I needed some air after trying to record a podcast episode. My guest hung up on me. I spent some time pulling weeds in the carrot bed, including very nutritious and delicious purslane, which grows well in many parts of the world. I'm a big advocate of including more wild foods in the diet. Weeding is quite therapeutic. My guest had a great conversation a few months back about veganism that I really enjoyed listening to, and an ...Read More
Sentience: Black & White? Good & Bad?
There was an interesting story floating around the web a while back, about an octopus who was able to squeeze out a tube, scoot across the floor, and slither down a pipe, presumably out to the ocean. I think what made this video so viral was that folks were blown away by how smart this animal was. I’ve also seen videos of an octopus taking photos. Clearly they do have some smarts. But what about other animals? Are they less or ...Read More
Dear Mark Bittman & NY Times: Stop Vilifying All Meat
The following is a letter to the editor of the New York Times that was never published, so I'm posting it here: To the Editor: Re: Health Leaders Must Focus on the Threats From Factory Farms, May 21, 2017 There is growing scientific and public consensus that industrial agriculture, of plants and animals alike, is ecologically unsustainable and counter to public health. Research and real world experiences make clear singling out ...Read More
Why Coconut Oil Won’t Kill You, But Listening to the American Heart Association Might!
You may have seen the news late last week about the latest “Presidential Advisory” on dietary fats released from the American Heart Association (AHA) published online in Circulation. The part of this report that seems to be making the most news around the internet is that coconut oil is unhealthy. In the last few days I've seen titles like “Coconut Oil is as Bad as Butter”, “Coconut Oil is Unhealthy and Has Never Been Healthy”. Not only do these ...Read More
Sustainable Seafood from Alaska
I absolutely love fish and eat it as often as I can. But I do get a lot of questions when it comes to finding healthy fish from sustainable sources. Regardless of the type of diet you follow, there's almost no debate out there challenging the health benefits of fish. There aren’t many foods that can compete with the fish’s nutrient density. It’s a great source of protein, vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids (specifically docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) ...Read More
