LAist: So What CAN We Eat?

erineatwell

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:31:08 -0800

Thanks for mentioning the Eat Well Guide! Check out our new and improved site where you can sign up to stay updated, search for local events, or read up on our latest endeavor - the Green Fork (blog.eatwellguide.org). Stay tuned for the launch of our travel tool, an interactive feature that will allow users to map out their route and find local, sustainable food along the way.

v mack

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:44:14 -0800

To expand on what jeffro said, gelatin and caesin are also very common in winemaking. It is not just grapes, folks!

samkim

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:06:46 -0800

for those who can't eat beef/meat only once a week, consider cutting it down one time LESS a week. and then one time less again...until it's no more than 1-3 times it's hard, i know, but you can do it!

jeffro

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:18:33 -0800

Really good post, Carrie. It should be said that not all beer is vegan. Many are processed with isinglass (a fish by-product) or bone-derived charcoal filters, etc... You can google Vegan Beer and find lists of which are and aren't vegan-approved. Same goes for wine and liquor. Vegan White Russians rock, by the way. Score one for soy milk. There are vegetable/grocery delivery companies like Spud that focus on locally grown/produced products. Spud even calculates how far your food had to travel to get to you and compares it to the average distance typical grocery store products travel. As much as I love TJ's you have to consider that they source their products from all over the world to drive their prices lower but without regard to carbon footprint. mmmm, it's almost beer-o'clock now!

jrb

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:12:06 -0800

http://www.grandcentralsquare.com/ My fav place for produce downtown is Grand Central Market. There are usually a dozen or more produce vendors all scrapping for your biz. I get a week's worth of good produce there for about $5-$7. There are also tons of places with things like dried fruits, nuts, dried peppers, and all kinds of exotic stuff to experiment in the kitchen with. When I'm done shopping there I go to Ralphs for my bagles, lox, and buffalo meat.

danwuh

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:38:30 -0800

I would say than in my limited experience, the food remains expensive till about 12:50 and then they start clearing out at the Studio City FM. If you can bring yourself to brave the Traders in Sherman O aks on Riverside/Hazeltine then hit up the Farm Boy. These guys are AWESOME and have a monster frozen yoghurt machine down the back to soothe the nerves of any TJ parking lot issues you may have had. Great article, thoroughly enjoyed the read. Thanks.

torrmoz

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:15:56 -0800

"biofuels are not the answer. In fact, biofuels are a total joke" Biofuels, coupled with strong efficiency and growth policies, can actually help reduce hunger and poverty, while also reducing the need for oil. The greatest potential comes from technologies that produce alcohol fuels from cellulose, which unlike corn ethanol, also uses the stalks, hulls and other material that make up the plants. Increased investment in agricultural production has the potential to boost incomes of the world's poorest people. "And why are the Haitians eating mud pies? Because they can't afford corn or grain." World hunger is not the result of absolute food scarcity. It has more to do with inadequate distribution and income. 40% of global cereal crops are used to feed livestock. ========= "Shop at your farmer's market. It's cheap, it's fun, and it's easy." It might be fun and easy, but it's not necessarily cheap. Fruits and vegetables at the Studio City farmers market cost a hell of a lot more than they do at the Vons or Trader Joes right around the corner.

pmh

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:10:20 -0800

I drive a car that I run on non-joke biodiesel. I've thought a lot about the issue, as your typical biodiesel user will, and keep reexamining issues as more info comes to light, including the onslaught of info that has come out during the developing food crisis. I've been doing this a lot as biofuels get slammed in the press. After all, I can always switch back to good old fashioned fossil fuel, if it turns out to be the lesser of two evils. But biodiesel still comes out as a better option, even under current conditions and despite all the insults hurled at biofuels across the board. The biodiesel available here in LA, like most of the US, is derived from soy oil or waste material. Soy meal is used for food, and the byproduct of that process, soy oil, is what is used as fuel. Current use of soy biodiesel hasn't caused any conversion of wild habitat to farmland, and hasn't caused any increase in price of soy meal for food. At least for now, biodiesel is far more environmentally friendly and humanitarian than my other fuel option, fossil fuel. If that changes, or if affordable technology develops, I'll switch in a heartbeat. That being said, I ride the bus most days into work to avoid using the car at all. I also walk to the grocery store. I agree that reducing use over all is best. You can find more info on biodiesel here http://labiodieselcoop.org/?q=faqs

jrb

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:07:21 -0800

"What are your tips and tricks for eating greener?" Ralph's has 1lb. packages of ground Bison meat. It is a bit more expensive. It is grass fed, (says so right on the package). It is very low in fat. I grill it up on a Foreman, and get almost no grease drippings. It's yummy too. I agree for the most part about biofuels, but I would make an exception for waste fryer oil. This is an untapped resource that many resturants illegally throw down the drain rather than pay to have it hauled away. If more cars used it there would be a demand for it, and that would give resturants an encentive to store it and sell it. Waste fryer oil diesel burns 85% cleaner than petroleum diesel. They should be using it at the LB and LA ports. Good post Carrie!