Blogs & Ecology

Photo by Orangeacid

The Internet is full of unnatural ways to lose weight using pills, medical procedures, electrical gadgets, hypnotherapy, and just about anything else under the sun you can think of. On the organic and natural front, there are also plenty of ideas to lose weight, of which most are fairly harmless for the most part, that is until they start telling people to completely reduce fat intake (you need fat for your body to function), eat only carbohydrates, protein, etc...

Image courtesy of Age Healthy

It wasn't so long ago many people in North America thought vegetarians were weird, lived in hippie communes and lived off of tofu and brown rice. Our cultural ideas have shifted enough in the last decade that this concept has mostly fallen away. We realize that vegetarians live in all segments of society and it's a pretty regular thing. Now wonderful vegetarian options are readily available at restaurants, grocery stores and indeed, in people's homes.

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GreenHomeHuddler charts the average American diet and shares some green foodie tips.

Skateboards transform into sleek and sexy watches, chairs, shoes and more.

EcoSalon takes a stab at the USDA for halting the Agriculture Chemical Usage Program.

What's the buzz behind "peak coffee?" Find out!

Simon and Schuster launch their new line of eco-friendly children's books, Little Green Books.

On this week’s episode: Obesity expands to European children. Ford increases green efforts. Robert De Niro’s restaurant servers an endangered species.

Image courtesy of Glutenfreeda

Good news for anyone restricted to the difficult-to-navigate waters of the gluten-free diet: there's an all-natural food company, Glutenfreeda Foods, who as you may have guessed from their name, specialize food right up your alley....

A new report from the Food Climate Research Network at the University of Surrey says people will have to be rationed to four modest portions of meat and one litre of milk a week if the world is to avoid run-away climate change.

According to Juliette Jowit in the Guardian, the report says "total food consumption should be reduced, especially "low nutritional value" treats such as alcohol, sweets and chocolates."

Having fun yet?...

photo: Navitas Naturals

I was delighted with the Image of the Day: If Kids Designed the Food Pyramid entry, and here is the Food Pyramid from Japan. This image is widely promoted by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. It shows a spinning top to illustrate the nation's goal for "food balance" or a balanced diet. The Japanese guide resembles a spinning top, and note at the very top there is a guy running, as a reminder of the need for exercise!

More details below the fold....

Used with permission by Tom Fishburne, who drew it for Tanya Wenman Steel's cookbook Real Food for Healthy Kids via ::Tom Fishburne...

"Public School Meat" by cowboy_montgomery via flickr

We've reported about the lack of nutrition in school meal programs before, and a new study backs us up. The study, by California Food Policy Advocates (CFPA) and Samuels & Associates (S&A), gives the USDA's child nutrition commodity program a failing grade.

1) Raw Granola is Healthier than Regular Granola

Yikes! A granola post on TreeHugger! But seriously, I thought all granola was raw, but it's not. Raw Granola has enzymes that help in digestion, which are killed above 188 degrees F. One raw foodie site says "Enzymes "digest" or break down raw foods. More and more research suggests eating high-enzyme food helps digestion. Eating an enzyme-rich diet is thought to increase vitality and slow the aging process. Accordin...

Plan59

Warren recently described what a difference in greenhouse gases it would make if we all ate 10% less red meat; we surveyed our readers and are proud to report that 58% of our respondents have and 27% have gone vegetarian.

Now Dr Rajendra Pachauri the chair of the IPCC, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) throws in some more food for thought. Noting that 18% of greenhouse gases come from animal production, he told the Observer:

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According the the WorldWatch Institute (and an old post of our own) livestock contribute 18% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, even higher than the GHG emissions from transportation. As part of this figure they produce 37% of methane, which has more than 20 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. And if that weren’t enough to be concerned about, their manure emits nitrous oxide, 65% of world totals. WorldWatch also point out that in the United States, 70% of all anti-microbial drugs are now given to livestock.