2041

Beagle dawn
Originally uploaded by divide & concur.

an amazing adventurous seafaring expedition of awareness and teaching about the challenges and opportunities faced by inhabitants of this big blue marble.

The Voyage for Cleaner Energy is a worldwide lecture series and sailing expedition by Robert Swan and his team at 2041. The purpose of the voyage is to increase awareness about environmental issues related to climate change and inspire young people to lead the way in implementing practical, viable solutions.

The Voyage for Cleaner Energy will commence on April 8th, 2008 in San Francisco, California and will take Robert and his crew around the world to the largest emitters of greenhouse gases. Over the next five years Robert will journey to the U.S., Russia, Europe, China, and India, talking with university students, corporate executives, and government officials about their roles as leaders in tackling climate change and accomplishing sustainability.

Along the way, our ‘2041’ yacht will sail along the coasts and across oceans- powered solely by renewable energy- as a moving symbol of our global mission. At each port of call our team will demonstrate the use of solar, wind, and bio-fuels as affordable alternatives to carbon-based fuels. The ‘2041’ will carry students, civic leaders, and business representatives on each leg of her journey, further opening the lines of communication between individuals, companies, and communities around the world. - 2041.

And, why yes, they do have a chef on board who is following their mission of sustainability!

Meet Hannah Huntley.....

Hannah graduated from Humboldt State University in the Redwood country of Northern California with a degree in Recreation Administration and a double minor in Business Administration and Peace and Conflict Resolution. She then lived in Malawi, Africa where she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer for 2 years. In Malawi, Hannah helped facilitate nutrition clinics with local health workers for women and their mal-nourished children. She also taught sign language to the deaf children and their teachers from the surrounding villages. A nature lover, she was fortunate to live at the base of beautiful Mt. Mulanje which she traversed and summited multiple times while in Malawi. Her dream is to spend her time on the water and the mountains promoting environmental awareness and sustainability through Ecotourism.

Hannah is currently working towards her Master’s degree in Recreation and Leisure Studies/Ecotourism in San Francisco, California, hopefully bringing her one step closer to accomplishing her dream. Being a crewmember on the Voyage for Cleaner Energy is an incredible opportunity for her. She gets to promote organic foods, farmers markets, bio-diesel, renewable energy and other sustainable methods of living all while sailing the seas! 2041 Voyage Team

Now...if you think you have challenges of finding organic, local foods nearby your house, think about the challenges that Hannah faces in various ports o'call around the world!

When I spoke with her yesterday on the boat, she said that she was looking forward to shopping at our local Farmer's Market on Tuesday. She says she does her homework and plans ahead to shop for provisions at each stop. She says that she tries to go all vegetarian, but there are some who get on board who need to have their meat on occassion and she tries to accomodate them.

Follow their adventure on their blog...here. They will soon be on their way down the coast to go through the Panama Canal, which apparently has a "traffic jam" of boats needing to pass through.

A Former Santa Barbarian Farmer

shares some thoughts about sustainability on the food front.

Michael Ableman farms on an island in British Columbia but said Alaska is more of an island than where he lives."Your food insecurity is as bad as I've ever seen," he said to no one in particular Saturday as he toured the Arctic Organics farm. "What happens when the planes and trucks stop moving?"

Not an insignificant question as the cost of fuel continues to go up with little hope for relief in the near term.

"That whole concept of a global food supply is based on cheap fossil fuel. It's no longer a left-wing, radical theory" to understand that shipping food all over the world is no longer a viable way to feed people, he said.

"We're augmenting a totally unsustainable diet."

And the worst of it is, Ableman said, the most vulnerable people - elderly and poor - will be the first to suffer when food supplies go wanting.

....A farmer and author of three books on his favorite subject, sustainable agriculture, Ableman came to international note several years ago when he fought to save his small farm just north of Santa Barbara, Calif., from development.

Amidst some of the most expensive real estate in the nation, Ableman's 12.5 acres are now the Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens.

The Goleta, Calif., center describes itself as "a model for small-scale urban food production, agricultural preservation and farm-based education. - Anchorage Daily News

and what a place Fairview Gardens is!

On our twelve and a half acres, we produce a hundred different fruits and vegetables, feed approximately five hundred families, and employ over twenty people. We also nourish the community in less tangible ways, through cooking and gardening classes, workshops, farm festivals, tours, lectures, apprenticeships, and outreach and consultation to schools and communities nationwide.

Michael raises a good question. Start asking yourself and your community leaders "how sustainable is your community's food supply? Your town's or city's?"

Even with Santa Barbara's wonderful Fairview Gardens and our plentiful Farmer's Markets, one earthquake can shut down the highway in and out of town. What then? When gas hits $6-$10 a gallon, will farmers find it feasible to haul their goods to and fro? What then? When the price of food reaches skyhigh levels. What then?

It's time we start really conversing about "what then's"...right now.

Green Meal-mobile heading to Santa Barbara

Mother truckin' their way up the coast....Green Truck, serving up fresh, organic fare from a so-called "roach mobile", sustainable style.

Co-owner of Green Truck, Kam Miceli says his operation is entirely sustainable. Solar power runs the kitchen, vegetable oil used in cooking fuels the trucks, even plates and flatware are made from corn that's compostable rather than petroleum-based Styrofoam.

"We reclaim all the water we use on the truck and wash the trucks with it at the end of the day," said Miceli.

And the food is also lean and green. They have the Mother Trucker burger -- it's vegan -- we've got the breakfast burrito with a tofu option and no iceberg lettuce served here, loads of dark leafy greens -- big and nutritious.

...Currently two Green Trucks serve L.A.'s Westside, Beverly Hills and downtown area with trucks driving into Santa Barbara and Irvine next month.- ABC7.com (with video)

Watch another video of Green Truck over at YourLA.

Oh..NOOOOO...Say it ain't soooooo!

Coca Cola is trying to buy Honest Tea, one of my favorite organic tea drinks....

The Coca-Cola Co. is looking to bolster its tea business and is considering acquisitions to improve its position, reports Reuters.
"Tea is a priority area," Chief Executive Neville Isdell told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. "Tea is one area where we've seen our performance has not been as good as we would like it to be."

He declined to confirm or deny recent reports that Coca-Cola might buy or make an investment in Honest Beverages, the privately held maker of Honest Tea. "The honest answer is we look at everything, and when we decide that we are going to do something, we will let you know," Isdell said. - Gourmet Retailer

Honest Tea's Seth and Barry have a blog. Go visit. Tell them NO on the Coca Cola dealings. Remind them of what Coca Cola is doing to the water in India!

Tens of thousands of people all across India are challenging Coca-Cola for its abuse of water resources. Coca-Cola bottling plants have dramatically affected both the quantity and quality of groundwater resources as a result of its operations, making access to water by communities even more difficult.

The company regularly extracts up to one million liters of water per day in some areas in India. The result has been sharp drops in groundwater levels, resulting in severe water shortages for tens of thousands of people.

Coca-Cola's water use ratio in India is 4 to 1 - that is, 75% of the freshwater it extracts is turned into wastewater. The company has indiscriminately discharged its wastewater into the surrounding fields, severely polluting the scarce remaining groundwater as well as soil. - Common Dreams

Just when you thought it was safe

to buy organic.

China quietly muscles in on the organic food market. Consumers turning to organic food in the wake of warnings about antifreeze-laden toothpaste, poisoned pet food, and antibiotic-laced fish may be in for a surprise. The same country blamed for those scares, China, is quietly muscling in on the organic market.

...Upscale grocery chains like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods now import popular organic snacks such as edamame and canned staples such as kidney beans from China. That has made some buyers looking for pristine, all-natural food a bit skittish.

"A couple of months ago I was just eating some edamame from Trader Joe's because my nutritionist said they were a great source of protein," a science textbook writer from Los Angeles, Stephanie Anagnoson, said. "My husband noticed they were made in China and packed in China, and we both thought that was kind of bizarre. … It was at the same time that everyone began noticing that things coming from China are not necessarily what they seem - New York Sun

Things that make you go hmmmmmmm.

Oh, goody. Just in time....right when we need more safeguards.

F.D.A. inspections lax, Congress is told. According to testimony before a House subcommittee, exporters and importers have been able to bring tainted products into this country because the F.D.A. has neither enough resources nor inspectors to stop them. New York Times.

Live...Love...Go Organic!

Wolfgang Puck...stirring up a delicious new way of cooking/eating, yet again.

Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck caused a stir in the culinary world earlier this year by announcing that his company, a conglomerate that feeds 10 million people each year, would adopt a more socially responsible way of doing business.

While pledging to follow such a policy is one thing, implementing it is quite another -- especially when dealing with a $300 million international empire the size of Puck's, which runs from frozen foods to dozens of catering and dining operations, including his two namesake restaurants at Downtown Disney.

The company plans to switch to only organic and humanely raised meats and fish by the end of the year -- a change that will include the Central Florida locations, now owned by Levy Restaurants. Some changes, such as switching to free-range veal, lamb and chicken and banning foie gras, already have been made at Puck's flagship Spago restaurant in Beverly Hills. - Orlando Sentinel

Geez. Am I "dating myself" when I say I remember his days at Ma Maison?

Ideal Bite is celebrating 2 years!

And, of course, they will be celebrating with "organic" cake mixes.

• Dr. Oetker Cake and Icing Mixes - available at health food stores across the country in chocolate and vanilla ($5).
• Goodbaker Chocolate Cake and Cupcake Mix - whole-wheat vegan version ($5).
• Pamela's Products Luscious Chocolate Cake Mix - gluten-free goodness ($5).
• Ma snax Carob-Peanut Cake Mix - organic cake-mix for your pooch ($8).

or better yet....maybe they will bake it "by scratch"

Sign up for daily "Green Tips" from food, to clothing, to gifting...and more.

Organic Green Washing

The Organic Consumers Association alerts us to "non" organics being sold as such.

Aurora Organic supplies milk for several private label organic milk brands, including Costco's "Kirkland Signature," Safeway’s "O" organics brand, Publix’s “High Meadows,”Giant's "Natures Promise," and Wild Oats’ organic milk. Aurora Organic received a failing grade from the Cornucopia Institute's survey of organic dairies for its practice of intensive confinement of dairy cows. For pictures of Aurora Organic's operations, follow this link. The Cornucopia Institute recently blew the whistle on Aurora Organic's greenwashing and its bogus certification of animal welfare.

Additionally, its been revealed that much of the soy for Dean Food's White Wave tofu and Silk soymilk products are sourced abroad, primarily from Brazil and China. Environmental standards and workers' rights are routinely violated in these two countries.

And just as the USDA wants to "relax" organic standards.

Demand for organic food in the U.S. is booming as consumers seek products that are more healthful and friendlier to the environment. Sales have more than doubled in the last five years, reaching $16.9 billion last year, according to the Organic Trade Assn. in Greenfield, Mass., which represents small and large food producers.

But with big companies entering what was formerly a mom-and-pop industry, new questions have arisen about what exactly goes into organic food. For food to be called organic, it must be grown without chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Animals must be raised without antibiotics and growth hormones and given some access to the outdoors.

..."Adding 38 new ingredients is not just a concession by the USDA, it is a major blow to the organic movement in the U.S. because it would erode consumer confidence in organic standards," said Carl Chamberlain, a research assistant with the Pesticide Education Project in Raleigh, N.C. - Latte Times

The market place for "organic" is growing. If a business wants to sell things "organic", it should be just that. ORGANIC. The business shouldn't try changing the rules just to sell product. It should try producing and selling a product that the market actually wants and correctly labeling it.

ORGANIC STANDARDS UNDER ATTACK!

USDA & INDUSTRY TRY TO SNEAK BANNED CONVENTIONAL INGREDIENTS INTO ORGANIC BEER, SAUSAGE, & PROCESSED FOODS

The USDA has announced a controversial proposal, with absolutely no input from consumers, to allow 38 new non-organic ingredients in products bearing the "USDA Organic" seal. Most of the ingredients are food colorings derived from plants that are supposedly not "commercially available" in organic form. But at least three of the proposed ingredients, backed by beer giant Anheuser-Busch, and pork and food processors, represent a serious threat to organic standards, and have raised the concerns of the Organic Consumers Association (OCA).

COMMENT PERIOD ENDS TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2007 AT 5:00 PM EASTERN

We've got less than 24 hours....let's get emailing!

GO HERE!

Organic, Sustainable Wine - Alma Rosa!

Santa Barbara County Wine Notes writes:

Agriculture has always been a risky business, but nobody’s wine growing experience in Santa Barbara has been more of a roller-coaster ride than Richard Sanford’s. One of the first to recognize the area’s Pinot Noir potential, Sanford planted the famous Sanford & Benedict Vineyard to Pinot in 1970. The fruit quickly became renowned for its extremely high quality.

Richard met Thekla Brumder in 1976, and they married in 1978. Together they founded Sanford Winery in 1981. Although Sanford had lost the vineyard, he was later able to regain it – the roller-coaster kept right on rolling – and over the next 25 years they produced fine wines. The area around Sanford & Benedict became identified as such a special location that it eventually gained its own AVA status as the Santa Rita Hills.

In 1983 the Sanfords began organic viticulture with El Jabali Vineyard, and by 2000 all their holdings were certified organic. But the ride wasn’t over. The Sanfords lost control of the winery bearing their name. Now they have regrouped under the name Alma Rosa. Under this new label they produce Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir. All bottles are closed with screwcaps, and the winery recycles any of the bottles that are returned to them.

Different can be good. A commitment to sustainable agriculture and organic wines combined with years of experience in the Santa Rita Hills turns out to be a formula for great wine.

Stay in touch with what Richard and Thekla may do next...Join their mailing list.

Better yet...come taste some of their wines at the Santa Barbara Wine Festival!

There are Revolutions and Revolutionaries

And neither need be violent or bloody. Sometimes, they are simply delicious and life affirming.

Take for instance, Alice Waters, a woman who revolutionized "California Cuisine", Organic and American's relationship with food. NPR had a story on her yesterday on Morning Edition.

With her famed Berkeley, Calif., restaurant, Alice Waters helped give rise to a new cuisine based on locally grown, seasonal ingredients. Waters and her biographer discuss what has made the Chez Panisse such an offbeat and memorable place to eat for more than three decades.

Looking back, Waters would say it all began for her with a bowl of cafe au lait. As a student on a sojourn to Paris during the 1960s, Waters had never sipped anything so good. Soon, trips to the French countryside introduced her to the power and pleasure of local foods: mussels just off the boat, freshly pressed virgin olive oil.

Waters came back to Berkeley transformed. She hatched a plan to convert a run-down old house into an elegant bistro.

And thus, Chez Panisse was born.

This little restaurant in an old house on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, California, was the dream of Alice's life, and tonight, August 28, 1971, was its opening night. She had named the restaurant in honor of Honoré Panisse, the most generous and life-loving character in Marcel Pagnol's film trilogy Marius, Fanny, and César. Alice wanted Chez Panisse to be an easygoing, unaffected gathering place, like César's Bar de la Marine on the Old Port of Marseille, where friends could laugh, argue, flirt, and drink wine for hours on end. At Chez Panisse, they could also have something simple and delicious to eat. - Alice Waters and Chez Panisse: The Romantic, Impractical, Often Eccentric, Ultimately Brilliant Making of a Food Revolution.

Take a listen. And, of course, she is dear to our hearts, not only for being a fiesty woman, but because she was a Santa Barbarian for awhile, having attended the University of California, Santa Barbara before she transferred to Berkeley.

Alice Waters didn't yet know Goines at this point, but he was precisely the kind of non–Ken doll she'd hoped to meet when, in January of 1964, she transferred— indeed, fled—up north from the University of California's Santa Barbara campus with three of her fellow disgruntled sisters at the Alpha Phi sorority. "The women we'd met in Santa Barbara were all lined up to get married when they were 22," says Eleanor Bertino, who roomed with Waters on both campuses and also had been her classmate for one year at Van Nuys High School, in Southern California. (Waters grew up in Chatham, New Jersey, but moved west with her family in 1961, her last year before college.) "We pledged the same sorority at Santa Barbara because it was the only way you could have a social life," says Bertino. "Very shortly, there were four of us who were like, Oh, my God—this is not for us. There had to be something more exciting and interesting than living in a sorority. Halfway through our sophomore year, we all transferred to Berkeley. None of us were politically involved, but we just liked the fact that there was activity going on up there. I mean, we were nice girls, not radical at all. I remember going to see an English teacher of mine before I left Santa Barbara, and she said, 'I'll send you brownies in jail.' I had no idea what she was talking about." - Vanity Fair

Organic Coffee...a thing of the Past?

Just could be...thanks to the USDA.

Due a recent decision over at the USDA's National Organic Program, organic coffee, in the U.S. at least, may be a thing of the past.

...The USDA decision, which affects the way small farmer cooperatives in the Third World are certified, will also dry up supplies of organic cocoa and curtail bananas. So eat your organic Dagoba bars now while they're still available. - Grist

....Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture quietly released a ruling that alarmed organic certifiers and groups who work with third-world farmers. The decision tightens organic certification requirements to such a degree that it could sharply curtail the ability of small grower co-ops to produce organic coffee -- not to mention organic bananas, cocoa, sugar and even spices.

Kimberly Easson, director of strategic relationships for TransFair USA, the fair trade certification group, puts it bluntly: "This ruling could wipe out the organic coffee market in the U.S." - Salon.com

I agree with the Royal Coffee News blog - Please take a moment and write the SCAA, the Organic Consumers Association and your elected representatives. Whether or not you buy organic coffee, this action is potentially disastrous for coffee growing farmers and friends around the world.

Thank you to Samuel Fromartz at Chews Wise for alerting us to this issue.

I just LOVE my Caffe Appassionato Organic Coffees.

Our organic coffees meet the highest levels of the Smithsonian Institute’s standards for Shade Coffee Growers and are Certified Organic by OCIA (Organic Crop Improvement Association International). We hope you will join us in supporting organic and shade coffee farmers who grow without chemicals and help to protect migratory birds by keeping shade trees intact

SOY....fasionable

One day, several years ago, my body decided it didn't want a lot of milk products. It decided to become somewhat intolerent of lactose. Seems that I am not alone. It is estimated that there are between 30 - 50 million Americans who are "intolerent." And, like many others, I switched to soy milk and other soy products to make up for alot of the dairy based products. (I really enjoy Tofutti and Soy Delicious. I'm addicted to Edamame...)

But soy isn't just for lactose intolerents, crunchy granola types, asian dishes, Spanish speakers or Grammy "streakers", anymore. Soy is "green" and "green is the new black."

"Soy is a fabric of the future. It actually has a very silky feel," Marci Zaroff (CNNMoney)

High fashion is going granola. But not the grunge of hippie yoga wear and grainy hemp T-shirts typically associated with organic clothes.

Think soft soy dresses, cropped organic terry jackets and slim-fit organic denim jeans to pair with stilettos, not flip-flops.

Consumers worried about ingesting harmful pesticides have long been purchasing organic foods. But the philosophy is slowly hitting mainstream clothing retailers as experts warn about the dangers pesticides pose to the environment. -LATimes

And soybean suits, surprisingly, have been around from some time. Henry Ford actually wore his own "brand."

Ford took to wearing a suit made of soybean protein fiber that he invented himself and called “soybean wool.” His Model “T” could run on ethanol, and he even built a car with plastic parts and upholstery of vegetable origin. - City Barbs

Places to find "edamame" wraps and such.....

Under the Canopy
Of the Earth
OQoQo (pronounced Oh Ko Ko)

Looking for that special "Valentine's Gift?"

How about getting your sweety one of these fuzzy wuzzies?

Divine Chocolate Teddy Bear
The perfect Valentine's Day gift! The softest teddy bear around, accompanied by a tasty Divine chocolate bar wrapped up in heart ribbon. Each one-of-a-kind bear is handmade of real alpaca wool. No alpacas were harmed in the process.
Choose your chocolate bar flavor!
Country of Origin: Peru

or order up a bouquet of flowers from EcoBouquet.

Organic Bouquet offers the finest floral gifts sourced from growers that are committed to the highest social and environmental standards. Our flowers are grown and harvested using practices that aim to improve the quality of farm working conditions, minimize damage to ecosystems, conserve biodiversity, and enhance environmental quality for future generations. Each bouquet in our collection is hand selected and shipped fresh from the farm, ensuring optimal product quality upon delivery.

Send one of their "Charitable Bouquets" where money is donated to various non-profits and charitable foundations and win more than one heart!

Anyone out there want to send me flowers? I'll take the America's Second Harvest bouquet!

Losing the Organic Label

because of a foods' gigantic carbon footprint.

Food imported to the UK by air may be denied the lucrative "organic" label under proposals being put forward today by the Soil Association.

The UK's main organic certification body is concerned about the "food miles" involved in importing goods by air, which, environmentalists argue, contribute to global warming.

...In the past, most food labelled organic in UK shops was more likely to have been sourced relatively locally, typically from smaller farms. However, with the boom in popularity of organic food, bigger firms have become involved and the use of air transportation has grown, allowing some firms to sell food that is out of season locally. - The Guardian