photo: andyabides via flickr

TreeHugger has covered fish farming a number of times; in fact just yesterday we covered a Worldwatch Institute report which claims that sustainable fish farms can feed the world. Today the same source is highlighting fish farms in what may seem an unlikely location (West Virginia) and using an unlikely source of water (deserted coal mines). Yeah, I found it slightly odd too, but read on; it’s not as crazy as it sounds:

Recent Comment by Anthony : "While coal mine water should merit greater scrutiny than other sources, we should not d..." [read]

Creative Commons. Some Rights Reserved. Photo by Joel Olives

150,000 honey bees descend and ascend in central Tokyo, and generally fly about. So, OK, I admit it, no horror story or freak-of-nature side effect of global warming here, just a fascinating example of grow local, eat local in the middle of the most populous agglomeration in the world.

In the Ginza commercial district of Tokyo, the location of the first street lighting and subway in Japan and now Japan’s primary consumerist holy site with the world's largest Gucci flagship store and the headquarters of many of the major advertising agencies (and thus also the headquarters of many consumer goods manufacturers), a humble experiment in honey production has begun to show startling success.

TreeHugger promotes healthy diets and frugal living, so taking your organic arugula sandwich on homemade whole-grain beats the KFC any day. But such delicacies are often stolen by people who "accidentally" mix them up with their own bologna on Wonderbread.

Sherwood Forlee to the rescue, with the Anti-theft Lunch Bag.

It's a Danish (though possibly not organic) by kspoddan @ flickr.

While in Britain researchers have found organic sales suffering slightly as consumers feel the gloom of high oil prices and global economic woes, in Denmark organic food consumption, already quite high, is still rising! Denmark had one of the first labeling programs for organic, which will now be extended to give restaurants and caterers three levels - gold, silver, bronze - of certification depending on the percentage of organic raw materials they use.

More organic food in regular-folks stores?
For years, organic sales growth has been in the double digits. And it is still expected to prosper, as super-high fossil fuel costs narrow the gap between conventional and organic cost differences. On the other hand, inflation has caused food purveyors in the U.S. and Britain like Whole Foods to struggle to move away from their "Whole Paycheck" image as consumers get price sensitive...and therein lies the clue to Denmark's success.

"Lake Sebu tilapia farms" by fragment of angry candy via flickr

We've reported on farmed Atlantic salmon escaping into wild Pacific salmon habitat, and how farmed fish threaten marine life and human health . At the other end of the sustainability spectrum we've also highlighted the benefits of backyard aquaponics.

In Farming Fish For the Future Brian Halweil of the Worldwatch Institute looks at the state of aquaculture around the globe and offers insight into how farming fish can help feed people as well as facilitate the recovery of wild fish populations.

Fish farming has expanded to meet the soaring global demand for seafood. On average, each person on the planet is eating four times as much seafood as was consumed in 1950. The average per-capita consumption of farmed seafood has increased nearly 1,000 percent since 1970, in contrast to per-capita meat consumption, which grew just 60 percent.

"Public School Meat" by cowboy_montgomery via flickr

We've reported about the lack of nutrition in school meal programs before, and a new study backs us up. The study, by California Food Policy Advocates (CFPA) and Samuels & Associates (S&A), gives the USDA's child nutrition commodity program a failing grade.

The USDA program aims to "support American agricultural producers by providing cash reimbursements for meals served in schools and other child nutrition institutions." And while this may be good for commodity farmers, the program study, which focuses on California, finds that the way the program is implemented may not be so good for school kids.

California Almond Growers Sue Over Controversial Raw Almond Treatment

Fifteen almond growers and nut handlers filed a suit against the USDA over a legally mandated treatment of California-grown raw almonds. They growers hope to repeal the mandate. A year ago, the USDA issued a requirement that raw almonds be steam treated or sprayed with propylene oxide (a carcinogen recognized by the EPA) before making their way onto the market. More on the health and market implications of the almond pasteurization requirement below the fold.

Recent Comment by JSDreyer : "Hmm, from the headline, I thought this was about allowing the use of the pesticide clot..." [read]

Photo credit: Getty Images

Lead, lead everywhere
Lead in cracked paint, candle wicks, lipstick, kids' toys, and vinyl lunchboxes have placed the pernicious heavy metal at the forefront of public consciousness of late. Don't blink now, though, because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has discovered another place where it's managed to rear its ugly head: over-the-counter women's and children's vitamins.

The agency's concern is not without merit, especially when kids are involved. Childhood lead poisoning continues to be a major environmental-health problem in the United States, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, resulting in nervous system and kidney damage, learning disabilities, speech and behavior problems, poor muscle coordination, decreased muscle and bone growth, and hearing damage. Fetuses are even more vulnerable, which makes the presence of lead in prenatal vitamins even more repugnant.

Recent Comment by JSDreyer : "The comments so far have questioned the importance of this, so I did some research to f..." [read]