Remi Charron
Outreach Representative, Alberta Government (Environment)
- 9820 106 street NW
- Edmonon
- Canada
Topics
6 Comments
-
Re: Food Miles: Another Wrench in the Spokes of Environmental Educators
2009-08-12 11:46:38 UTC
Yes, I have seen the movies and I am familiar with Pollan's work. Though I have not read 'In Defense of Food' or 'The Omnivore's Dilemma', both have been highly recommended to me a number of times. The sequestration thing is very interesting and I'm glad that beef farmers are starting to see the negative impacts of poorly planned grazing and/or grain/corn feeding their livestock. These are great tips to follow up on. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this thread. I really appreciate it and keep posting if you have something to add.
Remi Charron
Outreach Representative
Alberta Government (Environment)
Canada
www.onesimpleact.alberta.ca -
Re: Food Miles vs Nitrogen Fertilizer
2009-08-11 10:52:19 UTC
This is one of the better articles that I've read in a while and it talks comprehensively about food miles. I would encourage you to read it if you're looking for more in depth info on this matter.
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6064
Remi Charron
Outreach Representative
Alberta Government (Environment)
Canada
www.onesimpleact.alberta.ca -
Re: Food Miles: Another Wrench in the Spokes of Environmental Educators
2009-08-10 15:32:02 UTC
Firstly, I did not make that assertion (read above), though I know it to be generally true. I also know that overgrazing is a significant issue, but it is no excuse to, then, feed cows grain or corn. Cows were not meant, through evolution, to eat these foods. Maybe the issue is having too many cattle per area.
Rob, regarding your comment: "I would say skip the meat if you can, otherwise eat it infrequently." Please don't post a comment if you have not read most of the preceeding comments, especially the first post where I talk about how controversial meat topics can be in Alberta.
One further comment, this thread is starting to get way off topic, so if you would like to post something, try to match your answer DIRECTLY to what my original question was. Also, please read the article first so that you know what I'm talking about; it's a good one!
Remi Charron
Outreach Representative
Alberta Government (Environment)
Canada
www.onesimpleact.alberta.ca -
Re: Food Miles: Another Wrench in the Spokes of Environmental Educators
2009-08-10 10:45:56 UTC
Thanks a lot for the input! Sometimes I forget how much less of an impact red meat has when the cows are solely fed grass. That would be a great option to promote in workshops. I guess I will have to hunt for some irregular beef farmers in Alberta as I believe most cattle ranchers use grain in the final stages to bring their cows up to weight. Also, I like the idea about eating LESS meat. Doctors say that we eat over 3 times the healthy recommendation, which is only 30kg per year. North Americans eat just over 100 kg of meat on average per year. This is not healthy. Thanks again for the suggestions, they are much appreciated.
Remi Charron
Outreach Representative
Alberta Government (Environment)
Canada
www.onesimpleact.alberta.ca -
Food Miles: Another Wrench in the Spokes of Environmental Educators
2009-08-07 16:51:58 UTC
This is one of the better environmental related articles that I've read in a while:
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6064
We have a "food miles" workshop in my environmental education program that encourages individuals to be conscious over where their food comes from. Of course, there are many negative environmental impacts that result from eating food that travels long distances to get to us, such as increased chemical applications, emissions from transport, etc. After reading the article, our workshop seems impotent, but it's still good to talk about these issues. I guess I'm looking for some general feedback regarding how to re-work a workshop that is entirely centred around food miles. However, you should know that this is an Alberta Gov't program and so talking about reducing beef consumption is usually seen as controversial... i.e. a taboo in cow country. Any suggestions or thoughts?
Remi
Remi Charron
Alberta Government (environment)
Canada -
Inspiring Grassroots Sustainability Movement--Otesha
2008-12-17 14:45:40 UTC
You may want to contact the Otesha project for many tips related to word of mouth campaigns (although they have expanded their outreach through e-mail and postering etc... Their website is www.otesha.ca. this is the perfect example of a grassroots sustainability movement that has been more successful with each passing year (so they must be doing something right). They are heavy on promoting bicycles as well.
0 Recommends
You haven't saved any recommendations.
Messaging 0 colleagues