Green Options

The popularity of organic foods in the last few years has been as well documented as it was explosive. As the growth and popularity of organic and natural foods increased, large agri-business and giant food producers became extremely interested in increasing their market share by acquiring smaller organic food companies.

With all the acquisitions that have taken place over the last few years, do you know who owns your favorite organic foods company? I sure don’t.  Between large companies engulfing smaller organic food producers, and large agri-business developing “strategic alliances” with once independent companies, it’s hard to know if the little local tofu producer is still just that, or part of a behemoth entity that you thought you were avoiding.

How great would it be if there were want ads in your local newspaper or on Craigslist for organic fruits and vegetables, grown in your town, by your neighbors?  A new website - Veggie Trader has sprung up that offers exactly such a service, a purchasing and bartering clearinghouse for locally grown fruits and vegetables.

Veggie Trader describes itself as the “place to trade, buy or sell local homegrown produce”.  The idea is simple, you register on the website and then offer to purchase, to sell, or trade any manner of surplus fruits or vegetables.  If you have too many tomatoes and want to see if anyone nearby has a surplus of peaches or peppers, you can log on, run a search, and find out who in the neighborhood may be willing to exchange with you.

Portland, Oregon is a beautiful city, known for its roses, organic food, environmentally conscious citizens, and its beer.  It has truly become a destination for Oregonians and travelers alike searching for locally made micro brews and craft beers.

It’s hard to walk two blocks in Portland without encountering a brew pub, ale house, or beer bar, but there’s one that stands out as being truly exceptional.  Located in downtown Portland, Bailey’s Taproom is a cozy, modern facility that specializes in Pacific Northwest microbrews and craft brews.  They serve up everything in every imaginable style from a “brutally hoppy IPA, a clean lager, a sour Belgian, a thick stout, or a boozy barleywine”.

If you’re living a gluten free life, there are a couple of companies that I’ve come to love over the years for the wonderful products they make.  They’re both great time savers for those days when you’re rushed, short of time, or just don’t have the means to prepare a meal from scratch.

Pamela’s Baking Mix is an all purpose gluten free baking mix that I use to make pancakes (just add eggs and water), scones, biscuits, and corn bread.  Many of the recipes just involve adding eggs, butter, and an ingredient or two, making them fast and easy to make.  It also has dozens of other uses as well, including brownies, breads, muffins, and bagels.

How do you save dying species of agriculturally valuable plants and animals?  The answer may be as simple as what’s on your dinner plate.
A recent article outlined the “eat ‘em to save ‘em” method of biodiversity protection.  Simply put, rare varieties of plants and animals can be saved if consumers demand them.  Asking your grocer, chef, or farmers market vendor about heirloom and endangered varieties is a great way to demonstrate that the demand exists for these diverse crops.

Celiac Disease is one of the most common, undiagnosed genetic disorders with an estimated 1 in 133 people, or 2 million people, afflicted with the disease in the United States alone (figures cited from here and here).  Persons of Irish, English, and other Anglo backgrounds tend to be more prone to the disease than those of other ethnic backgrounds.

This disease is not a food allergy, but an auto-immune disorder that people do not grow out of over time.  The results of this disorder vary widely by individual, and can range from mild to severe, even requiring hospitalization.

A cool summer salad is the perfect side dish complement for a summer barbecue or dinner on a warm evening.  Many summer salads are mayonnaise based though and typically not too healthy.  Here’s a simple, healthy, and quite delicious antipasto salad.
Here are the ingredients that you’ll need.  As always, I strive for the most local and organic products that I can get my hands on.

3 cups (2inch) sliced asparagus (about 1/4 lb)
3 cups quartered mushrooms (about 3/4 lb)
1 cup red bell pepper strips
1/2 cup pitted ripe olives
3 oz mozzarella cheese cubed (omit or replace with firm tofu, seitan, or soy cheese if you want to make the recipe vegan)
1 lb (or a 14 oz can if you’re feeling lazy like I am sometimes) quartered artichoke hearts drained
1 (11.5 oz) jar pickled pepporoncini peppers drained

Eco-conscious and green consumers around the globe are increasingly aware of the carbon footprint of their food choices, but what about the water footprint?
As water becomes an increasingly scarce global resource, the focus turns toward analyzing how much water it takes to grow particular foods.  Increasing awareness of the amount of water various foods require can help consumers make educated choices for the most environmentally conscious products.

Not surprisingly many of the same attributes that make for smart environmentally friendly choices also make sense from a water consumption perspective.  Not eating meat, choosing locally grown organic foods, and growing as much produce as possible in your own backyard are also the best choices for using the least amount of water.

Growing food in your own backyard is hardly a new concept, nor is utilizing any open space available if you live in the city, but turning your rooftop into a garden?  Well that idea has caught on in cities throughout the world, and now is starting to gain a foothold in the United States as well.
Rooftop gardens are by no means new.  Forward thinking, environmentally conscious, or penurious city dwellers have been doing it for as long as there have been city dwellers.  But recently the rooftop garden movement has started to gain some traction, inspired by the environmental benefit of more green space in a city (it reduces the “heat island” effect), and the appeal of home grown organic veggies just steps away have given the movement some serious traction.
Large metropolises across North America - including New York City, Washington DC, and Chicago have also sweetened the deal by offering tax incentives and subsidies to encourage green rooftops, and Toronto, Canada also has a new law requiring buildings of a certain size to have a green roof.  Though the Green Roof Bylaw in Toronto has garnered some criticism (mostly from developers) it has been well received by residents in the city as a means to increase the amount of green space, offset their carbon emissions, and generally to be a greener city.

One of my favorite places to eat in town is Jyoti-Bihanga, a tasty vegetarian/vegan restaurant run by the Sri Chinmoy folks.  If you aren’t familiar with them, I’ll tell you this - they make a fantastic fake meatloaf, they call it Neatloaf.

You can imagine how excited I was when a friend of mine e-mailed me the recipe, so now I can have delicious Neatloaf in the comfort of my own home.  The recipe as it stands is vegetarian, you’ll need to replace the eggs with an equivalent amount of egg substitute to make it vegan, switch the ricotta cheese with soy cheese or silken tofu, and double check the Lipton Onion Soup Mix as well.

Also, since I cook for a Celiac sufferer, I make it gluten free by simply replacing the Special K with gluten free corn flakes, which changes the consistency a little bit, but keeps the recipe well within the realm of “delicious”.
Here are the ingredients for the Neatloaf: