Should I Buy Fairtrade, Organic Or Local Food?
Again, I find myself torn apart with choices when deciding which is the most ethical, eco friendly and/or healthy option when it comes to shopping for food and non-food products.
Should I buy food and products that support workers in Third World by buying Fairtrade labelled products even though these goods normally travel thousands of miles from Africa, South America or South East Asia? What if these foods were produced with the use of pesticides and additives? It makes sense then to look for and to buy Fairtrade, organic food to both help the producers in the Third World and fulfil my lifestyle choice to eat healthy and additive/pesticide free food. Thankfully, many producers are now wising up to this dilemma by increasingly producing organic and Fairtrade labelled products. I am currently using Fairtrade, organic t-bags at home! Now comes another important question, should I buy Fairly Traded organic sugar from Kenya that has travelled thousands of miles, or should I buy apples grown in the UK (ideally from a farmers market) that have only travelled only a few hundred miles which means less carbon dioxide and other nasty emissions from the lorries that you see constantly on the motorways in the UK? Buying UK products not only ensures less food miles but also supports local farmers, communities and economies. Unfortunately, choice is often limited and can be more expensive then food produced in other countries??? Decisions, decisions, it?s probably best to abstain from eating and give your choice making brain a rest!
But I can safely say that I make attempts to avoid food or products that have travelled from far away destinations such as Australia even if they are organic! Next time you are in the supermarket or wherever you buy your food from check the labels and you will be surprised by how far your food has travelled. Also look at the amount of unnecessary wrapping such as individually wrapped peppers, mushrooms and kiwi fruit in wrapped boxes. When I buy from the local market I tell them to throw it all into one bag, the customer next to me often has 10 individually wrapped portions of fruit and veg. That?s 11 (10 plus one big plastic bag) bags into the landfill site that day. For maximum eco efficiency we need to be using jute or other bags made from recycled materials and putting all the loose food into that.
For recycled bags, Fairtrade and Organic companies, products and food see GuideMeGreen.
I work with the Green and Ethical directory http://www.guidemegreen.com This growing green resource lists 100s of Organic, Fairtrade, Eco and Ethical companies and Articles at http://articles.guidemegreen.com/ We also have loads of jobs at http://jobs.guidemegreen.com/
Buy Local Food To Reduce Food Miles
I have to admit, I am becoming obsessed with checking where my food comes from and this is driving my partner mad. Whether you are in the local market or a supermarket, it says South African apples, Israeli pears and peppers from Chile. You would think that the UK and USA does not produce any food, if this is the case then where has the billions of pounds gone that our two governments pay in farmers subsidies?
When Getting Away Means Staying Home - Think Villa as Resort with Professional Chef's Kitchen, Tennis Court, Spa and Much More
Wimco Represents St. Martin's Le Reve, Newest Addition to Select Caribbean Inventory Of Highest End Rental Villas
M& Fine Foods Adds World Class Roses to its Catalog of Specialty Foods and Elegant Gifts Through Partnership with Texas Flowers, S.A.
Prestigious direct merchandiser of gourmet and specialty foods joins forces with grower to offer sumptuous selection of richly colored, long-lasting roses by overnight delivery from Ecuador. Pricing beats that of many retail florists for roses of like quality.
Cooking Tips from Professional Chefs on Chef2Chef.net's "Ask A Chef!" Forum
Cooking as a career and as a hobby is hot, thanks to cooking and reality TV shows. The "Ask A Chef!" feature at Chef2Chef.net offers a variety of cooking tips, a recipe database and help with menu planning for professional chefs, students and foodies.
Balancing Yin and Yang With Food
Traditional Chinese medicine practioners have discovered long ago that imbalances in diet contribute to many of our health problems. In other words, when the body is in balance it will be in a better position to fight diseases and maintan health. This can be achieved when you manage the smooth flow of qi, that vital energy responsible for good health.
Leite's Culinaria and Eat Feed Join Forces to Create "Now Serving" -- A New Food Podcast
Two of the Internet's most popular and critically acclaimed food-related Web sites, launched Now Serving, a new food podcast.
We're All Weird About Food!
That?s what Kathleen McGowan claims in Psychology Today. "An anthropological analysis found that more than a third of us reject slippery food like oysters and okra. Twenty per cent of us don't like our foods to touch on the plate. The next time you wander a grocery-store aisle packed with jars of pickled jalapenos and boxes of instant scalloped potatoes, consider this: One-fifth of us eat from a palate of 10 or fewer foods."
Used Condom Found In Restaurant Salad Bar; Waiter Embarrassed To Tears
Evidence of after-hours activity turned up at a Big Boy restaurant salad bar in Detroit last week, embarrassing not only the perpetrators, but nearly everyone associated with the company.Apparently, Mike Finney and Rhonda Carrion were working together to close down the restaurant's soup, salad and dessert bar and, with no one else around, culminated a night of flirting with sexual intercourse right on the bar.
Staight Talk from a Comfort Foodie: World Peace Through Vegetarianism
I became a vegetarian in the early 80's. The Czech refugee I had lived with forbade any meat products from entering the little hovel we called home.
Start-up Releases VitalityCheck® for Health Promotions: A 3-in-1 Food Diary, Exercise Log and Sleep Journal
Start-up company, Lifestyle Registers, LLC, aims to simplify health and fitness promotions with their new daily journal, VitalityCheck®, which combines a food diary, exercise log and sleep journal into the convenient size of a checkbook.
Gourmet Fruit Gift Baskets
Gourmet fruit baskets quickly emerged as a way to deliver a gift of special items that the recipient would never buy for himself, but would probably enjoy. Depending on the tastes and experiences of the recipient, gourmet fruit gift baskets can contain almost anything imaginable.
Can Tea Help Prevent Food Poison?
There are dozens of variations of food poison, and none of them are pleasant. One of them is Bacillus cereus. While not usually life threatening, this common form of food poisoning can cause diarrhea, nausea, cramps and vomiting. Symptoms usually appear 8-16 hours after exposure to the bacteria, and can disrupt your life for a few days.
The 5 Myths Of Saving Money On Food
Almost everyone needs or wants to save money for time to time. Some expenditures can not be changed easily; like rent, car payments, insurance.
Is A Premium Dog Food Really That Much Better For Your Dog?
==========The Scoop on Premium Dog Food========If you're interested in premium dog food, then I probably don't have to tell you about the importance of diet in keeping your dog active and healthy. You already know you want something better than "average" for your furry friend.
Factors resulting best Gourmet Coffee
If you are looking at the most famous and best gourmet coffees, then Jamaica Blue Mountain, Kona, and Costa Rican are most common trait. They are grown in volcanic mountain regions. Like the finest wine region of Italy and France, the best gourmet coffee have an areas were the coffee bean flavor thrives. The two most significant aspects of the best gourmet coffee are soil and altitude.