‘Trayless’ cafeterias tout several benefits

Some colleges are going greener by going “trayless.” The dining services at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, N.H., is one of those schools embracing a “trayless cafeteria” concept for the spring semester. On campuses nationwide, this initiative has proven to reduce water usage, food waste and electricity by a third, PSU officials say, and it’s expected to save 260 pounds of waste each day in Plymouth. That means less in the landfill and fewer cleaning chemicals, water and electricity used.

A bonus: The trayless cafeteria may encourage students to make wiser decisions in food choices, “as they can take only what can be carried. For most of us, this will greatly reduce the amount of tempting foods we carry out of the serving area and set in front of ourselves,” the folks at PSU say.

The lowdown on fish

Shop for fish responsibly, says Prevention magazine, by checking the packaging or asking your fishmonger: Where is this fish from? Is it wild or farmed? What method was used to catch it? And here’s the lowdown on a few types:

The good

•Barramundi: You’ll be seeing more of this flaky, flavorful fresh-water bass which is popular in its native Australia, says the magazine. It doesn’t eat other sea life and it’s farmed in recirculating ponds that don’t pollute nearby waters.

•Shellfish including clams, mussels, oysters and scallops are either caught wild or raised on farms. Shellfish filter water, so the farms can benefit the surrounding ecosystem, unlike many other fish-raising facilities.

•Tilapia: This farmed fish has a mild, trout-like flavor. It doesn’t eat much marine life and in the United States, it’s raised in enclosed, eco-friendly ponds.

The questionable

•Chilean Sea Bass doesn’t reproduce until it’s 10 years old, the magazine says, so it isn’t getting enough time to make offspring. In spite of bans, illegal fishing has depleted the population. To replicate the taste, try Alaskan black cod.

•Grouper schools use the same breeding areas each year, so knowing fishermen have depleted the population. Try wild striped bass instead.

•Farm-raised salmon. Salmon eat other fish, and it takes three pounds of fish meal (anchovies, mackerel, sardines) to produce 1 pound of salmon. They’re raised in offshore pens, whose waste poisons the surrounding habitat, Prevention says. Choose wild, line-caught Alaskan salmon (high in omega-3s) or Arctic char, which taste tastes like a combo combination of salmon and trout and is raised in eco-friendly tanks.

Autism and vaccinations

Autism cases in California continued to climb even after a mercury-based vaccine preservative that some people blame for the neurological disorder was removed from routine childhood shots, a new study found.

Researchers from the state Department of Public Health found the autism rate in children rose continuously during the 12-year study period from 1995 to 2007. The preservative thimerosal hasn’t been used in childhood vaccines since 2001, but is used in some flu shots.

Doctors say the latest study adds to existing evidence refuting a link between thimerosal exposure and autism risk and should reassure parents that the disorder is not caused by vaccinations. If there was a risk, they said, autism rates should have dropped between 2004 and 2007.

The findings show “no evidence of mercury poisoning in autism” since there was no decline in autism rates even after the elimination of thimerosal, said Dr. Eric Fombonne, an autism researcher at Montreal Children’s Hospital who had no role in the research.

— With Journal wire reports