Scientific Studies at Culinary School

The Hudson River During The Winter... Crazy Glacier-Like Ice Patches! 




So, today was my last day of science class! We moved on from chemistry (thank god) to biology, a subject I can personally relate to more. Yes, we study these things at culinary school =)

Anyway, I found out a few interesting facts in class today that I'd like to share with you, some even involving food and consequences if we aren't careful with our environment:

1) Did you know that broccoli is usually packaged on ice and shipped this way? That's because if you ever cut broccoli and leave it out for a while, it is prone to growing harmful bacteria... So keep this in mind foodies!

2) Sustainability is so controversial and judged lately in the food industry. Simply, the definition is:

"Sustainability is based on a simple principle: Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment.  Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations. Sustainability is important to making sure that we have and will continue to have,  the water, materials, and resources to protect human health and our environment" (US EPA Sustainability Website)

    I recently became a Zumba instructor, and although this may not seem to connect to sustainability in any way, my teacher taught me that if I ever teach a "Zumba" class, I better keep to the standards. Things are defined for a reason and if that definition is manipulated, that term is misused AND abused. The same goes for this phrase "sustainability." Make sure to understand this concept because many restaurants brand this word and have no idea what it means!!!

3) I'm not sure if you have experienced the change in weather folks, but I am currently living in The Hudson Valley area and it snowed last night after being 50-60F the other day... It's kind of bizarre, this whole winter up in New York has been all over the place. This may be telling us something... Don't worry I won't get into global warming, unless I want100+ comments on this blog (not a bad idea).....Just asking you all to be aware of these changes.

4) To relate to #3, let's just look at the ocean for a mere second. The acidity and pH is rising in these waters, dissolving the coral reefs. No wonder they aren't colorful anymore...

5) Were you also aware that the butterflies are become somewhat extinct because of this change in weather? Just saying. It's kind of crazy.

6) Okay, enough with weather talk. Now, you're probably thinking, "Giuli, none of this relates to food, what are you talking about this for?" Listen, our ecosystem has EVERYTHING to do with food! Water, air and sunlight produce what we eat (unless you're into the whole artificial, chemical colored foods out there... yuck). The most interesting fact that I learned at the end of class was this: The Hudson River is actually VERY clean! HAH! Really?! Yes, I'm serious. Don't be fooled by the off-grey color everyone, my Professor pointed out that the biomass is very high in the Hudson and that our school, the CIA, actually gets their water from there... A scary yet interesting thought if you ask me.

Please pass this blog link to your friends, family and foodies! People need to know this information and I am willing to share it with the world. Thanks for listening all!

-G