Click to watch video Join Errol Barnett in the small seaside town of Luderitz, where oyster fishermen have adapted and grown an industry. See more Inside Africa Previously – Keeping an oyster shortage at bay
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Namibia on the half-shell
A farming company prosecuted under corporate manslaughter is fined a record £187,500 plus £13,000 costs, over the death of an employee.
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Record fine over forklift death
A new study of DNA from ancient remains provides further evidence that farming was spread to Europe by a wave of migrants.
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Farming ‘spread by migrant wave’
5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe. Seafood lovers are between a rockfish and a hard place: More than 80% of the world’s fisheries are being harvested at capacity or are in decline. In honor of Earth Day, April 22, what can consumers do to make sure their seafood choices aren’t further depleting the oceans? Chef Takao Iinuma brings a ray of light to the matter. Iiunuma is the executive chef at Genji Sushi, the purveyors of sushi and Japanese cuisine to Whole Foods Markets. Selecting Sustainable Fish Options for Earth Month: Takao Iinuma 1. Why is it so important to consume fish sustainably ? “Sushi is a culture, and learning to make sushi the traditional way has been passed down for generations. If we want to be able to continue the tradition of sushi culture for the next generations, we need to work to preserve the diversity of fish available.” 2. Which fish are most sustainable ? “It helps to remember these 4 'S' words to figure out if a fish is a good choice: small, shellfish, seasonal and silver. Small fish are lower on the food chain, so there are usually more of them. They also don’t live as long, so they replenish their own stocks more quickly. Shellfish, specifically mollusks like oysters and clams, actually filter water and make the environment cleaner, so farming them doesn’t have the environmental issues that many kinds of aquaculture have. In Japan, we traditionally celebrate seasonality and consume foods when they are at their peak. Not only does food that is in season taste better, but it naturally controls the supply because we are not taking something from the environment at the wrong time. A good way to eat seasonally is to eat locally since what is being caught in your area is what is in season where you live. Many silver fish are also small, such as sardines and anchovies, so they have two things in their favor. Mackerel (saba) , Pacific saury (Sanma), and Spanish mackerel (sawara) are examples of larger silver-skinned fish that are plentiful, healthy and delicious.” 3. What should every seafood lover know about responsible consumption? “The reason we have endangered fish populations is from relying too heavily on certain key fish . If we want to still be able to eat those fish in 50 years, we need to change that. Instead of ordering only salmon or tuna, try something new and local. Look at it as an opportunity to expand your tastes – you will get to enjoy more variety and help the planet at the same time.” 4. What are sustainability standards when it comes to fish? “There are so many factors that the experts consider when they determine the sustainability of a fish – where the fish lives (and the health of that environment), supply of wild stocks, how the fish was caught, etc. – that sometimes it seems like no fish is safe. There are many fish species that we know very little about, so it is important to be careful and not to assume too much. The best bet is to buy your fish from a responsible source and ask questions . Also, look for a rating from a reputable foundation such as the Marine Stewardship Council or the Blue Ocean Institute .” 5. What are your favorite dishes that incorporate sustainable fish? “Sushi is a great way to enjoy many sustainable fish, especially silver-skinned fish like saba (mackerel), kohada (gizzard shad) and iwashi (sardine). Simple grilled fish is another great way to enjoy almost any fish, and you can easily adapt the menu to enjoy the best seasonal flavor.” Is there someone you'd like to see in the hot seat? Let us know in the comments below and if we agree, we'll do our best to chase 'em down.
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5@5 – Selecting sustainable fish for Earth Day
Eatocracy's Managing Editor Kat Kinsman attempts to vegetable garden on a roof deck in Brooklyn, NY in USDA Hardiness Zone 6b. Feel free to taunt, advise or encourage her efforts as this series progresses. This year, you'll grow your own food. Not all of it and probably not even most or much of it. But you'll grow some, and that's going to change your life. There are plenty of reasons to do this. Andrew Zimmern told us just this week that. “If everyone grew what they could, supported urban farms and community gardens in cities and local CSAs, the pressure relief on our overtaxed system would be immense. The resulting dollar shift would be staggering and deliver a positive shot in the arm to local economies. Our food would also be safer. Small action here can yield tremendous impact, immediately.” That's awfully compelling – and pretty intense. Perhaps start small. Grow an herb you are sick of having to pay money for at a store. Grow a vegetable that reminds you of how a grandparent's kitchen smelled. Grow a fruit you always want to have at your fingertips. Grow an ingredient that will make your sauce, stew, soup or salad taste the way it did when you had it at that little cafe in Rome, France, Mexico City or Des Moines. Grow purple carrots because they look cool. Grow spaghetti squash because you need an excuse to go outside and not check e-mail for a few minutes. Grow heirloom corn to save a variety that's dying out. Grow tomatoes so they only travel a few feet, rather than a few hundred miles and taste like sunshine and summer and bliss when they hit your tongue. Just grow something. But…but…but you have no time and possess neither arable land nor green thumb. You live in a mineshaft several kilometers below the Gobi Desert, and it is dark, arid and oh, so cold. American Idol is on. Nope. Nuh-uh. We're having none of that and will no longer accept any of the following excuses. I have no outdoor space. You do, presumably, have a window in your cell, yes? Congratulations. You have outdoor space. Shocking quantities of vegetation can be grown in window boxes, hanging baskets and those Topsy Turvy planters that blonde people smile near in commercials. In my fifth-floor walk-up bachelorette apartment, I grew 23 varieties of heirloom tomatoes and a slew of peppers in an elaborate rigging of containers strung from my fire escape. This was, most likely, not especially prudent or legal, but boy, did my landlord dig the fresh salsa I bribed him with handed over on the regular. You have space; just get clever about it. No, seriously, I have no outdoor space. There is a community garden near you. Look it up online at localharvest.org , or ask that vegan who your cousin used to date. They'll totally hook you up. A community garden is defined by the American Community Garden Association as “Any piece of land gardened by a group of people.” That's it. You won't suddenly become a Communist, break out in a case of tie dye or even have to make friends if you don't want to (though you could). You'll just have a small, nearby chunk of land over which to fuss. You'll acquire a new place to go outside your house that isn't a cafe with wi-fi, a bar, or anywhere else you would spend a wad of cash on a regular basis. Oh, right – money. I'm totally broke. How can I garden? – Containers and tools If you want to pony up for a $299.95 Hammacher Schlemmer Standing Patio Garden or an $80 garden fork from Smith & Hawken, hey, they're really pretty and I'm not going to stop you. The rest of us will grab old bathtubs, dented cooking pots, egg cartons (and eggshells), takeout containers, tires, soup cans, and even newspapers stuffed into old soda bottles , throw some soil into it and call it a garden. You could, in theory, scoop dirt into an discarded pair of stockings , nail it to a windowsill and call it a planter. Martha Stewart might not come calling, but did you really want her dropping by your house, anyhow?. You don't need schmancy tools, pricey chemicals (which aren't necessarily great for you anyhow), artisanal farming cleats or any such frippery. At the bare minimum, you require dirt and seeds. Yes, sunshine and light as well, but for the most part, those are available for free from the sky. – Dirt As for dirt – if you're lucky, it's just right there underfoot. If you're concerned about its quality, stick it in the oven at 200
PALO ALTO, Calif. — Critics began panning the first leg of California’s futuristic high-speed rail network as a “train to nowhere” soon after officials decided to build it not in the major population centers of Los Angeles or San Francisco, but through the state’s Central Valley farming belt. Read full article > >
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Plans for high-speed rail are slowing down
New research has found that radioactive material in parts of north-eastern Japan exceeds levels considered safe for farming.
EL BARRIL, Mexico — The Mexican government is allowing domestic marijuana and opium poppy production to climb to record levels, as soldiers who once cut and burned illegal crops here in the vast Sierra Madre mountains are being redeployed to cities to wage urban warfare against criminal gangs. Since President Felipe Calderon ordered his troops into the streets in late 2006, the acreage dedicated to marijuana farming has nearly doubled in Mexico, according to technical reports by the U.S. government and the United Nations , data provided by the Mexican military, and interviews with law enforcement agents and growers. Read full article > >
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Mexico’s drug war is giving growers a break
DUITAMA, Colombia — In the Andean mountains of central Colombia , where life’s options range from potato farming to herding goats, boys like Johan Cardenas dream of cycling to glory in the French Alps and Pyrenees. They ride at dawn’s first light for 30 or 40 miles, or often 70, much of it up narrow mountain passes. Then they go again the next day, and the day after, with one goal in mind: to someday be good enough to compete in the great bicycle races of Europe. Read full article > >
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Colombian mountain cyclists try to pedal out of poverty toward glory in Europe
Maureen Drennan doesn’t grow marijuana herself. No does she smoke it. But she has spent the past few years photographing a picturesque little pot farm in California
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Lens Blog: On a California Farm Where Marijuana Grows
Top European farming officials are meeting Tuesday as the continent struggles to deal with an E. coli bacteria outbreak that has killed at least 22 people.
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Official: E. coli outbreak only in Germany
A badger cull to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis in cattle may not happen, the farming minister tells BBC South West.
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Badger cull ‘may not happen’
Those who say no man is an island never met Danny Hayes. The 61-year-old retired construction supervisor lives in Bogota, Tennessee, a farming community so small that when asked how to find the town, locals respond, “Don’t blink.”
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‘Crazy old’ man waits out flood
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Some anxious Memphis residents have begun leaving low-lying homes as the swollen Mississippi River threatens to crest in coming days just shy of a 48.7-foot record of a devastating 1937 flood. Record river levels are expected to be broken in some areas as the surging river menaces flood-prone areas of Memphis on down through the Mississippi Delta region and into rich Louisiana farming country. In Memphis, the river was expected to crest at 48 feet by Tuesday. Alvin Pearson says people in low areas began leaving for shelters and other higher ground Saturday. Read full article > >
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Memphis, points farther to South, brace for surging Mississippi River; Ky. spared calamity
The next-in-line to the British throne visits an urban farm in LeDroit Park, talks about sustainable farming and honors wounded service members as part of a three-day visit to Washington. Read full article > >
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Prince Charles visits D.C.
Colombian mountain cyclists try to pedal out of poverty toward glory in Europe
Sunday, September 18th, 2011Memphis, points farther to South, brace for surging Mississippi River; Ky. spared calamity
Sunday, May 8th, 2011
