Food, Inc. movie opens Friday (watch trailer)

Food, Inc., a new documentary about the US food supply opens today in NY, SF and LA. I wonder if it has anything new to say to those of us who have already read The Omnivore’s Dilemma and Fast Food Nation and are committed to sustainable (as possible) eating?
I guess there’s only one way to [...]

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tetra pak: good or bad?

Every time I finish a box of soymilk, I sigh. Because I have to put it in the landfill-bound trash.
But, according to this analysis of the sustainability of tetra pak,
All in all, Tetra Pak figures that its packaging has a smaller carbon footprint than polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high density polyethylene (HDPE) or glass. A 32-ounce [...]

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when was the last time you vacuumed your refrigerator?

NEVER, probably.
At least that was true for me until recently, when I cleaned the heat-exchange condenser coils, which are what cool your refrigerator by releasing heat. If the coils are covered in a blanket of dust, the refrigerator has to work harder. You’ll hear the motor kicking on often and for a long time.
Refrigerators [...]

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Yoplait and other no-no snacks

How bad can Yoplait be? Sure it’s way too sweet for me these days, thanks to tons of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS),  but hey, it’s yogurt.
Apparently, HFCS is not the only problem. According to Good Guide’s Five Snacks Your Kids Should Avoid some mercury was detected in the HFCS in Yoplait. Bad news. Read [...]

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fill your fridge, save energy and money

Two climate change-fighting volunteers from Green@Home came by for a housecall today. I learned, among other things, that my refrigerator is too empty.
Why is this a problem? Because –here comes my simplified explanation–an empty(ish) fridge has little to “hold” the cold when the door is open and closed. Which means that all that warm air [...]

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suburbia spotlight: Safeway

I felt like a tourist, wheeling my shopping cart through the rows and rows of aisles filled sky high with stuff at the local Safeway. This was not the same Safeway where I shopped over 15 years ago. Literally; it had been rebuilt one year ago on the other side of the parking lot.
This new [...]

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Everyday Sustainable in India

I’ve just returned from a 3-week visit to India, where I kept my eyes/ears/nose open to the Everyday Sustainable there. This was a personal visit, which included travel in the North on the tourist-triangle of Delhi-Jaipur-Agra, and tourism with family/friends visit in the South–mostly Kerala and a few days in Bangalore.
In posts to come, I’ll [...]

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healthier trick-or-treat

My teeth start hurting when I think about all that Halloween candy.  And I don’t even have cavities!
So, how about some healthier treats–for kids and our planet?

Fair trade chocolates for Reverse Trick-or-Treating.
Planet Green suggests healthy snacks: organic dried fruit, granola bars, and popcorn packets.
GreenHalloween.org has a list of non-food ideas. A lot of them are [...]

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local food: Green Oaks Creek Farm

Lucky kids. Yesterday I got a note from a fellow San Franciscan describing the joys of old-fashioned farming of his 3000 sq ft veggie garden and 80-tree orchard up north, and how his “son’s eyes roll back in his head when he eats a peach, or [the] kids turn they’re noses up at store bought strawberries.” I want to taste one of [...]

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Enjoy Food = Healthy

Last week, I was at a meeting where the lunch was delicious and beautiful; organic ingredients prepared and presented gorgeously. Aaaahh, enjoyment of food and the eating experience are so important to everyday sustenance.
Well, as with all things in life, it’s all about balance.  A study just out shows that the expectation of enjoyment can [...]

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