Green Spot

Jonathan Safran Foer, author of ”Eating Animals” (and “Everything is Illuminated”) discusses the fact that the supposed “humane treatment” of egg-laying hens is a myth in modern, industrial egg farms - among other things. His in depth reporting has even turned actress Natalie Portman in to a Vegan. Many of the ‘cage free’ eggs you’ll find in major markets is slightly mislabeled. Although there are no cages, chickens are crammed in to jam packed barns with no room to move, live amongst their waste, usually have the tips of their beaks snipped off, and hundreds of thousands of male baby chicks are thrown away to their deaths with little regard to being humane.

Some supposed ‘free range’ eggs have been tested to have dioxins (partly chlorine), but while this study is from Taiwan, we’ll have to wait and see how they repeat the analysis in other countries. If their hypotheses are correct, there could be a similar problem in other places as well, since the kind of environmental pollution they speak of is not unique to Taiwan. Most of these external chemicals are ingested through wading through waste material and consuming unsuitable feed and liquids, which ensures free radical entry in to the animal body causing cell damage.

BUT - There are plenty of ways to ensure you are buying eggs that are truly good for you and your family, and come from places that treat animals with respect and care:

“…switch from commercially raised eggs to buying those labeled “Certified Humane,” “American Humane Certified,” or “Animal Welfare Approved.” This means your eggs came from chickens raised with care…“

Go to your local farmers market and talk to the farmer that is selling eggs, buy local, and help free the world from the cage that holds us back.

Happy Hens have space to live with dignity, and lay eggs with no free radicals.

Heard of ECOPEZ? Now you will, so check it out. Recently, we discussed how the fishing industry and the ocean are suffering due to our unsustainable eating and bad fish farming practices. There’s overfishing of many species, accidental extinctions and careless modification of underwater ecosystems, not to mention fish farming processes that cause pollution and unforeseen chemical changes in the fish we count on as part of our diets.

Ecopez aims to help stop all this and educate. They deliver fresh and only certain fish and seafood to your door.

“ECOPEZ searches the world over for suppliers who grow and harvest premium quality seafood.”

That’s a promise made by a hard-working and conscientious company that recognizes quality product, namely - fish and seafood. They look for fish farmers that adhere to certain feeding processes and particular “animal husbandry” (no artificial breeding to ‘improve’ schools of fish and future generations which could have adverse affects), and farms that do not pollute lands or keep fish in low-quality tanks. Ecopez also adheres to the Marine Stewardship Council’s list of unsustainable species and will not do business with fisherman or companies that deplete aquatic populations that are recovering.

Fish and seafood are wild, organically farmed and as said before, totally sustainable. Their delivery trucks are sent forth from Stockton, California to one of the many port cities on the pacific coast and more to provide businesses, restaurants and some individuals with eco-friendly and responsible fish and seafood to enjoy. In the end, this practice is indeed sustainable.

Ecopez delivers fish that are "Earth Approved" for consumption.

Not just certain aisles in the store are organic, you can find wholesome, pesticide-free, and eco-friendly goods in the beer section too. In fact there are quite a few breweries that create beer with a little carbon footprint (using local ingredients) and environmentally-friendly methods (sanitizing brew kettles and equipment with harmless cleaners) such as:

• Peak Brewing from Portland, Maine (Not too far from the well-known Allagash)
• Bison Brewing from Berkeley, California
• Eel River Brewing from Fortuna, California (surrounded by tons of popular California breweries such as Sierra Nevada)
• St. Peter’s Brewery from Suffolk in Great Britain

Each brewery uses local water and grains for malts, hops grown in fields of little yield due to lack of chemicals, and are craft breweries, or microbreweries. That means they typically case much less than about 400,000 gallons (Whereas a brewery such as Coors or Budweiser or Heineken brews millions upon millions of gallons).

Organic beer is still found in a variety of beer styles such as the currently popular and hoppy India Pale Ale, thick and malty Stout, and bitter-english Brown Ale as well as the fresh and balanced Golden Ales and other seasonal specialties. Some beers are even gluten-free for folks that cannot have wheat-product in their diet.

As an eco-friendly person and avid fan of beer, it is good to know that the green lifestyle is affecting all ranges of life, even in my pint glass.

So much beer, so little time, and some of it - Organic!

Mother Earth is still alive and well, and no matter what you watch on television or hear on the radio, or read online, it is still lush with a salad bar full of life to give.

Salads remain one of the healthiest choices to nourish and satisfy in numerous ways. Not just a side salad from a fast-food place, but a modest “big-bowl” salad that contains legumes (beans), tomatoes (good for your heart and have helped fight free-radicals known to act as carcinogens), leafy-greens (that have iron, fiber, folic acid and much more), plus some tofu with marinade, or free-range chicken. Don’t forget other salad additions such as different lettuces other than the usual iceberg or romaine such as butter lettuce, or baby spinach and maybe some arugula. Recently though, arugula was deemed nearly as bad as beef in terms of the carbon footprint it bestows due to the shipping and growing procedures it requires when it is not in season. Overall, make sure to look for true organic items - they’ll display the farm of origin and won’t contain the pesticides or travel time that non-organic might.

Many metropolitan areas have cultures that tend to be healthier and modern-day, local demand requires that restaurants have alternatives to meat. Here in Los Angeles, there’s plenty of places that serve overly healthy meals such as raw foods, organic vegan eateries and many beef-free burgers. You can even use tempeh, and meatless-ground to create your own non-beef burger/ground at home, thus ensuring no extra hormones or antibiotics enter your holy temple - your body.

When it comes to eating healthy meats, the experts tell you that fish is a good bet at least twice a week. But with the fishing industry facing decreases in catches year after year, and overfishing becoming a real problem, it may not be a viable solution twice a week anymore. A recent documentary called The End of Line, brought to light the atrocities that industrial fishing has wreaked upon the oceans, making many species of aquatic life extinct while we ate blindly. The Environmental Defense Fund and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, have placed guides for eating fish online, that delineate between safe fish populations for consumption, the ills of fish farming on the environment, and what to look for when at the sushi restaurant.

When you eat well for you by researching the foods that are the best for mind, body and soul, you’ll notice that the rules apply for your surroundings too. If its organic or if its safe from overabundance, its good for our planet. Enjoy a good meal and enjoy life today.

Fried is not the way of the future.

Well, some of it is at least. No need to ask “Was it good for you?” after your meal either, if it’s made by companies such as Morningstar, Amy’s or Gardenburger, it’s most definitely fake meat, and contains no meat product. BUT, many ”meatless meats” aren’t totally organic and may contain unhealthy additives.

The recent Sierra Club Online Newsletter had a good article on which organic and strictly vegetarian “meatless meats” are better for consumption and are truly eco-friendly for the world and your body. Some “meatless meats” contain something called Hexane, which is a neurotoxin and air pollutant. To process grains used in these “meats”, factories tend to emit Hexane which has been known to cause skin and nervous system disorders in assembly-line workers at said factories.

Always ensure the package states “Organic” (containing at least 95% organic ingredients) or better yet, “100 Percent Organic” (no antibiotics, no hormones, no genetic alterations, no fertilizers, no pesticides). If it states “Made with Organic Ingredients”, that may just mean it is made of at least 70% organic ingredients but might not display the proper USDA organic logo on the packaging.

A lot of fake meat on the market is grain-based, or uses cultured soybean cake called Tempeh. Companies such as Field Roast or even Trader Joe’s markets offer meat alternatives that are all-organic and are healthy choices when trying to ingest protein and keep chemicals out of your body at the same time.

These days though, for the 3% of U.S. citizens that are vegetarian, it is tough to support that nutritional lifestyle and have options too. The below organic packaged good companies provide items for consumption throughout life and are available at most health food stores nationwide - but when in doubt, try some Tempeh:

• Arrowhead Mills
• Food For Life
• Barbara’s Bakery
• Nature’s Path
• Rice Dream
• EdenSoy
• Silk
• French Meadow Bakery
• Zen Bakery
• Tofutti
• Amy’s
• Tofurkey
• Earthbound Farms
• Yves
• Fantastic Foods
• Health Valley
• Imagine
• Health Best
• Ancient Harvest
• Nasoya
• Lightlife
• Rising Moon Organics
• Lundberg Family Farms
• Ecco Bella
• Westbrae
• Koyo
• Robert’s American Gormet
• Spectrum Naturals
• Muir Glen
• Earth Balance
• Dr. Oetker
• Sunspire

Good fake meat is good for you.

Post consumer materials can be found around the home in many places. The kitchen is one of many of these places and the list of home goods available that represent a change in our collective habits, mindsets and purchasing demand has increased exponentially since the first Earth Day decades ago.

Aside from the reusable bags that are used to transport groceries, and the day’s lunch and beverages, there are also the reusable canteens that act as receptacles for the necessary intake of water - both goods come from post-consumer material, and whether its stainless steel, organic cottons, or recycled PPP or PET, they are now staples in the modern, eco-friendly kitchen.

Recently Reynold’s Wrap® and Scott Tissue and Towel Papers have introduced new product lines that are made from post-consumer materials. The famous Reynolds Wrap® brand has gone a step further to offer its “100%” line to the world in a time where the Earth desperately needs some reduction in waste. This foil wrap line is made from, as the name says, 100% recycled aluminum, and is an innovative and brave step for the company. Scott® offers toilet paper, paper towels, moist wipes and more, at up to 60% of post-consumer recycled materials.

Although both companies should be commended for their efforts, and are leaders on the shelves of markets worldwide, it is possible to reuse towels and napkins in the kitchen and near the bathroom sink to reduce paper usage altogether. Not only would this save you money, but is a more eco-friendly choice in the long run. We do indeed support companies that make green products, and the intentions are good. Simple green solutions are all around us though, and rather than wrap leftovers or cover bowls in aluminum foil, reuse BPA-free tupperware to cut down on aluminum waste.

In conclusion, the home goods market and families around the world continue to think and live more progressively in an eco-driven consumer world. As this trend continues, the future may see a green home on every street, and cleaner neighborhoods for generations to come.

Reynold's "Green" Wrap: 100% Recycled Aluminum

Scott "Naturals" Tissue and Paper goods

Composting. You do it, we do it, everyone does it.

NO - not really, actually not enough people do it. MOST people don’t compost. We applaud you if you do! Why? ‘Cause its kind of a dirty little chore in which you place organic waste matter (usually plant or food waste) in a container in order to induce bacterial fermentation - that can enrich dirt to create nutrient-laced soil. Plants love the stuff. Metropolitan dwellers on the other hand, couldn’t be bothered with the idea of a countertop or next-to-home receptacle that can smell, attract fruit flies, or spontaneously combust.

Yes, it can explode. Left for to long without occasional stirring or plant feeding, compost can develop methane that heats up, and <BOOM> fire erupts. But that rarely happens, and if it does, usually only in larger piles.

Here are Types of composting:

• Backyard & Facility composting — If you have a yard or space and a balance of ‘browns’ (fallen leaves or straw) and ‘greens’ (grass clippings and food scraps - such as banana peels, coffee grounds and egg shells), you have all you need to make compost. Isn’t that exciting? Don’t all rush out at once…
• Worm composting (vermicomposting) — If you have a tiny yard or live in an apartment or have an abundance of food scraps, this type of composting is for you. Did you ever eat worms as a kid? If so, see a doctor, it could still be inside you having lots of worm babies.
• Grasscycling - If you have grass clippings and don’t want to use them in a compost pile you can leave them on the lawn to decompose, or gather it in a reusable garden sack with a draw string. There are many techniques and benefits - just don’t feed them to cows, the blades decompose fast and can make them sick. Nobody likes green milk!

10 good reasons why you should compost:

1. Yard and food waste make up 30% of the waste stream. Composting your kitchen and yard trimmings helps divert that waste from the landfill, waterways and water treatment facilities.
2. You will significantly reduce pest problems–and your use of pesticides.
3. Healthy plants from healthy soil look better, produce better and have a much greater ability to fight off pests and diseases.
4. Adding organic materials to the soil improves moisture retention.
5. Adding decomposed organic material to the soil feeds beneficial organisms.
6. Compost amends both sandy and clay soils.
7. Compost provides a balanced, slow–release source of nutrients that helps the soil hold nutrients long enough for plants to use them.
8. Composting saves money–you avoid the cost of buying soil conditioners, bagged manure etc.
9. Feeding your plants well will improve your own diet. Plants grown in depleted soils have a reduced nutrient content.
10. Home composting is a valuable tool in educating children about nature and the cycle of life.

Initial stages of composting is easier than how gross it looks.

Stir it up after gathering it for awhile, or it can get VERY hot.

Adding it to dirt creates a "super soil" that plants GROW wild over.

Grow something. What are you waiting for? As a human being, be it man or woman, knowing how to properly plant, grow, tend to and harvest is an essential piece of knowledge we should all have.

Here in Los Angeles, the Pedal Patch Community (PPC) helps not only bring the community together for poverty and hunger awareness programs, but generates -

“…sustainable communities one patch at a time through the application of urban agriculture.”

With over 6 acres of urban land for group and volunteer cultivation, PPC volunteers and workers that are supported through charitable donations help at risk youth, and neighbors in low-income neighborhoods tend to communal gardens and learn about how being social helps a plant, fruit or vegetable grow better.

If you have a lot of unused property and land ripe for crops, gardens and more, check out SharedEarth.com - you may be connected with someone willing to till your land and if you’re in the U.K., check out LandShare.net (or FarmLink if you’re in Ontario, Canada). The shared gardening community is slowly growing due to the social power of the internet, and even in metropolitan locations such as New York City, Chicago or Los Angeles, there’s Yards To Garden - which displays mapped listings of potential neighbors you can team with to revitalize yards and grow fruits and vegetables, and another called Sharing Backyards.

If you’re a young, aspiring farmer though (which is severely lacking - Farmers age 65+ currently outnumber those age 35 and below Sixty to One), there are programs in nearly every U.S. state to introduce farm work to up and coming workers looking for an agricultural shift in their lives. Hyper-Local production of garden vegetables and fruit could free up thousands of acres of farmland for other, more in-demand crops. Plus, the savings in transportation costs would be great too. A common snag in modern life is that the ones who want to grow gardens haven’t had access to land to do it. Websites like this will really help make that possible. So long as land owners know the squatter laws (primarily in the U.K.) and draw up simple liability protection contracts, social gardening can bring us all together and make our neighborhoods a better place to live in.

Community Garden in Inglewood - In Progress

We’re all interested mostly in what matters to us. What does matter to us? We do. You matter to yourself. You, your life, and your inner circle of family, pets and friends are the most important things in your life. Care about the things that matter by ensuring you are knowledgeable about what you put in your body.

Let’s talk about food. In fact, present day food manufacturing isn’t exactly a sustainable solution for maintaining health. Tomorrow (April 21, 2010) on PBS, you can watch “Food Inc.”, the renowned documentary of food’s modern travesties. “Food Inc.” takes a hard look at genetically-modified foods, organic farming, big industry food manufacturing and is similar in tone to famous health food documentary titles like The Future of Food, Super Size Me, and the little known King Corn (which spends time looking at High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) - which itsef has been linked by many studies to increase body fat more so than most other food additives.

Nutritional experts such as Eric Schlosser, Rory Freedman, Kim Barnouin, and experienced farmers have a lot of good advice for people trying to maintain good health, good taste, and support good food in an imperfect society built to meet demand for bigger food made faster and cheaper - there are solutions and ways around factory-farmed food, and paths towards excellent health:

• drink decaffeinated green tea instead of coffee
• if you gotta drink wine, try for a wine without sulfites or a winery that is certified organic
• eat only whole grains that have not been bleached or stripped of their nutrients
• start your day with fruits for fiber and natural energy
• say “no” to natural sweeteners that contain aspartame (its been known to create formaldahyde in the body and there have been cases where arsenic was found in manufactured sweeteners) and choose natural stevia or agave nectar instead
• eat more wild caught fish, it has essential oils for the body and will ensure you eat less meat (half of all antibiotics sold in the USA are given to factory farmed animals)
• try and eat organic when possible, as a lot of non-organic meats, dairy, and eggs can contain pesticides
• studies have shown that diets rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and soy are less prone to cancer and heart disease

Take some time to think about the food you eat, watch “Food Inc.” and eat smarter for your very own simply green solution.

(All information derived from Demeter Certified Organics, MikSucks.com, GoVeg.com, Organic Consumer Assoc., California Cert. Organic Farmers, WholeFoodsMarket.com, Marin Organic and the movies mentioned above)

Shop Smart, Local and Organic at a Farmer's Market

It may help the Earth grow greener.

Let’s talk about poop - and an idea. Looking for a good book while you’re defecating? Do you require reading material while expelling fecal matter? Most of us do, and all of us poop. Yes, its a bit taboo to talk about, but it’s an important part of life, and occurs as part of our daily rituals, many times when you least expect it. But when you do expect it, why not help save the sewer system, and raise some crops at the same time. Kill two birds with one turd.

Use your poo to compost. Composting is a practice in which farmers or at-home gardeners mix decomposed plant, animal and other organic material to create a porous and nutrient-filled soil additive that helps plants grow, and maintains a healthy garden. Rather than let your waste go to waste so to speak, take a dump on your lawn utilize your stool in your compost practice. Yes, composting practices have taken a turn for the odd - Humanure. A gentleman by the name of Joseph Jenkins has written a nearly 300 page book on the subject, which has been translated into many languages, and even instruction videos for the not-so-faint at heart. You can even be a friend of Humanure on Facebook (while you’re at it, be our fan too!).

First, build yourself a little outhouse or compost toilet as seen below. Second, drop a deuce, go number two, a toozie, y’know, poop! Third, flush by tossing sawdust on top which neutralizes the odor and starts the composting process. The nutrients and water in your stool combine with organic plant or animal material (coffee grounds, egg shells and banana peels help too) to create fertilizer. Rather than have a waste treatment plant take up to a year to do this, you can do it in your own backyard - something the city of Austin, Texas, has approved for funding.

So what are you waiting for? Get the info above and help along your garden with a simply brown solution.

Compost Toilet