Cuisine
- French cuisine is iconic, one of the biggest images which represent French culture. However, French cuisine hadn’t really started developing until after the French Revolution, because of accessibility of ingredients to the aristocrats versus to the common people was limited. Thus, “A Brief History of French Cuisine.”
https://www.ecpi.edu/blog/a-brief-history-of-french-cuisine - A clip from Anthony Bourdain’s experience with the chefs of Meilleure Ouvrierde France!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXK2AkDODBM - Anthony Bourdain spent an entire episode in Lyon, the gastronomic capital of France. He experiences traditional French foods and French culture to the maximum in this 42 minute episode.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x58d2c4 - Accounting for Taste PDF
Food waste policies
We previously read a chapter on how the French view their government. The actions of the government here, should these actions have been taken by the consumers themselves, or is the government responsible for this?
- Not only is France reducing commercial food waste, but it is attempting to change the habits of consumers as well.
http://blog.winnowsolutions.com/3-ways-france-is-leading-the-food-waste-agenda - CNN produced this short video clip on food waste in France, and how France is changing the game in reducing food waste and giving back to the community.
http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2016/03/11/france-food-waste-law-bittermann-pkg.cnn - The Guardian wrote an article on food waste in France as well, but with more details on the policies and consequences if food distributors fail to comply.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/04/french-law-forbids-food-waste-by-supermarkets - Fancy an ugly carrot? Intermarché, a grocery chain in France, launched a campaign in 2014 to raise awareness for food waste.
https://vimeo.com/98441820
Environment
- A general overview of French geography, climate, and regions.
http://uk.france.fr/en/about-france/geography-and-climate - Another overview, but more about policies and issues affecting the land.
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europe/France-ENVIRONMENT.html - Invasive species in France–toad legs, anyone?
https://www.thelocal.fr/20151207/ten-alien-species-france-needs-to-wipe-out
Environmental problems
Reading through the reviews and reports by the environmental agencies, what are the biggest concerns in France’s environment? What might you thought would be a concern but wasn’t? Any thoughts on environmental action that could be taken?
- Contemporary France pp 50-53 PDF
- European Environment Agency 2016
https://www.eea.europa.eu/soer-2015/countries/france - Environmental Performance Review 2016
https://www.oecd.org/environment/country-reviews/Highlights%20France%20ENGLISH%20WEB.pdf - In 2015, Paris topped the global charts for poor air quality. Now, the city is experiencing a lawsuit for failing to address air quality concerns.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40185217- This air quality index show the most recent measurement of air quality at stations all over the world. What is Paris’s number in comparison to Westminster’s? Your hometown? China?
http://aqicn.org/city/france/paris/paris-centre/
- This air quality index show the most recent measurement of air quality at stations all over the world. What is Paris’s number in comparison to Westminster’s? Your hometown? China?
- How has Paris tried to address this issue of poor air quality? One solution has been to introduce alternate driving days.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/07/paris-bans-cars-for-second-day-running-as-pollution-strikes - Not only air is polluted, but water is as well.
https://www.thelocal.fr/20140226/15-million-french - How to potentially improve the water quality? Paris is also trying to introduce these new, innovative, eco-friendly water taxis to reduce the amount of pollution in the water, as well as bring in more business.
http://www.cntraveler.com/story/paris-will-test-flying-water-taxis-on-the-seine-next-year