Sustainable Dish

It’s never a good sign when only four companies control a major commodity – it’s called a monopoly, and we need to get muckraking. Read Tom Philpott’s report on the recent acquisition of U.S. chicken giant Pilgrim by Brazilian beef giant JBS.

There are still many people of the mindset that genetically modified seeds can save the world – and they met, on Tuesday, to hash that out. The Global Harvest Initiative, which was founded by chemical and agriculture giants DuPont, John Deere, Monsanto and Archer Daniels Midland, is trying to make a buck on developing nations even though the method has failed miserably in the past. Paul Crossfield at Civil Eats has more.

People look so happy in Dannon yogurt commercials; they’re all “it’s got extra bacteria” and “I’m so happy”. But don’t be fooled by their over-enthusiastic marketing! In Activia yogurt, you’ll find just as much pro-biotic bacteria as any other yogurt along with four teaspoons of sugar. If you’re like me, you’ll stick with your goat yogurt. Check it out on Fooducate.

There are lots of problems with tuna. It may be delicious, but it’s filled with mercury, the endless demand for it is driving it to extinction and thousands of dolphins are killed in the process. As a solution, some companies try to solve the latter problem and offer dolphin-safe Tuna, but the blog Southern Fried Science now informs us that it’s a hoax as well!

Continuing on with seafood, La Vida Locavore gives us a good rundown on how shrimp is farmed. Some of the chemicals used in shrimp farming are urea, superphosphate and Diesel oil. Sounds appetizing, doesn’t it?

If all this talk of terrible seafood makes you sad, don’t you worry! McDonalds is never more than 107 miles away!