From the category archives:

Ecological Issues

Shark Finning Jeopardizes Ocean Ecosystems

by BC Brew 01.10.2012

^ NDP Fisheries and Oceans Critic, Fin Donnelly, launches shark fin import ban petition at C Restaurant. (L to r, Claudia Li, Dr. Chris Harvey-Clark, Fin Donnelly, Rob Stewart, Cécile Yuen, Robert Clark)
Sharks are sublime creatures. For 400 million years they have survived on Earth, evolving to become the oceans’ supreme hunters and shaping the [...]

0 comments Click to continue…

BC Farm Project Attempts to Value Natural Capital

by BC Brew 12.19.2011

^ Ecological Services Initiative launches at Granville Island.
A significant flaw in our economic system is how natural capital is not assigned any direct monetary value. This means, for example, that while a wetland produces clean water and controls flooding, the only economic value is seen in converting it to agricultural or industrial use. However, the [...]

2 comments Click to continue…

Book Review: “Meat: A Benign Extravagance”

by Todd Caldecott 11.28.2011

Recently I was given a review copy of Simon Fairlie’s new book entitled Meat: A Benign Extravagance, published by Chelsea Green (2010), right around the same time I wrote what some might consider a rather controversial blog on the subject of meat here on Urban Diner. The issue of eating meat is a touchy one, especially here in [...]

0 comments Click to continue…

Food Freedom Alert: Rally for Dairy Farmer Michael Schmidt

by paulkamon 11.01.2011

On Wednesday, November 2nd at 9 am there will be a rally for Food Freedom outside the New Westminster Supreme Court (651 Carnarvon Street) in support of dairy farmer Michael Schmidt who has been on a hunger strike for the past 33 days fighting contempt of court charges imposed upon him for distributing raw milk [...]

0 comments Click to continue…

Climate Change Challenging Specialty Coffee

by Mette-Marie Hansen 10.19.2011

(Images by: Mette-Marie Hansen)
Our climate is changing. This might not be shocking news to you over your morning coffee, but as a coffee buyer, I get to meet farmers and producers who are facing the difficulties of a changing climate year round.
It is the small business’ job to rant about [...]

0 comments Click to continue…

Coffee Certifications

by Mette-Marie Hansen 09.19.2011

“Is Your Coffee Fair Trade and Sustainable and Organic?”
I just got this question from a concerned consumer, and she was raising valid questions about well known certifications and buzz-words. The question is simple, and doesn’t require more than a yes-or-no, but as much as I love coffee, I love the opportunity to discuss and explore [...]

0 comments Click to continue…

Solutions from the Underground: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World

by Editor 05.21.2011

Fungi, particularly mushrooms, offer some powerful, practical solutions to many of the forces of environmental degradation facing the biosphere. The central premise is that habitats have immune systems, just like people, and our close evolutionary relationship to fungi can be the basis for novel pairings that lead to greater sustainability and better health. Paul Stamets [...]

0 comments Click to continue…

Sustainability Alert: Vancouver Tool Library

by paulkamon 04.02.2011

I caught this recent retweet from Vancouver City mayor, Gregor Robertson, of councillor Andrea Reimer’s post about a tool co-op starting up in East Van. Sounds like a great idea!
The Vancouver Tool Library (VTL) is a cooperative tool lending library currently being established in East Vancouver. The VTL will be equipped with a [...]

0 comments Click to continue…

Special Event: “Milk War” Vancouver Screening

by Editor 02.06.2011

At the epicenter of the raw milk controversy, Alice Jongerden, a mother of five, commits herself to defend our country’s food security and individual food rights.
Alice, the founder of Chilliwack-based Home On The Range cow-sharing co-op, is mounting a constitutional challenge of a 2010 court order that bars her from producing or distributing unpasteurized milk, [...]

0 comments Click to continue…

Fungi Overlords or “6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save the Planet”

by Editor 01.19.2011

I stumbled across this fascinating TED talk by Mycologist Paul Stamets, where he shares his research and theories on mycelium — and lists 6 ways that fungus can help save the world. Brilliant!

0 comments Click to continue…

Vancouver Screening: “Milk War”

by Editor 12.09.2010

Details and trailer inside.

0 comments Click to continue…

Food Fight: Free Trade and the Battle for Control of Our Food

by Rick Green 11.22.2010

I remember one time, when buying tomatoes at a Vancouver farmers market, a young woman asked the vendor if they had any tomatoes for sandwiches, “like the ones you find in the supermarket.” Before her lay a cornucopia of heirloom tomatoes in various shapes and sizes, in hues of yellow, green, orange, pink, purple, black, [...]

2 comments Click to continue…

← Previous Entries