Small Bites: Recycled homes for baby oysters and Top 10 for 2011

Efforts to restore Chesapeake Bay’s once plentiful oysters and my best attempt at a Top 10 List for food are subjects of recent Character Approved Blog posts.

Ever wonder what becomes of those oyster shells after you’ve slurped the briny, delicious mollusks from them? If you’re dining in a Mid-Atlantic restaurant, chances are they’ll be recycled into homes for spats (baby oysters) in Chesapeake Bay. This year alone, non-profit Oyster Recovery Partnership collected 7 million shells from restaurants, cleaned them up and used them to introduce half a billion spats into the bay.

Oyster Recovery Partnership isn’t just replenishing decimated populations of sustainable seafood—they’re working to restore the health of Chesapeake Bay. Oysters once filtered the waters of the entire bay every few days. Now it takes years. To find out more about what’s threatening the bay’s oysters and how this organization is turning the tide, check out this post on the USA Character Approved Blog.

Top 10 for 2011

How do you compile a top ten list about food? I just did one for USA Network’s Character Approved Blog and I’m not sure I have a definitive answer for that question. Food is just such a broad topic. It covers everything from chefs to restaurants, cookbooks, products, trends and even technologies. But that’s also the charm of food. Of writing about it, talking about it, thinking about it. There’s always something interesting going on, around the corner or across the country. Sometimes, it’s big and flashy and famous. Other times, it’s small and local. Artisanal jams produced from organic produce in a Los Angeles kitchen. Cooking classes that use food as a means of cultural exchange.

Check out my Top 10 for 2011: Food on the USA Character Approved Blog. And while you’re there, check out the Top 10 for Art, Fashion, Film, Architecture and a whole lot more.

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