Green Options

With all of the attention being paid to the platforms of foodies like Jamie Oliver and Michael Pollan, you would think that Americans would cook more and rely less on fast- and processed-food.

The misperception that cooking is too time consuming turns out to be a major roadblock on our path to a sustainable national food system.

Cooking is not time consuming. Shopping for groceries, however, is.

One strategy for making cooking a part of your daily life is to maximize your cooking to shopping ratio.

Here are some tips on how to cook more and shop less:

I was enlightened by Barbara Kingsolver’s book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle to discover how corn has made it’s way into almost everything in the American diet and dominates American agriculture. Considering this crop is a heavy feeder requiring lots of water and fertilizer, and it is responsible for the fall of ancient civilizations, it seems ludicrous that the American diet would be so dependent upon corn.  The dominance of corn is especially apparent when you consider its prevalence in American fast food.

Fast food isn’t only a dumb choice environmentally, it can actually harm kids’ test scores, too. Factory-farmed meat? All that packaging? No thanks.

But if living a greener life isn’t a good enough reason for you and your family to avoid the junk, perhaps this is: kids who regularly eat fast food score lower on tests. Some kids had their test scored drop on literacy and mathematical tests by 16 percent compared to the average.

Kerri Tobin, who oversaw the research, said,

It is possible that the types of food served at fast food restaurants cause cognitive difficulties that result in lower test scores.

Wow. Just can’t picture Mickey D’s using that in a marketing campaign anytime soon. But the corporate giant isn’t the only culprit…

McDonald’s, the States’ largest purchaser of potatoes, is taking preliminary steps to go pesticide-free, Reuters reports.  Investor groups had been pushing for the move, and now McDonald’s looks like it’s bending.

It will now take steps to reduce pesticide use in potato production for its supply.

Our U.S. potato suppliers are already working with their growers to advance sustainable pesticide practices, such as reductions and alternative methods.

And because it accounts for a huge chunk of U.S. spud use, I suppose it’s good that they’re leaning toward organic. But this isn’t some charitable thing, though they’re gonna spin it that way (of course).

Quick question:  Do you know what you’re having for dinner?  Don’t panic if you don’t have a clue – you’re not alone.  Up to one third of Americans don’t know what they will be eating for supper on any given day, an underlying cause of relying on prepared food fast high in convenience and packaging and low in nutrients and local food connections.

However we slice it, our busy, chaotic, modern lifestyles generally leave us low on time and quality food fuel.  I seem to live on either extreme:  either I’m working and writing from my farm with a freezer full of preserved garden goodies to eat, or I’m in town all day running through a laundry list of errands, undoubtedly skipping a meal and ending up famished.  And crabby.

A little planning goes along way in keeping well fueled on the road.  Here’s three tips for easy green meals to go, and a recipe for Stuffed Roti (pronounced “row-tee”) with Chickpea Filling, a hearty Caribbean-inspired sandwich stuffed with curried veggies, potatoes and chickpeas that can be readily noshed with one hand just about anywhere:

If this had been announced before I wrote the Top 10 Dumbest Green Buildings on Earth, it would have easily taken the number one slot.

Yum! Brands has asked the United States Green Building Council to LEED-certify its Northampton, MA Taco Bell/Kentucky Fried Chicken location because the building includes rainwater collection, solar panels, LED lighting, and recycled building materials.

They neglect to mention in their press release that all food will still be packaged (regardless of whether patrons dine in or take out) and that they’ll still be serving lots and lots of factory-farmed meat — the number one known cause of global warming.

Editor’s note: The following post was originally published on Green and Clean Mom. “Green & Clean Mom can inspire you to try a little harder, be a catalyst for change and to offer you some new tips and news on how to be the green, sexy and sassy mom…I know you are!”

Vacationing with children – it just about killed me. Our sleeping schedule was wacky, the stuff we had to pack and organize, and my daughter got sick and the money. Oh, my goodness the money to go to Disney and Sea World and shucks rent a car and eat for two weeks – I know why we don’t vacation often. My son got to experience flying and he loved climbing the mountain in Arizona, seeing his grandma (the highlight of our trip), eating some great fondue from the Melting Pot, shaking Buzz Light Years hand and riding his first roller coaster. I just hope he remembers it all. My daughter, well she played and played and enjoyed swimming and being with mom and dad. She won’t remember anything but we gave her some experiences to help her development and best of all (besides seeing grandma) she loved Sea World.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently re-launched the ‘McCruelty’ campaign against the fast food giant McDonald’s, saying of their treatment of animals, “I’m hatin’ it.”

The original campaign against McDonald’s was launched in 2000, and after the company worked with PETA to make some basic animal welfare changes, the campaign was withdrawn. Now, PETA says, there are more humane methods of killing animals such as chickens, but McDonald’s won’t use them. Controlled Atmosphere Killing (CAK) would allow chickens in McDonald’s suppliers’ slaughterhouses to die relatively painlessly, but they have refused to consider asking their suppliers to switch to CAK—a move that would cost McDonald’s nothing—and so PETA has unleashed their wrath at McCruelty.com. PETA says:

Well, I suppose that depends. If we’re talking about the actual building, then yes, apparently it can, as announced recently by California-based Carl’s Jr. The company behind the ubiquitous burger chain, CKE Restaurants, Inc. opened its first eco-friendly Carl’s Jr. just a few miles from its Carpinteria headquarters.

What makes it green? Energy saving features include Energy Star-rated equipment, an energy management system, a reflective roof, and LED lights in the parking lot. Plus, rainwater reuse and smart irrigation systems will reduce its water consumption.

Six months ago, South Los Angeles enacted a moratorium on new Fast Food Restaurants in effort to bring healthier choices to the neighborhood’s low-income residents and curb the high rate of obesity there. Councilwoman for L.A.’s 9th District, Jan Perry, spearheaded the action and spoke recently on KCRW’s Good Food about the legislation’s impact at mid-year.

The kids are fighting, your head is pounding, the car is overheating, and a McDonald’s is right across the road.  What do you do?  Make a tire screaming u-turn, of course, and forget every promise you ever made to never let your kids eat fast food.

Let’s face it, most of us are going to end up in a fast food restaurant whether we like it or not.  But there are a few ways you can do to tweak things in a healthier direction.

Let’s read on to see seven different ways you can green your fast food.

1.  Choose Healthier Fast Food.

If you’re in an area with a choice of restaurants, go for the one that offers what you want.  Some great new organic fast food joints are popping up here and there.

You can also zero in on conventional fast food restaurants that are adding healthier menu items.  Fatburgr.com is one web site that catalogs nutrition information for many different fast food chains in a user-friendly format.