"green" news and stories

Whether bleeding heart or staunchly red, most people agree there's nothing wrong with going green. Sure, we might be able to argue the science behind global warming, but eco-minded products aren't going to harm anybody (unless you've stumbled upon some crazy conspiracy theory I haven't heard about.) So if some brewers want to join the fray of environmentally friendly foodstuffs, I say relax, grab an organic beer and try what the other 364 days of the year call a green beer.

What actually makes a beer "green" is a subject of some debate. Planet Green states, "There are a few ways a beer can be considered green: It can be brewed via environmentally friendly processes, or made with green ingredients like pesticide and chemical-free organic barley and hops." Also important to consider are packaging and shipping. (Planet Green suggest choosing glass and local micro-breweries, respectively.)

Since minimizing fossil fuel usage goes into the eco-equation, drinking regional brews becomes all that more important if you want to be as green as possible. Therefore, Planet Green is suggesting green beers (such as Orlio, pictured here) by region starting with the East Coast. I'm sure other areas are to follow (though they don't say when).

As an unrecommened alternative, if you're seeking a less eco-friendly way of "getting as green as possible," try drinking about 20 of any beer in one sitting (toilet bowl not included).

[via Huffington Post] [Photo Credit: orlio.net]

Source

As soon as I hear the word "mint," my ears perk up. The dish could be green, white, orange, purple, or red -- I wouldn't care. (I might be intrigued why a mint dish was orange, purple, or red, but it wouldn't necessarily deter me.) But it seems some people do.

Over at the Accidental Hedonist, Kate Hopkins recently posted about the world of green food coloring and mint. While mint oil might be clear, we've all seen the waves of green that are often linked to the flavor. But why? In a discussion with a representative from Rogers' Chocolate, she learned that at least in their world, sales dictate the green = mint philosophy. When Rogers' offered a regular mint ice cream without food coloring, the sales were okay. When they colored it green -- "sales for their mint ice cream increased twenty-fold."

Is the world overrun by leprechauns? I could see green ice cream behing handy for St. Patrick's Day, but would you really ignore a mint-flavored product if it wasn't green?

There's a lot of talk about greening in the wine industry, from sustainability to carbon neutral wine to a Green Wine Summit for industry players this year. Well, it turns out there really is no such thing as waste when it comes to wine: Canadian winemaker Vincor Canada has announced that it will produce clean electric power from leftover grape skins and pulp at its three Niagara wineries. The energy company will convert about 3,500 tons of waste per year into clean power.

Other "green" wine efforts include making bottles lighter for transport, switching to alternative packaging like Tetra-paks, PET bottles, and boxes, using solar panels to generate electricity to run the winery (in sunny California, wineries who invest in this kind of passive energy usually end up with a surplus), and composting old vines to make a healthy soil additive for the vineyard. As the green wine movement gains steam, industry experts wonder: will consumers buy because it's green, or are they still all about taste?

To which I say, why not both? Some of the best wines I've had were sustainably produced. Frog's Leap Zinfandel, Grgich Hills Chardonnay, and Torres Priorat Salmos come to mind. Do you think "green" wine tastes better?

Source

In the era of "green" mink coats and "green" toenail polish, it's no surprise that there's a ton of advice out there on how to grill green this summer. Here are some of the top hints from across the wide, wide Web.

AOL Food has a whole slew of green tips. Try using a chimney starter rather than lighter fluid to get your briquettes going - it puts off way less CO2.

The Green Daily suggests buying a hybrid grill, so you can use the more efficient electric or gas element for the main source of heat and burn just a bit of wood for that charred aroma.

Char your burgers with environmentally-friendly charcoal: Nature's Grilling all-natural charcoal has no added chemicals or fillers, just pure carbonized wood. Their briquettes, they say, burn hotter and longer with less ash and no acrid aftertaste. Plus, they're made from wood harvested from region's that meet strict "resource management practices" and the company claims to plant 1,000,000 trees a year to lower their carbon footprint. Cowboy Charcoal also promises all-natural charcoal with no petroleum taste.

The Sierra Club lists their favorite environmentally-friendly grills. Consider a solar grill, like the Sport Solar Oven. At just ten pounds, you can carry it on picnics, on your boat and to the beach. On a sunny day, it can reach temperatures up to 260 degrees in the United States, up to 300 degrees in equatorial regions.

Lastly, use a non-toxic cleaner, like SoyClean BBQ Grill Cleaner, a soy-based product which is biodegradable, easy on your hands, and doesn't emit caustic fumes. Orange Plus cleanser is phosphate free and biodegradable, but promises to get the touch greasy bits off the grill.

You can even buy completely biodegradable disposable plates made of sugar cane and cornstarch, from Simply Biodegradable. Throw it all away in their compostable eco garbage bags, and Al Gore will come paste a gold star on your forehead.

The feature story this week is on the "greening" of Chicago, with farmers' markets returning to new locations with sustainable produce. The Tribune shares some tips for shopping at the farmers' market, as well as recipes from cookbooks that focus on market fresh produce: Scallops with three peas and prosciutto from Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes, Savory mashed potatoes with garden herbs from Rosalind Creasy's Recipes from the Garden, Butter Lettuce Salad from Fresh, and Watercress, snow pea and shiitake mushroom stir-fry from The Farm to Table Cookbook: The Art of Eating Locally.

Food prices are rising, so shop smartly at the grocery store, and take a hint from the Leftover Queen.

Source