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According to The National Geographic Society, by the time a child reaches 2 ½ years of age they consume 420 pints of mile that has travelled 100 miles – a total of 42,000 miles. The distance food travels from the grower or producer to our plate is referred to as food miles. Every commitment we make to grow our own food diminishes the carbon imprint we leave.
One activity we all participate in is the grocery shopping trip. We have noticed a real shift in how groceries are handled at the checkout. It is not uncommon to be asked if you want a bag prior to bagging certain items such as milk, toilet tissue and other larger items, once bagged without question. We have noticed the plastic bags getting thinner and thinner. But that offers little benefit, as cashiers often have to double bags to prevent breaking. Alas, the biggest change of all is the number of people carrying their own recyclable shopping bag.
It should come as no surprise that Vancouver has many fashion designers who are working with natural fabrics and who are dedicated to environmentally responsible and sustainable business practices. It should also come as no surprise that consumers go through a lot of clothing and that on average we throw away 30 kilograms of clothing per person per year.
Urbanization has resulted in a diminished interest in home gardening. The vast variety of food available results in dinners that have travelled thousands of miles. Perhaps my interest in this topic was sparked when rushed into a major grocery store and purchased a bottle store brand dill pickles. At home I opened them and bit into one only to be hugely disappointed. Suddenly, I
Carbon Offsets purchased by consumers, or businesses, are invested in projects, on a global scale. While the projects may not be local, global warming is a worldwide problem and programs to reduce carbon emissions elsewhere have a positive effect locally. The goal is for carbon offset programs to counterbalance the damaging effects of pollution and in particular activities that increase greenhouse gases.
Over the past few months the argument against bottled water has heated up. Recently Skytrain users were surveyed about their drinking water habits in a bid to reduce the use of bottled water by 20 per cent within two years. If the consumption of bottled water is under attack maybe there should be equal or greater pressure to reduce the use of sugar laden or artificially sweetened nutritionally void soft drinks. If the issue is the use of plastic bottles, soft drinks and water are equal offenders nonetheless water seems to be the target.
Is that cellulose on the label of your ice cream container aspen cellulose the byproduct of making pulp and paper? Upon learning this after touring a pulp and paper plant, I have never looked at the label on a carton of ice cream the same. Just exactly what are modified milk solids? What are edible oil products? At present, a food product can be considered made in Canada if 51% of the ingredients including the packaging materials are Canadian made.