Eco-Mamas

Good Tea, Very Good Tea

In this month's issue of Natural Awakenings, there is a simple, direct article reminding us why we should pass on the skinny caramel latte double foam and go straight for tea-- especially green tea.

You have never had to convince me about the virtues of a leafy warm beverage-- for some reason, even though my Mom was always a Folgers drinker, I followed my Dad's preference of hot Liptons in the evening. It wasn't the health qualities tea brings with it after steeping, but the mere warm-y goodness of it.  Drinking tea, even at my desk on a busy afternoon, opens for me whole moments of pause, time to just sip and commune with my thoughts.

Tea, in some way, has a direct line from my lips to the slower part of my brain, it seems. No matter how much I love to indulge in cup of sweetened-cream Dunkin D's coffee (a poor substitute for Tim Hortons I might add), I still consider myself, truly a tea drinker.

If you are wondering what I buy in the tea aisle, it has recently come down to two brands: Numi and Yogi. Recently I decided to fully commit to organic teas, and I go back and forth between Yogi and Numi. Yogi Tea, made in Eugene, Ore., has a mad variety, but they are not entirely organic. Still I am charmed by their recent re-branding, especially the thoughtful teabag-tag and yoga-on-the-box advice.

Numi, out of Oakland, Calif., is a bit more serious, intense and rich, slightly more expensive (not by much) with a wilder undercurrent. When I hold a box of Numi in my hand, it feels like a commitment-- a very good one.

So, if you happen by the Wild Harvest aisle of Shaw's and spot of woman standing, gazing lovingly at the shelves of tea, say hi. I'm often there, visiting the boxes, seeing what is new, trying to resist.

Pouches or Cans?

Dear EarthTalk: Many foods like tuna and pet foods that formerly were sold only in cans are now available in “pouches” as well.  Is this kind of packaging less harmful to the environment or just cheaper to make for the seller?     -- Stefanie Galdolfi, Oakland, CA

 

Food pouches, which are made from a combination of food-grade aluminum foil, plastic and adhesives, do appear to have some front-end environmental advantages over the cans they are increasingly replacing on supermarket shelves. However, they are not as easily recycled.

Food pouches take up far less space and weight (in both warehouses and on supermarket shelves) and are simpler to manufacture than tin-coated steel cans. Minneapolis-based flexible packaging manufacturer Kapak Corporation reports that one truckload of the pouches it makes has the same holding capacity as 25 truckloads of traditional rigid containers (cans), and saves as much as 96 percent in warehouse storage space. The company also says its pouches use 75 percent less energy than cans to manufacture, and that they reduce the amount of source materials needed to make cans by a factor of 25 to one.

According to Anthony Andrady, author of the 2003 book, Plastics and the Environment, the pouches used to store Whiskas cat food require 30 percent less retorting time (retorting is the process of pressurizing the interior of the vessel to ensure it is sterilized) than the 10 ounce steel cans they replaced because the pouch can be heated more evenly and quickly. “That translates directly into reduced energy use for the retorting process and probably into a decrease in the amount of cooling water required as well,” he says.

On the down side, most of these pouches, despite their upfront advantages, are destined for the landfill once they are empty because their multi-material construction makes them difficult to recycle. Some manufacturers, like California-based Flex Products Inc., are working on variations of the pouch that are less complex and inherently more recyclable than what’s on supermarket shelves right now, but such products may be years away from widespread adoption. Nevertheless, technological improvements could make recycling of pouches more feasible in the future.

Great, Organic Tea

I can't help it, I'm a tea snob. I've always loved Harney & Son's hot teas like Hot Cinnamon Sunset, and the fact that they're made locally in Salisbury, CT made me feel good about buying them. So when I heard that they have a new line of organic iced teas with only 5 grams of organic cane sugar and honey per bottle, I was in heaven! They have Peach, Bangkok, Green, Black Currant and Plain Pekoe, but I've yet to taste any because at this point these bottles are sold only by the case. If anyone out knows of a shop that sells individual bottles, please let us know!

Bottled Water is FAR from Green

A report today by ABC News claims that Minneapolis, MN, Ann Arbor MI, San Franscisco, CA, and Salt Lake City, UT have banned bottled water. Why? It's B-A-D for the environment.

According to the report by ABC News we throw away more than 30 billion plastic water bottles a year, which is enough to circle the Earth 150 times. And if you think lots of people are recycling, think again. Four out of five plastic bottles end up in landfills--but not before they travel 2,500-5,000+ miles where they're stored in your local, energy-hogging store until you drive your car to the store, buy the water, and drive back home.

What can you do? Lots. Read this indepth article titled, How to Green Your Water by TreeHugger; Click here for a full list of home water purification systems available in Connecticut; and email Jodi Rell to ban bottled water in our State.

Reasons to Eat Locally

By Keyra Scovill

As we continue to hear about leafy greens like spinach and lettuce that’s been tainted by microscopic bacterial life forms, it seems foolish not to ask, what can we do to ensure that the food we eat doesn’t make us roll over tomorrow morning, ill?

For one thing, we can avoid factory farming. Factory farming means that animals raised, primarily for slaughter, are penned extremely small spaces.  Besides the bounty of animal rights violations committed, there is also the issue of hoarding animal waste. Such waste, according to an article by the EPA,  “… must include stricter construction requirements for wastewater lagoons…regular inspections… [and]… the re-use of properly managed animal waste as fertilizer and other agricultural applications”. While the recommendation is there, the action is not.

In fact most of the time, the animal waste and chemical fertilizers and pesticides contained in the water from factory farm disposal sites makes its way into nearby groundwater that's then used to irrigate crops, or into stormwater runoff.

The good news is, we don't have to worry about our food making us sick when we buy locally or participate in a food Co-op. When we get to know who is growing our food we can answer, Where is my food coming from? What practices is the farmer using to grow the food I'm about to eat? Instead, we can sit back, relax and enjoy.

Make Your Neighbors Green with Envy

By Heather Burns-DeMelo

Home composting is a cheap and effective way to make your garden flourish, recycle food scraps and lawn waste, and cut down on the amount of trash that ends up in our bursting-at-the-seams landfills. To find out how, read this step-by-step guide.

Think it's too time consuming? That's what I thought too, until I saw how much time it saved me with not having to fertilize, weed, or water my plants as much or as often. If you're still not convinced to do it yourself, check out this list of places to buy locally produced compost.