Thawing permafrost spells risks for warming planettemperatures in the Arctic are warming, and along with them,
so is the permafrost, which, in some cases, is thawing. Because permafrost's icy soil contains frozen carbon--mostly organic matter such as leaves
and roots--it releases a lot of carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide and methane, into the atmosphere as it thaws.
Scientists, who are now observing how much of these gases are currently being released from this thawing ground,
Near thermokarsts, the forests often are called drunken, because the trees, whose roots have lost their solid support system,
For instance, the thawing permafrost could release nutrients that spur more Arctic plant growth, and those plants then take up some carbon dioxide.
picnickers, strolling couples, rowers, and pã Â tanque players. Best Time to Visit: Paris in springtime is famous with good reason. 5. Munich, Germany Bare bottoms aside,
stop for tea on the plaza near the Chinese pagoda, feed the ducks on the lake,
or enjoy a pint at one of the beer gardens. The nearby Botanischer Garten (Botanic Garden) features 54 acres and 15,000 varieties of flora.
the historic Hirschgarten is known now more for its massive beer garden than for its greenery,
summer for picnics and movies in the park. 9. Tokyo, Japan Separated from the main gardens of the Imperial Palace by a moat,
and food prices is highly questionable. Just Tuesday, the U s. Geological Survey released a report saying government programs encouraging biofuel production caused corn acreage in the Mississippi Delta to grow 288 percent in 2007,
said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working group, an advocacy group, leaving solar wind and the rest to fight over the remaining third.
Cook said. The production of ethanol wouldn't happen at all without government subsidies and protection.
People talk about food security, said John Reganold, a Washington state University Regents professor of soil science. That only half the issue.
We need to talk about both food and ecosystem security. Compared to annual grains, perennial grains have:
forming a grate-like exoskeleton that gives it structural strength but also filters water and nutrients efficiently.
The building is cooled at one-tenth the cost of structures with old fashioned, energy-sucking air conditioning.
Armstrong said the carbon-eating paint, which she calls Biolime, is tied up in intellectual property issues at the moment.
when people dismiss pizza as unhealthy food. Put the right stuff on it, and it's a wholesome meal full of nutrition for vegetarians and carnivores alike.
Now there's yet another reason to order the extra large: Pizza could help fight cancer. Yes, if the chef makes the sauce from the latest in tomato technology-genetically engineered purple tomatoes-a 16-inch pie could have the same health benefits as other foods such as blueberries and cranberries.
Purple tomatoes get their color from anthocyanin-a pigment also present in the berries and
which is an antioxidant, a molecule believed to battle afflictions including cancer, coronary heart disease and strokes.
According to The Independent in the U k.,a shipment of purple tomato juice is on its way from Canada to scientists at the John Innes Centre in Norwich
Researchers hope that enhanced levels of the antioxidant anthocyanin contained in the tomatoes will improve the nutritional values of a range of foods including pizzas and ketchup.
-but you can apply them to foods that people actually eat in significant amounts and are reasonably affordable.
Such as pizza. Make mine a sausage and pepperoni. Hey, you only live once, and longer by purple.
Nothing like antioxidants with a topping of greasy meats. You could call it the Healthy Heart attack.
Cover photo is from John Innes Centre
The demise of book publishing as we know itfor years the book publishing industry has been in turmoil over the future of books,
Amazon has forced prices down and big publishers are scrambling to stay in the game. This has led to a claim by the Justice department that five big publishers
but exactly how much of the revenue pie it going to be in two years, or five years,
Publicly, they're touted as a way to get off cigarettes, like nicotine lozenges or patches.
So why have they also been made in flavors like cookies-and-cream, strawberry and banana?
Right now nicotine lozenges and patches are available over-the-counter, although they're regulated as drugs.
but lozenges and patches and all the rest. The UK is moving toward an outright ban on e-cigs.
and chickens believe the energy efficient lighting has calmed the birds and helped them gain more weight.
But we're not going to capture that market share without overcoming the chicken-and-egg problem of shipping infrastructure and logistics.
Junk food to artificial chickenthe Morning Briefing is Smartplanet's daily roundup of must-reads from the web.
and recent food studies. 1.)Why Junk food'isn't'making children fat. A U s. study tracked approximately 20,000 students from kindergarten through to eighth grade in 1, 000 public and private schools.
35.5 percent of kids in schools that offer junk food were overweight, while 34.8 percent of those in schools without it were overweight. 2.)Can coffee stave off Type 2 diabetes?
chlorogenic acid and caffeine. 3.)Scientists compete in challenge to create artificial chicken. The world's largest animal welfare group, PETA, gave scientists a challenge five years ago.
They were to attempt to create a food substitute by June 2012 that contained the texture
The first scientists to prove they can create this laboratory meat in commercial quantities will be awarded $1 million
and effort on safety rather than eyeballing each chicken for visual imperfections will save companies $250 million a year,
the recently established director-general of the United nations'Food and Agriculture Organisation, believes that the U s. is causing a rise in the global price of grain.
resource control and competition Bioengineering e coli to turn seaweed into fuel Fatty foods cause brain scarring, study shows
Food waste is a growing problem in many parts of the world, but discarded fruit peel, in the case of pomegranates, could be put to good use in the burgeoning field of nanotechnology according to research published in the International Journal of Nanoparticles. 2.)U s. Government Accountability Office
Food Farmers markets are growing a rapid rate, far outpacing the growth in food consumption overall.
This reflects a well-established trend toward healthier, organic food as consumer awareness grows about the health hazards of mass-produced, packaged,
and prepared foods. Organic food sales in the U s. have grown at the rate of about 20 percent per year since 1990.
But it also reflects consumers looking for ways to stretch their food budgets as the gap between real incomes
and real food prices continues to widen. Source: US Department of agriculture It also may reflect a growing consumer awareness that with 7 to 10 calories of fossil fuels (mainly natural-gas based fertilizers
and diesel) embedded in every calorie of food that makes it to our tables, local food production is a key
and crucially necessary pathway to meaningfully reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. Three decades from now,
we'll need to be eating local if we want to eat at all. To accomplish the massive transition away from the mass-produced
and over half the hogs from just four states to a new topography of distributed, diversified food production, we have to start supporting local food now.
Harder still would be detecting how much market share direct barter has taken away from grocery stores yet it is surely happening as more people grow their own food.
Transportation It should be no surprise that transportation in the U s. ended its growth trajectory,
and keep the food and fuel flowing as they descend into the zombie apocalypse, this little spot could survive just fine.
grow a little food, and keep hanging on, thank you very much. So donã¢â â¢t fret if your leadership is failing you.
Food, Tobacco & Fermentation: 36,048 patents in 2010; up 2%from 2009. Aerospace: 32,622 patents in 2010;
LG, Matsushita and Bosch & Siemens. Food, Tobacco and Fermentation Fermentation is the hot ticket in this sector,
Meat-related patents took a tumble, dropping 52 percent from 2009. Top firms: Dupont and Monsanto.
vegetables, egg shells, and organic materials) and reduce or eliminate waste going to landfills. If I can raise the money needed to get to Copenhagen in the next four days,
food wastea new report from the United Nation's Food and agriculture organization points to a major global food waste problem that's hurting the economy and the planet.
According to the report, one-third of the food produced each year--1. 3 billion tonnes--is wasted.
In addition to economic costs, the report says that 3. 3 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere from the production of uneaten food
Pepsico has improved potato crop yields while decreasing the amount of water needed for irrigation. That's just one of the high-level takeaways shared by Ian Hope-Johnstone, director of agricultural sustainability for Pepsico global operations, with whom
I recently chatted about mobile technology and its agricultural uses. The icrop experiment--highly dependent on various mobile technologies including notebooks,
handhelds and wireless sensors--is being spearheaded by Pepsico and Cambridge university on a pilot basis, as part of the food company's overriding agenda to develop an integrated crop management system that will help the company reduce the carbon emissions
and water consumption associated with its agricultural operations by 50 percent over the next five years.
So-called precision agriculture of the type being embraced by Pepsico could help reduce water usage by up to 50 percent
and also a faster cheese-ripening process (they kill off the milk's beneficial bacteria sooner).
both of the eater put off by brown apples and the preparer who wants her pre-sliced apples to appear fresh.
Frankenfood the very term is evidence that the communications environment around genetically modified foods (GMOS) is charged highly emotionally.
a small but vocal minority is driving the discussion about GMO foods. In the process the majority mainstream consumers wants
Furthermore, what's important is that you can process all kinds of available biomass--wood chips, switch grass, corn stover, rice husks, wheat straw ââ Â,
There will be a restaurant in the pavilion to attract people to this corner of the mall that is often overlooked.
and where nearby workers can stop for a drink. Washington monument Grounds at Sylvan Theater Winning architect:
these goats are sold not for meat! Rather, they get to retire at the farm and visit schools and senior centers.
say, beverage cans) available for recycling is still very low, given the relatively small number of vehicles that use it today.
Will refrigerators soon be automatically placing orders to replenish food stocks identified by its sensors as running low?
as people are able to manage consumption of resources (electricity, water, food, even bandwidth) in ways that place less of a burden on the environment while saving households money.
Catherine Harrison asked the pretty restaurateur from Calgary. Harrison, who wore camouflage with the aplomb that other women wear Chanel,
Desousa had flown to South carolina to participate in Cook It Raw a more-or-less annual event where an international group of trailblazing chefs congregate in a particular part of the world,
explore indigenous foodstuffs and traditions, then cook a meal from the local bounty--like boy scout camp with better knives.
Launched by Alessandro Porcelli, a gastronomic consultant living in Denmark, and Andrea Petrini, a Lyon-based food writer, Cook It Raw got its start in Copenhagen in 2009, the year of the United nations climate summit.
It assembled 11 avant-garde chefs, a veritable dream team including Renã Â Redzepi, David Chang and Massimo Bottura.
picked mushrooms in Poland, consumed copious amounts of alcohol and prepared unforgettable meals. Albert Adrã Â a of elbulli fame, the only chef to have attended all six events
said, The funny thing about Cook It Raw is that you can't really explain what it is.
In October, Cook It Raw made its North american debut in the Lowcountry of South carolina. This gathering, the first without Andrea Petrini, was bound to be different.
An expanded social media presence included a Twitter feed and a Tumblr account. It was also the first time the general public could take part,
and nearly all new to Cook It Raw. Aside from Adriã Â, this event's heavyweights included the New yorkers Dan Barber and April Bloomfield, Australia's Ben Shewry, Andrã Â Chiang from Singapore, Enrique Olvera from Mexico city
Explaining why Cook It Raw has become such a hot ticket Barber said, I haven't been to many events that afford a chef the opportunity to step out of the daily grind of the kitchen
and delve into a culture with an exciting gastronomy. Another New yorker, Alex Stupak, worked every connection he had
establishing himself as a pastry chef, then opening a Mexican restaurant before he knew how to cook Mexican food.
Several lesser-known chefs participated in a category called Raw Community including two contest-winners who proved their Raw cred on Tumblr.
a young talent with a history of drug addiction who will open his first restaurant, TMIP, in rural Indiana this spring.
If you're a cook who's not working at, like, a Denny's, you know about Cook It Raw,
he said. So when they put out the thing on Twitter saying they were opening it up to two relative unknowns,
The Lowcountry larder Charleston was a brilliant choice for Cook It Raw's North american coming-out.
Few regions in the United states lay claim to an indigenous food culture, but this area known as the Lowcountry can,
European settlers imported livestock, fruit trees and techniques like French pastry making, and adopted Native american crops such as corn and squash.
cowpeas and benne and also served as the cooks for plantation kitchens. Their fritters and one-pot stews gave rise to typical Lowcountry dishes such as Hoppin'John. Early in the week,
a female griot or storyteller--a West african tradition--stood up to bless our dinner in regional Creole as the group enthusiastically devoured a one-pot stew by local chef BJ Dennis. Both were Gullah,
or descendants of this area's slaves. Back in the day, whatever we were picking,
all that got put into the dish, Dennis said. His creation was a mouthwatering combination of broccoli greens, field peas, crab, shrimp and homemade coconut milk.
Okra gave it consistency, while habanero peppers and cayenne provided a kick. David Shields, a professor at the University of South carolina and the week's guest scholar, said that from 1820 to 1920 the Lowcountry boasted an extraordinary profusion of foods.
The main cash crop was Carolina Gold rice a long-grained variety with a nutty flavor that probably originated in Indonesia
and arrived here in the 1780s. Combined with free slave labor, it made the plantation owners of this region exceedingly rich.
hundreds of ingredients from the Antebellum Southern larder simply disappeared. Seventy years later, a handful of people realized what had been lost
whose mother had grown up eating Carolina Gold rice. His convoluted career path touched upon classical music,
Early Tuesday morning, some of the Cook It Raw chefs tried their hand at harvesting rice, following Roberts through a field of shoulder-high Carolina Gold.
The feast The week's high point was the dinner for 50 guests at Brock's restaurant Mccrady's,
where each chef had to prepare one dish using local fare (the lesser-known chefs worked in teams).
so different from the typical conference where chefs arrive with food products and a plan. You can't cheat,
Others felt a little naked trying out a brand new dish in front of their peers. Bloomfield was planning to attempt a smoked oyster ice cream inspired by The Virginia Housewife,
the first cookbook published in America. I think at the end of the day you've got to push boundaries
Stupak promised to help Bloomfield whip up an oyster foam if the ice cream failed. He had found inspiration right away in the Carolina Gold rice,
which he decided to use in pudding. And yet, he also found it a little nerve-wracking to create a dessert in the company of Adriã Â. He was the reason
I became a pastry chef. Adriã Â came up with his idea on Monday evening while munching on stone crab claws, his mother's favorite food.
He would prepare them with a clear cold tomato consommã Â and a green peanut emulsion.
He had a second idea, a risotto, but the sauce would require eight hours of labor without any guarantee of success
. I've learned this isn't the place for trying out crazy things, he said.
It's better to aim for a 7 than to try for a 10 and come up with a 5. The two winners of the Tumblr contest,
Baltzley and the Helsinki-based chef Sasu Laukkonen, were paired up to make a dish, though they had met never before.
On the day of the dinner they all worked side by side in the kitchen, sharing suggestions,
then helping plate each other's dishes in a room where George washington once dined. The 16-course meal contained numerous references to the week's discoveries.
The Spanish moss that sways gently from the branches of oak trees appeared in Chiang's dish as a backdrop to woodsy lichen flakes and a puree of wild plants.
Olvera proposed a Charleston version of Mexican street food, prepared with Anson Mills farro verde.
Jennings and JP Mcmahon served pigeon on bricks from Middleton Place the plantation where everybody was staying
and dedicated the dish to the first Charlestonian he met that week: the taxi driver who talked enthusiastically
and endlessly about food but did not eat pork. Bloomfield's ice cream was served flawless with an aged rib eye steak in a dish she called Freedom.
The most complex dish was a joint effort by Shewry and Dan Barber, who decided to team up after a family funeral called Barber away for part of the trip.
Inspired by Glenn Roberts'work, they combined every element in the crop rotation necessary to grow Carolina Gold rice--all except the rice itself.
The dish, which Barber presented as nose to tail eating of a grain, contained more than two dozen ingredients,
including Carolina peas, raw peanuts, benne, barley and camelina, a microscopic oil seed from antiquity.
The chefs added a little bit of chicken. As Shewry explained, I asked our tour guide what the slaves ate
and did they ever get meat. He said very rarely--a tiny piece of meat.
One hot ticket All week long you could overhear Charlestonians asking how to score a ticket to the sold-out barbecue on Bowens Island Saturday afternoon.
Those fortunate enough to have included one the actor Bill murray, co-owner of Charleston's minor league baseball team.
The weather was perfect as a mix of local and international chefs manned 20 outdoor stands
The Mexicans handed out suckling pig tacos while a special Canadian contingent cooked up seabuckthorn berry BBQ beef tongue.
balancing their pork-laden plates and cocktails by local barman Brooks Reitz and Manhattan mixologist Jim Meehan.
Barns, Pocantico Hills, USA Sean Brock Mccrady's, Husk, Charleston, South carolina Jeremy Charles Raymonds, St john's, Newfoundland, Canada Andrã Â Chiang Restaurant
Solis Nectar, MÃ Â rida, Mexico Alex Stupak Empellã Â n Taqueria Empellã Â n Cocina New york city, USA Jair Tellez Laja-Baja california Merotoro-Mexico city, Mexico Eric Werner Hartwood, Tulum, Mexico Phil Wood
, UK Matt Jennings Homestead, Inc.,Providence, Rhode island, USA Brandon Baltzley Crux TMIP, Michigan City, USA Sasu Laukkonen Chef & Sommelier, Helsinki
Emilie Baltz/Alanna Hale (3rd photo from top)/ Cook It Raw
Turning pine trees into jet fuellow-cost cellulosic sugar maker Virdia and biochemical and biofuel company Virent Energy have developed successfully a drop in gasoline
and jet fuel made from pine trees in a $900, 000 demonstration project funded by the U s. Energy department, the Israeli Ministry of National Infrastructure and the BIRD Foundation.
Virent has made fuels and chemicals from sugars in cellulosic biomass before. But this project used Virdia's sugars generated from pine trees,
which Virent cofounder and chief technology office Randy Cortright said leveraged its own conversion process
Virdia uses acid hydrolysis to convert cellulose found in biomass into fermentable sugars and lignin,
a process the company says is more effective and cheaper than extracting sugar from corn or sugarcane.
and nutritional additives such as baker's yeast and amino acids for the animal feed industry. A few weeks ago, Virdia unveiled its new name,
Wood chip-to-sugar maker scales up to replace oil and food crops Novozymes: New enzyme cuts cost of next-gen biofuels USDA bets (again) on advanced biofuels Poet s cellulosic ethanol strategy:
losses of flora, fauna and ocean's ecosystems will impact food supply and the livelihood of millions who depend on these resources.
Many of the fisheries that feed people around the world have collapsed. Researchers for Nature Journal, who conducted a study in 60 protected areas of Africa,
a perennial herb that gave them energy as they wandered through the forests. This plant was used later by the Tropical Botanical garden
and protect the liver. Palpu Pushpangadan, head of TBGRI, who had met the tribe in 1987
we save on a healthier diet, and we also educate and create new jobs locally.
and their passion for protecting the honey bees, a species that play a vital role in our food production supply.
enabling the sustainability of our food supply chain. Since the 2006-2007 Colony Collapse Disorder there s been a growing concern about the survival of European honey bees.
The Melbourne City Rooftop Honey project Concerned by the growing disconnect between food production and consumption
which is unique to each site, with less actual food miles. Å By placing hives on the roof spaces of cafes, restaurants, hotels and individual gardens in and around Melbourne,
we have reduced the distance from production to plate to mere meters, Â she says. Kwiatkowski believes that urban beekeeping is suited particularly to Melbourne because of the variety of flora growing in the city
compared to the countryside, which often just has one crop dominating an entire area. The couple s plan is to have a hive in every suburb
Nic Poelaert, owner and chef of Embrasse Restaurant, has been hosting 10,000 bees on his restaurant s rooftop for the past six months.
Poelaert, who uses a lot of the honey in his dishes, has grown a passion for beekeeping. Å They are amazing creatures.
Richard Ballard and Steven Dring hope to transform the space into a unique 2. 5 acre farm that would provide fresh produce to London restaurants and grocery stores.
The duo has been testing food production in the tunnel sites --which are being leased from Transport for London--for the last 18 months, according to BBC.
The Underwriters San francisco has been drawing attention as a kind of Petri dish for re-imagining urban infrastructure, through efforts such as parklets,
and serves as home base for a number of groups involved in UP Fest. 5m is developing the parcel as a live-work hub where artists, makers, students, changemakers, entrepreneurs, local food,
Urine-powered restaurant pops up in Melbournemelbourne--Designed by Dutch-born Joost Bakker, the Greenhouse project proves that a waste free restaurant is achievable.
As part of this year's Melbourne Food and Wine Festival program, the Greenhouse uses the by-products of agriculture for insulation
and energy and is made from materials that are completely and easily recycled, natural and nontoxic.
the restaurant utilizes light gauge steel for its frame, making an incredibly strong and naturally termite resistant building that is 100%recyclable.
At the end of its life, the plywood can be recycled into chipboard or wafer board. Transported in and made from five 12-meter reclaimed shipping containers,
As with the past three Geenhouse restaurants, Joost utilizes sustainable ideas in all aspects of the building, from food sourcing and production, through to architecture, building materials and furniture design.
Å I have designed the restaurant in reverse. I ve started at the end; assessing the waste production,
My dream has always been to build a restaurant that creates no waste and now
 The restaurant's menu is based on seasonal and locally available food. Wheat used in bread dough,
pasta and pastries is milled freshly onsite (a healthier alternative to store-bought wheat products), and butter and yoghurt are made fresh from organic milk
and cream delivered from a local dairy farm. All kitchen waste is composted organic and onsite using a Joraform in-vessel composter;
the compost is used to maintain the rooftop garden. Even the restaurant's unbleached baking paper and plantation-timber cutlery can be processed through the composter.
Photo: Earl Carter
USDA Chief Scientist: How biotechnology will feed help us the worldhow do feed you a hungry world,
where the population is increasing, diseases are on the rise and the future of the climate is uncertain?
He is the first director of the USDA s new National Institute of Food and Agriculture,
I talked to Dr. Beachy recently about how biotechnology can help put food on the table,
how grocery stores of the future may allow us to buy food that match our genetic bar code
To ensure global food to the next 3 or 3. 5 billion people by 2050, while eliminating those who are underfed currently;
and nutritious foods and at the same time providing a change in diet that will lead to a successful life;
and we must preserve them in the face of a growing population and need for more food in general.
These are linked all around food and agriculture. It s a different setting than even 20 years ago.
How will technology be used to increase our food supply? We know we have to use new technologies to understand how soil
and its components provide nutrition to the plant so the plant can grow and be productive.
At the same time, soil is the catchment area for water that becomes part of our drinking water. So we need the tools to understand how soil is used,
We d like the medical community to know more about the food we eat. It s a changing time that now allows, because of the nature of the challenges
and the National Cancer Institute and Centers for Disease Control on a program to look at the sociology of healthy eating,
so food can be readily available to places that have been food deserts. I m so excited now about some of the new programs.
In the scope of maximizing food production and reducing the use of agrochemicals, biotechnology is a piece of the toolbox.
We both want sustainability and safety in our food. I m quite convinced we can t meet the future of the world s needs without using every safe tool in the arsenal
What will grocery stores look like in the future? I think we ll still have different kinds of grocery stores.
Those that cater to those of us who make more Like Whole Foods? Yes, the Whole Foods sectors,
and those in the food deserts, in places that haven t had grocery stores for decades. I think there will be a further segmentation of the fresh fruit market that s not just organic
or conventional but genetically improved by breeding methods or some biotechnology methods that we don t even know yet.
I think grocery stores are paying more attention to the science and food of nutrition, and I hope they keep paying attention.
That might pressure the food manufacturers regarding certain kinds of additives that might best be removed or reduced.
In 40 years we might have a system in which I know my genetic code and my microbial flora in my intestine,
so I can go to the grocery store and find the food that matches. I could barcode my genetics.
And my doctor knows it and prescribes drugs accordingly
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