Food

Operating on the belief that “children learn best through experience. If their schools are green, children will learn to live that way,” the Center for Environmental Education is an online resource for students and teachers at K-12 schools, bursting with information and how-to’s for greening their environments. Available on its Web site is “Blueprint for a Green School,” which gives suggestions for three levels of action in ten categories: curriculum, energy, environmental health, food, green building, maintenance, procurement, recycling and waste, transportation, and water. Students and teachers can also learn more about reducing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change issues here.

In addition, there’s a searchable collection of reviewed environmental curricula, and a soon-to-come section on demonstration schools, with profiles of schools that are in the process of change.

“Blueprint for a Green School” was written in 1995 by Jayni Chase, the founder of the CEE. In 2008, it’s being updated and made accessible for download off the Internet. According to the CEE, it’s become “a vital link between the ‘in-the-trenches’ educators and the abundant environmental resources available.”

I love that today companies are competing to be the greenest. Isn't it amazing how the tides have shifted? We're now at the point where people are seeing environmentalism as added value, rather than a costly hindrance.
Gusto Grilled Organics in Greenwich Village is a great example.

Gusto Grilled is the first 100% organic, green restaurant. It serves Latin-inspired cuisine for eat-in, takeout and delivery.

ENN reports, "Gusto opened about 10 days ago with no fanfare or public relations campaign, Gonzales said. And the place has been mobbed, he said.

"The restaurant goes beyond just organic fare. All packaging is eco-friendly, and most of it biodegrades in 90 days, Gonzales said. All the furniture was made with recycled wood from old barns in the region."

To learn more, read the full ENN article .

So we all know that on average, the things we buy from the grocery store have traveled about 1,500 miles to reach us. The solution: buy local. But is building a 30 story skyscraper-turned-farm in Las Vegas the solution? Should we be growing 100 varieties of agriculture in that city if most of them do not belong in the desert? Hasn't climate change shown us that diverging from natural ecosystems is the problem, not a solution? Check out this story and decide for yourself.

Vegas to Build Vertical Farm

Dr. Alan Greene, a pediatrician on the faculty of Stanford University’s School of Medicine and on the board of directors of The Organic Center, Boulder, Colorado, has developed an “organic prescription” of ten foods and crops you can buy that, in a single dose, can purify both your body and the planet: milk, potatoes, peanut butter, baby foods, ketchup, cotton, apples, beef, soy, and corn.

Dr. Greene bases his guide on his assessment of which pesticides are most harmful to humans, along with the negative effects of antibiotics, synthetic hormones, and chemical fertilizers. His choices are also based on how growing these crops organically reduces greenhouse gas emissions and toxic chemicals in air and water, and stems the depletion of non-renewable resources and the uncontrolled spread of genetically modified organisms.

“Many people first exploring organic foods begin with fruits and vegetables in hopes of reducing their exposure to harmful pesticides,” Dr. Greene says. “Choosing strategic organic foods can indeed quickly and dramatically decrease your family’s exposure to worrisome pesticides. While this is very useful, fruits and vegetables are only part of the diet, and pesticides on the plate are only one part of the health story.”

To read more about Organic Rx and view videos about each of these crops, visit www.drgreen.com.

Photo by svanes.

France has announced a ban on the planting of genetically engineered crops until the safety of the crops can be further assessed. French President Nicolas Sarkozy indicted that the decision was based on the desire to err on the side of safety. "I don't want to be in contradiction with EU laws, but I have to make a choice. In line of the precautionary principle, I wish that the commercial cultivation of genetically modified pesticide GMOs be suspended," he said.

Learn more at organicconsumers.org.

Everyday we make choices about the food we eat. How much money do we spend on food? Is it healthy? Was it grown and processed in a way that damages the environment?

This TIME Magazine photo slideshow gives a glimpse of the the similarities and differences between different cultures in terms of food. Some spend less than $2 a week, others spend over $500. Some eat mostly fresh produce, others eat mostly pre-packaged food. What I like about this slideshow is that it challenges our notions of what a "normal" diet is.

What do you think? Check out the slideshow at TIME's site, and leave a comment.

Conscious Lifestyle was founded on the idea that we don't have to wait for elections to make a change. Everyday we have an opportunity for vote for kind of world we want through ordinary actions: eating food, investing our time, choosing how to dress, talk, etc. In this globalized world even small, sometimes overlooked actions, can have a ripple effect that can be felt around the world. In a word, it's about living a lifestyle in which we are aware of how our decisions affect other people and the environment.

Whole Foods' Whole Body campaign reflects the philosophy behind Conscious Lifestyle. Consumers who are already eating organic and local foods may want more, say, cosmetics, herbal supplements, or toothpaste that's all natural. Whole Body provides information and products on those "beyond food" topics. There's even a podcast for the really ambitious.

Some may see Whole Body as an expensive business move that goes one step too far. Nonetheless, it is a step in the right decision. Whole foods led the way in making local and organic foods mainstream. Perhaps it will do the same with the other products we buy.

The Organic Consumer Association (OCA) reports:

"Caving to the threat of a lawsuit over the company's marketing practices, Kellogg has announced a new sweeping policy that will shift the company's nutritional guidelines and set a new standard for the food industry. Under the new guidelines, all products marketed to children under the age of 12 must contain a maximum of 200 calories, 2 grams of saturated fat, 230 milligrams of sodium, 12 grams of labeled sugar and 0 grams of labeled trans fat per serving. Currently, 50 percent of Kellogg products marketed to children fail to meet their new criteria. The company says implementation will begin immediately. Twenty-seven percent of Kellogg's advertising budget goes to marketing to children under the age of 12."

To read the whole story, go to the OCA web site.