Last weekend was my son Noah’s Bar Mitzvah (that would explain my infrequent posts over the last year). It was AWESOME!!!! But I’m not here to boast or bore you with my personal feelings of pride and contentment. No. What I want to share is how a small shift in thinking can make a big difference. Depending on where you live, you may have never heard of a Bar Mitzvah or you may have been to quite a few. It’s a Jewish coming of age ritual for 13 year old boys and girls. Anyway, after the service it is customary to have a luncheon or banquet or party of some kind. Going into this, I knew there would be waste and a footprint associated with the party but I also knew I wanted to minimize it however I could. So, here are a few choices we made that when adopted by others too, could help lessen our collective impact:

• We chose a “sustainable” caterer that used organic and sustainably sourced food. All leftovers were donated to the homeless shelter in the same building.
• We asked the caterer to remove the plastic bottled water from the menu and instead provide pitchers of iced tap water.
• We used China, silverware, and glasses instead of disposable dinnerware.
• The place cards were made of plantable wildflower seed paper.
• We used potted flowered plants as centerpieces. People took them home to plant in their gardens.
• The kids’ giveaways were reusable stainless steel water bottles customized with Noah’s name and filled with candy.
• Instead of a steady flow of plastic junk from the MC/DJ that is customary at these events – sunglasses, glo sticks, hats, flashing LED wands, pins and necklaces – we had one 3D LED necklace per kid (I know- better to have none – but we didn’t want to spoil all the fun!)
• We minimized the meat on the menu serving mostly veggie, fish, and pasta.
• One thing that could have been less wasteful was our invitations. Although we used FSC certified paper (we could not find any affordable invitations made of recycled paper) we still had a card for the service, another card for the reception and a third reply card with envelope to be sent back via snail mail. I later got a number of invitations to his classmates’ events with a simple reply to email address. Good idea. Should have done that (although I have to admit I enjoyed receiving all the reply cards with personal notes and smiley faces on them and will keep them all in a memory box).

So, whether you are throwing a huge party for a life cycle event, or just going about your daily routine, think about the small changes you can make that could reduce waste and emissions.  I’m sure that compared to some, my event may seem extravagant and wasteful, and compared to others it may seem green and frugal.  The point is, no matter where you are along the spectrum of conservation and environmentalism, it’s important to think about the choices you are making and ask yourself: Is this really necessary?  Is there a less wasteful way to do this?  Is there a greener alternative.  My friends at the Broadway Green Alliance say that there is no such thing as “green”, only “greener.”  Just by living we are consuming resources every day.  The question to ask is: what small changes can I make to reduce my impact, while still maintaining (or enhancing) the quality of life I love?

Photo by Diana House

You would think that it’s a no brainer to replace plastic, styrofoam and paper disposable dinnerware with bagasse or another compostable kind – the latter doesn’t sit in a landfill forever, right? Well, it’s a little more complicated than that. I’m not trying to talk you out of replacing your plastic/styrofoam/paper plates with the compostable kind. There are still many environmental and health benefits to using these products. But I think it’s important to understand how it all works.

The first part of this is examining the materials used and the manufacturing process. Most compostable goods are made of renewable resources: sugar cane fiber, bamboo, wheat grass, and palm leaves. Isn’t paper a renewable resource, you may ask? Well technically, yes, but trees take years to grow and replace, and the process is pretty energy intensive. On the other hand, gathering fallen palm leaves or using sugar cane fiber, which is a by product of sugar production, is not so resource intensive. Also, many disposable goods are made of plastic and styrofoam and these materials can leach toxins. Do you want your kids eating off of styrofoam trays and ingesting all the toxins they give off? Of course not.

The more complicated and often misunderstood part of this is the disposal of these products. Compostable goods are meant to be composted, not sent to a landfill.  When food scraps and biodegradable garbage go to a landfill, one of two things will happen, and they’re both not good: 1) the conditions in the landfill are such that very little biodegradation will occur at all (you may have heard of the discovery of 40 year old hot dogs in landfills) or 2) biodegradation occurs, but because of the lack of exposure to oxygen, the process creates methane gas – a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide.  This process is called anaerobic biodegradation.  There are some landfills that capture this methane gas and produce energy from it (which is very cool) – but not all do.

So what happens if you compost the stuff? Well if you use a home composter or a composting service, most likely it will be done aerobically (with the aid of oxygen). The gas released in this process is carbon dioxide, not methane, which is one positive result. But what’s more important is that you will be creating much needed nutrient rich soil to return to the earth. And when compost is used in place of raw manure for fertilizer, it reduces groundwater pollution. The great thing is that with the advances in composting technology and all the great services available, you don’t even have to deal with smell, worms and all the other yucky things associated with composting.

So, go ahead and switch to compostable goods and please try to compost them. If the composting part is not an option right now, I still say these products are better than plastic, styrofoam and paper. The materials and manufacturing process are more environmentally sound, less toxic, and if they happen to end up in a landfill that does capture methane gas, then they will be helping to produce new energy!

Disclaimer: We sell compostable dinnerware on EcoPlum.

…or How Big Cities Will Transform the Way We Eat

I’m not talking about the kind of spam you get in your inboxes, I’m actually talking about the canned meat of Monty Python fame. Why? Well, I don’t know exactly, but my topic today is sustainable food, so somehow I associate spam with… non-sustainable food? Anyway, I remember when I first conceived of EcoPlum back in 2007, and I had a team of students from NJIT’s Capstone Project working on a prototype website. We were programming the “EcoTipz” section of the site and were looking for some tips to start off with. One of the students wrote “Eat Less Meat.” Well I was SO uninformed at the time, that I actually thought this was a joke. I thought the student was just populating EcoTipz with random phrases to test it. Turns out, the student knew a lot more about sustainability at the time than I did. (Horrified? Read more about my green evolution throughout this blog). It wasn’t until I started to educate myself in preparation for our beta site launch in October 2008 that I began to learn about how eating meat affects the environment. We then published several articles on the topic, and I learned more.

Fast forward to September 2010. Last night I was at a House Party where Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer came to talk about his sustainable food initiatives in NYC. I was thrilled to hear more about his Go Green East Harlem program and how it is now expanding to other parts of the city. Celebrity Chef Mario Batali has joined the cause by adopting Meatless Mondays in his restaurants. Chef Jamie Oliver and First Lady Michelle Obama are raising awareness and starting a school food revolution. Something really big is happening here and in other cities: urban farming, green roofs, curbside composting, healthy school food. I realize that for many of you in more rural areas (and some cities on the West Coast), this has been a way of life for a long long time. But this is different – I mean, who ever heard of growing cucumbers in the South Bronx? To get a good feeling of the kind of stuff about which I am ranting, check out this great video:

I hope you enjoyed it. Not only is this transformation fantastic for our personal health, but it’s also going to have a huge impact on the environment. I mean, we all have to eat, so this is something that touches each and every one of us, every day. How will you revolutionize your food?

This past Saturday, I spent the day with actor Matthew Modine and 1,000 other parents, educators, students, vendors, facilities managers and community leaders at the Green Schools Alliance Resource Fair here in NYC. OK, I didn’t really “spend” time with Matthew Modine. Actually, I didn’t even talk to him and I arrived a little late for his presentation, but the point is that he and I and 1,000 other folks decided to spend a precious spring Saturday indoors, away from our families, because we all believe that school should be a place for our kids to learn about environmental stewardship in a safe, non-toxic facility.

The event was a mix of presentations, break-out workshops, and a resource fair with almost 100 exhibitors showcasing everything from “litter free lunch” materials to climate education to various schools’ green accomplishments.  What’s amazing is that many of these school greening efforts were spearheaded by parent volunteers who selflessly devoted hours and hours to working on committees, meeting with the school administration as well as the NYC Board of Education, decoding the maze of city bureaucracy, dealing with unions and associations, all so that our kids learn to be responsible citizens of planet earth while not getting exposed to toxic chemicals and wasteful practices at such an early age.

The speakers were all inspirational – I was so excited to hear Jamie Cloud of The Cloud Institute speak about the importance of teaching systems thinking, and to hear about Matthew Modine’s Bicycle for a Day program.  Steve Ritz’s stories of converting Bronx teens from craving “Crack to Cucumbers” through his urban farming program at school literally brought tears to my eyes.  After attending so many depressing presentations over the last few months in the wake of Copenhagen, it was heart warming to hear so much optimism and hope for our future.  I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that PS 166, where my daughter goes and my son went to elementary school, was presented with an award for winning the Green Cup Challenge for New York- a contest in which schools competed regionally to reduce their energy use over a month.  This was again due to the efforts of some unbelievably dedicated parents and a cooperative school administration.

What struck me the most about this event, in addition to the shear number of participants, was the interesting break down in the background of the participants.  While a large number of them were true greenies who have been fighting for the environment for decades, an equally large number were reformed MIGGs like me, only relatively recently clued in to the dangers that wasteful practices, processed food and toxic products have on the health of our children, ourselves and our planet.  This is an excellent thing to see, all of us working together towards the same goal, all of us getting our butts out of bed, missing brunch, baseball and soccer games in the park, and forgoing other Saturday happenings to secure a better future for our children and their children as well.

Well the Copenhagen conference did not exactly have the outcome many had hoped for, but let’s look at the positive in all this:  two years ago, we had a president who did not even acknowledge that man made Global Warming existed.  Now we have one fighting for a global climate agreement.  And while many feel that Obama let the world down, one reporter who was in the room at the talks said “I saw Obama fighting desperately to salvage a deal, and the Chinese delegate saying “no”, over and over again.”  I’m guessing it was some combination of China’s manipulation and Obama’s need to accommodate all his domestic interests that brought us to where we are.  There is not much we can do about China, but we can help change the priorities right here in the U.S.

How?  Are we all powerless pawns of big business’s schemes?  The answer is NO!  Of course first you need to buy in to the unpleasant fact that business has power and that business decisions are made based on profit.   Sure there are socially minded business pioneers out there like Gary Hirshberg of Stonyfield Farms and Ray Anderson of Interface, but they are few and far between.  They were able to find a way to make money and do good and the same time.  But for the most part, when it comes down to profit vs. doing good, business will come down on the side of profit. That’s the basis of our capitalist society and, well, it  isn’t going to change in my lifetime.

So where does this leave us?  We must not forget that WE are the consumers and without us many businesses could not exist.  How is it that we have allowed ourselves to be duped for so long?  Fine, before the internet, social media, and the “age of transparency,”  companies could get away with keeping damaging information locked up in their secret vaults, but not anymore….Things are coming out, choices are becoming available, and we need to show that we will not stand for being poisoned, losing our oceans and lakes, and of course, being made extinct by Climate Change.

I was visiting with a friend this past weekend and was reminded about how much I am in the minority.  Here is a well educated, intelligent, caring, socially minded, gay mental health professional, for Pete’s sake!, and she is still buying junk food full of chemicals, still buying water bottles, still using plastic bags – what will it take for her to WANT to make more healthy, positive, sustainable choices?   Not to pick on anyone, but aren’t we all responsible for this planet?  Don’t we all have the obligation to speak up against businesses and demand quality products that will not harm us, our children, or the environment?   If people stop buying products such as plastic water bottles, the companies will have to stop making them!  If people demand food and personal care products free of toxic chemicals and materials, the companies will have to change their ingredients. I refuse to believe that the only way companies can be cost effective and competitive is to use materials that are poisonous!   I’m sure that is not true.

It’s all about being informed consumers and not letting the big corporations pull the wool over our eyes any longer.  I refuse to sit back and be manipulated and I urge all of you to do the same.  Make your voices heard,  vote with your wallets, stop buying all this CRAP and demand the quality products that you and your family have always deserved!!

Please make a pledge this holiday season to make ONE change, just one, that will send a message to corporations that you can and do hold the power to make a difference.   And please reward the companies that are already making a difference.  Share your pledges and actions in the comments section below!  We’d love to hear from you!

Here are some resources:

Climate Counts ranks companies on their efforts to be good climate citizens.

Green America approves companies that have met strict Environmental,  Fair Trade and Labor standards.

The California Integrated Waste Management Board has a directory of companies that sell recycled products.

And of course at EcoPlum, all of our products meet one of the third party certification and approval standards commonly relied upon by industry, and we give back with every purchase – either to you or to one of the great non-profits out there working tirelessly on saving our environment.

Peace, Love, Happiness and Empowerment to you this holiday!  Happy Holidays to all…and to all a good night….

Much has been written about the difference between organic, natural, and non-organic foods. What do these labels mean? Is there a difference between “organic” and “natural”? Why should I care if my food is not organic? Are certain non-organic foods more harmful than others? Is it really worth the extra price and effort to find organic food, or is it just a big marketing gimmick? And what about Organic vs Local?

Well many of our subscribers may already know this stuff cold, so I’m not writing this for you (but I sure do appreciate that you are reading this!) I’m writing this for the “Organic Newbie.” Once again, I totally admit to only recently understanding why buying organic is so much better for me, my family and the planet (remember – I am a reformed MIGG). So here are 4 quick facts/resources that you will hopefully find helpful:

1) There is a huge difference between Organic and Natural. “Organic” is a certification, administered by the USDA. Organic products must be made from at least 95% organic ingredients, and have remaining ingredients that are approved for use in organic products in order to carry “USDA Organic” seal. Organic foods also must be produced without the use of antibiotics, synthetic hormones, genetic engineering and other excluded practices, sewage sludge, or irradiation. Organic foods cannot be produced using toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers. There are only minimal guidelines on the use of the word “Natural” and there is very little oversight and no certification associated with the use of this word in food packaging. So, Organic = passed high standards, Natural = not so much.

2) Still why should you care? Well even if you are not concerned about the environmental effects of the use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers on our soil, groundwater, animals, and general ecosystem, you may care about the effect of these toxins on the human body. How bad can it be? Well one of the interns here at EcoPlum once said to me that he would rather eat SH*T than eat anything that wasn’t organic. OK, maybe that’s a little extreme. But the link between pesticides and increased rates of cancer in children has been proven in over 20 studies. Another study by the National Cancer Institute found that farmers have elevated rates of several types of cancer that are associated with chemical exposure, including pesticides.

3) So, what if you can’t find certain organic fruits and veggies – is it OK to buy some non-organic foods? The Environmental Working Group has a great resource called the Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides. It lists the “dirty dozen” – fruits and veggies that contain the most pesticides, and the “clean fifteen” – fruits and veggies which are fairly pesticide free and OK to buy non-organic. It even comes with a handy cut-out wallet card for reference while shopping. I have stopped buying non-organic peaches/nectarines, apples, bell peppers, celery and strawberries. Who knew?

4) Local vs. Organic? We have a couple of good articles here at EcoPlum on this topic, so I won’t rehash it except to say that they are two completely different things. Buying “local” has to do with reducing the carbon footprint associated with transporting the food from point A to point B. Organic is about what goes into the food and what chemicals are released into the environment while producing the food. Both are important. But it’s like saying do I want a man who is smart OR handsome? Um, I’ll take both if that’s an option!

So that’s my dummy’s guide to organic. Let me know if you found this useful!