happy earth day!

Today is Earth day and, while no one wants to be lectured, we can all use a little reminder to be kind to our planet. Three easy ways (related to to our food buying practices) are: 

1) buy local produce 

This is easier in some areas than others but do the best you can! This time of year there are farmers' markets in almost every city. You can look up your local markets by zip code or other criteria on Local Harvest's site.

2) buy organic 

Organic food is becoming much more affordable and readily available. This choice should be closely tied in with #1 though. For instance, if the organic produce has been trucked all of the way across the country on a semi, it might be better to skip it, choosing a local organic product instead.

3) use reusable bags

This is so easy and makes a huge impact not only on landfills but on petroleum emissions as well. In LA county alone, it is estimated that 6 billion bags are used every year- that's 600 bags a person!

It is hard to discuss the Slow Food movement without mentioning Alice Waters and her restaurant Chez Panisse. We can all benefit from her knowledge and recipes in her hugely popular book The Art of Simple Food.

Finally, I have mentioned EnviroSax before, but they have just released their new Planet Green series which I think warrants a second look. 

The Art of Simple Food available at Chez Panisse.
Planet Green reusable totes available at Envirosax.