Urban Farming : Hydroponics in NYC

New York City has thousands of empty rooftops; flat, unused, full sun, vacant land. It’Äôs enough space to feed 15 million people. Check out this video about state of the art urban farming techniques.



"Keeping agriculture sustainable increasingly means keeping it local. Besides the environmental benefit of reducing reliance on fossil-fuel guzzling transportation, eating local food is a more seasonal and often healthier experience. With concern about food security growing, it might turn out to be safer, too. The folks in charge of the Science Barge, a new urban farming experiment in New York, are bringing local food production closer than ever. In this video Vanessa Rae learns about the floating greenhouse facility, which is designed as a demonstration of how urban space, especially rooftop space in big cities like New York, can be used to efficiently produce food. Self-powered by solar panels, wind turbines, and a biodiesel generator, the Science Barge uses state of the art computer technology and an agricultural technique called hydroponics to grow fruits and veggies using much less water and space than field farming. Watch out, city slickers. Farm country is coming to your neighborhood."

via River Wired.

Must Watch - Food,Inc

Must Watch on Sprword.com show many documentaries telling about parts of reality that global medias do not usually question or talk about and that stay unanswered by governments.

One of them is Food, Inc. by filmmaker Robert Kenner. "He lifts the veil on The USA's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment.
We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli’Äîthe harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Food, Inc. reveals surprising’Äîand often shocking truths’Äîabout what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here."

Project Winterfood - December 2 - Richmond, VA

Just a reminder that my Design Rebels students are presenting Project Winterfood, an event promoting local in-season food in Richmond, Virginia. The initial event on December 2nd will feature art, free food samples, live music, a raffle, and more to educate about and promote local, in-season food. The art will continue to be on display from December 4-31st and all profits from the sales will go to support the Central Virginia Foodbank as well as the community space Gallery 5. If you're in the area please come out and show your support...

Project Winterfood is a local food event and art exhibition organized by a group of VCU Graphic Design students. The theme of the event is spinach, apples, and sweet potatoes: all seasonal foods available in Virginia during the Winter.

Event + Art Exhibition
December 2nd, 2009
7-10 PM
1509 West Main Street

Continued Art Exhibition
December 4-31st, 2009
Gallery 5, 200 W. Marshall St.

What is it?
Project Winterfood is a local food resource, art exhibition, and benefit event. Project Winterfood was created by a group of VCU Graphic Design students to help share and preserve the culture of food in our Richmond community. The students who organized the event know how easy, practical, and beneficial it is to utilize local food options. With the help of some community partners, we are excited to share this knowledge with the public.

Project Winterfood will house an art exhibition made up of work that celebrates three winter foods: apples, spinach and sweet potatoes. The artwork has been donated by local artists and will be on sale during the exhibition. All proceeds from the artwork will go to benefit The Central Virginia Food Bank and Gallery 5, a non-profit gallery that supports using the arts to promote positive social action.

At the event, there will be a gathering of partners involved in the Richmond area food community to answer questions and share information about local food options, resources, and benefits. Visitors will be able learn more about how they can easily enjoy food from local farms as well as restaurants that use locally sourced ingredients. The community partners include such local businesses as the Farm to Family Veggie Bus, Dominion Harvest, Savor Cafe, Ipanema Cafe, Rostov’Äôs Coffee & Tea, Ukrop’Äôs, The Byrd House Market, and more to come which will be listed on the website as the project continues.

During the event there will be live fiddle music, sample & tasting booths, and delicious coffee provided by Rostov’Äôs Coffee & Tea. Each visitor will leave with a complimentary take-home brochure designed by Project Winterfood. The brochure will contain information & resources as well as recipes that include the three featured winter foods.

After the event, the artwork will be on display in Gallery 5 throughout the month of December. It can be purchased during that time as well.

Why is it important?
The team at Project Winterfood is passionate about sharing and preserving food culture. It is our mission to share with others in the community how easy, accessible, practical, beneficial, inexpensive, and fun it is to utilize local food options. Project Winterfood is reaching out to everyone’Äî those who already enjoy farm fresh foods and those who have heard the phrase ’Äúeating locally’Äù without getting a chance to learn what it’Äôs really all about.

The Project Winterfood event will present seasonal winter produce in a unique way that creates a memorable, informative, and fun experience.

Who are we?
Project Winterfood is combined of a group of VCU Graphic Design students who are interested in promoting positive change through community service learning. They are part of Noah Scalin’Äôs Design Rebels course striving to make a positive difference as Graphic Designers in the Richmond Community.

For more info visit: ProjectWinterfood.org

Help Make Vegetarian License Plates a Reality!

My home state of Virginia has a program that allows small groups to create custom license plate designs. Several groups that I work with in Richmond decided to pool together to create one to celebrate and promote vegetarianism. The vegetarian license plates would be available in a year or so, but only if the groups get 350 pre-paid applications to show that there is a demand. The deadline for the submission is now only two weeks away and at this point they still don't have enough applications. If you or anyone you know is a vegetarian in Virginia please encourage them to get the plate, it's only a $10 commitment (refunded if the plates don't get made). All the details can be found on the Veggie Plates site HERE.

Project Winterfood - A Local Food Event

Once a year I teach Design Rebels, a course on socially conscious design that I created for Virginia Commonwealth University's Graphic Design department. As part of the class the students are required to create a real world group project, based on the themes of the class, that reaches into the community beyond the school. This year the class decided to focus on the issue of local, in season food. They're creating an art exhibition called Project Winterfood that will give people in the area a fun way to learn more about what grows in the area in the winter and why it's important to eat locally grown food. Here are the details from their press release:

PROJECT WINTERFOOD

What is it?
Project Winterfood is a local food resource, art exhibition, and benefit event. Project Winterfood was created by a group of VCU Graphic Design students to help share and preserve the culture of food in our Richmond community. The students who organized the event know how easy, practical, and beneficial it is to utilize local food options. With the help of some community partners, we are excited to share this knowledge with the public.

Project Winterfood will house a fascinating art exhibition made up of work that celebrates three winter foods: apples, spinach and sweet potatoes. The artwork has been donated by local artists and will be on sale during the exhibition. All proceeds from the artwork will go to benefit non-profits who are working to make a positive difference in the Richmond community.

At the event, there will be a gathering of partners involved in the Richmond area food community to answer questions and share information about local food options, resources, and benefits. Visitors will be able learn more about how they can easily enjoy food from local farms as well as restaurants that use locally sourced ingredients. The community partners include such local businesses as the Farm to Family Veggie Bus, Dominion Harvest, and many more to come, which will be included on the website as the project comes together.

During the event there will be live fiddle music, sample & tasting booths, and delicious coffee provided by Rostov’Äôs Coffee & Tea. Each visitor will leave with a complimentary take-home brochure designed by Project Winterfood. The brochure will contain information & resources as well as recipes that include the three featured winter foods.

After the event, the artwork will be on display in Gallery 5 throughout the month of December. It can be purchased during that time as well.

Why is it important?
The team at Project Winterfood is passionate about sharing and preserving food culture. It is our mission to share with others in the community how easy, accessible, practical, beneficial, inexpensive, and fun it is to utilize local food options. Project Winterfood is reaching out to everyone’Äî those who already enjoy farm fresh foods and those who have heard the phrase ’Äúeating locally’Äù without getting a chance to learn what it’Äôs really all about.

The Project Winterfood event will present seasonal winter produce in a unique way that creates a memorable, informative, and fun experience.

Event + Art Exhibition
December 2nd, 2009
7-10 PM
1509 West Main Street

Continued Art Exhibition
December 4-31st, 2009
Gallery 5, 200 W. Marshall St.

More information and updates can be found on their website HERE.

Linkage: From Kafka Pest Kontrol to B'eau Pal Water

Yikes, where does the time go?! After heading down to Austin to talk at the How Design Conference and then opening After Life my art show at Quirk Gallery and finally a business trip to NYC, I've finally caught up with things enough in the office to return to my non-skull related blogging. First up, a bunch of links that have been sitting on my shelf that haven't quite hit their expiration date yet...


Literary reference trucks deliver books and a message about reading. (image shown, more HERE) via

SpecWatch keeps you updated on the insidious world of design competitions/crowdsourcing. Thanks @PrixMadonna

Captcha graffiti to tell if you're human or not. (image shown) via

A public bicycle counter shows that you are not the only one on two-wheels in Copenhagen.

Get a free brochure on how not to greenwash from Roughstock Studios.

You know you want a USB-powered chainsaw! via

Traitor Joe's gives you the dirt on a well-known (and similarly named) grocery chain's seafood sources. via

Bizarre attempt for a multi-national corporation to "localwash" (the local movement's equivalent of greenwashing). via

Boring flyers get free makeovers from Cardon Copy! (image shown) via

Reincarnated McMansion is going to take 1 wasteful house and turn it into 2 green homes! Thanks Stephanie!

The 3/50 Project wants to save local brick & mortar stores with your help. Thanks Mim!

Eco-Mag, a magazine about art, design & sustainability, is available as a free downloadable PDF via

B'eau Pal Water is the Yes Men's response to Dow Chemical's toxic waste in Bhopal. via

What happens when you put pianos on the street for anyone to use?

No Longer Empty turns vacant storefronts into art venues. via

Artist Favianna Rodriguez explains why is graffiti a good thing.

Eco-friendly cardboard coffins, come with the image of your choice printed directly on them. Thanks Amy!

Jamba Juice rips off Get Your War On! Thanks Kate!

Grand is turning their junk mail into self promotion. (image shown)

A newspaper in China goes from printing press to recyling bin with no stops in between.

SafeLink provides free cellphones and airtime for lower income Americans.

Linkage: Cloth bags are bad and corporations are local?

Go figure, the plastic industry says that cloth bags are bad! via

Speculative architecture fiction.(image shown) via

Making newpaper boxes into planters. (image shown) Thanks Carlos!

Free e-book on sustainable printing. via

The growth of the greener lunchroom.

Documenting product placement (and displacement). (image shown) Thanks Mica!

The new greenwashing: corporations go "local". Thanks Mica!

Hungry For Change?

Food, Inc. is a new documentary on the industrial food industry in America...

Linkage: From Dumpster Pools to Slum Tours

Turning dumpsters into public pools, gardens, skate ramps...and more! (image shown) via

Shop Well With You is a body image resource for women surviving cancer.

Helping street vendors understand their rights visually. (image shown) via

Slum tours, the future of tourism?

Anti-war ads show what goes around comes around literally. (image shown)

Once again Sappi is offering grants for design projects around social issues. via

"Now Slower with More Bugs" stickers for software or organic gardening! via

The future of insulation? Mushrooms! Thanks Carlos!

Food Security: Bill Moyers interviews Michael Pollan

Bill Moyers recently interviewed Michael Pollan (author of In Defense of Food and Omnivore's Dilemma) on the state of food security in the United States. Sadly he's not interested in the job of Secretary of Agriculture. You can watch the entire thing or read the transcript on the PBS website HERE or in 5 parts on YouTube...

Book Review: In Defense of Food

I finally had a chance to read In Defense of Food: An Eaters Manifesto, yet another fantastic book by journalist/author Michael Pollan. His books are consistently engaging and inevitably educate me on topics in which I already thought I was well-versed. This slim volume in no exception and manages to pack a big punch as it deconstructs one of the central food paradigms that we in the US have taken for granted (dubbed "Nutritionalism"). As with Omnivore's Dilemma and Botany of Desire, Pollan's sheer enthusiasm for (good) food and the fact that he is not working for a specific group or agenda helps him make a much more compelling argument about changing the way we relate to eating. The essential core of the book is the mantra "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants," which was originally introduced in a New York Times essay. Those three short phrases, as simple as they seem, contain the seeds to some very big ideas and Pollan fills out the book with well-researched facts and rules of thumb that forgo the difficult to follow recommendations of typical guides to healthy eating. This should be required reading for everyone in the US (are you listening Oprah?).

At least it's not Freedom Fries...

If you needed confirmation of how the rest of the world perceives America, this cookie from France may help. My friend brought back these "international" treats from Paris that feature a series of stereotypical images for all of the countries included (samurai for Japan, ice fisherman for Greenland, etc.). So what's chosen to represent the good 'ol US of A? Some cracked out fast food of course!

News Roundup

From the Christian Science Monitor:

First bicyclist union in Canada.

"Borrow a Muslim" from a living library.

Environmentally conscious reason to "Just Say No".

From the Gaurdian:

Genetically modified crops will not solve food crisis.

From Ode Magazine:

Former nun takes on Ecuadorian gang and wins.

Carbon farming fights global warming.

From Mother Jones:

Can greed be green?

The Real Bee Movie

The Vanishing of The Bees is an upcoming documentary about Colony Collapse Disorder and how it affects bees and humans alike...

News Roundup

A bunch of recent-ish stories I've been meaning to post for a while...

Ode Magazine:

The ins and outs of Eco-Tourism

An overview of the friendlier, funnier "New Activism"

Earth-Friendly Fast-Food?

Christian Science Monitor:

Using bikes instead of trucks for transport.

Why organic farming is good for Africa

"Just how 'green' is that shirt?"

Mapping Organic Brand Ownership

The folks at Skyome.net took the data of Dr. Phil Howard, who has been tracking corporate ownership of organic brands for several years, and consolidated it into a fascinating time lapse animation. Check it out HERE.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

I just finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, the fantastic new book from Barbara Kingsolver, author of the Poisonwood Bible. It tells the story of her family's attempt to only eat locally grown food for a year while living in the mountains of Virginia. Not only does she tell the story of planting, growing, and finding her food, but her husband and daughter get in the act as well supplying in-depth sidebar information on the issues and recipes as well. Anyone with a budding interest in where their food comes from (and happily that number seems to be rapidly growing here in the US) should read this book. It's a fantastic primer for the gamut of issues surrounding food production/distribution, but it's also totally readable, a rare and pleasant combination which I've also found in the books of Michael Pollan. You can get a preview of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle as well as access to all the recipes it contains at the book's website HERE. But definitely consider picking up a copy of the actual book at your local independent book store.

Michael Pollan in NYT on "Sustainability"

A recent New York Times article by Michael Pollan (author of The Ominivore's Dilemma) questions the sustainability of our current agriculture system and even the definition of the word itself:

The word ’Äúsustainability’Äù has gotten such a workout lately that the whole concept is in danger of floating away on a sea of inoffensiveness. Everybody, it seems, is for it whatever ’Äúit’Äù means. On a recent visit to a land-grant university’Äôs spanking-new sustainability institute, I asked my host how many of the school’Äôs faculty members were involved. She beamed: When letters went out asking who on campus was doing research that might fit under that rubric, virtually everyone replied in the affirmative. What a nice surprise, she suggested. But really, what soul working in agricultural science today (or for that matter in any other field of endeavor) would stand up and be counted as against sustainability? When pesticide makers and genetic engineers cloak themselves in the term, you have to wonder if we haven’Äôt succeeded in defining sustainability down, to paraphrase the late Senator Moynihan, and if it will soon possess all the conceptual force of a word like ’Äúnatural’Äù or ’Äúgreen’Äù or ’Äúnice.’Äù

Read the entire article HERE.

via Treehugger
Thanks Scott!

Word of the Year: Locavore

The Oxford American Dictionary recently announced "Locavore" as its Word of The Year for 2007. By way of explanation the Oxford University Press blog notes:

The past year saw the popularization of a trend in using locally grown ingredients, taking advantage of seasonally available foodstuffs that can be bought and prepared without the need for extra preservatives.

The ’Äúlocavore’Äù movement encourages consumers to buy from farmers’Äô markets or even to grow or pick their own food, arguing that fresh, local products are more nutritious and taste better. Locavores also shun supermarket offerings as an environmentally friendly measure, since shipping food over long distances often requires more fuel for transportation.

Find out the runners-up HERE.

Thanks Mim!
via NYT LEDE blog

News Roundup

Sorry for the long quiet from me, I've got a bunch to post and hope to be updating more frequently in the coming weeks. First off some news clippings I've been collecting...

From the Christian Science Monitor:

Ethiopians tradmarking coffee to ensure Fair Trade.

Eating "green" at environmentally friendly restaurants.

Study finds White House manipulated climate science.

Africa begins banning plastic bags.

Free Rice

FreeRice adds a new twist to the one-click activism sites like The Breast Cancer Site. Not only does it allow you to donate rice to the United Nations World Food Programme, but it's also a vocabulary improvement game. Each word you get right is equivalent to 10 grains of donated rice (paid for by advertisers on the site). The site is a project of Poverty.com.

Thanks Nev!

King Corn Trailer

King Corn looks like it will be an excellent companion to the book Omnivore's Dilemma. Watch the trailer here...



Thanks Chris!

News Roundup

Getting caught up here from a very busy spell, I have lots to post, plus it's Blog Action Day so definitely want to get some environmental links out there. Here's a smattering to start you off...

From the Christian Science Monitor:
Amazon Farmers work with Corporations to Save the Forest
New Yorkers Using Biodiesel for Heating

From Ode Magazine:
Sesame Street working for Middle East Peace
Organic Agriculture CAN Feed The World
How Hospitals Make You Sick

From Mother Jones:
The Problem with Plastics (including a handy chart for your fridge)

FDA fights natural sweetener

A recent Organic Consumers Association article outlines the attempt by the FDA to prevent US consumers from having access to products containing stevia, a natural herb that is a healthy alternative to artificial sweeters for people who can't consume sugar. Claiming that research data is inconclusive the FDA has already requested that Celestial Seasonings stop selling their stevia sweened items.

According to the American Herbal Products Association, "Stevia leaf is a natural product that has been used for at least 400 years as a food product, principally as a sweetener or other flavoring agent. None of this common usage in foods has indicated any evidence of a safety problem. There are no reports of any government agency...indicating any public health concern whatsoever in connection with the use of stevia in foods."

Read more here.

Planting Peace

Planting Peace is a handy new resource from the folks at the Organic Consumers Association. It collects news stories about the intersection of the anti-war, environmental, and organic activist communities in an attempt to forge a better alliance between the groups.

How The Food Industry Is Deceiving You

The first of a five-part series (that appears to be from 2004) called "How The Food Industry Is Deceiving You" created by Peter Jennings...



Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

via Mercola.com

Vegetarianism vs. Global Warming

A recent New York Times article "Trying to Connect the Dinner Plate to Climate Change" discusses how a U.N. report from last year which stated that commercial livestock produced more greenhouse gases than all forms of transportation combined, is being used by animal rights groups to further their cause:

"When that report came out, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and other groups expected their environmental counterparts to immediately hop on the 'Go Veggie!' bandwagon, but that did not happen. 'Environmentalists are still pointing their fingers at Hummers and S.U.V.’Äôs when they should be pointing at the dinner plate,' said Matt A. Prescott, manager of vegan campaigns for PETA."

Read the entire article HERE.

Thanks Jenny!

Food Fight!

The Farm Bill Food Battle site, gives information on the current plan to revise the allocation of food subsidies in the US and encourages folks to support a fair Bill (rather than one that focuses on giant agribusinesses). Which side of the battle are you on?...

Open Source Restaurants?

In a move rare in the commercial restaurant arena the UK based Pret a Manger chain, which sells preservative-free foods is now offering it's recipes to the public...for free. Download a wide selection of soups, sandwiches, and deserts here.

Thanks Mica!

New York Times on the Problem with Organic Certification

A recent New York Times article "How to Add Oomph to 'Organic'" talks about the dismal reality of the current organic certification program:

THE organic industry has gone wild in the last decade, but you wouldn’Äôt know it at the Department of Agriculture. Despite year after year of double-digit growth, organics receive a pittance in financing and staff attention at the department, which is responsible for writing regulations about organics and making sure that they are upheld.

The National Organic Program, which regulates the industry, has just nine staff members and an annual budget of $1.5 million. A Florida real estate developer named Maurice Wilder received more than that in farm subsidies in 2005, some $1,754,916, to be exact, according to a subsidy database maintained by the Environmental Working Group.

Read the entire article here (login required).

The truth about Ronald McDonald.

This image has been around for a while, but I just ran into it the other day, and it's satisfying to me on so many levels. I wonder what Miss McDonald has been up to this last couple of years.

via DieYoungAndSaveYourself

Going Local

A few nice articles about the local food movement have come out recently:

From the Christian Science Monitor: More Restaurants Going Green by Going Local

and an entire section in Plenty (written by my friend Tracie McMillan):
Local Food Movement Hits Urban America which includes...

• Motor City Harvest
• One Stop Shop
• Not Your Average Turnip Truck
• A Zucchini Grows in Brooklyn
• Mapping Out Meals

Corporate Organics

If you like to eat packaged natural foods that aren't produced by mega-industrial food corporations your choices are getting slimmer. Download the latest PDF of the Organic Industry Structure chart via the Organic Consumers Association to see which of the top 25 North America food processors now own Boca, Horizon, Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen, Walnut Acres, Celestial Seasonings, and most other well known "organic" brands.

Conversely you can see which are the few brands that still remain independent here (PDF).

"Hugo Me": Supersize is Back

McDonald's, which dropped their "Supersize" range of jumbo products, shortly after the documentary "Super Size Me" came out, in an effort to address concerns about rising obesity rates, has now introduced the "Hugo" a 42oz 410 calorie soda. A recent New York Times article on the McDonalds about-face quotes a representative defending the summertime only product saying: ’ÄúPeople, I believe, tend to drink more during the summer. People are out and about.’Äù

Read the full article here.

via StayFree!

11 US Food Companies agree to limit advertising to kids

In an ongoing shift in the way corporations market to kids, 11 major US food and drink companies have agreed to adopt new rules restricting the use of cartoon/TV/movie characters to sell their products to children. The businesses, which represent 2/3rds of kids TV food advertising will only use popular characters on their "healthier options". This change comes just ahead of a Federal Trade Commission hearing, which was to focus on increased pressure on corporations to address growing obesity problems among children.

Get more details in the AP article here.

Wolfgang Puck wants animals to be happy.

World-renowned chef Wolfgang Puck writes in a recent Newsweek article about his growing interest in animal welfare (as well as promotion of organic non-GMO food and reduced reliance on disposable packaging!):

I've been thinking a lot lately about how it's up to chefs like me to help everyone stay healthy. It's not just about reducing obesity and diabetes, though that's obviously a priority. It's about getting every one of us to eat the right foods. That means buying produce from responsible farmers who grow fruits and vegetables that aren't covered with pesticides or genetically modified. It means getting meat from ranchers who not only shun the use of antibiotics and growth hormones, but also raise their animals humanely in a free-roaming environment. I'm not going soft, or, heaven forbid, vegan. I'm just trying to be more accountable to myself, my customers and to those who are farming responsibly. And if it means being nicer to animals along the way, well, that's a big bonus.

Read the entire article here.

Thanks Mica!

Tsunami Orphan Music Video?

Actually these are the credits for a new documentary AmmA, about orphans in Sri Lanka, which is in its final stages. To find out more at Simba Share.

Foodometer

Watch Your (Fo)odometer is a succinct video explanation of the benefits of eating locally by artist Molly Schwartz. It accompanies an essay on fast food by Donna Schaper on TheNation.com.


Thanks Jessica!

Cereal Killer

According to a recent New York Times article Kellogg will begin phasing out marketing unhealthy cereals to children under 12 over the next year and a half. Having tie-ins with licensed characters will be limited to healthier cereals as well. The self-imposed changes follow the threat of a lawsuit from the Center for Science in The Public Interest and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. The plans for a lawsuit have now been dropped. From the article:

Susan Linn, the co-founder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, said Kellogg’Äôs decision to stop using licensed characters on sugary food was particularly significant. ’ÄúUntil now the industry has absolutely dug in their heels,’Äù Ms. Linn said.

In the last several years, health officials have repeatedly warned that the steady stream of food ads aimed at children is contributing to the number of overweight or obese children, which has soared over the last four decades.

Some countries have banned advertising of nutritionally questionable food to children altogether, and some members of Congress have suggested that federal regulation may be needed in the United States, too. The food industry has promised to bolster its own self-regulation.

Read the entire article here.

via Consumerist

Spotted in Washington, DC: Rap Snacks

I went up to DC last week to attend the Socially Responsible Business of Washington (SBNOW) 2007 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Symposium. On my way back to the train station I spotted this bag of "Honey Dew" flavored Rap Snacks at a street vendor.
From the bag I learned that:
A. Rap Snacks are "The Official snack of Hip Hop"
B. Rappers don't like Trans Fats (though are apparently fine with a host of preservatives, artificial colors and MSG.)
and
C. Reading is fundamental (though there was no elaboration on this point).

Farmers' Market(ing)

One of the things I do when I'm not running Another Limited Rebellion (the design studio AND blog) is help coordinate SPROUT a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Group that I founded. SPROUT provides organizational, administrative, and marketing services to small organic farms and/or gardens that are interested in starting a CSA, but either don’Äôt have the time or resources to do so themselves.

Community Supported Agriculture is a form of mutual partnership between farmers and consumers. Rather than go through several layers of middle people, consumers make a commitment to directly support an individual farm by providing money (and sometimes labor) for their yearly operating budget. In exchange they receive a dividend of the freshest produce possible. Each supporter buys a ’Äúshare’Äù of the farm (not unlike a share of stock) and takes on some of the risks and benefits of growing food along with the farmer. CSA’Äôs are a unique way for people to have a better knowledge of the food they put in their bodies and the process, people & land it takes to produce it.

This season SPROUT is partnering with Victory Farms, Inc., a small family run farm, which relocated from Phoenix, Arizona to Hanover, VA.

You can out more about CSA's via the Robyn VanEn Center at Wilson College, find a CSA in your area at Local Harvest, or if you're in the vicinity of Richmond, VA please consider joining SPROUT this season, an application can be downloaded here (PDF).

Chocolate Activism

Pressured by large corporate manufacturers, the FDA is considering changing the legal definition of chocolate to allow artificial ingredients and fat substitute to replace the classic ingredients. The Don't Mess With Our Chocolate campaign, hosted on the family owned chocolate company Guittard's server, is the leading the charge to protect consumers from disingenuous packaging. Read more and register your comments with the FDA (you have until June 25th) at DontMessWithOurChocolate.com.

Thanks Mica!

Vegetable Weapons

Love these photographs of women holding guns made from the vegetables in their favorite recipes by Japanese artist Tsuyoshi Ozawa.

Afterwards the dish is cooked and shared by the artist and subject.

Additional images here, here, here, and here.


via Sum1

Steven Colbert on rBGH

Steven Colbert's take on the recent flap over labeling of products using Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) is, as usual, right on target...



via Treehugger, thanks Melinda!

Fast Food Reality

We all know that ads lie, still it's fun to have such a dramatic illustration as the Fast Food: Ads vs. Reality page.

My favorite image has to be the Filet-O-Fish that defies styling and looks just as bad in ads as it does in real life!

Thanks Mica!

Irradiated = Pasteurized says FDA.

According to a recent AP article the FDA is once again considering relaxing the labeling of foods which have been irradiated. Under their new proposal some irradiated foods could just be labeled as pasteurized or even alternate terms, which could be petitioned for by manufacturers. Jeff Barach, vice president of the Grocery Manufacturers/Food Products Association, was quoted as saying ’ÄúWe have long argued that the use of the term irradiation or radiation has such a negative impact on the consumer that it basically acts as a warning label.’Äù However:

The FDA acknowledges in the proposed rule that allowing alternative ways of describing irradiation could confuse consumers: ’ÄúResearch indicates that many consumers regard substitute terms for irradiation to be misleading,’Äù the proposal reads in part.

Read the entire article here.