| 'No Impact Man' the book |
| 'No Impact Man' the film |
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
No Impact Man
For some inspiration on living sustainably, check out Colin Beavan, a NYC resident who writes a blog about his quest to get citizens engaged in a way of life that is good for both the environment & its people & whose one year project of living with zero impact on the environment was made into a very funny & thought-provoking book & movie, both titled 'No Impact Man'.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
The Dark Side of Chocolate
I love to eat chocolate & many studies are showing an increasing number of health benefits, especially from dark chocolate, including:
The sustainability of the cocoa industry is also at risk. A typical cocoa crop requires 5 years to mature & will typically yield about 18 years of harvest. Threats include pests, disease & the depletion of sustainable growing areas. Establishing & maintaining a profitable operation requires substantial knowledge, planning & resources, which many farmers do not have & therefore turn to child labour & the use of unsustainable farming practices that often lead to deforestation & the reduction of biodiversity.
What to look for when choosing your chocolate:
Organic- ensures that sustainable & chemical free farming practices are used.
Fair-Trade Certified- usually requires sustainable & organic farming practices & also ensures that workers are treated right, including fair prices, labour conditions, direct trade & democratic & transparent organisations. It helps to support communities financially, preventing child labour & reducing poverty & promotes community development & environmental sustainibility.
Rainforest Alliance Certified- this label is slowly starting to appear on more chocolate products & ensures that the cocoa is responsibly grown & harvested & that the farm has met a number of environmental & social standards, including improved water & soil quality & access to education & health care for workers.
Raw- also known as raw cacao, this is essentially made up of cold-pressed cacao beans. Some people choose this form of chocolate as it is believed that the heating process results in the loss of certain vitamins & minerals, therefore making this the most nutritious form of chocolate.
Products with at least the first two of these labels are becoming more widely available & some reputable manufacturers include:
Camino (a Canadian company that began in Ottawa & a personal favourite!)
Olivia Chocolat (Canada)
Green & Black's (US, but not all varieties are fair trade)
Divine Chocolates (US)
Haigh's Chocolates (South-Australian)
Cocolo (Australian)
I will definitely need to continue with the research on this topic in order to expand this list further!
Let me know any of your personal favourites!
Larger Manufacturers
The good news is that larger manufacturing companies are also responding to consumer pressure & making commitments to move towards more ethical & sustainable practices. This year Ferrero, the maker of Ferrero Rocher chocolates, Nutella Spread & Kinder eggs pledged to eradicate slavery from farms where it sources its cocoa by 2020. The Hershey company pledged $10 million over the next five years to educate West African cocoa farmers on improving their trade and combating child labor. Nestlé recently gave approval for the completion of an independent investigation into its cocoa supply chain & plans to eventually eradicate forced labor and child labor in its production cycle. In 2009 Rainforest Alliance began working with Mars Corporation to promote changes in their production.
For more information watch CNN journalist David McKenzie as he travels to the Ivory Coast to film the documentary 'Chocolate's Children Slaves'.
http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/12/chocolates-child-slaves/
References:
'The Conscious Kitchen'- Alexandra Zissu
'Alive' Magazine, October 2012, Issue 360
http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/category/chocolates-child-slaves/
http://www.ethical.org.au/
- rich in antioxidants, vitamin C, Omega-6 fatty acids, chromium, magnesium and iron
reduces risk factors for heart disease- lowers blood pressure
- increases HDL cholestrol
- reduces inflammation
- boosts mood
- improves symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome
But there is also an uglier side to the much loved treat.
Up to 75% of the world's cocoa beans are grown in small farms in West Africa, employing 7.5 million people, including children. In the Ivory Coast alone, there are an estimated 200,000 children working the fields, many against their will & without pay. Reports indicate that the conditions are hazardous, with workers, including children under 14, being required to operate dangerous machinery & apply chemical pesticides without protective equipment. The hours are long, interfering with many children's oppurtunities to go to school & incidents of trafficking & abuse occur. The issue of child labour stems from the larger issue of poverty, both among the families who send their children to work & the farmers who use child workers, as labour is an easy place to cut costs for the producer. The efforts of many stakeholders to eliminate such issues have been found to be insufficient.The sustainability of the cocoa industry is also at risk. A typical cocoa crop requires 5 years to mature & will typically yield about 18 years of harvest. Threats include pests, disease & the depletion of sustainable growing areas. Establishing & maintaining a profitable operation requires substantial knowledge, planning & resources, which many farmers do not have & therefore turn to child labour & the use of unsustainable farming practices that often lead to deforestation & the reduction of biodiversity.
What to look for when choosing your chocolate:
Organic- ensures that sustainable & chemical free farming practices are used.
Fair-Trade Certified- usually requires sustainable & organic farming practices & also ensures that workers are treated right, including fair prices, labour conditions, direct trade & democratic & transparent organisations. It helps to support communities financially, preventing child labour & reducing poverty & promotes community development & environmental sustainibility.
Rainforest Alliance Certified- this label is slowly starting to appear on more chocolate products & ensures that the cocoa is responsibly grown & harvested & that the farm has met a number of environmental & social standards, including improved water & soil quality & access to education & health care for workers.
Raw- also known as raw cacao, this is essentially made up of cold-pressed cacao beans. Some people choose this form of chocolate as it is believed that the heating process results in the loss of certain vitamins & minerals, therefore making this the most nutritious form of chocolate.
Products with at least the first two of these labels are becoming more widely available & some reputable manufacturers include:
Camino (a Canadian company that began in Ottawa & a personal favourite!)
Olivia Chocolat (Canada)
Green & Black's (US, but not all varieties are fair trade)
Divine Chocolates (US)
Haigh's Chocolates (South-Australian)
Cocolo (Australian)
I will definitely need to continue with the research on this topic in order to expand this list further!
Let me know any of your personal favourites!
Larger Manufacturers
The good news is that larger manufacturing companies are also responding to consumer pressure & making commitments to move towards more ethical & sustainable practices. This year Ferrero, the maker of Ferrero Rocher chocolates, Nutella Spread & Kinder eggs pledged to eradicate slavery from farms where it sources its cocoa by 2020. The Hershey company pledged $10 million over the next five years to educate West African cocoa farmers on improving their trade and combating child labor. Nestlé recently gave approval for the completion of an independent investigation into its cocoa supply chain & plans to eventually eradicate forced labor and child labor in its production cycle. In 2009 Rainforest Alliance began working with Mars Corporation to promote changes in their production.
For more information watch CNN journalist David McKenzie as he travels to the Ivory Coast to film the documentary 'Chocolate's Children Slaves'.
http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/12/chocolates-child-slaves/
References:
'The Conscious Kitchen'- Alexandra Zissu
'Alive' Magazine, October 2012, Issue 360
http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/category/chocolates-child-slaves/
http://www.ethical.org.au/
Monday, October 1, 2012
Cooking From Scratch: Granola Bars
One of my more recent obsessions has been trying new recipes. In particular, I have found great joy in making things from scratch that I would previously have just bought, even very simple things, like soaking dried beans rather than buying canned; making my own stock/broth; mixing up salad dressings & sauces; making pastry for pies & pizza dough. It is a very satisfying thing to enjoy a dish in which you know every single ingredient & can proudly say you were involved in every step of the making process. It is also often more cost-effective. This concept of eating 'whole foods' has health benefits too, as the closer a food is to its original form, the more we can benefit from its nutrients. Also many processed packaged foods contain a multitude of extra ingredients that may not be so good for us, or that we are unable to identify, such as thickeners, various forms of genetically modified soy & corn, stabilisers & preservatives.
One of the processed packaged foods my husband & I tend to consume regularly are granola/muesli bars, as they are such an easy snack to eat on the go & can contain a lot of good stuff. So I decided to try my hand at making my own. This is a recipe that I have taken from my favourite quinoa recipe book (see previous post on the benefits of quinoa) & I really like as it is simple to make, contains a good mix of protein, fibre & fruit & can be easily tweeked to suit tastes & dietary requirements. I tend to make my bars a little smaller than the store bought varieties, so this recipe makes 25-30 bars. They keep for about 2 weeks in the fridge & freeze very well, defrosting in a matter of minutes.
Acknowledgements: Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood by Patricia Green & Carolyn Hemming
One of the processed packaged foods my husband & I tend to consume regularly are granola/muesli bars, as they are such an easy snack to eat on the go & can contain a lot of good stuff. So I decided to try my hand at making my own. This is a recipe that I have taken from my favourite quinoa recipe book (see previous post on the benefits of quinoa) & I really like as it is simple to make, contains a good mix of protein, fibre & fruit & can be easily tweeked to suit tastes & dietary requirements. I tend to make my bars a little smaller than the store bought varieties, so this recipe makes 25-30 bars. They keep for about 2 weeks in the fridge & freeze very well, defrosting in a matter of minutes.
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