Sustainable Dish

When I think “diet”, I don’t normally think “cookies”, but according to the New York Times, a “cookie diet” indeed exists. I think I’ll stick with a good old fashioned weight-loss program of grapefruit and cabbage broth.

I knew they would find a use for all that poop! A Vermont dairy farm will be turning manure from 1,200 cattle into energy for 250 homes. Hopefully the energy won’t smell like the manure. Read the full article on Environmental Leader.

Coca Cola is launching 90 calorie cans of their most popular soda brands. While I applaud their effort to reduce soda consumption, I hope it doesn’t encourage people to drink two or three instead of one. How about a tall glass of tap water?

Baby carrots may look cute, but is it really wise to waste your money on whittled down roots? They so accurately reflect the American consumer’s desire for conformity in food. Read all about it on WiseBread.

Good news on the slaughterhouse front (is any slaughterhouse news good news?). Certain small, state run slaughterhouses will be approved to sell meat across state lines under proposed inspection policy. This is great news for sustainable farmers who abhor sending their precious cattle to large, dirty slaughterhouses. To learn more, read Chris Hunt’s article on The Green Fork.

Oh Grist, you provide us with so much useful sustainable food information. I could try and write a witty paragraph about each article, but there are so many, it would take me all day. Instead I’ll point our readers  in the direction of some good stuff on GMO’s and Bill Gates, antibiotics on feed lots, “Smart Choices”, and CAFOs “above the law”.

Up until recently, it was believed that live stock production contributed about 18% of the world’s global warming gases. An alarming new report by the Worldwatch Institute puts that number at 51% – half of the human contribution! Check out the report here, and Change.org’s analysis here. Coming soon: The American Meat Institute’s rebuttal.