In order to address the harmful impacts of meat on human health and the environment, several different organizations have proposed that the U.S. government impose a tax on one of America’s favorite indulgences—meat.
http://www.newsweek.com/cost-food-could-go-higher-proposed-meat-tax-763151?yptr=yahoo
In 2013 the United Nations declared Dec. 5 to be World Soil Day, a recognition of the significance of healthy soil in both improving food security and nutrition, and mitigating the effects of climate change, including drought, flood, soil erosion and sea level rise. This year the U.N. held a conference at its New York headquarters on the theme of “caring for the planet starts from the ground.”
Didi Pershouse, founder of the Center for Sustainable Medicine in Thetford and author of The Ecology of Care, and the downloadable PDF which was released online in August, was one of five panelists invited to speak at this year’s conference.
http://www.vnews.com/Soil-expert-Didi-Pershouse-speaks-at-UN-conference-14410464
and
didipershouse.com
Your Greek yogurt creates food waste that could one day be used in jet fuel.
That’s right—when Greek yogurt is made, it leaves behind liquid whey, which is the watery remains after protein is strained from milk. A process that mixes this waste with thousands of species of bacteria and some heat transforms the whey into a new material called bio-oil, which could be used in biofuels or additives in livestock feed.
http://www.newsweek.com/2017/12/29/greek-yogurt-waste-could-be-used-jet-fuel-and-livestock-feed-746965.html
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Waste streams can be renewable feedstocks to produce biofuels and chemicals. Acid whey is an example waste stream and is produced by the Greek-yogurt industry in large volumes. This whey and other waste streams have been successfully converted into methane gas by anaerobic digesters with open cultures of microbial consortia (microbiomes). However, the revenue from methane has been relatively low. Until now, no other products could be produced with microbiomes from this waste stream. This has now changed. Here, we showed that acid whey was converted into valuable medium-chain carboxylic acids (MCCAs), such as n-caproic acid (n-hexanoic acid) and n-caprylic acid (n-octanoic acid), without addition of external electron acceptors.
http://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(17)30179-4
As cities across the country, from Los Angeles to New York City, take “zero waste” pledges, it is clear that “zero waste” is transforming from a trend into a movement. From a sustainability perspective, the central goal of most “zero waste” initiatives — achieving 90 percent diversion — is a clear winner.
But from a communications perspective, “zero waste” is still unclear and potentially confusing. Not only does the term “zero waste” not necessarily mean what it says, but it can be polarizing. How can we most effectively communicate the waste reduction message encapsulated in the term “zero waste”? Do we need the term “zero waste” to guide our consumption and waste behaviors, or are we better off without it?
https://www.wastedive.com/news/zero-waste-pledge-confusion-opinion/512638/
If assembled, innovations from three spheres of economic activity – those using natural ecosystems, social and collaborative innovation, and efficient technology – enter into symbiotic relationship.
Together, we can create a new economic paradigm which can amplify our positive impact on the planet, while renewing global prosperity
https://symbiotique.org
The earth possesses five major pools of carbon. Of those pools, the atmosphere is already overloaded with the stuff; the oceans are turning acidic as they become saturated with it; the forests are diminishing; and underground fossil fuel reserves are being emptied. That leaves soil as the most likely repository for immense quantities of carbon.
Now scientists are documenting how sequestering carbon in soil can produce a double dividend: It reduces climate change by extracting carbon from the atmosphere, and it restores the health of degraded soil and increases agricultural yields. Many scientists and farmers believe the emerging understanding of soil’s role in climate stability and agricultural productivity will prompt a paradigm shift in agriculture, triggering the abandonment of conventional practices like tillage, crop residue removal, mono-cropping, excessive grazing and blanket use of chemical fertilizer and pesticide. Even cattle, usually considered climate change culprits because they belch at least 25 gallons of methane a day, are being studied as a potential part of the climate change solution because of their role in naturally fertilizing soil and cycling nutrients.
the potential for the world’s soils to suck up some of the excess carbon that’s currently making mischief in the atmosphere shines as a genuine ray of hope.
The various approaches and technologies that might be used to return carbon to the planet’s soils (from no-till agriculture; through compost- and biochar-application; to agro-forestry and innovative livestock rotation practices) also promise a wide range of further benefits – from improved soil health through to better water management, via a significant boost to biodiversity.
https://thefuturescentre.org/articles/213529/regenerative-agriculture-essential-our-sustainability-goals
To appreciate the value of organic “waste,” let us take a closer look at the example of phosphorus. Phosphorus is a major plant nutrient meaning that all plants, including food crops, require this element to grow.
http://www.waste360.com/organics/closer-look-circular-economies-organic-waste-and-phosphorus-part-two
