Report on "Greening Retail"

There is a recent report on the green efforts of retailers such as Tesco, Wal-Mart, Woolworth and other global brands.  If doing research on green efforts in foodservice this research could be good as part of a literature review to establish benchmarks or best practice comparisons.  The report was produced by a sustainability expert Wendy Williams, and located on the blog for the National Retail Federation.  If you want a synopsis of the report based on an interview with Ms. Williams visit the blog:
http://blog.nrf.com/2009/11/04/sustainability-expert-wendy-evans-discusses-greening-retail/

To view a copy of the report visit:
http://www.greeningretail.ca/Research/1526-GreeningRetailSummary-Oct21_SM.pdf

Of course, the thing that bothers me the most is that unlike the retailers mentioned in the report, restaurants keep doing things like pumping packaging out the door that cannot be recycled or offer the customer an opportunity to purchase a reusable bag for their take out order.  Or, the bags are not offered for those who want to take home a doggie bag so that when the customer returns they can take their leftovers home in their own bag which cuts down a restaurant's costs on paper and plastics for those who cannot finish a meal that is three times the normal portion size.  Hell, I still get things to go in styrofoam containers!  But of course, these things do not come to mind in the foodservice industry especially when you have complete and utterly corrupt lobbyists like Rick Berman fighting to keep restaurants stuck in the past instead of running a modern day sustainable restaurant, let alone any, hospitality business.

Refreshing Indeed!

I am in the UK doing tourism research.  I always make it a habit of checking the local markets and the city market in Cardiff. It is refreshing to be in a culture that does not think beef and pork are only the tender and less tender muscle cuts.  A wander through the local market finds the beef monger displaying wares that include every single piece of an animal that can possibly be eaten like the brains, hearts, tongues, and more.  Seeing the whole pig in a display case from the tales to the head is also refreshing.

I have to ask those of us in culinary arts and hospitality education what we are doing to promote the muscle and offal of animals for public consumption, starting in the classroom and portrayed on the Food Network.  The complete and utter waste involved in growing and processing a living being and using a small percentage of the carcass is something we have to turn around.  We are a nation of immigrants who all used to eat every bit of an animal and now we eat so much less increasing the waste I just mentioned.

So please do your part to restore the virtues of home economics in our students and get them to cook and enjoy the whole animal.

By the way, I enjoyed my first taste of razor clams today.  What a treat and offered here in the fish market.

FELC Certification

Members can now enjoy the benefit of our online teaching certifcation, the Certified Food Service Educator (CFSE).  The purpose of the CFSE is to document teaching skills geared for the culinary arts and hospitality educator of secondary and post-secondary levels; and to give national recognition to the individual for that standing of excellence. It is desired for personal merit, peer recognition, and job classification and promotion. It is not designed to certify whether or not you are knowledgeable about the content area of the classes you teach. The CFSE is designed to certify that you have fundamental knowledge on how to improve the quality of your teaching and ultimately student learning.

Registration Information and all the information about the program are available in the Members Area of http://www.fooded.org/.  Other basic questions about the program itself can be directed to Chef Michael Carmel at mcarmel@fooded.org

I also wanted to let those who read the blog know that I will do my best to keep up but travelling off campus making presentations and continuing research on sustainable tourism.

Call for Proposals Deadline

The call for proposals and ultimate teaching competition draws near.  Be sure to get your submission in by November 1, so your efforts can be reviewed as either a refereed or non-refereed panel, roundtable, standup session, poster, or workshop.  The information on submitting proposals is found under the 2010 Summit tab.

I am off to the Professional Organization Network (POD) Conference in Houston for Wednesday through Friday.  I love going to POD; it is really comprised of those who are in the know on teaching and learning in higher education.  I am sure I will be treated to some insanely excellent sessions, like one I want to attend on Friday that dispels the myth of learning styles -- you know there is no evidence that this really works if adjust your teaching based on cogntive research.  I will share the highlights of the conference on the blog.  If not familiar with POD, check out: http://www.podnetwork.org/ that has the following mission: developing and supporting practitioners and leaders in higher education dedicated to enhancing learning and teaching.

National Coffee Association

For you coffee fans out there, here is a resource with lots of information about the National Coffee Association, that has the following mission statement: "We serve the public and our members by championing the well being of the coffee industry within the context of the global coffee community."

According to its website:
The National Coffee Association of USA was founded in 1911, one of the earliest trade associations formed in the United States and the first trade association for the U.S. coffee industry. Since that time, the NCA has helped American coffee companies through some of the most volatile periods in the nation's history, including two world wars, a depression, a cold war and numerous frosts, strikes and cartels, not to mention a wide range of consumer trends in the U.S. coffee market.

That success is based on the Association's ability to respond to external issues, wherever and whenever they arise. Whatever issue has impacted the coffee trade, the Association has represented the U.S. coffee industry before the legislative and executive branches of government, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Trade Representative's Office, U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Congressional committees. Equally prominent has been the profile of the NCA in the international arena, advancing the American coffee industry before international trading organizations and with more than 50 coffee producing nations as the national voice of the U.S. coffee industry.

This website could prove useful for students doing projects involving coffee.  The Members benefits could also be good for faculty doing research on coffee given the trend statistics in the coffee market that they capture.