Green Options

Confused by all the information regarding natural eating?  You’re not alone!

When you are out at the Farmer’s Market, get to know your farmer.  Ask pointed questions, find out if they have an open door policy (can you tour anytime), are they certified organic or do they go beyond organic (beyond organic is a philosophy that USDA organic isn’t enough).   If you are a meat eater, find local farmers and arrange direct meat purchase (our plan is every 3 months because we have decent storage space).  Some meats we find locally: tuna (which we can ourselves), bison, chicken, beef.  Prices average $3.00-$4.00/lb, so this also encourages us to use less meat.  For our family of 7 + 3 daycare kiddos, we have meat packaged in 1 lb sizes to ensure we don’t get meat crazy. :)  You can probably find local eggs at the farmers market, this usually saves you money and supports small, local farms.

Here are some tips to help you navigate healthier, local eating.

A farmer in Milwaukee is taking the green roof to the next level. Community Growers’ founder Erik Lindberg’s rooftop garden is yeilding enough organic produce to launch a CSA.

[Photo via Community Growers CSA wiki]

It’s really more than a rooftop garden, it’s a rooftop farm! Check out this interview with the farmer, including a little tour of the garden!

While we are on the topic of enjoying a local turkey day, I’m reminded of the trusty local foods wheel that was created by three brilliant women to help Bay Area folks decide what’s in season at the grocery store.

Hopefully a local foods wheel will be created for each and every spot in the US, but for now they are focused on the San Francisco Bay Area and New York Metro Area. The concept is simple, just choose the month we’re in, and rotate the wheel to reveal the local foods available. They explain:

A lot has been written recently about eating "locally." It’s an interesting concept; eating food that doesn’t have to travel too far, thereby saving energy. But once again, the Man has set himself up to feel good about something that actually harms our fragile globorb. These “locavores” eat foods from within 100 miles of where they live, as if a truck driving 100 miles doesn’t spew tons of carbon into our atmosphere.

I’m [...]