eating less meat

 

i was feeling pretty bleak about the state of the world yesterday and what we can do as individuals to affect change. whenever i feel that way, i watch some TED talks and it usually makes me feel better. and while i realize that in posting this video here, i'm preaching to the converted, i wanted to share it anyway. i think the biggest surprise in it for me was that we should only be eating half a pound (250grams) of meat per week (if we're not going wholly vegetarian) and instead, many of us eat that per day!  i know that at our house we've cut back significantly...for example, making a roast chicken stretch over 3-4 meals - from the initial roast to boiling the carcass for broth to use in soups or risottos to using the leftovers in salads and sandwiches and perhaps also a risotto. but i'll also admit we're not there yet. we're definitely going to make this half pound/250 grams of meat a week a goal around here.

Sharing on different levels

Recently I found an article called The Gen Y Guide to Collaborative Consumption, with tons of links, over at the Shareable Network. While reading the article and following all kinds of links I ended up with another TedTalks. This time it was the message of Rachel Botsman that got my attention. Now Rachel has her own site with even more links so before I get drowned in another adventure with a surplus of links I thought I'd better share my start with you. 

Enjoy!!!!

Elizabeth

collaborative consumption

rachel botsman's TED talk on collaborative consumption. i find her a tad optimistic and many of the things she's talking about are only possible in cities - but since the bulk of the world lives in or is moving towards living in cities, it's undoubtedly a good thing.

i haven't participated in any trade schemes, but we do use the local version of craig's list (den blå avis) all the time to find things we need - from old windows to machinery to tools to wood to bunnies. husband even found that house that he tore down for materials on den blå avis. we've developed a habit of looking there first, before buying new.

what do you do to consume collaboratively?

thoughts on sustainability

should we be talking about resilience instead of sustainability?  and it's interesting that he mentions a lot of the things we've already talked about...especially with regard to food. but somehow, it also seems to be a loose collection of things and not a concrete answer to the transition to a world without oil. not that i think there's a concrete answer, but it would be reassuring, wouldn't it?  but maybe what it takes is all of us doing some small, but smart part. i guess that's my hope.

Tedtalks crush

 

Photo: Green Talk 

Julie and I both have a mild crush on TedTalks and one of our recent finds is a talk of Dan Phillips. Although I might never build my own house, he gives enough to think off when it comes to re-cycling, the appollonian and the dionysium perspective and plenty of examples to make listening worthwhile

Photo courtesy of The Phoenix Commotion

Elizabeth