May 17 - Dandelion Futures Up

We've heard a lot 'about trade with China'.  I realize I don't know anything other than the headlines.  In the China news was the death of I M Pei, the designer of the glass pyramid at the Louvre.  He was 102 years old.  The BBC article shows his most famous work HERE.  He was immensely prolific, and known for many works in the US and around the world. While he was a resident of the U.S., China celebrated his legacy there.  Some of his work, like the glass pyramid at the Louvre, had negative reactions initially.  That was the case of the Bank of China Tower - it is now described as the world's best bank building. Look at the field of gold in front of the expansive orchards of Cherry Lane on Victoria Street in Vineland.  It is one of the few streets that trucks can take to get over the escarpment.

Chicken on Tap

Do you remember it was just last week and food would be scarce by 2050?  This week I saw a story on PBS about cultured meat.  This is synthetic meat that is produced by in vitro cultivation of animal cells instead of from slaughtered animals. I turned to Wikipedia and found out that the formal name for this is cellular agriculture. And there is a lot happening right now in this area.  New Harvest is the world's first non-profit organization dedicated to supporting in vitro meat research. Jason Matheny authorized a seminal paper in the early 2000s and progress has been made ever since. Dr. Mark Post produced the first cultured beef burger patty that was eaten at a demonstration for the press in London in 2013. How much did it cost the burger to be made in 2013 and how long did it take to produce it?  $300,000 and 2 years. Now skip forward to February 2017.  How much did it cost to make?  $11.36. Are you curious about what the experience was to eat it?  I certainly am. Here is critic Hanni Rutzler's experience in 2013: "There is really a bite to it, there is quite some flavour with the browning. I know there is no fat in it so I didn't really know how juicy it would be, but there is quite some intense taste; it's close to meat, it's not that juicy, but the consistency is perfect. This is meat to me... It's really something to bite on and I think the look is quite similar." Both fat and muscle cells are now produced, giving a closer result, and the prediction is that 'test tube burgers' could be on sale by the end of this year - 2018.  That would be in time for Christmas dinner, or perhaps celebrating 2019 with a 'clean meat' start on New Year's Day. Here's the conclusion of a recent article at Fast Company HERE.  “That’s not to say that there are not going to be specialty restaurants producing meat traditionally–more expensive restaurants–but I think the burgers that we’re going to put on the grill, and the chicken nuggets that we’re going to eat at McDonald’s, and the barbecued chicken that we’re going to eat in Chipotle is mainly going to be cultured meat decades from now,” he says. Our picture today shows the Third Street Overholt orchard.  It has been demolished.  The same has occurred along a section of Victoria Ave in Vineland at the Cherry Lane orchard. They are planting new trees.  The Cherry Lane orchard across from the United Mennonite Home on Twenty-Third Street has also been demolished.  It is sorry to see the ancient, gnarled trunks disappear, though.  They do make great pictures in the spring with their wonderful blossoms.

Bees Come Down

I spotted the first blossom trees in Niagara.  But I have to admit I don't know what kind of blossoms they are.  I am thinking apricots.  I remember in 2012 when we had the mildest of winters, Ii saw apricots blossoms in March, and then there was cold weather so the crop didn't develop. I saw these trees across from the United Mennonite Home in Vineland. I went to Cherry Lane on Victoria Street, to see if there was anything blooming there.  Cherry Lane has quite a distinction.  This is a family where the tenth generation is farming.  But that isn't their fame.  What distinguishes their family is the development of the first red peach - Red Haven.  It's the best known one now. They also have a major processing and cherry brining facility. There's an overview of Niagara fruit growers here. Vineyards are showing the pink but at the ground level - this second picture is at Jordan Station. I think the flowers are a wild/weedy form of lamium.  I have a bit in my garden too. And I checked out my favourite weeping cherry tree on Niagara Street (across from Laura Secord High School) in St. Catharines, and the blossoms are showing pink. Have a Happy Easter and Passover Celebration.