Upgrading China’s steel plants could save the world years of carbon emissions

-

September 21, 2023

Think about the business opportunities for engineers who can build retrofit solutions. Time for impact investors to start creating incentives for new technologies.

Upgrading, or retrofitting, the world’s iron and steel processing plants early could reduce carbon emissions by up to 70 gigatonnes by 2050, roughly equivalent to two years’ worth of net global carbon emissions, according to a new study led by UCL researchers.

Published in the journal Nature, the researchers found that by upgrading the world’s iron and steel production facilities, carbon emissions can be reduced by 58.7 gigatonnes between 2020 and 2050, roughly equivalent to two years’ worth of net global carbon emissions. In addition, they found that by bumping forward emissions reduction retrofits five years ahead of when they would be typically scheduled, it would reduce emissions by 69.6 gigatonnes over that time frame. Iron and steel production contributes about 7% to total global carbon emissions.

To develop this schedule, the team created a comprehensive database of 19,678 individual processing units located in 4,883 individual iron and steel plants around the world, inventoried by their technical characteristics, including their locations, processing technologies, operating details, status and age.

Iron and steel production is a carbon emissions heavy process. The researchers found that as of 2019, the last year that data is available, 74.5% of the world’s steel was produced in coal powered plants that release considerable carbon emissions. Technologies exist to reduce these admissions, but upgrades are expensive and time consuming and so are usually only undertaken at the end of a processing unit’s operational lifetime.

Refining is also hard on the equipment, and the individual processing units within each plant need to be retrofitted periodically to prolong their operational lifetimes. Overall, 43.2% of global iron and steel plants have been retrofitted with new technologies or have otherwise enhanced their processes to extend their operating lifetime. The frequency of their retrofits depends on the technique they employ and how old they are, but typically they occur after 15 to 27 years of use.

The researchers found that if all currently operating processing units were upgraded to incorporate low-emissions technology at their predicted time of their refit, total emissions from the iron and steel sector could be reduced by 58.7 gigatonnes between 2020 and 2050, but if all the refits and upgrades were bumped forward and completed five years early, the total carbon savings would be 16% greater at 69.6 gigatonnes.

But the team also emphasises that mitigation efforts will have to take place at the individual facility level, and that the decarbonisation of the entire iron and steel industry depends on the efforts undertaken by every single plant. Because of the complexity and variety of methods involved in steel production around the world, there’s no one-size-fits-all decarbonisation technology or solution for the entire sector, and each processing unit should be upgraded individually according to its technical specification.

Senior author Professor Dabo Guan from the UCL Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction said: “Our results lend vivid background to the possibility of achieving net-zero carbon emissions in iron and steel production in the future. By retrofitting existing plants with low-carbon technologies, and improving scrap collecting and recycling, the iron and steel sector can dramatically reduce its carbon emissions. This study sheds light on the specific emissions reductions that are possible within the iron and steel industry.”

About 63% of the world’s steel production is from some type of blast oxygen furnace, while most of the remaining capacity is produced by electric arc furnaces. Upgrading the global inventory of blast oxygen furnaces will yield the greatest net carbon savings, about 74% of the total projected carbon savings. Upgrades to electric arc furnaces would account for the second highest net carbon savings, at about 16% of the projected whole, though this may be limited by the total amount of stock scrap available worldwide as the technique is dependent on recycling existing metals.

The researchers hope that this data can be used to identify improved ways to update ageing steel plants with emission reduction technologies in order to reach net-zero carbon emissions more quickly. Compiling this publicly available global database of iron and steel plants and tracking all their ages and technologies has significantly improved the detail of data around the carbon emission of global iron and steel production.

The researchers emphasise that because of the wide range of production methods and plant designs, the particulars of individual upgrades and mitigation effort of each processing unit will have to be done on an individual basis. Their research will help policymakers create a roadmap of when and how to upgrade iron and steel plants to meet emissions reduction targets.

The top five carbon emitting iron and steel plants contribute 7% of the total CO2 emissions from the global iron and steel industry but only make up 0.1% of the total 4,883 plants.

They are:

Anshan Iron & Steel (China)
Posco – Pohang Iron & Steel (South Korea)
Shanghai Baosteel (China)
Jiangsu Shagang (China)
Maanshan Iron & Steel Group (China).

The researchers say that retrofitting these plants to lower their carbon emissions would demonstrate the feasibility for other, similar plants. The research was led by UCL and conducted in collaboration with Tsinghua University, Peking University and King’s College London.

Deep sea mining for concrete

Architecture

Elias Messinas

-

September 21, 2023

0

The excellent article on Green Prophet: Deep sea mining and killing the seas so you can drive an electric car was timely and extremely relevant. Deep sea mining is not only taking place for minerals and metals, but also for a very basic element found on the sea bed: sand.

One of the most common uses of beach or sea sand in general, is in construction. Sand is one of the ingredients in the production of concrete and other building materials. Concrete is made up of a mixture of water, cement, and aggregate, which is composed of crushed rock, gravel and sand. Sea sand is also used as a raw material in the glass, silicon and ceramic industries and for land restoration.

The construction industry consumes about 4 billion tons of cement every year and 40 billion tons of sand for construction. The total use of sand worldwide is estimated at 50 billion tons annually. The dredging industry for sand is active in South China Sea, the North Sea and the East Coast of the United States, according to the University of Geneva, with China, the Netherlands, the United States and Belgium being the most active countries in this field. Interestingly enough, although deserts have plenty of sand, the desert sand is unsuitable for construction. Its rounded faces and high dust content, give concrete of very low quality, that does not comply with the industry standards.

Regulating sand mining from the seas

sand mining on the beach in Morocco — Illegal sand mining activities linked to Spain are devastating Moroccan beaches. Image via the ISS

Sand is one of the world’s most consumed natural resource on the planet, after water. But, despite the damage it causes, it is still unregulated. According to the UN the practice is unsustainable and could irreparably affect marine life. Pascal Penducci, director of UNEP’s Global Resources Database, described the marine sand dredging as a “giant vacuum cleaner”, draining the seabed by removing all the micro-organisms that support sea life.

Consider, what the ISS reports: “state developments in Morocco require an estimated 30 million tons of sand every year. Coastal sand along the western seaboard and Mediterranean is increasingly extracted, legally and illegally, by both registered companies and traffickers. The result is a series of lunar-like landscapes along Morocco’s coastline, which damages fragile ecosystems and increases the vulnerability of infrastructure to storms and rising sea levels.”

The ECOWEEK week of lectures, films and design workshops address design and construction practices and promote sustainable design and circular practices primarily among graduate and undergraduate students of architecture and design in 17 countries.

In 2018, ECOWEEK hosted the Today Tomorrow project of EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture) in Tel Aviv. Within this collaboration the film “Sand Wars” was screened. Released in 2013 it is directed by Denis Delestrac.

The film “Sand Wars” tracks the contractors, smugglers and property developers hoarding sand from legal or illegal mining on sea shores and sea bed dredging. It presents the unsuccessful efforts by Municipalities, draining municipal budgets, to replenish seashores with sand. Only to be washed away, due to the voids created by deep sea mining. The film also presents the struggle of local communities to protect their sea shore residences from coastal erosion and damage and the loss of coastal shorelines, caused by sand extraction from the sea and shores.

If electric cars are a luxury – as compared to other modes of sustainable transportation, such as, public buses, light rail, bicycles and walking – mining sand for concrete is essential for construction. Especially, when trying to cope with destruction caused by earthquakes or floods. Building in concrete seems like an inevitable choice for relative resilience. However, the increasing use of concrete, and sand mining, makes cities more vulnerable and destroys ecosystems that support life. Read about this Israeli desert sand dunes being cleared for concrete.

Like in every story, there may be a happy end in this story too: recycled glass. Recycled glass is obtained from recycling old and waste glass. Glass can be recycled endlessly without affecting quality and purity, through crashing, melting and blending with other materials. Unlike desert sand, recycling glass is an acceptable replacement to sea sand for construction.

How much of this dome house in Santorini is built from sand?

The recycled glass market is estimated at $1.1B USD. It is low carbon, requires lower energy consumption, lower melting temperature, and less wear and tear on the manufacturing furnace. In terms of volume it is estimated at about 40,000 tons annually.

From grassroots initiatives like the recycling program “Glass Half Full” in Louisiana, to major industries, recycled glass is widely used in the food and beverages, automotive, healthcare, aerospace and defense industries. It is also used in construction. To provide more recycled glass for construction, an increase in the practice of glass recycling, is needed. More government and municipal initiatives and regulations in waste management are needed, raising public awareness and encouraging more initiatives in that direction by local industries.

Many cities today are engaged in urban renewal. This involves extensive demolition of existing buildings. Yet, with a disappointingly low rate of recycling and reclaiming of old materials, such as glass. Regulating demolition – and increasing refurbishment and retrofit, would considerably reduce construction waste, and wisely utilize the embodied carbon from producing these products in the first place. Less demolition would also reduce the need for new construction and use of concrete and sand.

Related: Peak sand

There is no doubt that the debate is relevant and urgent today. Not only, among architects and designers. But, among municipalities as well. With recycling rates ranging from 10 to 90%, there is a long way to go to reach 50% reduction in carbon by 2030 and zero carbon by 2050. And to reduce waste, particularly construction waste, estimated at one third of total waste.

Architectural practices, such as the Dutch Superuse Studio and architect Thomas Rau, are leading the way on circular design in small and large scale projects, materials passports for buildings and reuse of waste, from wood to wind turbines at the end of their lifetime (20 years).

A Super Reuse studio circular economy project using CNC waste as building façade

It is time for other architects and designers to take the lead too. To seriously reconsider the impact of design and construction on the planet. To consider only specifying construction methods that are local, low-carbon, low-impact and circular. Even start putting a cap on construction, densifying and utilizing existing buildings and reducing the floor area of modern apartments, as alternative construction methods and materials are becoming limited and the need to reduce the carbon footprint of construction is becoming imperative.

Thomas Rau: Triodos Bank Headquarters | Photography: Bert Rietberg

The debate on the impact of the construction industry is complex yet essential. It certainly must engage professionals more than just designing planters on the balconies or the roofs, or specifying recycled wood for façade facing. These are nice gestures, but view them more like a “greenwash”. And compare them to the unregulated and unprecedented destruction of life and ecosystems taking place with every single new concrete formwork.

Elias Messinas, Ecoweek — Elias Messinas

Elias Messinas is a Yale-educated architect and urban planner, creator of ECOWEEK and Senior Lecturer at HIT. He completed this year the interior restoration of an historic synagogue in Greece, based on circular practices. Although small in scale, it reduced waste, new raw materials and the budget by nearly 50%.

Top Five Healthiest Countries in the World

Health

Bhok Thompson

-

September 18, 2023

0

Healthy smiling girl India — If the world’s health index were based on smiles, then India, Indonesia and Thailand would be the top 3 healthiest countries in the world.

There is no promising way to calculate the health of a country. The best one can do is to rely on metrics such as environmental factors, average life expectancy, and other signifiers to list one country on top of the other. It is the only way to determine the healthiest countries in the world. Other factors such as happiness and satisfaction with one’s life come into play.

It is not only about how developed a country is or what an average person’s annual income is either. Other factors such as alcohol consumption, smoking habits, obesity rates, and many other factors can also contribute to a country’s position in the list of healthiest countries across the world.

Keep reading to find out more about the healthiest countries in the world.

India

If you are looking for a meat-free ideal, you cannot overlook India, the most vegetarian country in the world. According to research, more than 40% of percent of people in India stick to a strictly vegetarian diet. Healthy vegetables are an unhindered part of every Indian kitchen.

Despite the high poverty rates, the country has one of the largest agricultural yields. The obesity rates in the country are on the rise. Yet, it remains to be one of the healthiest and most resilient countries in the world. This country can move above the list with better healthcare in the rural areas.

Switzerland

There is no competition when it comes to the highest life expectancy. Switzerland remains to be the country with the highest life expectancy. With a clean environment, exceptional health policies, and financial bliss, people of every age live a prosperous and healthy life.

In addition to a prosperous and comfortable life, Switzerland is also known to be the country with the lowest mortality rate. Looking at all factors, such as a healthy lifestyle and access to fresh food, it is not hard to see why people in Switzerland live a long, comfortable, and healthy life.

Indonesia

Thanks to tons of research and case studies, the disadvantages of alcohol consumption are not unknown to people anymore. Understanding the potential harm alcohol causes, it is fair to assume that Indonesia, a country with the lowest rate of alcohol consumption, will make it to the list of healthiest countries.

Indonesia is a Muslim-majority country with a strict ban on alcohol consumption. People who consume alcohol in Indonesia are frowned upon. In addition, the excessive taxes on alcohol also help in deterring people from purchasing and consuming alcohol.

Hungary

Vaccinations have made healthcare easier and more accessible for millions of people worldwide. While people have different points of view about vaccinations, Hungary remains the country with the highest vaccination rate, with more than 99.9% of children vaccinated against children. The benefits of reliance on vaccination have contributed to strengthening their overall health.

Experts agree that improving the healthcare system of Hungry can bring it to the top of the list. As the country’s vaccination efforts continue to strengthen, they may gain a lot of benefits from expert healthcare providers and dedicated nurses.

Iceland

Smoking is very detrimental to your health. It is a truth that has been established for decades. Keeping this in consideration, think about a country to advertise about banning tobacco on mass media. Yes, Iceland also has the honor of banning all promotions on tobacco products. This is a very positive forward.

Although Iceland is one of the most high-income countries in the world, entertaining smoking as a habit can be a challenge to your budget. Hence, it is fair to say that smokers must think twice before visiting or moving to Iceland.

With the highest cigarette prices in Europe to keep people away from the deadly habit, many people are unable to afford this life-threatening hobby. In short, Icelanders care about health, happiness and wealth. They also value renewable energy, keeping the skies clean and the carbon emissions low.

Make shanklish and meet slow cheese winners of the world

Food

Karin Kloosterman

-

September 18, 2023

0

Shanklish is generally eaten with finely-chopped tomato, onion, and olive oil in a dish called Shʿifurah; and often accompanied by araq. It is a common meze dish. Shanklish is also mashed up with eggs or in a pita with cucumbers, mint, and olive oil for breakfast. Image via Wikipedia.

We’ve started making our own simple cheeses at home. Ones that use natural fermentation to take shape and flavor. An easy way to start is by making labane, a sour and tangy cheese perfected by the Bedouins, from a yoghurt base. But even if you don’t have yoghurt or access to kefir or a kefir starter, you can make labane and then shanklish cheese, a Levant favorite with the help of a little lemon. Fermentation and cheese is a world of its own. And you can do it in your fridge over the course of a month.

Labane, labne, cheese, a plate with olive oil and za'atar — Labane is delicious for breakfast, served with warm pita and olive oil

How to make shanklish

Shanklish, also known as chancliche, shinklish, shankleesh, sorke, or sürke, is a type of cow or sheep milk cheese found in Levantine cuisine. Shanklish is a Lebanese cheese made by curdling yogurt, straining it, and fermenting it. But if you have access to labane, you can start at that point too.

Ingredients for shanklish

500 grams labane cheese (click here to make your own easily with salt and milk)

Cup of zaatar

Take a ball of labane the size of a ping pong and roll it into zaatar. Put it in the fridge uncovered for a month, turning occasionally and voila you have a beautiful slow cheese from the Levant area of the Middle East. It can be grated over meals for an extra zing. Some variations inlcude rolling it in hot chilli peppers or anise seed.

While the Levant is known for simple, raw cheeses that don’t take long to ferment, we need to look to Europe for inspiration on how to make and eat the best cheeses in the world. The Slow Food organization has its annual awards, and like good olive oil and wine, cheese has its world of winners.

This year marks the 14th edition of Cheese, the largest international event dedicated to raw milk, natural cheeses and artisanal dairy products organized by the Slow Food movement and Città di Bra. The event brings together herders, cheesemakers and enthusiasts, united under the claim The Taste of the Meadows, emphasizing how raw milk from pasture-raised animals is crucial to sustainable food systems.

The Slow Cheese Awards pay tribute to the herders and artisan cheesemakers who work with respect for naturalness, tradition and animal welfare. These are small-scale producers who, despite all the hard work, risks and isolation involved, continue to resist. The winners were selected on the basis of their commitment not only to making natural raw-milk cheeses, but especially to fair and animal-friendly farming.

The winners of this year’s Slow Cheese Awards are:

David Nedelkovski, Kozi Mleko Planina, North Macedonia

David is just over 30, but already ten years ago left Skopje and moved to the small village of Rastak, at the foot of the Karadak mountains, where he created the Kozi Mleko Planina farm together with his family. Here David raises alpine and domestic Balkan goats, calling himself a “Cossack,” or “free man”.

David produces several types of fresh or aged cheese, all hard or semi-hard. Together with his neighbors, they started some important projects to restore biodiversity and the mountains they live in. When they decided to move to the mountains, the project was to produce milk and cheese and go back to town, but the life in nature captured their hearts: “I go more and more infrequently to Skopje, I love living here surrounded by family and my animals,” Nedelkovski says. Looking at the future he would like to raise awareness on the importance of raw milk products and animal welfare, or on the relationship between farmers and veterinarians.

But his main priority is that his“goats are happy”.

Tetyana Stramnova from the Amalthea Goat Farm, Ukraine

Tetyana Stramnova started as interior designer in Donetsk and opened her first farm when she got her first child, starting to raise quails. When Russians arrived in the region, she and her family had to leave, finally arriving in Muzikyvka, in the Kherson region. There, they tried to restore the poultry farming but the business failed. “Actually my children chose Muzikyvka as our place to be as they felt it was home at first sight,” she says.

In the end, Tatiana decided to do something new: she raised goats, learned how to make cheese, created the Amalthea Goat farm, on the name of her first goat, and started conducting excursions for children with disabilities, such as autism, at the same time working to protect the local Ukrainian short-eared goats breed.

On the eve of the full-scale invasion, the village council allocated her a plot of land for the construction of a cheese factory. The woman would have to find money for premises and equipment. Instead, all these months she tried to protect from the Russians what she managed to create. And after the de-occupation of Muzikyvka, everything starts again almost anew: “My main motivation is children. I have to leave something for them, that’s why I started again and again. We want to get it all back on track. We have to move on with our life”.

Giampaolo Gaiarin, Italy

Giampaolo Gaiarin, Image via the Slow Food website

Teaching food technology, Giampaolo born in Switzerland and now in Italy, makes his skills available to young people and advances a precise idea of cheese. According to him, cheese made with raw milk without the addition of selected ferments is the most respectful and authentic form of cheesemaking: the only one capable of restoring the aromas and specificities of each milk, each barn, each pasture.

And he doesn’t just explain it in the classroom, but makes daily efforts to demonstrate in the field that it is possible to produce natural cheese, doing cheesemaking trials together with producers, helping interested cheesemakers to switch from purchased ferments to grafted milk, even inventing a small home fermenter to facilitate their work. In his life, he has put his experience and expertise at the service of the cause of natural cheese: made from raw milk and without the addition of selected ferments, working alongside small-scale producers, in Italy and around the world, training generations of cheesemakers through teaching.

Marco Villa, Italy

A veterinarian, he has been able to create a supportive community of breeders, motivated young people and given an opportunity for redemption to a difficult Ligurian mountain area at risk of depopulation as young people move to the cities.

Marco Villa with his rare breed of cows. Via Liguria Foods.

Thanks to his passion and great ability to share, he has helped save and protect the Cabannina breed of cows, an ancient breed, seemingly unsuitable for modern animal husbandry because it is less productive than commercial breeds. But the Cabannina is actually a key element in guaranteeing new opportunities for the highlands and a hope for those who want to breed with respect and in harmony with nature.

Why was the Morocco quake so deadly?

Architecture

Karin Kloosterman

-

September 14, 2023

0

kasbah du toubkal — At the base of Toubkal in the Atlas Mountains. We visited this kasbah a decade ago. And it has taken some damage from the earthquake but all residents and guests were safe.

The earthquake that hit Morocco on 8 September in the Atlas Mountains was one of the most devastating that Morocco has seen decades: the quake killed more than 2,800 people and injured thousands more.

At 6.8 in magnitude, the earthquake was not huge, the disaster was exasperated by lack of preparedness, says disaster researcher Ilan Kelman: “Earthquakes don’t kill people, collapsing infrastructure does,” he says in a recent article.

Buildings in Morocco are often designed to control for extremes of temperature, which are an ever-present risk, whereas earthquake resilience has taken a back seat, he explains. This is the same problem that plagued Turkey and its devastating earthquake recently.

The question is how to rebuild sustainably with earthquakes in mind? The kasbah we visited in the Atlas Mountains is damaged but all the guests were spared, according to a story in The Independent. The Kasbah is also offering updates and ways to donate to the region in the earthquake aftermath.

One sustainable building method which has stood the test of time, and withstood earthquakes is the use of self-healing plaster used by the Romans in the Levant region and beyond. Straw bale building, one story high is supposed to be remarkably resilient against earthquakes, as are triangular shaped buildings. Perhaps these methods aren’t viable in mountain regions or cities.

We are looking for sustainable design engineers to help us write a guide for countries looking to earthquake proof with sustainable concepts in mind. Send your ideas to [email protected]

Sound art with Craig Colorusso

Art

Craig Colorusso

-

September 13, 2023

0

Environmental artist Craid Colorusso — Environmental artist Craig Colorusso creates environmental art using sound. Image via Kevin Belli

There is a beautiful stretch of forest in Bentonville, Arkansas called, “Coler Mountain Bike Preserve.” It is an amazing chunk of land with several mountain bike trails throughout and one main drag. There’s even delicious coffee at a place called Airship in the middle. There are two bridges bookending the main drag a little over a mile apart from each other, I had the pleasure of composing sound for them.

Covered Bridge ONE and El Segundo are two separate, yet connected, sound pieces that play for several hours a day. Covered Bridge ONE is a multi-channel piece for electric guitar that has been bowed, scraped, rubbed and plucked. El Segundo Is a multi channel piece for Clarinet and Bass Clarinet. Each played by a solar powered sound system that begins shortly after sunrise and ends shortly after sunset. Both are based on the chord C# Suspended 2nd.

The idea was to make something that would welcome people as the entered the park. A burst of sonic gratitude, and also for those returning a welcome home. I wanted to make something that engulfed the participant but also allowed the ambient sounds of the environment to also be heard in the mix, bugs, wind, water, leaves, cycle sounds etc.

The world is already a beautiful place I’m just trying to enhance little parts of it here and there.

Our lives have become so cluttered with luxury and convenience it is quite refreshing to get outside and just breathe and listen. The older I get the more intrigued by the natural world I become. Weather is a never ending series of systems colliding with each other. And it’s beautiful.

Through this process with my work I feel more in common with a farmer than an architect. I have an ongoing relationship with the weather and natural world unlike anything I’ve experienced before.

In 2009 I went to the desert with David Sanche-Burr and Richard Vosseller to make art using sustainable energy outside. We went to the Goldwell Open Air Museum in Rhyolite, NV and created Off The Grid. My piece “Sun Boxes,’ Changed everything for me. It’s a solar powered sound installation, comprised of 20 speakers all making a Bb Chord.

I have come to sound art and installation work from the world of punk rock. Although I loved being on stage, the barrier between the audience and the performer felt confining. I wanted to make something that didn’t have that barrier. I wanted to make something that people could feel like they were apart of. Once I made my way outside I saw no reason to go back inside. I wanted to make work that improvises with mother nature.

Covered Bridge ONE and El Segundo are presented as music but I think it’s something else. Recently a friend of mine sent me a video of a beautiful crane in the water under Covered Bridge ONE. It was just being a bird elegantly drinking from the water while my friend was on her walk. The video was cool: I could hear the sounds of the Bridge in the background. My friend said, “Even birds like your work. Congratulations.”

It really struck me because I felt like, once again, it’s presented as a composition, but these pieces give you just a moment of pause to realize that you are part of some thing way bigger than you. Isn’t that what we’re all after? So the medium is not sound but sound is used as a vehicle to offer the participant a moment of stillness. To be outside and reminded that I am merely one tiny part in the world feels so empowering.

I had a similar experience myself while testing the sound system for El Segundo. I sat in the grass and listened to the audio as leaves fell from trees taking their last graceful moments before they go back to the earth. It was beautiful and an honor to be witness to this process.

Craig Colorusso has been exploring the intersection of sound, light, and space through sculpture since 2000. His installations consist of wood, metal, fabric, and electronics.

Saudi Arabia hosts World Environment Day, un unlikely choice

Karin Kloosterman

-

September 13, 2023

0

Saudi Arabian mangrove forests can help mitigate climate change

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has chosen Saudi Arabia to host World Environment Day 2024 which will center on the theme of “land restoration.” Saudi Arabia has an incredible vision for mangrove reforestation and it is starting to open up archeology from the past to foreigners and international research institutions, but as it looks to tourism from the West Saudi Arabia is very misguided about new community building seen with Neom projects which are completely out of line with sustainable development goals. It’s like they took some great sales teams from Europe on the most “eco” ideas they could find on paper and multiplied everything by a trillion.

But putting Saudi Arabia in the center of the discussion, if only for an event like World Environment Day, will open the nation to criticism and balance from environmentalists around the world. It may be Saudi territory, but nature and the world should belong to every human/

According to UNEP, the event will “accelerate action on the restoration of landscapes and ecosystems.”

World Environment Day, established by UNEP in 1972 is celebrated annually on June 5, and encourages awareness and action for the protection of the environment. It is supported by many non-governmental organizations, businesses, government entities, and represents the primary United Nations outreach day supporting the environment. It is also called Eco Day, Environment Day, WED (world environment day).

Over the past five decades, the Day has grown to be one of the largest global platforms for environmental outreach. Tens of millions of people participate online and through in-person activities, events and actions around the world. 2024 will mark the 30^th anniversary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. The sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will be held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, from 2 to 13 December 2024.

The Line, linear city Saudi Arabia — Illustrated image of The Line, Red Sea, Saudi Arabia. It cuts off the flow of nature completely.

According to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, up to 40 per cent of the planet’s land is degraded, directly affecting half of the world’s population and threatening roughly half of global GDP, $44 trillionUSD. The number and duration of droughts has increased by 29 per cent since 2000 – without urgent action, droughts may affect over three-quarters of the world’s population by 2050.

Land restoration is a key pillar of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems all around the world, which is critical to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Red Sea port city, floating city, Oxagon, Neom, Saudi Arabia — A floating city, the largest in the world is planned for the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia

If I look at the track record of Saudi Arabia with its production and manipulation of cost of fossil fuels by Saudi Aramco and its apparent lack of awareness for sustainable development at all of Neom‘s projects like The Line and a desert ski-hill for a planet on fire, it would make more sense to choose a country like Israel to show the world how to combat desertification: not by buying the latest in desalination technologies, but by inventing and implementing new technologies.

Israel also has an efficient mode of watering crops, using drip irrigation, a process the country invented decades ago. These facts matched with advances in agriculture and reforestation would make Israel an obvious choice. But the world is still kowtowing to the highest bidder. So big oil money wins the game, again.

Gag Eden, Jerusalem’s green rooftops festival

Cities

Green Prophet

-

September 12, 2023

0

Jerusalem celebrates Gag Eden, a play on words for Gan Eden or the Hebrew word for paradise. It is a 3-day green roofs festival in the heart of the city

This is not a festival about rooftops. It is a festival about the possibility of reinventing the city itself. Gad Eden is about adding the ground space that is in such shortage, and to dream up a reality of abundance for all of us. This year, we are celebrating the new rooftops that joined the city center on top of the art schools, and the brave decision of the Jerusalem Municipality, which together with us implemented the program for tapping into the potential of urban rooftops.

Video of Gag Eden, 2021:

Thanks to this initiative, in the upcoming years, one million meters of rooftop wilderness will be transformed into valuable green havens.

honey beekeepers palestinian — Muslim women in East Jerusalem learn the art of beekeeping (via Haaretz)

And above all, Gag Eden is celebrating the fact that we are no longer alone, lone madmen on the roof – but a part of a growing and optimistic movement of people from all sectors, religions, sexes, and genders that come together to create the spaces we are missing, the realms of healing that the city and we need.

Join us for three days in which we will make and get to know the city we deserve.

Get the Gan Eden Full Schedule in English here (links to PDF) Gag Eden bees

BioBetter accelerates molecular farming in tobacco plants

Food

Karin Kloosterman

-

September 12, 2023

0

Biobetter molecular farming in tobacco plants — BioBetter is molecular farming in tobacco plants

Israel has an uneven contribution to the cultivated meat market. This means growing real meat with live cells, but circumventing animal suffering. It’s meat in a lab, if you will. Impossible Burgers is “meat” made from pea protein that just tastes like a whole lot of coconut oil. Cultivated meat is the real thing but made in a lab. No animals need to be slaughtered for lab meat. In Israel think Aleph Farms, Steakholder Foods,Super Meat, Believer Meats, and now BioBetter.

BioBetter just sent Green Prophet an announcement that it has opened its food-grade pilot facility to grow raw materials for the expanding cultivated meat market. The company has pioneered a unique protein manufacturing platform using tobacco plants as self-sustained, animal-free bioreactors.

They tell Green Prophet: “BioBetter is going to market raw materials, the growth factors, ingredients that are needed in the cultivated meat production process. We are not making bioreactors. Also, we are not making actual meat, we produce growth factors in tobacco plants that function like bioreactors for the cultivated meat industry.”

Currently cultivated meat production processes are relatively expensive, making it a challenge to scale up and reach price parity with animal-based counterparts: “Cultivated meat is still very expensive in comparison to conventional meat and the key is to reduce the growth medium costs to a minimum,” explains Amit Yaari, the CEO of BioBetter.

Companies like Israel’s Aleph Farms have introduced small steaks but the cost is hundreds to thousands of dollars to produce meat in a lab. BioBetter could help Aleph Farms make steaks faster and at less cost.

BioBetter makes raw materials for the cultivated meat market“Our target is to reduce the production cost of growth factors, including insulin, a key part of the growth
medium, to $1 per gram which is a 100-fold less than the going rate today,” notes Yaari.

BioBetter has achieved five impressive milestones in just the past year:

1. Production scale-up/building pilot plan
2. Commercial scale cultivation of insulin- and FGF-expressing tobacco plants
3. Reaching GF expression levels that enable a significant reduction of production costs
4. Significant regulatory progresses and advances with the Israel Ministry of Health
5. Collaboration with leading cultivated meat companies

BioBetter’s technology is a new purpose for the traditionally shunned tobacco plants, transforming them
into bioreactors for the production of growth factors for meat. Tobacco plants are typically used to make vaccines.

Growth factors for cell growth play a key role in the proliferation and differentiation of cultured meat cells, allowing for the formation of authentic and well-structured muscle tissue. Designed for both environmental safety and efficiency, these bioreactors will be grown in a large- scale, net house cultivation system. The plants are carefully engineered to prevent the escape of any transgenic material.

They are induced to express growth factors only when chemically triggered, and the company exclusively uses non-food, non-feed tobacco plants to eliminate any risk of inadvertent consumption or cross-contamination of food crops.

Sustainability at the core?

Tobacco plants produce growth hormones for molecular farms or cultivated meat

While the science talk may inspire the common sense sustainability folk to just return to actual farming or hunting, “Our commitment to sustainability shines through in every facet of our operations,” says Yaari. “We plan to use recycled and low-quality water for irrigation, minimize nitrogen fertilizer use, and reduce emissions and environmental impact.

The newly established pilot plant has the capacity to process 100kg of tobacco plant-derived GFs
daily. Constructed in adherence to the highest quality standards, the facility meets all regulatory
requirements for production of food-grade growth factors, including FGF2 and insulin. It currently is
progressing through essential stages of securing approval from the Ministry of Health for food
manufacturing licensing. The company is committed to scalability, adhering to ISO2200 and HACCP
standards.

meat tobacco — Meat proteins are grown with the help of tobacco plants

BioBetter also made breakthroughs in the cultivation of bovine insulin-expressing plants. Several
thousand square meters of FGF2-expressing tobacco plants are already thriving in northern Israel.

It’s the first time growth factor sources have been successfully planted in large net-houses, in four
locations, and with a fruitful harvest obtained in its first season.

Plans are underway to cultivate more FGF2 and insulin-expressing plants, with commercial roll-out projected for 2024.

The 250 million USD global cultivated meat sector is poised for substantial growth, yet its realization hinges upon a significant supply of growth factors. The most significant challenge of the cultivated meat industry is to produce and scale up at the right cost,” notes Aviv Oren, Director of Business Engagement and Innovation, the Good Food
Institute, Israel. “BioBetter’s technology, which is based on molecular farming of food-grade growth
factors in the required quantities and costs for industrial production, is a pivotal addition that has
the potential to accelerate this industry.”

In 2022, BioBetter secured 10 million USD in an A-round investment led by Jerusalem Venture
Partners (JVP). The company also is an active member of the Israeli Cultivated Meat Consortium,
which unites academic institutions, large companies, and start-ups to collaboratively advance the
field of cultivated meat.

Interested in this market? We have created an overview on molecular farming in Israel.

Blue crabs invading Italy; can Slow Food solve the problem?

Nature

Karin Kloosterman

-

September 12, 2023

0

The invasive blue crabs that made their way to Tunisia from the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal were not welcome at first but since have turned into a new export. Another species of blue crab that originated in America is causing its share of problems for fisherman right now in Italy.

The Callinectes Sapidus, the blue crab, the Atlantic blue crab, or the Maryland blue crab is threatening Italy’s clam-farming and fishing industries. The Italian government has allocated about $3 million USD to fund the capture of as many blue crabs as possible.

As a past researcher on invasive species, working for CAB Biosciences in Switzerland, I am pretty certain that offering a bounty to catch these crabs will have no impact in the long run. The species, as invaders do, will only be balanced when a natural predator finds a way to keep them in check. Remember when the mayor of Hebron offered a $20 bounty for a truck of dead dogs?

At the same time, the blue crab is the fifth most popular crab in the world market. It is especially sought out in the Asian, United States and Australian markets where it is featured on the menus of many restaurants.

According to Nature, the blue crab in Italy was first observed in the Mediterranean Sea in 1949, where it was probably transported in the ballast waters of transoceanic ships.

“The colonisation took some time, it is a slow process,” says Gianluca Sarà, marine ecologist at the University of Palermo. Before invading the Po River Delta, Atlantic blue crabs have been spotted in other locations in Italy. Established populations were first detected in 2014 in the lagoon of Lesina and Varano, in Apulia.

Climate change is suspected to be one of the reasons the blue crab was able to slide into Italy from the Adriatic Sea. Researchers are now looking on how their colonisation will impact other aquatic sea life and shores.

fishing nets tunisia — Blue crab catch in Tunisia

Invasive species like the Portunus segnis from the Indian Ocean or Callinectes Sapidus, the Atlantic blue crab, lived in ecosystems that that developed over thousands, maybe millions of years. The Suez Canal changed this separation between seas fast and is the reason why the Mediterranean is over-run with jellyfish every summer, making it impossible to swim in places like Israel and Lebanon for fear of getting stung during the hottest times of the year.

Two blue crabs invade. Let’s get those crabs straight

Portunus segnis, is the scientific name for the African blue swimming crab. It is a crustacean, and a swimming crab belonging to the family Portunidae. It is native to the western Indian Ocean, but invaded the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal in Egypt. In 2015 it invaded the Gulf of Gabes, in southern Tunisia. Now the country has dozens of crab-processing plants. “At first fishers wanted this species to disappear, but now they are asking the authorities for regulations to protect it,” says one fisherman.

Another invasive blue crab, the one invading Italy currently is Callinectes sapidus, the Atlantic blue crab, or regionally known in the US as the Maryland blue crab. It is a species of crab native to the waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, and it is now introduced internationally. It is also known as the Chesapeake blue crab.

Global shipping industry to blame for invaders

According to The Revelator, “global shipping is moving invasive species around the world.”

They report that “in July 2021 federal agents in New Orleans abruptly ordered the 600-foot cargo ship Pan Jasmine to leave US waters. The ship, which had sailed from India, was preparing to offload goods when inspectors noticed fresh sawdust on the cargo deck and discovered non-native beetles and ants boring into wooden packaging materials. The unwelcome insects included an Asian longhorn beetle, a species that was introduced into New York 25 years ago, where it has killed thousands of trees and cost $500 million in control efforts.

“The crew of beetles aboard the Pan Jasmine is not an isolated incident. That same month bee experts north of Seattle were scouring forest edges for Asian giant hornet nests. These new arrivals, famously known as “murder hornets,” first turned up in the Pacific Northwest in 2019, also likely via cargo ship. The two-inch hornets threaten crops, bee farms and wild plants by preying on native bees. Officials discovered and destroyed three nests.

“And this past autumn Pennsylvania officials urged residents to be on the lookout for spotted lanternflies, handsome, broad-winged natives of Asia discovered in 2014 and now present in at least nine eastern states. Believed to have arrived with a shipment of stone from China, the lanternfly voraciously consumes plants and foliage, threatening everything from oak trees to vineyards.”

Can world governments agree on necessary preventative measures?

Timberland gets Redressed with fashion fire-fighter Nils Hauser

Fashion

Karin Kloosterman

-

September 12, 2023

0

Redress winner Nils Hauser worked with Timberland to upcycle waste into iconic fashion pieces. All in the name of a circular economy and beating fast fashion.

Leading fashion brands know that the good old days of fast fashion are changing. They can no longer produce low cost gear without considering a good wage, ecologically sourced raw materials, eco shipping and handling and a vision for the products end of life. Companies like Shein may still have a lead in the market but consumers, even young ones, are catching on that upcycled or recycled clothes are where at its at.

Heralding this mission and driving big brands forward is Redress, a Hong Kong-headquartered environmental NGO accelerating the change to a circular fashion industry. They work with big brands and young designers to envision and change the fashion industry in every part of its cycle from cradle to cradle. Their focus is on Asia where most fast fashion is produced by people in deplorable conditions.

They recently announced the winners of the Redress Design Award 2023.

Nils Hauser, Redress and Timberland — Nils Hauser from German upcycles materials from Timberland to make new fashion

Winning first prize Nils Hauser from Germany got a chance to work on a sustainable design collaboration out of VF Corporation’s Tokyo Design Collective with the Timberland design team for the brand’s Spring 2025 apparel collection.

Hauser out-designed eight other emerging designers from Australia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, and the USA, following a nine-month educational competition that attracted applications from 46 countries and regions.

“Collaborating with a world-leading brand like Timberland and bringing my sustainable fashion ideas into the mainstream and large-scale fashion market whilst working with Timberland’s expert team is a designer’s dream,” said Hauser. “Designers have solutions, and we know that by working together we can make change,” he said.

Change is much needed. Fashion, we know, is one of the world’s most polluting industries. Approximately 100 billion apparel items are sold per year, representing a 50% increase since 2006, with the majority of clothing being landfilled or burned within one year of production. Every second, the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned.

Nils Hauser moodboard for Timberland — A Nils Hauser moodboard that inspired his creations for Redress and Timberland

Meanwhile, 80 percent of a product’s environmental impact is determined at the design stage.

“Design decisions made at the drawing board can change the world,” said Redress Founder, Christina Dean. “Fashion needs to reinvent itself to become more circular. Floods and fires are continuing. Our Redress Design Award Finalists are fashion’s fire-fighters. Making sustainability and circularity an industry norm feels like a far-off dream, but it’s worth fighting for if we want to reduce fashion’s negative environmental impacts.”

The finalists designed waste out of fashion with the circular design techniques of zero-waste, upcycling, and reconstruction. They explored textile waste streams for their design materials, from manufacturing waste and consumer castoffs to the more imaginative reuse of turbans, tents, and bedsheets.

Their bold designs and sourcing methods represent creative and innovative solutions to increase current circularity achievements, which presently see less than one percent of clothing being recycled back into clothing.

“Our collaboration with Redress gives us the unique opportunity to directly connect with emerging fashion designers who have a passion for sustainability, equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed to usher in a new era of sustainability in fashion,” said Jeannie Renne-Malone, VP of Global Sustainability at VF Corporation. “VF remains committed to fostering a lower carbon future through implementing sustainable design principles, such as circular design, that minimise the industry’s environmental impact.”

Hauser now takes the previous winners’ baton from Redress Design Award 2022 winner, Federico Badini Confalonieri from Italy, 2021 winner Jessica Chang from Taiwan, and 2020 menswear winner Lê Ngọc Hà Thu from Vietnam, who each contributed towards sustainable capsules in collaboration with Timberland.

The 2023 Redress winner and ones to watch:

- First Prize winner: Nils Hauser, Germany
- Runner-Up Prize winner: Ruwanthi Gajadeera, Sri Lanka
- Hong Kong Best Prize winner: Mandy Fong, Hong Kong
- People’s Choice winner: Pavneet Kaur, India

The 2023 Redress prize?

The Redress Design Award first prize winner will join VF’s Timberland team to collaborate on a design project. They will also have the opportunity to work closely with the VF Corporation Sustainability & Responsibility team to ensure that materials and design strategies maximise sustainability, and will gain exciting insights from across the supply chain from sourcing to product development, while deepening their skills and understanding around sustainable production and marketing.

The first prize winner will also receive…

$6,400 USD to propel their sustainable fashion career
A high-performance lockstitch machine and an overlock sewing machine from JUKI
One year individual access to all areas of Bloomsbury Fashion Central, including the Fairchild Books Library and the Fashion Photography Archive

Want to fast-track your career at a sustainable fashion business school or qualify for a future Redress internship? Try the Redress online course.

Physiotherapy’s Transformative Touch for Children with Disabilities

Health

Bhok Thompson

-

September 12, 2023

0

Yoga child and mother, disabled child learning natural sense movements — A disability in children can be the biggest challenge in life. But there are natural, earth-centered approaches to healing such as yoga that when combined with traditional physio can have great outcomes.

When faced with the challenges of raising a child with disabilities, families often navigate a complex web of treatments, interventions, and therapies. Amidst this array of options, physiotherapy stands out as a powerful tool that can profoundly impact a child’s quality of life. It goes beyond just physical improvements; physiotherapy offers a transformative touch that can shape brighter futures for children with disabilities.

The Essence of Physiotherapy

At its core, physiotherapy focuses on enhancing and restoring functional movement. For children with disabilities, this can mean various things: developing the strength to sit independently, improving balance for confident walking, or refining motor skills to engage in play and daily activities. Through targeted exercises, techniques, and tools, physiotherapists work diligently to help children overcome physical barriers.

The Age of Adaptability

Children, with their innate adaptability, often respond remarkably well to physiotherapeutic interventions. Their young bodies and brains are highly plastic, allowing for significant improvements and adaptations. This plasticity, when combined with physiotherapy, creates a window of opportunity to mold and shape optimal physical outcomes.

Beyond Physical Milestones

child sun ray — Creating a well-balanced human being is the goal.

While the tangible milestones achieved through physiotherapy—like taking a first step or climbing a playground ladder—are cause for celebration, the intangible benefits can be even more significant. Children who can move more freely often experience boosts in confidence and self-esteem. Their world becomes less restrictive, opening doors to social interactions, academic opportunities, and a richer tapestry of life experiences.

Physiotherapy can also act as a foundation for other forms of therapy. For instance, a child who gains better control over their limbs might find it easier to engage in occupational or speech therapy. The synergy between different therapies amplifies the benefits for the child.

Building a Supportive Environment

Physiotherapists do not work in isolation. They often function as part of a larger team of caregivers, teachers, and other therapists. By understanding a child’s physical capabilities and limitations, they can guide families and educational institutions in creating supportive environments. This can include anything from recommending adaptive equipment to suggesting classroom setups that accommodate a child’s unique needs.

Furthermore, the bond between a physiotherapist and a child can be truly special. Through regular sessions, they become trusted figures in the child’s life, cheering on every achievement and offering support through every challenge.

Staying Updated and Informed

When planning and managing therapy, understanding NDIS pricing arrangements is essential. Familiarizing yourself with these arrangements ensures you can effectively budget and access the services your child needs without unexpected financial constraints.

The realm of physiotherapy is dynamic, with constant research unveiling better techniques, tools, and strategies. For parents, staying updated can make a significant difference. Joining support groups, attending workshops, and staying in touch with the child’s physiotherapist can provide insights into the latest advancements that might benefit the child.

For families residing in Australia, it’s paramount to ensure that the physiotherapist working with your child is registered with the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Choosing an NDIS registered physiotherapist guarantees that the professional understands the intricacies of treating children with disabilities, offering a consistent standard of care and expertise.

Physiotherapy’s transformative touch is a beacon of hope for many families. Through the hands of skilled professionals, children with disabilities are offered a chance to unlock their full potential, paving the way for brighter, more fulfilling futures. Whether it’s the joy of a child taking confident strides or the subtle growth in their social interactions, the profound impact of physiotherapy resonates in every aspect of their lives.

Want to learn more about holistic approaches to disability? Be inspired by this man who travelled 100 miles in his wheelchair.

Magic and Islam

Karin Kloosterman

-

September 11, 2023

0

Muslim stones for warding off the evil eye — When Muslim pilgrims talked to sorcerers on their way to Mecca: Muslims used stones for warding off the evil eye. A pile of unusual magical objects was uncovered in Israel and believed to be used by sorcerers helping pilgrims on their way to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

On the road to Mecca in Saudi Arabia four hundred years ago, one could stop at a professional sorcerer: it seems that Muslim pilgrims walking from Cairo in Egypt to Mecca in the Arabian Peninsula would make a stop at these professional sorcerers. Dinns are a real thing in Islam, so beware if you cross one when out on a pilgrimage or if one enters your home. This guide may help you get the dinns out.

You know about the Evil Eye and hamsa, hamsa, hamsa for keeping it away? It’s an old practice in the Middle East. Finding some sources to superstitions are the strange magical tools found along pilgrim routes and described by Israeli researchers in the Journal of Material Cultures in the Muslim World. The researchers found stones and sculptures, some broken, and guess these objects were used in magical rituals carried out in order to ward off the evil eye, to heal diseases and more.

According to the researchers, “This discovery reveals that people in the Early Ottoman Period—just as today—consulted popular sorcerers, alongside the formal belief in the official religion.”

Itamar Taxel of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Uzi Avner of the Dead Sea-Arava Science Center, and Nitzan Amitai-Preiss of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem were involved in the study that looked at the objects found in the Eilat region in the 1990s.

The group of objects is associated with rituals or ceremonies and comprises predominantly dozens of fragments of clay globular rattles, mostly similar to table tennis balls, containing small stones, that sound when the rattle was shaken. There were 2 miniature votive incense altars found, a small figurine of a naked woman or a goddess with raised hands, a characteristic feature of deities or priests; a few other figurines, and crystal pebbles.

The examination of the clay used for the ceramic objects has shown that they came from Egypt.

This is the first time that such a large assemblage of ritual objects of this kind has been found, and it is even more unique at a temporary site and not a permanent settlement.

A magical sculpture endowed with properties then broken?

The magical objects were found next to the Pilgrimage Road (Darb al-Hajj, in Arabic) that led from Cairo, crossed the Sinai Peninsula, and continued in the region of Eilat to the town of Aqaba, and then crossed the Arabian Peninsula on the way to Hajj in Mecca and Medina. This route was in use from the first centuries after the rise of Islam, from the 7th century to the 19th century.

“The spot of these artifacts next to the camping site, and the comparison of the artifacts to those known in the Muslim world, as well as the fact that these artifacts were found together as a group, lead to the understanding that they were used in magical rituals,” the researchers announce, adding:

“The artifacts were found broken, and they may even have been purposely broken in the ceremonies. It seems that these rituals were carried out at the site by one or several people who specialized in popular magical ceremonies. From the literary sources, we know that there was a demand for magical rituals among people from different strands of society. Such rituals were carried out daily alongside the formal religious rituals—including in the Muslim world—and it is probable that the pilgrims making their way to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina were no exception,” they add.

The Darb el-Haj road will be part of tourism and educational activities in Israel showing how cultures past lived their lives in the Holy Land.

Black eyed peas are a new protein alternative

Food
Health

Karin Kloosterman

-

September 11, 2023

0

Israel, arguably the food-tech capital of the world, has come up with a new invention to supplement the alternative protein market: making a protein from black-eyed peas, also known as cowpea. The company says that the peas are gene-edited to make them easier for harvesting, but that the process does not fall into a GMO category. The company Better Pulse joins a long line of alternative meat and alternative plant-based solutions to feed a growing planet. We featured a recent round up of the top cultivated meat products from Israel (see Aleph Farms, Believer Meats) but what makes Better Pulse different is that it contains no meat protein at all but offers a reliable alternative for plant-based milk and yoghurts or any manufactured plant based protein product.

If you have ever read any modern criticism of agriculture (Michael Pollan, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Yuval Noa Harari), you will know that most of our food is derived from monocrops. While there may be hundreds of different grain types or bananas, we typically eat the same ones over and over again. It gets worse when you look at our staple crops where more than 51% of our caloric intake is sourced from just four staple crops—rice, soy, wheat, and corn.

These crops are threatened by global warming. We need to diversify what we eat and how we eat it. Arguably the best solution is for us all to return to the land and start regenerative farming and foraging, but likely only a handful in every community will do that. For alternatives, Better Pluse hopes to offer another protein-rich solution for food resiliency and food security.

Black eyed peas hummous anyone? Try our ultimate hummus recipe and switch out black eyed peas for the chick peas.

Black-eyed peas plant are among the oldest cultivated crops which is also very tolerant to extremes in heat: “The looming effects of climate change on the resiliency of the protein supply chain, particularly soybeans, underscore the urgency of adopting Black-eyed peas as a solution,” says founder and CEO Alon Karpol, “Better Pulse’s enhanced Black-eyed peas genetics will fortify global food security, drastically reduce Black-eyed peas cultivation costs, and its protein will provide a sensory experience akin to various dairy products.

Unlike its soybean or green and pea counterparts, Better Seeds’ Black-eyed pea protein is distinguished by its white color and subtle aftertaste profile – characteristics that are essential for food ingredients.

fresh black eyed peas — Fresh black-eyed peas cultivated by Better Pulse.

The company has concluded a Proof-of-Concept phase where it achieved the production of over 70% protein, and integrated it into diverse food products. The company has special access to black-eyed peas genetics that are ready for mechanized harvesting, enabling cost cost-effective, and profitable cultivation beyond Africa, the primary region where black-eyed peas are grown today.

The initial financial backing for Better Pulse was provided by BetterSeeds, a portfolio company of Israel’s Smart-Agro Fund.

The alternative protein in food is worth an estimated $6.7 billion USD with an CAGR of 6.7%.

::Better Pulse

Chocolate lovers guide to green chocolate

Food
Health

Ruth Almon

-

September 10, 2023

6

Chocolate lovers guide to green chocolate

Keep your chocolate pure, fair trade and organic: a guide to eating chocolate the green way.

Chocolate is alternately portrayed as a sinful delight – damaging to your health and your waistline – or as a food with health benefits. So which is it? According to the Mayo Clinic website, a trusted health authority in the United States: “flavanols in cocoa beans have antioxidant effects that reduce cell damage implicated in heart disease. Flavanols also help lower blood pressure and improve vascular function”

So there is something positive in the treat we love. But before we can answer the question, “Is chocolate friend or delicious foe?” we have to ask ourselves which chocolate we’re talking about. To do so, let’s take a short historical look.

Chocolate was first enjoyed as a drink by Mayan and Aztec cultures thousands of years ago, but the beverage they revered as magical was bitter pure chocolate. The Europeans adopted it, added a little honey or cane sugar, and it became a hit.

By 1868, Cadbury found a way to process it into a solid bar. Without many additives, it likely had many of the nutritious qualities that those ancient civilizations valued. However today’s Cadbury Dairy Milk has a lot of added ingredients, even though some of its bars may be certified as Fair Trade. It’s just full of other stuff.

Unwanted things in chocolate

Milk Chocolate (sugar; milk; eggs; chocolate; cocoa butter)

Lactose; soy lecithin;

PGPR, emulsifier; natural and artificial flavor.

What are these extra ingredients in chocolate?

PGPR (Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate) is an emulsifier and a cheap replacement for cocoa butter.

Soy lecithin, like any other soy product, is probably made from genetically modified soy.

Natural and artificial flavor – this could be anything. Unhealthy ingredients hide anonymously under these labels.

So while chocolate itself may have health giving properties, there are three problems with many of the products found in the marketplace today.

1. The percentage of chocolate may be quite low (nowhere near what the Mayans and Aztec were drinking). Look for the highest percentage.

2. Some of the additives may be harmful to your health.

3. Much of the chocolate on the market contains so much sugar that it negates whatever benefit you gain from the chocolate itself.

In Israel, for instance, the chocolate market has improved dramatically over the last twenty years. It’s now easy to find chocolate with 70 percent or 85% to 100% cocoa in supermarkets. Some brands contain no soy lecithin or other questionable ingredients. I would recommend these for health-conscious people.

Brands we tried recently and love and which can be ordered online include ChocoSoul from Toronto which we ate plenty of this past summer.

chocosoul chocolate from Toronto — Chocosol from Toronto sets the stage for the world’s best chocolate

Think fair trade and organic too

In addition, many top quality chocolate shops now line the streets of main cities in Israel, and I imagine the same is true in other Middle East cities which likely both imports and give home to small chocolatiers. Ask them about their ingredients or follow your taste buds: The best tasting chocolate is made with the purest ingredients.

Other brands of chocolate are available in health food stores. Many have the advantage of being organic and some of them labeled fair trade. Child slavery and other abuses are ongoing problems in the chocolate trade and should be taken into consideration when making your purchase.

The only way to identify chocolate that does not involve child slavery is to either buy one specifically labeled as such, or one that is on the Fairtrade International list.

Fair Trade Chocolate We Like:

Alter Eco sells organic chocolate that regenerates ecosystems, empowers farmers, and reverses climate change.

GiddyYo is crafting organic, plant-based, dark chocolate, coffee, superfoods and bodycare.

Belvas – the first organic chocolate factory in Europe and Belvas was named “Europe’s greenest micro-business” by the European Commission (EMAS award).

Camino is a Canadian brand of fair trade and organic food products, owned by La Siembra Co-operative, based in the Ottawa-Gatineau region. Established in 1999, La Siembra Co-operative became the first registered importers of Fairtrade Certified cocoa and sugar in North America and today works with 25 producer co-ops, supporting more than 47,500 family farmers in 14 countries.

Chocolove is a chocolate manufacturer with headquarters and a manufacturing facility in Boulder, Colorado, founded in 1995 by entrepreneur Timothy Moley. The company produces all-natural and organic chocolate bars. Chocolove imports chocolate and cocoa butter from Belgium to produce its chocolate.

ChocoSol is rooted in Toronto’s St. Clair West neighbourhood of Regal Heights, where the team turns cacao into stone-ground dark chocolate, develops their growing Chocosoil project on the rooftop garden, and hosts behind-the-scenes tours and events in their Cacao Commons.

Have a favorite brand to share? Add to the list by submitting in comments or email us chocolate@greenprophet,com

Why is September 13th World Chocolate Day?

Willy Wonka, World Chocolate Day — Raoul Dahl’s birthday is World Chocolate Day. His character Willy Wonka made chocolate more desirable than it ever was

World Chocolate Day is a yearly celebration that pays homage to one of the world’s most beloved treats: chocolate. This special date is celebrated every September 13th and is steeped in history, tradition, and, of course, lots of chocolate.

The idea started in 1995 when International Chocolate Day was established in France and this day changed to September 13th, the birthday of Roald Dahl, the children’s book author who wrote the iconic novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

Check out these other posts on fair trade:
Fair Trade Sweets on Valentines Day
Feasting on Fair Trade This Ramadan
The Little Fair Trade Shop Shows Masdar its Big Heart

Hot topics

Finance

Marketing

Politics

Strategy

Hot topics

Finance

Marketing

Politics

Strategy

Regulating sand mining from the seas

India

Switzerland

Indonesia

Hungary

Iceland

How to make shanklish

Ingredients for shanklish

David Nedelkovski, Kozi Mleko Planina, North Macedonia

Tetyana Stramnova from the Amalthea Goat Farm, Ukraine

Giampaolo Gaiarin, Italy

Marco Villa, Italy

Sustainability at the core?

Two blue crabs invade. Let’s get those crabs straight

Global shipping industry to blame for invaders

The 2023 Redress winner and ones to watch:

The 2023 Redress prize?

The Essence of Physiotherapy

The Age of Adaptability

Beyond Physical Milestones

Building a Supportive Environment

Staying Updated and Informed

Unwanted things in chocolate

What are these extra ingredients in chocolate?

Think fair trade and organic too

Fair Trade Chocolate We Like:

Why is September 13th World Chocolate Day?

Company

Headlines

Newsletter