Draws upon a recent news reports in Science about the stem rust fungus, Ug99, that is sweeping the globe and threatening to decimated the world’s wheat harvests. Also, the politics behind some nation’s reluctance to give full access of their seed banks (which may possess genetic varieties of these crops that can withstand this and other diseases) to other nations.
Renewable fuels company Sustainable Oils shared the results of a life-cycle analysis of jet fuel created from proprietary Camelina seeds. According to the study, renewable jet-fuel made from Camelina reduces carbon emissions by 84% percent compared to the petroleum-based counterpart.
A team at Michigan Tech University based their research on Camelina grown in Montana and then processed into bio-jet fuel using “UOP hydroprocessing technology”. Next generation biofuels are true hydrocarbons and in the molecular aspect are indistinguishable from fossil fuels, which makes Camelina oil a good candidate to quickly reduce carbon emissions produced by aviation.
Recent data showing sugar’s rising popularity over high fructose corn syrup is good news, right? Not if that sugar is genetically-modified. In fact, if you’ve purchased beet sugar recently, there’s a very good chance that you’ve unintentionally consumed a genetically-modified product. Industry statistics show that more than half of the sugar beets grown in the US in 2008 were genetically-modified varieties.
If that isn’t enough to make you cringe, consider the following: most of those engineered beets were Roundup-resistant, courtesy of agri-tech giant Monsanto. Last autumn under the Bush administration, the USDA approved the Monsanto seed without preparing a standard Environmental Impact Statement. But certainly President Obama, with an organic garden on the White House Lawn, would have done things differently.
Wouldn’t he?
It isn’t news that the economy is causing problems for a number of businesses, but Millennium Seed Bank Project may also be in financial trouble, according to director Paul Smith.The Millennium Seed Bank Project, located in the UK is trying to collect and protect every type of plant known to exist. From Reuters:
The Millennium Seed Bank Project is the only project of its kind in the world which aims to collect and conserve all the planet’s wild plant diversity, Smith said.
With all the bad news lately about salmonella-tainted peanut butter in processed food products, isn’t it high time we had a peanut butter story we could feel good about?Every day, the news is just getting worse and worse. More and more products, including natural and organic ones, are being recalled in the US and Canada. Our faith in our entire food supply system is being tested.
But there is some good news. Not all food manufacturers use peanut products from the Peanut Corporation of America. And while we certainly should not become complacent, there is also no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater… or, in this case, with the peanut butter.
[Guerrilla Gardening. Creative Commons photo by Ondřej Lipár]
Seed banks help out farmers in times of natural disasters; however, the Global Crop Diversity Trust is preparing for such a disaster on a global scale. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault will store and preserve 4.5 million samples from other seed banks. The vault is located on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. Conde Nast explains the purpose of this world seed bank:
There are only two reasons a
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For more information about the Carnival, please see the Carnival of Green Crafts home page here at Crafting A Green World.
We’re pleased as punch to announce that the next Carnival will be August 9th at BlogHer, courtesy of Hobbies, Crafts & DIY Contributing Editor Debra Roby. Send in your posts via the carnival submission form today!
Thanks so much to all the crafters who shared their posts with us for this Carnival. Let’s dig in!
It is gardening season across the Northern Hemisphere. My children’s interests wax and wane in the garden, but they’ve enjoyed the recent abundance of asparagus and seed planting. My daughter likes to harvest the asparagus, probably because we let her use a knife under close supervision, and my son loves to plant the seeds and dig holes. We are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of the strawberries!
Over the years of organic gardening with children, I have learned to relinquish some control to perfect rows, perfect spacing, etc. Now, I have added seed and plant selection to the list of gardening enjoyments I now share with my children. It all started when the seed catalogs started arriving at the end of winter. Both of my children took an active interest in the pictures, so I suggested they start circling varieties they wanted to grow. Now that we are planting, they have a vested interest in our efforts, and I believe this will carry over to trying new foods and healthy eating from our organic garden.
Editor’s note: The following post was written by Matty Byloos of Green Eggs and Planet:
An easy to read green blog, dedicated to providing insight and answers to many questions regarding the environment, nutrition, wellness, health, yoga, fitness, meditation and more. It is our mission at Green Eggs and Planet to create a comprehensive conversation about a holistic program for healthy living, complete mindfulness and greater understanding of life’s most crucial concerns.
Tips on Healthy Snacks for Kids or Adults
Mmmm…snack time.
I was sitting in an Organic Spa in Southern California a few days ago, waiting for my TLC. While in the waiting/relaxation room I was privy to a spread that flipped my mind upside down, rolled it up in multiple flavors (including dark, dark chocolate, fresh coconut milk and even some of the most amazing organic grape tomatoes I have ever ripped into) and threw it down onto a massage table for dessert. As I lie there, and I do mean lie, I drifted into a land of the perfect snack ideas, and what better time to share?
How about a list of the Top 10 healthy snacks, coming from a subjectively objective opinion? Bottom line, health is priority #1, and TASTE is priority #1.5! If you’re into online shopping, consider sources such as Sunfood Nutrition and The Raw Bakery— both offering many of the snacks listed below, as well as other healthy options to quiet a growling tum.
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault opened today with the beginning shipments of 100 million seeds that originated in over 100 countries. The seeds represent everything from food staples such as maize, rice, wheat, cowpea, and sorghum to European and South American varieties of eggplant, lettuce, barley, and potato. The vault, located on a remote island in the Arctic Circle, will be home to the most comprehensive and diverse collection of food crop seeds being held anywhere in the world.
The structure itself is an ice-bound fortress built with a tunnel that goes deep into the side of a mountain. During the winter, Arctic aire -10°C to -20°C will be drawn into the vault. The surrounding rock will naturally keep the desired deep freeze, and during the summer refrigeration equipment will be used.
The unique structure is its own failsafe, in the event of equipment failure temperatures in the vault take months to warm up to a maximim of -3.5°C. The inside of the seed storage vault is lined with insulated panels as well. Electronic transmitters linked to a satellite system monitor temperature, and send this information back to the Longyearbyen and at the Nordic Gene Bank, where staff will be managing the Seed Vault.
Additional security measures, besides the extreme cold and remote location, include motion detectors and in the event of that failing, there is also the native polar bear population.
(More on the importance of preserving seed diversity after the jump).
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