Mathias Gmachl's Page

The old adage, "we are what we eat," may be the latest recipe for success when it comes to curbing the perils of global climate warming. Despite the recent popular attention to the distance that food travels from farm to plate, a.k.a. "food miles," Carnegie Mellon researchers Christopher L. Weber and H. Scott Matthews argue in an upcoming article in the prestigious Environmental Science & Technology journal that it is dietary choice, not food miles, which most determines a household's food-r… Continue

The Belgian city of Ghent is about to become the first in the world to go vegetarian at least once a week. Starting this week there will be a regular weekly meatless day, in which civil servants and elected councillors will opt for vegetarian meals.

Ghent means to recognise the impact of livestock on the environment.

The UN says livestock is responsible for nearly one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, hence Ghent's declaration of a weekly "veggie day". Public officials and politicians… Continue

Some of the world's leading designers were challenged to define what "good design" means now in a debate at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos last week.

Alice Rawsthorn for IHT Published: January 30, 2009