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5 Freaky Ways To Have A Green Halloween

by EdmundoGutierre Posted on October 24, 2016

It can be quite challenging to maintain an eco-friendly lifestyle during holiday seasons, particularly Christmas and Halloween. It requires walking a fine line between successfully maintaining your environmentally conscious values and becoming a grouchy grinch who forbids fun in the name of the greater good.

Over the past few years, I think I’ve successfully refined my approach to major holidays, managing to navigate a happy balance between conscious consumption and celebration. With All Hallows’ Eve approaching, I’ve put together five ways to help you have a green Halloween.

1. Spookily Secondhand

Swapping your kids’ costumes can be a great way to save money and reduce waste. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com

It seems like Halloween costume stores pop up in every empty storefront as soon as the first leaf falls from the tree in September, but despite the allure of these one-stop shops, secondhand stores are actually the best place to shop for a costume — either one you put together yourself or one you choose from a rack of store-bought options that were someone else’s creepy or cute aliases a year before.

These costumes will be a fraction of the price compared with buying new, and reusing a costume means you’ll not only save money, you’ll prevent that wicked witch or swashbuckling pirate from haunting a landfill somewhere.

This tip works especially well for kids’ costumes — often worn for just a few hours before being discarded, they’re usually in great shape and kids will enjoy choosing their own secondhand costume without price limitations.

2. Boo-tiful Reusable Decor

Halloween decor like these wooden blocks can be reused from year to year. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com

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This year, eschew disposable decorations like police tape and spray-on cobwebs and opt for well-made decorations that can be used year after year instead (these can be found secondhand, too!). Choosing items made from sturdy materials like wood or cloth instead of plastic or Styrofoam means that they’ll last for years and be less likely to get damaged in storage.

Saving spooktacular decorations from one year to the next also means you can refine your sinister tableaus with each passing year instead of having to reinvent it from scratch each time.

3. Tricky Treats

Organic chocolates wrapped in foil are preferable to candy in plastic packaging. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com

This one is perhaps the most challenging obstacle to overcoming a wasteful or polluting Halloween. Those teeny-tiny chocolate bars and fruit snacks are called “fun sized,” but the environmental impact of all those plastic candy wrappers is anything but — especially when you consider that we buy $2.2 billion in candy each Halloween season. All of those tiny wrappers add up, but handing out a box of raisins is sure to get your house egged — what’s a green ghoul to do?

Thankfully, there is an easy solution that can also help provide a happy Halloween for children with food sensitivities, too. Handing out a non-candy item like Halloween pencils or natural rubber pumpkin erasers allows you to sidestep the individually wrapped treats, but foil-wrapped organic chocolates are a great option, too.

If budget or tradition prohibits either of these options, don’t beat yourself up. It’s one day a year. Give in to the fun of the holiday and purchase normal Halloween candy, but buy a bit less of it (we all know that you end up eating a third of it anyway) and give out one piece per trick-or-treater.

4. Monstrous (in Moderation)

Limiting the number of houses your kids trick-or-treat at can cut down on waste (and sugar overload!). Photo credit: Shutterstock.com

Your kids are going to hate me for this one. (Please apologize to them on my behalf.) But limiting the number of houses your kids collect candy from while trick-or-treating will do a lot to decrease the amount of trash — not to mention nutritional damage — done by all of those chocolate bars and bags of chips.

Again, the goal isn’t to strip any shred of fun from the holiday, so don’t be stingy about it, but do set a limit — either a length of time or a number of street blocks. Parents can make this decision for kids under 5; kids older than 5 can work with you to find a limit that’s acceptable to you both. And rather than an exercise in deprivation, use it as a chance to talk to your kids about moderation, being happy with having “enough” and the effects — environmental and physical — of so much junk food.

5. Eco-Bash

Opt for real plates and utensils at your Halloween party instead of wasteful disposable items. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com

If you’re brave enough to host a Halloween party, remember to avoid one-time-use serving items like plastic utensils and plates, plastic cups, and paper napkins. Investing in a set of inexpensive secondhand dishware and cloth napkins hugely reduces the amount of waste generated by parties and can be stored and reused for any special occasion, meaning you can avoid a truly frightening amount of trash.

From everyone here at Earth911, we wish you a happy, green Halloween!

Stumped on what to do with that jack-o’-lantern? Watch our video “What to Do with That Halloween Pumpkin” for great tips!

Feature image courtesy of Shutterstock.com

About
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Madeleine Somerville

Madeleine Somerville is the author of

All You Need Is Less: An Eco-Friendly Guide to Guilt-Free Green Living and Stress-Free Simplicity

. She is a writer, wannabe hippie and lover of soft cheeses. She lives in Edmonton, Canada, with her daughter. You can also find Madeleine at her blog,

Sweet Madeleine

.

Latest posts by Madeleine Somerville (see all)

5 Freaky Ways To Have A Green Halloween – October 24, 2016
4 Brands Doing Clothes Recycling Right – October 18, 2016
Does Being An Environmentalist Require A Certain Look? – September 21, 2016

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5 Freaky Ways To Have A Green Halloween

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How to Banish Plastic Straws From Your Life Forever

by JeniferSchaefer Posted on September 24, 2016

The anti-plastic straw movement grows stronger by the day. Campaigns are springing up around the country, urging people to hold the straw with their next drink, understand why this is such a big deal, and discover reusable alternatives.

The numbers are sufficiently shocking to make anyone want to change their habits. Americans use an estimated 500 million plastic straws daily enough to fill 127 school buses and circle the earths circumference 2.5 times. Five hundred million straws weigh about the same as 1,000 cars (close to 3 million pounds), which is a massive amount of plastic to throw in landfills on a daily basis.

Straws, which are made of a petroleum byproduct called polypropylene mixed with colorants and plasticizers, do not biodegrade naturally in the environment. They are also nearly impossible to recycle, so nobody really bothers. Some are incinerated, which releases toxic chemicals into the air, but most end up in the ground, where they will hang around for an estimated 400 years and leach chemicals into the ground. That means that every straw ever used still exists on this planet.

Fortunately, resistance is growing stronger, and several interesting efforts to promote the straw-free message have gained traction in recent years. There are also more companies offering reusable alternatives to plastic straws.

Check out the following list of resources to learn how you can get involved, educate others around you, and banish plastic straws forever from your life.

TheOne Less Strawcampaign has its official start on October 1, but individuals, businesses, and schools can sign up now. It has a nifty accountability system whereby, for every straw that you accidentally use (i.e. you forget to tell the server you dont want one), you have to pay into a fund that will then get donated to your school to promote environmental education. (See TreeHugger storyhere.)

The Last Plastic Strawurges restaurants and bars to change their policy to straws available upon request, in order to get people thinking about the issue and drastically cutting down on the number handed out each day. This group inspired Bacardi to launch itsHold the Straw campaign.

U-Konserve, seller of reusable food storage containers, has a fabulous Pinterest page called Switch the Straw with many helpful links to anti-plastic straw campaigns, infographics, and alternative products. U-Konserve is also offering a free straw-cleaning brush with the purchase of any reusable straws right now.

Straw Sleevesis a U.S. company that manufacturers cute little cloth bags to store reusable straws for easy accessibility when youre out for dinner or drinks. It also has an activeInstagram accountwith some great content, including facts about plastic pollution and photos of abandoned straws in beautiful natural settings, which is enough to inspire anyone to change their habits!

Where to find reusable straws:

Glass strawsGlass Dharmamakes borosilicate glass straws that come in a variety of lengths and diameters.
Strawsomealso sells handmade glass straws, made in USA with lifetime guarantee and free US/Canada shipping. They come in different colors, shapes, diameters, and lengths.

Metal strawsMulled Mindsells made-in-USA stainless straws that are shipped in recycled and reused materials.
Sets of 4 stainless steel straws with a cleaning brushsold by Life Without Plastic.

Bamboo straws These 10bamboo strawsare entirely unprocessed; theyre just dried hollow stalks that can be washed, air-dried, and used for many years.
Bambu Home sellsslightly shorter straws, at 8.5 long. They are made from organic bamboo, harvested from wild groves, rather than plantations, and are finished with an organic flax seed oil.

Paper straws Paper straws still generate some waste, so theyre not as good as reusable options, but a huge improvement over plastic. You can order fromAardvark Straws(made in USA).

Straw straws Straws that are made from straw? Its the most logical material out there. Thiscompanyhas an online store set to open in October 2016, so youll be able to place orders shortly.

Pasta straws Its the ultimate zero waste solution and kids will love it. Look forbucatini or perciatelli, long spaghetti-like, tube-shaped noodles with holes in the middle, through which its possible to sip liquids. Then you can cook your straws and eat them for dinner.

Get ready to watch the STRAWS documentary film, currently undergoing production. It will delve deep into the disturbing world of plastic straw pollution, one of the top five marine polluters. Filming is supposed to be done by autumn 2016. Learn morehere.

Written by Katherine Martinko.This post originally appeared onTreeHugger.

Photo Credit: One Less Straw Campaign/Facebook

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Original source: 

How to Banish Plastic Straws From Your Life Forever

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You know you want to be Grist’s newest fellow

by CedricChan Posted on September 20, 2016

COME WORK WITH US

You know you want to be Grist’s newest fellow

By on Sep 20, 2016Share

Are you an early-career journalist, storyteller, or multimedia wizard who digs what we do? Then Grist wants you!

We are now accepting applications for the spring 2017 class of the Grist Fellowship Program.

This time around we’re looking for all-stars in (count ’em) THREE different areas: editorial, justice, and video. You’ll find deets on all three fellowship opportunities here.

The Grist Fellowship Program is an opportunity to hone your journalistic chops at a national news outlet, deepen your knowledge of environmental issues, and experiment with storytelling. We get to teach you and learn from you and bring your work to our audience. You won’t get rich — but you will get paid. The fellowship lasts six months.

For fellowships that begin in February 2017, please submit applications by Nov. 8, 2016. Full application instructions here.

Good luck!

Election Guide ★ 2016Making America Green AgainOur experts weigh in on the real issues at stake in this electionGet Grist in your inbox

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You know you want to be Grist’s newest fellow

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Bernie Sanders Is Coming Off the Bench to Save the Democrats

by HarrietPerrin Posted on September 16, 2016

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

For a few minutes Friday afternoon in New Paltz, New York, it felt like old times for Bernie Sanders. Looking out over a sea of college students in Bernie t-shirts and Bernie buttons and a very uncomfortable looking Bernie onesie, the Vermont senator ran through the issues that had fueled his strong showing upstate during New York’s March primary: fracking, oligarchy, inequality.

But this time, Sanders was on a different mission—to elect Zephyr Teachout to Congress in the state’s 19th district. National Democrats consider the swing district held by the retiring GOP Rep. Chris Gibson one of their most important pickup opportunities, critical to their hopes of retaking the House, and Sanders was effusive in his praise of law professor and campaign finance crusader he has described as a leading light of his “political revolution.” Of the 435 members of the House, he said, Teachout was poised to be “the most outstanding” of the bunch—”a leader at a time when we need leaders.” When the crowd started into one last chant of “Ber-nie!” the senator interrupted, determined to pass the torch. “Thank you,” he said, “but that ‘Ber-NIE‘! has now got to be directed to ‘Ze-PHYR!'”

Sanders has been mostly quiet since the chaotic Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, when hundreds of his supporters walked out of the arena after he ceded the nomination to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. But the Vermont independent had pledged to “vigorously” campaign for Clinton and downballot Democrats this fall and launched his own political non-profit to further the goals of his “revolution.” Now, with less than two months to go until election day, Sanders is getting off the bench—and Democrats could really use the help.

After campaigning with Teachout, Sanders boarded a plane to Pittsburgh, where he was set to stump for Katie McGinty, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Pennsylvania. (Joining Sanders in Steel City: Braddock, Pennsylvania, mayor John Fetterman, a Sanders backer who lost to McGinty in the primary.) Then he has a busy weekend of rallies and organizing events planned for Ohio, where he and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) are crisscrossing the state to campaign for Clinton, hitting the cities and college campuses where Sanders performed best in the March primary. After trailing for months, Trump has led the last three polls in Ohio and now leads in the Real Clear Politics average in the state.

Sanders’ campaign tour comes at a time when a significant portion of his supporters are still unsure who to vote for. According to a New York Times/CBS News poll released on Thursday, 36 percent of voters under the age of 30 are supporting third-party candidates. Ten percent of those voters are backing Green Party nominee Jill Stein, who has made a show of appealing to disaffected Sanders supporters and has earned the backing of a handful of Democratic National Convention delegates. In July, Stein even offered to give Sanders a spot on the Green Party ticket if he would drop out of the Democratic race to join the third-party.

The 44-year-old Teachout, a Fordham University Law School professor and former Howard Dean staffer who has written a book about political corruption, was one of a handful of House candidates who Sanders endorsed during the primaries. Two years ago she ran for governor in the Democratic primary against the incumbent Andrew Cuomo and won 32 of 62 counties despite minimal funding and zero establishment support. Her unlikely success, and her unabashedly progressive platform, foreshadowed Sanders’ long-shot campaign this spring.

Although Clinton should win New York’s electoral votes easily, Teachout’s Hudson Valley district—infused with a Vermont-ish mix of family farmers, college students, and old-school hippies—is emblematic of the kind of place in swing districts and purple states where Sanders’ word carries the most weight. A local string band called Yard Sale, which described itself as “local and organic,” performed on a stage fashioned from a shipping container for the crowd compromised largely of students from the nearby State University of New York at New Paltz. “We’re gonna reach out/ for Teachout/ everybody/ join along,” a band member sang.

Sanders couched his support in personal terms, citing a meeting he and Teachout had attended years ago opposing the North American Free Trade Agreement and calling Teachout’s House race the clearest battle on the map between the “oligarchy” and the progressive left. (Teachout has challenged the billionaire hedge-funder Paul Singer, a backer of her Republican opponent John Faso—a former fracking pipeline lobbyist—to a debate.) When it was Teachout’s turn, she addressed the audience, many of whom were hearing her speak for the first time, in a language that sounded familiar. She railed against the “hedge fund billionaires,” such as Singer, funding a super-PAC in support of her opponent, and asked her supporters if they knew what her average donation was—a staple of Sanders stump speeches. “Nineteen dollars!” came the response.

But there were plenty of reminders of the challenges facing Sanders as he tries to herd his coalition into the Democratic tent. Perhaps wary of resurrecting old wounds (the Vermont senator was jeered when he called for party unity at a delegate meeting in Philly) neither candidate mentioned the name at the top of the Democratic ticket, and Sanders alluded to Trump only in passing.

Safiyyah Alston, a sophomore at SUNY-Ulster with a Three Bernie Moon t-shirt and flowers in her hair, told me she still just wanted to see Sanders on the ballot. “I support him now!” she said. “If he jumped in the race I’d support him.” But she was still trying to get to yes with Clinton. Lorraine Vigoriti, another Bernie backer in a t-shirt that read “#ForeverBernie” with a drawing of a forlorn looking senator walking into the distance, told me it was “Jill or nobody.” Why nobody? She was worried that if she so much as cast a vote it would be “stolen” by Clinton supporters at the polling location and converted into a Hillary vote; better to just stay home.

As organizers took apart the stage and wrangled attendees for volunteering shifts toward Teachout’s goal of 70,000 door-knocks, I found 21-year-old Oscar Salazar in a onesie covered in photos of Bernie’s smiling face. He had driven up from Westchester County, determined to travel “wherever Bernie speaks or wherever the Pokemon take me,” he said. Salazar had backed Sanders during the primary, of course, and was now leaning toward Stein in the general election. “I’m tired of voting for the lesser of two evils,” he said, although this was the first year he’d ever voted. Still, the primary hadn’t soured him on Democrats entirely. He liked what he’d heard from Teachout—now he was planning to phone-bank for her.

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Bernie Sanders Is Coming Off the Bench to Save the Democrats

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Chicago just named a street for an environmental justice hero.

by SallyLandon Posted on September 15, 2016

At the Our Ocean Conference in Washington, D.C., this week, Obama announced the creation of The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, which will protect deep-sea ecosystems off the coast of New England.

The monument, which lies about 150 miles east of Massachusetts, includes three submerged canyons — one of them deeper than the Grand Canyon — and four underwater mountains. The designation means that commercial fishing will be phased out of the region, and resource extraction such as mining and drilling will be prohibited. That’s good news for creatures like endangered whales, sea turtles, and deep-sea coral — and those less sexy microorganisms that sustain all of them, like plankton.

According to a recent study by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, ocean temperatures in this section of the Atlantic are projected to warm three times faster than the global average. This new monument, according to the White House, “will help build the resilience of that unique ecosystem, provide a refuge for at-risk species, and create natural laboratories for scientists to monitor and explore the impacts of climate change.”

President Obama has protected more land and water than any other American president — including the world’s largest marine protected area in the Pacific.

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Chicago just named a street for an environmental justice hero.

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Solar power’s not just for roofs anymore: It’s being woven into fabric.

by VitoBadgett Posted on September 15, 2016

Soon, everything from sneakers to beach umbrellas could suck up the sun’s energy and turn it into electricity.

Marianne Fairbanks, a fabric designer, and Trisha Andrew, an organic chemistry professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, teamed up to make solar fabric — first invented 15 years ago — a little bit sleeker. They created a layer of polymer-coated fabric that absorbs light and conducts electricity, and can be applied to any type of textile. A four-by-four foot swath of cloth can generate enough power to charge a smartphone.

“I get really excited, because textiles are portable and lightweight,” Fairbanks told Smithsonian. “They could be deployed in the wilderness for a hunter or in the field for medical or military applications in a way that big clunky solar panels never could be.” The duo is working on creating marketable solar-powered products like gloves, tents, and other outdoor gear.

Meanwhile, researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology recently developed a different wool textile that harvests wind and solar energy. Who knew the renewable energy fabric industry was so competitive?

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Solar power’s not just for roofs anymore: It’s being woven into fabric.

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Jill Stein tries to clarify her opinion of vaccines.

by AngelineChilde0 Posted on September 13, 2016

Accusations that Stein is an anti-vaxxer have followed the Green Party candidate throughout the race, even though she’s a Harvard-educated physician and not a graduate of the Jenny McCarthy school of medicine.

In a ScienceDebate.org survey of presidential candidates’ views on science, Stein gave them a somewhat modified answer on vaccines.

“Vaccines prevent serious epidemics that would cause harm to many people,” she said, adding:

To reverse the problem of declining vaccination rates, we need to increase trust in our public health authorities and all scientific agencies. We can do that by removing corporate influence from our regulatory agencies to eliminate apparent conflicts of interest and show skeptics, in this case vaccine-resistant parents, that the motive behind vaccination is protecting their children’s health, not increasing profits for pharmaceutical companies.

Stein’s been accused of pandering to anti-vaxxers before, for saying, “There were concerns among physicians about what the vaccination schedule meant … There were real questions that needed to be addressed.”

While she’s still hitting on her point about corporate influence, she’s sounding less loony these days.

In the same questionnaire, however, Stein didn’t budge on another topic in which she stands at odds with the scientific community: GMOs. She wants to place a moratorium on GMOs until they have been proven safe.

Of course, those persnickety scientists will tell you it’s impossible to prove anything is safe — but that’s not a reason to dismiss new plant varieties or lifesaving shots.

Link: 

Jill Stein tries to clarify her opinion of vaccines.

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Trump says, “Science is science and facts are facts,” and explains his “facts” on climate change.

by LillianaLlewell Posted on September 13, 2016

Accusations that Stein is an anti-vaxxer have followed the Green Party candidate throughout the race, even though she’s a Harvard-educated physician and not a graduate of the Jenny McCarthy school of medicine.

In a ScienceDebate.org survey of presidential candidates’ views on science, Stein gave them a somewhat modified answer on vaccines.

“Vaccines prevent serious epidemics that would cause harm to many people,” she said, adding:

To reverse the problem of declining vaccination rates, we need to increase trust in our public health authorities and all scientific agencies. We can do that by removing corporate influence from our regulatory agencies to eliminate apparent conflicts of interest and show skeptics, in this case vaccine-resistant parents, that the motive behind vaccination is protecting their children’s health, not increasing profits for pharmaceutical companies.

Stein’s been accused of pandering to anti-vaxxers before, for saying, “There were concerns among physicians about what the vaccination schedule meant … There were real questions that needed to be addressed.”

While she’s still hitting on her point about corporate influence, she’s sounding less loony these days.

In the same questionnaire, however, Stein didn’t budge on another topic in which she stands at odds with the scientific community: GMOs. She wants to place a moratorium on GMOs until they have been proven safe.

Of course, those persnickety scientists will tell you it’s impossible to prove anything is safe — but that’s not a reason to dismiss new plant varieties or lifesaving shots.

Continue reading:

Trump says, “Science is science and facts are facts,” and explains his “facts” on climate change.

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Survival Tips For Green Parents Dealing With Information Overload

by RalfFitzgerald Posted on September 4, 2016

BPA in bottles!

GMOS in baby food!

Toxic chemicals in toys!

Disposable diapers are the devil!

Raising a healthy kid in today’s polluted world is anything but easy.

Every parent wants the best for their child, and if you happen to be an eco-conscious parent, the stakes are even higher. You have both your children and the planet that they’ll someday inherit to worry about.

The struggle to protect our children while also being a good child of Mother Nature is front and center in a new book aimed at helping green-minded navigate the often shifting landscape of healthy parenting.

Called Spit That Out! The OverlyInformedParents Guide to Raising Healthy Kids In The Age OfEnvironmentalGuilt, the bookis part parenting handbook, part autobiography, and overflowing with humorous stories that all parents will relate to.

With chapters like “The Precarious World Of Poo Maintenance” and “Can I Afford To Be This Conscious?” author Paige Wolf seeks to cut through the avalanche of conflicting information, providing parents with humorous anecdotes full of useful tips for staying sane and healthy in an increasingly toxic world.

Chock full of staggering statistics (more than 50 of the one million annual child deaths from acute respiratory infections are attributable to indoor air pollution); hilarious realizations (“Goldfish feel to me like a gateway drug to toddler junk food”); and advice from green living experts (never buy plastic toys with the numbers 3, 6 and 7 on them, they’re likely to leak dangerous chemicals and can’t be recycled), Spit That Out!is aninformative read whether you’re a parent yet or not.

Care2 recently caught up withWolf, an eco-chic green living expert, blogger and advocate, to learn more about what she hopes parents will gain from reading her book.

Care2: What inspired you to write this book?

Wolf: “When I was pregnant with my first child I was overwhelmed by all the conflicting information and constant barrage of things to worry about! What was in the food, the cleaning products, the shampoo, the toys? Could we pull off cloth diapers and breastfeeding? Talking with other new parents I realized I was not the only one up Googling these things every night. Many of us feel paralyzed by all of the eco-anxiety and green guilt and I wanted to find straight answers and real ways to make green and healthy living more manageable, practical and affordable. The book is part commiseration/part solution!”

Care2:What’s the biggest life change (eco-wise) you made when you become a parent?

Wolf:I was making small changes for years leading up to becoming a parent. It started with just basic recycling and then composting, eating a more natural and organic diet and swapping out personal care products. I dont know that there was a specific switch that happened in correlation with becoming a parent it has been more like making more small changes and upgrades everyday.

“For instance, I remember thinking I had gotten rid of all the nonstick pans years ago and it suddenly occurred to me that my George Foreman grill was coated in Teflon. Opening a cabinet and saying, Why are we still buying conventional raisins? Its a constant learning experience and balancing act trying to create a more sustainable and health-conscious home while also making peace with the fact that my kids are going to find a way to eat Munchkin Donut holes at least three times a week.”

Care2:What’s one thing “green” parents stress about that you wish they wouldn’t?

Wolf: “There isnt really one thing its just the greater idea of doing everything perfectly. We all have our parenting differences. Some of us feel guilty for not breastfeeding long enough or at all, others for not cloth diapering and many for not feeding our kids organic all the time. Its important that we dont ignore the significance of these things and at least TRY to make an effort, but we also have to realize that we cant live in a bubble. We have to do the best we can with the opportunities available to us. Fortunately, though, many of these opportunities are becoming more accessible and affordable.”

Care2:What’s THE most important piece of advice you’d give to environmentally-minded parents in today’s world?

Wolf: “Perfect is unattainable but better is always possible.”

Connect with Spit That Out! author Paige Wolf on Facebook, Twitteror Instagram.

Spit That Out! The OverlyInformedParents Guide to Raising Healthy Kids In The Age OfEnvironmentalGuilt is available wherever books are sold.

Image Credit: Thinkstock

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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Survival Tips For Green Parents Dealing With Information Overload

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The Tricky Thing About Labeling Foods as Locally Grown

by ArletteMacdermot Posted on September 4, 2016

Were living in an age of conscious consumption. For many of us, settling for the cheapest, quickest option doesnt cut it; we want to know that our purchases arenot contributingto economic or environmental degradation.

One of the best places to spot this trend? Our food shopping habits. Weve learned about the demise of the small farmer, the incredible distances most ingredients travel to our plates, and the damage industrial farming is doing to our soil and airand we want something different. Recent polling shows that for most Americans, purchasing food from local producers is a high priority. According to a2014 survey by Cone Communications, almost three-quarters of Americans stated that buying locally was a significant factor in determining what they buy, and 77 percent of shoppers consider the sustainability factor of what they purchase.

According to anothersurveyfrom Consumer Reports, two-thirds of shoppers specifically look for a label indicating that a product has been grown locally. In New York, shoppers can now pick up a product and see on the label if its beengrown in-state. The new Empire State label goes beyond just identifying food origins, though. According to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, it indicates that a product has been inspected for the highest level of food safety and environmental sustainability standards.

New York State Grown & Certified is the first state program in the nation to combine modern food safety standards with environmental stewardship to achieve a premium level of certification, reads theNew York Governorswebsite. By certifying food at this level, New York is providing consumers with an assurance of quality in how and where the food is grown and produced while promoting New York State producers who are meeting a growing market demand for foods that are safely handled and grown in an environmentally responsible manner.

But pinning down what locally grown means can be adifficult task. There is no standardized definition provided by the United States Department of Agriculture, only corporate and state-level definitions. Vermont considers anything grown within its borders or 30miles outside them; a locally grown label in large states like California or Texas could mean a product has traveled as much as 800 miles from its source. Its clear that a local label has its limits, and if it goes unregulated by the USDA could become as meaningless as an all-natural label.

So whats a conscious consumer to do? Get educated about the food youre buying. After all, your local farmer might be cranking out beautiful producethats loaded with pesticides and GMOs. Shop local and organic as often as you can, and meanwhile, support producers that might not be local but use sustainable practices.

Written by Steve Holt. Reposted with permission from Thrive Market.

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5 Surprising Places You’ll Find Fast Food

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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The Tricky Thing About Labeling Foods as Locally Grown

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