Every Day is Earth Day

Earth Day was April 22, 2010, but we can celebrate it year round by practicing little green habits every day.

Not Your Average Vegans... These are Freegans!

According to an article on the Food Production Daily Web site, a shocking forty to fifty percent of all food ready for harvest never gets eaten and household food waste along adds up to $43 billion. This is a serious economic and environmentally un-sound issue.

Freegans are trying to reduce this waste . Freegans are people who employ alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources, according to the Freegan.Info Web site.

"Freegans embrace community, generosity, social concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a society based on materialism, moral apathy, competition, conformity, and greed."

In other words freegans are dumpster divers or "urban foragers" who forage through dumpsters and trash bags outside of grocery stores and bakeries to recover usable items and to avoid being wasteful consumers. Dumpster diving is probably the most shocking freegan practice, but others like squatting and ride shares are outlined here.

Find out more about freegans and watch a video here. Or check out CNN's segment on freegans below.

Community Supported Agriculture

Community Supported Agriculture is a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm so the farmland becomes the community's farm. Growers and consumers provide mutual support and share both the risks and benefits of food production.

With CSA, a farmer offers a certain number of shares to the public. Usually a share consists of a box of vegetables, but other products from the farm may be included. Interested consumers purchase shares, in advance, to cover the anticipated farming costs. Shares are also called memberships or subscriptions. In return these shareholders receive a box of seasonal produce each week of the farming season, but they also share the risks of farming, including poor harvests from things such as bad weather and pests.

CSA has become popular over the last 20 years. It is a great way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from the farmers, according to the Local Harvest Web site.
Here are some advantages of a CSA, straight from Local Harvest:

Advantages for farmers:

-Get to spend time marketing the food early in the year, before their 16 hour days in the field begin

-Receive payment early in the season, which helps with the farm's cash flow

-Have an opportunity to get to know the people who eat the food they grow

Advantages for consumers:

-Eat ultra-fresh food, with all the flavor and vitamin benefits

-Get exposed to new vegetables and new ways of cooking

-Usually get to visit the farm at least once a season

-Find that kids typically favor food from "their" farm – even veggies they've never been known to eat

-Develop a relationship with the farmer who grows their food and learn more about how food is grown

You can search for the closest CSA on the Local Harvest Web site, click here. There are six in the Pullman/Moscow area. For example, the Washington State University Organic Farm's CSA has 105 shares. The CSA averages 24 weeks starting mid-May and running through the end of October. A share costs $525 a season, but a half share is available for $325.

Organic Affordability

With chemicals like pesticides and growth hormones in food, people often wish they could eat organically. Stars like Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia Roberts and Christina Aguilera do it, but not all of us have celebrity incomes. According to the Washington Post, buying organic food can be up to 40 percent more expensive than conventional food.

How can the rest of us afford to eat organic? Here are ten tips for eating organically on a budget:

1. Buy locally- Shop at local farmer's markets. The food is often cheaper and fresher than grocery stores. Ask about bargains and seconds, fruits or veggies that may be discounted because they are misshapen. Shopping locally also helps sustain the local economy. Search for local farmer's markets at Local Harvest.
   
2. Buy seasonally- Fruits and vegetables that are in season are more abundant and usually cost less.
   
3. Buy in bulk- Stock up when items are on sale, especially canned items, cereals, dried fruits, beans, etc. Be careful about food expiring when storing items. Place items that have closest expiration date in the front of your cupboard.
   
4. Freeze it- Freezing is a great options for fruits and vegetables. Buy things in season and freeze them for up to six months.
5. Grow your own- Consider starting your own garden. Start with produce that is easy to grow and ask garden center employees which items grow best in your area and when to plant them.
   
6. Clip coupons- Look for coupons in newspapers, fliers, at the store and online. Many product labels also include coupons for future purchases.
   
7. Research- Look through advertisements to see which organic products are on sale at specific locations and plan your shopping trips accordingly. Research local farmer's markets and organic retailers-- Try the Organic Consumers Association.
8. Become a member of a co-op or buying club-A food co-op is a member-owned business that provides groceries and products to its members at a discount. Many products are organic and from local family farms. Joining is as simple as signing up and paying dues. In a buying club, members purchase food and other organic products in bulk and then divide the order. It is a great way to get organic food cheap--often 30 to 40 percent off the retail price.
9. Buy generic brands- Generic in-store organic brands are often much cheaper and usually contain the exact same ingredients as the name brand, just check the label.
   
10. Start slow- If you cannot afford to go completely organic here are some foods you may want to consider buying organically because of pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics, etc: Beef, chicken and pork; Dairy products (i.e. milk, cheese, butter); Strawberries, raspberries and cherries; Apples and pears; Tomatoes; Spinach and salad greens; Coffee; Potatoes; Stone fruits (i.e. peaches, nectarines and apricots); Grapes; Celery; Peppers.