Tag Archives: Going Green

Since moving here to East Bradenton, we have really been enjoying the many local farms and ranches. One we’ve been to several times is Hunsader Farm which is only 10 minutes away from our home. We’ve gone to pick strawberries and tomatoes a few times now, once the kids and I picked 22 pounds of strawberries for our housewarming party. We freeze them for smoothies, eat them whole, make sweet treats. I took great pleasure making home-made tomato sauce twice now, blanching, peeling, squooshing, cooking… So many dinners to eat up the fresh sauce. Love it!

Thought I’d share some of the love!

If you want to find local U-pick’s or Farmer’s markets in your area, just click HERE and HERE!

Common site with today's agribusiness. Image from propankitchen.com.

Factory-farm chickens.

I don’t even know where to begin.  The state of our food today so deeply saddens me, and concerns me. I worry about the future of food for our children, their children, so on. I believe that it’s our responsibility to make the world a better place for future generations and I’m afraid we’ve failed and are moving too slowly to recover our mistakes.  We are in such a deep whole, it’s going to be a difficult climb out.  I know there are movements that are working hard to make strides in the right direction, thank goodness.  Here at home we’re doing our best and constantly moving towards doing better, a little at time as to not get overwhelmed.

I’ve always been one to educate myself about the environment, where our food comes from, etc.  Years ago I read everything I could get my hands on about Factory Farming, how the animals are treated prior to getting to our table, how this industry effects our planet.  It’s appalling. One book I really took a lot away from was Mad Cowboy.  To read a story about a man, a fourth generation cattle rancher turn Vegan, was uplifting & inspiring. I believe everyone should be educated in the process of how our food comes to the table. I also believe that we shouldn’t have to be worried about what toxic chemicals or genetically modified crap is in our produce, it just shouldn’t be there. The Americans’ need for low food costs have COST us plenty more in quality of life and medical bills. We need to WAKE the heck up and start nourishing our bodies with food, good food, whole food. Can’t tell I recently watched Forks over Knives can you? Most of the information in this incredible documentary wasn’t new to me. Though the statistics were jaw dropping. I had myself convinced prior that as long as I looked for sustainable, grass fed, free-roaming, humanely slaughtered, wild, etc., animals than I could still eat them. I was a vegetarian years ago for ethical reasons and caved after my kids were born out of ease. I beat myself up a bit about this and would like to head back in that direction, though I find my will power has decreased since then. My husband and I are finally in a place that we’re ready to begin the big changes. Though compared to the typical American diet, we’ve done good, eating very little red meat, mostly poultry and fish, lot’s of veggies, etc. This isn’t enough. We know that.

As a people we need to seek out our local sources, grow what we can. We have to be in control of this, no one else is watching out for us. The government is supporting big industry, like Monsanto, unfortunately it’s all about big business. The small farmers are suffering. Go to your local farmers market on weekends, they’re spreading rapidly and can be found in most large and small communities now (Click HERE to find one near you). SUPPORT THEM! Join a CSA. Do whatever small part you can. I’m not one to throw in the towel because it seems hopeless, it IS hopeless if you do that. We the people must demand changes!

If you’re interested in learning more about your food, the future of food and what you can do about it, here are some links to articles, documentaries and groups that can help.

Food Inc.
Forks over Knives
Ingredients
Food Matters
The Future of Food

Slow Food, USA
Non-GMO Project
Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (School Food – demand better)

Mad Cowboy (links to books & documentary)

Current Monsanto article – Washington Post

Tell Obama to Cease FDA Ties to Monsanto!
Watch This!

Anything written by Michael Pollen!

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How much can happen in one month? So much. School has come to an end and we finally mailed out the Letter of Intent to Home School to the Superintendent. So it’s official now. We’ve been to Key West and camping at the top of Black Rock Mountain in north Georgia, so much fun! The kids have been attending camp so far this summer, science and art camps and next week we’re off on our month long adventure to NY and Northern CA. The kids and I are taking off next Friday morning on a short road trip to Yonkers, NY. We’ll stop over in Savannah, GA and Virginia Beach, VA. On the 14th, PFman and I fly to N. CA to celebrate our 15th anniversary, kid-less while they’re with my parents:-)! Our anniversary is actually Dec. 1, but we have to take advantage of them being with mema and pop-pop. We’ll spend time in each Big Sur, Guenerville and Sonoma and I’m hoping to make the 5-hour trek to the Redwood Forest:-). I’ll be returning with the kiddos and my niece via the Blue Ridge Parkway with stops in four campgrounds. So the month of July is accounted for, we can’t wait.

What else has been happening? Well, we are slowly decreasing our dependency on plastic, Yay! I recently completed both watching and reading the No Impact Man. Very inspirational, a must read! Our tenants are moving out of our little house and upon our return we will begin to slowly move in, cleansing as we go. By that I mean getting rid of a ton of STUFF. I’m still on the path to minimalism with the biggest results happening with the move. We’re having a HUGE yard sale the last week of August! It all must go, so excited to simplify!

And on an accumulating note, we adopted a kitten. Thank you to Pet Pal Animal Shelter for Harry our little gray fluff ball with BIG personality!

“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” ~Native American Proverb

Mother Earth Day is officially April 22nd.  It began in 1970 in the United States and was taken international in 1990, with organized events in 141 nations that year.  It is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network, and is celebrated in more than 175 countries every year.

Since this issue has been forefront in my life for as long as I remember, I feel it necessary to use April as the month to post about all things GREEN:-). There are so many ways to go GREEN, from what you eat, water/electricity usage, what you drive, to what type of businesses you support. It can be a very overwhelming thing to ponder, and with many other concerns in ones life, sometimes the environment takes a back seat. What most don’t realize is, most of the time, saving money and supporting the environment goes hand in hand, but we’ve gotten so used to the ease that modern day technology has given us, we’ve forgotten or never learned how to do things more naturally.

Let me begin by saying that my current foot print on the earth is, in my opinion, very muddy and dark. There was time I was much more “Crunchy” and have been taking strides to get back there again. We will be taking a leap later this year with downsizing. We will be moving back into our other house, we’ve been renting it out for 8 years now. It’s only 900ish sq. ft. We are a family of 4 humans, 8 cats and 2 dogs, so luckily the back yard is good sized, for St. Pete, and there is a separate 200 sq. ft. unit out back as well. We won’t have a dishwasher and will be using our clothes line again, like we did the 2 years we lived there before, when we cloth diapered our new baby, I have pictures:-).

I’m really looking forward to it, the need to get rid of half our furniture to fit in there, less STUFF!

Anyway, this is the first of many posts about going GREEN. I follow many blogs on this topic and I’m excited to share them with you, hopefully they’ll be helpful to your journey in going GREEN too.

I’ve considered myself somewhat of a tree-hugger since, well forever. Unfortunately, this is one of the areas that I’m certainly Perfectly Flawed. This Going Green, is overwhelming. Where do we start, what can we do, can we really make a difference? The answer is YES, yes we can! Start small and be ok with the smallness of it, then add a little at a time, at your comfort level. Here in St. Petersburg, they are beginning recycling pick-ups again this October. So if you’re one of those that hasn’t been taking your recyclables to the drop off receptacles, now is your time!

Wish my fridge looked like this, ha.

There are many little things you can do, right now, to begin going green:

Turn off the water as you brush your teeth.
Change all your light bulbs to fluorescent.
Find local food by shopping Farmers Markets, etc.
Keep an eye on the thermostat.
Turn off computers at night.
Shorten your shower.
Use warm or cold settings on the washer.
Give things away.
Recycle. Reuse.
Go paperless (ex. pay bills online)
Plant a tree.
Inflate your tires.
Turn off your lights when not in use.

These are easier things, and no, I’m not doing them all (ha. I love a long shower), but I’m working on adding them to my daily routine. Don’t ever feel that you’re not doing enough. Every little thing counts. So regardless of if you only recycle or if you compost everything and are vegan, etc. What you’re doing is helping to make a difference.

If you’re really hard core, here is a list of 99 Skills for an Eco-Friendly DIY Lifestyle, Whoa. How many do you do? I have really good intentions but….

Here are some other sites if you’re looking to expand your Greenness.
Green Guide
The Daily Green
Care2
Planet Green
TreeHugger
Organic Trade Association
Eat Wild Find Local Food:-)