable these days. It seems obvious that the dairy farmers and milk industry boards sponsoring the Got Milk? ad series benefit the most from us consuming more dairy.
I'm not saying drinking milk is bad, but a glass a day is probably over-rated and driven by commercial interest, not health. It leaves a huge carbon footprint when a cow is generating methane and eating up perfectly nice grasslands.
Don't even get me started on the stupidity and short-sightedness of celebrity endorsements in environmental causes, diseases, Toyota Prius and world-poverty issues. The talking heads sure haven't been hesitant to promote milk drinking either!
Some interesting facts about milk via MR blog. One particular comment:
"2. In some parts of the United States, milk is more expensive than gasoline."
This is true where I live. However, I don't think it should be a cause for concern. If anything, we are drinking way too much milk. More importantly, gasoline prices have a lot of catching up to do. The market price of gasoline, without US meddling in the middle east, government subsidies and interferences from OPEC, etc, world-wide gas price should be a lot higher. And it will only get higher as fossil fuels are finite resources. Quit whining you polluters! (me included)
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Globalization and New England apple season
As September rolls around, apple picking is fast approaching. Some early harvest varieties such as Ginger Gold are ready to be picked right now. Later ones, including my favorite variety, Fuji, won't be ready until late October.
Last October, Kristian and I took a fall foliage trip through NH and VT. We stopped by Green Mountain Orchard in Putney, VT on the way back to Boston. After loading up on MacIntosh apples in our tummies and bags, we took a hayride with the kids around the 128 acre orchard.
Chul messaged me this morning about apple picking up here. I was surprised to find out there are actually apple farms within 40 min radius of Boston as well. According to this Globe article, Nashoba Valley area used to the apple growing center of New England.
Interesting stats:
"In 1947, Massachusetts had 23,000 acres of apple orchards, according to Robin Helrich, an agricultural statistician with New England Agricultural Statistics, which is part of the US Department of Agriculture. Last year, there were 4,100 acres of fruit-bearing apple trees in the state, she said."
I also didn't know Chile exports apples to the States since grapes were a lot more commonly labeled Product of Chile. I reckon if carbon footprint labeling was to become standard on foods and durable goods, local grown fruits and veggies would regain popularity quite fast.
Way to go for the local orchards to adopt, and apply algorithms of hayriding, cider and donut shops to keep their businesses running though.
Last October, Kristian and I took a fall foliage trip through NH and VT. We stopped by Green Mountain Orchard in Putney, VT on the way back to Boston. After loading up on MacIntosh apples in our tummies and bags, we took a hayride with the kids around the 128 acre orchard.
Chul messaged me this morning about apple picking up here. I was surprised to find out there are actually apple farms within 40 min radius of Boston as well. According to this Globe article, Nashoba Valley area used to the apple growing center of New England.
Interesting stats:
"In 1947, Massachusetts had 23,000 acres of apple orchards, according to Robin Helrich, an agricultural statistician with New England Agricultural Statistics, which is part of the US Department of Agriculture. Last year, there were 4,100 acres of fruit-bearing apple trees in the state, she said."
I also didn't know Chile exports apples to the States since grapes were a lot more commonly labeled Product of Chile. I reckon if carbon footprint labeling was to become standard on foods and durable goods, local grown fruits and veggies would regain popularity quite fast.
Way to go for the local orchards to adopt, and apply algorithms of hayriding, cider and donut shops to keep their businesses running though.
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