World Environment Day (WED)

In 1972 the United Nations decided to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment by establishing World Environment Day. WED is celebrated on June 5 every year and is the final day of a year-long campaign. 

This year's campaign slogan is Think.Eat.Save. Reduce Your Footprint and is aimed at getting people to be aware of and act on food waste.

Think: Be a concious consumer by making shopping lists, planning meals, preparing appropriate quantities to avoid waste. Don't shop hungry and you'll avoid buying more food than you can eat before it spoils. Know the companies whose products you purchase. (A great resource are the many product guides available from Ethical Consumer.)


Eat: Eat smarter. Grow your own because you'll be less likely to waste food that you put so much effort into producing, serve leftovers before they spoil, and use fresh foods before using frozen or canned. Buy local to ensure a shorter time from field to table and food that lasts longer in your home.


Save: If you don't need it, don't buy it. And don't insist on cosmetically perfect food. You'll be helping people around the world, as well as your health, the planet, and your pocket book. 

A few stats to think about before you throw food in the trash:

• There are 7 billion people on Earth now, and that number will be 9 billion by 2050. That's a lot of people to feed.
• 1/3 of food produced in the world is wasted or lost before it reaches consumers.
• There are approximately 870 million undernourished people in the world. 
• Wasted food means hungry and undernourished people, as well as wasted natural resources (land, energy, water used to produce it) and money.
• Rotting food in landfills accounts for a significant amount of methane emissions, which contributes to global warming.

Why is so much food going to waste?

• Pests often get food before consumers do.
• In poor areas, storage facilities are often inadequate to keep food for very long.
• Ineffeciency in the supply chain often means food is spoiled before it's eaten.
• Buyers look for cosmetically perfect food so retailers throw out specimens that are less than perfect.
• Carelessly allowing leftovers and fresh food to spoil at home accounts for much of the food waste in developed countries. 
• Caterers and restaurants throw away excess food that is prepped but not ordered.

For more info on the Think.Eat.Save. Reduce Your Footprint campaign, click here to download the WED booklet in PDF format.

The United Nations is encouraging anyone who participates in World Environment Day to share your events, photos, etc. Just click here to go to www.unep.org/wed and upload your WED news. 

I'd also love to hear what you are doing to increase awareness and/or take action on food waste. Please leave a comment below if you're doing your part or planning to do your part!

Reaction to Russian Ban of GMO Corn

photo courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net

Okay. Let me apologize in advance. And warn you. I plan to rant. I need to let it out. I am angry. 

Here we are begging and pleading and signing petitions and blogging and facebooking and lobbying for LABELING of food containing genetically modified organisms and to no avail. Monsanto has so much money in the right pockets and so many people whispering in the right ears that we can't get anywhere! 

Meanwhile, France has studied GMO corn and found that it's a dangerous carcinogen. It causes CANCER! So they banned American corn. Now Russia is following suit based on the same study. And France is presenting the study to the European Union in an effort to ban all imports of American GMO corn (cause only stupid Americans grow this stuff for food).

I hope they do! I absolutely positively hope that the EU bans the stuff. Maybe then America will WAKE UP! 

I am sick and tired of big money companies running our lives. If the majority wants labeling, then label the stuff! Even better, follow France and Russia and ban GMO food in America! 

It's time for some action!

For more info on GMOs, try my previous article here or try this website for basic info and this one to stay updated on what's going on in the anti-GMO community.  

Grocers Take Note: How Green Parents Shop

More and more people are becoming aware of the need to be more eco-friendly and are willing to make changes to help the cause. Some are willing to make only small changes for now, while others (like me) are jumping head first into green living and making some major changes. Green moms and dads want to teach and share a healthier, greener way of living with their children, too, with the expectation that their generation will continue in the same tradition. We want our families to realize the impact their choices have on themselves and the world around them.

A big part of green living is what we eat and what we feed our families. But do grocers take us seriously? Do they think about what we are and are not willing to buy? A report from EcoFocus Worldwide shows that they certainly should. According to their research, 50% of moms will change brands when given a more eco-friendly option and 2 out of 5 are willing to pay more for a more eco-friendly choice. 

Of course, sometimes it can be difficult to know what the true eco-friendly choices are when shopping. Not all brands are what they seem. "Natural" doesn't always mean what you would think it does and some "organic" brands are actually using GMO ingredients. The term "greenwashing" refers to these brands that would have you believe you are making a better choice when really you are not. For example, Burt's Bees is owned by Clorox and Naked Juice is owned by Pepsi-Cola. Neither is a green company. 


My best advice is to grow it and/or make it yourself whenever possible. When you can't? 

• Look for certifications on products,like the Energy Star logo, Green Seal, USDA Organic, Fair Trade Certified or the Forest Stewardship Council logo, to help you choose products that are truly eco-friendly. To learn more about certifications on labels and what they mean, check out Consumer Reports eco-labels.
• When a product has a claim to be natural or green, look beyond the labeling for an explanation. If they don't list the how and why, they may be greenwashing. 
• Buy groceries at the local farmer's market before heading to the supermarket and you may be surprised at how little you from the grocery store. More than vegetables and fruits are available. We buy meat, milk, eggs, bread, butter, cookies, soap, and more at our market! Just be sure to know who you are buying from and what their growing practices are. It's okay to ask! "Are these vegetables organically grown?" "Were these grown locally or did you ship them in?" "Where is your farm?" And beware pretty produce...organically grown foods are typically not as picture perfect. 
• When you find brands you trust, buy them often and recommend them to friends and family. What we buy directly impacts what grocers carry. How we spend our money tells them what we want on the shelf. 
• Do your research! Food is a lot of what green blogs talk about and you can blog hop your way to a ton of knowledge, learning from the experiences of others. 

Next time you shop for groceries, pause for a moment and ask yourself, "What is my shopping cart saying?"