When you were going through school, did you ever think about the cafeteria trays? Trays have been a hot topic in university cafeterias recently. Many colleges and universities have been going trayless over the past couple of years. In fact, several of them started their 'no tray' policy on Earth Day this year.
There are two main arguments for going trayless: it leads to less food waste by students as well as less water waste in cleaning the trays. According to CNN, colleges in drought-stricken states are more concerned about the water waste. Fifty to 60% percent of colleges served by Aramark are getting rid of trays, and in a study conducted by the comapny food waste was reduced by 25% to 30% when trays were taken out of the picture.
Wasted Food has been covering this trend for quite some time, and has seen a lot of the backlash to the new trayless movement. I can understand the inconvenience the students face in all of this, but I personally think that finding ways to prevent waste trumps any individual complaints. What's your take on the trayless movement?
Are you baking Earth Day-themed cookies? Making an organic fruit salad? Walking to the grocery store (with your reusable bag, of course)? Finally starting your own compost pile?
Yes, y'all, we are making way through some earth-friendly products and ways to live as we near Earth Day, which is next Sunday, April 22. We've already seen Green Chocolate from food blogger Sean Timberlake, using bamboo in the kitchen and on the table, and today, these are just a half-dozen foods that are considered earth-friendly. Yes, as sad as it would seem to think that the foods we eat, which come from the earth, could be bad for the planet, these are a few things that are grown sustainably, or in some way cut down on the impact that transport, packaging, etc. have on the environment.
Edible Indoor Miniature Garden - Instead of using all that energy to go out to the market to buy a salad, grow one on your desk!
Of course we know that Earth day should be every day, but sometimes a special day like Earth Day, which is Sunday, April 22, is a good reminder to take good care of this planet on which we live.
One way to do that, aside from choosing earth-friendly chocolate when indulging, is by using bamboo kitchenware. Bamboo is a plant that grows quickly, which means it is highly renewable, which means it works for sustainable living. Anything in your kitchen or on your dining table that is plain old "wood," you can switch to bamboo -- serving trays, salad bowls, dinner plates, and cutting boards. And what a lovely thing that bamboo looks so pretty, too.
Biobags are storage bags made from completely natural and
biodegradable materials. Although they resemble plastic bags, they are made from cornstarch - and even the corn is
certified as non-GMO. The material used to make them is actually a "bioplastic" called Mater-Bi, which is made by an Italian company that specializes in
finding alternatives to petroleum-based plastics.
Biobags allow the produce (or anything else) placed inside them to “breathe”, so heat and moisture will
be wicked away, reducing the chance of bacterial buildup and even keeping produce fresh longer. It will also reduce the
odors from trash and other waste products. The bags, if placed in a compost pile, will break down completely
within 10-45 days, and will achieve the same result, albeit at a somewhat slower rate, in a natural setting. This means
that they're great for taking along as storage on picnics and camping trips in addition to home use, just in case you
lose track of any bags while you're out in the woods.
The bags are available online and come in a
variety of sizes, including everything from grocery bags (pictured) to trash can liners to doggie bags.
Everyone needs to grocery shop at some point, fueling the continuing desire to live, even if you're not a big fan of
doing your own cooking. Grocery stores have their own standards for packing bags based upon how to enable your foods to
travel well: cold items with cold items, produce in one bag, don't cram too much in. The last rule is the one that gets
tricky because sometimes it seems like you end up with 10 bags for 10 items when you're leaving the store. It could be
more, if some of the plastic ones are doubled-bagged. Recycling the paper and plastic bags is an excellent idea, but
switching to canvas grocery bags is an even better one. They are reusable, so they help cut down on waste, and many
stores will even give you a per-bag discount for bringing them in! The bags can be purchased at many supermarkets, as
well as being available online, and will pay for themselves in a few uses. They
usually cost from $7-12.
Organic Valley, a
Wisconsin-based cooperative of farmers has teamed up with Chef's
Collaborative to provide an epicurean way to celebrate Earth Day.
The idea behind the Earth Dinner is to create a themed dinner party where you and
your guests connect with the food by discussing its geographic origin as well as how it was grown or produced. There's
even a set of cards available to help spur conversation with such themes as "First bite: Describe the very first
time you tasted something you picked off a tree,vine, stem or pulled out of the ground."
The coolest
thing about the Earth Dinner though is that they've gathered five chefs from around the U.S. to create menus featuring
everything from sorrel salad with creamy dressing to shrimp and grits with asparagus.
This year's lineup is:
Biobags
Everyone needs to grocery shop at some point, fueling the continuing desire to live, even if you're not a big fan of
doing your own cooking. Grocery stores have their own standards for packing bags based upon how to enable your foods to
travel well: cold items with cold items, produce in one bag, don't cram too much in. The last rule is the one that gets
tricky because sometimes it seems like you end up with 10 bags for 10 items when you're leaving the store. It could be
more, if some of the plastic ones are doubled-bagged. Recycling the paper and plastic bags is an excellent idea, but
switching to canvas grocery bags is an even better one. They are reusable, so they help cut down on waste, and many
stores will even give you a per-bag discount for bringing them in! The bags can be purchased at many supermarkets, as
well as being 
Organic Valley
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