Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch
The Monterey Bay Aquarium was founded in 1984 and its design is informed by the area's sardine canning historyMonterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch
by Brendan Thompson, Pacific Grove California
As a voracious omnivore and a native of California’s central coast, I've always been partial to seafood of all kinds. However, as an environmentally conscious designer I've also been attentive to the overfishing and pollution that plagues our oceans.
Naturally I was excited to hear about RWF's Slow Food Week celebration as it dovetails nicely with the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program. Rather than a scorched-earth, “Eat no seafood” policy, Seafood Watch advocates continuing to enjoy our favorite foods, but provides resources and incentives to do so more sustainably.
Seafood Watch began in 1997 as an offshoot of a temporary exhibit at the Aquarium called Fishing for Solutions. The Aquarium took a look at its own seafood sourcing practices for its world-renowned cafe and restaurant, and ended up creating a list of recommendations for internal use. Visitor interest and low-level marketing of this list led to the Seafood Watch Pocket Guide.
For a list of nationwide and international partnerships with Seafood Watch, please click here.
For specifics on the criteria and recommendation decision-making process, please click here.
The Seafood Watch has expanded and matured in the past decade. An annual three-day gourmet celebration called Cooking for Solutions hosts big-name chefs and showcases sustainable seafood innovations. In 2007, over 9 million Pocket Guides were included with the DVD release of the movie 'Happy Feet' and in 2008 a guide to sustainable sushi recommendations was introduced. Seafood Watch has embraced social media with online versions of the Pocket Guide and a Seafood Watch app that includes a feature called Project FishMap, which allows users to post locations where they have found sustainable seafood options. The overwhelming success of the Seafood Watch initiative shows a strong consumer demand for improvements in our seafood purchasing and farming practices and the program continues to break new ground in industry innovations.
To order Pocket Guides of your own or for more information, call the toll-free Seafood Watch Hotline at (877) 229-9990 or email seafoodwatch@mbayaq.org
Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch
From Saturday's Farmer's Market
From Saturday's Farmer's Market
We look forward to our Saturday morning ritual of the visit to the farmer's market (with the pups) all week. We found lots more goodies, but I snagged a quick pic right after Linda laid these pieces out on our kitchen counter. Local Shiitake's, lemongrass, onions and baget.
From Saturday's Farmers Market
Carlo Petrini and the History of Slow Food
Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini
Carlo Petrini and the History of Slow Food
by Tanya Wardell, Fort Worth, Texas
When McDonald’s opened its doors in the Piazza di Spagna, one of Rome’s central treasured historical sites, Carlo Petrini decided he’d had enough. It was 1986, and the fast food industry had been permeating the food cultures of country after country, replacing regional flavors and homegrown cooking with generic, standardized food products. Petrini, an Italian food and wine writer and connoisseur, could no longer sit by and watch food turn into a commodity, bought and sold at the cheapest price with little concern for taste or quality. He could no longer watch as people began to lose interest in what they ate and where it came from.
So, he and a group of local foodies in his hometown of Bra, Italy created an organization called Arcigola. “Our goal at the beginning,” said Petrini in an interview for Food Arts, “was simply the preservation of different food cultures as an answer to globalization and taste standardization.” The group quickly captured the attention of international food activists and aficionados, who understood that Petrini’s message and goals were relevant to the future of food cultures around the world. In 1989, Arcigola was renamed Slow Food International, and the official manifesto, declaring a “vaccine…against the universal madness of a ‘fast life’…by cultivating taste, rather than impoverishing it, by stimulating progress, by encouraging international exchange programs, by endorsing worthwhile projects, by advocating historical food culture and by defending old fashioned food traditions,” was signed.
Since the official creation of Slow Food, it has remained true to its word and the mission of Carlo Petrini. The organization launched successful branches in over 150 countries around the world, including the United States, and has the support of over 100,000 members. Slow Food, under Petrini’s guidance, founded the University of Gastronomic Sciences in 2004 as a center for research and education, dedicated to safeguarding biodiversity and sustainable farming methods. The organization works actively on campaigns to protect small farms and communities from practices such as land grabbing and seed patents, and strives to bring awareness to the benefits of a local, seasonal diet.
In 1996, Petrini coordinated the first “Salone del Gusto,” a massive event which took place in Turin, Italy and brought together chefs, activists, and communities from all over the globe to showcase their regional cuisine and discuss important issues. The gathering proved to be a huge success, and has since occurred every two years. This year, the “Salone del Gusto,” scheduled to happen in October, will be joined for the first time by “Terre Madre,” a network of Slow Food producers, chefs, students, and educators who hope to make the event one of the most important food advocacy meetings in the world.
Slow Food International believes in the vision of “a world in which all people can access and enjoy food that is good for them, good for those who grow it, and good for the planet.” Petrini, named by British newspaper The Guardian “one of the 50 people who could save the planet,” continues to be a powerful force at the forefront of the Slow Food movement. He works constantly, speaking at events, traveling to meetings, arranging projects and supporting programs which bring together communities and breathe life into the Slow Food cause.
Carlo Petrini and the History of Slow Food
Works Cited
Corradin, Roberta. “Carlo Petrini.” Food Arts, 2007.
Hickman, Leo. “Slow Food: Have we lost our appetite?” The Guardian, 2009.
“History and Mission.” University of Gastronomic Sciences.
Popham, Peter. “Carlo Petrini: The Slow Food gourmet who started a revolution.” The Independent, 2009.
“Salone del Gusto and Terre Madre 2012.” Slow Food USA Blog, 2012.
“Slow Food: Birth and Growth of an International Association.” Slow Food.
“Slow Food Manifesto.” Slow Food.
“What We Do.” Slow Food.
The Art of Slow
The Art of Slow
by Nancy Yang, Rochester Minnesota
“Stop and smell the roses,” so the saying goes. But who has time to smell roses when we’re all so feverishly working, studying, racing to the next step in our frantic lives? To keep up requires a constant supply of instant communication, instant dinners, instant entertainment. Even the roses we smell come from the convenience store, potted and bloomed and ready for our nostrils, to save the painstaking time of having to plant them ourselves.
What is instantaneous must be good.
And if efficiency is the hero, then Art is its arch nemesis.
Deciding to become an “artist” might now be met with disdain, if not downright ridicule, mostly on the idea that unless you’re well established, there’s not much money to be made from making art. People seem to have little use for handmade when they can buy three times as much of factory-made “home décor” from the nearest Walmart or Target-- faster, cheaper, and in greater supply.
However, there has recently been a decided struggle to slow down. It began in the late 1980s, when Carlo Petrini protested a new McDonald’s franchise in a historical area of Rome. Petrini founded the Slow Food Movement, but he began a revolution that went way beyond food; it grew to encompass business practice, education, even parenting and fashion: the Slow Movement.
Central to the Slow Movement is the idea that life cannot be fulfilled by instantaneous gratification. Rather than consuming as much as possible in as little time as possible, the Movement asks that we slow down and consider our actions, how they impact ourselves and others, and how we can make the impact positive, rather than negative.
Slow Art is a part of this crusade. It includes the annual global Slow Art Day begun by Phil Terry, founder of the Reading Odyssey and CEO of Creative Good. Slow Art Day encourages venues to volunteer and set up small collections of art for slow enjoyment and discussion, as opposed to the typical high-speed, whole-gallery tours, so that visitors can take time to understand the artwork. The next Slow Art Day is scheduled for April 27, 2013.
It also includes direct opposition to the fast industry, as self-proclaimed SlowArt founder artist Tim Slowinski explains on his website: “The act of creating art is a meditation and devotion… created very slowly and deliberately” to rail against social injustice. Slowinski paints images that criticize how our society has habituated to the fast lifestyle.
But the “art” I’m talking about is more fundamental. Art itself is intrinsically “slow” in that truly meaningful art requires intense dedication; the creation of art is literally slow. Artistic expression is diluted when the goal is changed from maximizing the impact of each piece of art to maximizing the total volume of production.
Design also goes with Slow Art. According to the definition given by the New York based organization Slow Lab, Slow Design is to “exchange ideas and resources, share knowledge and cooperatively develop projects that positively impact the lives of individuals, the communities they participate in and the planet that we share.”
What Slow Design might lack in intellectual expression compared to, say, a Picasso or a Rembrandt, it makes up in the process. The beauty in Slow Design is in understanding that the materials that, for instance, are used to make Robin Wade furniture come from sustainable, local sources, and the acquisition of the materials themselves requires substantial contemplation by the maker. It’s a careful balance between satisfaction of the self—the consumer—with that of the community. It’s the beauty in a chair made from a fallen hardwood in a nearby forest; the flavor in a meal prepared from local farm products; the joy in a community gathering around and enjoying an art exhibit. It is beauty that comes from time and dedication that cannot be manufactured into a factory-made product.
Efficiency is good, no doubt; it provides higher living standards for our ever-growing human population. But it comes with sacrifices. In order to satiate our need for more, cheaper, faster—is it worth the sacrifice of the welfare of the community, the environment, and probably our own sanity?
A quote on the front page of SlowPlanet.com reads “Slow is not about doing everything at a snail’s pace; it’s about working, playing, and living better by doing everything at the right speed.” The Slow philosophy isn’t advocating laziness; if anything, living slow requires more work and effort than living “fast.”
It’s about dedicating our time—a completely human concept that we hold so sacred—for the sake of our humanity.
The Art of Slow
Carlo Petrini, founder of Slow Food International
Carlo Petrini, founder of Slow Food International
Growing Local Shitake on Oak Log
Growing Local Shitake on Oak Log
We, along with many of our contributors from across the country and world, will be celebrating Slow Food Week all week long. And, in honor of Slow Food Week, I think it's only appropriate that we talk, think, harvest, cook, eat (and digest) slow food slowly every day - all week.
One of my favorite recent local, slow finds was sitting in our hallway this morning, looking very much like one of our most beautiful works of art, and I just had to take a few quick pics. It's this small oak log with shitake growing - not so slowly lately. I purchased the log from our hydroponics friends at Shamrock Farms recently. They purchase the Shitake spores from Washington State University, then drill the logs, inject the spores, keep in a moist environment, and - wait. Most of these shitake are ready to harvest and I'm hoping to get a pic of them on the plate in the next few days.
Growing Local Shitake on Oak Log
celebrating the 145th birthday of Frank Lloyd Wright
celebrating the 145th birthday of Frank Lloyd Wright
Our second annual Wright in Alabama weekend celebration will be held tonight at the beautiful Rosenbaum Museum here in Florence Alabama. I'm hoping we can make this one.
celebrating the 145th birthday of Frank Lloyd Wright
Permaculture - Permanent Culture in Lilongwe
Permaculture - Permanent Culture in Lilongwe
by Lauren Kent, Johannesburg
Let me paint a scenario for you: a tiny country, with a lake that takes up one third of the land; a country that has just had almost half of its foreign aid removed; a country that has no foreign currency and, thus, no fuel; a country that, according to her citizens and people whom have visited the country, is one of the most peaceful on the African continent; a country that in 2011, despite this visage of peace, had fairly violent anti-government riots . It is in this country that a small farm, just outside of the capital city, Lilongwe, is attempting something revolutionary.
The workers on this farm have one goal: to make Malawi a permaculture country.
Malawi is a tiny country in Southeast Africa. Also called the Warm Heart of Africa (her tourism tagline), Malawi is a very poor country, where for the majority of the year people live off of nothing except maize meal.
This is what Nature’s Gift Permaculture Centre wishes to change.
Permaculture, in a nutshell, is just this – permanent culture. The concept has three fundamental principles at its core: earth care, human care, surplus share. Caring for the earth means using its resources wisely, observing how the natural environment works and then using these observations to improve our farming methods. Through these actions we hope to preserve the earth for a long time. By caring for fellow people, permaculture practitioners are ensuring that they are in a state to care for the earth, and each other. Surplus share has many different meanings: it could refer to sharing extra food with others who do not have as much, sharing time to help others, using plant trimmings and scraps in compost heaps to return nutrients to the soil, or sharing knowledge with others so that people may also benefit from the principles of permaculture.
It was on this farm in Lilongwe that I first learnt about permaculture. In the four weeks that I spent there, I only just grazed the surface of this concept. But what was glaringly obvious was this: the answer to the hunger, poverty, and, yes, even the lack of fuel in the country was, and still is, permaculture.
According to Eston (who works at the farm), and a Malawian environmental consultant whom I met in the city, Malawians are creatures of habit. In other words, generation after generation, people have not changed their planting, harvesting and eating habits. Malawians seem to believe that maize is their answer to everything. Maize can even show status- if it is more processed, the family has the money to mill their food twice or even three times. Unfortunately, food processing lowers the nutritional value of the food, which is quite a sacrifice to make in order to look rich.
Similarly, I was told that Malawians do not want to plant what grows locally. Their view is that the best plants come from imported, genetically-modified seeds. Therefore, many Malawians, it seems, rely on seed handouts. Eston just could not understand how Malawians could ignore the richness in an abundance of local, hardy, food plant seeds, which would sustain a family and sustain the land. Farming methods that adapt to each region of the country’s climate and way of life could change famine and low crop variety to abundant food year-round.
Eston’s view is that Malawi is poor because they always feel the need to spend money to get food. He wants to change that idea – people can plant local foods (cowpeas, green leafy vegetables, tropical fruits), keep a few seeds, and replant them. They could even plant foreign foods! Saving the seeds makes for free, available food plants that suit the specific climate of the country.
Nature’s Gift is even tackling the fuel situation. The farm produce is delivered using bicycle taxis. Perhaps most importantly, the farm is in the process of growing large amounts of Jatropha bushes. These bushes yield a seed that makes a very good petrol replacement.
In the planning pipelines, when I left the farm, was a bee farm, and a proper medicinal garden. The permaculture way of life has not been confined only to the farm. The ideas and practices had already begun filtering into nearby villages. The workers on the farm residing in villages away from Lilongwe had started building permaculture style gardens and teaching their neighbors. This is surplus share, the spreading of knowledge.
As for a solution to the anti-government riots - well-fed and healthy people don’t have much to riot about. well, hungry and frustrated people are not a happy and peaceful people.
Permaculture - Permanent Culture in Lilongwe
Zinneke: an exploration of a remarkable sustainable contemporary event
Zinneke: an exploration of a remarkable sustainable contemporary event
by Richard Harris, Brussels
Zinneke: visually spectacular and lots of fun! It’s a biennial parade based fully in the rich and still very vibrant Belgian carnival and parade tradition with giants, people on stilts, drum batteries, clowns, ribald humor, etc. It simultaneously manages to be intensely modern with vertiginous multiculturalism, ecological and democratic foundations, and performance art. It is the result of an intense collaboration between inhabitants, associations, schools and artists from the different neighborhoods of Brussels and beyond. Zinneke is a collective creation, a walking extravaganza which presents itself both as an expression of and an experiment in living together in diversity in the city.
Zinneke is the Brusseleir word for “mutt”, and is what the people of Brussels have always been, at the 
In 2000, as part of the European City of Culture festivities, the parade was born. One of the purposes was to develop creative workshops throughout the city, especially in disadvantaged areas. Each parade has a theme and is developed over two years. The process starts with the election of a theme; two years ago it was “The Table”, in celebration of eating and socializing; two years before that it was “Water”. This time, the 900 suggestions were reduced to three finalists: “Desire”, “Disorder” and “Fragility”. The winner was “Disorder”. Once the theme is set, the 2,000 participants who constitute the 22 Zinnodes (or teams) start brainstorming how they are going to interpret the theme visually and what spin they are going to put on it.The Zinnodes then design, build or choreograph their concept and 
The creative process of Zinneke embodies sustainability and ecological concerns. Though there are some traditional musical instruments, most are constructed and everything must be human-powered. There is no electric amplification of the music and no motors or fuel are used in the parade. A premium is put on using recycled materials and objects. Most Zinnodes design their presentation around such ideas as limiting the carbon footprint, intercultural communication, a green future, the power of art to help create a better world, and local sourcing. But, of course, in fine Brussels tradition these 
Children are important participants. Not only are children exposed to art and the creative process, but also to art and performance as a team activity. So often the only team activity children are exposed to and encouraged to participate in is athletics, which presupposes competition. Here we have teams without the struggle, though, naturally, everyone wants their Zinnode to shine. Also the inclusion is broad; in addition to the many cultural groups, special populations are involved.
At the end of the parade, there is a surprise send-off. Two years ago, all the participants leapt into the air at once; this year it was a fireworks display. Then, everyone, participant and spectator together, celebrates into the wee hours.
There are a staggering 700 public events in Brussels per year (an average of 2 per day) which is one of the things that makes it so much fun to live here, and this is one of the best.
Zinneke: an exploration of a remarkable sustainable contemporary event
commercial hydroponics garden right down the road
commercial hydroponics garden right down the road
I think the only thing better than fresh fruits and vegetables might be if they are grown right down the road, and they're organic. Yesterday's visit to Shamrock Farms in Waterloo Alabama was quite amazing. These country boys really have their stuff together. Using the same quite simple, but patented technology that's seen at Epcot and was developed through our Space program.
Possibly the most beautiful produce I've ever seen. These vertical hydroponics drip system is quite efficient. Uses very little water. And uses one fifth the land. Quite ingenious.
I just couldn't stand it. They'll be helping me install a little two station system on my back deck tomorrow. Can't wait!
commercial hydroponics garden right down the road
Shiitake mushrooms & oak logs in Alabama
Shiitake mushrooms & oak logs in Alabama
Amazing what you can find if you keep your eyes open. Linda and I have been enjoying Shamrock Farms (Waterloo Alabama) organic produce for several seasons now. Their amazing Spring blueberries were the original draw at our local farmer's market. Then we continued to be drawn in with fresh, organic delicacies each market. This year's we've been blown away by their shiitake mushrooms. And have just been amazed that they were producing them here in Alabama.
Yesterday, my long time Bub (Bobby Harris) and I took what should have been a 20 minute drive north through the beautiful countryside to visit Shamrock's organic, hydroponic gardens. And what a treat it was. This Alabama country crew really has their stuff together. Using the best patented hydroponic systems, originally developed by our space initiatives? to organically water and nourish their beautiful crop. -- More about this on a future post.
But we were mesmerized by their over the top shiitake mushroom production. This is all quite technical that I'm not the one to explain. But the mushroom spores (family origin Japanese) are sourced from Washington State University. They drill dozens/hundreds?? of tiny holes in the perfectly cured oak limbs, hydrate and time it all perfectly, and somehow eventually end up with fifteen years production of shiitake mushrooms from each limb.
They will even sell you an oak log ($100) already producing shiitake's! Just set it under your kitchen sink, vertically in a tub of water. (still thinking about this part)
Shiitake mushrooms & oak logs in Alabama
Nice surprise in this morning's cappuccino
Cramer Children's Center - Florence Alabama
Cramer Children's Center - Florence Alabama
The Cramer Children's Center had an enlightening open house yesterday afternoon. Amazing how much good Randy Parker and his small organization are doing. Housing almost 200 hundred last year alone.
It was just a year ago that the massive old oak that lived almost a century shading this location, was downed by the killer tornadoes that ravaged the country. I'm happy to report that slabs from this tree are cut and have begun their slow air drying process. With time, I'm looking forward to working to building a beautiful piece of furniture from this tree, and have promised to donate it to the center - in an effort raise funds and awareness.
Cramer Children's Center - Florence Alabama
Vitamin Green and Sustainable Design
Vitamin Green and Sustainable Design
In these urgent times of environmental concerns, Vitamin Green, published by Phaidon, gives us excellent examples of sustainable design. Vitamin Green defines itself as a ‘visual definition of sustainability in design.’ Through striking images, take a look at what Vitamin Green has to offer. A vertical garden, The Living Wall at the Musee du Quai Branly by Patrick Blanc with Gilles Clement and Ateliers Jean Nouvel, Harmonia 57 by Triptyque, lightbulbs called Plumen 001 by Samuel Wilkinson, a non electric incubator, Embrace Infant Warmer, and a carbon neutral city, Masdar City by Foster + Partners in the UAE.
Vitamin Green and Sustainable Design
Santa Barbara Airport
Santa Barbara Airport
The newish Santa Barbara is just beautiful. All of this wonderful Spanish influenced architecture in Santa Barbara reminds me of the South's beautiful/historic St. Augustine.
I think I'm already falling for Santa Barbara (and I just landed!)
Centiva leading with Green @ HDexpo
Centiva leading with Green @ HDexpo
So cool that one of the leaders in the green movement in this Hospitality arena is Alabama's own Centiva. I always enjoy visiting with John Bonney of Centiva at these Hospitality shows around the country. Looks like he only lives a half mile or so upstream from Linda and I. We'll have to paddle over before long. - Obviously our paths aren't crossing in little Florence, Alabama.
Centiva leading with Green @ HDexpo
HD Expo Vegas 2012 looking strong yesterday
HD Expo Vegas 2012
The first day of the HD Expo was busteling with activity. Buyers from around the world seemed to be swarming. This hospitality side of the industry was looking quite strong.
The American Made niche, with a few nice exceptions, didn't seem to be making any significan headway. But the green/environmental focus was everywhere. Great to see that this important model apparently has quite a foothold.
HD Expo Vegas 2012
Wooden Furniture: Appreciation or Appropriation?
Wooden Furniture: Appreciation or Appropriation?
By J.J. Fellows
Is our appreciation of forests an explanation for why we love wood furniture?
At first, the answer to this seems pretty straight-forward. Wooden furniture is often prized because it is natural and rustic. So it seems quite clear that a love of wood and a love of forests might very well have something in common; a love of natural as opposed to artificial beauty. But not everyone would readily agree with this idea. Holmes Rolston III, an environmental ethicist, argues that our appreciation of nature cannot be compared to an appreciation of wooden artifacts. In fact, the very act of taking something from the forest, like a piece of driftwood, and putting it on display for appreciation undermines our ability to meet nature on its own terms, or to accept it for itself.
If we make the forest over into an object of our aesthetic fancy, as we might find a piece of driftwood and display it for its form and curve, then we project onto it our craft and criteria, yet fail to see what is there. (160)
Rolston's objection amounts to a claim of appropriation. If we take materials from nature and use them for our own purposes, we are not accepting nature for itself. Instead, we are projecting our own ideals onto the object. Because of this projection, we miss the opportunity to see the driftwood as it really is (perhaps as the remains of a once-living tree whose lifespan dwarfs our own, or as the result of a powerful body of water slowly petrifying and smoothing these remains, for example). Friends of mine display a piece of driftwood that looked a bit like a lounging man in their back yard. They have accentuated the resemblance by adding little eyes in what would be the man's face. Rolston would likely label this a stark example of our tendency to anthropomorphize nature.
Rolston condemns such acts as an inability to see nature for what it is. But this condemnation seems unfair to me. We have a tension with nature. We have tried to separate ourselves from nature as much as possible—yet humans are creatures of nature, just as other mammals are. Wooden sculptures and wooden furniture seem to exemplify this tension. They illustrate our efforts to both bend nature to our will and to appreciate it for itself. If this is the case, then a driftwood sculpture cannot simply be an anthropomorphizing of nature. It is, rather, a visual exploration of this tension.
When I look at a well-crafted piece of wood furniture I feel a sense of respect. I feel that some gifted artist has attempted to overcome this tension between nature and civilization, to unify opposites into something beautiful. I imagine that these artists want nature to speak for itself. But they also want it to speak for them. To spread their message that this tension can be overcome. I think that when we go out and spend time in nature, we are blurring the boundary between the forest and civilization. So, when we bring finely crafted wood pieces into our homes, we are doing the same. This is not appropriation, or at least not necessarily so. Wood furniture and sculptures can, themselves, be a way of appreciating nature, and of exploring this tension. What matters is our awareness and attitude towards them.