Haley Myers wrote this piece for an Environmental Cooking class she took at UVM this summer.
Greek yogurt is a celebrity among supermarket items: it is popular, it is coveted, and every company wants to use it for marketing, not to mention that it is many a dieter’s idol. Also, like many celebrities, it is currently at the center of a scandal, its reputation marred by the exposure of a “dirty secret”: acid whey. Continue reading
Julia Lloyd is a senior in the Environmental Studies Program in the College of Arts and Sciences at UVM. She wrote this piece for an Environmental Cooking class she took this summer at UVM.
What would a summertime BBQ be without a few dogs on the grill? Well, for one thing, it would be more eco-friendly.
America loves hotdogs. In fact, between Memorial Day and Labor Day, Americans will consume 7 billion hot dogs (that’s 818 hot dogs consumed every second)! However, the iconic American munchie is taking a beating. Continue reading
David Conner is an Assistant Professor in UVM’s department of Community Development and Applied Economics.
An article recently crossed my radar that argues that fast food is a bargain for poor people and that we should do all we can to make food cheap. The author, Kyle Smith, states about the $1 McDonalds double cheeseburger “if it’s not the cheapest, most nutritious and most bountiful food in human history, it has to be pretty close.”
As you might imagine, I have a few things to say in response: Continue reading
Maureen Schake is a Program Planner in UVM Continuing Education. In this post she reports on a recent UVM event that featured a panel of Vermont farmers.
On August 8, the UVM community gathered for a panel discussion with three Vermont farmers: Laura Williams, Farm Director for the UVM Farmer Training Program; Amanda Andrews of Tamarack Hollow Farm; and Nancy Hayden of The Farm Between. Susie Walsh Daloz, Program Director of the UVM Farmer Training Program, moderated the discussion and the panelists answered questions from audience members about their experiences as farmers. Continue reading
Jess Hyman is Executive Director of the Vermont Community Garden Network, which works with community and school garden groups throughout Vermont. We asked her to share her thoughts about how food security and just food systems are grounded in self-production.
Discussions about food systems and the working landscape in Vermont are rooted in our agricultural tradition and the closely related issues of hunger and obesity. However, these discussions often focus on market development and overlook the important role that self-production can play in meeting food needs. For example, the recent “Local Food for Healthy Communities” report from the Vermont Community Foundation (VCF) does an excellent job of outlining the statewide issue of food security and highlights many of the effective and innovative strategies to bring fresh, healthy food to all Vermonters. Geared toward philanthropists, the report focuses on three components of the food system – farmers, institutions, and Vermont consumers – as the main drivers of change. Continue reading
