"reusable bags" news and stories

Are you thinking about an environmentally friendly gift idea for a foodie this holiday season? What can be more functional and environmentally aware than a tote bag to bring to farmer's markets or the grocery store?

Lately, I've been trying stop accumulating plastic bags when grocery shopping. So, I've been purchasing different kinds of tote bags. A great source online for reusable bags is Eco-Bags. Founder and CEO Sharon Rowe started the company 20 years ago with the intention to "clean up the planet one bag at a time." Recently, Eco-Bags has joined forces with DoSomething, the nation's largest non-profit organization that works with young adults to help them take action with issues that they feel strongly about.

Eco-Bags has designed a bag stating "Yes we will!" instead of "Yes we can!" The bags cost $11.99 and 15 percent of the money goes towards the organization DoSomething. So, if you yourself are still moved by the previous election or know someone who is, I highly suggest purchasing this tote bag. As Eco-Bags states, "It's a walking billboard for social action and change."

We've heard a lot about reusable grocery bags this year. Not only did Whole Foods stop supplying plastic grocery bags on Earth Day this year, but the city of San Francisco banned them as well.

There is certainly no shortage of reusable shopping bags out there, but Whole Foods is rolling out one with some celebrity power behind it. The organic grocery store chain has teamed up with Sheryl Crow, who designed the new bag. The bag features the design of a tree with some of Sheryl's words on it and is made from 80% post consumer product.

I think I'll check it out next time I'm in Whole Foods. What do you think?

[via Just Food]

These days, more than ever, issues of food and the environment overlap one another. Our friends over at Green Daily have been busy this week, blogging about all sorts of green food issues. Here's some of what they had to say.

The Lazio region of Italy is adding organic fruit to local vending machines. They are doing this to make healthy food more accessible and to fight against childhood obesity. I wish that vending machines in this country dispensed organic fruit.

Bluefin tuna is overfished and so several countries have agreed to limit fishing in the Atlantic and Mediterranean oceans. This means less tuna for sushi bars and so some chefs in Japan are experimenting with other options, including raw horsemeat sushi.

Taking your own reusable bags to the grocery store is the thing to do these days. Check out clerks have mostly adapted to this practice and often ask me for my bags before I can even offer them. However, one woman had her bags refused and Patricia asks Green Daily readers if anyone else has had this experience.

Dalene tries to answer the question: Where to find local, organic, farm fresh food year round?

After a visit to a chicken farm, Jamie Oliver was horrified by the treatment of the chickens. He is now working to improve living conditions for chickens and is asking people in the UK to pony up the extra money it costs to buy a free range bird.

Organic maple syrup comes from trees that are pesticide-free for life. The number of taps allowed in those trees is also limited so as not to oversap the trees. Looking for places to buy organic syrup? Check out Laura's post!

The 100 foot diet challenge means preparing meals that are grown or raised within 100 feet of your home and use as few store bought ingredients as possible. Oh to have a backyard and the space in which to grow some food!

Source

By the time I got to high school, I was totally responsible for my own lunch. I got $20 a week for allowance and any movies, outings with friends, cafeteria lunches and after school treats had to come from that twenty. I brought my lunch a lot to save my pennies for the other, more fun, activities. Because I didn't want to eat the same thing, day after day, I learned to think creatively when it came to packing my lunch. Here were some of my favorites.

We almost always had tortillas in the fridge. I'd squirt a strip of honey mustard down the center and lay down a couple of slices of turkey and a lettuce leaf. Rolled up and cut in half, it made a quick sandwich that was tasty and fairly squish-resistant.

I'd throw together an assortment of baby carrots, sliced cucumber and cherry tomatoes to dip into a container of hummus (we typically had the large container from Trader Joe's in the fridge, and I'd put some in a smaller tupperware to take along).