Food As Medicine: A True Farm-To-Hospital Food Program

St. Luke's Rodale Organic Farm

Rodale Institute and St. Luke’s University Health Network launched a true farm to hospital food program. The Anderson Campus at St. Luke’s has over 300 acres of farmland, much of which had historically been farmed conventionally with crops like corn and soy. The hospital administration recognized the impact that providing fresh, local organic produce could have on patient health and approached Rodale Institute to transition the land to organic and farm vegetables to be used in patient meals as well as in the cafeteria.

Continue reading...

Loliware: (Dis)Solving Our Disposable Cup Problem

Loliware founders Leigh Ann Tucker and Chelsea Briganti

“Loliware was born because, as designers, we wanted to have fun getting super-creative with a material, but we have a bigger vision that Loliware will replace a percentage of the plastic cups destined for the landfill.”

Continue reading...

Designer Curates Luxury Eco-fashion Boutique

Fiercely Green - Non-toxic Apparel

“Eco-fashion is slowly increasing its footprint and influence. As more people become aware of the harsh cost of current manufacturing practices, as well as, availability of more positive options, the switch toward greener processes will hopefully become inevitable. The smaller designers, such as those on FiercelyGreen are able to pivot their supply chain much faster than the big established brands, at the same time their influence is very limited by their size, which is why it is so important to give them visibility because of the green ripple effect they will help to perpetuate in the industry in the future.”

Continue reading...

Happiness Holiday to You…

May this be a reminder that you are so needed in this world, at this time, to be the good, the change, the one (and you know what that is for you). If you are waiting for something to shift to do that, to be that, then don’t. The time is now.

Happiness holiday to you and your family. May you have the courage this year to just say YES.

From all of us at Women Of Green

Continue reading...

20 Sustainability Trends 2013

Here is a list of 20 sustainability trends that are changing the landscape. We’re keeping our eyes on these…

1. From economic collapse to a green economic recovery. Interest in all things “green” continues to grow as the economy sinks. About 34 percent of people are now more likely to buy environmentally responsible products, and 44 percent say that their environmental shopping habits have not changed during this downturn. Businesses are realizing the ability to minimize costs through environmentally conscious operations.

2. From carbon footprint confusion to footprint awareness. More than half of the global population is aware of the term “carbon footprint,” up from 38 percent in 2007. As this awareness grows, consumers will likely drive the sustainability market by demanding low carbon products.

3. From carbon offset doubt to market development. More companies will continue to offset carbon emissions, with an expected growth in the global carbon offset market of 20 percent in 2009. Despite this prediction, Clownfish hope that there will be a stronger trend for direct reductions rather than offsetting; as the old saying goes, “prevention is better than cure.”

4. From carbon-centric to water-centric. The UK has become obsessed with carbon footprints, but now the term water footprint has entered the corporate vocabulary. About 2.6 billion people have no access to clean water, a problem not isolated to developing countries. Businesses will no longer be able to ignore their water use and efficiency.

Continue reading...

How NOT to make a holiday mess

A few sobering statistics about holiday waste are helpful when it comes to getting motivated to go green for the holidays. More than 30 million living Fir trees are cut in U.S. for Christmas each year. There’s no eco relief, however, in choosing a fake trees instead, because these plastic trees often contain non-biodegradable PVC and possible metal toxins, such as lead.

Continue reading...

Is Oprah pulling a Paul Newman?

We’ll admit that we only have the vaguest idea of what the media maven has been up to since she ended her reign as the queen of daytime talk (we think we get OWN—like on channel 176 or something). But now comes news that Oprah might be getting into the organics game.

According to recent filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, Oprah—or, no doubt, her lawyers—has registered trademarks for “Oprah’s Organics,” “Oprah’s Farm” and “Oprah’s Harvest,” reports the New York Post.

A PR rep seemed to downplay the story, saying: “The trademarks were filed for Oprah’s farm on Maui to enable the farm to grow and distribute produce on Maui and throughout the Hawaiian I

Continue reading...

GMOs making American’s fat?

Among all developed countries, Americans are the fattest people in the world. The World Health Organization found over 60% of the American population is obese or overweight. Even more disturbing, the U.S. is the only country in the developed world to label obesity a national security health risk. Top Pentagon officials have warned Americans are becoming so fat, most of those volunteering for the Army are disqualified because of their size. Child obesity is also on the rise in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control estimates 1 in every 3 American kids are either obese or overweight. Jeffrey Smith, the author of Seeds of Deception, points to the mass production and consumption of genetically modified foods in the U.S. as a possible source of the problem.

So tell food manufacturers: Get your GMOs out of our plants.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Continue reading...

BP stands for Big Payout

BP will plead guilty to manslaughter charges stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and agreed to pay $4.5 billion in government penalties, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Thursday.

Of the penalties, $4 billion will resolve criminal charges. An additional $525 million will be paid to resolve claims brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission that BP lied to investors by understating the amount of oil flowing into the Gulf.

Separate from the corporate manslaughter charges, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging the two highest-ranking BP supervisors on board the Deepwater Horizon on the day of the explosion with 23 criminal counts. The two men were charged with seaman’s manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter for each of the 11 men killed in the blast, as well as a criminal violation of the clean water act.

The grand jury also charged BP’s second-highest ranking representative at the company’s unified command post with hiding information from Congress and allegedly lying to law enforcement officials.

The company also will plead guilty to a felony count of obstruction of Congress, a misdemeanor count under the Clean Water Act and a misdemeanor count under the Migratory Bird Treaty.

Holder said the dollar amount of the penalties and the criminal charges against both the company and individuals are unprecedented.

Continue reading...

Who are the Top Ten Women Of Green?

We sending a BIG SHOUT OUT to our community. That’s you. And your friends. And your friend’s friends. We’re looking for the Top Ten Women Of Green. Women who are stepping out and making a BIG POSITIVE IMPACT on the planet. We know you know one. Send us her name, what she’s up to and why you think she should be on our Top Ten list. The time is now.

 

Continue reading...