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Sat, 13 May 2006

Local Organic Farming Co-operative Thrives in Montana

This story came to SV via Nick Rose at Utne Magazine, who got it from OCA, who found it at New West Network, edited by Dana Green. And all without a single fossil fuel mile. This is about an organic farming co-operative in the Bitterroot Valley, Montana. I've excerpted the first few paragraphs of the article.

Western Montana Growers Go Beyond Organics & Get Local By Tad Sooter, 4-19-06, New West Network

When Lifeline Farms began growing and selling its natural produce from the Bitterroot Valley 25 years ago, "organic" had a slightly different connotation.

"We took our crate of food to Safeway, we had all our letters saying it was organic, and we said, "This is organic, do you want it? The managers looked at it and said, 'Oh, it’s organic? Well, we’ll take it anyway,'" says Luci Brieger, who with her husband Steve Elliott runs the produce portion of Lifeline Farms, one of the oldest organic farms in Montana.

Since those early days, Brieger and Elliott have seen organics go from obscurity to a mainstream marketing boon. And now, many organic farmers, including Brieger and Elliott, feel that organic programs have lost touch with their roots in small farms and close communities by embracing corporations that ship their produce all over the world.

In that spirit, 12 Missoula-area organic farms have formed a group that will offer an alternative to the USDA organic certification -- a "Homegrown" label focusing more on growing and selling food locally. All of the member farms will be within 150 miles of their markets. To join the Western Montana Sustainable Growers Union members will pledge to grow naturally, protect air and water, maintain fair labor practices and, most importantly, to sell and buy in their communities. New members will get a visit from an established farmer to help get them started. In short, the group will be based on community and close relationships.

Read the rest of Western Montana Growers Go Beyond Organics and Get Local

Fri, 12 May 2006

USDA Criticized for Helping 'Industrialize' Organic Farming

Agency Allowing Nonorganic Cattle in Dairy Production, Washington - May 10, The Cornucopia Institute

Proposed new federal organic livestock regulations are coming under sharp criticism for failing to close critical loopholes that are allowing a handful of factory-scale dairy farms in western states to continue bringing into their milk herd new animals raised with antibiotics, hormones, and genetically engineered feed produced with toxic pesticides.

The new rules ignore recommendations endorsed by the USDA’s own expert advisory panel, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). In 2002 and 2003, the NOSB unanimously passed recommendations that all animals being brought onto an existing organic dairy farm had to be under organic management starting no later than the last three months of pregnancy.

"Bringing in nonorganic animals is an unethical management practice that violates the trust of consumers," said Mark Kastel of The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based farm policy research group.

Read the rest of 'USDA Criticized'

To me, the USDA regulating organic standards is almost as ludicrous an idea as the Bush administration working for world peace. It would be foolish to expect anything other than exactly what's been happening to organic agriculture. Every facet of our self-elected government is owned by multinational corporations, and exists to serve them. Most of the organic food manufacturers are now owned by those corporations. And we know they don't give a flying fig for quaint notions like consumer trust.

I'm not saying we should all give up and go away. I just think that policial activity alone is not going to save organic food. We need to be more subversive than that, and vote with our forks.

Maybe it's naive to think that our individual actions can do anything. But the collective influence of individual actions has always been the catalyst for change. Horizon Organics (owned by Dean Foods) would get the message, or go out of business if nobody bought their milk. Your local corporate owned super market would suffer if you shopped at the farmer's market and your local economy would benefit. Or you could go vegan and grow your own vegetables. At least sprout some seeds.

To cheer you on in your naive quest for sane, healthy food, here are two recent articles by Michael Pollan, who has his head stuck when it comes to meat-eating, but none-the-less, has astute observations and ideas about the state of our diets. In an excerpt from an interview with Arnie Cooper of the The Sun Magazine, Pollan says, "Families used to control what their members ate and pass along learned wisdom in the form of a food culture. Now that's gone. Most people don't eat as families. We eat individually, going one-on-one with the food supply, which is how the food industry likes it."

'No Bar Codes', article excerpt from the May issue of Mother Jones: Michael Pollan visits Polyface Farms, where "an evangelical Virginia farmer (Joel Salatin) says a revolution against industrial agriculture is just down the road." I have to warn you that Polyface farms is all about pasture raised meat. What's interesting is the philosophy of agriculture, which Joel Salatin successfully practises on his family farm.

And finally, back to theVeggie Revolution, by Sally and Sara Kate Kneidel, "a new book about a very old subject, one ignored by most other books on the subject: the connection between vegetarianism, social activism and the environment." Read the Review of Veggie Revolution.

On the political and social activist side, Ronnie Cummins and the OCA are our heroes. Take action now with the OCA, and tell the USDA to back off on lowering standards! And send a donation to the OCA, so they can continue to fight to preserve organic standards!

And let's get naive!

Tue, 09 May 2006

Home, Home In The Organic Garden, Where The Worms Roam and It Rains Just Enough

It's spring and gardening fever has me in it's grip. I come from a long line of organic gardening women, and my organic garden is modest but vital to my mental and physical health. I highly recommend gardening. For flavor, nutrition, satisfaction, plus cheap and effective therapy, there's nothing like picking and eating something organic that you grew yourself. If you possibly can, in any way, find a place to grow something, get out there and garden.

It's amazing to think of, but until less than a hundred years ago, all food was grown organically, throughout all of human history. Before everyone moved to apartments in the city, and industrial agriculture was just a dream in the minds of the railroad barons and mining conglomerates, most everyone had a garden of some kind. Especially women. Men worked, women raised children, kept house, and gardened. If you wanted your family to eat well, you grew food. It was far from ideal - women got a raw deal in so many ways. But there was a lot of organic gardening going on. Now, women don't have to garden, and men get to garden too.

As a place to learn about organic gardening, and for ongoing gardening support, I recommend Home of Organic Gardening and Compost Gardening. The Organic Gardener's knowledge is unsurpassed, and this website is a complete, indispensible resource. If you're new to organic gardening, it will inspire and guide you. Learn all about composting, cover crops and green manure, soil, weed control, watering, seed saving, worm bins, gardening tools and how to use them. Etc, etc.

For more organic gardening resources, and more general info about organic food, visit SV's Organic Resource Guide, or read SV Articles about organic food and agriculture. And if you want to know what to do with your organic veggies, visit SV Recipes

Thu, 04 May 2006

More Bottled Water

Pandora's Bottle: Article by Leif Utne May/June 2006, Utne Magazine

Leif Utne's article is a natural follow-up to a February blog on bottled water. Here's a brief intro:

How uncapping your water opens the floodgates to privatization:

The breaking news on bottled water suggests that it might not be the tall cool drink that ecofriendly, health-conscious consumers seek. Plastic bottles are piling up in landfills as billions of gallons of fossil fuels are used to ship the stuff worldwide. In the United States -- where half of Americans drink bottled water regularly, and one in six avoids the tap entirely -- consumers have been convinced that hitting the bottle is a healthy choice, even though the Environmental Protection Agency does a better job of monitoring what comes from home taps than the Food and Drug Administration does tracking water sold at the grocery store.

Read: Pandora's Bottle

Wed, 03 May 2006

Organic Inc.: Natural Foods and How They Grew

I'm about half way through reading Organic Inc. by Samuel Fromartz. Although I'm not ready to write a review, I am ready to share a peek at the book, and recommend a good read about the organic produce business.

In SV Organic Articles, I've posted the full excerpt from the chapter 'A Spring Mix: Growing Organic Salad', about the growth of the organic salad greens industry (no other word for it) in California, from hippy roots to a big business dominated by several large corporations.

The following is an excerpt from the book Organic Inc.: Natural Foods and How They Grew, by Samuel Fromartz. Published by Harcourt; April 2006

Here's the first paragraph of 'A Spring Mix: Growing Organic Salad'

'It would be hard to miss the corporate offices of Earthbound Farm, the largest organic produce company in the nation. The operation is just off Highway 101, a half-hour inland from the central coast of California and five minutes from San Juan Bautista -- a picturesque small town best known for the nineteenth-century Spanish mission tower James Stewart warily climbed in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. Beside green fields that stretch for miles toward the Gabilan Mountains to the east sits a squat 205,000-square-foot processing plant -- the biggest of five the company has erected at a cost of more than $110 million. Out back, a row of refrigerated semitrailers lines up, waiting to pick up the twenty-two million servings of organic salad the company sells each week. In front, a huge refrigerated truck idles while a forklift unloads plastic bins of cut lettuce fresh from the fields. The bins whiz by me, headed for a submarine-sized vacuum cooling tube. Within twenty minutes the lettuce is chilled to thirty-six degrees, beginning a cold chain that will continue as the salad is washed and bagged and sent to supermarkets around the country, where it is sold within seventeen days.'

Read the Excerpt from Organic Inc. by Samuel Fromartz

Tue, 02 May 2006

Big Threat To Freedom of the Net

The following piece appeared in the most recent OCA newsletter, on April 28th. I thought it would be all over the net, but that's the only place I've seen it. Of course, I've been a little out of touch. But I wonder if others were as alarmed by this as I am.

I've had the feeling for a while now that the glory days of free speech on the internet are numbered. If the telecom giants have their way, the internet will be soon be just as censored as print media in this country, which means there'll be no access to alternative news and opinion on the web. I doubt the internet will prove all that easy to subdue, but I could be wrong - it's happened once or twice! Enjoy your freedom while it lasts!

From OCA 4.28.06: Telecommunications Giants Move To Control How You Surf The Web

A nationwide network of nonprofit organizations, including the Organic Consumers Association, are mobilizing to stop Congress from passing a law that would enable telecommunications giants to control the flow of traffic on the internet. Companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast are pressuring Congress to pass the "Telecom Reform Bill" that would allow them to restrict or slow down your access to certain websites on the internet.

As an example, last year, Canada's version of AT&T -- Telus -- blocked their internet customers from visiting a web site sympathetic to workers with whom Telus was negotiating. This controversial bill would create a similar situation in the U.S. whereby telephone and cable companies would have increased power to control how well (or poorly) specific websites, including those operated by nonprofit organizations, would function on your computer.

The current construction of the internet allows everyone to compete on a level playing field. This is the reason that the internet is a force for economic innovation, civic participation and free speech. If the public doesn't speak up now, Congress will hand over control of the internet to these telecommunications monopolies.
Please Take Action

One More Time: The GMO Trilogy by Jeffrey Smith

Jeffrey Smith hopes to influence GMO market with informed consumers

This is the third time I've blogged about the GMO Trilogy by Jeffrey Smith, author of Seeds of Deception). That's because I can't say it enough: I urge all of you who haven't done so to get it and watch it and listen to it, and stop being an involuntary subject in a global, illegal, dangerous scientific experiment which is endangering our health and our food supply. The GMO Trilogy is available in most natural food stores, or you can order online.

Thanks to our local Fairfield paper, the Heartland Spirit, for the text of this article - I've borrowed from their recent offering on the subject.

Jeffrey Smith is banking on the food industry responding to a small percentage of trend-setting shoppers who start looking for non-GMO brands. 'GMO's were kicked out of Europe when manufacturers responded to consumer concern,' he says. 'Without adequate news coverage in the US, however, we have to package and distribute the information ourselves.'

Smith chose the film 'Unnatural Selection' as the headliner for his set. It is an award-winning European documentary in which Vandana Shiva, Andrew Kimbrell, Percy Schmeiser and other reveal several harsh consequences of genetic engineering on three continents. These include uncontrollable, self-replicating GM canola contamination in Canada, a failed FM cotton crop and farmer suicides in India, GM salmon that might wipe out natural fish populations in the ocean, and deformed GM livestock created by the US government.

The second DVD is Smith's 'Hidden Dangers in Kid's Meals.' More than 15 scientists and experts describe how GM-fed animals had damaged immune systems, stunted growth, organ lesions, sterility, high death rates and increased mortality among offstpring. They discuss serious humanproblems that have been reported and how children are most at risk from the potential dangers.

The Trilogy also contains the audio CD: 'You're Eating WHAT?', a compelling talk by Smith about how biotech companies rigged research, hid health dangers and pressured government regulators to approve GM food long before the science was ready.

According to the Chicago Tribune, 'If you make it through all three discs, you'll probably feel enraged at Monsanto, alarmed over the state of the food supply, and worried that the $80 billion biotech industry has already left the station.' (and laid waste to the countryside!)

Jeffrey Smith's next book, 'Genetic Roulette', documents all known health risks of GM foods in easy-to-read two-page spreads and is due out at the end of summer, 2006.

For more information about the contents, a 5 minute preview and audio download, and to order a copy (highly recommend!) go to GMO Trilogy

Review of GMO Trilogy: Brian Tokar directs the Biotechnology Project at the Institute for Social Ecology and is the editor of two books on the science and politics of biotechnology: "Redesigning Life?" and "Gene Traders." Read his review of the GMO Trilogy

Fri, 21 Apr 2006

Natural Water Economy

Redesigning Our Landscapes to Store and Purify Water

By Lawrence Gamble

Reprinted with permission from The Iowa Source, Fairfield IA

Savvy Veg Comment: This is the long version of Lonnie Gamble's article on water collection, storage and purification, which appeared in the April 2006 print edition of The Iowa Source. The Source has a shorter online article specifically about collecting and using rainwater. I went with this longer water article because it's more informative about environmental, permaculture landscape, the natural water economy, and the long historic view of water.

After a poetic introduction, Lonnie contrasts nature's successful water economy with the mainly disastrous man made efforts at controlling this most fundamental and endangered of all natural resources.

Read the article: Nature's Water Economy

Iowa CAFO Defeated By Local Action

Look At What Grass Roots Activism Can Do!

This story comes from JFAN, a Fairfield, Iowa organization, which was formed to fight CAFO's, (confined animal feeding operation) after the IA State legislature passed legislation blocking local control of agriculture. Similar legislation has recently been passed in many states.

JFAN, or Jefferson County Farmers and Neighbors, joined forces with ICCI, Iowa Citzens for Commummunity Improvement. They worked together with local people in Farson IA, to get the DNR to pay attention to the many problems with a proposed CAFO, as well as the strong local opposition. Their success was due to their combined and organized efforts carried from the local to the state level. Without that, this CAFO application would have been rubber stamped, just like all the rest, in spite of it's obvious and certain disastrous effects on the environment.

JFAN: The proposed 4,300-head hog factory near Farson in Wapello County has been denied a permit by the DNR. We have our first major victory! This is only the second time in its history that the Iowa DNR has denied a permit for a major facility.

Here's What They Did: Congratulations go to Kari Carney and the whole Iowa CCI team for their dedicated efforts, and to the Farson residents who dedicated themselves to this cause. Many thanks to EPC Commissioner Francis Thicke (Radiance Dairy) for his pivotal role in this victory, as well as to JFAN Board members Jim Rubis and Chris Estle-Tedrow, who attended many Farson meetings and spoke against the proposed facility. Also, huge thanks to our JFAN members! Many wrote letters to the editor, 2,000 signed the petition that Deborah Williamson created, calling for a statewide moratorium on CAFOs, and 760 wrote letters to Iowa legislators and the governor in support of local control. From the JFAN Board, Robert Swanson organized the circulation of the petition, Chris Estle-Tedrow presented it to the governor, and Jeff Mangin and Rich Sims coordinated the letter-writing campaign. It's thought that the petition and the 760 letters may have contributed to this highly unusual decision by DNR Director Jeff Vonk. It's great to know our efforts can produce the results we're looking for.

Any community can do the same. It does take dedicated effort, organization, fund-raising, and so on, and it always seems that there are just a few individuals sacfricing all their time, energy and resources to the cause, sometimes for years, while a few others (myself included) turn out for the odd meeting, sign a few petitions, or write the occasional letter. But our attention is powerful - public opinion makes strong politicians shake. Concerted public action makes them head for the nearest exit. If enough of us common little people hiding in the grass can overcome our apathy and self-centered absorption, get together with the other members of our communities, and ACT, we can bring about change.

One CAFO down! Thousands to go.

Wed, 19 Apr 2006

Jolinda Hackett, Editor, About.com Guide to Vegetarian Cuisine

Recently I emailed Jolinda Hackett, editor of the About.com Guide to Vegetarian Cuisine:

'Hi Jolinda,'

'I enjoyed your April Fools Day article about how NOT to cook a vegetarian meal - it's lovely to find someone with a sense of humor writing about vegetarian diet. I'll be blogging about that!'

'I also read your Q&A's and Vegetarian 101, and it sounds as though we think a lot alike. I'd like to invite you to visit my website, Savvy Vegetarian, when you have a chance.'

Jolinda visited and sent a nice compliment about SV Blog. I went back to About.com to get the scoop on Jolinda, and was distracted by an amazing recipe for avocado chocolate fudge! I did eventually read her bio, after cruising her excellent veggie food column - it's great fun!

Jolinda has been vegetarian for over 15 years and went vegan five years ago. She hangs out in health food stores for hours on end, has traveled, shopped, eaten and lived as a vegetarian all across North America, and has spent hundreds of hours talking to people of all walks of life about vegetarianism.

Jolinda says, 'There are as many reasons to go vegetarian as there are vegetarians! Whatever your personal reasons, you’ll find cooking tips, food and product reviews and recipes for every diet and occasion on this site.' If you want to have fun while learning a lot about cooking vegetarian food, visit Jolinda at About.com.

Tue, 18 Apr 2006

Welcome to Carnival of the Green #23

That old ferris wheel keeps turning, turning, turning --- Carnival of the Green was created by Triple Pundit and City Hippy. Each week one green blog hosts the Carnival of the Green with a roving journal of the green blogosphere. Green as in environmental and sustainable. And not to be missed!

One of the many things I love about COTG are the names of the blogs! This weeks Carnival is at Organic Authority, last week it was Exuberant Pantaphobia. Next week, Evangelical Ecologist preaches to the choir.

Noteworthy (to my eye) Carnival posts this week include Worsted Witch's eulogy for Swiffer ("It is with a leaden, anguished-filled heart that this witch must lay the very last of her Swiffer citrus-scented wet wipes to its eternal rest etc"), and an excellent article on ecological cleaners. Greener Miami tells how to use your dishwasher more greenly - all I really want to know is how I ever lived without one. I know, I'm a disgrace!

Stentor D. at debitage has quite a good bit about the US becoming a third world country. Jennifer of Good Green/Bad Green wonders why she doesn't hang her clothes outside instead of putting them in the dryer. Well what if there were no dryer? Or electricity to run it? Or you couldn't afford the electricity? Think Third World!

GO have fun at the Carnival Of The Green!

Tue, 11 Apr 2006

CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) - Eating In Season

"Joining a CSA is like eating from a garden, and when you eat from a garden, you eat by the seasons."
- Jocelyn Engman, Choice Earth CSA

Share Jocelyn's passion, intelligence and poetic wisdom about CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)and eating in season from the CSA garden in her new article. Last year SV published her article CSA Story: From Chemist To Organic Farmer, which is good background for 'Eating In Season'. Both articles are reprinted with permission from The Iowa Source, Iowa's Enlightening Magazine.

Excerpt From 'Eating In Season'

I didn't pay much attention to the soil or it's smell or the seasons in general before my husband and I came back to Iowa to start our community supported agriculture (CSA) garden. I didn't pay any attention to the land, though farming is what I came from and what I grew up with.

Only now am I starting to get the feel of 'reconnected to the land.' What we put in our mouths nourishes our lives, and the soil is the start of all nourishment. More than that, being awake and aware is the only way we know we're alive; eating is acknowledging life.

Read Eating In Season From The CSA Garden

Mon, 10 Apr 2006

Carnival Of The Green #22: Environmental Foodies Come Out Of The Woods

Carnival of the Green was created by Triple Pundit and City Hippy. Each week one green blog hosts the Carnival of the Green and gives a roving digest of the green blogosphere. Green as in environmental and sustainable. And not to be missed!

Last week's Carnival was at Green Thinker. This week's Carnival happens at Exuberant Pantaphobia, with a bonus of entertaining carnival pictures. This time I posted about how some environmentalists don't get the veg connection (see Apr 5). So, of course, all the eco-foodies came out of the woods this week. It was a little embarrassing, but oh! So very gratifying!

There was Melissa at LA Green Living with 10 Free Ways To Be Green including eating another meatless meal each week (how' bout each day? ok, 3 times a week?). Then Al at City Hippy said in his post that although he struggles with it, "Being vegetarian is quite possibly the biggest green thing any of us can do" Thanks Al - perseverence furthers!

Tracy at Healthy Wealthy and Wise went on an Walmart Undercover Mission, to see if the rumors about cheap organic food were true. She was disappointed in what she found. Personally I think Walmart getting into the green trade and importing 'organic' produce from China, or selling 'corporate organic' food is going to do for the organic movement what it did for local economies - send it down the toilet.

In the green and bad for you division, Siel, the Green LA Girl, tells about fair trade cocoa with fair trade sugar. Yes! Must get some.

Carnival host Exuberant Pantaphobia had a couple of recent food posts. One was a plan for a simple home made solar dehydrator, from The Farm. The other was a link to Sprouting 101 from Dave at Vegan Cycling. He makes it super easy. Thanks Dave, for the tip about the window screen - I think there's some lurking in the garage.

Food interests me the most, but there was much more than food at the Carnival Of The Green. GO - See For Yourself! It's FREE!

Thu, 06 Apr 2006

Corporate Ownership of Organic Food

I found this corporate organic flow chart in Utne, courtesy of Triple Pundit

Phil Howard, post doctoral researcher from The Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems reveals the corporate players in the organic marketplace. From Cyber Help For Organic Farmers, another Canadian site.

I was only slightly shocked to see that Heinz has 16.7% equity in Hains Celestials, which owns at least 10 natural food companies, and their subsidiaries. Is it any wonder that Organic Standards are slipping badly, when companies like Heinz, Kraft, Kellogs, Unilever, Cargill, etc. are major players in the Organic Trade Association which dictates to the USDA?

Not that I think these giant companies are evil (ha! ha! ha!). It's just that past evidence makes it seem likely that they only want to appear organic in order to cash in on the growing demand for organic food. And it makes me wonder if they're really committed to upholding organic standards for the benefit of humankind and our planet.

After my mind had boggled from looking at the chart, I visited Cyber Help. And there was the good old Canadian flag, waving away. When did Canadians become patriotic, I wondered. When I lived there, the flag was just embarrassing - you didn't actually display it anywhere unless you were the government. Then I read that a two year grant from the Canadian federal government funded the establishment of this website. Federally funded, but not federally controlled. Hmmm! Only in Canada you say?

Cyber Help For Organic Farmers provides extensive and well-organized services and resources on every aspect of organic farming. Impressive! And encouraging! I take it as a sign that some people in the organic food industry, organic farmers at least, take organic food seriously. Even if you don't have a farm, or even a garden, it satisfies your inner farmer to know what's involved in growing organic food.

Wed, 05 Apr 2006

Help Reduce Global Warming by Going Veg!

From Nava Atlas, Veggie Talk blog reprinted from her Vegetarian Kitchen newsletter

I truly believe that global warming is one of the most critical issues of our time. Recently, I heard an interview with the president of the Ad Council on the radio. This is the organization that brings important issues to the public eye with simple slogans like 'Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.' Their latest campaign is on global warming.

Curious, I went to that subsection of their web site, Fight Global Warming. While their suggestions to reduce energy consumption in the home and on the road won’t hurt, I am continually perplexed as to why mainstream environmental organizations ignore the one thing people can do to help reduce global warming: Cut down on, or give up, meat and other animal products.

Since you are a subscriber (to Veg Kitchen newsletter), I am assuming that you already have given up or cut down on meat, and in effect, you are doing more for the earth than most. Good for you, and pass along the message!

I quote from EarthSave: "By far the most important non-CO2 greenhouse gas is methane, and the number one source of methane worldwide is animal agriculture. Methane is responsible for nearly as much global warming as all other non-CO2 greenhouse gases put together. Methane is 21 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than CO2; arguably the best way to reduce global warming in our lifetimes is to reduce or eliminate our consumption of animal products.

Simply by going vegetarian (or, strictly speaking, vegan), we can eliminate one of the major sources of emissions of methane, the greenhouse gas responsible for almost half of the global warming impacting the planet today."
Read the entire report at Earthsave International

SV Comments

I’m also perpetually puzzled by environmentalists who simply ignore the vegetarian side. I zipped through the Earth Save article Nava mentioned - I loved the suggestion at the end of an environmental tax on meat, similar to that on cigarettes!

Veggie Revolution by Sally and Sara Kate Kneidel came out last fall, and here's a great Sally & Kate quote: "Cow farts are made of methane. Sounds silly - how can intestinal gas have such a major effect? An adult cow weighs more than half a ton. Consider that there are more than one and a half million cows worldwide. That's a whole lot of rear ends crankin' out gas. One single molecule of methane can trap as much solar heat as twenty-five molecules of carbon dioxide, so it's very powerful as a greenhouse gas."

The Global Warming article at Earthsave goes into the methane gas issue in more detail.

Mon, 03 Apr 2006

Welcome to Carnival of the Green #21

This weeks Carnival is at Green Thinker, a Canadian green blog. The reference to CBC was a dead giveaway. Just for old times sake I went and poked around in the CBC archives.

Although I've known that Canada is a foreign country since I moved to the US, it was very apparent in the series of articles in which the Canadian gov't apologizes over and over, and gives out gobs of money, for putting the native children in residential schools and taking away their language and culture. I believe they're still unapologetically doing that in the U.S!

Anyway, back to the Carnival - it's coffee to bamboo to angry golfers with guns to eco-snobs on South Park this week, and ranges from Miami, to Australia, to LA, to India. Last weeks C.O.T.G. was at Greener Magazine, with hip wit Harlan Weikle, who makes COTG FUN, like, well like a carnival!

Carnival of the Green was created by Triple Pundit and City Hippy. Each week one green blog hosts the Carnival of the Green and gives a roving digest of the green blogosphere. Green as in environmental and sustainable. And not to be missed!

GMO Trilogy Available Now

A new DVD and CD set produced by bestselling author Jeffrey Smith, Seeds of Deception), which shows how genetically modified organisms (GMOs) put our health and environment at risk, may impact consumer perceptions and buying habits.

The release of Jeffrey Smith's new GMO Trilogy is an important event, one that organizers and supporters hope will finally alert the general public to the dangers of GMO food. To make it affordable for all, the trilogy is sponsored by these green businesses and organizations: Eden Foods, Nature’s Path, Organic Valley, Frey Vineyards, Nutiva, Now Foods, French Meadow Bakery, Organic Food Bar, Organic Consumers Association, The Institute for Responsible Technology and Seventh Generation.

For more information about the contents, a 5 minute preview and audio download, and to order a copy (highly recommend!) go to GMO Trilogy

Review of GMO Trilogy

Brian Tokar directs the Biotechnology Project at the Institute for Social Ecology and is the editor of two books on the science and politics of biotechnology: "Redesigning Life?" and "Gene Traders." Following is the introduction to his review of the GMO Trilogy

In recent years, "you are what you eat" has become a popular adage, a truism, perhaps a bit of a cliche. There is little doubt that the quality and variety of the food we eat has a profound impact on our health and well being.

But in recent years, a new threat has emerged that challenges our ability to make the most basic choices about our food. The new technology of genetic engineering (GE), coupled with an unprecedented concentration of corporate control over the processing and distribution of food—and especially the sources of our seeds—has cast doubt on the safety and integrity of even some of the most common foods we eat every day.

Thus far, genetic engineering on a large scale has been largely limited to four basic crops: soybeans, corn, cotton and canola. Hawaiian papayas, some varieties of summer squash, and milk from cows injected with a genetically engineered hormone, Monsanto’s notorious recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), are also affected to varying degrees. But when we consider the pervasiveness of various soy and corn extracts in processed foods—even 'natural' processed foods—the broad extent of the problem is revealed. The more scientists learn about the consequences of genetic engineering (also known as genetic modification, hence the popular abbreviation GMOs, for 'genetically modified organisms'), the more alarmed we become about how this technology is affecting our health and the environment.

Read Brian Tokar's review of the GMO Trilogy

More info on the GMO Trilogy

Thu, 30 Mar 2006

Expand Your Green Vocabulary With The Dictionary of Sustainable Management

Bennett Gordon in the current issue of Utne's Web Watch, says about the Sustainability Dictionary: "From "Accountability" to "Zero Waste," the Dictionary of Sustainable Management looks to be the go-to website for green definitions. This project of the Presidio School of Management is designed for conscious professionals who need to know what the heck 'Grousers' are."

'Grousers', by the way, are "A selection of consumers defined by the Market research firm Roper ASW (the Green Gauge Report) as disinterested in "green" or environmental issues. These customers represent 19% of the total American consumer population. They tend to view environmental issues as too big and complicated to address." Hmmm. Only 19% - I'd have guessed much higher!

The core definition of Sustainability is "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Furthermore: "This definition was created in 1987 at the World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission). It is enshrined in the Swiss federal constitution. It is similar to the 'seventh generation' philosophy of the Native American Iroquois Confederacy, mandating that chiefs always consider the effects of their actions on their descendants seven generations in the future."

Couldn't have said it better! Unfortunately, there was no definition for 'tree hugger' in the sustainable dictionary. As a genuinely committable treehugger, I find that omission puzzling, but maybe it's just because it's too slangy.

What About 'Green'? Here it is: "A common metaphor referring to environmental association based on the shared secondary color of many plants. It is often used to associate products, organizations, political parties, or policies with environmental sensitivity." Unhappily, 'green' is rapidly becoming as co-opted as 'organic' in sustaina-speak, used by pretend organic companies like Horizon Organics to boost their public image. In the sustainable dictionary, that's called 'green marketing', synonymous with 'green washing.' That's the last time I use that phrase!

Expand and polish your sustainable vocabulary, to enhance your credibility as a bonafide bleeding heart liberal tree hugging environmentalist, or at least, make yourself sound like one at appropriate moments, with the Sustainability Dictionary.

Mon, 27 Mar 2006

Welcome to Carnival of the Green #20

The Carnival of the Green was created by Triple Pundit and City Hippy. Each week one green blog hosts the Carnival of the Green and gives a roving digest of the green blogosphere. Green as in environmental and sustainable. And not to be missed!

This weeks carnival is at Greener Magazine, with hip wit Harlan Weikle, who makes COTG FUN, like, well like a carnival! Last weeks was at Balogh Blog, with green goodies galore, to mark the Spring Equinox.

Thu, 23 Mar 2006

Big Green Summer: 10-Week Immersion Project in Green Living

This article by Nancy Pfoutz has been reprinted in Savvy Vegetarian with permission from the excellent local green news weekly, The Heartland Spirit, in Fairfield IA, greenest town in the midwest. Does 'green midwest town' sound like an oxymoron? Trust me - it's not!

Five fortunate interns will be diving deeply into all aspects of sustainable living and design this summer, as pioneers in the first educational program sponsored by the FairField Internships Project. Founded by Lonnie Gamble, who co-directs the project with Diana Krystofiak, Big Green Summer will offer a 'walk the talk' experience where students will live what they learn.

In a 'total immersion experience', students will learn about: renewable energy in a solar-powered classroom, grow organic produce as they learn about food systems, and harvest their own energy and water. They will intern with local businesses involved in renewable energy, natural building materials, organic agriculture, edible landscaping, social services, and other aspects of cutting-edge sustainable community development.

"We want the program to have the integrity of what they’re learning to be in synchrony with how they’re living," said Gamble. "In most sustainability programs, the facilities don’t reflect what’s being taught – in fact, they often 'teach' the opposite. Lots of kids are looking for a non-traditional educational experience like this where you walk your talk in every aspect."

Read more about Big Green Summer in Fairfield IA.

Sun, 19 Mar 2006

New! Indian Recipes from Homestyle Cookbook Author

Geraldine Hartman, author of 'Not Just For Vegetarians, Delicious Homestyle Cooking, the Meatless Way.' has sent three excellent Indian recipes from her new cookbook. Serve them together for a sumptious meal.

Easy Vegetable Curry: Looking for something a bit different for dinner? Don’t let your family 'write off' curries until you have tried this one. Quick to make, full of flavor, texture and colorful too. Serves 6 generously.

Indian Chapati Baked Flatbread: These yeast free Indian flat breads or chapatis are unusual in that they are baked in the oven rather than on the stove top. They call for butter and buttermilk - vegan substitutions are given. Eat them with anything that goes with bread.

Red Lentil and Rice Salad: Tired of the same old, same old fruit salads? Try this colorful and satisfying alternative. The peanuts, sunflower seeds and lentils add protein and crunch! Makes 8-10 servings as a side dish.

New! Soy Isolate or TVP: Is This A Health Food?

It all started when someone sent Savvy Veg a TVP recipe.
All I knew about soy isolates or TVP is that it's a by-product of soy oil production. I've never knowingly eaten TVP, but I know it's in just about every processed food, healthy or not, on the market. I decided to do a little research.

Many of those who regard protein as the most important part of their diets, but can't afford or don't want to eat meat, look to TVP (textured vegetable protein) as a valuable meat replacement, because of it's quick cooking, high protein, low fat attributes, and it's strong rep as a healthy food. On the surface, it all looks fine, but there's trouble in soy paradise. This article answers the question,
Is TVP A Health Food?

Wed, 15 Mar 2006

Calling All Veggie Cooks!

Cookbook author Geraldine Hartman, author of 'Not Just For Vegetarians, Delicious Homestyle Cooking The Meatless Way,' is holding a vegetarian recipe contest, open for entries until Mar. 31st. First prize is a $50 Amazon gift certificate and three signed copies of Not Just For Vegetarians, so you can give two away as gifts to non-veg friends and relatives, so they can feed you when you visit them.

Once I have her book 'Not Just For Vegetarians' in my hands, I'll read and review it. Meanwhile, I'll soon be featuring some of Geraldine's excellent recipes on Savvy Veg. Meanwhile, visit her blog, Veggie Yarns and Tails for a great Russian Beet Borscht recipe, discussion of the dangers of flu vaccines, and a link to an article about building your immunity against the flu.

Tue, 14 Mar 2006

Welcome to the Carnival of the Green

The Carnival of the Green was created by Triple Pundit and City Hippy. Each week one green blog hosts the Carnival of the Green and gives a roving digest of the green blogosphere. Green as in environmental and sustainable. And not to be missed!

Savvy Vegetarian has been joining the carnival most weeks. I have to say that my contributions are marginal, but I love this, and persist in regarding vegetarian and green as indivisable by nature. Last week I sent in the breastfeeding exchange (see below), thinking what could be more environmental than breastfeeding? I look forward with great excitement to hosting the carnival in June.

I've been remiss in not publicizing the Carnival of the Green, but no more! I've turned over a new four leaf clover. Every week I'll remind you all. This week's Carnival is hosted by the Dirty Greek. I encourage you to leave Savvy Veg and check it out - as soon as you read the very important OCA bit that follows.

OCA's Newsletter Fully Packed With Eco-Food News

Organic Bytes was so packed this week, that I would have had to publish the whole thing, which seemed like way too much work - I'm still resting up from my breastfeeding rant. So I've linked you to it. Read about the label law that was just passed by our government - showing how much they care. I got a smarmy letter from my congressman explaining why he thought this was a great idea - sorry, I'm not that dumb.

Read about the US voting for genetically engineered foods against 132 other countries, cancer from soft drinks, climate change, organic farming, kids and sugar, mad cow disease in the US, corrupt 'organic' companies, and the relationship (tight) between sustainable agriculture, the environment and massive military spending.
Go OCA!

Thu, 09 Mar 2006

Robin Weiss, Pregnancy, Childbirth, Breastfeeding Expert and Amazing Human Being. Vegetarian Too!

Robin Weiss, pregnancy & childbirth editor at about.com had the last word in our breastfeeding conversation, posted on 3.7.06, following my breastfeeding rant posted just below that

Robin: One small thing, I am sorry I didn't stress enough how I feel about breastfeeding. The baby should IMMEDIATELY come to mom. Unfortunately, this is not the common practice in many hospital settings, even when there are no complications. So I usually try to point out that even AAP says moms and babies belong together.

It reminds me of what my mom said about not touching baby animals or their mothers wouldn't smell them "right.

Judy: I guess when childbirth is a medical event, the emotional connection, the bonding between mother and baby tends to be overshadowed. That moment immediately following the birth, when baby latches on and baby and Mom gaze at each other - oh! hello! it's you! - I think is possibly the most significant event in both of their lives. It's the one thing I clearly remember about each of my children's births.

I'm delighted to have met and talked with you, Robin. I just visited your home page on about.com, and looked around. And read about you. Pretty impressive. Seven children - my goodness, AND all those initials after your name, and books, too!

Please keep me posted about anything at all.

Robin: Thanks, Judy. I couldn't agree more about the problems with the medical model in these terms. I had really great births at home with my last 6, including a set of twins! But as my doula work takes me to the hospital I see this removal a lot. Though I did have a mom skin-to-skin during her caesarean surgery 2 weeks ago. I didn't even ask, I just snuggled baby next to her.

Robin Elise Weiss, LCCE
About Pregnancy/Birth
About.com is part of The New York Times Company

Note from Judy: I'm glad I didn't go read about Robin Weiss before I got up on my soapbox and ranted, because I was struck speechless, an event that occurs in nature only once in a thousand years. If you want to know about anything to do with pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding - she's your woman! And I thought I should mention, Robin is a newish vegetarian and her husband is vegan. Go read all about Robin - an amazing human being!

Tue, 07 Mar 2006

Feedback on Breast Feeding Rant

Robin Weiss, pregnancy & childbirth editor at about.com wrote to offer a few facts to offset some of the broad, sweeping statements I made about midwives in my breastfeeding rant, below.

Thanks for bringing up breastfeeding. I found you from Veggie Pregnancy. My husband is a vegan and I'm a fairly new veggie. That said, I had a couple of comments on your breastfeeding piece:

1) midwives can be nurses or non-nurses. Nurse midwives are legal in ALL 50 states. Other midwives vary state to state.

2) A lactation specialist is not necessarily some one other than the nurse on duty at a hospital. A true board certified lactation consultant has had a number of hours of mom/baby contact, training in normal and not so normal issues with breastfeeding, and passed a rigorous exam. Be careful not to confuse an IBCLC with your regular night nurse; the results can be a disaster.

3) You're right on about the formula makers sending freebies home, see what MA Commonwealth did in their hospitals. Go moms and babies!

Of course, that set me off on another rant - I must have a big stress about breastfeeding!

Hi Robin! Thanks for writing, and for your heads up. I should have qualified my statements in several ways.

First, most nurse-midwives work in a hospital setting, and as far as I'm aware, are limited in the ways they can interact with the community at large. Conflict of interest is a major factor. For example, our local midwife has a private practice, and also works as a nurse-midwife in a large regional hospital several days a week. She would rather the hospital didn't become aware of her community activities.

So, outside the hospital setting, there just aren't nearly enough well-qualified nurse midwives available for women who want them for prenatal care, or home births. Lay or non-nurse midwives are much more restricted in licensing, and as I understand it, practice illegally in some states. It's just difficult to get good prenatal care outside of the established medical structure, which means that pregnancy has become a medical event, which in most cases is unnecessary and can sometimes do more harm than good.

I know there can be tragic results when pregnant women don't get needed medical attention, which is why qualified nurse midwives are valuable. Our local midwife fortunately knows when to send a woman to the doctor or hospital. That apparently isn't always the case.

As far as nurse lactation specialists in hospitals are concerned, the one that I referred to had the proper qualifications, but was pretty young, hadn't nursed a baby herself, and the problem was outside the scope of her training and experience. She also wasn't firmly committed to nursing as an option, or even comfortable with the idea, so evidently was in the wrong job. Overall, the practice of having lactation specialists in hospitals to help new mothers get established in breastfeeding, is real progress!

La Leche league mothers, as a group, have collectively accumulated a large amount of valuable breastfeeding knowledge and experience, and they provide community support, which I'm sure you'll agree we also need more of. After all, new mothers are only in the hospital 2 days, and their milk may not even have come in when they go home. I know what you mean about the regular night nurses - they do their overworked best, but often, Mom's have to be unusually well-educated and determined about breastfeeding to prevail!

I did read about MA Commonwealth - yay! Progress is being made, but we have a ways to go, for breastfeeding to be widely accepted and supported. Hard to believe that women can still be chased away or even arrested for nursing their babies in public, or that breastfeeding is a hot porn topic on the net.

Thanks again for writing! And for raising your voice in support of breasfeeding. - Judy

Robin of about.com came back with some great information:

Judy - Thanks for your thoughtful reply. You might be pleased to know re "lay" midwives that there are a couple of things going on.

1) A push for uniformed credentialing under the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) exam, much like medical residents take.

2) The American College of Nurse Midwifery (ACNM), that certifies nurse midwives, now has a non-nurse program called the certified midwife.

There are some CNMs working in non-hospital settings. I'm hoping the birth center model catches on quickly (more quickly?). And obviously they can also do homebirths, though the restrictions vary state by state.

I wish La Leche had a better name everywhere, some practitioners tell mothers to avoid them because they've got a bad taste. The whole one bad seed thing, wouldn't you know? I'm lucky enough to have several groups locally, some are better suited for me than others, but it is all leader driven. I usually tell my local clients that shopping around is great even for LLLI.

Now if we could only fix the hospital situation! It is simply not conducive to breastfeeding the way nature intended it. 3 a.m. is when you have the most doubt but the LCs are nestled in their beds at that hour. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says baby should nurse within 1/2 hour of birth. It rarely happens here, not to mention everything we do to the poor baby before he can get to Mom. (SV Note: Some people, me included, think that baby should nurse the very first thing after birth, even before the cord has been cut)

Stay in touch!

Robin Elise Weiss, LCCE
About.com: Pregnancy/Birth

P.S. Want some URLs?

American College of Nurse Midwives

Midwives Alliance of North America

La Leche League

Citzens for Midwifery

There is also another group, in Australia I believe that functions like LLL. I'd also love to see more WIC peer breastfeeding counselors! - Robin.

Hear! Hear! Thanks so much for all your great info, Robin!

Veggie Pregnancy Prompts Breast Feeding Rant

I heard from Torrie LM today - she's just started a new website, Veggie Pregnancy, a topic that needs much more attention. It has just a few posts so far, and I look forward to seeing what she comes up with. Torrie told me she had listed SV Blog on her blog-roll - thank you! And she foolishly asked for my feedback!

That triggered the following rant:

I'd love to see solid breast feeding support - research, resources, stories, experiences, articles, why-to, but how-to especially.

To a large extent, breastfeeding is a learned skill - we don't automatically and intuitively know how to breastfeed. We need other women to teach us, and where are they?

In our communities, the real breastfeeding experts are midwives, a suppressed and denigrated subclass of the nursing profession! They're not that easy to find, and in many places their profession is illegal or severely restricted. La Leche League is wonderful (if there's a chapter near by), there are great books and sites, but nursing mothers need real human one-on-one support.

Women for the most part have their babies in hospitals, which don't teach and encourage breast feeding as they should. They give nursing new borns water and formula and tell the Moms it's necessary, then send them home with formula and bottles supplied by the baby food companies! And at the first hint of trouble, the hospital 'lactation specialists' say "give it up" because they really don't know what to do.

One example: My daughter's first baby developed the habit of sucking her tongue in the uterus, and wouldn't latch on. I didn't know what to do, because I never had that problem - I knew about plugged ducts. The 'lactation specialist' at the hospital didn't know. Her male doctor knew less than anyone, and freely admitted it!

It was a La Leche League mother who showed her in person how to train baby to nurse properly - stroke baby's tongue with her finger to relax and flatten it before putting her to the breast.

Breastfeeding is natural and right for babies and mothers, and much easier than bottle feeding, but it isn't a cultural imperative. Most of our mothers didn't breastfeed, so there's a lot of uncertainty about it. Many women have babies and go back to work in several months - it takes single minded devotion and a flexible work environment to continue breastfeeding.

When I had my babies, back in the dawn of time, it was still ok to stay home with your children, but now it's an economic sacrifice, and not so socially acceptable. Of course there are times when nursing isn't possible, and mothers who can't nurse shouldn't feel bad - love is the main thing babies need, after all - but our society makes it all too easy not to breastfeed, and a real challenge to continue.

Things are slowly changing, and I'm optimistic, but so much knowledge that was once commonplace among women has been lost. Families are spread apart, women are isolated from each other, and the mostly male doctors who 'manage' our pregnancies know breastfeeding is good, but that's it.

Your site is about veggie pregnancy, and pregnancy is also about preparing to nourish your baby after giving birth - it's a continuum. You'd be doing all mothers-to-be a great favor by strongly supporting breastfeeding on Veggie Pregnancy.

All the best, Judy at Savvy Vegetarian

P.S. Here are a few other sites by women/mothers/vegetarians:

Cathe Olson of Simply Natural Books, author of The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook, and her blog

Nava Atlas, author of excellent vegetarian cookbooks - her site, In A Vegetarian Kitchen - and her blog, VeggieTalk.

Also, Vegetarian Women - celebrating and supporting women vegetarians in many ways, including pregnancy.

Thu, 02 Mar 2006

National Uniformity for Food Act: Urgent Message from Union of Concerned Scientists

"Earlier this week we asked you to urge your member of Congress to vote NO on the National Uniformity for Food Act (H.R. 4167). Last night Congress announced that they would delay voting on this measure for another week."

"Thirty-seven attorneys general from across the country have now called on Congress to defeat this bill because it will "strip state governments of the ability to protect their residents through state laws and regulations relating to the safety of food and food packaging."

"If you haven't already written your representative, please do so, but you can also take an extra step. Please CALL your member of Congress today and remind them of the importance of this vote! We have already heard encouraging feedback from our activists that some representatives are starting to rethink their position on this bill." Find Your Congressman's Phone Number

UCS Talking Points:

My name is ------- and I am a voter in Representative ------'s district. My address is ------.

If your representative is a co-sponsor:

If your representative is NOT a co-sponsor:

Here's The Orignial UCS Notice From Last Week

"This Thursday, March 2 (now Mar. 9th), Congress will vote on a bill to gut food safety and labeling laws. H.R. 4167, the National Uniformity for Food Act, would eliminate current state or local laws and prevent the enactment of future laws that impose stricter requirements for food safety than current federal standards. If passed, this dangerous bill would reduce food safety laws to the federal government’s 'uniform' lowest common denominator, wiping out laws in at least 30 states from California to Maine. These laws empower consumers with essential information about what’s in our food—such as toxic chemicals, mercury, potential allergens, and genetically engineered ingredients. Given the sweeping implications of this bill, it is shocking that Congress held no public hearings on this issue, essentially putting the interests of big food companies ahead of the health and safety of consumers."

SV Note: OK, we know what this is about - or we should:

It's part of the campaign to strip the US of civil liberties and establish a one-party corporate-run dictatorship in the "land of the free and the home of the brave". The 'National Uniformity for Food Act' is a euphemism for 'All Americans Are Now Forced to Eat Only What The Corporate Rulers Allow.' Think I'm a conspiracy theorist? Open your eyes!

Voting has been delayed another week on this bill, so there's still a chance to tilt at windmills. It won't bring back honest elections (has the US ever actually had them?), but this still isn't Germany in 1939, and we don't have to sit there like deer in the headlights - what've we got to lose? A lot, actually. Please, write your congressman. Thank you!

Sun, 26 Feb 2006

What's Your Carbon Footprint? ?

'Green Tips' Newsletter, Feb '06, Union of Concerned Scientists

Few people stop to think about their personal contributions to global warming, or how their daily lives affect the environment. Driving our cars and trucks, heating our homes, cooking our food - all of our normal, necessary human activities generate carbon dioxide (CO2), the heat-trapping gas that's mostly responsible for clilmate change.

The average American - that's you and me - generates 20 tons of CO2 every year - about the same amount as three new cars!

What's your carbon footprint? Find out how much CO2 you're producing by using the EPA 's online greenhouse gas calculator.

UCS has come up with a few tips to help everybody shrink their carbon footprints, quickly and easily.

Transportation: Each gallon of gasoline burned by a car or truck releases 24 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere.

• Choose the most fuel-efficient vehicle for your needs. If you own more than one vehicle, use the one that gets the worst mileage only when you can fill it with passengers or cargo. And when the time comes to buy a new car or truck, look for the cleanest, most fuel-efficient gasoline, gasoline-electric hybrid, or alternative-fuel model in its class.
• Drive less. Carpooling two days a week can reduce your annual CO2 emissions by 1,590 pounds. Combining errands into one trip can lower emissions even further.
• Read the UCS article: Common Sense on Climate Change Solution #1: Make Better Cars and SUVs

Energy Use: In general, every kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity used in your home generates 2.3 pounds of CO2.

• Change a bulb. If every American family replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an energy-saving compact fluorescent bulb, CO2 emissions would drop by more than 90 billion pounds—the same as taking 7.5 million cars off the road.
• Go digital. Replacing a mechanical thermostat with a digital model allows you to save energy by programming your heat to turn on and off at preset times.
• Look for the Energy Star label. Appliances bearing this label use significantly less electricity than their counterparts.
• Buy green power. Many utilities give you the option of purchasing electricity generated from renewable resources such as solar and wind energy. See UCS Green Power Buying Guide.

Other Tips:

• Recycle. Reducing waste in landfills reduces emissions of CO2 and methane (another heat-trapping gas). Recycling also uses less energy than manufacturing new materials.
• Buy local. Food grown on local farms does not have far to travel, minimizing transportation-related emissions.

UCS has shown us how to reduce or eliminate our personal heat-trapping emissions and achieve a "climate-neutral" lifestyle. We can combine our individual efforts with support for public energy efficiency and conservation projects, such as reforestation for carbon "offset." See Climate Neutral Network or Climate Star for ideas.

Sun, 19 Feb 2006

Family Pressures Healthy Vegan To Eat Meat And Dairy

"I've been Vegetarian for about three years and I'm happy and very healthy. I recently became vegan and I still have a very healthy diet and don't feel deprived. I actually experiment more with food and eat more exotic things. However, my family tries to get me to eat meat and dairy and assume I have an eating disorder (which is clearly not true since I love food and never miss a hearty meal!!) How do I get them to leave me alone and stop pressuring me? - O.K."

Read Savvy Vegetarian's Advice to Healthy Vegan

Find Out More About Free Savvy Vegetarian Advice

New Suspicions About Genetically Modified Organisms

By Herve Kempf, Le Monde, 9 February 2006

Reprinted by Organic Consumers Association

English Translation from Truthout

SV Note: Here's an introduction to a GMO article in the mainstream French paper Le Monde. We need articles like this in the major American newspapers - oh, silly me, I forgot, they're not allowed to print stuff like this! Thank goodness for the net - still sort of free.

"Do transgenic plants have a negative effect on health? Ever since their commercialization in 1996, the question has agitated circles of experts and ecologists, without any indisputable proof allowing an affirmative response."

"Now, several recent studies effected by credible researchers and published in scientific reviews tally with one another to throw doubt on GMOs' complete harmlessness. They don't assert that GMOs generate health problems. But at the very least they suggest that GMOs provoke biological impacts that must be more widely studied."

"This new questioning arises just as the Council of Ministers adopted a proposed law on GMO Wednesday, February 8, and as the World Trade Organization (WTO) handed over an interim report February 7 to the parties in a conflict that opposes the United States, Canada, and Argentina to the European Union on the issue of transgenic plants."

Read the article: New Suspicions About Genetically Modified Organisms

Fri, 17 Feb 2006

New Veggie Recipe Site Discovered in Cyberspace

I like Persistent Vegetarian State, with it's Simple Vegetarian Recipes for Real People, as much for the title, the layout and the great copy as for the recipes, but those are outstanding as well.

Here's what Jill the Persistently Vegetarian has to say about Real People:

Real people juggle nutrition, convenience, taste, fridge space, shelf life, and the need to come home from work to a soothing meal.

Real people don't like to go back to the store for just one ingredient. In fact, real people care how much their ingredients cost.

Ahem! You said something about recipes?

Yes! Persistent Vegetarian State has great recipes, relatively few in number so far, but simple, as promised, creative, flexible, well laid-out, and easy to understand.

Try Crockpot Chickpea Curry, or Tempeh Wasabi Wraps, both of which sound divine.

I should add that I myself haven't yet tried any of PVS's recipes, but:

1) I just found the site today

2) I know a good recipe when I see one

3) I never actually follow recipes, I just get ideas from them.

And Jill has Lots of Great Ideas!

Sustainable Too!

While you're at it have a look at Jill's other, equally clever and useful site, Daily Granola subtitled "finding your inner hippy one day at a time". DG is "A grassroots database of easy ways to make your life more sustainable day by day".

Thu, 16 Feb 2006

Hybrid Challenge - Union of Concerned Scientists

Message from Bill Nye, The Science Guy:

As a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists and also a hybrid owner, I was excited when I was asked to introduce you to the
UCS HybridCenter!

The Hybrid Center is the place to go for information about hybrid vehicles. It combines scientifically-sound, solution-oriented research with comprehensive consumer information, helping drivers and policymakers alike separate hybrid fact from fiction.

We need your help to make the HybridCenter a real 'vehicle for change.'

Hybrid owners, and everyone who cares about clean car solutions: Join Our Earth Day Challenge!

Sincerely, Bill Nye The Science Guy

Wed, 15 Feb 2006

Vegetarian Success Story

From a letter to Savvy Veg about weight loss and heart health on a vegetarian diet:

Perhaps some details about my health and the benefits I have experienced from a vegetarian diet might be helpful...

The doctor examined me today and after almost 2 months of eating no meat:

1. My blood pressure has dropped to 110/80 - excellent at any age but exciting for a guy who is almost 62. There has been no change in medication but I would expect to be able to get off medication totally - under the doctor's supervision - in the next year or less.

2. There is no evidence whatever of the arrhythmia

3. I have lost another 10 pounds and am within 20 pounds of normal weight.

Read the whole letter

Tue, 14 Feb 2006

News From Everywhere

This is one of those times when the news arrives like a bus load of tourists - I thought I'd sort out the bad, then cheer you up with the good news.

America's Master Plan Is To Force GM Food On The World "The reason the US took Europe to the WTO court was to prise open lucrative markets elsewhere" - Article by John Vidal, The Guardian UK, published 2.13.06 in Common Dreams,

President's Budget Fails To Bring America a Clean, Safe Future from Union of Concerned Scientists, on the environmental effects of the budget

E-Magazine's Earth Talk 2.12.06, Weekly Column of Questions and Answers On The Environment, talks about hybrid car perks and whether recycling is worth it. (yes)

New EPA Deal Lets Factory Farms Pollute Air without Restriction, yet another example of the EPA's marvellous protection, from Organic Consumers, 2/10/06.

Great sites visited yesterday

Eat Air - A Vegan Food Blog "When you tell someone you’re vegan, they ask (often incredulously) 'What do you eat?!'. It’s not that hard eating vegan. Allow us to demonstrate."

Mighty Foods Self Description ... natural foods, organic ingredients, fair-trade products, veg-friendly recipes, sustainable farming, whole grains, organic wines, ingredient spotlights, news, profiles, reviews, gift ideas, new product information, culinary travel ideas, studies and trends.

And Veg Blog: Where does Ryan M. get all this stuff? Dennis Kucinich and animal rights, cats in sinks, dead animals in the woods, Tofutti Pizza, avoiding processed foods, animalwiki. Great Blog!

Vegan Porn: Had to go see what this was about - not porn of course, but vegan humor, not an oxymoron, as it turns out.

Vegan Values, a collection of scholarly musings on vegan etchical questions, by Stanley Sapon, PhD.

From Happy Cow, A Veggie Lovers Tribute:

Happy Valentine's Day from Savvy Vegetarian!

Fri, 10 Feb 2006

Celebrate An Organic Valentine's Day With OCA!

Organic Consumers Association, Feb, 2006

OCA tells how to have a Green Valentine's Day by breaking the chains of toxic pesticides, child slavery, and farm worker exploitation.

Check out the Valentine's Buying Guide for organic, fair trade candy and flowers. Get a 10% OCA discount from Equal Exchange. Download fair trade PDF Valentine's cards designed by Liz Welch - they're upside down, just rotate them clockwise.

Watch OCA's Valentine's Day Movie. Read Valentine's Day news headlines. Find out what Fair Made means. Send a letter to your local paper, or your favorite unethical CEO's.

Have a Happy Valentine's Day with OCA!

Tue, 07 Feb 2006

Valentine Candy Quandary

Dear Savvy Vegetarian,

I would like to buy Valentine's Day chocolate for a woman, but she cannot digest chocolate. I know she uses carob chips as a substitute for chocolate chips and likes them, but I cannot find any carob based Valentine's Day candy. Where can I find nice Valentine's Day candy (not cheap kid's stuff) that isn't chocolate based? Does carob Valentine's Day candy exist?

Thanks! - M.A.

Carob Valentine's Day Candy exists!

First, try a natural food store - maybe call around to see if they have carob valentine candy or gift baskets including carob candy.

I looked online and found a few sites selling carob candy. These two were okay in a pinch:
Goddess Chocolate, and Bulk Foods.

The best was Healthy Trader. They had a carob truffle valentine gift box for $15.89 + shipping, a little more for gift wrapping - look under February. If you order today and rush it, you should be able to get it in time for Valentine's Day.

Consider Other Options:

Take her out for dinner, restaurant of her choice.

Give her a beautiful card and roses (be aware that the flower industry is extremely non-fair trade, and uses more toxic chemicals than any other agricultural industry)

Maybe a gift, or gift certificate instead of the roses, or an organic fruit basket instead of candy.

Bake her a carob cake, if you're handy in the kitchen. If not, hire someone who is. SV's Valentine's Day Chocolate Cake was submitted to us as a carob cake, so it should work well if you substitute carob for chocolate. Hint: Buy a heart shaped cake pan.

Tell her how you feel about her - that's the best Valentine's gift of all!

Combine any of the above for a Happy Valentine's Day!

Mon, 06 Feb 2006

Bottled Water: Nectar of the Frauds?

Abid Aslam, OneWorld US, Sat., Feb. 4, 2006

Here's the intro to a startling article on the world wide explosion in the consumption of bottled water. It shook up my own complacency about water.

I buy bottled water sometimes when I forget to bring some from home. It's water, and not a soft drink, so I'm smug about that - look how healthy I am! It's pure water, ideally spring water, not the chlorinated but still unclean crap from the tap.

So I'm cool as I drink my bottle of spring water that I bought cheap, or so I thought, at the grocery store. Turns out I'm just another pawn in the global water game

Judy K.

WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb 4 (OneWorld) - Water, water everywhere and we are duped into buying it bottled.

Consumers spend a collective $100 billion every year on bottled water in the belief--often mistaken, as it happens--that this is better for us than what flows from our taps, according to environmental think tank the Earth Policy Institute (EPI).

For a fraction of that sum, everyone on the planet could have safe drinking water and proper sanitation, the Washington, D.C.-based organization said this week.

Members of the United Nations have agreed to halve the proportion of people who lack reliable and lasting access to safe drinking water by the year 2015. To meet this goal, they would have to double the $15 billion spent every year on water supply and sanitation.

"While this amount may seem large, it pales in comparison to the estimated $100 billion spent each year on bottled water," said EPI researcher Emily Arnold. "There is no question that clean, affordable drinking water is essential to the health of our global community," Arnold said. "But bottled water is not the answer in the developed world, nor does it solve problems for the 1.1 billion people who lack a secure water supply. Improving and expanding existing water treatment and sanitation systems is more likely to provide safe and sustainable sources of water over the long term."

Read: Bottled Water: Nectar of the Frauds?

Sun, 05 Feb 2006

My Little Green Friend

My Little Green Friend is a new site which supports green businesses in several ways.

The free green directory lists "companies that support a fair, balanced and sustainable future", alphabetically and by category. It's easy to read, and did I mention free? Advertising is always welcome, of course.

Another creative direction for My Little Green Friend is producing podcasts for green businesses. Being techno challenged, I had to go look that up. FTPplanet.com said, "Think of podcasting as Internet broadcasting. In fact, the word podcast is a combination of the words 'iPod' and 'broadcast.' Podcasts are created and posted to the Web in the popular MP3 format." You can download to your computer, with ITunes, or to an MP3 player.

Mati at My Little Green Friend produces podcasts for Sno-Isle Natural Foods Co-op in Everett WA. I'd subscribe if I lived there and had a sound card on my ancient laptop. It's an easy way to get a newsletter, and a great way to advertise.

Eco and Adventure Travel is Coming Soon at My Little Green Friend, and their Art section, a "collection of artwork that inspires us to further love this planet", features the Beach Photography of Greg Rice. My marketing consultant self says, 'integrate those two sections, add content, and you've got a winner.' I'm curious to see what MLGF (aka Mati) comes up with next.

Help Mati at My Little Green Friend support green businesses. List your business in the directory, create a podcast or advertise in one. Send her your eco-art and eco-travel adventure ideas.

Wed, 01 Feb 2006

Tooting The Horn For My Hometown, Fairfield IA

Here's a best kept secret for you.

Fairfield, a town of 10,000 in south east Iowa, in the middle of corn and hogs, 5 - 7 hours from half a dozen major cities, is home to several thousand vegetarians and semi-vegetarians, many of whom appear to eat out every day, because Fairfield supports half a dozen vegetarian restaurants, and at least an equal number of all-but-veg restaurants. Vegan meals are easy to come by. (Some are listed in the Happy Cow Directory).

There is also a thriving natural food store, with, of course, a vegetarian restaurant. Not by coincidence, Fairfield is also home to Maharishi University of Management, a small private university with an organic vegetarian dining hall. They grow their own organic veggies, have a sustainable ag program, and host an eco fair every year.

Fairfield is big on locally produced organic food, hosts an award winning farmers market, and has more alternative health practitioners, artists, actors, writers, musicians and new age entrepreneurs per capita than most places in the world. It doesn't have mountains or an ocean, or in any way resemble San Francisco, Seattle, or NYC, but I'm from Vancouver, Canada, one of the most beautiful places in N. America, and I live in Fairfield IA by choice!

Who would have guessed?

I'm not saying you should all rush to live here - this is after all the middle-of-nowhere in the Midwest, and you might not like the climate, which has four seasons, or the weather, which varies wildly depending on which way the wind blows, and you almost have to run a web-based business to make a living - Fairfield is the entrepreneurs capital of the Midwest. But the cost of living is low, the quality of life is high - and you can always vacation elsewhere. Or, live elsewhere and vacation here! Look me up if you're passing through.

Thu, 26 Jan 2006

What's New On Savvy Vegetarian

Here's a few new Savvy Vegetarian advice letters - for a while, nobody was asking - now, it's a flood - sometimes it's like that.

11 Year Old Wants To Go Veg - and is torn between pleasing his parents and honoring the animals. Eventually the animals will win.

Going Vegetarian With Four Year Old has these parents worried. Will he starve? Will he throw tantrums? Or will he say it's about time Mom & Dad?

Long Time Veg Tired, Craves Meat, feels guilty, family shocked, what's her veggie diet lacking?

Self Sacrificing Vegetarian Mom forgets about nurturing herself. Will she take back her life, and learn to love herself again?