Feb

6

What can humans destroy next?   (click here to read full post)
What can humans destroy next? There are more than 5 billion humans that live on the earth today. Humans believe that the environment is here for them to use. Let me let you in on a little secret...Man is not alone, we share this earth with 80 million other species and the relationship between these species and man is a complex web of interaction. From the earliest times, frogs have been used as food.  Have you ever eaten frog legs?  I have, not bad. In fact,Yum!  However there is a problem with this delicious creature. Through the years man has tried to raise frogs for market, but most frogs eaten today are taken from their natural habitats and this is the problem. How much can the human species indulge on these creatures? Studies have shown that there are up to 1 billion frogs eaten each year.  According to studies done by a global team of researchers that 1 billion frogs is the equivalent to about 11,000 tons of frog meat. The largest user of frog meat is France with the United States being a close second. Why? Haven’t humans learned from their mistakes? Can’t they take a lesson from what happened with the world’s marine fisheries? We are making frogs endangered just like some of or most prized fish.Today at least 30 percent of amphibians are threatened with extinction and frogs are coming close to being on that list.  Why should we care?  Frogs are important for many reasons.  They control bugs not only in swamps but in woods, farms and gardens.Several species have been introduced to different parts of the world just for this purpose. Frogs help keep the ecosystem in balance. Frogs are also an indicator species. This means that if the air, water, or food source in a frog's environment is polluted, the frogs will have symptoms, including being prone to diseases and abnormalities in offspring that let people know that something is wrong.  Not to mention frogs and toads are also important to research laboratories because their skeletal, muscular, digestive, nervous, and other systems are much like those of higher animals.  I don’t know about you, but I believe we need to take a stand. We need to learn self restraint as an entire race. Enjoy good food, but do it in an educated way. Find out how much we can actually afford to eat before we do any more damage to this world.

Jan

27

Celebrities?   (click here to read full post)
We live in a cynical world. A world where  people tend to only care about themselves. This is found true especially when it comes to celebrities. Most celebrities think they are above all, they feel that they don’t need to socialize with the common people or their fans. I also have been referred to as a celebrity chef. Why, because I am a good cook or because I have been featured on television or in magazines? Celebrity... A term which I hate to use. I am just like everyone else and celebrities are just like you, we are all people.  I had the privilege of spending last weekend at the Cayman Cookout in the Grand Cayman. A culinary event held by Eric Ripert.  It was a fantastic event, the warm sun, great food, a lot of Rum and informative demonstrations from some of the best chefs in the country. With all that was said, the best thing that I took away from this event was friendship. I met a few wonderful people, Gary, Lizy, Sally, Jody, and Argenis, all people whom I now consider friends. However, the person, the friend, who left the biggest impression on me was Ingrid Hoffmann. Having 2 world class cooking shows, one on the Food Network ( Simply Delicioso ) and the other on Gala vision ( Delicioso ), Ingrid is one of the most down to earth people I have had the pleasure to meet. She was outgoing to everyone who approached her. She was funny, generous and simply a delight to spend time with. I would just like to hope that all people, especially celebrities,  learn from her example. No matter how popular, how wealthy, or how famous a person gets, you never forget who you are.    ~ Ciao