Dear Ocean, I’m sorry for your loss.

Can you imagine the ocean, all 70% of our planet’s worth, without any fish in it? Not a single scale or gill left. How about their friends, those dolphins, whales, and sharks (okay, maybe sharks are less of a friend to fish, but still..), can you picture the incredibly vast ocean without them?

No more snorkeling or whale-watching and definitely no more “oooooh-ing” and “aaaahhhh-ing” at the magnificent, colorful, complex, variety of creatures our world’s oceans have to offer.

I  mean the ocean is huge, more than humans can comprehend. Take a look at this scale that show’s how large just one of the ocean’s trenches is. And have you ever heard that there are mountains under water that put Mt.Everest to shame?

I recently gave up eating fish, which was a very (VERY) hard decision. I grew up in Hawaii and grew up with a love for fresh fish and sushi/sashimi in particular. When I did eat it, I often checked to see where the fish was caught to make sure it wasn’t one of the areas that have been flagged by Seafood Watch.

Do your research, know what you’re consuming and what you’re supporting.

I’ll leave you with some facts to marinate in:

• In just 50 years, commercial fishing has wiped out more than 90% of the big, predatory fish in the oceans, from tuna to swordfish and marlins
• In California, Washington, Oregon and Idaho, salmon are extinct in nearly 40 percent of the rivers they were known to inhabit — at least 106 major stocks gone forever.
• Thanks to 4 decades of overfishing, the Giant Bluefin Tuna population has declined 97% (Think Sushi and longline fishing!)
• The songs that whales and dolphins use to communicate, orient themselves and find mates are being drowned out by human-made noises in the world’s oceans..they get stranded and starve. Or are beached. Read this article from CBS News.

Think before you eat!

Resources:

Just added “The Cove” to my Netflix queue!

p.s….
Just so you can visualize:
THIS is the magnificently large Bluefin tuna:

And an aerial photo of 200 dolphins that became stranded in shallow water because of disorentiation due to noise pollution in the ocean:

Chefs use Twitter to talk food biz

Chef’s are using Twitter as a way of talking, or rather criticizing and responding, to one another. Twitter is allowing them to voice their thoughts and concerns, and also respond to one another in a timely manner. This article from the NYTimes reports that head chefs from around New York City are using Twitter as a method of marketing themselves, their restaurants, and slightly less common…talking smack?

A little immature, in my opinion, as their tweets are about running one another over with their bikes, firing each other, and criticisms on how authentic one another’s recipes truly are. The well-known food blog Eater picked up the story as well.

These guys need to grow up. But, that being said, I think it’s pretty cool that they can use Twitter to defend themselves and market themselves in a more positive light before their names are smeared in a bad food review somewhere.

In other news, I just ordered myself a copy of The China Study and can’t wait to get it! Has anyone else read this/how did you like it?

I heard it’s an essential read for deepening your understanding of longevity and health. I’ll let you all know how it is!

Jamie’s Food Revolution USA Campaign

This. Is. So. Cool.
Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution USA Campaign is unfolding in the U.S, and at just the right time, when Michelle Obama and legislation to confront Childhood Obesity is front and center.

Jamie Oliver is the TED Prize winner for 2010 and was called “the chef who’s transforming the way we feed our children …” by the TED2010 Blog and is already well known in London for his work bringing awareness toward how we feed our children.

“At the heart of Oliver’s work is an assault on the obesity epidemic: The CDC states that one in four Americans are considered obese. It is estimated that 43 percent of Americans, or 103 million people, will be obese by 2018. The cost of this epidemic is anticipated to reach $344 billion per year. It currently accounts for almost 10 percent of the yearly US health care costs, and that rate will rise to 21 percent by 2018. WHO’s latest projections indicate that, globally in 2005, approximately 1.6 billion adults were overweight and projects that by 2015, that figure will rise to 2.3 billion.”
-Ted2010 Blog

This is so great.

Now, mainstream television (the official mentor of children across America) will air Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution USA. It’s scheduled to air on ABC in 2010, bringing Jamie’s unique vision to American people across the country.

On that note, another noteworthy spokesperson for school-children nutrition is Chef Ann Cooper. Her lively website, LunchLessons.org, rounds up recipes, links, and resources for food activism.

Here’s one of her videos with lunchbox ideas (love it):

Will junk food finally get the boot?

It’s been a long time coming and it’s already years too late: The Obama Administration is finally pushing legislation for candy and sugary beverages to be banned from school vending machines.
Many schools would be required to offer more nutritious fare.

Here’s a link to the article in the New York Times covering the developments on this legislative effort.

Childhood obesity rates are growing and this campaign may be stepping in at just the right time.
For children, prevention really does seem to be the best method. Learning healthy eating habits young could save children from a lifetime of weight related health problems as well as the emotional stress that accompanies obesity.

Children are sponges and learn what they know from the people they trust. Teachers, parents, mentors and siblings can all take a stand and help children make the right decisions early on. Chances are it will remind the older generations what it means to take care of their bodies as well!

Here’s an idea to replace the PB&J: [5 minute prep time]
Recipe from Eatingwell.com

Strawberries n' Cream Cheese

Strawberry and Low-fat Cream cheese Sandwich
Ingredients:
* 1 tablespoon reduced-fat cream cheese, (Neufchâtel)
* 1/4 teaspoon honey
* 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
* 2 slices very thin whole-wheat sandwich bread
* 2 medium strawberries, sliced

Preparation:
1. Combine cream cheese, honey and orange zest in a bowl.
2.Spread bread with the cheese mixture.
3. Place sliced strawberries on 1 piece of bread, top with the other.

DONE!

Nutrition
Per serving: 128 calories; 4 g fat (2 g sat, 1 g mono); 8 mg cholesterol; 18 g carbohydrates; 4 g protein; 3 g fiber; 191 mg sodium; 63 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (25% daily value), Vitamin C (90% dv), Folate (67% dv), Iron (20% dv).

Food rules worth following

Ran across this article in the New York Times the other day. It’s a response to Michael Pollan’s “Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual”, and really drives a few key points about the types of eating habits we should strive to adopt.

I really appreciate articles like this one during a time in which Health Care Reform is on everyone’s minds. Hundreds of scientific studies can provide you with evidence that your diet has a direct impact on your bodily and mental health. Changing the way you eat could be the most influential “reform” we have access to right now.

Besides that, I wanted to share with you a recipe I made from SusanV at Free-Free Vegan Kitchen.

This recipe was healthy, delicious, and so easy to make! Not to mention I had a lot left over and put some in reusable containers for lunch later this week. Enjoy!

Click HERE for the recipe.

GOOD Magazine gets it right

I absolutely love watching the GOOD Magazine Transparency videos on youtube. If you’ve never seen one, check this one out. I garuntee you’ll find yourself lost in the sidebar watching their other videos! This one in particular I love because of how simple the message is, “Eat healthy, live healthy.” Good nutrition IS the key to vibrant health.

This magazine is running a fantastic campaign called “Transparency” that promotes all kinds of ethical thinking and awareness. There are postings on oil, war, water…etc etc etc.

On another note, I want to take a paragraph to do some shameless product promotion. I could dizzy myself with facts for you all on the importance of getting the proper protein in your diet, and for those of you who are vegetarian I’m sure you’ve been asked the question, “Where do you get your protein?”

( I guess on the flipside, those of you who aren’t…I’m sure you’ve asked a veggie that before!)

Beside being very conscious of my diet and attempting to keep it as varied as possible, I’ve adopted a new protein powder that strays away from Whey or Soy protein (which have questionable effects on your health if you consume too much of either!) It’s called Vega and it was developed by a guy named  Brendan Brazier who also happens to be vegan, a professional Ironman triathlete and best-selling author on performance nutrition. It’smade exclusively from natural plant-based whole foods.

After incoporating this into my skimpy-college meals for the past couple of weeks I’ve noticed a huge difference in my energy levels as well as not feeling so snacky all the time. Yummmmmmmmmy! (It’s kind of expensive, and I was skeptical at first, but now I’m a believer!)

Visit the Vega website

To believe or not to believe

Today I found myself in a state of silent rage and sadness as I listened to a fellow classmate of mine. She’s smart, ambitious and very quick witted.

This is the second time in a month a girl like this has broken my heart.

These two women have one particular thing in common: Neither of them believe in global warming or climate change.

In fact, not only do they not believe in global warming or the serious effect it has on the quality of life for humans and animals alike (or what is yet to come), but they believe it’s just a marketing or conspiracy hoax thought up by left-wing scientists.

Yes, ladies and gentleman, psychadellic-mushroom-loving hippies have disguised themselves as scientists (thousands of them), and are using conspiracy tactics to convince us to “Go Green”.

What I wanted to scream and yell each time they told me this was that “NO!” It’s not a matter of “belief” or “disbelief”. You wouldn’t tell Newton you didn’t “believe” in gravity, would you?

What finally silenced my inner hippie-conspiracy-loving tantrum was remembering that more often than not, in cases such as with these two women, it often comes down to misinformation and a lack of education surrounding the topic.

Folks, I hereby do solemnly swear to use my communication skills in the public relations field for good…Scout’s Honor.

Moments like this give me hope in my chosen career path. It’s a phenomenal thing what marketing and public relations have the ability to do if used in a responsible and ethical manner.

To my fellow “non-believing” class mates, I beg you, READ about it. Listen. Keep your eyes open.

Here’s a little video to get you started.

P.s.

At the risk of sounding like a total wacko:

“Endgame: The problem of Civilization” by Derek Jensen. I’ll even lend you my copy.

Taco bell…on a diet?

*Image from adage.com article

I just couldn’t help myself from posting again today. While sitting at work one of the other student employees here informed me that Taco Bell has a new “diet menu”.

Ah, food marketing at it’s finest.

This just pokes me in that soft spot, the one that irritates me beyond reason.
True, Americans will probably always eat fast food. However, the solution is not to introduce “diet” items to the menu (items of which have terrible nutritional value), but rather to re-teach our country what “good nutrition” means.
Essentially, we need to re-learn how to eat.

So, I Googled. The first posting to come up was one from Adage.com covering the heat Taco Ball has received for this so-called “diet” menu.

From the Adage Article:
“Over the years, we’ve heard stories from our customers who have lost weight by incorporating Fresco into their meal choices, and Christine had written Taco Bell a letter detailing her journey,” said Taco Bell spokesman Rob Poetsch. “Her story is a great example of how making better choices can inspire many.”

Pffffffffff. Want to make a better choice? Go to the market and pick up an apple.

Read the rest of the article here

Bing search engine upstaging Google?

While I was meandering through the Bon Appetit website today I found myself immersed in their blog. The latest posting caught my eye–
Bing recently launched a new feature that lists recipes when users search for one-word food items, like “soup” for example, which then leads you to click the “soup recipes” tab.
Then, behold! (or should I say, Bing!”) The search engine delivers tortilla soup and potato leek soup recipes from major databases like Allrecipes, Delish, and bonappetit.com’s sister site, Epicurious.

Apparently, Google doesn’t quite match up to this new feature. I appreciate the new feature considering not only does it give me recipes automatically (which I’m usually searching for anyway), but it still links me to all those fabulous foodie blogs that I found myself immersed in with Google.

Good job, Bing!

Here’s a link the Bon Appetit Blog if you’d like to take a looksee

Twitter just don’t stop!

Here’s another link you might find interesting about the effects of Twitter on relief efforts in Haiti!

“Every five seconds, 40 new tweets appear on Haiti on the online social network.”

Wow!