Sunday, August 15, 2010
New Blog: Aquaculture Means Business
Sea Breeze Farm - Ocean-Friendly Farming
Located on Vashon Island, Washington, Sea Breeze farm describes itself as "a diverse, multi-species, grass-based animal farm". What makes them ocean friendly?
"We practice an intensive pasture rotation in lieu of commercial fertilizers. Our freely-ranging poultry flocks effectively forage, fertilize and cleanse the pastures behind our dairy herd. The resulting meat, dairy and eggs are remarkably flavorful, gorgeously colored and fantastically healthful. It goes without saying that no herbicides, pesticides, antibiotics or artificial inputs exist on our farm."
No commercial fertilizers, no herbicides, pesticides, or antibiotics going into the groundwater, the rivers, the ocean. Sea Breeze Farm represents the opposite of everything that is wrong with industrial agriculture. Not just a farm, but also a restaurant, a butcher shop, and a winery.
These folks appear to be thriving while doing no harm to the earth or its oceans. Let's hope they are the future of farming.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
How I Fell In Love With a Fish: Chef Dan Barber on TED.com
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Selling Sustainably Sourced Seafood Online
"If he knows that “pirating” (as illegal fishing is called) is big with a certain species, he won’t sell it at all. (Thus, no yellowfin.) And he is insisting that suppliers sell him only fish that can be traced — individually — through bills of lading and bar codes."
Having seriously researched starting a similar business, I know Reed has bitten off a major task. I wish him the best. Marrying sustainability to the profit motive (and remaining faithful to both) is a key component of saving the seas and the planet.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Show Me the Green (I'm Talking Kelp!)
"It's a giant brown algae in the water, but it turns bright green when it's cooked," Olson said. "Think kelp noodles. And kelp salad. And kelp slaw."
The Falmouth, Me.-based company, Ocean Approved, sells its "sea vegetables" and Bangs Island mussels. While acknowledging the "yuck factor" involved in trying to get Americans to eat seaweed, Olson and Dobbins recognize the opportunity in this $7 billion global market.
Kelp is processed to extract food gums -- texturizing agents called agars, alginates and carrageenans. The additives make toothpaste thick, yogurt creamy, beer foamy and skin moisturizers moist, among countless other uses.
"Most Americans don't know it, but they already consume seaweed products every day," Robert Vadas, professor of marine sciences at the University of Maine, told the LA Times. "Most of it is imported."
China is the largest producer and exporter, and the U.S. once had a major kelp industry in Southern California. Today, only a handful of smaller U.S. companies harvest seaweed. Those in California chiefly provide feed for abalone farms. Those in Maine mostly supply fertilizer, livestock feed and dietary supplements.
A green source of protein and mineral supplements. Natural fertilizer. Essential component for the ever-popular sushi industry Locally, sustainably sourced. Consumer of CO2, producer of oxygen and food and shelter for many species in our overfished oceans.
I gotta talk to these guys.
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