Food and Agriculture | Mary Catherine O'Connor

Guardian: Only 14% of plastics are recycled – can tech innovation tackle the rest?

February 22, 2017 by mcoc

The world recycles just 14% of the plastic packaging it uses. Even worse: 8m tons of plastic, much of it packaging, ends up in the oceans each year, where sea life and birds die from eating it or getting entangled in it. Some of the plastics will also bind with industrial chemicals that have polluted […]

Categories: Energy, Food and Agriculture, Lifecycle, Oceans, Technology • Tags: Agylix, biocellection, Cadel Deinking, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, hdpe, ldpe, plastic, plastics recycling, recycling

Home at Last: The Kashia Band of Pomo Indians Returns to the California Coast

December 15, 2016 by mcoc

Partnering with local agencies, The Trust for Public Land devised a plan that would return the land to the Kashia while allowing for an addition to the California Coast Trail. Land+People (The Trust for Public Land’s magazine: Go to Page 30) “Close your eyes,” instructs Reno Franklin. Chairman of the Kashia band of Pomo Indians, Franklin […]

Categories: Climate Change, Food and Agriculture, Oceans, Policy, Recreation, Wilderness • Tags: Kashia band of Pomo Indians, Kashia Coastal Reserve, Reno Franklin, Trust for Public Land

Guardian: The Latest Weapon in the Fight Against Illegal Fishing? Artificial Intelligence.

November 20, 2016 by mcoc

A $150,000 reward is up for grabs for any data scientist who can write code for facial recognition software that can pinpoint illegal catch on fishing boats. The Guardian Facial recognition software is most commonly known as a tool to help police identify a suspected criminal by using machine learning algorithms to analyze his or […]

Categories: Climate Change, Food and Agriculture, Oceans, Policy, Technology • Tags: artificial intelligence, facial recognition software, illegal fishing, kaggle, silicon valley, the nature conservancy

Guardian: My (Imagined) Trip Off the Meatless Wagon

October 23, 2016 by mcoc

The Impossible Burger is making a big impression on foodies, chefs and vegetarians, but can it find its way onto the McDonald’s menu? The Guardian I hold the burger with both hands and bring it, somewhat trepidatiously, to my mouth. I commit myself to at least one bite. As I close my eyes and chew, […]

Categories: Climate Change, Energy, Food and Agriculture, Technology • Tags: Chris Cosentino, David Chang, impossible burger, impossible foods, Pat Brown, Tal Ronnen, Traci Des Jardins

Pacific Standard: The Pleasures — and Ecological Benefits — of River Snorkeling

June 14, 2016 by mcoc

In praise of river snorkeling, a pastime for fish obsessives that also reminds riparian activists what they’re protecting. Pacific Standard I’m like the reverse of a fish out of water — a floundering human in water, I think to myself and let out a nervous chuckle. This breaks the seal my mouth has formed around the snorkel’s […]

Categories: Action Sports, Climate Change, Food and Agriculture, Oceans, Policy, Recreation, Wilderness • Tags: Columbia River, Matt Collins, Native Fish Society, pacific northwest, Pacific Standard, riparian, river snorkeling, Russ Ricketts, salmon native, Tellico River, Wenatchee River

Mary Catherine O'Connor

Independent Journalist

Category Archives: Food and Agriculture

Guardian: Only 14% of plastics are recycled – can tech innovation tackle the rest?

Home at Last: The Kashia Band of Pomo Indians Returns to the California Coast

Guardian: The Latest Weapon in the Fight Against Illegal Fishing? Artificial Intelligence.

Guardian: My (Imagined) Trip Off the Meatless Wagon

Pacific Standard: The Pleasures — and Ecological Benefits — of River Snorkeling