‘Cooking human waste in the microwave could make it a safer fertilizer’

Since I went vegan, I’ve always had a question in my head. How does the world replace cow pies as we start eating less and less beef? I’d talked to people about the cow poop we use to grow crops all over the country, and I never heard a straight answer on what could replace it.

This article from Jessica Fu at New Food Economy touches on a possible option: the microwave.

Last year, the city of Montgomery, Alabama, agreed to pay $32,000 in penalties over sewage sludge—the leftovers that remain after wastewater gets treated—that it had applied as fertilizer on farms. At issue wasn’t the application itself; it was that the sludge was really high in nickel. Too high, in fact. Testing showed that the sludge exceeded limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the metal by as much as 25 percent, according to a consent decree. Overexposure to nickel can cause allergic reactions, stomach pain, and breathing issues, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Maybe the city should have treated its sludge with more caution. Maybe it should have microwaved it.

As it turns out, electromagnetic radiation can be quite helpful in facilitating the removal of heavy metals from sewage sludge. Scientists recently made this discovery through a crude yet effective method: putting human waste in a kitchen microwave. A team of researchers at the Florida A&M University-Florida State University (FAMU-FSU) College of Engineering found that putting a sludge sample in a 1000-watt Emerson-brand microwave for 10 seconds greatly increased the percentage of metal that could be extracted from it.

But it seems to be complicated too:

“Even if you could theoretically remove all the heavy metals, what is remaining that we’re not focusing on?” asks Amanda Starbuck, senior food researcher and policy analyst at environmental advocacy group Food and Water Watch. The use of sludge as fertilizer has drawn vocal backlash because it can sometimes contain measurable amounts of pathogens—disease-causing microorganisms that include Salmonella, E. coli, and listeria. To market food as organic, farmers aren’t allowed to use biosolids on their fields. Last year, Whole Foods announced that it would not sell produce grown on land treated with sewage sludge.

That said, there’s no consensus about whether biosolids actually impact eater health. And, save for incinerating it, placing it in a landfill, or spraying it onto land—what can we do, practically speaking, about the enormous amounts of human waste that we generate?

I need to learn more about poo.

‘A bacon-scented patch has been developed to help people go vegan’

A patch infused with the scent of bacon has been developed by Oxford University scientists to help people with their meat cravings when they go vegan or vegetarian.

It’s similar to the size of a nicotine patch and has a drawing of a red cross through two rashers of bacon on it.

The idea is for vegans and vegetarians to scratch it when they’re eating to release the smell of bacon.

Charles Spence, a professor of experimental psychology at the University of Oxford, believes it will help people to “imagine” they’re eating bacon even when they’re not.

LOL.

‘The fastest-growing vegan demographic is African Americans. Wu-Tang Clan and other hip-hop acts paved the way.’

Laura Reiley for the Washington Post:

A 2016 Pew Research Center survey found 3 percent of American adults overall identified as vegan and only 1 percent of Hispanic Americans. That number jumps to a startling 8 percent among African American adults. In Gallup’s latest findings on consumers’ meat-eating changes, which will be published Monday, whites reported eating 10 percent less meat in the past 12 months while people of color reported eating 31 percent less.

I think this is spot on. And I think rappers being vocal about it has shifted the conversations and connections within their communities.

‘Bloomberg Data Dash: A Live Climate Scoreboard for the World’

These are the numbers that matter. A difficult global transition is happening right now, away from fossil fuels, deforestation, greenhouse-gas pollution and melting ice. It can be measured with precision and clarity. The processes described by this data dashboard are occurring on a planetary scale, and yet our progress can be measured this minute, in parts per million, in metric tons, in fractions of a degree. This is Bloomberg Green’s guide to the worldwide goal of slowing and stopping warming temperatures. This is a record of how far we have to go, and a tool to assess how much we can change.

An interesting guide to measuring what’s happening on earth and part of their new, more environmentally-focused side Bloomberg Green.

‘“Breaking our back”: Food banks are drowning in milk China won’t buy’

H. Claire Brown for the New Food Economy:

Across the nation, food banks are struggling to distribute food purchased through the government’s Trade Mitigation Program, more commonly known as the farm bailout program. This is the money President Trump appropriated—without input from Congress—to blunt the impact of his trade war with China. The bulk of the $12 billion in funding has gone to farmers in the form of direct payments to reimburse them for income lost because of retaliatory tariffs. But more than $1 billion was reserved to purchase actual food that may otherwise have been sold to trading partners. At wholesale prices, $1 billion buys a heck of a lot of fruits, vegetables, dairy, and meat. Most of those purchases are funneled to local food banks like Care and Share, which aren’t accustomed to dealing with deliveries of perishable items. One official privately confessed that all the extra food is “breaking our back.”

I wonder if our government will ever spend as much money on vegetables as it does on milk.

‘NEW LOBBY GROUP LAUNCHES TO ADVANCE THE PLANT-BASED INDUSTRY IN CALIFORNIA’

Anna Starostinetskaya for VegNews:

This week, new advocacy group California Plant Based Alliance (CPBA) formed in Sacramento with the mission of advancing the interests of the plant-based industry in the state’s legislature. CPBA—the first state-level plant-based advocacy group in the country—was founded by Julie Manusco, founder of animal-advocacy organization Social Compassion in Legislation[.] […] In 2016, lobby group Plant Based Food Association (PBFA)—which currently has more than 160 company members—formed to represent the interests of the plant-based industry on a federal level.

I’m interested in seeing how this group will affect the larger Plant Based Food Association. This new group is at the state-level, while the other is at the federal. It might be interesting to see if they’re able to essentially use California as a testing ground for legal arguments before they move to the national level.

‘Pledging to Go Vegan, at Least for January’

Alyson Krueger for the NYTimes:

Move over Dry January (abstaining from alcohol) and Whole30 (no processed or refined foods). Veganuary, which asks people to ditch meat this month, has emerged as this year’s trendy resolution.

The campaign was started in the United Kingdom in 2014 by Jane Land and Matthew Glover, a husband-and-wife team who met on a vegan dating site and were inspired by Movember (growing a mustache for men’s health). Participants who pledge to go vegan on the site receive daily recipes, tips and information about how a vegan diet benefits animals, the environment and our bodies.

According to Veganuary, 750,000 people from 192 countries have joined the pledge, with about half signing up for 2020.

It’s easy to forget that things like Veganuary started with people who had an idea. When things appear around me and feel fully formed, it seems like they just fell out of the sky and occurred. But I love learning their names. Thank you, Jane Land and Matthew Glover. You’ve done a good thing.

Our Favorite Meals & Stories of 2019; Jesse’s Family-Altering Experience with The Game Changers

Episode 9 of the Vegan-Carne Alliance podcast is live.

For our ninth episode, C. W. Moss is joined by Jesse Mullenix and Alex Irit. Jesse talks about his gripping experience with the documentary Game Changers and how it effected him and his family. Next, they talk about their favorite stories (18:40) and meals (55:02) from 2019.

Find it on:

‘Vegans Trigger Rethink at No. 1 Maker of Cheese Cultures’

Andrew Marc Noel for Bloomberg:

The world’s biggest supplier of the bacteria that turn milk into cheese is adjusting its production to acknowledge that veganism isn’t just a passing fad.

Chr. Hansen A/S, which is based north of Copenhagen, is preparing for a slowdown in the market for dairy-milk products and plowing more funds into cultures used to ferment plant-based alternatives such as yogurt made from almonds, coconuts and oats.

If this makes vegan cheese plates more accessible and more frequent in my life, I like it.

‘Nestle Adds Plant-Based Sausages to Menu Amid Faux Meat Race’

Corinne Gretler for Bloomberg:

The KitKat maker will start selling a pea protein-based sausage in the U.S. and a soy-based version in Europe this spring, the company said.

This is the first time I’ve heard of the same product being sold with different proteins in different locations. Is this only because of American’s fear of soy? Those have been debunked.

And I saw this tidbit, which is great news:

Nestle is also developing plant-based tuna for its first fish substitute, Chief Technology Officer Stefan Palzer said. The tuna product could be added to pizza, sushi or served as a patty, he added.

But who on earth is adding tuna to pizza? What are you talking about, Mr. Palzer?