Comments for Web of Life

Comment on There oughtta be… a Chesapeake Bay Film Festival! by sylvia diss

sylvia diss — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 02:54:19 +0000

I’m looking for a film or several on the chesapeake bay and how its being threatened.

Comment on Virginia is for… by christy

christy — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 03:09:24 +0000

bj, I so miss sweet little Poppy! so nice to see her “smiling” face.

Comment on “I…am not…a cook…” by christy

christy — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:38:28 +0000

I’m lucky enough to work at a company that provided about 100 garden plots on our new campus to employees. So, at my work garden plot, we grew zucchini, butternut squash, onions, tomatoes, jalapenos, and beets. And at home, we grew okra, more tomatoes, strawberries, summer squash, cucumbers, jalapenos, cayenne peppers, orange and red bell peppers, parsely, cilantro, sage, chives, thyme, blue berries, rhubarb, chard, green beans, lettuce, spinach, arugula, and onions. I’ll probably shorten the list a bit next year, planting more plants of fewer varieties, but it was good to try alot of different things to see what grew the best.

I also helped out with a couple community gardens, to varying degrees of success. I find it hard to make a good match with volunteering - what does my schedule permit vs what does the organization need. No matter how nicely they ask if I can come in on weekday mornings, I simply can’t…

Anyway, in addition to more vegetable gardening of my own next year, I’ve purchased a share with a couple CSA’s - one for veggies and another for eggs and goat cheese. So, we’ll have veggies coming out of our ears, which will be a good reason to give canning a try.

Comment on “I…am not…a cook…” by sunrises

sunrises — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 04:16:16 +0000

We had our first gathering last night, at Mark’s Kitchen in Takoma Park! Originally 28 folks RSVP’d — 8 more than our limit — but the final tally after cancellations and no-shows was a very comfortable 13. I understand from the coordinators in Northern Virginia and DC we can do farm tours, cooking demos, book discussions — all manner of things that help us live more sustainably. I’m impressed to hear about your vegetable garden, Christy — what are you growing?

Comment on “I…am not…a cook…” by christy

christy — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 03:22:37 +0000

Hi bj -
any updates on this? having started my own vegetable garden this year and encouraged a few others, i like to hear how others are promoting sustainable eating. this is such an important topic because it touches so many things: good nutrition, decreased use of fossil fuels (for transport), know-how to maintain healthy soils, are just a few that come to mind easily.

thanks for keeping this website going - it softens a little bit a heart hardened with cynicism.

Comment on A message to Melvin Thompson, Restaurant Association of Maryland by sunrises

sunrises — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 02:28:30 +0000

Thanks for your response! And yes, I did read the entire article. And yes, brochures would also be convenient, in the same way that a flier insert in the menu would be.

I’m not so sure about signs at point of purchase, though. Many years ago, when I was living in Florida, there was a fast-food chain called something like Simple Delites (I can’t quite recall the exact name) that used POP signs. There were so many items on the menu it was confusing to follow all the detail.

I’m also not so sure about posting details on the web. That’s fine for reference but an inconvenience to have to try to remember to look up nutritional info before leaving the house, and then writing down or otherwise remembering what I want to order by the time my party arrives at the restaurant. And perhaps changing my mind on the way…

Put the information into the customer’s hands, right at the time of ordering.

And, if restaurants “prefer” to go beyond the council’s choices, by all means, please proceed! No need to wait for an ordinance that mandates what to do. Just make it easy for the restaurant’s guests.

Comment on A message to Melvin Thompson, Restaurant Association of Maryland by Melvin Thompson

Melvin Thompson — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 21:02:21 +0000

If you continue reading the Washington Post story, you’ll note that I go on to say that many restaurants prefer to provide nutritional information in other formats (not on the menu) because it allows more space to provide much more comprehensive information to customers who are concerned about more than just calories, sodium and saturated fat. Brochures and signs at the point of purchase would allow for much more information, if that is the true goal here.

See excerpt from the Post story:

…Thompson said the restaurant industry will lobby the council to find a compromise that is less onerous for its businesses.

He said restaurants prefer to list nutritional information that goes beyond the three indicators chosen by the council on Web sites or signs rather than on menus…

Comment on Pet Food Recall & Food Safety — sites & sources by Richard Brown

Richard Brown — Tue, 22 May 2007 23:56:14 +0000

Until we stop over processing the food chain we will have the need for lists like this - thanks for taking the time to put it together though - most useful.

Comment on World Fair Trade Day (was May 12) by sunrises

sunrises — Thu, 17 May 2007 04:07:55 +0000

An interesting addition to the shopping cart, Scott! I don’t usually think of a soccer ball as something edible like chocolate or coffee, but I’m nevertheless happy to support a variety of fair trade products. Here’s to your success!

Comment on World Fair Trade Day (was May 12) by Scott James

Scott James — Thu, 17 May 2007 01:44:30 +0000

Might I suggest adding a Fair Trade soccer ball to your shopping list?

We have the first full line of Fair Trade sports balls for the US, including soccer, volleyball, rugby, and more. Lots of information on our blog: http://www.fairtradesports.com.

- Scott James
Fair Trade Sports
http://www.fairtradesports.com