#weekend bookmark

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Weekend Bookmarks

A roundup of Greenhouse’s digital reads.

“The Uninhabited Earth, Annotated Edition” | New York Magazine Published in the evening of Sunday, July 9th, New York Magazine’s cover story “The Uninhabited Earth” was already the publication’s most-read article by the following Friday. The piece was met with “a fleet of commentary across newspapers, magazines, blogs, and Twitter, much of which came from climate scientists and the journalists who cover them.” Many, like The Washington Post, vehemently labelled the article as irresponsible and alarmist, concurring that climate change is real, but the sometimes terrifying what-if scenarios presented in the magazine’s piece are implausible and exaggerated. The magazine responded with an annotated version of the 7,000-word story, providing more context, interview quotes, and journal references to support their claims. The story’s author also reminded audiences that the piece was based on worst case scenarios—if climate change is left completely unchecked—and also repeated that his goal is to highlight the scale of climate change and to demonstrate to the often complacent public what is at stake.

“‘Forest Bathing’: How Microdosing on Nature Can Help with Stress” | The Atlantic “In 1982, Japan made shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing,” a part of its national health program,” according to The Atlantic. “The aim was to briefly reconnect people with nature in the simplest way possible. Go to the woods, breathe deeply, be at peace.” The practice is apparently as simple as that: a two-hour walk in nature at slow speeds, ruminating on the leafy foliage encountered, the crunch of the trail, the feel of a light breeze. From lowering blood pressure and glucose levels to reducing stress hormones, the power of forest bathing has been well studied in Japan. As interest of digital detoxing shows no signs of stopping, it is a practice gaining momentum in the United States too, even in areas without the environmental conditions technically necessary to satisfy the conditions for true forest bathing. The Atlantic explores the practice—and alternatives for those for whom a forest is not always accessible.

“Inside the big revamp of Canada’s Food Guide” | The Globe and Mail In 2018, Health Canada plans to introduce an updated Food Guide—the first change to the document in over a decade. Though the exact details of the revamped guide have not been released, The Globe and Mail looks at past iterations of the guide and highlights what many nutritionists and Canadian consumers see as the shortcomings of the 2007 document, including availability and accessibility concerns, specific dietary restrictions or lifestyles previously unaddressed, and a lack of diverse cultural food offerings within the guide. It is expected the new document will keep these concerns in mind while emphasizing a diet of “vegetables, fruit, whole grains and protein-rich foods – especially plant-based sources of protein,” and advocating for environmental sustainability, animal welfare, and eating local.

“Is Activated Charcoal the Cure-All It’s Said to Be?” | Food52 Despite its presence in ice creams, face washes, lemonades, and cocktails, Food52 wonders about activated charcoal—what is it, and is it all it’s cracked up to be? (We’ve pondered the same here.) Despite its documented use in overdose situations, activated charcoal can have upsetting side effects if consumed in large quantities, and does not appear to have major benefits in aiding hangovers, according to most existing research. The publication adds that when mixed into food items, it can even pull nutrients from other ingredients present. Though certainly further study on the buzzy ingredient can be done for more information, Food52 wonders if it is worth the hype.

“How to Meal-Prep for the Week Ahead, Become the Queen of Carrots, and Achieve Enlightenment” | The New Yorker The full-scale Sunday night operation of preparing meals for the week ahead at times feels like a Sisyphean feat, which allows for all the more smug satisfaction when we’ve wiped our countertops clean of stray quinoa and stacked our tower of Tupperware high in the refrigerator. In this hilarious Daily Shouts piece, The New Yorker chronicles each step in the arduous task.

-GHJC

[ghjco]

Weekend Bookmarks, Juneteenth Edition

Today is Juneteenth, a 155-year-old holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19th, 1865, more than 250,000 enslaved people in the Confederate-controlled state of Texas were finally liberated — two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation — when 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas bearing news of the federal decree.

Although it still does not have federal holiday status in the U.S., June 19th is as of this year a state or ceremonial holiday in 47 states and the District of Columbia, and is gaining recognition around the world as an important date on which to reflect on Black history and the lasting impact of slavery, to celebrate the achievements of formerly enslaved people and their descendants, and to further educate ourselves about systemic racism and the ways in which we can work toward equality and justice. Here are some bookmarks shared by our team.

1. Juneteenth Strawberry Soda by Tatanisha and Derrick of This Worthey Life. A traditional drink on Juneteenth is Strawberry Soda with fresh strawberries. Check out this recipe by husband-and-wife blogging duo Tatanisha and Derrick Worthey. It even calls for Strawberry Lemonade (how convenient! But don’t feel pressured to use ours...) Some minor adjustments if you’re looking to make it less sweet: use sparkling water instead of lemon-lime or strawberry soda, and use any sweetener you like in the homemade strawberry syrup. Click here for the recipe.

2. The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth by Tsione Wolde-Michael, the Writer/Editor for the Office of Curatorial Affairs at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and a Doctoral Candidate in History at Harvard University.

3. Juneteenth: A Celebration of Resilience – Deepen your understanding of and appreciation for Juneteenth by joining this free virtual event hosted by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. The event runs all day Friday and Saturday. Here’s a preview of what’s included:

“On this day we are bringing the Museum to you through presentations, stories, photographs, and recipes from the Sweet Home Café.

We hope you join us to:  

Listen to Lift Every Voice and Sing sung by renowned vocalist Rochelle Rice  

Discover how to trace your ancestors in a workshop presented by the Robert F. Smith Explore Your Family History Center  

Enjoy presentations about the history and significance of Juneteenth  

Hear a tale that celebrates the wisdom of the elders as told by acclaimed storyteller Diane Macklin”

4. Juneteenth Is a Reminder That Freedom Wasn’t Just Handed Over by Brianna Holt for The New York Times.

5. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (1970), a seminal work of American fiction that devastatingly and beautifully captures how anti-Black racism permeates (and in the case of 11-year-old protagonist Pecola Breedlove, can poison) lives. This is the first novel by one of the late twentieth century’s most celebrated authors and the winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature.

6. The Heart of the Uprising in Minneapolis – An in-depth piece written from within the protests in Minneapolis about how “residents who have been on the front lines for George Floyd are finding their lives—and their city—transformed,” by Luke Mogelson for The New Yorker.

7. A Photographer on the Front Lines of Philadelphia’s Protests – Also in this week’s New Yorker, “Twenty-nine-year-old Isaac Scott captured the early days of intense confrontation—including clashes with the police—and stayed for the more peaceful days that followed.” Here is an example from this powerful photo essay.

[ghjco]

Weekend Bookmark

A round-up of Greenhouse’s digital reads.

Canada's artificial trans fats ban comes into effect — with a phase-out period | CBC

Earlier this week, 15 years after it was first voted on by a majority of MPs, artificial trans fats were officially banned from the Canadian food supply. The ban specifically targets partially hydrogenated oils. Usually used to extend the shelf-life of some packaged goods such as pastries, these oils raise levels of “bad" cholesterol while lowering the “good” cholesterol in our bloodstream when consumed. The decision is widely being welcomed by Canadian consumers and the health industry, but what impact we might expect to see in the coming years?

Five Food Preservation Tips For Your Fall Harvest | Modern Farmer

Whether you have a window box, a garden plot, or you just overdid it at the farmer’s market this week, this quick and easy guide from Modern Farmer offers up five food preservation techniques to help you make the most of the harvest season bounty. Ranging in difficulty, and each preserving your produce in unique ways, you’ll have access to home-grown goodies through fall and into the winter (if you have that kind of willpower). 

Hospital Food You Can Get Excited About | The New York Times

Nutrition is one of the pillars of good health. Why then, is hospital food so notoriously bad that it often features alongside prison and airplane offerings as a punchline to open mic stand-up routines? Nonprofit network Northwell Health is on a mission to change that across the 23 New York-area hospitals they work with. In this article from The New York Times, we follow Chef Bruno Tison, who works with Northwell, as he leads a cook-off between teams from Long Island hospital Glen Cove, with the aim of developing new recipes that not only meet restrictions for salt, calories, and budget but are, of course, delicious. Time for some new standup material we think.

How to Put Down Your Phone and Give Mindful Eating a Try | Healthyish

In this article from line cook turned eating psychology coach, we enter the world of mindful eating. By now, most of us know that mealtime means it’s also phones-down-time so that we might eat free of distractions, but this Healthyish article goes a little deeper. Mindful eating actually begins well before you pick up your knife and fork, sometimes even before you set foot in the kitchen. While it may take a little while to form new food-health habits, the simplicity of the five techniques shared here leaves you with no excuse not to integrate at least one into your routine when mealtime next rolls around.

-Greenhouse

[ghjco]

Weekend Bookmark

A roundup of Greenhouse’s digital reads.

How NAFTA Changed the Way We Eat | The Walrus

“Avocado toast may have been popularized by millennials, but it’s free trade that let it become a sensation.” In 1994, The North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, struck down a number of economic barriers, allowing for easier trading between the US, Mexico, and Canada. On a surface level, and to one with a cynical eye, it’s this agreement that’s responsible for the avocado-green tidal wave that has swept our Instagram feeds in recent years, but 24 years after it was first enacted, the impact of NAFTA goes far beyond the $2.50 add-on for your burrito. The Walrus explores this impact and asks if it’s really such a good thing that we can buy seasonal produce year-round from our neighbours, as well as an exploration of the effect this has on our own agricultural practices, for better or worse.

Champagne Makers Bubble Over A Bumper Crop Caused By European Drought  | The Salt

After Europe experienced one of its hottest summers on record, many farming crops across the continent were destroyed due to the heat and drought. For the Champagne region of France, however, the impact, surprisingly, went in the other direction. With just a three-week harvest season for the grapes that go into each bottle of bubbly, the weather in the region of northern France has a significant impact on when the grapes are ready to be picked—a moment which has been approaching earlier and earlier in recent years. But in an industry steeped in tradition—with practices such as irrigation not permitted in the country’s vineyards—how will winemaking evolve in a world increasingly impacted by climate change?

7 Fall Spices You Can Grow At Home | Modern Farmer

As much as we may try to deny it, summer is coming to an end. The days are getting shorter and colder, and though we may once more be reaching into the depths of our wardrobes for jean jackets and long pants, we needn’t face the same struggle in the hunt for warming spices after a summer of light, herby recipes. This article from Modern Farmer shows how simple growing spices for home-cooking in warming autumnal stews, curries, or goulashes can be.

Mango Mania: How the American Mango Lost its Flavor—and How it Might Just Get it Back | Gastropod

In the latest episode of one of our favourite foodie podcasts, the Gastropod team delves into the juicy history of the mango. They begin by exploring the fruit’s cultural history in countries such as India, highlighting its presence in Hindu and Buddhist religious texts, and even the Kama Sutra. After lulling us with these romanticised tales of sweet, juicy mangoes, enjoyed by emperors, princes, and even the Buddha himself, the jump to present day, vacuum-packaged mangoes, illuminated by North American super-store strip lighting seems abrupt. So what exactly happened? Why do mangoes in this neck of the groves pale in comparison to their Eastern counterparts, and is there hope for the fruit’s future in the west?

-Greenhouse

[ghjco]

Weekend Bookmark

A roundup of Greenhouse’s digital reads.

The Why of Cooking | The Atlantic  “It’s a shame,” this Atlantic article begins, “that the standard way of learning how to cook is by following recipes.” At first glance, this statement seems ludacrous—without recipes, how else is one supposed to know how many cloves of garlic to use in their mashed potatoes, or how long to bake an eggplant lasagne for? The author, unperturbed by any reader protests continues, “[recipes] tell you what to do, but they rarely tell you why to do it.” He makes a very fair point. Cooking is as much science as it is art. Some might even argue the (kitchen) scales tip more in the favour of science—no matter how aesthetically pleasing your coulis schmear is, it’s almost worthless if the soufflé atop is collapsed due to an ill-timed opening of the oven door. This Atlantic article encourages us to go back to culinary basics, giving brief, yet honest reviews of a variety of cookbooks (not recipe books) rallying for, not only knowledge of different cooking techniques, but an understanding of the differences between methods, and when to use each so we may finally really know how to cook, and not just what to cook.

What a Group of Progressive Nuns Taught Me About Mindful Eating | Healthyish

While many of us might have, at some point in our lives, had what we might describe with hyperbole and humour as a “holy” food experience, the Dominican Sisters of Hope at the centre of this article from Healthyish make it a point of daily ceremony. Slowing down, taking the time to see beyond the meal, to truly appreciate each ingredient on their plate, but just as importantly their masterful combination into a whole meal, the sisters offer a respectful prayer of thanks to everyone involved in the process, from planters to pickers, recipe-writers to cooks before eating the meal. With such careful attention and gratitude paid, to each morsel the sisters enjoy in one another’s company, the meals are all the more satiating. There is much for us all to learn about the joys of food rumination and contemplation, before food mastication.

Bumblebees Thrive in the City but Struggle on the Farm | The New York Times

With news in recent years that bumblebees’ numbers are dwindling, with some species even dipping into the endangered zone, a new study from Royal Holoway University, UK, provides some rather surprising information. In the study, the insects were shown to be thriving in London’s city centre, whereas their countryside counterparts were not faring so well. While it might seem as though two stacks of results might inadvertently have been swapped somewhere down the line, the scientists conducting the study offered their insight, with theories ranging from the increasing use of pesticides in farming to a wider variety of year-round plant and flower species in urban areas. So is the solution to a safer bumblebee future to build more cities? Almost certainly not, but perhaps we can use this information to better farming practices, for a warm and fuzzy future for everyone.

14,000-Year-Old Piece Of Bread Rewrites The History Of Baking And Farming | The Salt

When you picture archaeological discoveries that alter our very understanding of the history of human civilization, you wouldn’t be remiss if your mind immediately jumps to royal sarcophagi found in hitherto undiscovered Egyptian tombs, or the unearthing of tools, first carved from flint millions of years ago. However, the recent discovery of charred breadcrumbs by a scientist from University College London has totally shifted archaeological understanding of humankind’s discovery and subsequent use of agriculture and our culinary exploits by thousands of years. 

-Greenhouse

[ghjco]

Weekend Bookmark

A roundup of Greenhouse’s digital reads.

Kale, Not Jail: Urban Farming Nonprofit Helps Ex-Cons Re-enter Society | The New York Times

For many, even a relatively short time in jail can end up feeling like a life sentence; with a conviction against one’s name, most jobs can be near impossible to come by, let alone hold down, and the domino effect that follows can be devastating. Planting Justice, a nonprofit in Oakland, California hopes to combat this. Combining urban farming with education about environmentalism, the group provides jobs for former offenders, and in doing so, gives them a sense of purpose and pride. Further, the work they do with the youth in the Oakland community, particularly with those they identify as at risk, teaches a more positive outlook for the future.

The Good News about Bioavailability and Nutrient Absorption | Goop

In this interview with Philadelphia-based dietitian Krista Yoder Latortue, Goop delves deep into the world of nutrient bioavailability; essentially, how well our body is able to absorb the nutrients present in our food. Covering everything from how different methods of cooking might change our meals’ nutritional bioavailability, to the efficacy of supplements and whether they actually work, this article even explores the disadvantages of solely consuming foods specifically prepared to be bioavailable.

Compost Makes an Internet Community Grow, Thanks to an App | WIRED

Composting has heaps of benefits—from the long-term environmental impact of nutrients re-entering the soil, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers, to the more immediate community benefits a neighbourhood compost program can bring, recycling food scraps in this way is a good idea all around. For many however, especially those living in larger cities, there are certain limitations on how or when citizens may compost—if at all. A new app hopes to change that. Connecting people through a shared desire to reduce, reuse, and recycle, ShareWaste facilitates more than just a distribution of food-scrap wealth, it spreads a wealth of knowledge too. Many users learn how to start a compost pile of their own and, perhaps more importantly, they get to learn all about the neighbours they may otherwise never have met.

Three Sisters Garden — How to Plant Corn, Squash & Beans Together | Modern Farmer

For all our readers out there who moonlight as gardeners, why not use your green thumb to scroll through this article courtesy of Modern Farmer, all about the Three Sisters Garden. For thousands of years, way before European settlers decided they thought they knew better, the native peoples of North America grew their three most important crops together, in one vegetable patch. Corn, beans, and squash, it turns out, are perfect (vegetable) bed-fellows; each mutually beneficial for the others, helping the garden to thrive, and produce an abundance of food. This article explores the reasons why the Three Sisters Garden is so efficient and gives top tips for choosing crop varieties, as well as a step-by-step guide on how to plant your very own. (Psst! There’s still time to pick up some seeds and catch the beginning of this year’s growing season for these veggies!)

-GHJC

[ghjco]

Weekend Bookmark

A fatherly roundup of our digital reads.

Why You Should Be Drinking Weird Wines | The New York Times

Is your Pop likely to reach for a glass of red over a tumbler of scotch? The New York Times treks through a world of weird wines made from rare or near-extinct grape varieties, clinging to life on scraggly vines on the sides of hitherto unheard of mountains. Why is it that almost everyone has heard of—and probably enjoyed a glass or two, or, you know, an entire bottle of—Chardonnay, for example, but hundreds of other wine varieties never get a moment in the limelight grapelight? As it turns out, the monarchs and noblemen of centuries ago had quite the influence over the winemaking landscape, making drastic decisions about how (and if) certain grape varieties should be grown—decisions that still hold influence in today’s market, and that had very different motivations than simply how well the resulting tipple paired with a well-aged Pecorino.

Compassion Drove Dad To The Salad Bar—That, And Fear Of Alien Abduction  | The Salt

Told through the eyes of a seven-year-old, with all the matter-of-factness of the child-brain, Anelise Chen recounts the time her father became a vegetarian. “I did not want to think of his vegetarianism as an act of betrayal,” she reports in this very entertaining read. With the sudden arrival of her strictly vegetarian Taiwanese grandparents on the family doorstep, the young Anelise had to endure plant-based meals around the clock, and makes no qualms to hide her indignation. Ultimately, beyond stolen moments of bliss with drive-thru hamburgers scoffed down in the car before arriving home, our story-teller, along with the rest of her family, finds solace at Soulplantation, the titular salad bar.

The Fig Tree That Traveled Two Oceans & Three Generations | Food52

This heartwarming narrative centred around a fig tree from Sardinia is sure to put a spring in dad’s step. Author Valerio Farris explores how food, especially when taken in its purest form, plucked directly from the branches of trees, has an innate power to transcend the barriers of human existence—be they national or generational—and bring us closer together. The tale will make your mouth water, have you pining for a European getaway, and will ultimately leave you with a deep appreciation for the indelible mark that food can make on our experiences and on how we view our familial relationships.

-GHJC

[ghjco]

Weekend Bookmark

A roundup of Greenhouse’s digital reads.

Is Salt Bad? A Prison Study May Hold the Answer | The Atlantic

With a decades-long debate around the long-term effects of a liberally salt-sprinkled diet versus a less sodium-rich one, this article from The Atlantic delves into the world of large-scale diet studies that strive for a better understanding of the impact of diet on our health. There are many important factors that need to be in place for a study to be scientifically robust, so in the past, researchers have turned to the option of prison populations as a study group. But what of the myriad of ethical and scientific implications these kinds of studies bring with them? Not to mention the practical hurdles of attempting to implement and study a reduced-sodium diet in an environment where packets of ramen and bags of chips function as currency? So how might we balance the need for this kind of research with the moral and practical implications of actually carrying it out?

How Meditating Before Eating Changed My Relationship With Food  | Healthyish

With the growing encroachment of the smartphone into almost every aspect of our lives, mindless eating is an increasingly prevalent affliction. For many, mealtimes have become an ambidextrous affair; one hand nestles a smartphone, or perhaps the television’s remote control, as the other grips cutlery, shovelling from plate to mouth on auto-pilot. Though it might seem harmless on the surface, with excuses for such behaviour usually centering around the notion of multi-tasking, are these distractions actually having a negative impact on our long-term relationship with food? This reporter for Heathyish decided to re-evaluate the way she ate, by spending a week meditating before each and every bite; be it a meal, snack, or roadside food-truck grab-and-go. But how much of a difference can deep breathing and centred focus really have on something like taste, which, at its core, is merely a chemical reaction? The answer, perhaps unsurprisingly, is quite a big one.

In Praise of Eating Almost Anything With  A Spoon | The New Yorker

This love-letter to the oft-forgotten third member of the cutlery trio, is at times bizarre but also serves up a lot of heart. Beginning by scooping foods that wouldn’t yield to any other implement; slipping through a fork’s tines or gracefully sliding from the flat length a knife’s blade, the article’s author moves on to spooning slightly more unexpected foods. Throughout, she intertwines the history of the utensil and its cultural significance—in everything from how we use spoons and for which foods, to the everyday language surrounding the utensil and inspired by it. We may not have all been born with a silver spoon in our mouths, but for this author at the very least, the allure of the scooper (no matter the material it’s made from), is one that’s hard to resist.

Sweet Talk: FDA's 'Added Sugar' Label Hits Sour Note With Maple Syrup Makers | NPR’s The Salt

Dipping south of the border, we enter the world of food labelling, and the tricky semantics involved when it comes to leaving the public fully informed about a food product’s nutritional content in the space of just a few characters. But in the case of maple syrup, or honey, which on the one hand are 100% pure and naturally occurring products, yet on the other could arguably have a negative impact on health when consumed in large enough quantities, how should the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proceed? It seems there’s quite a tricky balancing act to perform in keeping the general public fully informed while maintaining integrity, and avoiding tarnishing too many food manufacturers (or even the foodstuffs themselves) with the same brush.

What Are Adaptogens? | The New York Times

Dr. Chai, the latest addition to the Greenhouse family, has been “ready to see you now” in our fridges for a little over a week now. This chilled chai latté-like shake is more than just a protein-rich, post-workout restorative beverage; with hero ingredients such as reishi mushroom, it's also an adaptogenic one. But what exactly does this mean? What are adaptogens, and what is their impact on health? This article from The New York Times seeks to clear the sometimes muddied waters (waters made that way, perhaps, by blending mushrooms into them?) around the term. In spite of thousands of years of human use, the popularity of the term has blown up in recent times; Instagram feeds constantly inundated with pictures of hypnotically brightly-coloured or elaborate blended beverages all, of course, emblazoned with #adaptogenic and a peace sign thrown in for good measure. But with much research still to be done on adaptogens and just how far-reaching their impact on our health might be, how many more secrets do these mysterious substances hold?

-GHJC