When I was a baby, my mom and dad packed up their things along with me and my sister and bought a tiny farm in southeast Ohio. They caught the very tail end of the Back to the Land Movement and moving down to that farm was their way to get off the grid and be self sufficient. They had their own cows and chickens. They grew their own vegetables. And for a while lived without any electricity. They have since moved back to a city (albiet a very small one) because giving up as much as they did was too hard. They still have a small garden and live frugally, but they've giving up a lot of the things they did on that farm. Now, I have no interest whatsoever in living on a farm. I love the city too much. But the irony is not lost on either of my parents for my interest in organic, local foods, crafting and domestic activities, and doing things by hand instead of buying things.
One of the things that they focused on not because of choice, but because of necessity was eating local, seasonal food. My mom did a lot of her own canning and even after she moved to the city still would occasionally make big batches of tomato sauce. I had been researching local pick your own farms for next summer and decided picking foods and then canning them could be a lot of fun. My mom has since promised me her hot water canner and I have really gotten excited about learning to can foods. While researching canning, I came upon the 100 mile diet. I don't think I can totally do it, but it is really interesting.
The 100 mile diet is a movement that is slowly gaining members throughout the world. It runs along side (and sometimes in conjunction with) the Slow Food Movement. When following the 100 mile diet one eats only food grown within 100 miles. 100milediet.org chronicles Alisa Smith and James Mackinnon, from British Columbia, Canada, and one year of living on the 100 mile diet. The rules they followed were strict. No food was eaten that wasn't grown within 100 miles. And they talked often about how long it took to get into the groove of finding good local foods, and how in the beginning they ate a lot of potatoes. Other groups that follow the 100 mile diet aren't so strict, including the Locavores who have the following rules regarding their diet. I think these rules are a lot easier to follow than the very strict 100 mile diet and makes it easy for everyone to do.
If not LOCALLY PRODUCED, then Organic. This is one of the most readily available alternatives in the market and making this choice protects the environment and your body from harsh chemicals and hormones.
If not ORGANIC, then Family farm. When faced with Kraft or Cabot cheeses, Cabot, a dairy co-op in Vermont, is the better choice. Supporting family farms helps to keep food processing decisions out of the hands of corporate conglomeration.
If not FAMILY FARM, then Local business. Basics like coffee and bread make buying local difficult. Try a local coffee shop or bakery to keep your food dollar close to home.
If not a LOCAL BUSINESS, then Terroir, which means 'taste of the Earth'. Purchase foods famous for the region they are grown in and support the agriculture that produces your favorite non-local foods such as Brie cheese from Brie, France or parmesan cheese from Parma, Italy.
I think I'm going to try doing this by following the Locavores rules. I can't start right now because I am currently on vacation in Arizona. But starting with my next grocery shopping trip I am going to do my best to follow those rules. This is probably going to mean a lot more shopping at places like Whole Foods instead of the local Giant Eagle but it is worth a shot. I am not simply going to throw out the food I already have either. I'm going to make sure to eat everything that I still have available. Eating local isn't doing anyone any good if I'm wasting all the other food I have.
Wish me luck!
2007 is finally here. And what better time to start nurturing new habits than at the beginning of the new year? No, I'm not talking about making New Year's resolutions. I don't believe in them. But, I do believe in trying new things, and constantly striving to be a better person.
Newsweek was generous enough to provide a list of ten easy ways to go green this year. There are a million other EASY things to add to this list, but these are all things everyone can do that doesn't require access to green stores like Whole Foods.
Environment: Easy to Be Green
By Joan RaymondNewsweekJan. 8, 2007 issue - You don't have to ditch leather or sell your car to help the environment. We've gathered 10 simple tips for living greener in 2007. Hey, it's a lot easier than losing those 15 pounds.
1. Feed the Bees Pesticides, pollution and habitat destruction are taking a toll on the birds and insects that pollinate about 80 percent of the world's food supply (or about one out of every three bites of food we eat), says Rose Getch of the National Gardening Association. To lend a helping hand, plant a pollinator garden. Yellow, blue and purple flowers will attract bees, while red and orange will attract hummingbirds. For more information, go to kidsgardening.com.
2. Clean Up, Naturally Household chemicals contribute to both in-door and outdoor pollution. This year, use more natural cleaners like the Greening the Cleaning line at imusranchfoods.com. Or make your own using vinegar, baking soda and lemon juice. For some great tips on green cleaning, go to eartheasy.com.
3. Ditch Your Junk Not only is junk mail annoying, it kills trees. Do yourself—and the forests—a favor by getting off the mailing lists of companies you don't support. You can contact the firms yourself, or check out subscription services like greendimes.com or 41pounds.org that promise to lighten your junk-mail load. For more information: thegreenguide.com.
4. Air Your Laundry Make like Grandma and line-dry your clothes once in a while. It not only saves money, but also decreases your yearly carbon- dioxide emissions. Likewise, run your washer on cold whenever possible—and use it only when it's full.
5. Recycle Your Gadgets Don't clog landfills with old electronics. If you're dumping a computer, manufacturers like Dell (dell.com), HP (hp.com) and Apple (apple.com) offer recycling options. Or consider donating. The National Cristina Foundation (cristina.org) will hook up your old PC or Mac with a nonprofit organization. Drop off your old cell phone at your local Staples store as part of a Sierra Club recycling effort (sierraclub.org/cellphones/). To find a drop-off center for rechargeable batteries and cell phones, check out the nonprofit Call2Recycle program at rbrc.org. Take advantage of community resources like hazardous-waste pickup or e-waste recycling events.
6. Cut the Lights Trade your old incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescent ones, says Jenny Powers of the Natural Resources Defense Council. They use about 70 percent less energy than regular bulbs and last 10 times longer. For help in picking the best bulb for your needs, go to energystar.gov. Also, plug all your major electronics into a power strip, suggests eco-lifestyle expert Danny Seo, author of "Simply Green Giving" ($19.95; HarperCollins). Appliances and e-gadgets use electricity even when turned off, but flicking the switch on the power strip when you leave the house effectively unplugs them. Finally, check with your local utility company to see if it offers a "green power" option for its customers. Though that might cost slightly more, it's one way of supporting renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind power. The U.S. Department of Energy provides comprehensive "green power" info at eere.energy.gov/green power.
7. Eat Your Veggies Have a meatless Monday. According to the Cambridge, Mass., environmental-advocacy group the Union of Concerned Scientists, meat production is energy-inefficient, sucking up a lot of natural resources. In fact, it takes about 16 pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef. "You don't have to be a vegetarian—just take a break once or twice a week," says group president Kevin Knobloch. "If everyone tried to do something that simple, it could have a huge environmental effect." And when you're shopping for that food, think local. It's more fuel-efficient (your food didn't have to travel thousands of miles to get to your table), and you're boosting the local economy. Use the search engine at localharvest.org to find farms, markets and other food sources in your area. And, of course, bring a reusable cloth bag to the market so you don't have to take the plastic ones.
8. Save a Tree According to the folks at stop globalwarming.org, the paper industry is the third largest contributor to global warming. If every U.S. household replaced one toilet-paper roll with a roll made from recycled paper, 424,000 trees would be saved. If every household in the United States bought recycled napkins instead of virgin-fiber napkins, we could save a million trees. If the thought of recycled paper doesn't do it for you, plant a tree. According to the National Arbor Day Foundation, the net cooling effect of one healthy tree is equivalent to 10 room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day. You can go to arborday.org to find out which trees will do well in your ZIP code. If you don't have any room to plant, hundreds of eco-organizations have tree-planting projects. All you have to do is donate money.
9. Turn On the Tap Instead of spending big bucks on bottled water, drink the stuff that comes from your faucet. The reason? "It takes a lot of oil to make and ship those bottles, and once they're empty, most wind up in landfills or as litter," says Jen Boulden, cofounder of the online environmental community idealbite.com. If you're squeamish (Americans really do have some of the best tap water in the world), buy a water filter. For comparisons, go to waterfiltercomparisons.net.
10. Find an Eco-Date There was the metrosexual. Then the retrosexual. Now there's the ecosexual. So if one of your goals is to find that special, ecofriendly someone in 2007, check out social-networking communities like Vegan Passions (veganpassions.com), Earth Wise Singles (ewsingles.com), Green Singles (greensingles.com) or Green Passions (green-passions.com). Because two recyclers are better than one.
