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By Laura Stec
E-mail Laura Stec
About this blog: I've been attracted to food for good and bad reasons for many years. From eating disorder to east coast culinary school, food has been my passion, profession & nemesis. I've been a sugar addict, a 17-year vegetarian, a food and en...
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About this blog: I've been attracted to food for good and bad reasons for many years. From eating disorder to east coast culinary school, food has been my passion, profession & nemesis. I've been a sugar addict, a 17-year vegetarian, a food and environment pioneer, macrobiotic, Master Cleanser, ayurvedic, and officially-designated health-nut or party-girl (depending on the year). Professionally, I've worn many industry hats including: line cook, corporate chef, Food Coach, caterer, product developer, restaurant reviewer, culinary school teacher, corporate wellness educator, food co-op clerk, author, and even Cirque-du-Soleil lead popcorn concessioner! For years I managed an outdoor kitchen, deep in the bear-infested woods of Tahoe, and also for hospitals (the most unhealthy kitchen I ever worked in?), Singapore high-rises, mule-pack trips, Canadian catholic rectories, and more events than I could ever recall. Yet I still keep discovering. Actually, I adapt everyday by new lessons learned from teachers, customers and students. However there is one food truth I now hold sacrosanct: Eaters are motivated by pleasure. So no matter what we discuss here - recipes or restaurants, food politics or pairings, local events, food as art, or even as God, I will always come from a high-vibe, party perspective. Oh I do still long to change the world with great tasting food, but know in my heart, "If it ain't fun, it don't get done!" So - wanna come to the Food Party? By the way - it's a potluck.
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Our Water Guzzling Food Factory
Uploaded: Jul 16, 2015
All the media about almonds lately got me feeling guilty and adjusting recipes to replace those thirsty little devils with other options like sesame and sun seeds.
Feeling guilty, that is, until I read how much water other foods take to produce:
One almond: 1 gallon
One walnut: 2 gallons
A head of lettuce: 12 gallons
One mandarin orange: 14 gallons
A bunch of grapes: 24 gallons
A shower: 25 gallons
A single washing machine load: 35 gallons
One egg: 53 gallons
One beef patty: 450 gallons
A pound of chicken: 468 gallons
A gallon of milk: 880 gallons
A pound of beef: 1,800 gallons
*
Animal products consume the most water because we first need to grow grain or hay to feed the animals.
If you're interested in learning more about where the water in Palo Alto comes from, read
Veronica Weber's article in the Palo Alto Weekly. She tracks how it travels 167 miles through a 92-year old system that provides 2.4 million Bay Area residents with most of their drinking water. The paper prints a great picture of the route from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir to here, but I can't find the same graphic online.
I wonder where the water from Menlo Park and Mountain View comes from?
* Source: "Our Water-Guzzling Food Factory" by Nicholas Kristof, NYTimes.com, May 30, 2015
On another note - (macrobiotic) Summer Camp was wild this year - but we survived! For pictures of camp, the outdoor kitchen, the pickle class, and the bear visit
click here.
Democracy.
What is it worth to you?
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