Fresh onto the green lifestyle scene are two, spanking new, insulated lunch sacks from one-year-old eco-conscious company, Kids Konserve.  Smartly made from recycled plastic bottles/Petspun, these reusable, BPA- and lead-free insulated food bags bring peace of mind.  They keep lunch meals healthy and safe, while eliminating the need to dispose of foil, plastic bags, used juice cartons and plastic bottles — which, we all know wind up in those ever-mounting landfills.

Inspired by her daughter’s school’s efforts to cut back on waste, co-founder Lynn Julian teamed up with friend and design expert, Chance Claxton, to launch Kids Konserve.  Initial offerings focused on cool-looking, non-insulated reusable lunch kits for kids, but also now include biodegradable Greenwood Natural Cleansers for keeping kitchen counters, floors, dishes and (according to them), even veggies “clean and safe from toxins.”

If you don’t need the “whole kit and kaboodle,” (non-insulated kits, $40-42), individual items are available separately so you can pick and choose exactly what you need.  In addition to the insulated sacks ($20), I also like the food kozies, (5 for $25) and nesting trios, (3 for $25), perfect for traveling lunches or leftover food storage.  A great, sustainably stylish way to cut back on waste and expenditures.  And guess what, my friend?  AltCon readers can receive 15% off by entering “holidays” at checkout. more @ kidskonserve.com

There are travel guides to help you find green hotels and now Nikki and David Goldbeck have written a traveler’s guide so that you may find organic, green or natural food restaurants and stores along the highways of your vacation.

Healthy Highways is the second edition of the Goldbeck’s book.  It contains 2,800 eateries and natural food stores throughout the USA.  This handy little book also includes a map of each state, directions to each site, what the eatery provides in the way of food and its hours of operation – all in a 470-page book.  The book is 8”x 5 ¾ “so it is easily carried in a handbag, glove compartment or car door storage bin.

We have not had a chance to use this book while traveling, but think it will be a helpful tool when we take the family on the road.  The more we learn about conventional farming and industrial food processing (more…)

Need an award winning cheese hand rubbed with lavender and freshly ground espresso for your Thanksgiving spread?  Wouldn’t lemon-dried blueberry biscotti wow your garden club at your weekly high tea?  Want to buy free range and organic meats, dairy or poultry in your area?

The folks at RegionalBest.com have created an internet marketplace for buying handmade, locally produced foods from artisans, farmers and small businesses in your area.  Forget making another trip to a big box store, go local and sustain and support small businesses in your community while enjoying quality, handcrafted baked goods, cheeses, beverages, seafood, sweets and vegan products from local purveyors.  RegionalBest features hundreds of products in over a dozen categories, including 225 foods for less than $25.

In my family, Thanksgiving was always the most stressful of holidays.  Would there be enough food? Would so-and-so come?  Would the house be clean enough?  Rarely among those concerns was, how sustainable is this holiday?  Well, times they are a changing and this Thanksgiving we’ll have a local turkey, relatives arriving via carpools and organic wine.  You can join the green Thanksgiving festivities with these easy tips.

The Food
Really, Thanksgiving is all about the food, but you don’t have to skimp on the stuffing to make this Thanksgiving more sustainable than last. Most families will not be convinced to give up the turkey this Thanksgiving. If you can go vegetarian or turkey free, more power to you; if not here are some alternatives:

• Make a shopping list before you go out.  Trying to think on the fly will cause unnecessary purchases.  Making the list well in advance will allow you to look for the best local options, rather than making frantic last minute decisions.  Try to minimize car mileage by planning your route precisely.
• Buy local and/or organic.  Thanksgiving is all about using your local resources to make delicious food.  Get your turkey from you local farmer’s market or local producers. You can look for a turkey provider near you, here.

It’s not just about the turkey!

• Take the 100-Mile Thanksgiving Challenge, and keep all your Thanksgiving foods close to home. If you’re in Albany, Seattle, Washington, Kansas City, Flagstaff, or Montgomery, The Daily Green has prepared 100 Mile Challenge recipes to use.
• Drink green.  Only buy wines with real cork stoppers, rather than plastic.  Trees are not cut down for cork, and it is a crucial part of the forestry industry.  Look for organic wines and liquors, and freshen tap water with a filter and some lemons.
• As the food coma starts to set in, think about your leftovers before you take that oh so alluring nap.
• Avoid plastic wrap. Most plastic wraps contain PVC which quickly winds up in landfills and has been linked to harmful environmental consequences.  Use aluminum foil or, even better, send family home with glass or ceramic storage containers that they can return to you after.  (The really conscientious may bring their own reusable leftover container, just in case…)
• Keep your hands dry!  A new study from the University of Bonn in Germany found that your dishwasher uses less soap, half the energy and 1/6 of the water you might during hand washing.  Air dry the dishes rather than heat drying them.
• Donate your fat.   If you’re in Texas, call up Plano and see if they’re still collecting turkey fat and turning it into biofuel.
• Donate leftover food to a shelter or food bank.

The Family
Thanksgiving is also about getting connected with family. For some, it’s the one time in the year where everyone is in the same room. Go green together!

• Know your guests.  Does Aunt Susan only eat white meat?  Is Danny a vegetarian?   Knowing who’s coming and what they’re expecting will help you shop efficiently and maximize your green options for each person.
• Pick a location that’s easy for everyone to get to.  The less air travel the better, and if you do fly consider carbon-reducing efforts to make up for it.
• Carpool.  Pick each other up on the way.
• Try to avoid sitting around the television on Thanksgiving Day.   Many towns have live parades, and your childrens’ school friends might be playing in football games in the area.  If you have diehard fans in the mix, make sure they’re all watching the same television, and aren’t scattered throughout the house.  Take the football out of the closet and see if anyone’s apt to want to throw the ball around, or organize an informal game of touch.

The Decorations
Home made decorations can be both fun and green.

• Send online invitations or organic ones.
• Thanksgiving is an earthy time. Use your creativity with sticks, stones, leaves, flowers and branches from your backyard or neighborhood.
• If you can’t get sticks or don’t want to get crafty, look for organic floral arrangements at your local farmers market or online.
• Use non-toxic cleaners to get that mom-level-clean before she actually shows up.

A bushel of food related insights into the future of sustainable farming, consumption and green kitchen appliances.

First off – I wish real labels had this: www.jwgreynolds.co.uk far-foods

If you’re looking for a super green kitchen addition, check out the flow kitchen (pictured below) by studio Gorm.

Products (water, food and waste) flow from right to left, ending in a composter and collection tray.  Honestly I just think it’s a really neat idea.

From the men that brought you King Corn, the musical that brings food to you!  I’m looking forward to Episode 3!

Herd Share is an Australian company looking to build a platform in which farmers and consumers can cut out the middle men, and we can become direct share holders in the herds we drink from.

Looking for something that your farmers market doesn’t have?  Find out who does, and be confident that you’re buying from a small producer at Foodzie.  Want to browse for sustainable options in your area?  Input your zip code at the Eat Well Guide and voila!   Another great resource for finding community supported agriculture in your area is LocalHarvest, specialists in local farms.

For a good look at a really successful and sustainable farm check out the men and women at Polyface Farms.  They’re so impressive even Michael Pollan has commended them as an example farm set up.

This is all great, but this vertical farm approach (pictured above) might be the future of urban farming.   Dickson Despommier spoke at TED 2009, and his talk should be posted soon.  (Another cool, but entirely unrelated TED Talk is from William McDonough on cradle to cradle design)

This the second post in Theresa Gould’s series on her organic farming experience.

We attended our first Stateline Farm Beginnings class last Saturday.  It was like a date for us since we rarely go out as a couple. Imagine driving over an hour each way and having a conversation without multiple interruptions! Heaven!  The class is the largest class yet in the five years since the program began. There were exactly 30 of us, if my quick count was right.  It was exciting to be with other aspiring farmers who were there to find out whether or not farming is the next step for them in their journey in life, just like us.

The Farm Beginnings program is a part of CRAFT – Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training – which creates learning opportunities for future farmers through diverse talents of our regional community of organic, biodynamic and sustainable farms.  There are actually only 7 known CRAFT organizations across North America – Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Ontario, Canada.

Stateline Farm Beginnings is only 12-13 years old.  We also learned that there are only 6 other Farm Beginning programs across the U.S. which doesn’t seem like a lot considering the fact that farming is where our food source begins.  There are two SFB programs in Minnesota, one in North Dakota, one in New York, one in Nebraska and two here in Illinois.

The first class gave us a better idea of exactly what we would be learning through Farm Beginnings. This is the definition that our facilitator gave us:  Stateline Farm Beginnings is a strategic business planning course that has four parts:  (more…)

A Tried and True, Green Products Review
Here’s a fun and natural alternative to typical, off the shelf ready-made meals.  Greenie Tots offers all natural meals made from fresh organic produce, (their supplier is a local organic farm in Florida), and other ingredients purchased from Whole Foods’ 365 brand.  Greenie Tots meals contain no additives, pesticides, hormones or high fructose corn syrup.  The packaging is made from recycled materials and the plastic the food is cooked in is BPA-free.

Greenie Tots is a meatless fresh frozen meal (see this YouTube video for more details) that is minimally processed and is designed for children ages 6 months-12 years. Each meal is made to order (more…)

It’s apple picking season, and with that comes canning and preserving.   My grandmother used to make some of the best apple jelly, and lots of it.  She lived in Canada, where I am originally from; nearly every package we ever received from her contained a jar of her apple jelly.  That was one of the things we looked forward to in her care packages.  Grandmother has since left this earth, and one of the things I desire to learn how to do is to make her apple jelly, so future generations do not lose yet another one of these dying arts.

Confronted by the many pounds of apples waiting to be processed and eaten, I found myself in need of an alternative to the cheesecloth grandmother used to squeeze out the juice.  A friend recommended this Finnish-made, Mehu-Lissa 10 Liter Stainless Steel Steamer Juicer, a device that can save hours of work and produce faster results than hand-squeezing ever would.

From my perusing many reviews and my friend’s recommendation, it appears this is a product going on my wish list. It not only produces fruit juices, but can cook (more…)

Baldauf Catton von Eckartsberg Architects, or BCV Architects for short, is a design firm that has taken a “new ruralism” approach to sustainability.  The expression “new ruralism” – conceived by Sibella Kraus at the Institute of Urban and Regional Development in Berkeley – is about improving city design by bringing country living back into the city.

By keeping restaurants and markets local to residences and public transit, communities remain closely integrated and become much more self-sustainable. People are inclined to walk more and drive less, yielding less traffic congestion and pollution.  Not to mention, food that is fresher and just simply tastes better.

BCV understands the importance of integrating the metropolis and the farm.  Their reverence for sustainable agriculture is rooted in a deep commitment to the environment (more…)

Keeping it local and seasonal, farmers’ markets are a great place to shop year round.  I hit various markets around the city on a steady basis, but I guess because of the sheer variety of offerings as well as the Hawthorne Valley Farm stand, I really enjoy the Greenmarket in Union Square.  I plan to head over there today to pickup some pears, one of the most divine fruits on earth.  Paired with beets and tossed with some greens, now there’s a killer salad.

By supporting the farmers directly, we get fresher, tastier and more nutritious food that doesn’t have to travel across the country in order to reach our plates. According to Michael Hurtwitz, Director of the Greenmarket Program, “The need to transport food long distances often results in the harvesting of food that is not yet nutritionally mature and requires the use of sprays and waxes for preservation.  However, purchasing fresh, local food from greenmarkets eliminates these problems.”

If you don’t feel like cooking, Edible magazine and Greenmarket highlight restaurants that are featuring fresh local fare and donating a portion of proceeds to Greenmarket all week (9/27-10/4) -  Edible Eat Drink Local.  A great way to be lazy, support a sustainable cause and enjoy fall’s sumptuous harvest.

related:  council on the environment of nyc @ cenyc.org.
previously on altCon – Cultivating Thoughts on Food, part 4
- comprehensive directory of farmers’ markets @ farmersmarket.com
- rawnovations, part 3