D.R. Congo's Sustainable Cacao Industry (Slideshow)

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 07:48:17 GMT

Image: Original Beans We've told you about Original Beans a couple of times. We first wrote about their quest to become the first truly transparent chocolate company by basing their pricing on the true cost of sustainable chocolate production. The second time we caught wind of their collaboration with Wheels4life, where they supply mountain bikes to empower cacao farmers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Now, the company has shared with us a series of photographs highlighting the region and people in East Africa where they hope to develop a truly sustainable agricultural economy based around cacao production. Click through to see how Original Beans is helping create a sustainable future in the Virunga region of the Congo. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

D.R. Congo's Sustainable Cacao Industry

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 06:30:01 GMT

Congo's Rainforest

The 700,000 square mile expanse of untouched rainforest in the Congo Basin is second only to the Amazon

Image: Original Beans

... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Mountain Bikes Empower Cacao Farmers in Congo

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:28:50 GMT

Image: Original Beans A few months ago I posted about Original Beans and the true cost of chocolate. The company is has committed to planting a tree in the country of origin for every bar sold. And now, Original Beans is celebrating a partnership with mountain biking legend Hans Rey's Wheels4Life foundation, that will allow cacao farmers in the Congo much needed mobility. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Four Brands of Organic Booze To Get Your Summer Party Started

Thu, 28 May 2009 10:43:49 GMT

Image: Jenn Pentland Summer is approaching and it's time to dust off the yard furniture, fire up the grill (or better yet the solar cooker), and bask in the (hopefully seasonal) warmth of the season. And while there's nothing better on a lazy summer day than a cold brew, we TreeHuggers are not averse to a fruity cocktail, or a shot of tequila for that matter. And luckily for us there are a few visionary spirit makers out there that have committed themselves to offering us tipplers a greener choice. Read on for a list of four green spirits that are all certified organic, reasonably priced, and available throughout the country. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Why Doesn't British Columbia Protect Endangered Species?

Fri, 22 May 2009 13:06:27 GMT

Western Canada Wilderness Committee In my recent post about green issue in British Columbia I briefly mentioned the campaign organized by the Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC) to push the provincial government to develop endangered species legislation. Read on to find out more about WCWC's campaign for BC's endangered species. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Cool Cuisine Takes A Bite Out Of Global Warming

Sat, 09 May 2009 08:20:23 GMT

It's no secret that the global food system contributes a huge amount of greenhouse gas emissions to our atmosphere. According to Laura Stec, author of Cool Cuisine: Taking The Bite Out Of Global Warming, ag contributes 14% of total global emissions. When you consider the overuse of petro-chemical inputs, meat-centric diets, and the long haul of imported foods there are some obvious opportunities to reduce the absolute emission numbers associated with our diet. Stec and co-author, and meteorologist, Dr. Eugene Cordero have written a very readable blow-by-blow account of where our food system falls short and how we can make food choices to help mitigate global warming. In her book's preface Stec outlines her motivation for writing Cool Cuisine.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Frances Moore Lappe On How We Can End Hunger On A Penny A Day

Fri, 08 May 2009 12:45:03 GMT

Kids at a Belo Horizonte government nursery school where food is a human right. Image: Small Planet Institute A couple of months ago I posted about Frances Moore Lappe's article in Yes! Magazine about civic initiatives in Belo Horizonte that are helping to reduce hunger in the Brazilian city. This prompted some spirited debate from readers, mostly about the role of government intervention in the market and whether or not that intervention is sound policy. After the jump, Lappe talks to TreeHugger about food democracy and how the local government in Belo Horizonte is working with citizens to reach the goal of ending hunger for a penny a day. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

5 Green Fights For The Future of British Columbia

Tue, 05 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT

BC Relief Map via Wikimedia Commons British Columbia (BC) is a fabulous place to live. The province's largest city, Vancouver, is consistently rated as one of the most livable cities in the world, and a visit to the fertile Fraser Valley and Gulf Islands will quickly demonstrate why the 100 Mile Diet germinated here. North and east beyond the highly populated southwest corner of the province lies multiple mountain ranges, a river and lake filled interior, grasslands, deserts, and a vast northern stretch dotted with resource towns. Not to mention an extensive Pacific ocean coastline. This varied landscape, and attendant resources, have been a boon to the economy and citizens of BC, but changing priorities, economies, and, ahem, a changing climate have given locals much to reflect on. After the jump we present five big issues that will define the future of British Columbia. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Swine Flu: Past, Prevention and Future

Fri, 01 May 2009 13:02:35 GMT

What not to do. Photographer unknown As we wait for answers on the source of the current H1N1 influenza outbreak, TED looks below the surface with a short interview with global health and emerging disease expert Laurie Garrett. Garrett is the author of The Coming Plague, and a fellow on the Council for Foreign Relations. Click through for her take on the role of humans, hogs and hand washing plus a look at future pandemic possibilities. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Sustainable Agriculture Leaders Recognized By Natural Resources Defense Council's Growing Green Awards

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:20:44 GMT

Chef Ann Cooper by Craig Lee via The Chronicle After years of toiling in relative obscurity, leaders in the sustainable agriculture community are being recognized for their efforts. The latest national group offering food system awards is the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Vying for the First Annual Growing Green Awards are nine nominees in three categories, some of whom are already national figures and others whose hard work is just being recognized nationally. And the nominees are...... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Meet The Faces of the Food Movement

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:06:25 GMT

In the lead-up to the conference Food and Society 2009: Gathering for Good Food the organizers have released an online slide show highlighting 75 portraits of people in the food movement who attended last year's event. Electronic communications have been integral in connecting divergent food and agriculture based activities into a cohesive movement. The flip side of that is the oft-cited lack of personal connection. Meet some of TreeHugger's favorite leaders in the sustainable food community after the jump. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Organic Compost Delivered To USDA Headquarters

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:57:24 GMT

Image: Joan Shaffer, USDA The USDA ain't what it used to be. Ever since Earl Butz was charged with creating a highly efficient ag sector under Nixon and Ford the USDA has been about production of cheap calories through industrial agriculture. Enter the Obamas, along with the new Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, and the U.S. government's relationship with food has gotten a whole lot more progressive. The kicker happened a couple of weeks ago when a load of grade-A, certified organic compost from the nation's foremost authority on organic growing, The Rodale Institute, was dumped in front of USDA headquarters. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Mark Bittman On Why Food Matters

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:56:51 GMT

Mark Bittman writes about food from a common sense point of view. We know we should eat more veggies and less meat, but in his latest book, Food Matters, Bittman tucks in to the reasons why a less carnivorous existence will result in a more harmonious existence between ourselves and our environment. The first section of Food Matters dishes out sound reasoning and a variety of statistics to put our meat eating habits and industrial food system into perspective. (Although Bittman is not necessarily advocating a vegetarian diet, eating less meat and less junk food are the obvious, but important, points of his book.) Part two takes us into the kitchen to learn to "cook like food matters", including 70 or so recipes. Together the two sections combine to create "a guide to conscious eating". ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

4 Farming Methods That Go Beyond Organic

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 08:49:05 GMT

Image: Jenn Pentland With the recent hubub around the shortfalls of organic and local agriculture we think it's good to point out some of the "beyond organic" methods that farmers have adopted. It's no secret that organic agriculture has drifted from the original intent of the farmers that originally rejected the chemical-industrial system. The methods of growing described below would fit squarely within the ethic of organic production as it was conceived, and before certification turned a holistic agriculture system into a set of rules. Read on to eat beyond organic. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Feeling Broke? Plant A Garden

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:30:29 GMT

Grow these at home. Photo by Jenn Pentland It's no secret that garden fresh produce tastes better than what you buy at the supermarket. Throw in the physical and mental health benefits and zero emissions from shipping and it quickly becomes clear that growing your own makes sense. And now, finally, someone has done the calculations on what kind of a boost a garden gives your bank account. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Brazilian City Makes Food A Basic Right And Ends Hunger

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 15:13:16 GMT

Restaurant Popular (People's Restaurant) by Bruno Spada/MDS Back in 1993, the newly elected city government of Belo Horizonte, Brazil declared that food was a right of citizenship. At that time, the city of 2.5 million had 275,000 people living in absolute poverty, and close to 20 percent of its children were going hungry. Since the declaration the city has all but wiped out hunger and only spends 2% of the city budget to do so. So how did they make it happen? ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

U.S. Farmers Planting Less GMO Soy

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:47:52 GMT

Illinois Soybean Association Soy is one of the big three genetically engineered crops along with corn and canola. Since its introduction to farmers in 1992 90% of the soy grown in the United States has been bought from Monsanto and comes Roundup Ready. Up until now it seemed like Monsanto had a lock on the U.S. soy industry, but this year there is a small whiff of change. After a decade of astronomical growth this could be the first year that farmers start turning away from the GE giant's seeds. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Creative Food Economy Emerges in Ontario

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:49:34 GMT

Hamilton Farmers Market. Credit: Communications Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food In North America the food economy has long been dominated by commodities. A big part of the sustainable and local food movement is a direct response to systems that are controlled by outside interests. New models for food system are continually emerging. Martin Prosperity Institute, a "think-tank on the role of sub-national factors in global economic prosperity", recently published a report on one of these models, From Kraft to Craft: innovation and creativity in Ontario's Food Economy. At the core of the report is the concept of a "creative food economy". The Institute published this handy chart to explain the differences between the industrial and creative food economies.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Farmers Can Be Heroes With Your Help

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:02:25 GMT

Image: Farmers Can Be Heroes Let's be clear, we know farmers are heroes without any help. But, the new Farmers Can Be Heroes program is helping farmers step it up a notch by offering resources to help conventional farmers transitional to organic. The Rodale Institute initiated the free online course and resources calling on their 80-odd years of experience with organic farming and gardening research. OK, so how can you help? ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

10 Books For The Green Preschooler

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:20:17 GMT

Image: Jenn Pentland A few weeks ago, in my post about Colonel Trash Truck, I was complaining about the scarcity of green stories for the preschooler. Well, after polling my fellow TreeHuggers it turns out I was wrong. There are oodles of stories with an environmental message that my three-and-a-half year old eats up. Some are old, some are new, some are cute and cuddly and some are frightening in their depiction of our current climate predicament. Click through to see 10 green books that you and your preschooler will love to read. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

10 Books For The Green Preschooler

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:18:17 GMT

Have You Seen Birds?

The star of this book is Barb Reid's plastecine artwork. She sculpts dozens of distinctive birds that will inspire the youngest burgeoning naturalist. A bird spotting key on the back page helps with identification.

Scholastic Canada

... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Sea Sick Reveals The Terminal Status Of The Oceans

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:00:00 GMT

In case you haven't heard, the oceans are dying. The coral, the fish, the plankton, the whole bloody system is going topsy-turvy. In her new book Sea Sick, Canadian Journalist Alanna Mitchell travels from the shore line to the depths cataloging the woes of the big blue as she goes. Increased acidity, dead zones, species loss, temperature increases, we've reported on it all before. Mitchell synthesizes all these divergent ideas and spits out an engaging overview on the state of our oceans. Once or twice while reading this book I had to put it down, take a breathe and let the panic subside. There are so many things changing in the ocean that it's impossible to think that humans will escape unscathed from the damage we've helped inflict. Taking off from Jeremy Jackson's quote that we're laying the groundwork for a "mass extinction in the oceans with unknown ecological and evolutionary consequences", Mitchell gives some perspective.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Obamas Turn White House Organic

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:00:06 GMT

Eating out before he got the job. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty images Since Obama took office and the family moved into the White House things have changed in the food and agriculture landscape in the U.S. of A. Let's review.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Mark Bittman Obsesses About Veganism, Priuses, Carbon Footprints and All That

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:23:55 GMT

Obsessed with Samantha Ettus We love Mark Bittman for his sensible approach to cooking and eating. The name of his column in in the New York Times, The Minimalist, says it all. In a recent web interview, Bittman expounds on ecological eating and his philosophy on cooking. Check out the charmingly unedited video from Obsessed with Smantha Ettus. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

White House Farm Coming Soon

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 08:06:02 GMT

Sheep on the White House Lawn - Library of Congress There's much to be excited about this week in the world of sustainable agriculture in the United States. The news of Obama's nomination of Kathleen Merrigan to be Deputy Secretary of USDA was met with cheers from across the country. Then the president announced that he was aiming to end direct payment farm subsidies. Hot on the heels of that news is the hope that the much dreamed of White House Farm could be here sooner than we thought. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

What Is The True Cost of Chocolate?

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:10:00 GMT

Original Beans The modern chocolate industry has a long history marred by slavery and deforestation. From the birth of the industry with the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs to the modern industry centered in West Africa the problems have remained constant. Organic, fair trade chocolate has become more prevalent over the past couple of years, but one company has taken their commitment to creating an ecologically and socially sustainable product to the next level. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Urban-Edge Communities Can Retain Agricultural Benefits

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:08:48 GMT

Credit: Michael Marrapese via FarmFolk/CityFolk We've been reporting on the potential of urban agriculture regularly over the past few years. And just yesterday Mathew reported about how the UN is promoting organic agriculture as a way to ensure adequate and sustainable food for all the world. As developers push for more land for industrial and residential developments it's usually farmland that gets paved over. Two new report suggest practical ways to ensure that rapidly urbanizing communities retain farmland to produce food for the local population. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

The Cooperative Launches Plan Bee to Help Save UK's Honeybee

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:30:24 GMT

The Cooperative The causes of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) are still in question. While it's surely a combination of factors including climate change and voracious pests like the varoa mite, one of the key suspects is pesticides. Late last year UK farmers demonstrated to demand government action on CCD. While the government may be slow in responding The Cooperative, the UK's largest consumer co-op, has announced Plan Bee, "a campaign to raise awareness about the decline in the British honeybee population," including a temporary ban on the use of eight pesticides from their suppliers. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Colonel Trash Truck Teaches Kids to "Live Green"

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 09:30:23 GMT

Colonel Trash Truck by Kathleen Crawley, illustrated by Manuel Conde Teaching kids about their impact on the natural world can be tricky business. As much as I'm keen to teach my three-and-a-half year old about cradle to cradle design, shifting baselines, or sustainable food systems, he just doesn't seem to get it. While there are some classic green books for kids there is a surprising dearth of contemporary stories for the 3-6 year-old set. Author Kathleen Crawley noticed this gap and created a character who "teaches kids the importance of recycling, throwing away garbage and protecting the environment." Check out this video for an introduction to Colonel Trash Truck. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Jargon Watch: Shifting Baselines

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:36:08 GMT

Salmon Culling in British Columbia in the 1890s. Credit: Getty Images Collective memory is a fickle thing. We all know about the decimation of the American Bison, and the lost flocks of Passenger Pigeons a mile wide and 300 miles long. But, other less visible and more gradual examples of loss can be easily missed. For an explanation of what this can mean, meet the concept of shifting baselines. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Recent Posts by TreeHugger's Jeff Nield, Vancouver, British Columbia

D.R. Congo's Sustainable Cacao Industry (Slideshow)

D.R. Congo's Sustainable Cacao Industry

Congo's Rainforest

Mountain Bikes Empower Cacao Farmers in Congo

Four Brands of Organic Booze To Get Your Summer Party Started

Why Doesn't British Columbia Protect Endangered Species?

Cool Cuisine Takes A Bite Out Of Global Warming

Frances Moore Lappe On How We Can End Hunger On A Penny A Day

5 Green Fights For The Future of British Columbia

Swine Flu: Past, Prevention and Future

Sustainable Agriculture Leaders Recognized By Natural Resources Defense Council's Growing Green Awards

Meet The Faces of the Food Movement

Organic Compost Delivered To USDA Headquarters

Mark Bittman On Why Food Matters

4 Farming Methods That Go Beyond Organic

Feeling Broke? Plant A Garden

Brazilian City Makes Food A Basic Right And Ends Hunger

U.S. Farmers Planting Less GMO Soy

Creative Food Economy Emerges in Ontario

Farmers Can Be Heroes With Your Help

10 Books For The Green Preschooler

10 Books For The Green Preschooler

Have You Seen Birds?

Sea Sick Reveals The Terminal Status Of The Oceans

Obamas Turn White House Organic

Mark Bittman Obsesses About Veganism, Priuses, Carbon Footprints and All That

White House Farm Coming Soon

What Is The True Cost of Chocolate?

Urban-Edge Communities Can Retain Agricultural Benefits

The Cooperative Launches Plan Bee to Help Save UK's Honeybee

Colonel Trash Truck Teaches Kids to "Live Green"

Jargon Watch: Shifting Baselines