[Greenbuilding] food choices

[JOHN SALMEN]

I would agree – carbon footprint is about how food is produced and can vary
dramatically depending how it is produced, harvested and marketed. Locally
raised beef on native grassland I am sure would have less end harm than
mono-cropped machine harvested lentils 1000’s of miles away.

 

The single biggest concern for food production is really soil and nutrient
loss and Wes Jackson of the land institute  long ago asserted that
traditional grazing of cattle on perennial grassland resulted in less soil
loss than the best of amish farming practices. 

 

For food to continue I think we have no choice but to support local
food/farming initiatives and rather than demanding what type of food we want
we need to consume what is available locally and for most farms that would
include livestock of some sort or other.  For example the use of a biodiesel
tractor or draft horses consumes roughly ¼ of a farms cropland. The tractor
however is dependent on a successful fuel crop where the horse has a more
varied diet and returns unutilized carbon to the soil as manure rather than
exhaust.  A tractor may be more efficient but that efficiency doesn’t
translate into more food production as there is a relationship between its
efficiency and the cropland it consumes.

 

Making a farm work is a complex task and if we (as consumers) simply demand
lentils then a farmer will be forced to crop from land (sloped or prone to
runoff) that is more suitable for grazing (if we are looking at conserving
soil) and the end result is the destruction of the soil base. If we support
local farms then we have to support and encourage diversity.

 

John

 

JOHN SALMEN ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN

station design & millwork

4465 UPHILL RD DUNCAN BC V9L6M7 250-748-7672 C 250-246-8541 F 250-748-7612

 

 

 

 

From: greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org
[mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org] On Behalf Of Racheli
Gai
Sent: July-31-11 7:55 AM
To: Green Building
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] While we're on Solar....any experience with a
solar cooker?

 

Lynelle,

I have a Sun Oven also.  I use it regularly, and like it a lot.  I have
cooked chicken, as well as slow roasted meats.  After a long, slow, cooking
food tastes

simply delicious, and if the sun disappeared on you, you can always stick
the food in a conventional oven to finish the cooking.  I have an electric
stove and solar panels,

so cooking indoors is solar, too.

The EWG study also called attention to the fact that responsible grazing
contributes to reviving bee populations.  In other words: One needs to  look
at issues

in a larger context, not just the matter of producing carbon, as well as
look at what's available and worthy of support locally.   For example, if
you help responsible ranching

exist and thereby avoid conversion of land into more sub-divisions, you
might be doing some good, even if eating meat might be more costly in some
ways than

eating something else.

 

Racheli.

 

 

 

On Jul 31, 2011, at 7:27 AM, sanjay jain wrote:





>I have built enough this year and so am looking for a pre-made solar cooker
that will hopefully cook chicken and bake.  

 

The larger carbon footprint saving would result from not eating chicken.
While chicken is better than lamb and beef, it's more than 3 times worse
than vegetarian foods. See: Recent Environmental Working group's report
graph at
http://static.ewg.org/reports/2011/meateaters/images/green_house_proteins.jp
g

 

This Time article is worth reading:
http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2011/07/26/how-meat-and-dairy-are-hiking-yo
ur-carbon-footprint/

 

~sanjay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  _____  

From: Lynelle Hamilton <lynelle at lahamilton.com>
To: Greenbuilding <greenbuilding at lists.bioenergylists.org>
Sent: Sunday, July 31, 2011 8:48 AM
Subject: [Greenbuilding] While we're on Solar....any experience with a solar
cooker?

I have built enough this year and so am looking for a pre-made solar cooker
that will hopefully cook chicken and bake.  Any experience out there with
any of the pre-mades?

Thanks!

Lynelle
-- Effective immediately, please use the following e-mail address to reach
me: lynelle at lahamilton.com

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