Organic Food News

Students are more interested in organic food than ever before so today's blog post will provide a website of interest you can share with them in class or elsewhere, which is Organic.Org who has the tagline "Organic Made Easy. Life Made Better.  There is lots of information and product reviews for educational and personal use, too.  I especially like the blog that I reviewed to prep for this post, found at: http://organicbeet.blogspot.com/

Also, want to know the 12 most and 12 least contaminated foods?  Check out the Environmental Working Group at http://www.ewg.org/ particularly the Food News link.

WWOOF

What is WWOOF?  A sound your dog makes?  Nope.  As it turns out it is an opportunity for those like you reading the blog who may want to see the world and help organic farmers and learn organic farming.  You can become a volunteer/member for the Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) and in exchange for your service you get free room and board on the farm you are serving. 

Talk about a win-win.  This noble organization began in the UK in 1971 and has grown ever since.  I clicked around the site and there are some really neat places that you and/or your students could travel the world and learn organic farming while helping someone with their business. 

Check it out at: http://www.wwoof.org/
Check out their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/WWOOF

Organic Farming Research Foundation

As usual, there is alot of disinformation out there about organic food and farming and its health benefits compared to "modern farming" techniques.  There are also far too many chefs that I talk to on a regular basis that turn there nose up to organics and refuse to even consider that organic foods are better than factory farmed vegetables when it comes to health benefits, etc.  To get a clear picture of organics one can now turn to the Organic Farmering Research Foundation as a resource if interested.
According to its website, the organization's mission is to "foster the improvement and widespread adoption of organic farming systems."

Their mission is accomplished by:

Sponsoring organic farming research and education & outreach projects through our competitive grantmaking program;


Disseminating the results of OFRF-funded research and education projects to organic farmers and to growers interested in adopting organic production systems; and


Educating the public and decision-makers about organic farming issues.

Futhermore, OFRF’s integrated strategy of grantmaking, policy, education and networking initiatives supports organic farmers’ immediate information needs while moving the public and policymakers toward greater investment in organic farming systems.

I did like their website, you can get e-mail updates from them if you wish or just click around and see what's up on organics.  The site is: http://ofrf.org/index.html

Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching

I wanted to share an e-mail I was sent yesterday.  It is in reference to a great online journal for teaching and learning.  I read some of the articles and they were pretty good.  So fire up the iPad and enjoy!

We are pleased to announce that Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching (CELT), Volume III, edited by W. Alan Wright, Margaret Wilson, and Dawn MacIsaac is now available on-line at: http://www.stlhe.ca/en/publications/celt.php

CELT III, associated with the annual conference of the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE), features thirty-two articles based on presentations at the 2009 STLHE conference hosted by the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. Each article was reviewed by three individuals from across Canada through a blind peer-review process. CDs of Volume III were distributed at the 2010 STLHE conference in Toronto, Ontario.

CELT, Vol. III presents an international roster of authors and outstanding articles. Among those:
Section I: Practice and Engagement

- Responding to the Challenging Dilemma of Faculty Engagement in Research on Teaching and Learning and Disciplinary Research, by Natasha Kenny & Frederick Evers, University of Guelph
- Qui a Peur d’une Pédagogie Différentielle des Sexes? by Claude Lamontagne, Université d’Ottawa

Section II: Identity and Community
- Learning That Matters: Discovery of Meaning and Development of Wisdom in Undergraduate
Education, by Thomas Mengel, University of New Brunswick
- Academic In/Civility: Co-Constructing the Foundation for a Civil Learning Community, by
Zopito Marini, Brock University, Christine Polihronis, Carleton University, & Wendy Blackwell, Brock University

Section III: Development and Transitions

- High to Low Tide: The High School-University Transition, by David C. Stone, University of Toronto
- Two Models for Introducing Graduate Students to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, by Natasha Patrito Hannon, University of Western Ontario, & Svitlana Taraban-Gordon, University of Waterloo
- Teaching Writing Skills That Enhance Student Success in Future Employment, by James P. Coyle, University of Windsor

Thirty-eight articles, submitted for publication in Vol. IV are being peer reviewed internationally at this time. Vol. IV will be published in CD format in time for distribution at STLHE 2011 hosted by the University of Saskatchewan.

CELT, Vol. I and II are also available on-line at: http://www.stlhe.ca/en/publications/celt.php

Feel free to contact me at celt@uwindsor.ca for more information.
Jessica Raffoul, Managing Editor, University of Windsor

Let's Move

I made the mistake today of listening to right wing talk radio today host on the way to work.  The unknown idiot was ranting against Michelle Obama calling upon the National Restaurant Association to get on board with her Let's Move campaign and help fight obesity in this country. She has asked that restaurants do things like cut back on the salt and fat and reduce portion sizes.  Sounds reasonable to me and in sync with the trend of American consumer to start turning to more healthy food choices.

But, No!  In his idiotic rant he was saying things like let's have two menus.  One that has the regular menu and one that has half portions at the same price as regulare menus so "we can see which one will win!"  That made sense...NOT!  He went on to rant that "I want as much food as I can get for little money so that I can take the leftovers home and eat them there for several days."  Really, restaurants are in the leftover business????  I could go on with the brainless commentary but essentially the talk show host was saying that it is the right of every American to eat food that is not good for us and get as fat as we want -- afterall that is why we fought two wars to protect our freedoms.  Yikes.

There are other well known idiots who have a national stage who mimick the sentiments of the talk show host I heard today.  Here is an excerpt from an article on the Let's Move Campaign:
During a December episode of Sarah Palin's Alaska, the one-time governor took a swipe at Obama's Let's Move campaign — designed to encourage kids to eat better and exercise more — when she was showing how to make s'mores. "This is in honor of Michelle Obama," Palin said, "who said the other day we should not have dessert." When Obama successfully persuaded Wal-Mart to cut prices on fruits and vegetables and reformulate some of its foods to reduce calories and fat, Rush Limbaugh accused her of bullying or pressuring the retail giant.  Read more at:
http://healthland.time.com/2011/02/07/obesity-the-first-lady-takes-on-the-nra-no-not-that-nra/

I am appealing for us to do the right thing, regardless of whether you did it based on Michelle Obama's campaign for healthier eating and exercise in our nation.  We need to lead the way and provide tasty, healthy food options for the American consumer.  I still deal with far too many chefs who think meat is in vogue like this was the 50's even when the ACF chefs project trends that are anything but meat, meat, meat.  Our students are the future and we must do all we can to make it a healthier one. 

I can tell you I am like a pit bull here in my department at Purdue pushing for more healthy, vegetarian options to serve in our student run restaurants.  And guess what, every time a vegetarian option is provided it is a home run because that is what more and more Americans want.  So here is to moving vegetables to the center of the plate!  For more information on Let's Move visit: http://www.letsmove.gov/