Food & Health

Tonight, one of our favorite celebrity chefs (from right up the road in Fall River, Mass.), Emeril Lagasse, will be starring in a brand new series on Planet Green. Not one but SIX episodes will debut tonight – BAM! Called Emeril Green, Lagasse will be helping viewers solve their cooking dilemmas and will shares his philosophy for fresh, locally grown foods and inspires consumers by using high-quality produce, seafood and meats.

Picture an ultimate foodie fantasy store. Then drop in some real people who have real culinary challenges

photo by Matthew Logelin

The problems: 1) Indoor air pollution in the developing world caused by cooking fires and sooty illumination results in an estimated 1.6 million deaths per year, 2) Deforestation resulting from over use of wood as an energy source causes serious ecosystem degradation in many parts of the developing world.

A solution, as Envirofit sees it: New cookstoves, which while still burning biomass (wood, crop waste, dried animal dung) reduce indoor air pollution by 80%, reduce fuel usage by 50% and decrease cooking times by 40%.
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Vegetarians Live Longer

The battle has long been waged, and will certainly continue in spite of this study. Are humans designed/evolved to eat everything and at risk of malnutrition as vegetarians? Or is vegetarianism the healthy and ethical choice? The most impressive data arises from a study of 1904 vegetarians over 21 years by the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsche Krebsforschungszentrum). The study's shocking results: vegetarian men reduced their risk of early death by 50%! Women vegetarians benefit from a 30% reduction in mortality. ...

Image credit: ">Robert McLassus

As a dedicated Treehugger you knew it, but…in case you needed more proof:

"A direct comparison of drinking water from the tap with unrefrigerated bottled water shows an environmental impact of tap water which is less than one percent of that of bottled water. Even when refrigerated and carbonated, the environmental impact of tap water is approximately only one fourth of that of bottled water. Thus, from an environmental point of view, tap water is preferable to bottled water as a beverage."
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photo by Ray Witlin/World Bank via flickr

Several African countries have recently begun a program to halt desertification in the Sahel, but even in places where the desert isn’t advancing, agricultural lands face challenges from chemically intensive agricultural methods degrading the soil, overgrazing from cattle, erosion from wind and rain, as well as other sources.

Worldwatch Institute is relaying the gist of a new

Image via Sparking Tech

We're looking for a full-time blogger who can cover the latest, hippest, greenest gadgets and electronics. We are looking for someone who has in-depth knowledge and passion about this topic, can identify and explore current and emerging trends, un...

Photo: Hans Neleman/Getty Images

After a weekend of fireworks, barbecues, and cuisine that may contain more than one hot dog or Jell-O fruit mold, we turn our attention to the gut. And a new breakthrough in probiotics.

"The gut?" you ask. Um, yes. The gut.

Sometime shortly before the holiday weekend I spoke with Steve Demos, a man I’ve known for quite some time and someone my dad, Tim Redmond, has known for quite a few more, since they were both pioneers in this industry of natural and organic foods....

Norwegian carrots - they might not meet KRAV's climate criteria! By color line @ flickr

Sweden's organic food organization KRAV and local-food certifier Svenskt Sigill were supposed to release the first round of climate-certified basic foodstuffs this fall. The organization of Swedish consumers has slowed up the process complaining that a new climate label would confuse and bewilder Swedish consumers, while the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency said opposes a new label for each new environmental problem. The Swedish National Board of Trade said the labelin...

In a complete turnabout the Food and Drug Administration has issued a health warning over amalgam dental fillings after insisting for years that they were safe. A change in stance which is a major victory for activists who claim fillings can cause a range of problems, including heart conditions and Alzheimer's disease.

According to their website, the FDA now states that fillings contain mercury that "may have neuro-toxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses".
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In Victorian times, houses were very narrow, multi-storied, and had a small "footprint" on the land. This left more land for private gardening, and commons, among other things. Then came the 1960s, and "ranch style" homes, with half-acre grass covered lots. By the 1970's anyone with a vegetable garden in a suburban or city back yard were "hippies," "weird," or "old fashioned."

The 1990's saw the boom of Mega-Mansions on postage stamp sized lots, weekly lawn-care crew visits, and still little vegetable gardening on a respectable scale, regardless of whether one lives in the city or the suburbs. Now we have an oil crisis overlain with a salmonella crisis: both of w...

Here is an apt demonstration of why strictly controlled organic food production methods pose lower risks to human health. It is a frightful sounding tale of deformed vegetables in domestic gardens where "allotment" owners used commercially produced (non-organic) manure to supplement their soil. Gardeners have been warned not to eat home-grown vegetables contaminated by a powerful new herbicide that is destroying gardens and allotments across the UK. The chain of events in the UK was roughly as follows...

In a taste of what would come if the U.S. were to take the lead in developing global alternative energy solutions, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has signed a multi-million dollar agreement to bring their expertise to an assessment of health risks in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) due to environmental factors.

And since the U.A.E. has gone from a small nomadic and seafaring economy to one that is highly industrialized in just the last 40 years as one of the fastest developing nations in the world the truth is that there is plenty of cause for concern. A fact leadership in that country fully recognizes, and is attempting to tackle before...

In 2008, global food demand is testing the capacity of petroleum-dependent, export-focused commodity agriculture. This system has not served developed nations as food prices soar—inflamed by biofuel demand and fuel prices—and has especially hurt developing nations already struggling with food security issues. The modern-farming paradigm has also resulted in nutrient overload in our waterways from the use of synthetic nitrogen, degradation of our soils and animal health and welfare concerns. Most disturbing is modern agriculture's contribution to global war...

Image: Kudzu weeds engulf a light pole by a47nn on Flickr
Weeds: are they troublesome invaders, ecological opportunists or key to tackling a potential global food crisis? According to research done by weed ecologists, our ambiguous relationship to these resilient plants could soon change in a world where carbon dioxide levels are rising – and where weeds could grow to oversized proportions (think 12-foot tall lambs-quarters, a common weed).

Of course, “weed” can be a rather subjective label, depending on your context – fa...

This one's all good news. Farm markets are growing at an unprecedented rate across the US State of Washington, which now has over 100 of them. In metro areas, every neighborhood wants one. The latest trend is to go year-round:The West Seattle Farmers Market, which last year saw $1.1 million in vendor sales -- a 300 percent increase over the previous year -- is the latest to go year-round. The offerings are expanding....

It's billed as the biggest farmer's market yet, with more than 500 vendors setting up stalls to show their wares. The best of British foods, by local producers and growers, has arrived and the show is awe-inspiring in the breadth of products and the commitment of the participants. There are gourmet cottage industries, boutique food producers, workshops, cooking classes and, of course, tastings galore. Real food, slow food: it is a movement dedicated to reconnecting with the land, farms and natural cycles, sustainable production rather than the mass consumerism of the supermarkets. ...

Oil is setting record high prices. People are rioting over the price of food in Haiti, Egypt, parts of West Africa and the Philippines. Since March 2007 the price of soybeans is up 87%, and the price of wheat has risen 130%. Global grain stores are at the lowest levels on record. Amid this turmoil the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) release...

Photo credit: Reuters/Enrique Castro-Mendivil/Files

With the cost of wheat and rice bursting through the roof, all eyes are turning to the humble spud as a nutritious staple that could cheaply feed a world increasingly ravaged by hunger.

The potato has plenty going for it, despite its derision by the anti-carbohydrate movement: It requires very little water, matures in as little as 50 days, and can yield between two and four times more food per hectare than wheat or rice. A great source of complex carbohydrates, potatoes only have 5 percent of the fat content of wheat—that is, if you don't smother your tubers in butter. (Mmmm, butter...) Potatoes also have one-fourth of the calories ...

Parducci Wine Cellars, America's first carbon-neutral winery, announced on Thursday its conversion to 100 percent solar and wind power. The oldest family-owned winery in Northern California's Medocino County will be supplementing its on-site solar power with Green-e-certified wind energy purchased from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation.

The annual positive environmental impact of the winery's green power use, according to Parducci, is equivalent to planting 242 acres of trees, or removing 172 cars from the road for a year.

In 20...