Went to see The End of the Line over the weekend. Although it is an eco-propaganda movie, it's actually pretty good – it presents a lot of scary information but doesn't beat you over the head too much – and there's the compensation of lots of stunning underwater fish footage.
I have been trying to avoid fish & chips, but after a long day dinner tonight ended up coming from the Aro Valley fish & chip shop. I asked them what kind of fish they use: it's warehou, all three species of which (blue, silver and white warehou) are better to avoid.
Next time I'll ask for the tarakihi option, which is a wee bit better.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Want to save the world? Take a kid into the wild.
In my random and slightly omnivorous reading, I came across something interesting yesterday:
"Tanner (1980), in his work on significant life experiences and environmental values of dedicated, environmentally aware and actively committed individuals concluded that childhood experiences in natural areas were key in shaping and developing these interests."
Tanner, T. (1980). Significant life experiences. The Journal of Environmental Education, 11(4), 20-24.
(The quote is from Barker, S. Ecological education: Reconnecting with nature to promote sustainable behaviour. In D. Zandvliet & D. Fisher (Eds.), Sustainable communities, sustainable environments: The contribution of science and technology education. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
And here's some follow-up on practical ways to do it:
Special places for young children
"Tanner (1980), in his work on significant life experiences and environmental values of dedicated, environmentally aware and actively committed individuals concluded that childhood experiences in natural areas were key in shaping and developing these interests."
Tanner, T. (1980). Significant life experiences. The Journal of Environmental Education, 11(4), 20-24.
(The quote is from Barker, S. Ecological education: Reconnecting with nature to promote sustainable behaviour. In D. Zandvliet & D. Fisher (Eds.), Sustainable communities, sustainable environments: The contribution of science and technology education. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
And here's some follow-up on practical ways to do it:
Special places for young children
Saturday, March 20, 2010
DIY Peanut butter
Another idea that *might* be a plastic-reduction exercise or might just be a fun try-making-it-for-yourself project — DIY peanut butter.
Super easy: I just get a bag of salted, roasted peanuts (sold as snack food in supermarkets), throw it in the food processor and drizzle in some vegetable oil as it runs. Once it's reached the texture you like, it's done.
I could go really hard-core and try and source peanuts that aren't packaged in plastic, but I figure a flimsy little plastic bag is still way less plastic than a whole jar + lid.
A $3.89 400g value pack of roasted peanuts makes a 400g jar of peanut butter - that's about the same price as the cheap made-in-China stuff.
Super easy: I just get a bag of salted, roasted peanuts (sold as snack food in supermarkets), throw it in the food processor and drizzle in some vegetable oil as it runs. Once it's reached the texture you like, it's done.
I could go really hard-core and try and source peanuts that aren't packaged in plastic, but I figure a flimsy little plastic bag is still way less plastic than a whole jar + lid.
A $3.89 400g value pack of roasted peanuts makes a 400g jar of peanut butter - that's about the same price as the cheap made-in-China stuff.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Beach clean-up
It was great to see forty or fifty people out on the Cobham Drive coast yesterday, picking up rubbish for the Forest & Bird Seaweek beach clean-up. Older people, younger people, kids—all pitching in.
There was a heap of rubbish wedged among the rocks. Plastic drink bottles galore.
At least 10 rubbish sacks were filled in the couple of hours I was there.
Most interesting find: Barbie's shoe
Most ironic find: a tie between an "NZ Natural" plastic water bottle and a plastic city council rubbish bag
There was a heap of rubbish wedged among the rocks. Plastic drink bottles galore.
At least 10 rubbish sacks were filled in the couple of hours I was there.
Most interesting find: Barbie's shoe
Most ironic find: a tie between an "NZ Natural" plastic water bottle and a plastic city council rubbish bag
Friday, March 12, 2010
Sealord comes through with the info
I managed to get hold of Sealord today.
Having finally got through to Hannah, she was pleasant and helpful and told me what I wanted to know (and apologised, saying she hadn't got the message to call me back earlier).
She tells me that the Sealord tuna fishing method is purse seine - so I've updated the canned tuna post.
She also said the tuna are caught in the Western Pacific and processed near Thailand, and that Sealord are reducing their catch of the less plentiful yellowfin tuna in favour of skipjack tuna.
Having finally got through to Hannah, she was pleasant and helpful and told me what I wanted to know (and apologised, saying she hadn't got the message to call me back earlier).
She tells me that the Sealord tuna fishing method is purse seine - so I've updated the canned tuna post.
She also said the tuna are caught in the Western Pacific and processed near Thailand, and that Sealord are reducing their catch of the less plentiful yellowfin tuna in favour of skipjack tuna.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Sealord
On the last Thursday or Friday of March (25th or 26th) I called Sealord to ask them how their canned skipjack tuna is caught.
They, of course, weren't able to tell me, but said that if I give them my details "Hannah can call you back with that information."
So I politely give them my name and phone number. Have I heard back? No.
Last week I tried to call them a couple more times, both times got a recorded "we're not available right now"-type message.
So, Sealord, what's up with this? Why so cagey?
They, of course, weren't able to tell me, but said that if I give them my details "Hannah can call you back with that information."
So I politely give them my name and phone number. Have I heard back? No.
Last week I tried to call them a couple more times, both times got a recorded "we're not available right now"-type message.
So, Sealord, what's up with this? Why so cagey?
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Seaweek: canned tuna
This week is Seaweek. So, a few fishy posts.
I've been trying to figure out if there are any canned tuna products I feel happy buying.
Background:
The Greenpeace fish red list and Forest & Bird Best Fish Guide both highlight tuna as fish to avoid eating because of low numbers.
When you look at the details, some species of tuna (bluefin, yellowfin, bigeye and others) are worse off, while skipjack tuna are more plentiful. But it depends on how they are caught.
Greenpeace's While Stocks Last report says:
"Anyone buying tuna should select skipjack tuna, but make sure it is either from the New Zealand fisheries (where the cooler waters avoid the bycatch of other tuna species) or from Pacific catches that use trolling or pole and line. Skipjack from
the Pacific purse seine fisheries, particularly those using fish aggregation devices (FADs) should be avoided because of large catches of juvenile bigeye and yellowfin that school together with skipjack."
Albacore tuna are not as good as skipjack, but more plentiful than some of the other tuna species.
With this criteria in mind, I've been checking out the canned tuna in the supermarket:
Ocean Pure - White albacore - location of fishing not explicit (assume NZ?) - hook and line caught (dolphin-friendly) - canned in Blenheim
Factsheet from Natural and Organic Imports
They don't yet have a website up at www.oceanpure.com
Talleys - White albacore - NZ-caught - fishing method not stated ('dolphin-friendly')- appears to be packed in Vietnam
http://www.talleys.co.nz/seafood.htm
Greenseas - Skipjack - Western Pacific Ocean - purse seine caught
http://www.greenseas.com.au/environment.asp
Sealord - Skipjack - Western Pacifc Ocean, Indian Ocean - purse seine caught
http://www.sealord.biz/faq.asp?id=147
Not enough information:
ChopChop! Tuna - Davies Foods - species, source, fishing method unstated - manufactured in Thailand.
http://www.daviesfoods.co.nz/Chop-Chop-Tuna.html
Trident - I haven't found any info to date.
Nothing seems perfect. Ocean Pure might be the best option of this lot, but for now I'm going to keep on avoiding buying canned tuna.
NB I've found it hard to find out adequate information. As a general note, Te Ara/The Encyclopedia of New Zealand says "Most canned tuna in New Zealand is imported skipjack or yellow tuna."
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/oceanic-fish/2/1
I've been trying to figure out if there are any canned tuna products I feel happy buying.
Background:
The Greenpeace fish red list and Forest & Bird Best Fish Guide both highlight tuna as fish to avoid eating because of low numbers.
When you look at the details, some species of tuna (bluefin, yellowfin, bigeye and others) are worse off, while skipjack tuna are more plentiful. But it depends on how they are caught.
Greenpeace's While Stocks Last report says:
"Anyone buying tuna should select skipjack tuna, but make sure it is either from the New Zealand fisheries (where the cooler waters avoid the bycatch of other tuna species) or from Pacific catches that use trolling or pole and line. Skipjack from
the Pacific purse seine fisheries, particularly those using fish aggregation devices (FADs) should be avoided because of large catches of juvenile bigeye and yellowfin that school together with skipjack."
Albacore tuna are not as good as skipjack, but more plentiful than some of the other tuna species.
With this criteria in mind, I've been checking out the canned tuna in the supermarket:
Ocean Pure - White albacore - location of fishing not explicit (assume NZ?) - hook and line caught (dolphin-friendly) - canned in Blenheim
Factsheet from Natural and Organic Imports
They don't yet have a website up at www.oceanpure.com
Talleys - White albacore - NZ-caught - fishing method not stated ('dolphin-friendly')- appears to be packed in Vietnam
http://www.talleys.co.nz/seafood.htm
Greenseas - Skipjack - Western Pacific Ocean - purse seine caught
http://www.greenseas.com.au/environment.asp
Sealord - Skipjack - Western Pacifc Ocean, Indian Ocean - purse seine caught
http://www.sealord.biz/faq.asp?id=147
Not enough information:
ChopChop! Tuna - Davies Foods - species, source, fishing method unstated - manufactured in Thailand.
http://www.daviesfoods.co.nz/Chop-Chop-Tuna.html
Trident - I haven't found any info to date.
Nothing seems perfect. Ocean Pure might be the best option of this lot, but for now I'm going to keep on avoiding buying canned tuna.
NB I've found it hard to find out adequate information. As a general note, Te Ara/The Encyclopedia of New Zealand says "Most canned tuna in New Zealand is imported skipjack or yellow tuna."
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/oceanic-fish/2/1
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