The phenomenon of celebrities becoming activists is becoming increasingly more common. Bono campaigns for Africa and runs Edun. Sean Penn has made himself a thorn in the side of many. And now, Alicia Silverstone of Clueless fame has recently jumped into the fray as a spokesmodel for PETA, and recently releasing her cookbook The Kind Diet
. I was recently offered a copy of several books from publisher Rodale Books to review, including this one. Always one to try out a new book (much to my husband's chagrin), I eagerly said "yes please!" and have spent the last couple of weeks flipping through the pages of some great texts. would make an excellent gift to someone who's looking to make a diet and holistic lifestyle change, especially for someone who's got the same kind of energy and perkiness as Silverstone herself. You can pick up a copy at Chapters and other retailers.
You want to eat well. You want to ensure you're consuming organically grown produce, from local sources. But you're also busy. Really busy. And you don't have a whole lot of time to grocery shop, let alone seek out local, organic produce.
Not that long ago, I said that there is an underserved market out there. That market is the parent market. The people who have young children but still want to get out and be in a place that has things adults like (ethical products, good food, comfy chairs) as well as being kid friendly (toys, place is pretty indestructible, nobody notices/minds if your kid makes noise). Rob Kay and Jill Sheppard obviously thought the same thing (great minds) and have seized on that market opportunity and opened up Two Monkeys Coffee and Tea House in Barrhaven, just outside Ottawa.
Once upon a time, The Stop opened in Toronto as one of Canada's first food banks, providing food to those who couldn't otherwise get it. Over the years, The Stop has expanded both its real estate and its mandate, because they believe that simply providing handouts doesn't solve the underlying problems causing people to go hungry. To that end, they have created an entire list of services, all with the aim of allowing the community to work together to provide the necessities of life - including food - for all. The Stop now provides community services including a drop-in, food bank, perinatal program, civic engagement, bake ovens & markets, community cooking, community advocacy, sustainable food systems education and urban agriculture.
On Sunday, September 14, 2008 the Ottawa Feast of Fields will be held from 12-4 p.m. Organized by the Canadian Organic Growers - Ottawa Chapter, Feast of Fields provides a unique opportunity to sample local, organic food, the best of our fall harvest, prepared by Chefs from over 25 top restaurants in Ottawa, Gatineau and region.
Look, I get it. I get it better than you know. You try your best to eat healthy local food that's good for you and good for the planet, but sometimes, sometimes.. junk food is just necessary.
Eastern Ontario (and even Western Quebec!) ecochicks: The Annual Midsummer Herbfest will be taking place on Sunday, July 27th in Almonte, Ontario.
Frederick Schilling was a chef who liked to dabble. He experimented with chocolate, adding chai and ginger to the mix, seeking to find the perfect Chocolate Alchemy. And from this experimentation, Dagoba Organic Chocolate was born.
Am back, ecochicks! Did you miss me? I missed you. And I spent much time keeping my eyes peeled for new and nifty eco-stuff to tell you about.
Torontonians alert: Are you wondering where to find great local food? Wondering which farmer is which? Wondering what the difference is between local meat and supermarket meat? Rejoice: The July issue of Toronto Life magazine tells you Where to find the Freshest Food in the city.
You a geek who wants to be green? Gizmodo showed us this new Monitor from LG that uses about 45% less energy than traditional models. Now you can feel a whole lot less Green Guilt about your WOW addiction.
Inhabitat featured several cool stories, including these awesomely funky Lamps made with recycled bottles, cool Solar Curtains that shade your home from the sun while absorbing energy, and an uber-useful Crank USB Battery that you could use right away to generate power, and that you will need to surf the web in case of the apocalypse.
There was also one piece of ironically good news: the high price of petroleum means that the Cost of Petro Plastic is Skyrocketing, forcing companies who rely on petro-plastics to find alternatives - natural rubber vs. synthetic rubber, reducing plastic packaging, and looking to increased use of recycled materials. While the price of petroleum is hard on the wallet, it's forcing industry to make changes that make things easier on the planet - which in the end, is good for everyone.
From Inhabitat: Napa Valley's Far Niente Winery has found a unique and innovative way to provide their power requirements to the winery: a floating solar pond. They knew they wanted to go solar, but they faced the problem of "where" to put the large number solar panels they'd require. From their blog:
They worked with the solar team to come up with their innovative solution: about 1000 panels float on pontoons on their irrigation pond. They've christened it "Floatovoltaics". They're gathering more power than they actually use, and they believe that by floating the solar pods, they are providing welcome shade for their irrigation pond from the California sunshine, thus preventing evaporation and maintaining their precious water supply. An eco-win in so many ways!
Summertime... la la la, however the song goes.... sing it, folks, because it's finally nice out. And there is no better way to truly feel summery than to sit outside on a warm evening with a cold lager in your hand. At at Toronto's Mill Street Brewery, there is a lovely Organic lager on the offer that will satisfy your craving for a cold one while keeping you on the organic straight and narrow. Mill street has used imported organic New Zealand Hallertau Hops and Breiss Organics 2-Row Brewers Malt to create this brew.
The Ottawa Farmers' Market is open for business again! Running on Sundays from 8-3 pm, and Thursdays from 2-7 pm after June 26, the Ottawa Farmers Market highlights local producers of fruit, vegetables, meat, arts and crafts. With weekly events, a wide range of vendors selling seasonal products, you will enjoy the experience as much as you will enjoy the products you buy there. 
One great wine on the list is from Napa Valley's Frog's Leap Winery. If you've ever toured the Napa Valley wine country and visited Frog's Leap, you'll know it's in a beautiful setting with the tall, sun-baked hills nestled in behind their cavernous stone winery. And now, all of their wines are grown organically, their winery is 100% solar powered (I guess you can do that in California!), they use geothermal energy for heating and cooling, and they "dry farm" the grapes by planting them so deeply they don't require extra watering.
ecochick's back, after a self-imposed (oh all right, stomach-flu imposed) break. I hope everyone had an utterly lovely Holiday!
Specifically, 4 Copas Tequila, the first tequila that's been certified as organic. Made from sustainably farmed blue agave, this distillery not only cares about the environment, but also about the people it employs. From their website:
