Here’s a hot topic around the DL office these days: How much beef should we feature in the mag? The general answer is, not too much; organically raised plant foods are the obviously healthier choice and beat pretty much any kind of meat production. But at the same time, we know from surveys that the vast majority of our readers eat meat, at least on occasion. We have a few beef recipes in an upcoming Quick & Easy story — in my nine years at DL, I think it’s the second time we’ve featured beef as the topic of any story (the last time was a nutrition piece in 2003) — and the recipes emphasize using lean beef WITH greens and veggies as part of a balanced diet. But it’s a tricky issue more

Does choosing local foods really make a difference? That’s one of the questions the U.S. House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming is considering as they present “Food for Thought: Sustainability from Counter to Compost” in Washington today.

According to the release, the committee, led by Chairman Edward Markey (D-Mass.), will “start a process to look into the choices our nation makes on food and agriculture and how those choices affect our environment, more

This weekend, my husband and I took our two kids to the Denver Zoo. Among my daughter’s favorites were the gorillas and the jungle exhibits featuring fruit bats, iguanas, blind cave fish, and the like. Despite her enthusiasm, I couldn’t help feeling a little sad for the animals who had been deprived of their natural habitats.

But not all animals end up in zoos simply because we’ll pay to see them. more

Bottled water is one of those odd inventions of the past few decades; I think it was unheard of when I was a child, except for the distilled kind that you poured in the iron. Nowadays, plastic water bottles are everywhere … and that’s a problem for planet Earth. All those plastic bottles make a LOT of trash (or, best case, a lot of recycling). But, short of eliminating bottled water from store shelves entirely (which I doubt will happen anytime soon), some companies are taking leadership in making what difference they can — and isn’t that the first step in improving our planet’s future? Icelandic Glacial Water, a bottled water producer, recently sent me the news that they have become the first “certified carbon neutral” bottled water company. more

Just heard from Natural Choices UK: organic eggs carry less risk of salmonella than eggs laid by “conventionally raised” hens (read: stuffed beak to beak in cages). Specifically, “the study showed that 23.4 per cent of farms with caged hens tested positive for salmonella compared to 4.4 per cent in organic flocks and 6.5 per cent in free-range flocks.” more

In this month’s magazine we featured a story on “How to liven up your libido naturally.” Looks like RedOrbit is on the case too. Check out their sexy food choices.

It seems that consumers are still confused about the pros and cons of bamboo — that environmental wunderkind lining the floor in every “green-built” house and condo building from here to China. Is bamboo truly all it’s cracked up to be? more

Did you know that the number-one fruit in the country — bananas — might be extinct in 30 years? So says Dan Koeppel, the author of Banana: The fate of the fruit that changed the world. more

As an editor, I’m used to receiving announcements for outlandish products. Today, BWR Public Relations announced the new Playboy Energy Drink (yes, it even has a little bunny on the bottle). “With subtle notes of fruit and vanilla, this proprietary formula contains ginseng root, guarana extract and damiana leaf, ingredients that are believed to stimulate energy levels,” says the press release. No doubt, energy drinks are big business these days. But do these drinks give you anything more than a spare tire from all those liquid calories? more

While visiting my parents in Phoenix last weekend, my husband and I took a stroll around the Phoenix Zoo. I was particularly charmed by the orangutans, including one adorable baby and mother, who clung to and gazed each other in a beautifully affectionate way. But I got a wake-up call I wasn’t expecting: Next to the orangutan enclosure was a series of signs decrying the destruction of native orangutan habitat in Borneo and Sumatra, largely because of the demand for palm oil. Turns out, in the effort to eliminate trans fats, industries have turned to palm oil, spiking demand considerably. There’s a movement afoot to institute a sustainable palm oil certification, which you could start seeing on food and other products early this year. So read labels! If the item uses palm oil or hearts of palm and you can’t tell if it’s from a sustainable source, write the company and ask.