{ gathering home }

Summer; A Great Time to Visit a Farmer's Market

Looking for a fun family activity this summer?  Take a family trip to a local farmer's market, or visit one while on vacation!  You will be helping support community farmers and getting healthy food for your family. There are great treats, and great ways for your kids to learn.

Don't know if there is a farmer's market in your area?  Use this handy tool to locate a market near you: LocalHarvest.org

Slow Food USA Announces "Eat In Day" to Help Improve Kids' School Food

SlowFoodUSA is asking that we note this date: September 7, 2009. It'll be the date we’ll look back on as the moment when folks across the USA took a stand about the food our children eat at school.   As you know, children who grow up enjoying food that is both delicious and good for them learn healthy eating habits that last throughout their lives. And those habits can start at school, but only if we give schools the resources to serve real food instead of the overly processed fast food that endangers their health.

To make that happen, Congressional leaders need to hear that when it comes to our children, change can’t wait.   That’s why they’ve organized a National Eat-In for Labor Day, Sept. 7, 2009. On that day, people across America will gather with their neighbors for public potlucks that send our nation’s leaders a clear message: It’s time to provide our children with real food at school.  To get Congress’ attention, SlowFood needs the help of all kinds of people: parents, teachers, community leaders, kids and people who’ve never done anything like this before. Everyone has to pitch in. Tell your friends, neighbors to contact your legislators and to organize Eat-Ins for Sept. 7.

Click here to get started.

The campaign web site will guide you through the easy process, and the campaign team is ready to provide support. SlowFood will give you everything you need to get involved, starting today.  And they mean today—because with President Obama calling for health care reform and the First Lady teaching kids to grow organic food on the White House Lawn, finally there's an opening to pass legislation that gives kids the opportunity to grow up healthy.  This fall, Congress will be debating whether to update the Child Nutrition Act, which is the law that determines what kind of food kids eat at school. By giving schools the resources to serve real food, we can make sure that the legacy we’re leaving our children is a future filled with opportunity, security and good health.
 
For more information, and to help your schools and to join the effort, go to SlowFoodUSA.org.

"Waterpod" Project Proves Truth is Greener Than Fiction

An eco-houseboat, Waterpod is a floating sculptural living structure designed as a new eco-habitat for the global warming epoch and for local, national, and international awareness of water.  Launched this month, it will now navigate the East and Hudson Rivers, stopping at each of the five boroughs of NYC.  Waterpod™ demonstrates future pathways for nomadic/mobile structures and water-based communities, docked and roaming. Built from recycled materials and eco-friendly products, Waterpod™ is structured as a space for community and artist activity, eco-initiatives and living space. It was orchestrated by artists, designers, builders, civic activists, environmentalists, and marine engineers, and built from recycled materials found in the New York area, the Waterpod is a floating, ecological (and economical!) expression of art. 

The Waterpod will now dock in all five boroughs of NYC, while providing space for community and artistic activities, as well as eco-initiatives that include food grown with rainwater.  Not only is the Waterpod a home for art and collaboration, but it is also actually housing four artists with food, water, power, and waste treatment in a contained and sustainable environment.

And, read You Can Save the Earth, from Hatherleigh Press, it's a great way to learn how to help.

Visit Waterpod.org and see Waterpod in your neighborhood for free:

June 22 – July 6: Sheepshead Bay Marina (Parks)
July 7 – 20: Governor’s Island (GIPEC)
July 21 – August 3: 125th Street, Riverside (Parks)
August 4 – 17: Brooklyn Bridge Park (BBPDC)
August 18 – August 31: Staten Island (Atlantic Salt)
September 1 – September 14: Queens World’s Fair Marina (Parks)
September 15 – September 28: Concrete Park Pier Bronx (Parks) 

A Handy Pocket Seafood Selector

Check out this handy Pocket Seafood Selector thru the link below.  It's hard to keep track of which seafood is safe, endangered, etc.  So why not carry this guide with you and use it to buy seafood that is good for you and for the planet.  Use it at restaurants, grocers, fish markets, etc.  Send this around to friends too!

Find it at;  Environmental Defense Fund and learn more at EDF.org/Seafood

Paul McCartney Supports British "Meat Free Monday" Program

Vegetarian, and former Beatle,  Paul McCartney, is meat-free and asks everyone to try it at least one day a week.  This week, he helped launch a Meat Free Monday campaign in the UK.  Along with Sir Paul,  Yoko Ono, Cheryl Crow, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, Moby, Kate Bosworth, Kelly Osbourne, and McCartney’s children James, Stella and Mary were all on hand when Sir Paul unveiled “a food campaign to encourage the nation to help slow climate change by reducing their meat consumption by having at least one meat-free day a week.”

Check out The Meat Free Monday website for ideas on how you can help our planet and for vegetarian recipes to use on Monday (or any) nights.

 

Watch the McCartney video clip below to hear him discuss going meat-free.

 

EatingWell In Season, Farmers' Market Cookbook

If, like me, you rejoice when the first asparagus comes into season or relish a tree-ripened peach right from the farmers’ market and look forward to making fall’s squash soups, then this may be the best cookbook you will ever use.

It's filled with easy, fast and delicious recipes making EatingWell in Season a valuable cookbook/ guide for anyone who loves seasonal foods. All recipes are tested in the EatingWell Test Kitchen by the same folks who produce EatingWell Magazine. All the recipes use simple, easy-to-find ingredients and most take 45 minutes or less.

In addition, they are all healthy. So healthy that Dr. Preston Maring, the associate physician-in-chief at Kaiser’s Oakland Medical Center, near San Francisco, CA,  recommends these recipes and this book to his patients and wrote the introduction. As he says, "I’ve even written a prescription for an arugula salad."    His story is paired with 150 new recipes from EatingWell’s Test Kitchen.

Organized by season, the recipes celebrate farm-fresh ingredients, such as Grilled Steak & Escarole with Tomato Vinaigrette and Blueberry Tart with Walnut Crust. Also included in the book:

• Tips on how to freeze, preserve and find other ways to store bumper crops.
• Techniques for roasting peppers, peeling mangoes and other ideas to prepare your farm fresh finds.
• Cool tools & gadgets, from herb savers to cherry pitters, to help you prepare fresh fruits and vegetables.
• USA’s top five farmers markets.
• Nutritional tips that highlight the health benefits of dozens of fruits and vegetables.

And, you'll hear from several of the innovative farmers who are truly passionate about their specialty crops, learn how to plant a kitchen garden and find out when you should buy organic.

EatingWell in Season: The Farmers' Market Cookbook. Edited by Jessie Price, Intro by Dr Preston Maring, buy below thru GH.

New Film, "FOOD, Inc" Examines the USA Food Industry

In the new film Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that's been hidden from  Americans with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, insecticide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of e coli--the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield Farms' Gary Hirschberg and Polyface Farms' Joe Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising -- and often shocking truths -- about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.

Food, Inc opens June 12 with a limited run in NYC, San Francisco and Los Angeles, from Magnolia Pictures. Watch the Food, Inc trailer below -

Celebrate WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY !

  

Today, June 5th, is World Environment Day! Celebrate the wonderful environment that we live in and work to inspire others to do what they can to ensure and protect its beauty.   World Environment Day (WED) was established by the UN General Assembly back in 1972 to commenorate the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. It's celebrated every year on June 5th and is one of the main ways the United Nation generates worldwide awareness of the environment and serves to enhances political attention and action.

Each year the UN has a theme and host country for the day. The 2009 theme is ‘Your Planet Needs You-UNite to Combat Climate Change’. It reflects the urgency for nations to agree on a new deal at the crucial climate convention meeting in Copenhagen and the links with overcoming poverty and improved management of forests.  Click here for more info on the day and what you can do.

Around the world, there are hundreds of events and social media actions are being held, so pick how you can be involved, and jump in!  One event is the worldwide release of the highly anticipated film, HOME (watch it online here), by renowned photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand and produced by Luc Besson.  The beautifully made movie will be shown in more than 100 locations worldwide, in 23 languages and also available on DVD and BluRay today (order your copy below)!  Omaha, is North America’s host city for the United Nations World Environment Day, and will join cities around the world in the release of HOME, a stunning tour of our planet shot in high definition entirely from the air. Omaha and other cities, Paris (at the base of the Eiffel Tower), New York City ( Central Park) and London ( Trafalgar Square) will have free screenings today.

"Bicycle For a Day" & Matthew Modine Host Benefit for Solar One

You may know that Causecast leader Matthew Modine is really into bicycling. His comparison of automobiles to cigarettes inspired some strong reactions from readers on The Huffington Post.  For some time, he’s been an outspoked voice urging us to change our culture and especially the way we think about transportation.

If you’ve been involved in the great bike vs car debate and live in or near New York City, you can share in Modine’s revolution by joining him and his organization, Bicycle For a Day, for a fundraising benefit for Solar One on June 4 at 23rd Street & the East River.

Profits from event ticket sales will be donated to Solar One, to be used towards the purchase of 60 bike racks for the new Solar Two building, The First Carbon-Neutral, Net-Zero Energy Building in New York City.

Details:
Event Date and Time: 06.04.09, 06:30pm
Location: Solar One, 2420 FDR Drive, Service Road East
Price: $30 in advance, $35 at the door

The event will include a performance by hip-hop artist Rahzel and special promotions for the Bicycle Film Festival and the Brita Climate Ride.

Discover EcoSMART Natural Insecticides for Safe Treatment of Garden & Home Pests

 

In my neck of the woods it’s still a bit cool and rainy, but the insects are rallying – I can feel it. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m the first one to applaud the beneficial buggies in my gardens, it’s just that I have a hard time with  -- well, mainly with wasps (mosquitoes, too…and aphids…).  So you can imagine my joy when the folks at EcoSMART sent me a box of their safe organic insecticides. The products are made with mint and other plant oils.  These oils have a similar molecular make-up to that of octopamine – an insect’s version of adrenaline.  When EcoSMART products are sprayed on the insect, the oils block the octopamine receptor sites, killing the insect. Mammals, birds, and fish remain completely safe during and after the spraying.

 

EcoSMart’s Wasp and Hornet spray reaches up to 18 feet – a nice distance from which to anger a wasp, don’t you think?  The aroma of the essential oils in these products is really quite pleasing.  Think about how those synthetic chemicals smell – I say you can smell the danger when you use conventional insecticides. And, I’m not willing to risk the use of synthetics with ingredients such as 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), atrazine, and dicamba -- ingredients shown to harm mouse embryos at times equivalent to the first week after conception in humans, according to Erica Glasener of The Green Guide -- not in my kitchen garden, herb garden, nor in my home. Thanks to EcoSMART, there’s a safe way to treat pests. Try their products for garden and home, you wont be disappointed.    You can learn more about the dangers of synthetic chemical use at  HealthyHouseInstitue.com.

 

HAPPY CHICKEN STROLLING THROUGH AN ORGANIC GARDEN (LA FERME DE SOURROU)

Carbon Calc iPhone App GHG Emissions Calculator

We all know the seriousness of green house gasses, but do we really know how much we individually contribute?  Carbon Calc is a Green House Gas (GHG) emissions calculator. If you have been curious about what your contribution is to global warming, try it.  Carbon Calc is a easy-to-use calculator that lets you enter your driving, flying and home energy use data. Once you see how many tons of carbon dioxide your lifestyle produces, you can compare your net emissions to the USA and world averages and then have the power to make better, more informed decisions. If you'd like, you can then consider buying Carbon Credits.

Will this program solve global warming? Not alone,  but the goal is for people to realize how what their carbon footprints. You can then take steps to reduce your "foorprint" and/or by funding carbon reduction projects via carbon offset credits, you CAN have a net positive impact on the planet.

This application is available at no charge from the iTunes Apps Store, just search Carbon Calc, so easy (Carbon Harmony®).

BONNAROO MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES NEW ECO INITIATIVES

The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival has announced their new environmental initiatives for its 2009 event (June 11 thru 14 on a beautiful farm in Manchester, Tennessee).  This year's programs will further Bonnaroo's longstanding sustainability tradition, which won the festival outstanding marks from UK organization A Greener Festival, a rare distinction among music events worldwide. With new onsite utility sources, free water initiatives and an emphasis on buying local, Bonnaroo continues to provide a first-rate entertainment experience while fostering a community that cares for our planet. So far, 40% of patrons have participated in Bonnaroo's "green ticket" program, adding a donation to their ticket orders to support the festival's large-scale environmental efforts.

For 2009, Bonnaroo will concentrate on a "buy local" message by purchasing as many supplies and utilities as possible from the Tennessee area. To keep the message reverberating throughout its ranks, Bonnaroo will provide a list of regional food purveyors strongly recommended to all festival vendors and to educate patrons about local sourcing in their daily lives.