Guest Blog: What Does 'Going Organic' Mean?

Hello my favorite environmental advocates! I have recruited a nutritional genius from across the pond. Amanda Miles lives in England and is a Nutritional Therapist. I had a few questions for Amanda on the benefits of eating organic and I thought 'who better to share this with than my favorites Greenies?!?!', so here you go! I will be doing a series of posts with Amanda so hopefully you find this information interesting and informative. Please feel free to leave any of your own questions in the 'comments' that Amanda will address right here!

And without further adieu, Amanda Miles' brilliance:

My organic journey started from a desire to maintain my own health and well-being. The more I thought about it, the more illogical it seemed to eat food that is sprayed with pesticides, which are designed to kill living organisms!

Organic certification means that the food is produced without the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Organic farmers encourage crop rotation to produce naturally fertile soil and therefore also support greater diversity in the local environment.Organic certification also prohibits the use of GM crops, which are untested in regards to safety in long term use.

I made a decision to remove all food from my diet that is treated with chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and to remove meat from animals that are routinely treated with drugs and antibiotics … i.e. to ‘go organic’.

After I had changed my food choices to organic, I changed the beauty products I use to more natural alternatives, as the toxic chemicals that are in many products are easily absorbed through your skin. I also changed all the household products we use, to really try to minimize our exposure to unnecessary chemicals.

After eating organic food for some time I started to think more about the global issues associated with food production … was it really right for me to eat organic beans that are flown in from Kenya? How much did I really know about the supermarket’s organic livestock supply chains?

Embracing the organic movement shouldn’t just be about eating organic food that has been air-freighted hundreds of miles from its origin, or being ignorant about the origins of your food; it should be about eating responsibly and with the knowledge that your choices are sustainable.

Green Up Your Holiday Festivities!

Eco- Libris (one of my favorite organizations) has done it again! They have collaborated on a great book full of green tips for the holidays. It is called Celebrate Green and here's what the authors had to say about why they decided to write this book:

"the reason it's important to green up our celebrations is that holidays and special days are plentiful...holidays and special days don't happen on one day only in one place; they occur throughout the year in homes, schools, and places of work across the globe."

Also, not to mention that greening up your holidays reconnects you with the Earth, makes you grateful for what you have, and what better way is there to recognize this than to make sure your celebration doesn't impact the Earth in a negative way! Being green conscious will also send a great message to the younger generation at our celebrations who will then be able to incorporate these great tips into their future celebrations with their families.

Also, the authors have started a website dedicated to Greening up your Halloween! Perfect timing!

Thanks for the tip Eco Libris! As always, keep 'em comin!

Nice one Charlie Christ: FL Voters, vote YES on Amendment 4!

Governor Charlie Christ, Governor of Florida, has endorsed Amendment 4 which will help in the conservation of all environmental refuges in Florida. A 60% vote of yes will ensure that the following will happen:

• Help preserve lands and waters with permanent conservation easements.

• Give incentives to protect wildlife and water resources on private land by granting tax benefits for landowners who choose to preserve their land.

• Reduce the need for costly public expenditures for public services such as police, roads and public schools that are required for suburban and exurban development.

• Supplement public land protection programs.

This is especially important because the Everglades National Park is deteriorating very rapidly and the State does not have enough money to really preserve it properly. This is resulting in the animal life and some rare plant life also becoming extinct. Click here for additional info on the Everglades deterioration. Having a tax break for all preserved land would help with the expense of upkeeping the natural beauty of Florida's Everglades Park.

I grew up in Florida and would often visit the Everglades with my science class or to go on air boat rides and visit the Miccosukee Indian Tribe reservation. The Everglades is one of the biggest national parks in the country and seeing it disappear would really diminish the quality of life for Floridians.

Follow Gov. Charlie Christ's lead and vote YES on Amendment 4. Do it for the animals!

Green Drinks

So I just recently learned about this excellent networking event where you can mingle with like minded environment lovers. They are held all over the world and are called "Green Drinks". This is an excellent way to meet people who work for environmental non-profits, have green careers or just plain love recycling! The next one in NYC is November 11th and you bet your sustainable-loving self that I will be there with bells on!! Click the link below to get to the Green Drinks homepage:

I'm Back!

I'm back after taking a week off from life to attend the CMJ Music Conference last week, in NYC. It was pretty fun and I learned lots of great info.

I will be back to blogging 3-5 times per week tomorrow, so please keep checking back. Also, I went to a FANTASTIC seminar on Green Careers on Saturday. I have a lot of excellent information to share if greening up your career is something that you are interested in.

Stay tuned...

Organic Shmorganic

We have all heard about the health benefits of buying food that is organic. We know that ingesting pesticides are bad for us, but we still don't make buying organic a priority. Why? Well some people tell me that the cost is prohibitively expensive. That if they bought everything organic, their grocery bill may jump up by $30 or more per week.

Well, if you have to prioritize what foods to buy organic, use this great tool created by the Environmental Working Group. You can print out the below from their website (click the image) so that you can see which foods are rated the highest and lowest in pesticide retention. The idea being that some fruits & veggies are more porous or their fuzz will now allow you to clean them fully, removing all of the bad stuff.

You can keep this conveniently sized organic "how to" in your wallet and the next time you are doing your food shopping, refer to it to do something good for your body!