Earth Day Issue · April 2009
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Earth Day is about Food
(bake a cookie!) |
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Earth Day is about Fair Trade & Carbon Neutral Products |
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Earth Day from a far-off view ... |
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Back when we traveled to the moon, Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart had a few moments to look at earth, really look at the earth. (Can you imagine that view?) He saw its continents and oceans. He saw no state lines or national boundaries, no conflicts, no crises. Just one small planet, and behind and around earth, endless space without frames or boundaries.
It is so small and so fragile and such a precious little spot in the universe that you can block it out with your thumb. And you realize that on that small spot, that little blue and white thing, is everything that means anything to you - all love, tears, joy, games, all of it on that little spot out there that you can cover with your thumb.
We’re all here together. And together, we can take good care of our home. It’s the only home we have.
With thanks to Rusty Schweickart, NASA, and Bill Anders and the crew of Apollo 8 (the first to orbit the moon) for their insights and this image.
Vegetarian Times is celebrating Earth Day with a FREE online issue. In their effort to stay eco-friendly, Vegetarian Times set a goal to plant 10,000 trees through TreePals, global tree-planting organization. Click here for your FREE digital issue and enter-to-win an exciting giveaway!
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It's not one of our traditional food-oriented celebrations, but if you think about it, Earth Day really is all about food. Food is the one thing we ALL need (there are no real options to nourishment) and to produce food, we need a healthy earth--healthy soils, a moderate climate, clean water. Healthy food comes from a healthy environment. So in celebration of our earth and the food it provides, we're offering these easy tips for making every day Earth Day.
Buy organic: It may seem that just one bag of organic sugar or jar of organic honey won’t really make a difference … oh, but it does! It’s healthier for the environment: Crops are not sprayed (no chemicals), fields are not burned (no air pollution), the trimmings lay where they fall (natural weed barriers and fertilizer), and the cane remnants are recycled to fuel the mills (no fossil fuels are used).
Cook at home: Plan ahead and buy enough for a few meals. Gather your family around the table. Turn off the TV. Enjoy each other’s company--and home cooking! For dessert, we suggest preparing Wholesome Sweeteners Golden Crunchy Shortbreads and making "eco-cookies." Use your favorite eco-oriented cookie cutters and create your own world: bake a globe-, butterfly-, penguin- or elephant-shaped cookie and decorate accordingly!
Eat real food: Eat seasonally; as the seasons change, your tastebuds will delight to familiar favorite flavors that you haven't tasted for a while! Eat more fruit and vegetables. And read labels (Does the ingredients list read like a chemistry lesson? If so, perhaps the food is just too processed.)
Get involved in your food: Know your farmer--or become a farmer yourself! Dedicate part of your backyard to growing fruit or vegetables, join a community garden or plant a container garden on your patio, and share your yield with your neighbors. It's less expensive than store-bought produce, your meals are fresher, and kids will often eat those veggies if they've grown them too! Learn to preserve food--canning and preserving classes are popping up everywhere these days.
Be informed about food issues: Learn the labels that have integrity and look for labels such as USDA Organic, Fair Trade Certified, Rainforest Alliance, Shade Grown logos. Products bearing these logos are certified to make sure that you, the consumer, can trust the label. Each time you buy a product with the label, you're "voting" for more environmentally and socially responible business and products. YOUR support of Wholesome Sweeteners' Fair Trade Certified products has delivered more than $1.5 million in premiums to cane farmers and beekeepers since 2005!
Think beyond food: Go green when you clean (a little baking soda, borax, lemon juice or vinegar can work wonders!). Remember to turn out the lights--a conversation by candlelight can be wonderful… And ride a bike or take mass transit. It's so much nicer to feel the fresh breeze on your skin!
And live lightly and tread gently: Wholesome Sweeteners' sugars are produced under carbon-neutral conditions. Our farmers practice organic, sustainable agriculture. Because organic sugar cane is one of nature’s best photosynthesizers, it really only needs a healthy environment to thrive: plenty of sunlight, naturally rich soil, good rain and patience while the cane matures. The organic cane is hand-harvested, and the spent cane, called bagasse, is recycled to generate fuel for the mills. The fuel generated is nearly twice that actually needed to make sugar, so the rest of the energy is sold to nearby villages to power homes, businesses, and schools.
What do you do for the earth? Drop us a note and tell us all about it by April 30, 2009. (Please address your email to info@OrganicSugars.biz and note "Our Earth" in the subject line). Three entries will be randomly selected to receive a gift basket of Wholesome Sweeteners Fair Trade Certified Organic & Natural sweeteners ... with a surprise added in celebration of Earth Day!
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WHOLESOME SWEETENERS Copyright 2009 |
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