You’ve heard about the Green New Deal, but have you heard about the Green New Meal?
Singapore Airlines (SIA) embraced a “From Farm to Plane” concept a couple of years ago and has slowly been expanding it. This year, Singapore Airlines will partner with AeroFarms on its longest route to bring “fresh food” to a whole new level. Catering on SQ21 will feature food grown a short distance from Newark Liberty International Airport and in some cases picked just hours before the flight.
SIA’s Food & Beverage Director, Antony McNeil, stated:
Imagine boarding a plane and enjoying a salad harvested only a few hours before takeoff – literally the world’s freshest airline food.
The AeroFarms facility is actually quite remarkable. Located in the heart of Newark, this “vertical” facility produces the equivalent of almost 400 acres of produce with up to 30 harvests each year! No pesticides are used, but also no sunlight is used. Instead, LED lights emulate the sun. Light intensity and spectrum can be adjusted depending upon the crop. The result is a faster-growing cycle.
images: AeroFarms
Per Forbes, sample dishes will include:
- Soy Poached Chicken
Pickled Ginger Vinaigrette, Zucchini Ribbons, with Sweet Potato Roesti, Soy Beans and AeroFarms Baby Pac Choi - The Garden Green
Poached Asparagus, Broccolini, Avocado with Shaved Fennel & Flaked Hot Smoked Salmon, AeroFarms medley of Baby Ruby Streaks, Watercress and Arugula, with Lemon Vinaigrette - Heirloom Tomato Ceviche
Baby Burrata, Cured Ham, Palm Hearts, AeroFarms Arugula with Spiced Tomato Dressing
The airline will also ban plastic straws and use recyclable paper packaging for children’s toys instead of plastic bags.
CONCLUSION
Quite frankly, I view the whole “farm to table” concept as mostly a marketing gimmick. Nevertheless, the three sample dishes above sound tasty, especially the simple “Garden Green.”
Will this “Green New Meal” make you more likely to fly Singapore Airlines?
I wouldn’t be anymore likely to fly them because of their “Green” gimmick.
Also banning plastic straws is moronic. If you don’t consume a drink in the first 5 minutes, you use more paper straws… that’s certainly better for the environment. /s
Well, what about the thousands of gallons of jet fuel the flight will burn – that will be more detrimental than any plastic waste the flight could produce – ironic that an airline would say it is helping the environment while not using biofuel, or something, to fuel the plane itself. Don’t get me wrong – I really love flying and am not all that fussed about preventing pollution, but still..
You didn’t elaborate on why you consider the “farm to table” concept “mostly a marketing gimmick,” so I’m not sure what to argue. I’ll just say that while certain sorts of produce obviously must be grown in certain sorts of climate, when it’s possible for food to travel a shorter distance to reach the consumer, that’s better for everyone. Fresher food, less expense wasted in transportation, fewer middlemen.
I’ll add that I have zero respect for the “organic” movement, which IS mostly a marketing gimmick that involves shaking down producers for a fee that lets them use the term, and has largely been taken over by the enormous industrial conglomerates the movement was designed to get food away from. I do believe in natural farming practices, but I also believe in modern versions of it. “Organic” food almost always uses far worse pesticides than would be necessary in modern natural farming.
Stop serving beef: that would be a great gesture about sustainability. The day is not far off, fortunately.
Too many people in the world. Anyone having more than one kid should have to pay tax surcharge for next 18 years.
And any dude that doesn’t pay for 5 years in a row and clears all arrears should be forcibly chemically castrated.