Dispatches from the Field & Project Summaries
Happy Thanksgiving!
November 25, 2010
During this particular week of November, two things typically come to mind…turkeys and holiday shopping. According to the National Turkey Federation, 247 million turkeys were produced last year. While turkey consumption continues to grow in the United States, so do the negative impacts on our health and environment. Unfortunately, like much of our national meat industry, turkeys are similarly raised using severely unsustainable practices. Conventionally produced animals are fed unnatural diets typically consisting of genetically modified grain and soy. Such a diet causes animals to grow at unnatural rates and often results in serious health problems, thus requiring the use of antibiotics and other unnecessary treatments. Look for pasture-raised turkey and read more about the benefits of sustainably raised meat at www.eatwild.com. After you’ve recovered from your family feast, instead of running out for a holiday shopping spree, tune into your life and celebrate www.buynothingday.org. Ninety-nine percent of the products and materials we buy are thrown out within six months!!! Visit www.storyofstuff.com to understand how we became such a wasteful society and take a stand against mindless consumerism. Learn to appreciate what we already have and value longevity. This coming “Black Friday” resist the urge to spend and instead spend an extra day with your grandparents, learn something new, play a game with your siblings, read a book or simply go for a walk.
America Recycles Day is November15th!
November 12, 2010
Did you know that November 15th is “America Recycles Day?” Check out their website www.americarecyclesday.org to find inspiring new ideas for the old concept of recycling. Donate your gently
used shoes to people in need www.soles4souls.org or collect your “trash” and send it to www.terracycle.net to be “upcycled” into new products. Join the rest of the community in this nationally recognized day to educate and celebrate the ways by which to Keep America Beautiful www.kab.org. Organize and register a recycling event in your neighborhood, school or place of employment. Host a swap and exchange items such as clothing or furniture with your friends. Offer to collect old electronics from a group of people and take them to a recycling facility near you. Perhaps recycling options are limited where you live. Start a petition and send a
letter to your city council. Voice your concern and demand a change. Check the website for a whole list of great ideas! Need a little help on what and where to recycle? Go to www.earth911.com to find the answers. There are plenty of resources available to help you get started today. Don’t be scared, take the pledge, commit to recycle, declare to do more and make sure to tell your friends. Let’s all join together and take the responsibility to improve our world!
Local Food….and Local Flowers!
November 12, 2010
A beautiful bouquet of flowers on the kitchen table truly adds that simple, natural touch which transforms
ahouse into a home. Not only do they add color to a room, research shows that ornamental indoor plants and flowers help to significantly increase positive physiological responses in patients recovering from surgery (J Altern Complement Med. 2009 Sep;15(9):975-80.) Unfortunately, 77% of cut flowers in the US are imported from Columbia and Ecuador. Next time you buy or order flowers see if you can determine where they came from. Let’s all add flowers to our list of locally grown and purchased products! Fresh cut flowers can often be found at your local farmers market or perhaps you have a flower farm right in your
neighborhood that you never even knew existed. Check it out, see if you can take a garden tour and buy flowers directly from your farmer. Depending on your geographic location, gorgeous arrangements can often be made year round and since the flowers are generally cut within a day of purchase, they last a lot longer than those shipped from South America. After leaving DC, we were fortunate to catch one of my favorite flower farmers, Bob Wollam, on his farm www.wollamgardens.com in Jeffersonton, VA. He gave us an amazing tour and even showed us off with a bouquet of flowers for the motorhome. The flowers have been a nice addition over the past
week and we are sad to see them go. We encourage you to think local, not just for food and flowers, but for whatever your needs may be.
Litterless Lunches
November 9, 2010
Litterless Lunches: While in Canada, we were able to spend some much needed family time with some of my Canadian relatives. We visited my grandparents, as well as my uncle and his family. During our time together we learned of my cousin’s (age 8 and 6) school lunch program which requires a “litterless lunch.” The school only provides a lunch once a week and thus all other days the kids must pack a lunch. However, the items they bring for lunch must not produce waste and if so, the waste must be returned home. I thought this was a great idea both to reduce waste and to promote healthier food choices. According to www.wastefreelunches.org the average school-aged child produces 67 pounds of lunch-related waste per school year, equating to nearly 19,000 pounds of waste generated by an average-sized elementary school. Check out the website and learn how to initiate a litterless lunch program at your child’s school or your place of employment. There’s no better way to learn the importance of our actions than by actually seeing the piles of waste we produce. Encourage a field trip to your local landfill or visit one yourself. We can all do our part to help green our lunch. What do you take to work for lunch? Phase out those frozen microwaveable meals, the packaged “fruit” snacks and the plastic sandwich bags. Make homemade meals and pack the leftovers, take real fruit and store items in reusable containers. Don’t forget your reusable Hydro Flask
and silverware!
Pet Food
November 9, 2010
During our visit to the “Markets by the Bluffs” we met a wonderful lady who makes dried organic-meat dog treats. After talking with her and seeing how much our dogs loved her treats, it really made me revisit the idea of pet food. Similar to large agribusiness corporations, pet food has become an industry of its own. While much attention has been paid to the benefits of local and organic food, there seems to be a disproportionate concern regarding the food we feed our pets. According to a survey conducted by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA, www.appma.org), there were 74.8 million pet dogs in the US in 2007. Over 41 billion dollars were spent on the total pet industry, the greatest of which, $16.2 billion, went towards food. When you stop to consider the carbon footprint of all the energy required to produce the ingredients found in pet food, the processing of such ingredients, the packaging and shipping of the final product in order to reach your pet’s bowl, one might seriously question the sustainability of our cuddly companions. Luckily, greening your pets is easy and fun. Start by learning how to make your own homemade pet food. Check out www.petfoodcookbook.com to find your pet’s favorite recipe. Partner with your local farmer or butcher to obtain meat that would otherwise go to waste, or support the people in your community who already provide a pet food service. I’m sure your pet will love you for it, ours do!