Eat Your Greens

Please check out this very interesting article in Time magazine about the benefits of a plant-based diet.

One great fact from Time’s Bryan Walsh:

“A meal at McDonald’s produces more carbon than your trip to the drive-through.” 

An interesting point: “The most efficient way to shrink the carbon footprint of your menu is to eat less meat, especially beef. Raising cattle takes a lot more energy than growing the equivalent amount of grains, fruits or vegetables: most produce requires about 2 calories of fossil-fuel energy to cultivate per 1 calorie of food energy; with beef, the ratio can be as high as 80 to 1. What’s more, the majority of cattle in the U.S. are reared on grain and loads of it–670 million tons in 2002–and the fertilizer used to grow that feed creates separate environmental problems.”

After reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma, my eyes were opened to the sorry diet that most cattle are receiving. But I wonder if a vegetarian world is the answer?  After all, if none of our land animals were eating, would this not produce problems?  What would happen to our wonderful Canadian beef farmers?  Our dairy farmers?  I think that people should eat less meat–it should be a side dish, perhaps, rather than a main–but I’m not convinced that meat should be removed from our diets altogether.

Buying Food

Please check out this article from CTV.

There is going to be a lot of publicity surrounding ‘healthy’ foods as Heart and Stroke week approaches.  According to CTV,  Canadians are paying between double and nearly six times the average price for healthy foods, depending on where they live.

The report finds price discrepancies across Canada and within provinces. It also found many Canadians have difficulty accessing healthy foods at their local grocery store. 

One of the most startling differences is the prices of apples: six apples cost $0.90 in Peterborough, Ont., but $7.64 in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. Obviously, eating a healthy, well-balanced diet decreases your chances of heart and stroke dramatically–but, for some Canadians, healthy eating truly is not an option.

Growing food in Toronto

Big thanks to Breanna for passing along this article from The Toronto Star. 

Writer Vanessa Lu reports on the idea of growing organic food in public spaces like on the side of the Gardiner or on grassy medians like those on University Avenue. 

It’s a great idea, but I’m not sure I would be so enthusiastic about eating a salad that had been washed in commuter traffic pollution.  The idea of growing locally is great, but it has to be practical and I just don’t see how this would work.  

In addition to the problem with pollution, who would do the weeding and other necessary care for the plants? How would the food be sold? How would theft be prevented? Would it cause yet more rodent infestations in our city?  

Details aside, I love the idea of garden sharing. I do not have any green space and it’s something I dearly miss once summer hits the city.  Does anyone in the Annex need help in their garden?  I would be interested in an exchange of labour for food!