ecoburgh

I've already posted a much smaller version of this on Twitter and Facebook, so it's kind of redundant, but I'm doing it anyway because I think it's just great.

Tonight as I drove to Subway to get a cheap dinner (finals = no grocery shopping and awful eating habits) and to the store to get a bottle of wine (finals = brain is fried), I listened to 91.3 WYEP, the only station worth listening to in Pittsburgh. This environmental program was on that I've never heard before, called the Allegheny Front, and it mentioned this eco-friendly store that's in the South Side. I Googled it when I got home, and ran across another eco-freak store in Lawrenceville. After browsing a bit, I found these awesome shoes on sale called Veja Volley.

I think they sorta look like my Onitsuka Tigers, but they are designed in Paris and made under strict fair trade, fair pay regulations with organic cotton and natural latex rubber from the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. The company goes through so much to make sure they are not only quality, but are made under conditions that do not exploit the worker or the environment.

BUT THIS IS THE KICKER: they are only sold in four stores in the United States: two in New York City, one in Los Angeles, and one in our very own Pittsburgh, at Equita on Butler Street.

Is it weird that this makes me feel like one might when seeing a son or daughter perform in a school play for the first time? I need to pat the city on its head or pinch its cheeks.

Unsafe Chicken Trends

Lovely. Found out via a post on Well that two out of three broiler chickens (which are pretty much any chicken raised for consumption) are contaminated with either salmonella or campylobacter bacteria, which can both cause food poisoning, but the latter can lead to "meningitis, arthritis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome, a severe neurological condition." (Read the rest of the post here.)

Argh. This is pretty much why I've cut back on meat in the past year or so. I mean not just bacteria; there are other factors too, particularly that raising animals for human consumption requires so much more energy--both in feed and fossil fuels--than just growing plants. But I haven't become a vegetarian yet because... well I guess because I don't believe in diets (and vegetarianism or veganism is a form of a restrictive diet.) Because I know myself too well: if I want to eat meat, I will. And anyway, it's not the meat itself I disagree with--it's the way it's raised, butchered, transported, etc. (If, years after declaring vegetarianism, I was at a small farm and they butchered a chicken that they raised from an egg--you'd better believe I'd want some.)

And it doesn't matter to me to be able to say "Oooo I'm a vegetarian/vegan," like it's some sort of a badge to wear. And I know it's not to everyone; to some it is a deeply personal and value-laden commitment. But I can't help thinking that to some, the trendy aspect is a bit too alluring....

farmers r us

All ye Pitt students: A new club called Plant to Plate started this week at the University. Unfortunately, I missed the first meeting because the Pitt News reported that it was being held Thursday, when really it was Wednesday. My global studies professor also forwarded my class an email from Marc Schutzbank, the creator or coordinator or voice of the program..... about 5 hours after the first meeting ended. Epic fail much?

Regardless, here's the e-mail:

If you're reading to get involved in a new organic farm here in Pittsburgh - then here's your chance. Plant to Plate, a new organization developing connections between what we put in our stomachs and into the ground, will be clearing some of the land this Wednesday on November 11, 2009 from 12 - 4. (Directions Below).

The idea is this. Food is confusing, it comes from somewhere - usually Giant Eagle. It's grown far away, pumped with chemicals and then shipped here to Pittsburgh so we can buy it. That model just does not make the best tasting food - which is why we're giving you a chance to grow your own. Come work on our plot of land and the time that you put in will be paid back with boxes of produce that we grow in the farm. We just need your time.

Where: 5271 Forbes Ave It's a quick walk up Forbes past CMU. Take any 61 or 59U and get off at Plainview and walk 1 block down the hill. It'll be on your right. 

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Let you know more as I know more.