I find it amazing that most of these countries are in the far north, and share long cold dark winters.
The United States is 28th on this index.
http://dualcitizeninc.com/GGEI-Report2014.pdf
Author: health4earth
Plan a non-GMO Thanksgiving
Big cooking and baking weeks are ahead of us, and I loved this post about GMOs. When I shop for groceries, I see more and more things labeled non-GMO, and we need to keep up the public education on GMOs. Hope this below list will give you some good ideas!
Thanksgiving is a time for celebrating around the dinner table with family and friends. This time of year it is easy to continue on with the same old holiday routines. It is time to make a change. You may not realize the most common Thanksgiving foods contain genetically engineered ingredients!
The good news is that it is easy to get the GMOs out of Thanksgiving by purchasing foods that are certified non-GMO or organic. You can find many non-GMO and organic options at your local co-op or farmers market, at Whole Foods, and increasingly, at mainstream grocery stores. Using ingredients that are organic and non-GMO will also create tastier foods to share with your loved ones. So, whether you are hosting a Thanksgiving meal, or bringing a dish to share, make sure to leave the GMOs out!
The following chart will help you identify the GMOs in popular holiday foods, and non-GMO alternatives. This is only a partial list. Remember, if you buy foods that have corn, soy, or sugar in the ingredient list, and they are not certified non-GMO or organic, then you could be eating genetically engineered ingredients. In particular, keep a look out for foods from companies that oppose Oregon Ballet Measure 95 and Colorado Ballet Initiative 105, such as Coca Cola, General Mills, Kraft, Nestle, Pepsi, Bumble Bee, and Land O’ Lakes.
To celebrate the upcoming holiday and provide some meal inspiration with a few ways to mix up some favorite dishes check back each week for a new GMO-free recipe.
Here are some common Thanksgiving foods that may contain GMOs, and non-GMO and Organic alternatives.
| Caution: Likely contains GMOs! Unless it is certified non-GMO or Organic, products often contain GMOs | Look for non-GMO and organic certified products. |
 Soups (e.g., Campbell’s Tomato Soup) |
Organic soups (Amy’s, Pacific, and many other brands available) |
 Cooking Oils –including corn and canola in particular (e.g., Wesson Canola Oil) |
Organic Cooking Oil (Nutiva, Dr. Bronner, Whole Foods Organic, and many other brands available) |
 Canned Yams (e.g., Bruce’s Yams) |
Use fresh organic yams |
 Chocolate (e.g., Hershey Milk Chocolate) |
Organic chocolate (Equal Exchange, Theo, and many other brands available, many are Fair Trade as well) |
 Crackers (e.g., Pepperidge Farm Crackers) |
Organic crackers (Crunchmaster, Nature’s Path, and many other brands available), or toast organic bread and cut into squares. |
 Dressing (e.g., Kraft Classic Ranch Dressing) |
Organic dressings, or make your own dressing using organic oils, vinegar, mustard, mayonnaise, etc. |
 Rice mixes (e.g., Rice a Roni chicken flavored rice) |
Organic rice (Lundberg, and many other brands available). If you are in a rush, use organic couscous. |
 Cranberry Sauces (e.g., Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce) |
Buy organic cranberries and use organic and fair trade sugar (e.g., Wholesome Sweeteners) to sweeten. Or purchase organic jellied cranberry (Tree of Life, Grown Right and several other brands available) if you are in a hurry. |
 Stuffing (e.g., Kraft’s Stove Top Stuffing , Cornbread) |
Make your own stuffing with organic bread. Or purchase organic stuffing mix (Pamela’s Bread and several other brands available) |
Once you are getting the GMOs out of Thanksgiving, you can spread the word:
- If you are hosting a Thanksgiving meal, print out a menu of the foods you are serving and make sure to note that they are non-GMO and organic. Share the recipes with friends and family as well.
- Post a picture of your non-GMO feast on your Pinterest and Facebook pages. You can also share your feast on the Facebook.com/gmoinside page.
- If you donate foods to a shelter this holiday (which is a great thing to do), donate organic and non-GMO foods.
- If you already purchased holiday foods with GMOs inside, you can print out our handy labels, put them on the foods, and take a picture to post to social media, so you can warn family and friends. Share with the GMOinside community on our Facebook page as well.
- You can also check to see if foods with GMOs inside have a money back guarantee. If they do, go ahead and send them back to the manufacturer, and ask for your money back.
America Recycles Day, November 15,
On America Recycles Day, what new commitment can you make to recycle?
The U.S. is the #1 trash-producing country in the world at 1,609 pounds per person per year. This means that 5% of the world’s people generate 40% of the world’s waste.** Yes, we can do better!
So…..What are we waiting for? Let’s get busy and recycle MORE!
Today focus on packaging. Read all packaging and recycle what ever has a recycle triangle.
Recycling saves lots of energy: Products made from recycled material use less energy! Sadly, valuable materials are ending up in our landfills every day.
Tips for increasing your recycling and working for zero waste in your home and business!
– Recycle all plastic bottles, plastic tubs, metal and aluminum cans, glass and newspapers and most paper products. Every community has different rules for this, but please don’t put these in the trash! Find a recycling location near you at http://earth911.com/
– Establish a place to collect recyclables. Keep a place for recycling in every room of your house or business. http://earth911.com/news/2012/12/11/binbisa-new-recycling-bin/ …AND recycle all junk mail
– Pre-cycle: Become aware of the packaging of the products you purchase. Buy the products with the least packaging, and with packaging that is recyclable. This has really improved the past few years.
– Awareness – The more you recycle the more you become aware of new things that you can recycle!
– Plastic Bags: All clean and dry plastic bags should be recycled. If it stretches and is clean, recycle it. Many grocery stores will take bags for recycling. Ask stores to start collecting plastic bags for recycling if you don’t have someone local. Some cities have banned the use of plastic bags!! We all can recycle them. Studies indicate that 100,000 marine animals and 2 million birds die every year from ingesting or being caught up in plastic debris*
–Through recycling and composting you should get your garbage down to one small bag a week!
Recycling is a process to change waste materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from landfills) by reducing the need for “conventional” waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to plastic production. From Wikipedia
Eliminate the idea of waste: http://www.terracycle.com/en-US/
** Recycling Revolution http://www.recycling-revolution.com/recycling-facts.html
A Reminder To Save Energy
Energy Tip of the month from Bayfield Electic Cooperative: http://bayfieldelectric.com/
** Turn off lights when rooms are not occupied
** Tap into winter daylight by leaving window blinds open
** Disconnect unnecessary or unused equipment
Three Simple Tips for Going Green
Buy less, Consume Less and Recycle More!
AND
Shop Smart http://www.doitgreen.org/
Below is from Earth911.com and has some good ideas. http://www.earth911.com/living-well-being/how-to-go-green-without-going-crazy/
“1. Starting slow means sustainability. We have all experienced the rush of starting something armed with good intentions and enthusiasm, followed swiftly by crushing disappointment when we realize we have dropped the ball. Again.
As with anything in life, the process of creating Eco-friendly change has a far greater chance of sticking it out for the long-term if you take baby steps. Rather than making sweeping changes all at once, tackle one thing at a time – if you run out of window cleaner, replace it with vinegar and water.
When you have gotten the hang of cloth diapering and are getting more than three hours of sleep in a night, then tackle a backyard compost. Allow each change to settle in and become routine before you attempt a new one. This is less dramatic, yes, but far more sustainable.
2. Not being able to do everything doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do anything. So you can’t afford to buy organic, and using a clothesline simply isn’t going to happen in your fifteenth-floor apartment. Not being able to do everything doesn’t mean you shouldn’t attempt to enact change where you can.
There are hundreds of tiny ways you can create a greener life, from using public transportation to shopping secondhand. Many cost nothing at all, and take very little time. Shift your focus from what you’re not doing, to celebrating the positive change that works for you – and ditch the guilt!
3. It’s not what you buy, it’s what you DO. It truly doesn’t matter if you have the latest trendy green gadget, or if your closet is full of fair-trade, up-cycled, gluten-free clothing. It’s fantastic that these options are there if you need them but the simplest and most effective way to create a positive environmental impact is simply by reducing your consumption, period. Buy less.
The effect of this change is twofold: It reduces the amount of stuff that you have to pay for, store, maintain and dispose of, but it also shifts the focus of your efforts away from outward displays of Eco-trendiness, and frees up your time and money to enact real change instead.
An Eco-friendly life doesn’t have to be – and I would argue, shouldn’t be – expensive, time-consuming, or filled with guilt.
Remember these three tips: Start slow and start small, focus on what you can do, and remember that being green will always be infinitely more than the contents of your shopping cart.” from Earth911.com
Buy LESS http://getlesstoday.com/ Video
You Have a Voice, Please Vote!
If you don’t vote you are giving more power to the billionaires that pay for all the negative ads…Which is exactly what they want!! This is about all of us, not just a few.
“No other democratic nation makes voting as difficult as it is in the United States” Larry Jacobs University of Minnesota, Humphrey Institute
Most of would agree there is too much money being spent in this election. The billionaires against billionaires is not in the best interest of any of us. They want to further THEIR agenda. And..it is impossible to sort out any truth from all the lies. The integrity of democracy is in serious trouble. More than ever your vote is needed. If you care about our earth, GMOs, violence against women and children, minimum-wage, healthcare,, or the control big corporations have on our country, you must vote!! Your vote does matter, and the candidates are not all the same!
How can you vote and support our democratic way of life?
1. Do NOT make your election choices from campaign ads….Too many lies, negativity and verbal garbage! I wouldn’t watch or listen to any of these silly ads.
1. Google your state’s Secretary of State to see a sample ballot ( for example, Minnesota Secretary of State). The ballot looks overwhelming at first, but if you take time to look at it, you will make sense of it. Remember you don’t need to vote for every race, but inform yourself about what and for whom to vote
3. Find your polling place on the same Secretary of State Website.
4. Google candidates to find what issues they care about and how do they align with your values. Most of the time you can figure what is important to them by skimming their website.
4. Go vote on Tuesday, November 4, even if it is for just one candidate or one issue.
5. Support organizations like Public Citizen, or Common Cause which work to end Citizen’s United. http://www.citizen.org/ www/commoncause.org
*** Above cartoon by Sack in the Minneapolis Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/281136042.html Why the election gloom? An editorial by /Washington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/22/2014-republican-billionaires_n_6025488.html?
#GetMoneyOut. http://ow.ly/D21sW #ncsen
http://michiganradio.org/post/detroit-free-press-endorsement-shows-our-system-government-broken
Please Keep Leaves Out of the Street
| Please Keep our Water Healthy
It has been a marvelous fall for both colors and weather, and now the clean up of falling leaves begins. Please DO NOT put your leaves in the street. It is hard work bagging up leaves, but leaves washing down the into the storm drains pollute the lakes and streams. Help keep the water we have as clean as we can. Many would give a lot to have our colorful leaves, lakes, and clean water! Also, leaves and trash can plug the drainage systems so the water will not drain from our streets. Below is the City of Minneapolis Code on leaves:
Minneapolis Code of Ordinances, Title 17:
No person shall leave, or cause to be placed, any leaves, grass clippings or other organic debris on or along any public street or alley. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 583.380; Ord. of 6-14-74, § 1)
|
Vegan Lasagna
Vegan Lasagna #vegan #GMO free #glutenfree I adapted this from…… http://www.pbs.org/food/recipes/vegetable-lasagna-2/
The ingredients are in italics
Cashew cheese
1 ½ cups cashews Soaked over night or for a few hours covered in water or some food coops and Whole foods have cashew cheese in bulk, just mix in some lemon juice and salt.
1 lemon
½ tsp salt
Food process cashews, lemon juice, and salt, add about ¼ cup water to make it smooth, but still thick.
Roasted vegetables
Slice vegetables into 1/8th inch slices, use the vegetables you like and have available
I used small sweet potato, 1 zucchini, 2 carrots, red pepper, small amount of sliced onion 2T. olive oil, and 3/4 tsp salt
Bake vegetables, 16 minutes, 400 degrees in a large roasting pan. Let these vegetable sit in your oven until you are ready to assemble. To save energy, I let foods stay in the oven and continue to cook.
Assembly of lasagna 1. Place a layer of marinara sauce(without soy or corn syrup) or your favorite tomato mixture in greased glass pan. To keep from getting too runny, don’t use a lot of sauce but add basil and oregano, garlic (dried or fresh)and stevia to taste! 2. Layer the roasted vegetables with the cashew cheese. 3. Garnish with red pepper 4. Bake 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees, allow to sit in oven and continue cooking until ready to serve or allow to sit 10 minutes outside the oven to absorb liquids, and your vegetable lasagna will hold together better for serving. For a nice crunch, top with toasted slivered almonds the last 10 minutes of baking
Serve with a spinach salad, melted cheese toasts, or organic vegan sausage
NO to Plastic Bags
This letter to the editor was printed in the Star Tribune on October 24, 2014
Are PLASTIC BAGS NEEDED?
Companies like Target ought to at least ask
After a full day on the University of Minnesota campus, I stopped by the new Target Express in Dinkytown. I bought four small items — and acquired two disposable plastic bags before I could even ask for none. This avoidable pollution and waste of resources has proved to be Target Corp.’s standard operating procedure and needs to change to match the company’s sustainable practices.
Several towns across the country have adopted legislation requiring customers to purchase a plastic bag for a nominal fee if they did not bring reusable bags. Locally, students are not likely to carry around a reusable shopping bag — unless, of course, you count the backpacks they carry everyday. A majority of the Dinkytown store’s customers are students looking for minimal items that could easily fit in a backpack.
I recommend you search the Internet for “plastic bag statistics.” You will be appalled.
If Target simply asks customers if they would like a bag, people will say no. Whether it is from conscience or simple logic, it is dollars and sense. Target could reduce its pollution and costs while appealing to anyone who advocates sustainability.
Kevin O’Brien, Minneapolis
Protecting Birds and Building a New Stadium
Call the Vikings and tell them to install bird safety glass. 952-828 6500, or http://www.vikings.com/footer/contact-us.html and call Gov. Dayton 651 201 3400.
Our bees, butterflies and birds are in serious decline. We all should reduce our footprint to protect our wildlife. This also means businesses and the Minnesota Vikings! In Minnesota we are having a debate over whether the Minnesota Vikings should place bird protective glass on the new stadium being built. This stadium is near the Mississippi River, a major migration flyway. And…it is a publicly funded stadium, one-third being paid for by the citizens of Minneapolis. To be a good corporate citizen the Vikings need to follow state laws(safety glass), and positively contribute to the environment where they reside.
The Star Tribune, Minnesota’s largest newspaper editorialized that in the big scheme of things, it was not a big deal to protect these birds…WOW! http://www.startribune.com/opinion/editorials/279625602.html “Keep Bird Deaths in Perspective” I consider the Vikings actions and the editorial board both hitting a new low! In my perspective 1 million for protective glass is minimal when a billion dollars is being spent and large portion is a public hand-out!!
This is the counter argument from Audubon:
As stewards, we are responsible for our impact on the Earth’s well-being, and it is precisely the logic presented in this editorial that is putting our vital ecosystems in trouble. We know that it is not a single deforestation event, a single oil spill or a single storm that leads to significant decline of bird species, but rather the effect of multiple factors over time. The good news is that the same way our cumulative actions can stress and degrade the environment, our individual actions can lead to its protection and recovery. Take the bald eagle, for example, or bluebirds.
Migratory birds are legally protected because they play a pivotal role, pollinating plants and controlling insect populations. One bird can eat 500 pests per day, reducing the need for toxic pesticides. Disarmingly, their populations are not constant; they are decreasing because of human activities, including glass buildings. Research shows that many once-common species have had a 50 percent reduction in just the last 50 years.
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/279846202.html
Video,”Change the Glass Now” http:youtube.com/watch?v=ngvN7oHhHwY
What can you do?
1. Call the Vikings and tell them to install bird safety glass. 952-828 6500, or http://www.vikings.com/footer/contact-us.html and call Gov. Dayton 651 201 3400.
2. Reduce the chemicals you use in your yard, and plant bird friendly plants like cone flowers, little blue stem grass, cup plant, and Joe Pye Weed. These are just a few ideas that are easy to grow and birds love these plants.
3. Leave your car at home or carpool at least one day a week to reduce pollution.
4. Reduce plastic consumption and recycle all plastic bags.
Community facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/birdsafestadium
Health4earth 