Food Archives - Page 3 of 13

Cowspiracy Reveals Inconvenient Truth about the Most Destructive Industry on the Planet

September 18, 2014

by Derek Markham

What’s the most destructive industry facing our planet today? You can be forgiven for thinking it’s fossil fuel production and consumption, with all of its attendant pollution and GHG emissions, along with its destructive extraction processes and the all-too-frequent oil spills in our oceans and waterways, because most environmental organizations focus on that. However, according to a new documentary, the industry that’s most responsible for global warming, water scarcity, species extinction and habitat loss, deforestation, and marine pollution and “dead…

Does the Farm to Table Movement Really Help Small Farmers?

August 22, 2014

by Derek Markham

With the growing emphasis on serving locally grown and produced food in restaurants, the farm to table movement seems like it would be a big positive influence on small farmers, but is that really the case? If you read any of the inspiring stories of small farmers and food producers that have found the right market for their products, you’d probably be tempted to answer yes, but it’s not an easy question to resolve, and we may end up with…

DEET-Free Mosquito Repellent Bracelet Offers 120 Hours of Protection

August 19, 2014

by Derek Markham

Instead of relying on potentially toxic mosquito repellent ingredients, such as DEET, to protect yourself from the irritating bites of those tiny terrors of summer, a new product relies on a natural ingredient, geraniol oil, to render its wearers invisible to mosquitoes. For most people, mosquito bites are nothing more than an annoyance that we try to avoid, but in some cases, such as when a person is really attractive to mosquitoes and gets covered in bites, or when those…

These Hoppers Could Power Your Next Workout: Cricket Bars

August 12, 2014

by Derek Markham

If you weren’t raised eating bugs, errm, insects, the thought of crunching down on something that crawls out from under a log may not sound very appealing. But in many places around the world, protein is where you can find it, not just stuck between two buns at a burger joint, or packed into a foam tray and wrapped in plastic at the grocery store. And in order to more our food system to a more sustainable one, we’re going…

EveryDrop App Puts Power of Water Conservation In the Palm of Your Hand

August 4, 2014

by Derek Markham

If you’ve been paying attention to the news at all over the last year, you’re aware that the drought conditions, especially in states like California, are putting lots of pressure on local water systems. The answers to reducing that pressure, and to coming to terms with a drier future, are many, but one of them, a citizen platform for reporting water waste, could be an effective method of addressing the issue of wastage and raising awareness. A free app, EveryDrop,…

Cervical Cancer Screening Devices Made From Smartphones: MobileOCT

July 8, 2014

by Derek Markham

For a relatively small amount of money, the average smartphone, just like the one in your pocket, can be converted into an advanced cervical cancer screening tool that has the potential to save many lives, especially in places where access to medical care is extremely limited. The key to successfully treating many types of cancers, including cervical cancer, is early detection, and for a lot of women in the developed world, with access to doctors and clinics and regular checkups,…

Urban Farming Documentary Needs a Kickstart to Be Aired on PBS

June 9, 2014

by Derek Markham

Even the best projects, with the most talented team and the most well-intentioned backers, can effectively do only as much or as little as the amount of attention they’re able to attract, and sometimes, such as in this instance, that might mean finding a way to raise cash in order to get the opportunity to reach a wider audience. Urban farming, while not nearly as new of a concept as many of us might think, is nevertheless still considered to…

New System Turns Cow Manure into Clean Water

May 30, 2014

by Derek Markham

By combining an anaerobic digester with a filtration and reverse osmosis system, an idea that began to be developed at Michigan State University (MSU) matured into a system that can turn cow manure into clean water, while also capturing essential nutrients that can be reused as fertilizer. One big environmental issue with animal production, such as dairy or beef operations, is dealing with the huge amounts of manure that are produced every day, which is somewhere in the neighborhood of…