Sampler Platter

Lol... (4.00 / 3)

Well, I'll be damned.  Looks like we got a really long one!

:)

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Sat Nov 14, 2009 at 18:16:10 PM UTC

Double servings! :) (4.00 / 3)

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by: Curtis Abbey @ Sat Nov 14, 2009 at 18:20:57 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I wish I had more self control... (4.00 / 3)

That looks so delicious... curse my taste buds!

Vote for yourself at www.ni4d.us!

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by: rossl @ Sat Nov 14, 2009 at 22:38:59 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I saw Precious yesterday...food figures (4.00 / 3)

prominently in the film. Especially cheap greasy food like the above. Since I became a flexatarian I can't eat crap any more.

fyi it's an incredible film.

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by: LeeN @ Sun Nov 15, 2009 at 12:48:55 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

And the other 56%... (4.00 / 4)

Want to run for Congress? Better have money. It turns out that 237 members of Congress are millionaires - that's 44% for those of you keeping score at home.

And the other 56% will be, immediately upon leaving Congress...

Wonderful racket they got going there, eh?

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Sat Nov 14, 2009 at 18:23:34 PM UTC

Also that study (4.00 / 4)

didn't account for the value of the homes the Congressman owned. They had Joe Biden at a negative net worth.

Another intersting note from that article, Darrell Issa Big Prick is the richest one at like $250M.

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by: Curtis Abbey @ Sat Nov 14, 2009 at 18:25:51 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Jared Polis is close (4.00 / 3)

He's got something about $200 million from some kind of internet greeting card/flower company he started himself.

Vote for yourself at www.ni4d.us!

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by: rossl @ Sat Nov 14, 2009 at 22:40:04 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Darrell made his fortune. . . (4.00 / 2)

. . . marketing that American staple, the car alarm! That's his voice saying "Please step away from the car".

So, one more reason to dislike him. ;)

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by: robespierrette @ Sun Nov 15, 2009 at 20:32:47 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

He came on my radar (4.00 / 2)

when he said 9/11 was an attack on NYC, not the nation so we don't need no freakin' funding . . .

Wiener said that was the first time he came close to hitting someone in the House . . .  

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by: nycstray @ Sun Nov 15, 2009 at 21:28:39 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Drawing a Smiley Face... (4.00 / 2)

...on a pile of shit.

My first thoughts upon hearing of the Rome delegation piece...

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Sat Nov 14, 2009 at 19:15:24 PM UTC

This is interesting... (4.00 / 1)

Nice piece on green streets contains this -

Understanding pedestrian access and safety and coordination with bicycle infrastructure were two of their current priorities. "We've gone through an evolution in our thinking - how do you not create conflicts with vehicles, how do you plant it in such a way that it doesn't block vision from vehicles [at] crosswalks. The big issues are pedestrian safety, maintenance, and the types of plants you use."

As though on cue, a planner from Ohio asked Faha and Elkin if they only used native plants, what he described as unsophisticated and "country," which brought loud protest from a Portlander who volunteered with a local planting group to be sure the city used as many natives as possible (a first-ever New-Urbanism brawl between the plant people was narrowly averted).

Native plants are 'unsophisticated' and 'country'?

Wtf?

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Sat Nov 14, 2009 at 20:10:46 PM UTC

The Ohio planner was formerly (4.00 / 1)

a landscaper who trimmed Las Cruces and Phoenix homesites with orchids.

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by: count @ Sat Nov 14, 2009 at 22:09:36 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I always find it funny when they refer (4.00 / 3)

to certain things like native plants as unsophisticated and country. Others would call it elitist for doing the green/local/sustainable thing etc. So . . . are we DFH, unsophisticated country, or elitist? On the flip, country and unsophisticated is prob on it's way to being trendy, lol!~  ;)

I can't wait until I move to where my yard is all native . .

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by: nycstray @ Sat Nov 14, 2009 at 23:44:41 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

"Okay, seriously, I don't get it." (4.00 / 3)

"We pick a bunch of GMO/pesticide shills to head up key agencies in the government that deal with international development and agriculture, and then we send somebody awesome like Merrigan to Rome for us?"

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer"  Sun-tzu

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by: OrganicGeorge @ Sun Nov 15, 2009 at 02:28:25 AM UTC

Of course, you could also argue... (4.00 / 1)

...that Sun Tzu never would have given the store away to neighboring states, either.

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Sun Nov 15, 2009 at 04:06:48 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Good articles Jill (4.00 / 3)

I always look foreward to the sampler platters that you and Jay put up.

I have to take issue with your statement -

So their jobs are more important than your safety. Got it.

Considering that on Bill Marler's blog, he states that around 15 people per year die from Vibrio, I think that's about as low as you can go, considering how many people eat raw oysters per year. The fact of the matter is that nothing is safe in this world. The only thing you can do is to make your environmnet as safe as possible. I think that instead of forcing the oyster industry to stop harvesting in certain months, pasturize, or irradiate the oysters, etc. a more appropriate action would be to put a warning out that if you have no immune system or have liver disease, maybe you shouldn't eat raw oysters. Just like, if you have a peanut allergy, eating goobers isn't a good idea.

Personally I think the bills you linked to are perfectly appropriate and I'm not surprised at all that the bills came up and I hope they pass.

As much as I'm not happy that anyone dies, a whole industry shouldn't be shut down for this. The more appropriate response is to put a warning on the label, PSAs etc. so that those with compromised immune systems, etc. will know not to eat uncooked oysters.

Bill Marler's post over on his blog sounds more like he's unhappy that he didn't get the legislators and president that he bought, more than he's concerned that people be protected.  

Regarding locavores as elitists - explain to me how supporting local business is elitist....

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by: Joanne Rigutto @ Sun Nov 15, 2009 at 12:44:15 PM UTC

I disagree again. (4.00 / 1)

I, someone who eats and likes oysters, think oyster harvesting should be shut down May-August just to relieve the pressure on the oysters a little bit. We'll destroy all coastal and estuary oyster beds pretty soon anyway, but an 8-month harvest year would extend the industry lifetime somewhat.

When I came to Baltimore in the '60s, nobody served or ate oysters during summer. Restaurants got along fine, eaters got along fine although we were glad to see October arrive. Tongers switched to crabbing. Now, of course, oysters and crabs both are in short supply. Actually, most crabs served here no longer come from either the Chesapeake or the Atlantic bays, they are imported from the Gulf of Mexico for as long as that source lasts.  

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by: count @ Sun Nov 15, 2009 at 13:30:25 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Manage for sustainability, in other words. (4.00 / 1)

If that could be done, I would say fine, harvest all year.

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by: count @ Sun Nov 15, 2009 at 13:34:28 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Are the oysters in your neck of the woods (4.00 / 1)

all wild, or are they planted by the oystermen? I only ask because that's a common practice in some parts of the country. For instance, in Oregon all oysters are farmed. It's illegal to pick up an oyster if you're out fishing, crabbing or clammin because that oyster belongs to some oysterman. I think there are a few wild oysters in Oregon, but those are protected, I'll have to look at the fishing proclamation, it's been a couple years since I looked at the shellfish regs.

All Oregon oysters sold in stores and restaurants are farmed, so, with the exception of things like Red Tide, it's legal to harvest oysters year round (for the oystermen), just as it's legal for our local elk ranch to harvest their own animals. They don't have to go by 'elk season'.  

Regarding locavores as elitists - explain to me how supporting local business is elitist....

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by: Joanne Rigutto @ Sun Nov 15, 2009 at 13:41:14 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

That's something I missed about (4.00 / 1)

the Gulf oysters. I assumed they were wild. Are they farmed?

I don't know why, but farming never caught on here. A few owners of waterfront homes have done it as an interesting hobby, and Maryland Department of Natural Resources has done some R&D. I don't know if farming can ever generate a viable industry in the Chesapeake, what with all the pollution and dead zones. Perhaps it could be developed in the Atlantic bays.

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by: count @ Sun Nov 15, 2009 at 13:55:39 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Also, perhaps the type of oyster (4.00 / 1)

found there abouts don't lend themselves well to artificial propagation? From what I understand, oyster propagation and growing is pretty simple, it's just that you have to have patience for the animals to grow big enough to harvest. I forget what kind they grow here in Oregon, but in some of the bays they've been growing oysters forever. Close to 100 years I think.

We used to find oysters that had broken loose during storms and had gotten loose. You're supposed to tell fish and game or the oyster grower in the area about it so that someone can go recover the things, but when Harold has told people about them, he said no one was interested, there are so many oysters in the oyster beds now that it's more trouble than it's worth to go pick up strays. After a while we got to where we'd just eat them when we found them, or sometimes people will put them in a bucket and smuggle them out of the bay.

Regarding locavores as elitists - explain to me how supporting local business is elitist....

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by: Joanne Rigutto @ Sun Nov 15, 2009 at 14:08:59 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Close to 100 years (4.00 / 1)

I'm impressed and amazed. Sounds to me like foresight. Maybe that's something we do wrong here - I think the watermen need licences, but still, if the creatures are essentially common property, no one person owns a certain bed and therefore no one person has a proprietary interest in making sure that the bed is sustainable. Interesting.

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by: count @ Sun Nov 15, 2009 at 14:16:37 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Yikes, it's actually been going on a lot longer than 100 years.... (4.00 / 2)

History of oyster farming in Yaquina bay from Oregon Oyster Farms. According to them oystering start there in the 1860s, and the asian oysters (what is grown in Oregon today) was introduced into the bay in 1918.

Essentially, once the native oysters were all but wiped out, then the asian oysters were brought in to be farmed.

Classic tale of "Hey, there are so many around that we'll never be able to use 'em all up" and then "Opps, we used them all up".

Regarding locavores as elitists - explain to me how supporting local business is elitist....

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by: Joanne Rigutto @ Sun Nov 15, 2009 at 18:39:59 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Oh I agree with you there (4.00 / 2)

it's just the framing of it that's silly to me... the idea that we can overlook a potential safety issue because the industry provides jobs. But in terms of the safety concern, I think the govt's actions should be in proportion to the size of the risk. They have a role to play in keeping us safe, but they need to focus on the biggest problems, not tiny ones, and they have to give us freedom to choose what we want to eat - which sometimes means letting us choose to take a risk. Hell, eating at a restaurant is a food safety risk!!

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

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by: Jill Richardson @ Mon Nov 16, 2009 at 03:14:31 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

The Marion Nestle article is right on point (4.00 / 2)

One of the advantages of being human is that we can eat such a wide variety of foods. You don't have to eat meat, or anything else you don't like as long as you eat a wide variety of things you'll be fine.

I've never understood people who are militant either on the meat eating side or the vegie side. There are so many foods out there, and so many ways to eat, and so many people who eat in so many ways, that if you're a cattle rancher, someone eating a vegan diet isn't going to break your bank. And for the militant vegans and vegetarians, if someone decides to eat meat it's not the end of your world.

Everyone, just let be....

Regarding locavores as elitists - explain to me how supporting local business is elitist....

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by: Joanne Rigutto @ Sun Nov 15, 2009 at 13:09:55 PM UTC

Good one on the tuna too (4.00 / 3)

In addition to that type of tracing, did you know that you can do isotope tracing on plant materials and even on the animals that ate those plants? For instance, you can tell where the forages came from that the steer your steake came off of ate just by identifying the isotope profile from the muscle tissue. That's assuming you have the isotope profile for the region the hay came from, and I think you need it for the region that the animal came from.

In the UK, a few years ago, they were starting to use isotope tracing to determine that certain products were actually from the regions they claimed.

Regarding locavores as elitists - explain to me how supporting local business is elitist....

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by: Joanne Rigutto @ Sun Nov 15, 2009 at 13:26:46 PM UTC

Here's a link to a lab in the UK that does the isotope work (4.00 / 2)

ISO Analytical. This is their page on animal tissue tracing.

Regarding locavores as elitists - explain to me how supporting local business is elitist....

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by: Joanne Rigutto @ Sun Nov 15, 2009 at 13:35:31 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Merrigan (4.00 / 2)

If I were head waiter in charge of serving a meal cooked by Thomas Keller, I wouldn't be able to take credit for the meal, would I? No substantial work will be done in Rome. In fact, the smart money is saying that no substantial work has been done or will be done, period. At best, expectations are for a statement of shared goals, but no binding agreements.

Has Merrigan directed the U.S. negotiators so far, or is she just a face that gets trotted out at the last minute when it's too late to matter?

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by: count @ Sun Nov 15, 2009 at 13:47:05 PM UTC

Smart money was right. (4.00 / 2)

World leaders back delay to final climate deal

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by: count @ Mon Nov 16, 2009 at 02:25:56 AM UTC

[ Parent ]