GreenSmith Consulting

Time to Stop Talking About Going Local, and Doing It (pt 3 of 3) Eating and Getting Around

You hear so much about the value of "going local," but perhaps not so much on how to go about doing it effectively. Thanks much to Wayne Maceyka for sharing copious resources to do so, first covering the value of and need for localizing economies, then who's doing it, and now for two of the essentials in our modern life: local food and transportation.

One of the basics of life is nourishment and along with that, moving the foods that provide said nourishment around.  Additionally, we move ourselves and other goods around all over the world as part of the economy.  We currently rely upon inexpensive fossil fuels to keep a national and international supply chain running to do all these things.

Industrial food production is garnering a fair amount of attention for the GHG emissions associated with its production (including transportation) as well as the growing awareness of the health consequences of ingesting it.  We derive industrial fertilizers from petroleum, and the machines that sow seeds, harvest plants, and spread the fertilizer depend upon fossil fuels to operate. 

From a popular culture perspective, Michael Pollan's book Omnivore's Dilemma (here's his recent TED talk),  Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation, and Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution which premiered March 26 (to name a few) have helped raise the public's awareness about where our food comes from and what that means to our collective health.

An inherent danger in relying upon a far-flung and energy dependent food infrastructure is the price of oil.  It skyrocketed to somewhere north of $140.00/gallon in mid-2008, and what did that do to global food prices and basic access?  For those of limited means; they struggle mightily.  A recent post on a food security e-mail list had an interesting comment about the ongoing need for local & regional food infrastructure.  I highlighted the potential for regional & local food,

"[Senate Bill] S 510 (and even more so, HR 2749) will make it almost impossible to get local, healthy food to local people by dramatically increasing the cost of preparing local, healthy food for sale and distribution.  We need new cooperative packing houses, new processors, new distributors and new retailers or our food will only be available to the affluent at a premium price.  Not only the poor (both working and unemployed) but also the lower middle class will be almost entirely dependent upon industrial agriculture"

Verterra: A Green Company Effectively Reaching Beyond “The Choir”

I have the pleasure of working for all clients that I admire and respect, and while it’s typically my role to help get them written and talked about by other people, I have to make an exception here. That exception is Verterra.

Verterra is a rare find: A green company that goes far beyond the expectations for their product category,  even in ways that aren’t apparent to the end user, while keeping it very affordable, eschewing the “green tax” so many companies presume they can get away with charging the mythical idealized green consumer. It goes like this: They make plates, bowls and platters out of fallen Palm leaves, that would have otherwise been burnt as agricultural waste.

They don’t say it on their site, but that’s roughly 15 tons a month. All of it, even production scraps, gets used.

Another thing left out of the spotlight is their reusing 84% of the factory’s water. And they continue to increase that. In a time where water is going to become an increasingly precious resource, this is not only ecologically considerate, it’s a proactive business move.

And please, don’t take my word for it, here’s what Whole Foods recently said, having used Verterra at an event themselves: “So that’s it. No trees are harvested or cut. No glues or dyes. Just leaves and water. VerTerra truly is an authentic eco-friendly line. And if the environmental benefits aren’t enough to convince you, VerTerra boasts unmatched durability and versatility – use the plates for microwave reheat or short bakes in the oven!”

All fine and good, but what’s in it for the consumer?

GreenSmart Shows How to Have a Truly Sustainable Lunch (video review)

If you're looking for something unique, sustainable, and affordable for a Christmas present, or want to make your lunch truly green, I may have found just the thing:

Work or school can be tricky to do sustainably, as my video below will share. But California based GreenSmart sent me some samples of a line of lunchboxes that eschew what you'll learn are often toxic chemicals contained in many neoprene containing reusable lunch boxes. And they've made them both practical and whimsically styled, the material insulating cold and warm food to maintain temperature, and the style adding some fun to what can typically be a more utilitarian meal of the day.

In the video I'll tell you more about the surprising dubious honor neoprene got this year, and how GreenSmart's Neogreene material sidesteps all those issues, to both your and the planet's benefit.

So, dig in to this delicious video and please share your comments, questions, ideas below.

For you last minute holiday shoppers, GreenSmart was kind enough to give me a 25% discount code to pass on to you: Go to their store and enter the code GSTW25, good through December 31st, 2009.

Why is There a Disconnect Between Green Products and The Latino/Hispanic Market?

I love Twitter. Why? Because of conversations like the one I had today. Laura Gomez, aka @lauraisgo, a self described, "latina geek who likes: the planet, food, films, languages, writing, fútbol, web 2.0, travel, riojas and music.....and has a crush on Hugh Laurie" reached out to me about a subject I can honestly say hadn't crossed my mind yet: Why haven't more green cleaning product companies reached out to the Latino market?

She said that in many places, it's they who are doing the cleaning, carwashing, and other blue collar service jobs. Is it a matter of companies presuming that their main market is white LOHAS people who shop at Whole Foods? Perhaps.

But in continuing the conversation, Gomez shared with me an interesting observation: Many Latinos, even well educated ones, don't see the relevance to their lives. She herself practices many green behaviors, and to some of her friends, it seems a bit extreme. I asked, putting it bluntly, do they see it as something white people do (and not them)? Yes.

So how do we shift it to something that people, no matter their background, do?

Green Minimarts? Believe It.

I was recently interviewed for a piece in Plenty Magazine, about the greening of gas station convenience stores. I'd thought they meant as in AM/PM infusing their product offerings with green options. Actually it turns out it's all about new stations that are green from the ground up. Impressive, inspiring, and I hope to see them succeed and for the trend to spread.

The article is here.

Image credit: Plenty Magazine