Our Right 2 Know!

“Democratic progress requires the ready availability of true and complete information. In this way people can objectively evaluate their government’s policy. To act otherwise is to give way to despotic secrecy.”

We all have a ‘Right to Know’ before we make decisions that will effect our health, happiness, lives & future. it is that simple. Get educated. Take a stand. It is your RIGHT 2 KNOW!  This new category of posts & information will bring attention to current issues that we all have a ‘Right to Know’ about.
The theme for the Sustainability Road Show tour this year is Right2Know – so I am inspired to start  a blog with themes of Right2Know that they could use!  Zack sez to think about this…
…we have the right2know about GMO’s.
We have the right2know that .51 cents per every tax dollar goes to fund military initiatives
We have the right2know the environmental effects of chevron’s drilling in the Amazon.

The R2K moment has been around for years – all over the world – mostly to do with Freedom of Information, Government Legislation & Hazardous Substances facts.

SO – Let’s stretch the definition back, back – to the common commonsensical right to know what we are putting into our mouths, what we are drinking & what we are breathing.  The commons includes the Earth, the Air, The Water.  it is our Right to Know when they have been changed or altered from the pure sources of life that all beings on this planet rely on.

Right to know is a concept that is both common sense as well as crucial to the health and stability of a community. Individuals in communities around the world are exposed to harmful pollutants and in some cases disasters in which were cased by corporation’s neglect. As a result, many have died and even more have been injured or have been stricken with detrimental health problems. Due to the demand for a decline in tragic events as well as safe living environments, Right to know has been pushed to indirectly restrict the harmful actions of corporations. With the ability to research one’s pollutant emissions, corporation are less inclined to pollute and carry out harmful environmental effect.

Here are some R2K websites & links to give you background for our discussion.

“Right to know“, in the context of United States workplace and community environmental law, is the legal principle that the individual has the right to know the chemicals to which they may be exposed in their daily living. It is embodied in federal law in the United States as well as in local laws in several states. “Right to Know” laws take two forms: Community Right to Know and Workplace Right to Know. Each grants certain rights to those groups. The “right to know” was a movement made popular by Rachel Carson with her book Silent Spring.

The Right2Know Campaign (R2K) is a South African nation-wide coalition of people and organisations opposed to the Protection of Information Bill – also known as the Secrecy Bill – currently before the South African parliament. The Bill will threaten hard-won constitutional rights including access to information and freedom of expression.?? R2K believes a responsive and accountable democracy able to meet the basic needs of our people is built on transparency and the free flow of information. The R2K campaign statement – “Let the truth be told. Stop the Secrecy Bill!” – demands that the Bill be drastically rewritten to bring it in line with constitutional values, or thrown out.

Australia’s Right to Know is a coalition of 12 major media companies formed in May 2007 to address concerns about free speech. The coalition is working with the Commonwealth and State governments to establish new policy and best practice to improve Australian’s relatively poor world ranking for freedom of speech. Australia’s Right to Know has also commissioned independent research into freedom of speech issues.

Canadian RTK is about information accessibility.  Freedom of information legislation refers to the regime for accessing public information held by a government. It generally indicates what information is accessible by the public and what is not, such as, personal information or information related to national security in times of war.

The Right-to-Know Network is one source, helping advocates push for improved access to government-held information on the environment, health, and safety. The Right-to-Know Network provides free access to numerous databases and resources on the environment. With the information available on RTK NET, you can identify specific factories and their environmental effects; find permits issued under environmental statutes; and identify civil cases filed.

Back to the USA…What do you want to know about?  To discuss? Corporate power, GMO Food labels, tax allocation, raids on raw milk producers, the effects of bottled water usage in your body? It is possibly endless…ok, so we prioritize>>>
What topics are the most pressing…should we specifically address first?  Fuel useage, fracking, rail funding cuts, CIA control of Facebook? [Just kidding...not!] etc, etc…so many things happening…sheezz,  how about a new discussion category called “we’re in deep shit”

Solution based ideas & comments invited, I always need a positive reason to get out of bed in the morning.

-Annie

Ethical Eating – Food and Environmental Justice

I have been watching movies & reading so many diet & health books lately – trying to get my head around the deeper ethics of diet. Beyond eating for best health – what are the other issues? For one – Food Ethics – finding a worldview that incorporates the rights of humans to choose their food with the rights of all Beings to live successfully in harmony on this finite planet. That sounds simple enough – yet, why the raging controversy? You’d think we are discussing religion or politics! Well, maybe we are…

While studying for the endocrine nutrition classes I recently taught, it became very clear that references & resources are now legion in any one camp of belief, especially with Internet resources, multiple books promoting any one theory, and very few of us capable of reading actual peer-reviewed studies. In fact – my own history of study using peer-reviews in technical journals, is that the studies themselves seem to be funded by a well-off corporation who managed to get some academics to perform the study with an intended result. Am I being cruel? Is there no way out of this entanglement of beliefs & truth?

I can only reach deep inside myself & feel my way out when this happens. The heart “knows” more than the brain when it comes to first perception. I choose from there.

Have I lost you yet?
If not – back to my topic in mind – food ethics – determining what foods humans should choose with full consideration of planetary balance & the rights of all living beings. (Let’s say all of those still alive & those who have died due to our lack of eco-ethics)

Let’s say also that… we need to BE healthy instead of BELIEVE healthy.

What food choices really work for YOU? Can you know now what to eat – in advance of the probably years it will take to see the results… once your health is compromised – or worse – wrecked?

Simple thoughts:
Whenever I can – I choose to eat locally & organically, a variety of foods produced with minimal impact on water use, soil degradation & while also recycling maximum nutrient back into an almost closed loop system. Can we artfully achieve this noble goal in our daily life – replete as it is with the temptations & delights – indeed – the wondrous tastes of foreign foods- rich roasted coffee drinks, creamy chocolate desserts, bananas, blueberries in winter, fish from foreign shores, the entire range at Trader Joes for Gods sake! In order to eat ethically you have to stay home & garden, or shop quickly with a list & get out before your eyes linger on the specialties waiting to grab your attention at checkout. The demons of imported foods are all around us.

Oh, now where was I? (as she eats cute small tangerine & handful of almonds -where were they grown? – during mini-break) I was hoping to at least give you a list of ethical discussions now in print…recommended by me in my own slanted style of current favorites…reader warning – they don’t all agree!
Viola! Finally you come to it….(forget cultural bias, availability, health theory or practice when considering this aspect of food choice)

(a partial list of “Ethical Eating” resources)

BOOKS:

Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats by Sally Fallon, Mary G. Enig PhD (A full-spectrum nutritional cookbook with a startling message–animal fats and cholesterol are vital factors in the human diet, necessary for reproduction and normal growth, proper function of the brain and nervous system, protection from disease and optimum energy levels. Includes information on how to prepare grains, health benefits of bone broths and enzyme-rich lacto-fermented foods.)

The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability - Lierre Keith (discusses alternatives to industrial farming, reveals the risks of a vegan diet, and explains why animals belong on ecologically sound farms.)

Full Moon Feast – Jessica Prentice (Jessica Prentice champions locally grown, humanely raised, nutrient-rich foods and traditional cooking methods as she recounts her relationships with local farmers alongside ancient harvest legends and methods of food preparation from indigenous cultures around the world.)

Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating by Jane Goodall (Goodall focuses more on the product of “factory farming” techniques: mountains of waste, nutritionally depleted soil, polluted water, displaced organic farmers, and severely compromised food.)

The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution by Alice Waters (the Waters mantra: eat locally and sustainably; eat seasonally; shop at farmers markets)

Hope’s Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe (eating lower on the food chain -i.e. more grains and vegetables- is crucial the key to ending worldwide hunger, author’s theory is that non-meat proteins are much more efficient and sustainable to produce)

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan (In a journey that takes us from an “organic” California chicken farm to Vermont, Pollan asks basic questions about the moral and ecological consequences of our food)

How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits (and Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops) Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine by John Jeavons (Jeavons lays out a comprehensive guide to growing the most food you can on the least amount of land in the most sustainable way – on an ongoing basis into perpetuity, most healthy both for your family, your land, and the wider world.)

MOVIES:

I am happy to see more and more “good food” documentaries coming out. While I think movies like “Food, Inc.” are important to educate us on food issues, I appreciate the solution based films even more.

DIRT! The Movie, tells the amazing and little known story of the relationship between humans and living dirt. Why Dirt?

Dirt feeds us and gives us shelter. Dirt holds and cleans our water. Dirt heals us and makes us beautiful. Dirt regulates the earth’s climate. Dirt is the ultimate natural resource for all life on earth.

Edible City: A new (more grassroots) film prides itself in showing what people are doing in their own backyards in an urban environment, and with their own resources. It shows the movers and shakers in sustainable ag in the SF Bay Area.

FRESH - Ana Joanes (“FRESH brings more of the solutions and ideas for positive change to the table while Food Inc. focuses on the overwhelming power of industrial ag, its problems and challenges, leaving the viewer very troubled.”) I really enjoyed seeing the film “Fresh” recently on the shift towards sustainable food. It was great to see Will Allen’s Growing Power. He was growing sooo much food on a small urban plot, and loves his composting worms! And I loved finally meeting farmer Joel Salatin.

Botany of Desire: Michael Pollan (takes viewers on an eye-opening exploration of the human relationship with the plant world – seen from the plants’ point of view – the apple, the tulip, marijuana and the potato – evolved to satisfy our yearnings for sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control)

Nourish: Food + Community: (With beautiful visuals and inspiring stories, Nourish traces our relationship to food from a global perspective and suggests the steps individuals can take to create a more sustainable food system and live more healthful lives.)

Want more?
Read some great thoughts…

Lia Huber about Nourish -

Further interesting discussion threads form on this vegan web page – a China Study critique. Vegan insights – yet of course – in support of my current theme of moderate eating of all healthy foods, animal or vegetable – locally grown with closed loop inputs….plus a questioning of the results of our last 10,000 years of agricultural practices & the future of food…

Invite response? Yes! I may be impatient & a poor scientist, but am an eater of food therefore deserve an opinion. Also – as avid debater in the realms of art – in which I have always thought that nutrition & food belonged – I get to enjoy my own my “taste”.

How should we eat? Damned if I truly know…yet. Can we even afford to debate this matter of ethics & choice considering the spiraling descent of food availability planetary -wide? Best to debate it while we work in the garden & rest a moment on our shovels – just in case the narrowing gap between the starving & the well-fed continues to affect more & more eaters, mainly those of us in the USA blessed with choice & variety of nutrient & taste. The debate continues even while the deserts enlarge & the waters are poisoned.

PS For those who are still concerned with the effects of diet on personal health – and I am one of them….the important discussion on health & community should remind us that it doesn’t matter how much conviction these various authorities have on their own theories, if it doesn’t work for you it’s worthless. We’ve each got to find out on our own what we should include in our own diets using the advice of others merely as a framework. Wholeness & Health? Cancer? Perfect energy? Endocrine disruption? Arthritis? Athletic prowess? It’s all around us, let’s perceive with our hearts & choose with our deepest feelings before we say grace over that next meal.

Front Page News

NOW & THEN FILM SERIES PRESENTS!

In Willits – Thursday, November 19th, 7pm

Little Lake Grange Film Night

What Would Jesus Buy?

- 2007PG 91 minutes

Taking on rampant American consumerism with a focus on Christmas shopping, the Rev. Billy (Bill Talen) and the Church of Stop Shopping go on a cross-country journey to save citizens from the Shopocalypse in this hilarious documentary produced by Morgan Spurlock.

Reminding shoppers of the true meaning of Christmas, Reverend Billy exorcises demons at Wal-Mart’s headquarters and preaches his message at the Mall of America and Disneyland.

Cast: Bill Talen

Director: Rob VanAlkemade

PLUS – a  Heartening Film of the true nature of Gifting that makes a difference in people’s lives…

Heifer International “12 Stones” documentary

See this sample – a Five-minute short of 22-minute Heifer International “12 Stones” documentary produced by Sandy Smolen.

“12 Stones” illustrates the heart of Heifer’s work: Passing on the Gift, through the transformation of a community of women in Nepal, from helplessness to hope

Join us for movies, discussion, fair trade chocolate & Organic Popcorn.  Suggested Donation $5

THE FIRST SHEAF

THE FIRST SHEAF

Ever since primitive man learned to cultivate his own crops, harvest festivals — thanksgiving ceremonies and celebrations for a successful and abundant harvest — have been carried out throughout the world.

The celebration of harvest in Britain dates back to pre-Christian times, when the success of crops governed the lives of the people. Saxon farmers offered the first cut sheaf of corn to one of their gods of fertility to ensure a good harvest the following year. Corn dollies (symbolizing the goddess of the grain) were traditionally made from the last ears of wheat to be cut.  (Referral link)

Today we cut the first sheaf of the harvest, and in fact – it is the first grain to be harvested in Mendocino County in any great amount in almost 60 years!  As the Chaplain of our Grange, I carried a sickle into the field & cut this first sheaf with prayers & thanks for abundance, and with hope that it will continue on into the future cycles – as we sow the seeds of the harvested sheaf once again in the sacred circle of life.

We of the Grange honor this time of the yearly cycle as the bountiful harvest of CERES.  The Roman Cereal Goddess Ceres is the giver of life.

I wrote a play using the initiation liturgy of the Grange (Refer to the Manual of Subordinate Granges), and some of it follows here…

We filmed some film footage today in the vineyard- with the intention that a short film about Grange, the reverence for grain & the cycles of agriculture will be made.

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Ceres: Grass is the basis of agriculture.  Without it the Earth would be arid, barren waste.  It is emblematic of man’s transitory state upon the earth, and of a brighter and more glorious truth. (page 21)

Lecturer: Ceres offers the grain that holds all of humankind in our agricultural ways – from the first ancient wild grasses that were cultivated into bold and heavy grains that can feed many from one field.  Ceres lives in the sheaf of wheat, the bundle of corn, the drying rice on the roofs of dwellings.  Her gift offers our lives stability – thusly have humans settled in one place with no need to roam nomadically, looking for foods in the wilderness.  Ceres represents the first harvests of late summer – as our life cycle turns to Adulthood, both symbolized by the Sickle and the Ripened Grain.  We are both Harvester and Gleaner.  Secure in our abundance we can begin to practice CHARITY.

Ceres: I am the giver of life, the seed becomes the sheaf, becomes the bread and the feast, from which the seed is saved for planting again.  I am all of the cycle in one.

From The Grange Manual: To live in the country and enjoy all its pleasures, we should love rural life.  To love the country is to take interest in all that belongs to it – its occupations, its culture, its improvement.  To gather the flocks around us and feed them from our hands, to make the birds our friends and too call them by their names, to rove the verdant  fields with a higher pleasure than we could have in regal courts and high towers, to inhale the air of the morning  as if it were the sweet breath of infancy, to brush the dew from the glittering fields as if our paths were strewn with diamonds, to perceive this glorious temple all distinct with the presence of Divinity, and to feel, amid all this – the heart swelling with and adoration and a holy joy absolutely incapable of utterance. This it is to love the country, and to make it not the home of the body only, but of the soul.  These teachings would make any home the brightest and happiest on Earth.

Ceres: Be as a grain of wheat.  Begin in innocence in the darkness of your inner thoughts; allow the cultivation of knowledge and then the ripening of wisdom to guide your harvest.  Share these grains of wisdom with all you meet.  Teach this to the next generation of seeds that they may continue the cycle of diligent labor and reward.

Master: The SICKLE is an ancient and honorable tool.  It speaks of peace and prosperity, and is the harbinger of joy.  It is used not merely to reap the golden grain of the sheaf, but – in the field of mind and heart and soul – to gather every precious stalk, every opening flower, and every desirable fruit.  Thus it is a reminder of honest employment, diligent labor – teaching the present lesson of prosperity and peace, and a prophecy of future plenty and rejoicing. (Grange Manual – page 44, paraphrased)

Lecturer: As we begin the harvest of grains – the rustling corn is waving as ripe and ready for the reapers and gleaners – may we feel as well the attendant lessons.  We must reap for the mind as well as for the body, and from the abundance of our harvest, in good deeds and kind words, dispense CHARITY.  The grain is ripe and ready for the harvest.  It is, however, important that the best of intelligent and skillful labors be employed.  Gather only the good seed, both for feasting and for planting in the next cycle.  Our associations in life are the fields in which we reap.  Use judgment, and while you glean let your example be such that others may profit by it.  Cultivate an observing mind; perceive the beauty that everywhere abounds.

Pomona: The harvest time of your life consists not only of that which you take from the seeds planted for your own use – the ripe grains that fall into your hands, but also is a time of CHARITY – sharing the harvest with those in need around you.  As flowers and vines have covered the rough paces in nature, so I charge you, cover the faults and failings of others with the mantle of CHARITY.  Speak well of others, rather than dwell on their shortcomings.  Gather up the sheaves of their virtues, and pass by their faults, just as you gather the good seed, and leave the rest.  Such are the great aims, labors and rewards of the planting, the cultivation and the harvest of life. (Paraphrased from page 43)

~~~~~

Note:  This wheat is being grown in between the rows of grapes in the Vineyards of the Frey Family Winery. 

The standard 8 feet of row space is most of the land use in a vineyard ,and by planting down the center of this space with vegetables & grains, they hope to see a fuller overall usage of acreage, and a reduction of pests & weeds.  I wish them the best of success with this innovation and with luck – the future will see many more California vineyards growing grains!

Harvest festivals in ancient cultures

• The ancient Egyptians celebrated their harvest festival in honour of Min, the god of vegetation and fertility. The festival of Min was held in the spring, the Egyptians’ harvest season. After a grand parade, a great feast was held with music, dancing and sports.
• The ancient Chinese celebrated their harvest festival on the 15th day of the eighth month. The day was believed to be the birthday of the Moon and special Moon cakes stamped with the face of a rabbit (perceived to be the face of the moon) were baked.
• The ancient Greeks worshiped Demeter as their goddess of all grains. Demeter’s daughter Persephone was abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld. Demeter, the source of all growth and life, withdrew her powers from the Earth during her time of grief. Demeter’s refusal to eat or feed the world until the other gods resolved her conflict with Hades over Persephone brought on winter, and no plants or grains could grow. Because Persephone had eaten pomegranate seeds given to her by Hades, she was condemned by the gods to spend half of the year in the underworld and half of the year on earth with Demeter. Every year, when Persephone is in the underworld there is winter, and when she is on the Earth, there is spring and summer.
• The Romans celebrated the Cerelia festival, where offerings of the first fruit of the harvest were dedicated to Ceres (Demeter in Greek). Some believe the festival was held in October, others say that it took place in April, to coincide with the arrival of spring.

P.S.  I also hope to obtain some grain for baking into loaves of bread for our annual Harvest Dinner at the Little Lake Grange.

URBAN PEASANTS

More chickens, this time in an upscale neighborhood overlooking Lake Washington in Seattle…a beautiful setting for a small coop of clean & well managed chickens…Eric says he has been keeping chickens since 1974 when he was named an “Urban Peasant” by a major publication…I like the term, let’s take back – both the urban chicken & the term Peasant – it is very close to pleasant…a word that pleases me…

start seeing farmers!

START SEEING FARMERS!

Hey – I do hope we all “Start seeing Farmers” …around town, around our county, around our nation… small farmers that is – ones that grow “real food”!!!

There is an exciting new farmer movement – young people who realize that farming is sexy & that feeding people is where it is at – for survival into the next human phase.

SO-

Come on farmers – stand up & be counted!  WWOOFers, PERMACULTURISTS, TREE PLANTERS, Green Uprising Farmers all Farmers who go to Market or sell from a CSA…

Why do we need a farming revolution?  Yep, since the 1970’s (or earlier) we have been losing the ancient farm web – a structure that fed all of us for millennia.  In just a few decades, we became dependant on Big Ag.  Large farms are not feeding us in a healthy way, they are part of the corporate food complex, creating obesity & health concerns with the use of fields & choice of crops.   Too bad for everyone…  It is about Government Farm Subsidies as much as anything else.

A decade ago, an American woman’s waist, on average, was close to two inches smaller than it is today. Eighteen year olds are at least 15 pounds heavier than they were in the 1970s.   That is a bad start on adult life & habits.

One reason is federal subsidies for food production.
Check out these numbers:

• Meat/Dairy — 73.8 percent
• Grains — 13.2 percent
• Sugar/Oil/Starch/Alcohol — 10.7 percent
• Nuts/Legumes — 1.9 percent
• Vegetables/Fruits — 0.4 percent

That’s right – just 1.9 percent for nuts and legumes and 0.4 percent for fruits and vegetables. As a result, a salad often costs you more than a Big Mac.

Follow the money – & it should come as no surprise that federal subsidies for certain kinds of food will directly influence the production and subsequent consumption of that food.

As you can see in the list above, the US food subsidies are grossly skewed, creating a diet excessively high in factory-farmed meats, grains and sugars, with very little fresh fruits and vegetables or healthy fats from nuts and seeds.

The food crops currently subsidized are corn, soy, wheat and rice. What do you end up with?

A fast food diet!

It’s quite clear that the farm bill creates a negative feedback loop that maintains the status quo of the standard American diet, which is directly responsible for our current epidemic of diabetes & obesity.  By subsidizing the farming of corn and soy, the US government is actively supporting a diet that consists of these crops.  And, the food processing industry is using the bulk of these crops to either feed animals before slaughter or to be used as foodstuffs in their processed form – so what we are getting for all of our tax supported farm subsidies is a lot of high fructose corn syrup (GMO), soybean oil (GMO), and grain-fed cattle (GMO) – all of which are known contributors to obesity and chronic diseases.

(See my reminders that the vast majority of these two crops are also genetically modified, which in and of itself is a major health hazard that has hardly begun to play out in our lifestyle or timeline of health & genetics of future generations)

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is perhaps the most obvious example of how the farm subsidies are destroying our health, as opposed to promoting the production of food that is actually worthy of being called “food.”  I’ve done a few rants (posts) on this subject, http://anniegreenjeans.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=406

and it is all over the information field that this stuff is bad news.  I am traveling right now, and (am not in my normal zone of food selections – including homemade salad dressings, natural ice cream, carefully chosen foods – even is they are from the Grocery Outlet)…checking a few labels from my friend’s cupboards, I find that the proliferation of corn syrup is amazing!  It is truly in almost everything.  I am sure that when I was a kid – hot fudge syrup did not have corn syrup to sweeten it (of course we didn’t have it in our cupboards actually – only as an occasional treat from the dairy queen), so those recipes have been altered & I bet – are much cheaper to make without regular sugar.  Funny – to think we have come to a point where “sugar” is considered a “healthy alternative”.  Yikes!  Everyone – check those labels & refuse to buy that stuff…maybe we can get it off the shelves if we just don’t vote with our dollars.  Cheap food is not better if it kills us sooner…

Get involved with your food.  You don’t have to be an activist to make a few healthy choices at the grocery store.  Your budget can handle it.  Your kids will thank you when they don’t get diabetes.

Thanks to K Krizanovich for the fun photo that started this entire rant…

Biochar

The Promise of Biochar

“char·coal” definition: a black or dark gray form of carbon, produced by heating wood or another organic substance in an enclosed space without air.

I have been putting my final charcoal from burn piles & the wood stove into my garden beds for several years, hoping this common charcoal was Biochar… it is  created in a smothered fire & yet didn’t consume like the rest of the logs, fits the description…but, how to smash & screen it into a finer powder, that sounds important!  This year I will do it better…

Ed Burton has been talking about this for years too…& of course, biodynamic gardening has  promoted it forever…time to take it more seriously…

My friend Lee thinks that this will save us when we can no longer get outside sources of fertilizers & amendments…we do live in a forest after all…

BEGINNING the GREENING

BEGINNING the GREENING

A quick start for a retail store might look like this-

~ REDUCE : Minimize or eliminate packaging? Ask if they want a bag before offering one.

~ REUSE : Encourage the reuse of market bags with register discounts or rewards. Sell several versions of reusable bags, or give them away!

~ RECLAIM : Use your local “rebuild store” when remodeling. Think out of the box when building displays – is it a sustainable use?
~ REMAKE : Offer those closeouts to a local school for craft projects, don’t throw things away that can be used by others.
~ RETHINK : Schedule store hours for ease of commute times, what if we all shared rides or worked one less day week.
~ RECREATE: Can you compost lunch leftovers? Host a Barter night for your customers to exchange used art or craft
~ RECONSIDER : Add a small garden bed or container of lettuce or parsley to your back area or your front window, and eat it for lunch! In fact, invite munching and tasting, you may make some converts to slow food.

OUR GREEN FUTURE
On the horizon for us all is a whole new sustainable lifestyle and a new way of doing business. For my design business – that means downsizing products that I no longer feel are sustainable, cannot be “greened” due to supplier stubbornness or even due to the lack of usefulness in our simpler Green lifestyle.

“The Future is “Green” – A Major Report Examines Green Living in the United States – 2008- Research and Markets Report

Green Living in the United States 2008

<>- reprinted and excerpted from
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/
Mintel, Feb 2008,The “green” marketplace is one of the fastest growing, most dynamic sectors of the US economy. This report examines the size, scope, and growth of the green consumer marketplace, as well as driving forces that will shape its future. The report keeps an eye toward expected changes sector by sector, as well as short-term and long-term outlooks for the market as a whole.

We also explore the current trends and future outlook for eight key sectors of the green consumer marketplace, including personal care products, home building and home improvement supplies, electronics and appliances, automobiles, and travel.

Our exclusive consumer research identifies four types of green consumer: Super Greens, True Greens, Light Greens and Never Greens. A threefold increase in the ranks of the Super Greens and True Greens in just 16 months has driven growth in all sectors of the green marketplace. This report explores the special role of 18 to 24 year olds and college students in adoption of new green product categories, as well as the sometimes surprising influence of demographic factors such as race, ethnicity, education and household income.

In a new take on the green marketplace, we move beyond demographic categories to explore how green consumers think, identifying the lifestyle choices and personality characteristics that most closely relate to green behavior. These are the insights marketers need to reach out directly to core green lifestyle consumers.

In addition to a broad array of quantitative data presented for this report, we conducted qualitative research with respondents who described themselves as having already made lifestyle changes due to concerns about the environment. Our qualitative research explores the motivations that drive consumers toward green purchases, as well as the barriers to green shopping for different types of consumers, such as price premiums, perceptions of effectiveness and quality, and the critical importance of mainstream distribution.

This report covers many aspects of the emerging Green Market and has a huge scope of associated topics as well.

This is the Contents List:

Scope and Themes
Definition
Consumer research conducted for this report
Abbreviations and terms
Abbreviations
Terms
Executive Summary
Drivers and corporate developments
Climate change leads environmental concerns
Corporations scramble for “green” investing dollars
Slowing economy and rising fuel prices spur demand for energy efficiency
Health and safety concerns bolster the market
Market in transitional phase as green products mainstream
Green personal care goes corporate
Automakers scramble for position in green future
Consumer influences
Green consumers optimistic but skeptical
Consumers believe that “green” products work
Most consumers not willing to search for “green” products
Tolerance of price premiums at 10% or less
Efficacy, awareness, habit key issues in qualitative research
“Greenwashing” concerns reinforce need for more objective standards for “green” products
Demographics of Green living
Young adults key targets for cutting-edge “green” products
Asians lead; blacks lag in environmental interest
Students and college graduates committed to “green” lifestyle
Households with children pose a challenge for “green” marketers
“Green” lifestyle transcends demographics
Low-income households need not be excluded from the “green” marketplace
The future of Green living
Interest in buying “green” for major purchases skyrockets
Marketing of multiple values will ensure success of “green” products
The future is “green”
Market Drivers
Climate change continues to hold public attention
Figure 1: General attitudes toward environmental concerns, December 2007
Green investing dollars pour forth
Stagnant economy and rising fuel prices spur demand for energy-efficient products; limit willingness to pay
Figure 2: Willingness to pay extra for “green” products, December 2007
Product health and safety concerns spike following rash of recalls of Chinese imports
Figure 3: Attitudes toward health benefits of “green” products, by gender, December 2007
Large corporations enter the green marketplace in force
Green products linked to concepts of health and quality
Market Size and Trends
The LOHAS Market
Figure 4: Graph: LOHAS “green” market size, by segment, 2005
The U.S. Healthy Products, Healthy Planet Market
Figure 5: HP2 market size and forecast, at current and constant prices, 2002-12
The Natural Products Marketplace
Figure 6: Sales of natural products through conventional FDM and natural supermarkets, segmented by product type, 2004 and 2006
Market Segmentation
Introduction
Food and beverage
Figure 7: Sales of natural food and drink products at FDM and natural supermarkets, at current and constant prices, 2004-08
Green personal care growing 20% annually
Pet foods and supplies
Household cleaning products
Clothing and linens
Building, building materials and home improvement supplies
Certification systems blossom
Green building gets pop culture boost
Housing bubble bursts
Local mandates
Costs of green building shrink
Solar is hot
Green design goes from exception to rule
Electronics and appliances
Industry faces substantial sustainability and power consumption issues
New products ahead
CE recycling goes mainstream
Major appliances
Cars and trucks
Figure 8: Price premiums and estimated fuel savings for hybrid versus conventional passenger vehicles, 2008
Consumer services
Climate change concerns drive market for greener air travel
Carbon offsets to ease guilt
Hotels
Car travel
Finding and booking green travel
Super/True Green Population Tripled over 16 months
Figure 9: Change in frequency of “green” consumer population, August 2006-December 2007
Awareness and Use of “Green” Consumer Goods
Awareness of “green” household consumables
Figure 10: Frequency of purchasing different categories of “green” products, December 2007
All product categories show greater penetration among Asians and Hispanics
Education most important for awareness of established “green” categories
Awareness of “green” durable and infrequently purchased consumer consumables
Figure 11: Influence of “green” factors on major purchases, by category, December 2007
Youngest and Oldest Core of “Green” Market in Online Population
Introduction
Green categories by age
Figure 12: Frequency of buying “green” products, by age, December 2007
Attitudes toward recycling, pollution, and premiums
Figure 13: Environmental attitudes, by age, May 2006-June 2007
Interest in conservation tends to increase with age
Figure 14: Environmental behaviors, by age, December 2007
Seniors lead in “green” shopping choices
Figure 15: Environmental shopping behaviors, by age, December 2007
Interest in “green” shopping growing fastest among seniors
Figure 16: Influence of “green” factors on CE products, by age, December 2007
The Impact of Household Income
Introduction
Attitudes toward recycling and pollution
Figure 17: Environmental attitudes, by household income, May 2006-June 2007
Green shopping by the rich and poor
Figure 18: “Green” shopping habits, by household income, May 2006-June 2007
Race and Ethnicity
Introduction
Figure 19: Frequency of buying “green” products, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
Attitudes toward recycling and pollution
Figure 20: Environmental attitudes and behavior, by race/ethnicity, May 2006-June 2007
Looking forward, “green” factors to play a larger role
Figure 21: Influence of “green” factors on purchases of CE products, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
The Impact of Education
Introduction
Figure 22: Frequency of buying “green” products, by education level, December 2007
Figure 23: Frequency of buying “green” products, by student status, December 2007
Attitudes toward recycling and pollution
Figure 24: Environmental attitudes, by education level, May 2006-June 2007
Willingness to sacrifice convenience or income
Figure 25: Environmental behaviors, by education level, December 2007
Households with Children
Introduction
Figure 26: Environmental attitudes, by presence of children in the household, May 2006-June 2007
Convenience is a must for families with children
Figure 27: Environmental shopping behaviors, by presence of children in the household, December 2007
How do Greens Think?
Introduction
Figure 28: Environmental attitudes, by personality traits, May 2006-June 2007
Reasons for Buying or Not Buying Green
Introduction
Effectiveness/quality
Figure 29: Attitudes toward effectiveness of “green” products, December 2007
The majority of respondents do not see “green” products as safer
Figure 30: Attitudes toward health benefits of “green” products, by household income, December 2007
Health and savings vs. environmental concern
Figure 31: Main reasons for “green” shopping, by gender, December 2007
Figure 32: Main reasons for “green” shopping, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
Availability
Figure 33: Consumer experience with the availability of “green” products, December 2007
Figure 34: Consumer experience with the availability of “green” products, by age, December 2007
Will consumers pay more for “green” and energy-efficient products?
Figure 35: Attitudes toward the cost of “green” products, by gender, December 2007
Figure 36: Attitudes toward the cost of “green” products, by age, December 2007
Figure 37: Attitudes toward the cost of “green” products, by household income, December 2007
Figure 38: Attitudes toward the cost of “green” products, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
What is an acceptable premium for “green” products?
Figure 39: Willingness to pay extra for “green” products, by age, December 2007
Figure 40: Willingness to pay extra for “green” products, by HH income, race/ethnicity, presence of children, and student status, December 2007
How Do We Know It’s Really Green?
Figure 41: Attitudes toward the effectiveness of “green” shopping, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
More standards needed
“Greenwashing” concerns provide incentives for industry-led standards
Results from Mintel’s Qualitative Survey
Introduction
Figure 42: Descriptions of “green” lifestyle interviewees, January 2008
Environmental concerns
“Green” shopping commonalities in qualitative study
Availability and awareness problematic for “green” shoppers
Figure 43: Availability and awareness of “green” products, by respondent and location, January 2008
Habits are hard to break
Figure 44: “Habit” purchasing, January 2008
Many see link between personal health and planetary health
Figure 45: Respondents’ thoughts about effectiveness and quality of “green” products, January 2008
Product quality and function overriding issues for some
Figure 46: Effectiveness and quality of “green” products, January 2008
Prices need to be competitive
Figure 47: Respondents’ willingness to pay extra for “green” products, January 2008
A “Green” Future
Green market to lose trendiness
Christian conservatives joining the “green” movement
Fair trade and local to become the new “green”
Fair trade
Local
Appendix: HP2 Market Detail
Figure 48: HP2 market detail, 2005
Appendix: Trade Associations

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Specific large companies are mentioned such as -

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Wal-Mart Stores (USA)
Clorox Company , The
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Whole Foods Market Inc
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

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This report costs about $4500 to buy – it is meant for big corporations to use to support their extensive marketing departments. Why the small guy cannot get their hands on such awesome research is probably a matter of pure economics of scale and competitiveness of the innovation curve. The summary of this report and others like it would be useful to anyone trying to “Green up” their business in the light of today’s trends and branding successes. I suggest that we can find a summary somewhere on the web. If I find it, I will post it for all of us to share. If you find it, please let me know!!!

Yours for Open Source,

Annie Green Jeans