Virescent

Found a couple interesting articles on the environmental impacts of eating meat today. First, from Wired, an argument that eating meat is an ethical issue because of its impacts on the global food supply. Livestock require lots of food to eat and big areas to hang out in, so that prompts deforestation, decreases farmland, and drives up grain prices. There are plenty of other things driving up food prices (corn-based ethanol, argh), but the rising demand for meat is certainly one of them. After describing food riots in a dozen countries:

Even before this crisis, food experts said the world could not feed itself in coming decades if growing populations in developing countries insisted on a meat-rich western diet. That time may already have arrived — and largely without climate-change induced agricultural disruption. Add droughts and years of failing harvests, and things get seriously scary.

So maybe it’s time for taste to take a back seat to conscience. I know that sacrificing meat for veggies won’t solve the problem on its own, but it’s certainly just as meaningful as using compact fluorescent bulbs or cloth shopping bags, and I do that without hesitation.

I dig. Fauxsage for dinner it is.

Ok, so cut back on the meat, check. And when we do get meat, organic free range meat is neat! Right? No. The BBC makes a case that organically raised beef and poultry might produce more greenhouse gases, consume more food, and produce more waste that’s harder to clean up than livestock sequestered indoors.

Housing animals gives humans control. The diet can be precisely manipulated to maximise growth and minimise polluting gases.

Animals do not waste food energy on running about and keeping warm. Their manure can be collected and burned as a fuel, avoiding damaging evaporation and seepage into rivers.

In the future, it is hoped that sealed barns would have exhaust vents where the harmful gases could be captured before they entered the atmosphere.

This combination of precision husbandry and species advantage is what puts commercial indoor poultry sheds at the top of the climate chart.

Peter Bradnock of the British Poultry Council says: “Organic poultry meat has about 45% more global warming potential than indoor-reared poultry meat.

My first reaction: Well, *expletive*.

We have to keep the animals indoors and still for us to reduce emissions? But that makes them sick, and unhappy, and unhealthy, and and and. The way they raise non-organic pre-meats today, they inject them full of hormones and feed them weird stuff to fatten them up. Plus, do poultry farms really feed their birds to maximise growth AND minimize emissions already? Or are they just focused on maximizing growth? Most farms don’t have biomass heaters or other waste collection/conservation systems in place to actually get rid of the emissions: the article points out that they might, later. So for now, they’re just pumping the animals full of chemicals, and keeping them immobile in a barn so the greenhouse gases probably aren’t reduced, but they are all emitted from the same general area.

Do any of these environmentally friendly barns exist? And are the animals in them treated humanely?

With none of those questions really answered for now, I’ll have to pick my poison: emit more gases (maybe?), or eat healthier food. I’m sure the meat-makers, if they are interested in their carbon impact, will find a way to raise healthier meat in a less greenhouse-gas intensive way. Maybe that will be indoors. Maybe it will be humane. I’m not holding my fork.

Conclusion: I’ll keep buying hormone-free chicken, and free-range if I can find it. Same with beef. Until I find one animals from one of these wonderful indoor gas collection barns.

Last night, in a meaty post, I flippantly eliminated red meats from my diet. That’s not going to work. I like red meat. It tastes very good, especially when undercooked. My fondest memory of food is that rare filet mignon I had on a patio in Ponce with several Tempranillos and good friends: chewing that steak was like making out, the good way. And some weekends, Five Guys is a necessity.

Realistically, though, I can cut the red meat down to twice a month. That’s good enough for the environment, and it will keep me from having odd cravings. I’ll also set a goal of having meat at all in one meal per day.

I’m fine with flirting with vegetarianism (especially if I can get some recipes for those fantastic-smelling things my vegetarian officemate eats), but I’m keeping some meat. And environmental plans that make sense late at night often don’t hold up in the harsh light of day: I want to set goals that I can keep.

Are you a vegetarian? Why? Do the stats on food production I posted yesterday make you want to eat less meat? Want to try and cut down red meat to twice a month with me?

While we were kicking around New York a couple weeks ago, my young man and I met up with a couple of his friends at Red Bamboo, a vegetarian retaurant in Greenwich Village.  This was not our idea.  Our dining-out ideas more typically involve meat buffets, or at least cheeseburgers the size of my face.  Let’s just say that we’ve never chosen a restaurant for their salad bar, so the idea of an entirely vegetarian meal was daunting.

At home though, I typically eat vegetarian.  It’s just too hard for a budding environmentalist to choose meat at the grocery without a serious guilt trip.  Back in January, Mark Bittman wrote a piece for the NYT summarizing the different environmental and societal impacts of meat production: we get to worry about methane from the animals, carbon from transportation, huge amounts of grain for feed, inhumane treatment (not that I want them to get back rubs or anything, but I’d settle for content and healthy), animal waste in the water supply- woo!  Enough to make me skip the red meat entirely. I just fret in front of the selection of regular/hormone free/totally organic free range birds.  Normally I get exasperated by my own indecision after a few minutes and just head over to the frozen cheese ravioli.  Voila, I’m a vegetarian for a few days.

Red Bamboo is a vegetarian restaurant specializing in fake meat.  I find this to be strange.  Our friend explained that lots of practicing herbivores began life in meat-eating families. They make a conscious decision to switch over to the planty side, but still feel the need to structure a meal around a slab of protein, just like Mom.  Also, he likes their soy buffalo wings (still not real buffalo!).  Makes sense to me, and the wings weren’t bad.  Tasted like chicken, mostly, and had a not-unpleasing ground texture.  (The “chicken” parmagiane was pretty good, also, but avoid the “beef” stew.)

Meat’s on my mind, because a new study by a pair at Carnegie Mellon has calculated the various environmental costs of shipping food internationally, categorized by the type of food consumed.  Turns out it makes more environmental sense to subsist on apples imported from New Zealand than eat beef from next door.  From the study abstract, published by the American Chemical Society:

Transportation as a whole represents only 11% of life-cycle GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions, and final delivery from producer to retail contributes only 4%. Different food groups exhibit a large range in GHG-intensity; on average, red meat is around 150% more GHG-intensive than chicken or fish. Thus, we suggest that dietary shift can be a more effective means of lowering an average household’s food-related climate footprint than “buying local.” Shifting less than one day per week’s worth of calories from red meat and dairy products to chicken, fish, eggs, or a vegetable-based diet achieves more GHG reduction than buying all locally sourced food.

Hunh.  Sounds like I’m doing pretty well at the grocery.  And maybe I’ll spring for that free range chicken next week. 

There are more reasons to buy local, or grow your own stuff, than just “maybe fewer emissions”, though.  Supporting small farmers, broadening the food supply, saving money…

Final Thought: I will eat less meat, especially red meat.  But only because of the environmental impacts.  How long will it take for sustainable beef to be readily available?  Does anybody know of any?  I would like cheeseburgers again.

So far, everything except the sweet peas has come up from seed. Those I planted a full inch deep, just like the packet said, so I’ll wait a little while before I start worrying. The shelling pea plants are growing the quickest.

I’m rather suspicious of my success. All I did was collect dirt, pots, seeds, and water. I didn’t even get drainage in most of the pots right, so they’ve flooded twice with the heavy rains the past couple of weeks. And for this, I am rewarded with perky sprouts? Just get a load of that spearmint sprout. He has no idea what he’s getting into. Clearly unprepared for, and unconcerned with, the ravages of my attention. I want him to grow quickly, so I can make tea of him.

I have discovered an effective method for curing the impatience between planting and finding green things: go away for the weekend. Plant Thursday night, make some plans, come back Sunday, and voila! No chance to spend the weekend avoiding one’s phone and staring at dirt, plus rewards when you return.  This has been keeping me calm, anyway.

Eating these guys is the next step that I’m very excited about, but the next actual step is transplanting. I started my seeds close together, like the package said, so I’ll need to thin the morning glories and climbers especially, and the peas, also- there’s one guy who’s struggling in a small pot with two other thriving pea plants. The kalanchoe is now hidden in the glories, but he appears to be doing well. I assume he’s a bit confused about all the (living) company these days, but soon he’ll be moved to safety.

My Gentleman Friend’s wonderful mother gave me a gigantic stash of planters (with a huge spiky bromeliad bonus) this weekend, which is going to make it possible to separate things the way they should be (and decorate my bathroom). For now, though, more photos of the garden tonight are here. I have romaine lettuce, maybe!

I’m also looking for good homes for a few morning glory sprouts. They’re probably best in pots, since they tend to grow quickly and consume yards and native plants otherwise. Want one? or six?

I thought I had plans last night, but I’d gotten the date wrong. Magically, then, a free evening appeared, which I spent playing with my plants on the deck. I put in Spearmint and Romaine Lettuce, and I’m soaking Sweet Pea seeds. So, to date, I have grown from seed:

Edibles: Shelling Peas, Chives, Basil (purple kind), and Lavender

Flowers: Morning Glories, Cardinal Climber, Kalanchoe (by accident)

I also bought a hydrangea bush (which is unhappy, see- the leaves are getting brown and curling up at the edges, and the flowers are drooping- am I over-watering? Or under-watering? Or does it want sun?), and a Rosemary tree.

Oh, and I finally hooked up my composter the night before last. The excellent Biking person gave me a couple jars of good dirt from his yard, so my starting cultures would be good, and so far nothing smells funny. The housemates have all been instructed in the proper use. I still need to weather- proof it better, but it’s happily reducing food scraps as we speak.

And now the albums: first, of my garden from the night of it’s inception, so you can trace the sprout progress. Also, my peas are growing in fantastic folds, like the one to the left, and these others. And it is really amazing how tiny mint seeds are- compare that to the others I’ve planted.

So far, I’m getting seeds from the grocery store. It’s Whole Foods, and they have a little gardening section, but any ideas on where else I could look for stuff? Their selection is rather limited, and the only other place nearby that carries seeds is Target. The hardware store is pretty far away. Also, I’d like to branch out into the mysteries of plant cuttings (har!). Advice, and bits of your plants, would be greatly appreciated.

I’ve finished my organic vegetarian dinner (don’t be impressed, though, I had a chicken sandwich at a national chain for lunch), and I found a few new colors of hydrangea and mint seeds at the Grocery tonight: good earth day.

I’m impressed with the media: they managed to be breathless about the Democratic nomination and the importance of Earth/Going Green/Climate Change simultaneously. With all the coverage today, though, the best article on the subject was published Sunday.

The NYT Magazine carried an article by Michael Pollen (author of “In Defense of Food” and “An Omnivore’s Dilemma”) on why personal sustainability matters. Sure, it’s easy to win my affection by talking about gardening and Czechoslovakian revolutionaries, but his article touches on more than that. Give it a read, if you’ve ever felt like you can’t do anything about climate change, or need a refresher in today’s sea of greenwashing, or even if you’ve got that notion that only the free market can deal with climate change effectively.  Something for everybody, and well-written, to boot.

From the article (after his request that, as a first step, people attempt to grow something edible):

“[G]rowing even a little of your own food is, as Wendell Berry pointed out 30 years ago, one of those solutions that, instead of begetting a new set of problems — the way “solutions” like ethanol or nuclear power inevitably do — actually beget other solutions, and not only of the kind that save carbon. Still more valuable are the habits of mind that growing a little of your own food can yield. You quickly learn that you need not be dependent on specialists to provide for yourself — that your body is still good for something and may actually be enlisted in its own support. If the experts are right, if both oil and time are running out, these are skills and habits of mind we’re all very soon going to need. We may also need the food.”

Also, he mentioned that Jimmy Carter put solar panels on the White House! Imagine that! Reagan took them right back down, which doesn’t surprise me even a tiny bit, sigh, but they were up there once, and that’s shocking. Why does that have to be shocking?

And in a quick 180, worst coverage of Earth Day goes to WorldNetDaily News. Well, “News”. Their contribution was an article about how uppity women who insist on working out of the home are one of the biggest threats to the environment out there. Maddening, if it weren’t so originally perverse and totally laughable. Found the link through Feministing, who has an excellent response.

It’s the greenish smudge in the middle. I’d read a lot about the difficulty of growing lavender from seed, and my soil isn’t draining well at all (lavender loves to drain!), so I had despaired. But something’s come up. Only one baby lavender, from about 20 seeds, but that’s ok, it’s a start.

Last night, I soaked peas, basil, and a few more climbing guys (which allegedly go nicely with morning glories), and I planted them tonight.

Hopefully their pots will drain better- I filled the bottoms with gravel to give the base some breathing room. Gravel was collected from a defunct water fountain and the side of the road, on my way home (Yes, I washed my hands after, mom). I did have to purchase dirt yesterday, though, which is the most ignominious part of urban gardening. Hypothetically, I could steal it from a public green space in the dead of night, but that’s not fair to my neighbors. Plus it’d be full of puppy doo and broken glass.

HD sells both organic and non-organic dirt!  Well, I got potting soil, but they had “regular dirt” of both kinds too.  I bought the non-organic kind, but I’m wondering the impact of growing vegetables and herbs in it, since it’s got the chemical fertilizers and such.  I’ve got enough for a while, and I won’t waste good dirt, but I should read up more on it and make a more informed decision next time I obtain some. Also, bags of dirt are surprisingly heavy, and I’d like to thank the nice man at Home Depot on 236 who helped me get mine into the car Tuesday afternoon.

(The morning glories and chives are still growing too!)

I started March’s goal with three listed projects. I only finished two things, and I started a bunch more.

Original:

1) Scarf, knit. Progressed ~6 inches, but have succeeded in carrying it around with me, so I’m getting more done these days.

2) Quilt, sewn. No real progress, though I looked up quilt making, and found a new stack of squares.

3) Weighted Companion Cube, wood and fabric. Bought all the fabric, which is now buried under other items in the Gentleman Friend’s apartment.

Added:

4) Flower, sewn. Finished!

5) Nuno-zoris, woven. I’ve marked a stack of teeshirts for dismantling. I’ve also begun debating whether to use a cord base, or try something less bulky, like another teeshirt strip for a base.

6) White Dress, alteration. I’m using the unnecessary waist ties to replace the uncomfortable shoulder straps. I’ve chopped off the straps and the ties, and now I just need to fit it and sew it back on.

7) Lampshades, watercolor. Got some lampshades for practicing from my gentleman friend’s lovely mother.

8 ) Plate, painted. I had a ratty old plate- glass with a shiny paint showing through- but the paint was chipping. I fixed it up with a dark green underlay. I hope it chips more, or maybe I should chip it more, because I wish the chipped pattern looked cooler. Plus, if it chipped more, I could add a third color. But for now, finished!

Ok, so I started more projects than I had, finished two projects I hadn’t started, and mostly just gathered supplies. But I have been finding more ways to work making things into my day, and it’s been very satisfying to plan out how to remake and refurbish my stuff so it works better. All in all, relaxing and refreshing, and woo.

So, April! I had this one planned out already, and it’s partially started. In April, I’m gardening. Since forever, my parents have gardened, and I tried deck vegetables last year. This year, though, I have a bright, sunny deck, with areas of partial shade, a composter, and a plan. Well, not really a plan, but I have a hydrangea, a kalanchoe, and a rosemary bush somewhere about. I killed a couple of houseplants this winter, and  I’ve got the remnants of the pots from last year’s latent peppers, so I have a few empty planter spaces. Plus, my mother informs me that my father, who shows his love through vegetables, has already got a few tomato plants started for me. She’s packing up some herbs, and there were strong hints at a geranium. I am told that geraniums are difficult to kill. We’ll see!

I want to plant some vegetables and flowers in my garden, with a view to both edible harvests and beauty. I need a bigger planter for the hydrangea, so that I can grow that to a viable bush. I’ll also need to get the composter going again. Biking Person was kind enough to give me two spaghetti jars of dirt, so I can get the cultures started, as soon as I find an outdoor plug for the unit. Because it should probably stay outdoors, to isolate it from the housemates, just in case of smells. I’ll also need to build it a tiny hut, since we have a tiny, curious dog (Ruby), and its lid doesn’t latch shut.

Plenty to do, and I’m psyched by the prospect of veggies and hydrangeas (my favorite flowers) and creating things from dirt, sun, and water all summer! And possibly fall. It is DC, after all, the summer lasts. I am slightly nervous, given my tendency to kill plants, about how this will work, so I’ll probably be calling my mother for advice pretty often. I wish there was some sort of gardening reference for total deck garden beginners. Actually, there probably is. Hm.

Toxins released by the trash that Naples still hasn’t figured out what to do with might be tainting a regional delicacy- buffalo mozzarella. Reports of elevated dioxin levels in the cheese, found last week, have caused a 40% drop in sales. The NYT article doesn’t make it clear that it’s specifically the toxic waste in the city that’s causing the dioxin in the cheese, and some locals affiliated with the cheese industry imply that it might also be the fault of “shady mozzarella producers”.

“It really is a problem of criminals making a counterfeit product from God-knows-what,” said Mr. Ursini…“Mozzarella-wise, we’re in good shape. I just hope the whole thing doesn’t become a panic.”

The trash problem is also linked to an Italian criminal element, so hopefully dealing with the trash will remove the cheese issue, either by clearing the environment or removing the shady producers.

How discouraging to learn of an exciting cheese product (buffalo cheese? really?) and have my sampling hopes be so quickly discouraged. In Alexandria we’ve even got a cheese boutique (Cheesetique, yes, really), so I bet they’d have some. I hope it’s dioxin free.

Fix your trash issue, Naples: I want to discover your cheese.

At the Salvation Army, yes. I found this sweater there this afternoon while I was dropping off a load of unnecessary apartment stuff, and had to share. So classy and soft, and if the price and quality won’t convince you to browse your local second hand shop, nothing will. Finding something at a thrift store is way more exciting than finding something at a normal retailer- the element of surprise, the thrill of the chase, etc. Less chance of getting a winner, true- I saw plenty of ugly sweaters made with gorgeous yarn, so maybe next time I’ll try out this advice on recycling sweaters I found through another blog (which I’ll link soon, they’re nifty).

After that ecofriendly success, I balanced my day by getting caught in a rainstorm on my walk home from work, while carrying my bag of groceries. Fortunately it was the perfect warm evening and light rain, and I only stepped in the big puddle and soaked my socks a few hundred yards from my door. But it was a good reminder that practical hippies should carry umbrellas.