Posts Tagged: grass

PopSci pursues the perfect lawn

Popular Science, the world's largest science and technology magazine, spotlighted the work of UC Riverside Cooperative Extension turf scientist Jim Baird in its May 2010 "Statistically Speaking" feature. Titled "The Perfect Lawn," the full-page story said Baird is bioengineering grass that drinks less water and still earns praise for its lush, emerald green appearance.

"The process is sort of a gladiator academy for grass," PopSci says. The scientists grow promising hybrids, then turn off the water to see which ones survive.

The article opens with statistics on turf grass' ability to sequester carbon. U.S. lawns, it says, could trap enough carbon each year to offset the emissions from burning 1.9 billion gallons of gasoline. However, it takes 7 billion gallons of water a year to keep the grass green.

Other statistics in the feature were:

• 625 square feet - Area of lawn needed to make enough oxygen for one person for one day
• 1.57 billion hours - Time homeowners spend mowing the lawn per year
• 37 billion pounds - Carbon dioxide that residential lawns can store per year
• 800 million gallons - Amount of gas guzzled by lawn mowers annually
• 33,000 square miles - Area of the U.S. covered by residential lawns

What is the value of a feature in Popular Science, a magazine with a 1.3 million monthly circulation? Stories are probably better-read than ads, and a full-page, four-color ad costs $124,135, according to the magazine's published rates.

Jim Baird

Grass-fed beef fights cancer, study finds

Several studies suggest that eating grass-fed beef elevates precursors for Vitamin A and E, as well as cancer-fighting antioxidants such as glutathione and superoxide dismutase, compared with eating beef from grain-fed animals, says a research review published in the current issue of Nutrition Journal.

The review, written by three Chico State professors and UC Cooperative Extension livestock advisors Glenn Nader and Stephanie Larson, reported that grass-fed beef has an overall lower fat content.

"However, consumers should be aware that the differences in (fatty acid) content will also give grass-fed beef a distinct grass flavor and unique cooking qualities," the researchers wrote.

In addition, the fat from grass-finished beef may have a yellowish appearance from the elevated carotenoid content (precursor to Vitamin A).

The research prompted San Francisco Examiner blogger Joshua Horrocks to ponder whether grass-fed beef is the key to cancer prevention. He noted that, in addition to grass-fed beef's higher levels of antioxidants, it has lower concentrations of monounsaturated fatty acids. MUFAs have been linked to a higher mortality rate for women.

The researchers have developed a Grass-Fed Beef Web page with information on the product's health benefits, niche marketing, labeling, cost of production and more.

The Grass-Fed Beef Web site.

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