ColumnWhen simple just doesn’t suffice.

“Why is bone luging a thing?”

It was 3:30 on a Monday afternoon and this had to be the oddest text of the day.

“I did not know if this was a new foodie thing to do,” my friend followed up by way of explanation.

When you write a column on food, your friends and colleagues often take it upon themselves to one-up you on knowing what the latest and hippest thing in the food world is. And they’re often pretty successful.

I had no idea what bone luging was. So I looked it up.

For starters, the fourth Google option upon searching “bone luging” was a site called How Hipsters Date. I clicked hestitantly, slightly turning my head and squinting with both eyes the way you do when you’re watching a scary movie, in fear of what would pop up on the screen. You just never know.

Called “the new drinking fad food writers love to hate,” by Gothamist, bone luging combines the trend of bone marrow with the obsession of taking shots in ways reminiscent of college days. It’s simple: Eat the marrow out of a transected piece of bone, then use the empty bone to direct a shot into your mouth.

Cue disgusted shivering.

Tasting Table claims the trend hails from Portland – the little foodie bubble that I like to call home – and although I have never been to Metrovino which has bone luge on their menu, I can envision several local hot spots offering it sooner or later.

If you’re shaving fennel and serving crispy pig ears, a bone luge is really only so far away.

There is a lot of talk of food trends, but sometimes I wonder if trends are really trends at all, or simply the odd creation of a socially networked generation that’s obsessed with creating more internet fodder. Journalist Felicia Heaton went to the efforts of making a how-to guide:

Bone Luge How-To

Part 1: Order the bone marrow. Scrape it from the bone and eat it by spreading it on toasted bread. Or, if you’re die hard, suck it right off the spoon.

Part 2: Pick a liquor or fortified wine to compliment the marrow.

Part 3: Grab your smart phone in preparation for the obligatory Bone Luge photo.

Part 4: Pick up the bone as a funnel, pouring the drink at the top and watch it flow down the hatch. (Don’t forget to snap the photo!)

Part 5: Share your work via social networking.

Because would a food trend even be a food trend without the internet and people uploading photos of themselves in semi-compromising situations [note: most bone luging photos are not the most becoming, and it’s not because of the 80s ski sweaters]? There is a bone luge Tumblr page and a hashtag. Give it a few weeks and it might end up going the route of bacon. Just read the manifesto. I can’t wait for the “Sh*t Bone Lugers Say” video to come out.

Is anyone else sick of food trends? What happened to regular artisan goat cheese made from happy animals and organic farms with farmers trying to make a difference? Have these admirably foodie foods gotten lost in the mix of smoke-infused cocktails and bartender mustaches?

As the same friend who tipped me off to bone luging in the first place said, “Can’t I just go somewhere that doesn’t serve complicated things?”

Social media and the internet have allowed us to connect with food lovers, influence the discussion on food politics and be inspired to eat better, but it’s also a wide world of cats eating cupcakes, which I am certain isn’t doing a damn thing for advancing the food movement.

Bad trends happen to good people. Keep in mind that taking the joy of food out of the equation and replacing it with the need to jump on the latest bandwagon isn’t hip or underground, it’s just trite and disappointing. When someone offers you some bone marrow and tequila, feel good about saying no. Because when it comes to food, you should keep it simple, stupid.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

Image: thegift73

The post Foodie Underground: When Food Trends Go Wrong appeared first on EcoSalon.

Building a better London might just start with a broom and social networking.

The news tells us that communities have had their hearts ripped out. Yesterday morning, the streets of London were littered with debris, smashed glass and bricks, buildings were burnt or pillaged and three nights of rioting and looting had left the city smoldering.

Dan Thompson sat at his home in the coastal town of Worthing, West Sussex, 60 miles south of the capital, and tweeted a plea for anyone nearby to bring him coffee. He hadn’t slept all night, having started the idea of #riotcleanup on Twitter the previous evening. Soon the hash tag was trending, more popular than #LondonRiots, more popular even than Justin Bieber.

More importantly, thanks to Thompson, thousands of people had mobilized to meet at various points around London, Liverpool and Birmingham. They brought gloves and heavy-duty trash bags and flasks of tea. They called themselves Riot Wombles. Hilariously, people complained that in some places the council street cleaners had been too efficient and there was little for them to do.

Pictures began arriving on Twitter. Crowds marching down the streets, not with the masked faces of rioters looking for shops to loot, not an insurgence of violence and anger, but instead armed with brooms and smiles, ordinary people who had taken time off work and out of their lives looking for a mess to clean up, shops to help repair.

For many, this photo taken outside Clapham Junction station has become emblematic of the community whose heartbeat was said to be flat lining.

Meanwhile, an exhausted but elated Thompson was attempting to deal with over 100 tweets a minute.

In his every day life, he runs the Empty Shops Network, bringing disused buildings back into service to give cheap space to artists, makers, social enterprises and charities. While that network proved a good starting point for #riotcleanup, the majority of momentum came from the community, from people who love where they live, who wanted to show solidarity against threat and used the speed and might of social media to do just that.

While much of old media wrung its hands over the use of new media in organizing the riots, mostly through the Blackberry BBM network, the reality is that social networks were also streamlining positive action, like a rapidly charging defibrillator.

We are now onto day four of the riots.

Some 16,000 police in London last night ensured a quieter night in the city, but Manchester, Nottingham, Liverpool and Birmingham still suffered. Three people died trying to protect their community against violence.

No one knows why it is happening, although many have speculated. But this kind of violence almost certainly doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The rioters may not have a cohesive, coordinated voice, and while some are without a doubt opportunistic thugs, others are angry about something. We now have to ask ourselves: What, exactly?

As we reflect, we have to remember that while a handful of disenfranchised and disaffected people began destroying cities, the rest of the country collected together in an astonishing display of community. #riotcleanup mobilized thousands. Hot on its heels was Anti-riot: Operation Cup Of Tea, a Facebook group encouraging peace-loving members of the public to upload photos of themselves eschewing acts of violence and instead enjoying the most British of pass times – tea drinking. It currently has 220,000 members, 20,000 more than when I started writing this article an hour ago.

Then there is Something Nice For Ashraf, a reaction to the shocking video of a young Malaysian student who was injured in the riots and then mugged while bleeding profusely. He allegedly lost his front teeth, alongside a replaceable but probably still much loved bicycle, mobile phone and Sony Playstation. The Tumblr seeks to do something nice, to show Ashraf and his family that people in England are not really “scumbags and dickheads.”

Despite what Malcolm Gladwell would have us believe, social networking, in all its furious righteous indignation, its frenzied panic and easy moral outrage, is shaping up to be a new heart center of our communities, a simple place of gathering in an increasingly fractured world where we can show we are strong and caring and willing to stand together, where we can show what we can do with a little bit of love and care.

On Twitter, @riotcleanup now has nearly 88,000 followers. There’s nothing to tidy right now, so they’re playing #cleanupanthems for amusement: Litter Sweep Symphony; Where The Streets Have No Stains; Broom Shake Shake Shake The Broom; Sweep Caroline. It’s silly and self-deprecating, making light of what has been a harrowing and shocking few days. More than anything, it’s incredibly British.

After all the asking why is done, this is the message we should take away from the events of the last few days, this strength and humor, this common goal to live somewhere peaceful and fair and safe, and the knowledge that we have the drive to achieve that goal.

Someone tweets @riotcleanup: Nice idea, but what if they riot again tonight?

@riotcleanup replies: Then we clean up again tomorrow.

The post London’s #riotcleanup: Keep Calm and Carry a Big Broom appeared first on EcoSalon.

People tweet about how Planned Parenthood changed their lives.

Friday night, one of the remaining issues on the table before an uneasy truce prevented a government shutdown was Planned Parenthood funding.  Ultimately, to avoid halting government services, Planned Parenthood funding – which accounts for less than 1 percent of the total budget – survives to be debated another day.

This weekend, people on Twitter are voicing many opinions on both sides of the issue, ranging from staunch support for the organization to outright hatred for its very existence. Many have had the misguided belief that government funds for Planned Parenthood pay for abortion services (they don’t), and others seem to believe Senate Minority Jon Kyl’s assertion that abortions are 90% of what Planned Parenthood does. He has since retracted that statement, and the facts show that abortions account for about 3% of their total services. (The Washington Post has an infographic that accurately depicts what Planned Parenthood actually does.)

However, through all the #plannedparenthood argument clutter emerged many comments from both women and men whose lives were impacted by Planned Parenthood (and not due to abortions). Here are their stories:

NicoleBell @queenofspain I had a pre-cancerous tumor caught and treated, thanks to #PlannedParenthood. My life and my kids owe them everything.

Mahmeme @cecilyk My name is Amy & I used #PlannedParenthood to get the pill when I worked at a Catholic health system who’s insurance wouldn’t cover.

tarastantrums My name is Tara and #PlannedParenthood diagnosed my PCOS when #mayo doctors couldn’t figure it out. @QueenofSpain

alectoincarnate I am a woman who has gone to #plannedparenthood since I was 16 for my annual check-ups & birth control…

chelseatalks Me 2! “@sharonburton: My name is Sharon and I used #PlannedParenthood in my 20s and 30s for basic health care @speakerboehner. #keepitgoing”

tubaville I’ve used #plannedparenthood to monitor my health because no insurance company will cover me after uterine cancer @SpeakerBoehner #passiton

Colo_kea #raiseyourhand First gyn exam (21) was #PlannedParenthood. No insurance/money -never thought could go to “doctor” http://raiseyourhand.org/

sitarmdas I’m Sitaram Das, I’m male, and I’ve used #PlannedParenthood services.

improvperson My Name is Katie and I’ve used #plannedparenthood #duh #happymomofthree

WhetherWhatever My name is Avery and I have used services at #PlannedParenthood. Don’t cut federal funding for those with no health care.

wingwit @speakerboehner I am Carolyn and I am one of the 1 in 5 US women who has been helped by #PlannedParenthood #keepitgoing #PPNYCAction

cvharquail RT @jonniker: #plannedparenthood was there for me in 1 of darkest times of my life, & has earned my respect. Unlike many of you, congress.

lauradstead My name is Laura and I used #plannedparenthood for oral contraception & reproductive health as a teen. W/O #PP I may have been a teen mom.

sammidoll #plannedparenthood is safe for now. for all you conservative idiots, i’ve personally used it for health care and preventatives #notabortion

AshleySieb #PlannedParenthood saves lives. I’m proof and I will always fight for the the education and services the org. provides young woman and men.

NonaNelson @Cecilyk I’m Nona & I went to Planned Parenthood for birth control because I didn’t have insurance or it wasn’t covered.

thatkristen The best (and cheapest) women’s health care I ever got was at #plannedparenthood.

andreagrimes I’m Andrea and #PlannedParenthood gave me support, care and resources when I was scared to talk to my parents about sex. @speakerBoehner

purplecrazies @Cecilyk I’m Laura and I went to Planned Parenthood for annual check ups in college because I couldn’t trust Student Health.

andrewpatner My name is Andrew and I’ve used #PlannedParenthood @speakerboehner, RT if you have too #keepitgoing @PPNYCAction

BeingMama @Cecilyk For years, the only way I afforded pelvic exams was through Planned Parenthood. Poor women’s health care is at stake.

awkwardlysocial @cecilyk and @queenofspain #plannedparenthood was my only doctor’s office while I had no insurance. UTIs are pretty painful if untreated…

noluckalaskan @Cecilyk: My name is melissa, and I’ve used #PlannedParenthood services. Consequently, my parenthood’s been planned.

starshollowgzt @CasualWednesday @QueenofSpain PP saved my life in ’71, found a pre-cancerous ovarian tumor on a routine check up

KAIZENcoach As a young woman I received the BEST care from #PlannedParenthood in contrast to private suburban M.D.’S that did not @queenofspain

karenebayne @QueenofSpain My husband and I got married very young & broke. We used #plannedparenthood to get our blood tests and birth control pills.

Cecilyk Again, with hashtag: My name is Cecily, and I have used services at #PlannedParenthood. Will again, thanks to no health insurance.

Along with these personal stories was a wave of tweets for Speaker Boehner with this message: My name is [insert name here], and I’ve used #PlannedParenthood @speakerboehner, RT if you have too.

image: clockworknate

The post Dear Congress: I’m on Twitter and I’ve Used Planned Parenthood appeared first on EcoSalon.

Our tendency to post and tweet callous comments reflects a nation lacking in empathy.

As a global community, we have suffered some devastating catastrophes in the past decade: the 9/11 attacks, the 2005 South Asia tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti earthquake, the BP oil spill, and the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Along with these catastrophes, we have a steady flow of news stories depicting the cruelty people inflict upon each other every day around the world.

As these tragedies unfold in the media, there is an outpouring of sympathy from the vast majority of people, along with donations, offers to help, and sincere grief for the fallen. But there is also a disturbing number of people who seem to feel no compassion for others at all, and, thanks to the combination of traditional and ever-rising social media, these hateful voices become viral.

Heartless in the face of natural disaster
Even in the wake of a natural disaster, some people found a way to ridicule, dismiss or even blame the victims. Some high profile figures even seem to feel compelled to make shocking comments and jokes in the wake of tragedy using Twitter where they have thousands of followers. 50 Cent, Rush Limbaugh, and Glenn Beck, among others posted now-famous comments and jokes in extremely poor taste about the disaster and its victims.

50 Cent joked about having to evacuate his “hoes” from L.A., Japan and Hawaii, while Rush Limbaugh laughed with a caller about the irony that the tsunami hit a nation known for its leadership in recycling and hybrid cars. Glenn Beck not only laughed about the Japanese victims, saying it was a message from God, but in the past he has called Hurricane Katrina victims “scumbags” and mocked the residents who were unable or unwilling to leave before the storm.

These men are known for their “shock value,” but that does not excuse cruelty.

Whom does it hurt?
Clearly, cruel speech hurts the victims who have to endure their suffering being made light of, and despite the outpouring of aid from the U.S., the backlash from these incidents makes us, as a nation, look like selfish, over-privileged fame-seekers. Does it hurt the ones who made the comments? It’s doubtful that 50 Cent, Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck gave their comments a second thought. They won’t be hurt professionally or lose their seething audiences. And, as Robert Elisberg mused, that’s troubling. As he pointed out, fans will continue to idolize Beck and Limbaugh, but there is no evidence that even one of them protested and said that in this instance, any of these comments were out of line.

Therein lies the danger. That this shock value is accepted. That this attitude of casual cruelty seems normal and is emulated. Was there backlash? Thankfully, yes. Many people denounced their comments. But, plenty of non-celebrities got into the act of making jokes and calling it, inexplicably, karmic payback for Pearl Harbor, killing whales and dolphins, or other senseless justifications. Hundreds of Facebook statuses and Twitter feeds echoed similar thoughts.

In a rant heard around the world, UCLA student Alexandra Wallace posted a video on YouTube complaining about Asian students in the library disrupting her studying when they called home to check on their loved ones. She mocked the way they spoke and criticized them for not having “American manners.” Looking back, she might be choking on that characterization right about now.

While the hatemongers of social media can only be identified by having their statuses reposted in incredulous news pieces, Wallace’s video went viral. It was the biggest 2 minute 52 second mistake of her life. Unlike the mostly untouchable 50 Cent, Limbaugh and Beck, Wallace has effectively ended her college career at UCLA, destroyed her reputation, and most likely will have torpedoed her entire professional career as that video is destined to live on the internet forever.

In a time where connectivity is bringing us closer together as a global community, we shouldn’t forget that our international neighbors have a front row seat to the insensitive and insulting remarks of the vocal few that overshadow the concerned many.

Unfeeling toward crime victims
Vicious comments aren’t limited to victims of natural disasters, crime victims are fair game, too. In a recent piece, we discussed the public reaction to Lara Logan’s sexual assault in Egypt. Public figures made light of it, a journalist lost his job over it, and the less-than-sympathetic public seemed divided between racist comments about her Egyptian attackers and blaming a woman professional for being there in the first place. In this public poll, more than half of the voters felt that Logan is to blame for her own attack.

Looking back to the 9/11 attacks in 2001, there isn’t a wide electronic trail of negative public opinion. But then, this was pre-Facebook and Twitter. Apps and smartphones make it all too easy; just a decade ago, people didn’t have an instant outlet to broadcast their every vicious thought. There was certainly some anti-Muslim sentiment from the cable news punditry, but save for Ann Coulter lambasting widows and Glenn Beck pronouncing his hatred for some of the “whining” 9/11 families, our nation seemed to join together in dignity and offer support to the victims.

Whether we have coarsened as a people, or whether social media simply provides a more visible mirror, is unclear. Are we teaching the next generation that shock value, even if it’s cruel, is a justified outlet for pain, entertainment, attention? Is that the way our society really feels toward others? In a time where vast numbers of people continue to give to others, despite still-challenging economic conditions, a vocal slice can undo all the good with thoughtless spewing.

image: Rego

The post Shouting Down Compassion appeared first on EcoSalon.

Then came the telephone, with its squawking ring and jangling ear piece. People could communicate with each other without the handwritten word. Fast forward a hundred years to most people unable to write a legible note. (This is me, raising my hand.) Communication now speeds along fiber-optics straight into our brains.

The cost of speed? An eternal buzz we get off information, which to some equates to nothing less than the complete sizzling of our brains. Don’t you ever get that not-so-fresh feeling that you might just possibly dissolve into a pile of updates if you read one more status line?

Sure, it’s great to reconnect with old friends and stay up-to-date on the news. But for some, social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter can take a life of their own. You start moving among them like a virtual extension of yourself. You start losing the ability to walk in sunlight. You start sticking to your office chair.

It just might be time for a social media detox. This entails some time away from your blog, Twitter, Facebook, email, StumbleUpon, Digg, and any other site that requires a password or worse, a sassy pseudonym. You might have to ask a friend to change your passwords, unplug your computer, and help you step away from the laptop and/or iPhone.

If any of the following rings true, turn over your passwords and take at least a day away. Your brain will detox, your back will stretch, and you will party like its 1999.

1. You are so used to your Twitter feed for news that you consider things that happened 3 hours ago as wildly ancient.

2. You have to sneak into the other room to check your social media outlets because your significant other thinks you’re obsessed. Because you are. And you know it. But doesn’t everyone check Twitter in the dark of a closet behind several old bridesmaids dresses?

3. You discover that you won’t brush your hair to leave the house, but you will do it for Skype.

4. Something funny/scary/thrilling happens to you and you immediately start crafting it into a Facebook status line.

5. You get into flame wars at least once a week. See a complete definition of “flame wars” or “flaming” here. See also: Dealing with rage issues.

6. Scrolling through the wedding pictures of a friend of a friend has replaced spending an evening with your own significant other. Also, your human connections can’t remember the last time they spoke to you face to face.

7. And finally, do you really need to know the weekend plans of someone you knew 20 years ago? Do you?

Want to read more about withdrawing from social media? Take a gander at our recent look at social media: No If or Buts About It: Why We Have to Disconnect.

Image: John Maddin

The post 7 Signs You Need a Social Media Detox appeared first on EcoSalon.

The fact that Twitter changed the food cart movement is no news; foodies consume deals and specials from dining entrepreneurs like they’re candy. But the micro-blogging site hasn’t just become a guerrilla marketing tool to get the word out about tacos and tempeh, it’s becoming a source of foodie inspiration.

I’ll admit that nothing beats sitting down to peruse a well crafted cookbook with decadent photos and well worded recipes – the kind of book that makes you recommit yourself to becoming a better cook – but there’s also time for the short and sweet.

Look at the success of Eat Tweet, probably the world’s first cookbook to be inspired by 140 characters or less. Eat Tweet‘s author, Maureen Evans, maintains her Twitter page where she posts condensed recipes. What can you do in the kitchen that you can’t do on Twitter? Nothing it turns out; with recipes for macaroons, fennel pie, pomegranate sashimi and beyond, Evans proves that you don’t need a culinary encyclopedia to keep things fresh.

As I write this, I hear my mother’s voice in the back of my head, “but why would people want to get their recipes from Twitter?” You’re right mom, there really isn’t a replacement for traditional food inspiration – I used to spend hours going through our bookshelf of cookbooks that featured food from around the world and I credit those moments to why I’m currently a food lover – and I still believe there’s no better tool for determining what you’re going to make for dinner than a trip to farmers’ market, but there’s something to be said for the online community of foodies that are using Twitter to not only get the word out about their own food blogs, but also find creative inspiration for new concoctions.

Just take a moment to look all of the tweets tagged with #foodie. Within three minutes of opening the search in a new browser tab, there were 10 new tweets.

There are the instructional tweets:

exceptionalfood: A smooth shiny egg shell is a sign of old age. Fresh eggs have a chalky rough shell. #chef #recipe #kitchen #foodie

The quirky:

TheAmateurChef: Is it wrong that I like peanut butter on bacon sandwiches…?#foodie

The insightful:

tarla80: After eating #chocolate you feel godlike, as though you can conquer enemies, lead armies, entice lovers. -Emily Luchetti #foodie #quote

And the humorous:

WarrenCaterson: “the perfect wine glass is one that has wine in…” quote from @whopaysthepiper #wine #foodie

Or if you’re dependent on visual stimulation, there’s always the #foodporn hashtag. Here’s to socially networked food inspiration.

Have any recipes that you’ve gotten via Twitter, or any foodies you follow who are particularly in the know? Share them in the comments below!

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground. Each week, Anna will be taking a look at something new and different that’s taking place in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to culinary avant garde.

Image: NineteenFortyOne

The post Foodie Underground: Give ‘Em Something to Tweet About appeared first on EcoSalon.

I admit it, I have cravings. Not just for dark chocolate, but for tweets.

It starts when I wake up and notice I need a Twitter fix – or a twix. Getting tweeted is now more important to me than my mother complementing my shoes – pretty shoes with bows or ankle straps that I purchase with her in mind. (Mom really likes these kind of shoes).

But tweets are the new approval. Sorry, Mom. I’m looking at the birdie for love, and smiling. It’s a gratifying picture. Except, of course, when the tweets don’t add up. If Twitter is over capacity, it is not because of me. The approval ratings can be disappointing. My tweet tooth feels a hole, a void, a cavity if you will. It can hurt something awful.

For this reason, I’m convinced, therapists will soon be healing a generation of Twitter followers with complexes from not receiving enough tweets in their formative years when they actively sought reassurance from countless strangers in the great abyss.

I look to strangers, too, in the tweets of San Francisco, to form a Twitter bond – strangers like Mayor Gavin Newsom, the 4th most followed politician on the service. See, most of my social contemporaries who aren’t web writers or famous Hollywood stars aren’t quite sure what kind of animal tweeting actually is, or what social networking means, or why some among us feel the need to sign in daily with mundane accounts of their comings and goings or to write witty and  pointless haiku – or twaiku, NPR observes.

I explain it is all about professional networking and exposure, not to be confused with Facebook, which is for sharing, too, but much more of a social animal. I’m drawn to Twitter to connect with other eco web entities, allow my own posts to gain visibility, and of course, to be part of  that club; The tech savvy one.

While the opposite of exclusive, it is an impressive club, so much so that any marketing executive connected with any university, magazine, business, grass roots cause or retail store must be equipped to set up an account and work it. By working it, I mean, spend part of the day following the Twitter trail that leads to the sort of club members you would want to take to lunch. The members you would want to be following you. And so you tweet them half way.

Getting re-tweeted is an art of sorts. For example, my colleagues are also Twitter hounds who crave tweets, and we share a reciprocal relationship, in which you tweet my link and I tweet yours. If I forget, a colleague might guilt me about being remiss and say “a little bird told me you forgot to tweet!” They might enjoy their tweet revenge and not scratch my back for a whole week, and then I have to rely on some stranger to do it.

I suppose all of this pop cultural blither is intended to send a message to followers and readers and colleagues, and even Facebook friends from junior high who see my links and posts on the social site.

Listen up, tweety pie. Tweet if you love me; tweet if you are horny; tweet if you are very small (a baby tweeter); tweet if you are large (a meaty tweety). If you don’t, I will just assume you don’t like me.

You can find Luanne on Twitter at @inthegreenlane or follow this list for all EcoSalon writers.

Images: Productive Dreams; Lawrence Borel; Dewaldp; Thoughtpick; Twitrounds

The post My Tweet Tooth Needs a Twix appeared first on EcoSalon.

A perfect media storm blew in for the week of Fat Tuesday.

First came an impassioned TED speech by Jamie Oliver challenging Americans to solve our obesity epidemic through food and nutrition education and more excellent cooking.

Then came New York City’s Fashion Week with its requisite news of models getting fired from runway gigs for allegedly “being fat” at size puny.

In parallel, there was a huge debate around the emotional outbursts, each in 140-character Twitter format, by Kevin Smith the actor and filmmaker who was kicked off of a Southwest airlines flight this week for being too large and a “safety” concern.

One of the milder tweets he offered: “Wanna tell me I’m too wide for the sky? Totally cool. But fair warning, folks: IF YOU LOOK LIKE ME, YOU MAY BE EJECTED FROM @SOUTHWESTAIR.”

Obesity-haters on Twitter and comment boards web-wide suggested it was fair for airlines like Southwest to kick Smith (a.k.a. Silent Bob) off a flight if, in their estimation, a passenger was too large to fit in a single seat, and no other seat was available. Others sided with Kevin Smith but wondered if a “fat tax,” which essentially punishes people who stress the healthcare system and food supply, is worth considering.

An informal survey on Hunch.com of 12,000 site visitors showed that – rather unsympathetically – people who aren’t fat are more likely to support airlines’ charging fat people for two tickets, if they can’t fit into one seat as opposed to offering a wider seat, or two for the price of one.

If you’re fit, would you pass the buck to the obese? If you’re fat, would the tax help motivate you to lose weight by eating less, or healthier (and presumably more sustainable) foods?

Study up on all sides of the argument for and against fat taxes on everything from plane tickets to sugary foods with the links and resources here.

BASIC READING:

“Daniel Engber has likened fat to height. ‘How fat you are has a lot more to do with your genes than with your behavior,’ he argue[s]. ‘As much as 80 percent of the variation in human body weight can be explained by differences in our DNA. (Your height is similarly heritable.)’…Instances of radical, lasting weight loss are exceedingly rare. Diet and exercise schemes tend to yield only minor effects over the long term…” – A post by William Saletan for Slate comparing the tall to the fat.

“The idea of a special tax on soda, similar to those on tobacco, gasoline and alcoholic beverages, is attracting more interest. Advocates of a tax note that sugared beverages are the No. 1 source of calories in the American diet, representing 7 percent of the average person’s caloric intake, according to government surveys, and up to 10 percent for children and teenagers. ‘What you want,’ says Kelly Brownell, director of Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, ‘is to reverse the fact that healthy food is too expensive and unhealthy food is too cheap, and the soda tax is a start. Unless food marketing changes, it’s hard to believe that anything else can work.'” – A feature by Mark Bittman in the New York Times

“In Canada, the Supreme Court has ruled that obese and disabled people cannot be forced to buy a second seat on flights….Bill Fabrey, a director at the Council on Size and Weight Discrimination, a non-profit group that advocates for larger people said airlines should provide some bigger seats to accommodate people of size, just as many cinemas and theatres had increased their seats. ‘People come in all shapes and sizes,’ he said. ‘Judging someone by the size of their body, not health level, comes down to discrimination against a class of people.'” – A feature story in The National

FURTHER RESOURCES:

A post by BigFatDeal Blog that aggregates Kevin Smith’s Tweets about “flying while fat.”

A Web M.D. article about a new survey that says 8 of 10 adult males will be fat, not of healthy weight, by 2020

A story in the Syracuse Post-Standard about New Yorkers’ support of a “fat tax” of a kind, on sugary sodas.

A News-Herald story about curbing childhood obesity through more environmentally sound nutrition and standards for food in schools, which is one alternative to levying a fat tax against the obese.

A story by Tom Fudge for KPBS about new research that shows obesity is partly determined by the place where you live.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of EcoMeme, a column featuring eco trends, and tech highlights by Lora Kolodny.

Image: Alan Cleaver

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Anthropologist Margaret Mead once said: “A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

If you’ve ever doubted this, look no further than Cadbury chocolate.

Last month we reported that Cadbury decided to add palm oil to its chocolate in Australia and New Zealand. The company insisted it was doing so not to save money but to “improve” its chocolate as the palm oil produced a “softer” product than chocolate made with real cocoa butter.

The reaction of the Australian and Kiwi public to such obvious spin was scathing. Furious chocolate lovers organised anti-Cadbury campaigns on Facebook and Twitter and the issue hit the national news on both sides of the Tasman Sea.

Every foodie knows that palm oil is a cheap and inferior substitute for cocoa butter, but the real concern for environmentalists was the fact that palm oil production is linked to deforestation and habitat destruction in South-East Asia and Africa. Cadbury insisted it would buy only sustainably-produced palm oil but this claim was dubious at best, something our original post explains in far more detail.

Thankfully, Cadbury has bowed to public pressure and the Australian press is reporting that the company has decided to remove palm oil from the chocolate recipe. A victory for people power!

What does Cadbury have to say about this? Both the main Cadbury Australia and New Zealand sites are curiously silent but have deleted the sections on why palm oil is so wonderful from the frequently asked questions.

However, Cadbury has responded to the criticism on its Choclovers.com website – not to be confused with the Choclovers.org protest site. The Choclovers.com site carries a press release quoting Cadbury New Zealand managing director Matthew Oldham, said the decision to go back to using only cocoa butter in Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate was in direct response to consumer feedback.

“At the time, we genuinely believed we were making the right decision, for the right reasons. But we got it wrong. Now we’re putting things right as soon as we possibly can, and hope Kiwis will forgive us. Cadbury Dairy Milk’s quality is what’s made it one of New Zealand’s most trusted brands for many years. Changing the recipe put that trust at risk and I am really sorry.”

Cadbury cited “passionate comments via social media environments” and confirmed the decision covered Australia as well. There is no sign that Cadbury intends to reverse its decision to downsize from 250g to 200g – but the company maintains that it has decreased its wholesale price accordingly.

It is probably no coincidence that the company has also joined Twitter since the furor broke – tweeting as @cadbury_aunz since August 13. Via the Twitter account, the company has acknowledged it was “wrong” and had gone back to its original recipe after strong feedback from consumers. The company also mentioned the UK business was Fair Trade-certified and other businesses would follow.

Social media gives consumers more power than ever, making it easier for that “small group of thoughtful people” to change the world. Cadbury has learned this the hard way – but good on them for doing the right thing in the end.

Image: Vlad the Impala

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The current economic climate has been nothing short of brutal for many eco-designers, but where there are challenges, there are also opportunities for growth.

SUST, an eco-label out of San Francisco, sees their own challenges as a way to reconnect with America and carry the torch for sustainable apparel.

Kicking off a “Sustainability Across America” tour co-sponsored by EcoSalon, cmarchuska, Indigenous Designs, I love Ryann, Restore Clothing and Guayaki Yerba Matte tea, the tour will tape interviews with industry experts, specialty clothing boutiques and “friends” along the way, which will be shared via social media like Twitter and Facebook as well as at their blog, getsust.

The brainchild of Kevin Baum, CEO of SUST, the trip will serve not only to increase awareness of the SUST brand, but act as a grassroots marketing effort to create connections at the store level and garner a greater knowledge about how real Americans view words like “organic” and “sustainable.”

Despite what you may think, Baum says collaborating with the other designers on the tour isn’t competition, but rather, collaboration.

“We help each other whenever we can, share ideas, and work together to grow the market for organic and sustainable goods,” says Baum. “We’re much more complementary than competitive. Our competition, by contrast, comes from companies who are not organic or sustainable in their practices, and who can offer their goods at much lower prices because of that.”

From San Francisco, mobile meetings with Baum will involve SUST’s  brand ambassador (and van driver), Laura Jones.

Jones will not only promote her three-month trip across America through personal interviews with the eco-community but will also feature some of our nation’s most beautiful parks and monuments. The SUST crew hopes that by taking this approach documenting the natural splendor of a place we call home, it will remind us all of the resources and landscape this new sustainable generation represents and works hard to protect.

I caught up with Laura before she took to the open road.

What is the most exciting aspect of this trip for you as brand ambassador?

I’m excited to experience the sustainable movement coming to life by meeting the people who are its motor and experiencing the nature that is protected as the fruit of their labor. This journey began as an exploration of the country I’ve called home for many years, but has grown into an endeavor to experience not just the place, but the people, culture and even the commerce that make it what it is.

It’s exciting to take this broad notion of the green movement and a love for fashion and marry them together in a totally unique, fun and collaborative way. This is really an opportunity to meet our fellow partners in both fashion and green commerce and to make friends, learn about their missions and projects and help champion their successes. I think the most rewarding aspect of the journey as SUST’s ambassador is the opportunity to connect with like minded people, learn about their contributions, and to be able to paint a real picture of the industry, the movement and the nation in a very human way.

What do you hope this campaign will promote first and foremost for SUST?

I hope this journey will help promote the collaborative energy that fuels the sustainable movement. The movement itself seems like a very high-level, ethereal concept, but the reality is that it’s individual people, working to build and change the way we think and live.

This trip is an effort to extend the hand, to engage our community and to build friendships so that together we can all help one another thrive and achieve in our efforts towards a common goal.

Where can we follow you on social media and will you be making daily posts?

You can all follow me on our Facebook fan page – www.facebook.com/getsust – on Twitter @getsust, and on our blog at getsust.blogspot.com.
I’ll be posting as often as possible, but will have to recess into the wifi-free wilderness of our National Parks every so often! You can expect to hear a lot from me while on the road and in urban areas, and to get full reports of the back-country adventures when I get back in range.

One sentence that sums up how you see the future of sustainable design?

Sustainable design is already going mainstream, continually making inroads into the fashion industry with something that not only feels good and has a sense of style, but is better for the environment as well.

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