Maine lobstermen are quick to point out how careful they are to protect the state's signature sea creature.

And, while fishermen do sometimes exaggerate, they're not lying.
With the obvious exception of the lobsters that end up wearing rubber bands, the animals are treated pretty well.

Most trapped lobsters get dropped back into the ocean because they are too small, or too big, or are carrying eggs, or recently carried eggs.

Lobstermen know which ones recently carried eggs, by the way, because of the v-shaped notches that they clip out of the tails of breeding females.

You just can't do that with fish.

Now, however, the state's lobstermen are getting a chance to prove their conservation claims by having Maine lobster officially counted among the world's most eco-friendly seafoods.

With consumers around the world paying attention to the environmental impacts of every meal, industry leaders say they should do it fast.

College dining hall food sure has come a long way in the last few, er ... years. Alright, decades.

At least that’s the case at Bowdoin College in Brunswick.

Bowdoin’s dining hall chefs – yes, they have real chefs – always rank at the top for the quality of the meals they prepare. Now the Union of Concerned Scientists is celebrating the chefs’ commitment to serve food that’s good for the planet as well as the student body.

The UCS, an environmental advocacy group founded by scientists, has featured Bowdoin head chefs David Crooker and Daran Poulin on a new Web-based feature called Green Cuisine. The site, which includes a slide show, described how the chefs buy meats and veggies from local farmers with the same green philosophy.

Green Cuisine is part of the group’s effort to connect like-minded consumers, chefs and farmers and show that healthy, organic, locally produce food is practical, affordable and convenient. More proof is provided by Eat Well Guide a web-based directory of sustainable food in the United States and Canada. For example, a couple of clicks on the site finds more than 180 farms, restaurants and farm markets selling locally produced foods within 100 miles of Portland.