Food Choices for Healthy People and a Healthy Planet

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Reevaluating and revamping school lunches so that they are not only nutritional but are earth-friendly as well has become a popular topic in today’s society. Our nation’s lawmakers have taken a huge step in providing children with basic nutritional needs. This week the Senate Agriculture Committee voted to pass the Heathy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which is a bill that will revamp school lunches to be healthier and sustainable for the environment. Hopefully this bill will pass the full Senate to become a law. But in the meantime, Berkeley schools have become the pilot for not only California schools, but the nation. The School Lunch Initiative provides “delicious, healthy, freshly prepared meals using seasonal ingredients from sustainable farms to all of Berkeley’s public school students.”  If you also look at the big picture this will benefit this generation because children will learn to take the basic essentials of eating healthy Earth-friendly foods and apply them in the future benefiting our environment! To read the full article feel free to click here.

Also applying to our children and school meals, recently ABC aired the TV show Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution where the chef has made it his mission to help transform the way schools are currently feeding our children. Many schools have filled their lunchrooms with processed, unhealthy meals contributing to epidemic of obese children. Here’s Jamie’s main message on the issue:

I believe that every child in America has the right to fresh, nutritious school meals, and that every family deserves real, honest, wholesome food. Too many people are being affected by what they eat. It’s time for a national revolution. America needs to stand up for better food!” To learn more about Jamie Oliver’s stance and help out by signing a petition to improve school food, please check out his website.




In light of the grocery store excerpt previously posted, I came across this news story, The Great Grocery Smackdown by Corby Kummer (The Atlantic), which you can read the whole story for yourself to learn the outcome. Kummer orchestrates a blind  tasting between Walmart and Whole Foods’ organic products. Amazingly enough Walmart is starting support their local farms that years ago they helped destroy. “To get more locally grown produce into grocery stores and restaurants, the partnership [with Agile Agriculture and Walmart] is centralizing and streamlining distribution for farms with limited growing seasons, limited production, and limited transportation resources.” Walmart has recently committed itself to help rebuild economies and communities instead of destroying them. You know we need to start going for Earth-friendly food choices especially when companies like Walmart are realizing the detrimental effects it’s had on the environment.  This corporate giant may not be so bad after all…




Safeway, with 1,775 stores in the US and Canada plus almost 500 subsidiary stores, has created a house organic label for over 300 products, from fresh lettuce to spaghetti sauces. Safeway has won an award from California’s Integrated Waste Management Board for its success in recycling and composting. But be aware that some junk food is labeled “organic.” Potato chips made from organic potatoes are still condensed doses of salt and fat.

Whole foods make low-interest loans in 12 states to small businesses that produce food crops, body care products, and artisan foods such as nut butters, ice cream, granolas and cheese. It is recognized by the EPA as a Green Power Partner of the Year.

Trader Joe’s, My Organic Market, and Andronico’s are some regional chains that sell Earth-Friendly foods to a large and appreciative customer base.

From The Earth-Friendly Food Chain (p. 62)




A renowned and widely quoted United Nations report from 2006 identified meat production as causing 18% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Lately an air quality specialist at UC Davis claimed that in the US, it amounts to only 3% and that cutting back on meat is a distraction from the search for solutions to climate change.

To read the article from UCDavis click here… and to read Veggies are Wrong and Eating Less Meat will NOT Save the Planet click here.

But just days later, another report came out affirming the danger of meat to planet earth.

To read the article Major Report Explores Staggering Impact of Meat Production click this link.
I’m no climate scientist, but I can see many reasons meat is harming the earth. Producing the food to feed the animals uses a third of earth’s arable land – which could be used to feed people. Rainforests are being cut down at an alarming rate to grow soybeans to turn into animal food. Manure and liquid and methane waste from the animals pollutes air, water, and soil. The oceans are being emptied of fish that are also turned into animal feed.

What do you think?




These are the upcoming monthly events that I am either supporting, guest speaking at, or participating in and hope you will join me too!

Tuesday, April 6thSaint Mary’s College of California – Guest speaking in an environmental class. Restricted to Saint Mary’s students… Go Gaels!

Saturday & Sunday, April 10th-11th San Francisco’s Green Festival The Earth-Friendly Food Chain will be available for sale in the book store! Come buy your copy here and check out everything from demostrations, kids’ activities, the green marketplace, and there are over 200 guest speakers!

Saturday, April 17thHoly Names High School – Oakland, CA – I will be a guest working at one of the booths or tables at their Go Green Fair from 11 am – 4 pm.

Monday, April 19th Edible EdVentures – at a school in Belmont where I will be  guest speaking

Wednesday, April 21st Pleasant Hill Middle School’s Earth Day Event – I will be participating at a booth or table sharing valuable information at the school’s Earth Day.

Sunday, April 25th – Lafayette’s Earth Day Come and participate in Lafayette, Ca’s 5th Annual Earth Day! Picnic on the Green starts at 11 am and the Eco-Green Learning in the Library begins at 1pm! Hope to see you there!

Picnic on the Green




Nestle products takes a bite out of rainforests

When you’re biting into some of Nestlé’s most popular products – like PowerBar, Butterfinger, and Nestlé Crunch Crisp you could be taking a bite out of precious rainforests. A new report , click here to view, we released shows that Nestlé has purchased palm oil linked to Paradise Forest destruction in Southeast Asia.

Growing global demand for palm oil is fueling the destruction of rainforests in Indonesia to make way for expanding palm plantations. Fire is often used to clear forests, causing massive, polluting blazes. Illegal canals are cut into ancient peatlands, draining water and releasing methane and other potent greenhouse gases.

We need your help to tell Nestlé to stop destroying rainforests for palm oil! You can do so by clicking on this link from greenpeace.org.