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The environmentally responsible food choice may be more counterintuitive than you think. Read with an open mind. (Megraeb's Blog) Bonus Post: concerned about hormones in your beef? Don't be.
Campbell's ignominiously gives up on selling healthier, low-sodium soups. Whose fault is it? (Food Politics)
Six easy principles for common-sense healthy eating. (Nourishing Days, via Alosha's Kitchen)
Hints for thrift store success. (Owlhaven)
Recipe Links:
Creative and hilariously easy: Phyllo-Wrapped Shrimp. (Kalofagas)
Sloppy Joes, the real food way. (A Little Bit Of Spain in Iowa)
An incredible Asian Chicken Salad that's just perfect for the recent hot weather we're having. (Food & Fire)
Off-Topic Links:
Ever wondered what "gerrymandering" is? Still more reasons to distrust Congress. (The Awl)
Realistic advice to teenage girls. (Backwoods Mom)
Free (free!) recordings of the complete organ works of J.S. Bach. (Block M Records)
Do you have an interesting article or recipe that you'd like to see featured in Casual Kitchen's Food Links? Send me an email!
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4 comments:
I was already debating making sloppy joe's this weekend. Now I think it's fate. I make a recipe kid of similar to the linked one, but with red bell pepper and shredded carrot and more spice (heat). Yum.
That advice from the mom to teenage girls was also spot on. I'm kind of annoyed she got so many angry comments. Nitpick much, people?! It's like they missed the real messages she was trying to convey. Sheesh.
Agreed Melissa, but of course, there's no shortage of readers out there who do nothing BUT miss the point.
Fortunately readers here at CK are almost all point getters, not point missers. :) As always I'm grateful.
DK
The whole food miles thing is very interesting. I read a book by Singer and Mason called "What to Eat, why our food choices matter" (or something like that).
They pointed out that it's better for the environment to buy rice from Asia that grows more naturally and is shipped by boat, than it is to buy rice from central California, because they have to pump in so much water to grow it.
OTOH, what the article doesn't really consider on the egg or meat thing, is what's best for the animal. Sure, factory farmed eggs may use less gas to get to the plate, but what about the chickens and how they live? Plus, if you buy your eggs from a local farm and pick them up on your way home from work, you aren't adding to the gas problem.
Same thing with cows and corn. Cows aren't meant to eat corn. It makes them sick. Sure, they get fattened up more quickly. So?
Marcia, I figured that article might be interesting to the engineers among my readers. :) And yes, the issue--and the underlying concept that many, many consumers don't think about--is economies of scale. The incremental cost of transporting some foods is negligible, and thus there are times when it is best for the environment to grow certain foods efficiently, at scale, and then ship them wherever they need to go. As strange as that sounds.
At the same time, yes, you bump into serious ethical issues if you use the same concepts with animals. The entire subject isn't as simple as it seems, is it?
DK
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