Green Options

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At the Investors’ Circle Conference in San Francisco, the Plenary Session of the May 7th Education Day was titled, “Is Organic the Next Clean Tech?” Can organic foods (and other products) can attract major investment capital, in the way clean technology has in the past few years, to the tune of tens of billions of dollars.
I am not sure whether the answer is a resounding yes, but panelist Walter Robb, Co-President and COO of Whole Foods Market announced that Whole Foods will be investing in small supplier companies, and all of the panelists were positive about the potential of investing in organics.

Kristen Groos Richmond, Co-founder/CEO of Revolution Foods, who has a wonderful if improbable company, which I wrote about before, can speak first-hand about the ways entrepreneurs can attract professional investors while pursuing goals such as connecting local farmers and consumers.

Okay, I’m on a sweet potato binge these days . . .

This has become a staple of at least one weekend breakfast or brunch meal every week.

Serves 4 (but, I usually double it for our Sunday family crowd)

Ingredients

3 medium sweet potatoes – cubed in ½” pieces
½ medium red onion – cut into smaller pieces
1 red pepper – cut into smaller pieces
3 scallions – chopped
1 clove garlic – mashed
2 – 4 Tbs. Olive oil
1 tsp. Cumin
Crushed red pepper to taste
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 Tbs. Cilantro

8 Eggs – Over easy (2 per serving)

Providence, Rhode Island— The Ocean State might be the size of some counties in other parts of the country, but it’s big on going green. A local food co-op in Providence has been bringing fresh, local produce to its capital city dwellers for nigh on ten years now.

Urban greens is a food cooperative on Providence’s West Side with a mission to provide simple, direct access to affordable, local, natural products and to offer a community-based alternative to corporate supermarkets. The cooperative is guided by its values of equal access, local agriculture, local economy, co-operative principles, community partnerships and social entrepreneurship.

The Natural Marketing Institute just released their latest report on the state of the organic food industry…in other words…who’s going organic. It turns out more than half of us are buying organic foods at least sometimes.

But, how you are seen by companies who market organic foods depends on how much you buy.

Are you a:

1) DEVOTED (16% of shoppers) - the most committed to organic and its ideals … most likely to have changed your lifestyle to integrate organic. The more a category is used, the more it has to be organic.

What do Coca-Cola, Kellogg and Dean Foods have in common, besides being marketers of some of the most popular food items found on grocery shelves? They all own organic brands.

And they are not alone. Most of the top 25 food producers own one or more organic brands and are rapidly developing their own.

Here’s a short list of some of the most popular organic brands and their corporate parents :

Odwalla (Coca Cola)

Morningstar ( Kellogg)

Horizon (Dean Foods)

Boca Foods ( Kraft)

Earth’s Best (Heinz)

Cascadian Farms (General Mills)

Naked Juice (Pepsi)

Stop in at most diners around the country and each breakfast menu reads nearly the same: Two eggs, toast, bacon. Pancakes with sausage. Cereal. Add grits, if you’re in the South. Perhaps a variation on toast in other parts of the country.

Despite the fact that we run Inn Serendipity B&B and “breakfast” is part of our business, we find the average American breakfast is, well, boring. With the same old, same old

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Today let’s talk about the merits of turnips, rutabagas, and kohlrabi. Not to mention bok choy and burdock root. Hello? Anyone out there? Please don’t panic and run away at the mention of vegetables that don’t fall into the standard pre-cut, ready for stir-fry frozen bag you see at the supermarket.

As environmental stewards, we’re used to taking the path less traveled to make a difference: pulling out the

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Many green parents (and doctors) have long thought that increased exposure to environmental toxins can lead to childhood diseases such as asthma, cancers, birth defects, and developmental disorders. CNN.com even ran a story last week about industrial chemical buildup in children’s bloodstreams. Now, the Shaklee Foundation and HealthyChild.org have teamed up to produce a new DVD that provides information for parents, teachers, school administrators, and child care professionals on

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We may live on an organic farm powered by renewable energy, but our son, Liam, requested standard kiddie supper fare for his recent sixth birthday party: macaroni and cheese. No problem, said his parents, and we made a few casserole dishes of the mac and cheese recipe you see below. Both kids and parents ate heartily and were satisfied — and no cheese sauce came in a powdered form out

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Leeks fall into that same food group as rhubarb: nutrition and flavor powerhouses that, sadly, wilt away in the produce aisle because we no longer know how to use them in cooking. But, unlike rhubarb, leeks don’t need gobs of sugar or other ingredients to make them palatable. Historically, leeks appeared on Fall harvest tables throughout Western Civilization, from Roman to European times. The Welsh placed leeks on a revered pedestal

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So I wouldn’t say we were incredibly green this weekend, but we were relatively green.

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