Whey? ...Way!

So lately I've taken to making my own cheese. It's kind of like ricotta, not very 'firm', but uber yummy (if you're into that kinda thing). It only takes about an hour, and at the end you are left with a big ball of curd, and you guessed it, whey. I don't really know what to do with whey, and although the recipe said I could freeze it and save it for soup stock, I opted for the less savvy pour-it-down-the-drain route.

But the other day I saw an article in the Daily Green that gave me a whole new appreciation for this magical juice. "Alternative Fuel: Could Cheese Run the Cars of the Future." Of course, they don't literally mean cheese, but in fact, whey is rich in lactose sugar (sugars are one of the key ingredients in ethanol too), so it seemed kind of a no-brainer. Why are we trying to grow things and put them through costly processes to break them down, to harness something that might already be easily available elsewhere? Even WORSE, why are we trying to grow genetically modified things (which are sold as 'more productive'/better 'designed'), that are at risk of screwing up our ecosystem and our bodies, when we could be using low tech, preexisting options. Of course, that's simply not profitable-silly me. But I digress.

So let's start with cheese, why not! Then once we've figured that out, why not other "normal" household bio-waste like kitchen garbage! I admit, being an apartment dweller, composting is an activity that I do not partake in. I know there are apartment-sized composters, but I hear they also involve worms...so thanks, but no thanks. But what I can get into is having a brown bin, just like my blue and black ones, for organic matter. The city could add it to its regularly scheduled pickup and reduce landfill contribution by tonnes. There's gotta be a better use for this stuff...let's use our imaginations here people. I proposed adding a fourth R to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Rethink.