The World Wildlife Fund reports that more than half of all packaged products Americans consume contain palm oil – everything from soap and cosmetics to processed foods and even ice cream. Finding palm oil-free alternatives in the supermarket is not always easy. Nether Providence Soap Company and Hand in Hand Soap are two examples of local companies whose personal care products do not contain palm oil.
In Southeast Asia, Africa and South America, large areas of rainforest are being cleared to make room for palm oil production. Complex ecosystems are being replaced by monoculture palm oil plantations, driving endangered species like orangutans to the brink of extinction. The burning of native forests creates air pollution, sets the stage for large-scale erosion, and contributes to climate change.
The World Wildlife Fund reports that more than half of all packaged products Americans consume contain palm oil – everything from soap and cosmetics to processed foods and even ice cream. Finding palm oil-free alternatives in the supermarket is not always easy. Nether Providence Soap Company and Hand in Hand Soap are two examples of local companies whose personal care products do not contain palm oil. According to recent research, eating a plant-based diet can reduce your greenhouse gas emissions by at least 0.8 tonnes CO2 equivalent per year. Take steps in this direction on your grill this summer! While veggie burgers offer one replacement for meat, many vegetables are very tasty when grilled directly. Eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and even tofu and polenta can be cut into slabs or rounds, brushed with oil and cooked on the grill. Beets, kale, asparagus, carrots, parsnips, and Portobello mushrooms can all be grilled whole. Brush with oil, turn often, and just slip off the skins of carrots and beets when done. Potatoes and beets can either cook directly over the heat or be wrapped in foil with some olive oil. Enjoy kabobs? Fill skewers with chunks of eggplant, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, onion, bell peppers, and zucchini marinated for a couple of hours in a mixture of olive oil, red wine vinegar, minced garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Photo by Susan O'Donnell Make your own healthy summer treats without having to throw away any boxes, plastic wrappers, or sticks. Find the molds that are made of BPA-free plastic and include a reusable stick. Then let your imagination run wild with flavor options! You can simply freeze fruit juice, or puree fresh fruit mixed with a little juice, milk, coconut milk, or yogurt. Try combinations like watermelon-kiwi, honeydew melon with mint, or strawberries and yogurt. Summer treats can be healthy and waste free!
Beef has a much greater impact on greenhouse gas emissions than other types of meat. Therefore, you can reduce your carbon footprint by reducing the amount of beef you eat or moving toward a more plant-based diet.
You can start by eliminating meat at least once per week; find useful recipes on meatlessmonday.com. You can also take the flexitarian approach by eating some vegetarian meals and making meat less central to your meal. In the article “The Triple Whopper Environmental Impact of Global Meat Production,” Bryan Walsh, gives more details describing the impact of livestock on greenhouse gas emissions (Science.time.com, Dec. 16, 2013) http://science.time.com/2013/12/16/the-triple-whopper-environmental-impact-of-global-meat-production/ When your electricity goes out, some foods in your fridge will still be OK. Don’t throw out hard cheeses, butter or margarine, open fruit juice, ketchup, mustard, vinegar-based dressings, soy sauce, pickles, or raw vegetables.
The website https://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/refridg_food.html provides a complete list of what foods can be kept and which should be discarded after the power has been out for more than four hours and the food has been held at a temperature higher than 40°F. You can lengthen the time before your food spoils by filling a cooler with ice (or snow, if that is the cause your power outage) to keep the foods that you need most frequently to minimize the number of times you have to open your refrigerator. If the temperature outside is lower than 40°F, store your food in a sealed container outside. Happy Thanksgiving from aFewSteps!
This past Saturday, aFewSteps asked shoppers at the Swarthmore Farmers’ Market to share their tips for making the Thanksgiving feast more sustainable. Here are their ideas. We enjoyed a lot of great conversations, and many of you wrote down your ideas for us to share with the community. We summarize them here, and hope you’ll be as inspired as we are to enjoy a green Thanksgiving. 1. Buy local! From cheese to honey to the apples for your pie, the farmers’ market is the place to find delicious local foods for your holiday meal. “Buy a local turkey” and “Shop at the Co-op” appeared on our message board, and one of you suggested, “Buy local beer and recycle the bottles.” Local foods are fresh, transported over the shortest possible distances; and, when you buy local, you support a balanced economy in our region. 2. Ride your bike One Swarthmorean added an extra twist to buying local: “Shop only at places where you can ride your bike!” 3. Eat more veggies “How about letting turkeys live and using an alternative?” asked one neighbor. Another pointed out that even shifting toward a higher proportion of vegetables and less meat would make for a more sustainable feast, since meat production is more energy- and resource-intensive than growing vegetables. 3. Use real dishes and cloth napkins Many of you advised against disposable paper and plastic on the Thanksgiving table. Eliminating drinking straws is an easy way to reduce waste. And almost any meal – not just Thanksgiving dinner – tastes better eaten from “real” dishes, with “real” table linens. What about pesky grease stains on cloth napkins? Use patterned napkins, and no one will notice. 3. Choose natural or reusable decorations In late autumn, gardens and woods provide natural beauty for your tabletop. Or save family favorite decorations to use again next year. 4. Serve filtered tap water Most bottled water is actually just tap water from somewhere else. Because water is heavy, transporting it uses up lots of fossil fuels. Serving tap instead of bottled water is the sustainable choice. 5. Make stock Most vegetable scraps and the turkey carcass can be used to make soup stock. Had enough cooking for one weekend? You can freeze vegetable and turkey scraps to use later. 6. Compost Vegetable and fruit scraps that don’t make the grade for soup stock are ideal for composting. If you don’t have a compost bin, perhaps you have a neighbor who does. 7. BYOB – Bring your own bags What’s Thanksgiving without leftovers? Several of you suggested taking your own bags and reusable plastic containers to Thanksgiving dinner, to bring home the food without a lot of wasteful packaging. 8. Travel smart Thanksgiving weekend is the busiest travel time of the year. Some of you recommended reducing both stress and energy use by staying close to home or taking public transportation. 9. Give thanks One neighbor said she’ll be giving thanks this year for the new rooftop solar system that has dramatically reduced her family’s electric bill. We at aFewSteps would like to thank all of YOU for taking an interest in our project and for sharing your terrific ideas. Happy Thanksgiving! Substituting beans for beef in the American diet could achieve most of the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions needed to meet the 2020 goal for the U.S.
Shifting to a plant-based diet has long been recognized as an effective way for individuals to reduce their own carbon footprints. Using a new approach, a study published in May 2017 calculated the possible impact of one very specific dietary change: substituting beans for beef in the diet of all Americans. The study concluded that this one change could free up 42% of U.S. cropland and achieve 46 to 74% of the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions needed to meet the 2020 goal for the United States. Reporting on the study’s findings in theatlantic.com, James Hamblin suggested adjusting one’s diet as a remedy for “ecoanxiety” – the dread and helplessness brought on by climate change. He quotes the study’s lead author, Helen Harwatt of Loma Linda University: “The real beauty of this kind of thing is that climate impact doesn’t have to be policy-driven,” said Harwatt. “It can just be a positive, empowering thing for consumers to see that they can make a significant impact by doing something as simple as eating beans instead of beef.” Sources: Harwatt, H., J. Sabate, G. Eshel, S. Soret, and W. Ripple. 2017. Substituting beans for beef as a contribution toward US climate change targets. Climatic Change 143:261–270 Hamblin, J. August 2, 2017. "If Everyone Ate Beans Instead of Beef." TheAtlantic.com https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/08/if-everyone-ate-beans-instead-of-beef/535536/?utm_source=atlfb Clean your barbeque grill with half a peeled white onion; just heat the grill and rub it with the onion cut-side down. For more information, check out afewsteps.org. (Image: Flickr member allygirl520 licensed for use under Creative Commons) For more details, see this article from WonderHowTo.com ---https://food-hacks.wonderhowto.com/how-to/clean-disinfect-your-barbecue-grill-grate-with-onion-398230/ To extend the shelf life of asparagus, snap an inch off the bottoms, store upright in a jar of water, cover tops with a plastic bag, and refrigerate.
If You Are Considering Joining a CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) By Sarah Sultzer If you are considering joining a CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) this summer, you may be wondering which one will be right for you. Fortunately, a variety of options is available in our area. The advantage of a CSA is that it allows you to partner with local farmers and share in the bounty, or risk, of the crops they produce. Members contract either directly with farmers or with farmer co-ops. CSA’s usually offer membership on a seasonal basis and offer a variety of share sizes and types. Separate shares may be offered for vegetables, fruits, eggs, cheeses, flowers, herbs, medicinal products, and meat products. While most CSA’s practice sustainable farming practices, they vary on the degree of their organic certification. Some factors to consider when choosing a CSA include: - Does the CSA deliver to local pickup sites or do all participants pick up from a central location? What day do they deliver? - Are you able to choose from produce each week or is the produce predetermined? Are you okay with some surprises or substitutions in your weekly shares? If your family requires certain produce each week that would not be inherent in a local share (for example, bananas) do you mind having two sources for procuring produce? - How many weeks does the CSA run? - What kind of growing practices does the farmer or participating farmers follow? - Does the CSA offer the option of working on the farm to defray a portion of the cost? - How many items will you receive each week? Does the CSA provide the right size portion for your family? - Does your CSA provide opportunities for members to gather and share experiences, such as potluck dinners, farm visits etc.? Talk to family and friends about their experiences with CSA’s. Did they like the produce they received? Did it “force” them to try new produce? New recipes? Were they able to manage the food on a regular basis or did they have a lot of waste? Did they like the assortment of items offered? Here is some basic information about nearby CSA’s. Herrcastle Farm offers a share that includes eight different vegetables, one herb, and one fruit item per week. Members who pick up at the Swarthmore location (the Co-op) do not have a choice in the items in the share. There is no work requirement to participate. More information can be found at: http://www.herrcastlefarm.com. Hillside Farm at Elwyn offers a CSA in 10 and 5 “unit” designations, and members have some choice in the items they receive. In addition, “You Pick” items are included weekly. Hillside Farm provides an option to do a WorkShare, which requires a work component (these shares are available by application). Pick-ups are at designated times at Hillside Farm. Additional items such as eggs, dairy and meat can be purchased at pick-up times. Lancaster Farm Fresh offers full vegetable shares (9-12 items/week) and half shares (4-7 items/week) as well as several other share items such as flowers, herbs, chicken, fruit, cheese and meat. Members do not have a choice in the vegetables they receive, though vegetable share participants can exchange an unwanted vegetable item with another vegetable item in the swap box. Local pick-up locations include Rutledge and Media. More information can be found at: http://www.lancasterfarmfresh.com. Red Earth Farm offers full (10 items/week) and partial (6 items/week) produce shares, as well as several other items by share including cheese, egg, flower, fruit and yogurt/kefir. Members have some choice in the produce they receive. Local pick-up sites include Swarthmore, Wallingford, and Media. Lindsay Goldsmith of Swarthmore joined Hillside Farm’s CSA last year. “Each Monday, my kids and I tromped over in our boots (and our raincoats for a few weeks there!) to pick up our farm share. We began by selecting beautiful, fresh vegetables that were laid out in the barn, then took a stroll through the cut-your-own herb garden, and finally headed out to the fields for the pick-your-own crops of the week. It was educational, fun and yummy! ...We are thankful for the opportunity.” Sarah Sultzer is a 25- year resident of Swarthmore, and a member of aFewSteps. |
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