Design of the Svalbard seed vault as of early 2007

In 1992, the Global Biodiversity Convention (GBC) was adopted in Rio de Janeiro, and which placed the biodiversity issue center stage–calling for the world-wide preservation of biodiversity and its equitable and sustainable use. The convention was established in response to both the increasing rate of plant extinction (through habitat loss), fears by poorer nations of “biopiracy”, and the increasing agricultural use of land for high-value crops, to the exclusion of lesser-value ones–a practice that diminishes crop biodiversity. These lesser-value crops are typically grown by independent and small farms in less economically advanced countries. Many of these so-called “orphan crops” risk becoming extinct. Further, many species of plant or tree that fall outside the conventional definition of agriculture–such as the sea-water tolerant mangrove tree–are being ignored, to the possible peril of future agriculture.

Recent warming trends pose the greatest threat to preserving global “agrobiodiversity” due to its predicted alterations in temperature, precipitation, and sea level (thus the intrusion of saline water into fresh water ecosystems). Also, computer models show that global warming will increase the frequency and duration of flood and drought cycles. To protect civilization’s long-term food supply (and to protect against the social chaos of food shortages from consequent crop failures) from these potentially calamitous effects, scientists and agricultural policy experts, in cooperation with various governments, have begun establishing cryogenic gene banks to preserve the seeds of various, valuable crops for future agricultural use. The most notable example of this is the International Rice Research institute (IRRI) in the Philippines which stores over 100,000 strains of rice.

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The perfect little candle recently made its way across my desk (and on to my vanity) and is the lovely and luxurious scent of fresh island plumeria.    And who is the creator of such a deliciously scented room enhancer?  None other than (straight from the tropics) Malie Organics.  Made from clean-burning soy and kukui oils, it is petroleum-free and burns by way of cotton wick for a nice long 60 hours.  Comes in a simple glass container with nothing but the tasteful, gold Malie symbol on the front.  Chic and elegant.

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After six weeks of grueling, scientific research, here is my favorite flavor and the runner-up:

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This is going to be the last week for this challenge. Next week, I’ll do a wrap up and pick a favorite!

While staring at the frozen foods, I realized that despite reviewing vegan ice creams for weeks and weeks, I’d somehow managed to not pick a soy-based brand the entire time! Let’s be honest here: part of that was intentional. I’m not a fan of that soy aftertaste, especially in desserts. Still, in the name of science, it felt like the right thing to do, so I grabbed a pint of Soy Delicious green tea ice cream. This is a soy-based brand made by Turtle Mountain: the same folks who produce the Purely Decadent coconut-based ice creams. It’s gluten free and the label touts that it’s “fruit sweetened.” Here’s how it stacked up:

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Generally softer than cotton, Just Soya is another great summer yarn. It is silky, smooth and comes in DK weight. Perhaps a summer shawl or tank would be perfect to whip up in this yarn.

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In news that may make supermarket label readers and organic consumers even more wary, a recent report raised serious questions about many brands of soy products.

The investigation by The Cornucopia Institute included a survey, in person visits to farm and processing facilities, and a review of import data from over 60 soy product companies.  The report included a scorecard of each company as well as a comprehensive 54 page report outlining their findings of the overall industry.

Some of their more disturbing findings include:

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A few look particularly interesting, like the Soyjoy-sponsored Battle of the Chefs: Eco-cuisine. Each chef is charged with creating three different soy-based dishes on site, with the winner scooping up a $15,000 prize package (wanna bet there’s a lot of soy products in it?) There’s even a celebrity judge (Julianna Moore) – it is LA after all – to taste the well-known chefs’ concoctions. The best news is that you can to, if you go to the event on the 22nd.

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Malie Mango Nectar Luxe Cream Soap

Enriched with the hydrating properties of Kukui Nut, Macadama Nut and Coconut Oils, this easy to grip bar moisturizes and nourishes skin.  Malie fruit and flower hydrosols add exquisite, pure scent and aromatherapeutic power  to this luscious hand and body cleanser.  Also comes in koke’e (a crisp, green scent), coconut vanilla, plumeria, and pikake (Hawaiian Jasmine).

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Kids who eat bacon and other meats containing nitrites more than once a week have a 74 percent increased risk of leukemia than children who did not eat these foods.

Conversely, children whose ate veggies and soy regularly have more protection against cancer.

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Is there anything that soy cannot do? Perhaps not. Scientists at Agricultural Research Service (ARS), a scientific research agency of the USDA, are experimenting with the use of defatted soy flour, to take the place of traditional petroleum based fillers that increase tensile strength and wear in tires.

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This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of ProformaGreen, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy. John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.

All you North American eco hotels, yoga studios, cafes, craft shops and spas, rejoice. There is finally a US company making soy candles in the US from US materials that can do large scale runs.

Decarte Products pronounced “Da Kart” specializes in creating a premium fragrance 100% soy candle, and they were at the Promotional Products Association International event in Fort Worth showing off their new line.

The best thing about this company - aside from the US manufacturing - is that they specialize in candles only, unlike most other manufactures that carry candles, if at all, as an after thought.

Why soy?

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I confess that I get my kicks out of discovering “green” innovative design talent that I’m convinced has a bright future. Some friends tell me about their similar intuitions, such as predicting the fame of upcoming actors and actresses. Then others about musicians and singers. You get the idea.

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I started looking it over and knew that it was the right weight for my next project. I wanted to start knitting with it right away, so I pulled out a skein and pulled the tag off of it to start winding it into a ball. That’s when I noticed the label had a Forest Stewardship Council certification stamp. Wow, a yarn that’s been FSC certified?! My lucky day!

The yarn in question was Bernat brand yarn made from soy of their Natural Blends collection. Bernat offers soy yarn in 8 soft soothing colors. A great compliment to the soft yarn. I happen to have Celery, but it comes in Seasalt, Raspberry, Oatmeal and Flax.

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That’s what Adrian Desbarats, up in Prince Edward Island, on the far east edge of Canada, decided to do. Far from being yet another boutique green fashion site in an obscure location, Desbarats is about to launch a site with high ambitions: To make the buying of sustainable fashions an affordable, quick, painless experience, at great prices.

It’s easy to find expensive green fashion like Natalie Portman’s vegan shoe line and other such boutique items, or on the other side, hippy skewed hempwear. But what if you want fashion for the more everyday, that looks good, wears well, and is reasonably priced? This is where Fashion & Earth aims to fit.

Now the question that came to my mind is, isn’t there other sites out there that do just that? Desbarats was on the case, with a well thought out response:

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Her passion for the culture comes through in some of the gorgeous pieces that she carries, such as the beautifully designed tea towels.  Inspired by her memories and travels, Hammocks and High Tea line definitely evokes sunny imagery of open air markets and lush tropical, lazy days of summer.

The pieces in the home goods collection are made with organic fabrics, including hemp, soy and organic cotton. Each product is made by hand, and printed using water based, solvent free inks.

I love the Indian Summer tea towel in Nigella (shown left) decorated with bold Hibiscus for $13 online. It’s the perfect hostess gift.

The Organic Consumers Association announced Friday it was “expanding its boycott of Horizon and Aurora organic dairy products to include five national ‘private label’ organic milk brands supplied by Aurora, as well as two leading organic soy products, Silk and White Wave.” Aurora, who supplies “organic” milk for Costco, Safeway’s ‘O” brand, Publix, Nature’s Promise, and Wild Oat’s “organic” dairy line was found to be violating animal welfare law. In truth, Aurora operates like a factory farm, milking 2,000 to 10,000 cows, confining cattle to feedlots, ordering replacement cows, and potentially using antibiotics.

A farmer the OCA spoke with said “real organic dairy farms don’t need to buy replacement heifers.” The new cattle are brought in only on industrial scale farms where cows are pushed to high levels of milk production, sometimes slaughtered after only a year or two after they stop milking often due to stress. Check out the report to read more on how Bush kept Aurora rolling under the mask of the “organic” label.

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Ford Motor Company will be replacing up to 40% of their petroleum-based seat cushions with a new material made from soybean oil. “Soy foam” costs roughly the same to manufacture as traditional petroleum derivatives, but requires less energy to produce and may reduce environmental impacts by 75%.

The new material was developed by Ford’s own researchers, and made its debut in the 2008 Ford Mustang. Soy foam has also already been incorporated into the seat cushions of Ford F-150 pickups, Expeditions, and Lincoln Navigator SUV’s. By the end the year, Ford says it will have 45,500 soy-foam vehicles on the road.

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It was first reported in January that Virgin Atlantic would test flight a Boeing 747 jetliner using a biofuel, without naming the fuel. An algae-derived biofuel was, however, mentioned as a strong possibility for the flight between London Heathrow airport and Amsterdam. The plane will carry a limited flight crew and no passengers.

Next, an official of the UK Department of Transport claimed in a document leaked to Flight International that a 20% mixture of algae biofuel and regular jet fuel will be used in one engine for the test.

The latest comes from a Boeing official who said, in an interveiw with Flight at the Singapore air show, the Virgin Flight will definitely not use algae-derived biofuel in the test. Instead, a first-generation feedstock, such as soy, canola, babassu or palm oil will be the source of the biofuel.

The use of a hydrogenated fuel would, as one expert put it, “be a good demonstration of proof of concept.” He did say, however, that algae will be considered as a fuel source in the future.

Well, whatever they use, it’ll be a first for the commercial aviation industry. An Airbus 380 flew with a gas-to-liquid biofuel a few weeks ago, proving that a biofuel was an option, but in their case it was a fuel derived from fossil deposits.

The test is slated for the end of February, so we’ll know soon what fuel was used in the flight.

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