Blog Conclusion

First coming into this class, i thought the blogging was going to be the worst part of the class. Now that we are all done i really think that this blog has actually taught me a lot about going green, and another topics that i wouldn't have even thought of before doing this. What i have learned in this class was to read about the industry, because it changes all the time, and if we don't know whats going then our company will be just a fad.

What i didn't like about blogging at first was that we even had to do it, because i'm not a "blogging" person, and then i just started to like it because it gave me a reason to look up articles for something that i was interested in.

For my future career i think i would use blogging, because like we learned in class, with technology people will learn about your business a lot faster, and people are always online, so a blog would be a great thing to have for a company.

I found a blog called chocolate obsession that i would like to start following, i thought it was cool, because it tells all about new chocolate items coming out, like when reeses came out with dark chocolate reeses peanut butter cups. I am really in love with chocolate so i think this is a good blog for me. :)

When i first came into this class i really did not know what to expect. the class was definitely easier than i had imagined it and was very interested in the topics that we discussed and learned alot more about some things that i knew very vaguely about. because of this i know about the diffrent trends and issues that are important to the industry at the moment and will most likely will keep and maintain my subscriptions to the NY times and Nations resturant news as i would like to know more about the future trends/fads, and issues that come up in the industry
because im not really into the blogging scene i really couldnt find a blog that i was interested in and wanted to follow. but as time goes on im pretty sure somthing will catch my eye and i will most likely wind up following it. i really did enjoy this class and the topics and just generally learning as much as i did

I definitely was unsure about what to expect when I first learned about this whole blogging assignment since it is not something that I have ever done before. It turns out that it is a lot simpler than I had expected and it was a good skill to have learned. It was definitely helpful because a lot of the information that we gathered for our presentation on "going green" came from many of these articles that we posted and commented on. Therefore, it was not as if we had to do a whole bunch of extra work and research in order to complete the project. I enjoyed reading the articles and commenting on why I agreed or disagreed with what the writer had to say on the topic of going green. The only thing that was frustrating was that is was very inconvenient to have to keep returning to the blog many times to check if any of my group members had posted yet, and many times this did not happen until very late Tuesday night (oh and where it says the time that each entry was posted, the time is off by about 3 hours). Blogging could be a very successful way to keep up with all that is going on the food and beverage industry and it could be helpful to follow some prominent bloggers in the future in order to know the most popular trends and fads. I would like to follow the blog Chocolate & Zucchini (www.chocolateandzucchini.com). It is a very well-known blog that has many excellent recipes as well as tips and topics related to the food and beverage industry.

Blog Conclusion.

In the beginning of the trimester, I was quite skeptical of this whole blog idea. I have a lot of mixed feelings about it. It was nice to see what variety of people are "going green" and the outcomes of QSR places going green, and being ecofriendly. I also feel that I learned more because I was looking up new information every week, as well as reading my group members' articles too. So I really liked that and that this was more interactive than a paper would be. However, it was difficult to reply to everyone's post because I just run out of things to say, because either the person who posted made all the points, or the other group members did. I've noticed that blogging can be useful in this industry because you can post information, and get a lot of people's attention and it's more interactive, not to mention free. It's a great way to reach a lot of people. I found this blog that I think is a perfect example of people interacting and sharing recipes. Some of them look really good too! Overall, this was a positive experience. I would recommend blogging to people who are trying to advertise as well as get people's attention and opinion. It's great we got to be so interactive even if it felt repetitive at times.

Blog Conclusion

While doing the blogs, I actually think I learned a lot more than if I had just done a paper, to be honest. It made me search around and actually keep on the topic, instead of just doing quick research, throwing a paper together just to get it done, and not look back at it again.
I've learned a lot of not only the facts of going green, and how it affects our environment, but also how to apply it to the food service industry, quick-service and on-site in particular. There's little things that these facilities can do to help improve our environment. Something as little as not giving out so many napkins & utensils can add up to a big improvement. Stepping up to changing kitchen equipment, and choosing different kinds of foods to serve in kitchens is an approach some restaurants have taken as well.
I liked seeing specific examples of how certain places are changing their practices to those that are more eco-friendly. Before starting this blog, I had no idea that a lot of restaurants actually are trying to reduce their carbon foot-print. It was nice to see well-known places like KFC, Taco Bell, McDonalds, and Starbucks doing certain things to help improve our environment.
The only thing I didnt like about doing this, is I felt like things were very repetitive. Most of the articles I posted and read, was pretty much just an example of a different restaurant trying to go green. I liked this topic and learned a lot of valuable information, however, if I had a different one, I feel that it'd be more interesting, and not repetitive like this.
In the future, I could use blogging to track new trends in the food service industry. It doesnt just have to apply to food or recipies, but maybe how other restaurants are going about business, and going back to "green", I could see what I could do in my own place of work to be more eco-friendly.
Here's a link to a blog I found interesting. The author is a regular woman from Sweden, who has no formal culinary training .. I think thats why I find it so intriguing.

Lessons to building green

I really liked this article, because not only did it tell how other QSR's fix their restaurants to be LEED certified green, but it also taught people how to build a restaurant so it can be green. I just thought it was really interesting, because i remember talking in class i believe about how it is easier to build a restaurant to be green; then it is to fix it to be green. Another reason that i really liked this article was because it talked about dunkin donuts having a green certified restaurant. I never knew that they had one, and it was really interesting to find that out :)

Tips for QSR's to Go Green

Here's a short article I found -- it just gives a few tips on what quick service restaurants can do to save on wastes and be more eco-friendly. They give a couple suggestions that are very easy, most people just dont think about them. For example, ask customers if they want utensils -- instead of just shoving a bunch of them into the bag. I know for myself, a lot of the time I just throw them away if I dont need them. Also, the napkin dispensers that only dispense one at a time is a good idea. My mom is the biggest example of this -- if the napkins are just on the counter in a pile, she'll grab like 50?! We clearly dont use that many so a lot of them go to waste. Little things like these dont seem big, but when you add it all up for every single person that comes into a QSR, it'll make a huge difference.

Hospitality Suppliers Go Green, Save Cash

This article talks about the Hotel, Motel, and Restaurant Supply show that celebrated its 34th annual showing which took place in Myrtle Beach. "The event...showcased energy-efficient and so-called green products and services to the estimated 22,000 hospitality employees who attended from across the region." The people in attendance are obviously looking for ways to cut costs in their businesses and this seems to be the best way. Tammy Rausch talks about LED bulbs which she claims "will last 10 years going 12 hours a day, and there's no heat from them, which is a huge savings." Though the cost of one of these bulbs is $35, which may seems like a lot up front, but when you consider the how long it will last compared to a regular bulb as well as the energy savings, then it is well worth it! They also talk about high-efficiency washing machines that remove as much water as they can so that the dryer can be run for a much shorter time and savings can be made there. There are also water faucets that "reduce the flow of water from normal faucets of 2.2 gallons per minute to 1.5 gallons per minute." Water usage can add up and become very expensive, so any cut backs that can be made from that will save money and unnecessary water usage. All of these are great ways for restaurants and hotels as well to "go green," and though the start up costs may seem like more in the beginning, it really is the best for the long term.

Eco-Friendliness to be a trend in 2010?

The article I found goes along with a lot of things we've talked about in class. In this article, it talks about how "sustainable and locally grown and sourced ingredients will be the top menu trends in 2010, according to chefs polled." It seems that this could turn out to be more than fad that people might feel like it is because it appeals to what people are now looking for in many places they go to eat or when they go food shopping."Of the top 10 anticipated trends, half fell into the sustainable, eco-friendly or organic categories." was another interesting fact in this article. It seems that a lot of chefs noticed the substainable, locally grown food makes a better product, therefore it brings in more business. The article also mentions, "surveyed chefs said the top trend in restaurant kitchens next year would be the inclusion of environmentally friendly equipment and practices." which would be another step in the right direction.

I really liked this article, because it explained how this one company called Filtagroup, was going green long before celebrities and other figures made it so important. This article also explains how certain appliances they have can help with going green, such as their filtafry, which is a frying machine that once you are done with the oil, the company comes in and takes the oil and makes it in to biodisel. Another thing that i found really interesting about this article, is the fact that they were talking about how everyone wants to go green, but most people don't know how. I also like how Filtagroup doesn't call going green a trend, but an "integral piece of the business puzzle". They are going to continue making products to help businesses go green, and i am really interested to see how everything will work out with them.

http://www.rimag.com/article/367757-Eco_Friendly_Foodservice_Green_and_Growing.php whats so appealing about this article is that. most of the articles I've ever been able to find have always been about the economic benefits, and how specific restaurants that have gone green have seen an increase in sales. but this article shows the amount of consumers who appreciate eating in green restaurants and how much it appeals to them

KFC in North Hampton, Mass. Going Green

In this article I found, it talks about a KFC/Taco Bell joint in Mass. introducing new equipment that will help our environment. They have recently installed the SolarWall System, which "is a solar air heating system that uses the sun’s energy to heat ventilation air for commercial and industrial buildings. It substantially reduces traditional heating fuel expenses and carbon dioxide emissions, requires no maintenance and lasts more than 30 years."
Each year, the system can displace about 9 tons of carbon dioxide from the earth's atmosphere -- thats about 270 tons of carbon dioxide that can be displaced throughout the 30 years this system will last.
This, yet again, shows the efforts that small, quick service restaurants are putting forth to help improve the environment we live in.

"Wellness, green initiatives planned for government buildings"

I found this article and I find it interesting how much attention 'going green' is getting in Washington. I like that they are trying to "introduce wellness and sustainability into the federal system." As in another article I posted, I am hoping that if the Obama administration is promoting the whole green thing people will be more likely to do so. Which is like what they stated in their article, “The wellness part is about introducing food items that are inherently healthy... What [the GSA is] trying to do is get customers to pick food items that are going to contribute to well being and health.” This is a really great influence to show everyone, and not just those in Washington but to everyone as a great example of not just being green but encouraging exercise and healthy eating as well. I hope that this continues to the trend and that way more people will catch on.

This article kind of annoyed me! There should not be a competition to "going green," that is not at all the purpose. This is something that EVERY country should be taking part in because it will help save the environment that we have all been killing for hundreds and hundreds of years. This is not "Sputnik," it is not uncharted territory or anything even remotely close to that. We are all just as responsible for the torture we have inflicted on this world so it really is stupid to try to say that it is just China's fault and name-call them ("global pollution villain"). It is useless to put all the blame on one country because we are all equally to blame. Instead, we need to look towards the future and find ways to be more environmentally friendly now that it has become a huge problem. We should just be happy that they are being responsible about it now and trying to fix their past wrongs instead of looking at it as a threat (China can do NOTHING right apparently; we blame them for the problem and then get annoyed when they try to fix it!) Obviously we have discusses how it is expensive to "go green" so if businesses could buy this equipment at a lower cost in China then I do not see where the problem lies. Like the article states, just because China is opening up tons of new jobs because of the "going green" trend, does not necessarily mean that that is taking away any United States jobs that will also be created for this trend. I agree with the article when it talks about the "folks in green-tech and environmental frontlines" who believe "the green-tech "race" is not one that one side wins and the others loses, but a scenario where partnerships are sought out and the final equation doesn't have to be a zero-sum game." If we could all work to help each other out it would be a lot more beneficial then trying to compete against every other country out there.