How your Protein Eating Habits Affect the Environment

I came across this interesting post on GOOD and was surprised about some of the findings. If the fact that not all proteins are the same is quite common knowledge, who would have thought that lamb was the worst of all meats in terms of carbon footprint, ahead of pork and beef? Not surprisingly the prize for eco-friendly proteins goes to a non-animal product such as lentils, but not so obvious was cheese’s ranking before poultry in polluting terms. This study by the Environmental Working Group takes everything into account from fertilizers to energy, water, gas consumed in order to produce the final proteins. For someone like me that has built most of its business around pulse trading, this can only be a good prospect for the future… sorry lamb chops, lentils are the food of the future!

A New Green Addition to your Kitchen

The first ever biodegradable cling wrap film just launched in the UK. Following the successful introduction of BacoFoil 100% Recycled in 2009, the British manufacturer Baco just introduced this eco-friendly cling film that is claimed to break down completely in landfill within two years of deposit, thanks to the use of ultra low molecular weight (ULMWPE) polythene that has a prodegradant introduced during its production. As the UK Telegraph reports, though the waste caused by cling film is fairly slim in comparison with water bottles, or indeed thrown away food, a huge amount of the product is used every year. More than 1.2 billion meters, equating to 745,000 miles of cling film is used by households across Britain every year – enough to go around the circumference of the world 30 times over. This BioWrap has hit the stores priced at 1.75GBP for 40m.

Plastic Could be the Next Good Catch for European Fishermen

The fact that our oceans are becoming poor in fish stocks whilst filled with plastic and other debris is a sad reality we are all aware of. In an attempt to solve both issue simultaneously, Maria Damanaki, the European Union’s Fisheries Commissioner, recently launched a trial project that sees European fishermen paid to be catching plastic debris, filling in for diminishing fish stocks. The practice of ‘discarding’ – throwing back at sea (usually already dead) fish stock, either because the quota has been surpassed or to save room for a higher value catch – is commonplace. According to a recent article in the Guardian, about one million tons of fish are thrown back into the North Sea alone annually. Damanaki’s plan comes as an attempt to stop this unnecessary practice, and simultaneously support the fishermen’s livelihoods by paying them to clean our seas. A pilot project will begin this month in the Mediterranean where fishermen will be given the proper net equipment to collect accumulated plastic debris. As concluded by GOOD, the EU will subsidize the program at first (there’s no word how much money the fishermen will be paid) but the hope is that over the long run, as recycling plastic gets more profitable, the trash becomes a valuable catch in itself. If this pilot program proves successful, it could serve as a model for saving our oceans without sacrificing our fishermen. Certainly a win-win action plan for all parties involved.

Image from Hugh’s Fish Fight