October 25, 2001
9:05 AM   Subscribe

We have repeatedly talked about genetically modified food as a solution to world hunger. However, I think that, as smart as human beings are, we are no match for nature's intelligence. Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives helps communities use closed-loop processes to increase yield by applying the formula "waste=food". It is especially useful for resource intensive processes such as brewing, where water and organic byproducts that would normally be discarded are used to grow mushrooms and feed fish.
posted by Avogadro (11 comments total)
 
Grow straw, burn straw, fertilize field with ash from straw. Repeat. The Elean Power Station is bringing us into the straw age.
posted by iceberg273 at 9:17 AM on October 25, 2001


An excellent complement to continuing research and production of GM food. Too often do people on both sides of the issue seem to think that the entire process is an either/or proposition. Though I am a strong proponent of bioresearch and GM food production, I think research into closed loops not only will serve as the second prong of a dual approach to food production and waste reduction, but have far-reaching aspects into other areas, such as space travel/colonization and landfill scarcity.

And as an amateur brewer, the brewery aspect is just too cool. I currently use my spent grain and waste liquid to fertilize the lawn (boy does it need it), but if I could get a catfish or two out of the deal, that'd be awesome.
posted by UncleFes at 9:19 AM on October 25, 2001


Brewing, of course, seems suited to a closed-loop process, but some other industries are working towards that goal. The textbook case is Interface, one of America's largest manufacturers of commercial carpet. The CEO's motivations seem like a weird combination of business savvy and hippy-dippy rambling, but the idea -- dramatically reduce waste both by using recycled plastic in the original manufacture and by actually reclaiming and recycling worn carpet -- is intriguing. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out in the marketplace over the next ten to fifteen years.
posted by snarkout at 9:23 AM on October 25, 2001


Just as an anecdotal datapoint, there is a local microbrew (Berkshire Brewing Company) that sells its used mash to farmers for fertilizer and/or feed.
posted by plinth at 9:45 AM on October 25, 2001


ZERI reminds me of the clean revolution and natural capitalism "movements." it's nice to see them making strides. what's cool i think is the movement has its greatest concentration in the developing world and innovations made there are beginning to be replicated in more developed countries.

as for GM foods, it's nice to see lessons from the green revolution being taken to heart in sustainable farming, where technique is just as important as technology.
posted by kliuless at 11:01 AM on October 25, 2001


> Brewing, of course, seems suited to a closed-loop
> process,

Soylent Green is People.
posted by jfuller at 11:39 AM on October 25, 2001


Too often do people on both sides of the issue seem to think that the entire process is an either/or proposition.

This is a good point, although being on the closed-loop side of the fence, it seems that much more attention and resources are focused towards technological solutions than to traditional, natural methods. Perhaps this is because those who want to make money through increased yield can do so more easily using proprietary methods rather than advocate ideas that cannot be sold.

But Fes, I do wholeheartedly agree with your statement that colonization and landfill-abatement would benefit greatly from this process. To take snarkout's example of Interface, much of the carpet that is thrown away is perfectly good, save for the fact that it is attached to parts of the carpet that are highly-trafficked, thus making the whole thing unattractive.

...there is a local microbrew (Berkshire Brewing Company) that sells its used mash to farmers for fertilizer and/or feed.

One problem with this (though it is much better than tossing the grain) is that spent grain makes livestock, um... gassy. However, you could continue to close the loop by harvesting the additional methane. ;-)
posted by Avogadro at 12:15 PM on October 25, 2001


Alcohol for fuel uses more energy than is in the alcohol. Do you know how much methane a gassy cow can gas when a cow is made gassy? Are there any bovine gas-enhancing feeds which should be added to the feed? Have a little math?
posted by SEWilco at 12:37 PM on October 25, 2001


Perhaps this is because those who want to make money through increased yield can do so more easily using proprietary methods rather than advocate ideas that cannot be sold

Could be also that the Greens are increasingly too vested in the "corporation = evil" philosophy to realize that potential for profit is the primary impetus behind innovation. That is not a troll, just an observation. My thought is that the Green movement would do well to inculcate some of the more successful methodolgies of the corporations they frequently find themselves opposing. Without going into a windy critique of Green philosophy, I feel that finding a way to make environmentalism pay would go a long way toward overcoming the enmity of business concerns.

thus making the whole thing unattractive

In a consumer culture, the backing behind that statement throws a lot of light. Attractiveness is a normative good in our society, and imo there is a huge opportunity for capitalization on the unattractive detritus of our manufacturing. Example: harvesting old computer technology for its internal raw materials, or simply reselling it en masse to consumers in regions where technology is more rare. Both are ways where environmentally-sound thinking is coupled with business acumen to produce profit.

But as far as ZERI applications go, it seems Green thinking is moving more toward a more capitalist ideal (which is a good thing, I think). Better yet, it makes OBVIOUS sense, which goes a long way toward convincing the great unwashed that Enviros aren't all completely in the hippy-dippy department.
posted by UncleFes at 12:57 PM on October 25, 2001


Would using bone and meat meal from rendered carcasses as stockfeed count?

;-)
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 2:13 PM on October 25, 2001


I think one of the things I most like about this sort thing is that it touches on big cultural concepts that I think the West has sort of gone astray on, like 'what is waste'. One of the ZERI links mentions Gaviotas; in his book on the place, Alan Weisman talks about how the people there started these incredibly profilic pine forests, in the savanna, without fertilizer or insectisides by allowing a (erm) non-monoculture (ie, the underbrush) to thrive. Similarly, Marvin Harris' first chapter in Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches talks about the role of cows in India, how their sacredness makes sense for the culture, before the introduction of Western farming methods. Stuff like this is everywhere (like shade-grown coffee, and sometimes it seems like it ought to just be a matter of going back and figuring out where we went wrong and why it happened.

Ooh, here's my pie. ;)
posted by claxton6 at 10:23 AM on October 26, 2001


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