local

Author

Contributions Eureka Recycling, the Green Institute, Land Stewardship Project, Tracy Singleton, owner of Birchwood Café, and Kim Bartmann, owner of Red Stag Supper Club, Bryant Lake Bowl, and Barbette.

When you cook and enjoy a meal at home, it reflects your values and the choices you make every day. You know where the food came from and how it was grown. You can compost your food scraps and store your leftovers in your energy-efficient fridge in reusable containers. But what about when you go out to eat? How can you make sure the restaurants you support are making the right choices for the environment and our community?

Resources

On the Web!: 

Small Business Energy Saving Guide, greeninstitute.org/media/documents /SmallBusinessEnergy ReductionGuide_001.pdf

Benefits of Sustainable, Local Foods, landstewardshipproject.org /foodfarm-main.html

Tap Minneapolis, tapmpls.com

Act Locally!: 

List of local restaurants composting with Eureka Recycling, MakeDirtNotWaste.org

Author

Alena Hyams

Do It Green! Minnesota

When you think "eco-friendly," bakeries might not be the first thing that come to mind; but Minneapolis and St. Paul each have their fair share of eco-friendly bakeries. Do It Green! Minnesota visited a selection of these bakeries in order to taste some of their delectable treats and find out just how delicious baking green can be.

The Wedge Natural Foods Co-Op

wedge.coop

Author

Liz McMann

Mississippi Market Co-op

Eating locally isn't just a fad diet or a trend. On the contrary, global, mega-farm sourcing for nearly all of our foods is a relatively new practice.  It wasn't long ago that citrus, coffee and avocados were treats to be savored rather than kitchen staples. Those concerned with the environment, survival of small family farms and food freshness are embracing a local diet that supports their values. As we return to the common-sense practice of sourcing food locally whenever possible, it helps to have some tools and tips on hand for navigating the road to locavorism.

Resources

On the Web!: 

Eat Local America, eatlocalamerica.coop

Simple Good and Tasty, simplegoodandtasty.com

Real Food Minnesota, realfoodmn.wordpress.com

Read Up!: 

The Minnesota Table: Recipes for savoring local food throughout the year, by Shelley N.C. Holl and B.J. Carpenter, Voyageur Press, 2010.

Coming Home to Eat: The Pleasures and Politics of Local Food, by Dr. Gary Paul Nabhan, W.W. Norton, 2009.

Act Locally!: 

Find a co-op near you at coopdirectory.org

Mississippi Market Co-op St. Paul, MN, msmarket.coop

Golden Fig St. Paul, MN, goldenfig.com

Author

Ellen Telander

Winsted Organics Farm

There are so many new things on the farm this year, and I can only talk about a few for this article. I call this year "Reduce my workload please!" I am trying to make time for more play in my farm life.

Author

Liz McMann

Mississippi Market Co-op

In a country where rivers of high fructose corn syrup flow through our food system and the food recalls never seem to stop, something really miraculous is happening. In the shadows of genetically modified corn fields and pre-made frozen peanut butter sandwiches, people are starting to see past the industrial food system that we've grown accustomed to these past 50 years. People are starting to take the American food system into their own hands and become personally invested in where and how their food is produced. People are starting to care about their food.

Resources

On the Web!: 

Food co-ops across the country

Twin Cities Food Co-ops

Minnesota Farmers' Market Association

Land Stewardship Project's CSA Farm Directory

Read Up!: 

Grace from the Garden: Changing the World One Garden at a Time, by Debra Landwehr Engle, Rodale, 2003.

The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food, by Ben Hewitt, Rodale, 2010.

Act Locally!: 

Mississippi Market Co-op St. Paul, MN, msmarket.coop

EggPlant Urban Farm Supply eggplantsupply.com

Author

SARA GROCHOWSKI

Do It Green! Minnesota

How important is it to you that a business is locally and independently owned, or that it engages in green practices? How important is it to you that you work for an environmentally friendly company? Or that your office space or production facility is sustainable and healthy? The answer may change depending on where you live and work. What cannot change is the interconnectedness and interdependence of society, our environment, and the economy.

Author

JESSIE HOULIHAN

Do It Green! Minnesota

Butter Bakery and Café owner, Dan Swenson-Klatt, on how his restaurant is working to lessen their impact on the environment.

Q: How does Butter Bakery's product differ from a conventional restaurant?

Author

SARA GROCHOWSKI

Do It Green! Minnesota

Since the 1970s, the increase of multi-national food companies has increased the size of not only farms but the overall food system. During this same time period, a slow and steady movement of small farms began selling a variety of products to local communities, building relationships, and changing purchasing habits. With these changes in our food systems, people's eating habits and grocery choices have also changed. A number of terms can now be used for describing our diets today-from locavore, to a low-carbon diet, to slow food, or local.

Author

ELI EFFINGER-WEINTRAUB

Do It Green! Minnesota

Nothing tastes better on a hot summer day than a crisp, cool salad. Before you toss up that salad, consider where the lettuce and other fruits and vegetables on your summer plates come from. If it's like most conventional produce in this country, it comes from an average of 1,500 miles away. 39% of our fruits and 12% of our vegetables traveled from another country.¹ Is the lettuce in that salad good for the environment? We compare three heads of lettuce: one grown conventionally in California (where more than half of

Footnotes/Endnotes

References:

http://looncommons.org/2008/01/11
/racking-up-the-food-miles/

http://www.lifeintheusa.com/food
/vegetables.htm

http://attra.ncat.org/downloads
/water_quality/irrigation.pdf

http://www.sare.org/publications/energy
/energy.pdf

http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs/staff
/ppp/food_mil.pdf