Eco-Friendly

Green-Certified Restaurants for Earth Day Dining

by Jessie Cacciola, Posted Apr 22nd 2011 @ 2:00PM

Brasserie Jo restaurant (Boston) Brasserie Jo, Boston. Photo: colonnade, Flickr

If you're not celebrating Earth Day by dining at one of the many Earth Dinners we offered to you earlier this week, take comfort in one of these green-certified spots approved by the only non-profit that can: the Green Restaurant Association (GRA). This 20-year-old, nationally recognized program is backed by Energy Star and the Environmental Defense Fund. To get an approval from this group, your establishment needs to be Stryfoam-free, recycle-friendly (and compost, if available) and use sustainable food and water.

"The Green Restaurant Association is proud to have attracted scores of highly esteemed restaurants from across the United States," said Michael Oshman, founder and executive director of the GRA, in a statement. Most recognizable: Le Bernardin, Mario Batali's empire, Microsoft corporate cafés, Hyatt hotels, Panera and Jamba Juice. Not to leave anyone out, here's the full list.

Filed under: Restaurants, Eco-Friendly

Celebrate Earth Day at a National Earth Dinner Near You

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by Jessie Cacciola, Posted Apr 19th 2011 @ 3:00PM

Photo: Earth Dinner

We're all for putting things into the ground on Earth Day (April 22), but we also really love eating what comes out of it. For the third consecutive year, non-profit Chefs Collaborative is hosting fundraising Earth Dinners on dates surrounding Earth Day, where chefs from 65 restaurants (and counting) across the country will serve up the best that our early spring harvest has to offer -- think ramps, fiddleheads, and all your regional in-season produce.

Proceeds will benefit the national chefs' network Chefs Collaborative, which works to build education around sustainable practices through events like this. What's more, dairy conglomerate Organic Valley is sponsoring the events and will be matching donations up to $10,000.

"Chefs in cities and towns across the country have really stepped up to the plate to hold delicious dinners in celebration of Earth Day -- and in particular, to put a spotlight on sustainable and organic choices," said Melissa Kogut, executive director of Chefs Collaborative, in a statement.

Filed under: Events, Eco-Friendly

Would You Drive A Car Made From Bananas?

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by Jessie Cacciola, Posted Mar 29th 2011 @ 3:00PM

Photo: Arif Ali, AFP / Getty Images

Proving nature is, in fact, often better than anything coming off a conveyor belt, we may soon have cars made from pineapples, bananas and coconuts. All of these fruits have fibrous cellulose (nanocellulose) which rivals widely-used Kevlar in strength, reports Wired. Plus, the nanocellulose plastic is lighter than many widely used materials and also biodegradable.

The material would be renewable and decomposable (as long as it's not combined with petroleum-based plastics) -- and a lighter car means a lower gas bill. (Ford is already hoping to slim their vehicles by 250 to 750 pounds, notes Wired.) In a statement, Alcides Leão, a researcher at São Paulo State University, says the material is "30 percent lighter and three to four times stronger." That's because a plant's main cell wall, where cellulose is found, can be processed to yield fibers so tight that 50,000 fit within the diameter of a human hair.

Leão and his team are still working in small quantities in the lab so there's no telling yet how much nanocellulose plastic will cost, but it won't be cheap. Though if it takes off in the automotive world, high production would knock down the price. And it's cost-effective: A pound of nanocellulose yields 100 pounds of plastic.

Once this technology catches on, watch out -- Leão says he's working on steel and aluminum alternatives next.

Filed under: Food News, Eco-Friendly

U.S. Food Industry To Trim Packaging Waste by 4 Billion Pounds

COMMENTS 1

by Jessie Cacciola, Posted Mar 24th 2011 @ 12:00PM

plastic water bottles Photo: ntr23, Flickr

From thinning plastic bottles to decomposable potato chip bags, sustainable packaging has hit the marketplace in full force. In fact, from 2005 to 2010 more than 1.5 billion pounds of packaging was diverted from landfills, says a new survey from the Grocery Manufacturers Association. And for the next decade, the goal is to cut another 2.5 billion pounds off that "waste line."

The survey, titled Reducing Our Footprint, was done by McKinsely and Georgetown Economic Services, and details the poll of 14 top companies in the food, beverage and consumer products industries. They don't reveal specific company names, but their findings show that the industry at large is on track to reduce packaging weight by 19 percent, or 2.5 billion pounds, by 2020. That's the energy-saving equivalent of removing 363,000 homes or 815,000 gas-guzzlers.

Filed under: Food News, Eco-Friendly

McDonald's Courts Sustainability

COMMENTS 34

by Nanette Maxim, Posted Mar 11th 2011 @ 2:00PM

McDonald's Photo: Rafa from Brazil, Flickr

Sustainability has become the go-to word for every corporation in the U.S.and McDonald's is no exception. The burger giant recently announced what it's calling its Sustainable Land Management Commitment (SLMC). In a press release that sounds a bit like a "Spider-Man" script, the company states that "McDonald's ... accept[s] the responsibility that comes with our global presence," by requiring that over a period of time, all agricultural raw materials will be supplied only from sustainably managed land. (McDonald's also admits that since it "does not actually produce any of the food we ultimately serve our customers, it's essential that we work with suppliers who share our values.")

What does that mean, exactly? If "sustainability" gives you images of a family farm sending their free-range chickens to a McDonald's supplier, think again. What it does mean is that McDonald's sat down with the World Wildlife Fund, and "other stakeholders" (including fellow corporate megaliths such as Walmart, as well as suppliers) and came up with five products to concentrate on making better: beef, poultry, coffee, palm oil, and food packaging. It is also joining various Global Roundtables (on beef, and responsible palm oil production).

See the details on McDonald's Sustainable Land Management Commitment, after the jump:

Filed under: Eco-Friendly, Chain Stores / Restaurants

A Fee for Using Plastic Bags: Is Your State Next?

COMMENTS 56

by Jessie Cacciola, Posted Feb 7th 2011 @ 2:00PM

plastic bags being banned Photo: AlishaV, Flickr

Choosing not to bring a reusable bag to the grocery store might cost you in the near future. Lawmakers in Connecticut have proposed a bill that would charge 5 cents for plastic or paper bag use, with a hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Plastic bags are already taxed in D.C., and Oregon has similar legislation in the works.

The 5-cent fee proposed by Connecticut lawmakers would be used for municipal recycling efforts, reports the Associated Press, but it also serves as a deterrent. Now that resuable totes are easy to come by (most grocery stores have them for sale), environmentalists want plastics done away with.

Filed under: Stores & Shopping, Eco-Friendly

USDA To Introduce "Biobased" Label

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by Jessie Cacciola, Posted Jan 20th 2011 @ 5:00PM

USDA sample label for new biobased packaging Photo: USDAgov, Flickr

There's a new eco label coming out this spring to address products -- like water bottles and grocery bags -- made with bio-based ingredients (primarily corn), which decompose instead of requiring recycling: "USDA Certified Biobased Product."

Totally Green, for example, produces a corn-based water bottle that can be composted along with other food waste, and plans to use the label as soon as it is released, reports the Des Moines Register. Unfortunately, compostable chip bags never caught on thanks to their insanely loud crinkling, but these water bottles have no noise issues, so perhaps they'll have better luck.

Cotton and wool products won't apply because the program is intended to support the agricultural commodity market. That being corn, of course. Look for the label on anything from dish soap bottles to skin-care products. Will you make the switch?

Filed under: Science, Food News, Food Politics, Eco-Friendly

Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver Accused of Fish Hypocrisy

COMMENTS 3

by the Editors at TheStir, Posted Jan 18th 2011 @ 12:00PM

Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay served endangered eel Photos: BAUER-GRIFFIN.COM; George Pimentel / WireImage.com

Chefs Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver talk the talk about sustainable fishing, and even appear on the BBC show "The Big Fish Fight," where they go to the source, and supposedly walk the walk. But, report the editors at TheStir, both chefs have been caught red-handed serving unstainable fish at their restaurants. What were the two star chefs putting on the plate that caused the ruckus? Find out at TheStir.

Watch episodes of BBC's "The Big Fish Fight" online.

Filed under: Food Politics, Celebrities, Chefs, Eco-Friendly

Introducing Jelloware: Edible Cups

COMMENTS 5

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Jan 14th 2011 @ 3:00PM

Photo: The Way We See The World

We couldn't help but do a double-take when we stumbled upon these edible Jell-O cups over on The Kitchn. "Jelloware" started out as an entry in a Jell-O mold competition and now the ladies behind this clever invention are all over the internet.

The cups come in different flavors -- lemon-basil, ginger-mint, or rosemary-beet -- and are made of a gelatin substitute. They're also an environmentally friendly option to their less-tasty counterpart, the plastic cup.

Continue reading (and for more photos): Jelloware edible cups (P.S. They're vegan!)

Filed under: Eco-Friendly

The Greenest Restaurant in America

COMMENTS 1

by Clare Leschin-Hoar, Posted Dec 16th 2010 @ 4:00PM

Photo: The Grey Plume

Move over Portland, Seattle and Boston, you bastions of tree-hugging, earth-friendly eco-action. It's official. The greenest restaurant in America is in Omaha, Nebraska. That's right...Omaha.

The restaurant, The Grey Plume, was crowned by the Green Restaurant Association (GRA) after they broke two GRA records. It's the first restaurant in the country to meet the association's SustainaBuild standard, and has accumulated the most GRA points to-date of the nearly 315 restaurants participating in the certification program.

According to chef Clayton Chapman, those greening efforts included specifics like the installation of energy efficient lighting, construction of the bar, booths, doors, flooring and more from renewable or reclaimed wood; using compostable or recycled material in to-go packaging; integrating a full-scale recycling and composting program, and much more.

While some green-facility advocates say the greenest building is one that's already in existence, Chapman says the restaurant's initiatives were made possible because they're part of Omaha's new Midtown Crossing project.

"In order to do what we did, you have to start from scratch," says Chapman. "Our sustainability efforts were things we were going to do whether we were certified or not, but certification keeps everyone honest, and helped us implement all these green initiatives -- everything from sourcing things like soda to recycled drywall."

Filed under: Eco-Friendly