Climate change is a defining issue of our time and there is no time to lose,” proclaimed Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General, during last month’s U.N. Climate Summit. “There is no Plan B because we do not have a Planet B.”
Since you’ve already converted from a gas-guzzling SUV and always BYOB (bring your own bag) to the supermarket, try making these tweaks to your everyday lifestyle. They’ll help the U.N. achieve its goal of keeping the earth’s temperature from rising no more than 2 degrees Celsius by 2100 and, in turn, keep the planet from facing even more disasters like famine, disease and water shortages.
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Tag: food
The App That’s Making Responsible Food Choices A Breeze
Standing in front of a supermarket shelf featuring a variety of virtually the same product can give you a headache. Try figuring out which option is the most sustainable and that headache will quickly turn into a migraine.
But now, there’s a helpful guide: the HowGood app.
Created by the New York-based research organization HowGood (which has researched the global impact of producing of 100,000 food items), the app allows a customer to browse through a list of products or scan a product’s barcode and receive a sustainability rating. According to TechCrunch, each product receives a rating of good, better or great — represented by one, two or three worlds, respectively. The worst of the bunch don’t receive a rating.
The judging system is based on 60 indicators that go into producing the item — including health, humane treatment of animals, worker wages, location of food and the product’s sustainability, among others. Overall, it encompasses nearly every aspect of its production.
Based on the organization’s research, only six percent of the goods actually receive the highest rating.
Currently, the app is available for free download on iOS and Android phones.
So, with all of the “ethically wrong” goods out there, will this rating system actually matter? The answer is surprisingly yes. The HowGood organization has reported a 27 percent increase in the sales of the highest-rated products, showing that people do care about what they are consuming.
And for HowGood CEO of Alexander Gillet, that is exactly what he hoped for.
“We’re providing stores with a way to help people understand the real cost of food,” Gillet tells Fast Company. “If you want something that is made well, made healthy, and made in a way that’s good for the world, it will cost a little bit more. We’ve found that when people have that information in front of them, the same information across the store in a standardized way, they feel uplifted to make their choice.”
If there’s one thing that this app is showing, even a mundane act like grocery shopping can impact the world.
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The Ability to Fight Hunger and Obesity is Right at Your Fingertips
How many times have you heard someone proclaim that they’re going on a diet? When this declaration is made, the person usually sticks with a few weeks, but then becomes bored with the food selection and falls off the wagon.
Well, one man thinks he may have found the solution to this dilemma and our country’s hunger problem at the same time. It’s called FoodTweeks and it’s an app that donates your “saved” calories to a local food bank.
America is a giant paradox when it comes to food: More than 200 million people overweight and obese, yet at the same time, another 49 million go hungry. After doing research about both topics , the idea for FoodTweeks popped into founder Evan Walker’s head.
“Two years ago, a small team of us were trying to figure out how we could get 50 million Americans — the approximate number you would need to have any meaningful change in the country— to have an easier and more successful time of managing their weight,” Walker explains. “Diets are not sustainable, and most people go running from food that has the label ‘healthy’ attached to it.”
So, how is this one app going to solve both problems? Well, every time a person eats something (whether it’s at home or at a restaurant) they log the food item into FoodTweeks. It then suggests ways to make the meal a little healthier, and the consumer can choose the most appetizing alternative.
After a selection is made, FoodTweeks calculates how many calories are saved for that meal. For every 600 calories saved, the app donates a meal of that caloric amount to a local food bank.
“Millions of families do not have reliable access to nutritious food. In a serendipitous twist, it turns out that addressing both of these problems at the same time is easier than dealing with them individually,” Walker says. “Turning our users’ actions into donations encourages them to continue making their calorie-reducing changes.”
Helping a person in need might just be that extra motivation that most of us need.
MORE: Are Marketing Tricks the Secret to Making Healthier Choices?
The Homework Assignment That’s Saving the Lives of Hungry Kids in New Mexico
Marvin Callahan is no stranger to childhood hunger. As a kid living in a low-income neighborhood in Albuquerque, Callahan watched his parents do everything they could just to get by. For example, Callahan attended Catholic school, and while the tuition charge was $29 per month, his mom sent in whatever she could spare — be it $2, $3 or $4. Despite this, he always had something to eat.
Sadly, food is something that many of his students don’t have. For the past 29 years, Callahan has been working as a first grade teacher in Albuquerque public schools, and every day, he sees his students come into school without having had a meal.
This situation is typical for many children living in New Mexico. For the past two years, New Mexico has ranked number one in the U.S. for childhood hunger. Sixty percent of the students at Comanche Elementary (where Callahan works) are members of the federal free or reduced price lunch program, and 6,000 of the 87,000 students in the district are homeless.
While the federal programs provide lunch to kids from low-income households five days a week, oftentimes, the meal served at school is only one that these children receive. Which is why Callahan took matters into his own hands.
For Callahan’s students, class begins with breakfast. Every morning, he asks his students who has eaten breakfast, and those who haven’t are either sent to the cafeteria or given a snack from the classroom closet. The kicker, though, is that all the money for the food comes out of Callahan’s own pocket.
“I look into my kids’ eyes, and I can see that sadness and apprehension, and the discomfort of not being their powerful, strong, engaging little selves,” he tells the Huffington Post. “Kids are boundless, but the ones who aren’t being taken care of properly with proper nutrition and rest… you can tell.”
Daily breakfast isn’t the only way that Callahan helps out his hungry students. About two years ago, he also started the backpack program with school counselor Karin Medina and other community members. Every Friday, 37 students are sent home with a backpack containing two breakfasts, two lunches and two dinners — enough to feed them for the weekend.
It’s not much, but the breakfast bars, oatmeal, mac & cheese, beefaroni and sliced turkey is more than the kids would probably have otherwise.
“It’s hard for me to go home some weekends when the kids are saying, ‘I don’t want to go home because I don’t have anything at home,’” Callahan says. “I just hope that when I get home and open my refrigerator and there’s food in there, I hope that they have the same thing.”
Thanks to this special teacher, that hope is a reality.
MORE: This 14-Year-Old’s Homework Assignment Sparked A Mission to Feed America’s Hungry
Can One Farm Change How an Entire Community Eats?
Urban farm movements seem to be everywhere nowadays. But two farmers have a bigger vision in mind: they want to create a whole local food district.
Meet the Mullens, the husband-and-wife team of Derek and Kamise, who are the masterminds behind Everitt Farms in Lakewood, Colo. (a suburb of Denver). Just over a year ago, they began farming on the 7.5 acres that they own and an additional 18 acres that they lease. The fruits of their labor? A wide variety of produce, Christmas trees, horses, chickens and hay.
The Mullens use traditional intensive growing practices, which involve burying root vegetables within a single trench at different levels, surrounded by leafy greens and vine crops. The process is based on an old 1800s method, which is space saving.
Each weekend, Everitt Farms welcomes more than 100 families that purchase locally-grown vegetables and other products.
“We both have really wanted to do something like this for honestly, a good portion of our lives,” Kamise tells Sustainable Cities Collective. “It really wasn’t until we got married about four years ago that we actually started really growing food and trying to farm at all.”
To expand their urban farm even further, the Mullens held a Kickstarter campaign this past January, raising enough funds to add a greenhouse, irrigation system and the starting preparations for an open-air market with a farm stand constructed from the materials of an old barn.
Ultimately, the couple has a larger goal than just feeding their neighbors; they hope that their few acres of farmland will spark a lifestyle change and that others will see the benefits of a community food district complete with a bakery, restaurant, butcher and local products store.
“The people around us still all have at least a quarter acre lot and up to two or three acres,” Kamise tells Sustainable Cities Collective. “There’s a lot of people that grow their own food, there’s a lot of people that process, have jams and jellies, have products they make themselves. We’d really like to incorporate the fact that this was agricultural land and draw the community back into this area and back into farming through trading goods with them.”
She continues, “We’re still in the planning stages for the businesses we’d like to build, but the community is starting to realize when they have extra zucchinis they can come bring it to us and trade it out for tomatoes, jalapenos and things that they couldn’t grow.”
And with the success that the Mullens have had with their own farm, there’s no telling what this power couple can accomplish.
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The Latest Place to Grow Greens
While urban farms are gaining popularity in cities across the country, some metropolitans are taking them to new heights. Literally.
Instead of planting gardens on the ground, some groups are utilizing rooftops to grow food to feed customers, students and the homeless.
One such urban rooftop farm is located at Roberta’s Pizza in New York City. Located in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood, the restaurant has two small rooftop greenhouse facilities that produce 20 percent of the ingredients the restaurant uses throughout its multiple locations. And on the west coast, you’ll find Project Open Hand in San Francisco. This nonprofit uses its rooftop greenhouse to produce healthy meals for the sick and elderly. All of the herbs and greens are grown in the city headquarters, prepared by the chefs and then distributed across the city.
Schools are also a popular destination for rooftop farms. At George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., a greenhouse sits atop the school’s Exploratory Hall. As part of the Department of Environmental Science and Policy, the university’s greenhouse has three rooms — each paralleling a different climate. It has also partnered with the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and the university’s Potomac Heights’ vegetable garden, which feeds the homeless.
Chicago features a few different schools taking a unique approach to rooftop farming. The University of Chicago’s greenhouse sits atop the Donnelley Biological Science Learning Center. Boasting 7,500 square feet of growing space, a portion of it is also used for drug research.
There’s also a local high school getting involved in the sky-high action. The Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School in Chicago has a hydroponic greenhouse on its roof. Since the school bases its curriculum on social transformation, it views social ecology and urban agriculture as vital components. So, the school uses its greenhouse to grow food for the students, as well as it serving as an educational tool.
And so far it’s working. For one student Jaleen Starling, the opportunity to work in the garden was life changing or at least lifestyle changing.
“When we get taught something, it’s never just for us to learn,” she tells New Communities. “It’s something for us to connect to. … Until I came to this school, I didn’t pay attention to food.”
So while these farms may be high up, they’re starting a movement on the ground.
To find more urban rooftop farms growing across the country, click here.
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When You Want to ‘Buy Local,’ These Programs Make Doing So Easy
You’ve probably heard about community supported agriculture (or CSA) — a program where you pay up front and every week, a box of fresh, locally grown produce appears on your doorstop. Since its initial conception in western Massachusetts in the 1980s, such programs have been popping up across the country.
For consumers, it’s a great way to connect with high quality products and their community. And, due to their popularity, other industries have since jumped on the bandwagon.
One such group is local breweries. As of 2013, there were 1,500 microbreweries in the U.S. producing their own craft beer. While many of us may not know how to get our hands on these beverages, community-supported breweries (CSB) are solving that problem. For a set price, participants can sign up to receive craft beer every month for six to 12 months. Purchases are made directly from the producer, who sometimes throw in a few extra benefits, such as member-only events.
If beer isn’t your thing, community-supported art might be more appealing. In each program, commissioned artists will produce about 50 pieces of work. Patrons can then choose one piece of artwork from each artist, ranging in price from $50 to $500.
The first community-supported art program, the Minnesota-based Springboard for the Arts organization, began five years ago. Today, 40 groups nationwide offer community-supported art programs. One of their key components is interaction: Patrons attend “pick-up parties” where they collect their purchases and meet the featured artists.
Not to be outdone by artists, writers are also getting in on the action. Small, independent publishing houses are making a name for themselves through community-supported publishing programs by offering their members newly-released books fresh off the press or even discounts on all existing titles.
While the products may range in diversity and purpose, the main point is that these programs offer people a way to connect to their local community.
“It’s a model people already understood,” Andy Sturdevant, artists resources director at Springboard for the Arts tells Yes! Magazine. “People like to know where the things they buy come from, whether that’s food or whether that’s artwork.”
And in a world of corporations and big-box stores, that transparency and personal touch is often all that’s needed.
MORE: When Food Is Left Unharvested, This Organization Gleans It and Feeds the Hungry
What the Latest Technology Means for the Farm-to-Table Movement
There really is nothing quite like a vegetable picked fresh off the vine – the taste, texture and smell are all one-of-a-kind. While those with gardens are very familiar with it, the vast majority of us probably aren’t — and we certainly wouldn’t expect to encounter it in a supermarket or restaurant.
Until now. The business Fresh with Edge is closing the gap between farm and table by redefining the traditional farmer/consumer experience.
Through the use of hydroponics and aquaponics, Fresh with Edge grows their herbs and greens on five feet vertical towers inside a greenhouse system, according to Sustainable Cities Collective. When the greens are ready, the towers are simply transferred to the designated location where they’ll be consumed (think: a grocery store or eatery).
This Rochester, Minn. business is owned by Chris and Lisa Lukenbill, who started it back in 2011 because of an overwhelming urge to know where their food came from. Although both work in computer science and neither of them grew up on a farm, the couple used agricultural knowledge they had from aunts and uncles to get the business rolling.
It wasn’t an easy start. In between working full time and raising their two children, Chris and Lisa were learning how to run Fresh with Edge through a series of trial and error.
That all changed, however, after Chris attended an aquaponics conference in 2012. There, he met Nate Storey who operates Bright Agrotech, manufacturer of the ZipGrow vertical farming tower. Storey offered his assistance, and after a local food co-op let them sell onsite, the Lukenbill’s business began to grow.
Currently, Fresh with Edge has 300 towers in its facility and is connecting with consumers across the Rochester area. Its greens and herbs are sold at two local restaurants – Tonic in the Midtown district and Rainbow Café in Pine Island. It can also be found at the People’s Fund Co-op where its produce is sold by the ounce.
While Fresh with Edge used to actively participate in farmer’s markets, it’s taking a break to explore other avenues.
One of those is home sales, which will allow customers to purchase their own towers complete with fully grown greens and herbs, such as lettuce, bok choy, kale and chard. Additionally, the Lukenbills look to add more fresh, local and nutritious foods to their business, and they’re also looking into a way to use waste heat from electricity production to heat the greenhouse, which is currently only in operation from April to early November.
For Chris, though, the towers are a way of bringing people closer to the roots of the food they are eating.
“The towers help restaurant customers make connections with their food,” Chris tells Sustainable Cities Collective. “There is lots of opportunity for more growth.”
MORE: How Texas is Turning Toilet Water into Drinking Water
Correction: An earlier version of this article misreported the name of Nate Storey’s business, Bright Agrotech. We apologize for the error.
Can Tiny Seeds Be the Answer to This Big Farming Dilemma?
Diversity isn’t just a hot topic when it comes to race relations. It’s also important when talking about seeds.
Currently, our country suffers from a lack of seed diversity. Four companies control 50 percent of the entire commercial seed supply and many crops are highly genetically homogenous, according to Fast Company. For instance, American corn only stems from three or four parent lines.
And while this isn’t a problem in normal situations, it’s very dangerous if there’s an outbreak of disease, pests or extreme weather. In the event that one of these situations were to occur, American crops would be extremely susceptible to widespread loss due to the lack of diversity.
“An insurance policy against climate change is breeding for diversity,” Dillon tells Fast Company. “As we get a more chaotic climate, it’s very important to have greater diversity in our food crops, so they are resilient enough to withstand unpredictable diseases that are already starting to appear.”
That’s why Dillon started the advocacy group Seed Matters: to spread the news about seed diversity and its benefits. And thanks to the $1 million donation from the Clif Bar Family Foundation, Seed Matters was able to hit the ground running. Since its formation, 15 other companies have joined forces with them, including the supermarket chain Whole Foods and clothing company Eileen Fisher.
So, what does the group do? Well, according to their website, they are telling the “greatest story never told.” Seed Matters sponsors organic farming research, helps start seed banks and libraries in communities across the country and spreads the word out about the importance of seeds.
While it’s impossible to deny the success of modern agriculture (because of efficient practices, food is being produced at cheap rates relative to income), the ends may not justify the means. Why? Because to achieve these results, farmers often use too many chemicals and forget the traditional farming practices that are successful and environmentally sustainable.
One such modern trend is genetically modified (GM) food. Billions of dollars are spent on GM research, while only 1/70th of that is invested looking for alternative practices.
According to Dillon, we might just want to take a step back before we venture into the land of Frankenfood and instead use practices such as plant breeding, crop rotations and a better husbandry of seed varieties to build a natural resistance without harming the environment. Basically, do things that would be a win-win for every group involved.
Dillon isn’t alone in the advocacy of seeds and alternative farming methods. Many universities, specifically Cornell University, have begun to study organic practices. And there’s a flourishing group of organic seed supporters, too. A PBS show airing this fall documents this movement with Dillon as one of its featured advocates.
For Dillon, this represents a chance to better educate consumers and improve the food we eat at the same time. “There has been a farm-to-table movement, where knowing your farmer is a good thing,” Dillon says.“But there’s this prologue to that story that consumers don’t quite know. That’s the impact that seed has on their food and the world.”
MORE: How Salvaging the Food in Your Own Backyard Can Help Your Community and the Environment
7 Ways to Help the Residents of Ferguson
All it took was one incident, and Ferguson, Missouri become a news story. Since the shooting of Michael Brown on August 9, the town has been plunged into the national spotlight with cameras and riots filling the streets.
However, amidst all of the unrest are the town residents who are just trying to get by. In response, a number of organizations are providing assistance to Ferguson residents, determined to bring normalcy to their lives and bring change to the country.
Here are some of ways you can help.
1. Provide food to the children.
Due to the current situation, Ferguson schools delayed opening until August 25. When the 11,000 Ferguson students aren’t in classrooms, they also miss the federal free lunch program for all students that was starting this year.
As we reported earlier this week, a North Carolina public school teacher has responded by starting a Fundly campaign that donates 100 percent of the proceeds to the St. Louis Area Foodbank. Already more than $146,000 has been raised. Click here to contribute.
2. Advocate against police brutality.
Although the details of the incident are hazy, many people are proposing that stricter measures for police officers. Currently, a Change.org petition is circulating the internet offering a wide range of solutions to this problem. Some examples include requiring on-duty officers to wear forward-facing cameras as well making the shooting and killing of unarmed citizens who don’t have a violent crime arrest warrant out for them a federal offense. Click here to find out more about the petition and what you can do.
3. Support the Brown family.
While the family grieves and looks for justice, they also need assistance with legal, burial and travel costs. You can learn more about the Michael Brown Memorial Fund here.
4. Help the library that’s helping the people.
In the midst of all the turmoil, the Ferguson Municipal Library is acting a safe haven for residents. Not only can they go there for a break, but also teachers use the facility as a place to read to students and offer activities. For its part, the library is giving out water and allowing computer access. Support the library by clicking here.
5. Give assistance to looted businesses.
After nights of looting, more than 30 businesses are trying to pick up the pieces (literally). Between stolen goods and destroyed shops, these businesses wonder how they will survive. Which is why the St. Louis Regional Business Council has started a fund to help these businesses get back on their feet. All donations can be sent to:
North County Regional Development Association
350B Village Square Drive
Hazelwood, MO 63042
6. Provide a safe learning environment for children.
In lieu of the public school system, Wellspring Church is offering itself as an alternative. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the church provides educational activities, counseling and free lunch. Click here to help fund these activities.
7. Support the healing process.
For Ferguson residents, counseling is just as important as food. So, to help, the United Way of Greater St. Louis has started the Ferguson Fund, which will cover mental health needs, counseling, community building and anything else the town needs. To learn more and contribute, click here.
MORE: With Ferguson in Turmoil, Teachers are Cleaning Up the Mess