In Israel the organic food market is still comparatively small and underdeveloped. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz organic food only comprises one and half percent of Israel’s agricultural output. A whopping 90% of it is exported abroad, mainly to European markets. An annual Agriculture Ministry survey in 2011 discovered that 37.4% of the organic […]
Your reusable totes may be full of bacteria and can turn you seriously “green”. Time to practice good bag hygiene. Researchers at the University of Arizona tested 84 reusable shopping totes and found over half were contaminated with harmful bacteria, including the dangerous E.coli. Contamination occurs when fluids such as fruit juices and meat blood leak […]
Enjoy a delicious dairy dessert on Shavuot (but don’t count the calories). Shavuot, the Jewish festival that celebrates receiving the Torah on Mt. Sinai, has always been associated with having a dairy meal. The origins of the custom go back to antiquity, and there are several explanations for it. Some hold that milk symbolizes the […]
Whisked away down the toilet and into our waterways, we are losing stocks of phosphorus and the result can be very scary. Looking for something new to worry about? Phosphorus hops onto the list of rapidly diminishing natural resources: a dangerous dwindling of something that probably never crossed your mind. Production will likely peak in our […]
Verdolaga con queso recipe made from foraged superweeds.
This past weekend Yael Stav offered tours of her home and vertical garden as part of the “Houses From Within” Batim Mibifnim exhibition in Tel Aviv. Some of the garden was built using recycled materials and compost from her children’s eco-friendly diapers.
Down side of crop dusting is pesticides that cause neurological damage: photo by Alberto Denkberg/Haaretz Air and water pollution in Israel from insecticides, oil and other petroleum-based residues from older gas stations; and other chemicals are feared to be causing neurological damage to people according to new studies. Various forms of insecticides, especially the use […]
Sour green plums the size of large marbles are in the shuk now, a seasonal favorite of the Iraqi community. Eat them out of hand as a snack, sprinkling each bite with a little salt. The classic Iraqi way to cook them is to pair them with meat in a flavorful stew. And if you […]
I just spit out my coffee. About to move house for the fifth time in as many years, I take a day to escape the cardboard box Himalayas towering in the living room. Plus there’s heavy construction going on next door, and it sounds like all of Amman’s stray cats are in heat. I grab a laptop and […]
An Islamic bank in Jordan, Sanabel, has bought up over a quarter of a Congo forest for ‘sustainable projects’ When I first read about the acquisition of 500,000 hectares of high value forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo by an Islamic investment bank in Jordan, I thought one thing: land grab. Over the last […]
Two Israeli women founded TIPA – the first company in Israel to offer 100% biodegradable and recyclable beverage packaging, as an alternative to plastics. This is a particularly difficult feat to achieve. Daphna Nissenbaum and Tal Neuman founded the company in 2010 in order to address the dire need for packaging that is genuinely ecologically-sensitive. […]
Tomatoes are staple to the Israeli diet; Israel looks to Jordan to augment its tomato supply. Last year a spike in cottage cheese prices helped spark the tent protests in Tel Aviv and inspired the worldwide Occupy movement. Cottage is a staple of the Israeli diet, so much so that it became a national symbol […]
Energy drinks have come under renewed scrutiny in Dubai, but the Dubai Central Laboratory (DCL) responsible for ensuring their quality and safety has said that they do comply with UAE specifications according to a recent report in Khaleej Times. Last year the UAE banned the sale of drinks like Red Bull, Monster and Rockstar to […]
Autism is one of those worries that some parents have to deal with at some point in the early years of a child’s life. The rise in diagnosed cases of over the past few years has been alarming. The search for answers as to what could be the possible cause or trigger has been going […]
Sun bathing in Sinai is like asking for trouble if not adequately screened from the sun’s UV rays. Beach season is now beginning in Middle East countries sharing beach fronts on the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. Along with problems like beach littering; and increasing and even record high summer temperatures in the Middle East […]