bemoreeco

The low carbon restaurant chain Otarian is to open its first UK branches in London this week.

Based on the principle of vegetarianism, the chain will be the first to include information on carbon footprints to internationally recognised standards on all of its menus .

Restaurants in Wardour Street, Soho, Shaftesbury Avenue, and Covent Garden are due to open on August 20th.

Otarian operates a no air freight policy, meaning all products are delivered by road and if a reliable supply cannot be obtained the dish is altered.

Some 98 per cent of waste from the restaurant is either composted or recycled and sustainable building products, such as floor tiles made from recycled glass, are used throughout the building design.

Radhika Oswal, said that vegetarianism is the most sustainable way of living as it has “a lighter ecological footprint, reduced resource impacts, and lower carbon emissions than non-vegetarian equivalents”.

A report released earlier this year by the Centre for Alternative Technology entitled Zero Carbon Britain suggested that an 80 per cent reduction in livestock in the UK would contribute to the country producing zero emissions by 2030.

>>> Please read the full article here

A new tool has been released that will allow people to measure the environmental cost of their food, as well as the nutritional value.

Carbonostics has released an updated version of its lifecycle management tool, which can determine the ‘hotspots’ in the food production process.

According to the company, the newly enhanced version features end-of-life calculation that takes in food and packaging materials and carbon emissions from the packaging process.

In addition, all the new information is broken down by steps in the supply chain process, meaning that more information is available than ever for calculating food choices.

The tool is suitable for small food manufacturers, retailers, public buildings and any suppliers in the food retailing sector.

A recent analysis of two studies by New Scientist, looking at green purchases, found that most consumers were easily fooled by packaging and a brand’s historical reputation – meaning that they over-estimated the greenness of some products.

>>> Please read the full article here

The story of a man with a gun and a mission – to eliminate all instances of unseasonal vegetable consumption.

Written and directed by the brilliant Michael ‘Watercress’ Wright and starring the magnificent Daniel ‘Legume’ Lapaine with deft editing by Simon ‘Water Celery’ Wilcox and a purringly perfect soundtrack by Michael ‘Mango’ Mertens.

Produced by the kind people at Mustard in association with the equally kind people at Eat Seasonably.

In the UK we throw out an estimated 6.7 million tonnes of household food waste every year which accounts for around a third of all the food we buy.

Approximately half of this domestic food waste is edible food which translates into a financial cost of £250 to £400 a year for every British household. In addition to the economical impact, food wastage has an enormously detrimental effect on the environment impacting on landfill and contributing to the production of greenhouse gases.

By adapting a number of simple measures such as planning when to shop for food and only making necessary purchases consumers can considerably reduce their food waste. Food storage is also an important factor and proper storage eliminates premature ageing of fruit and vegetables which in turn reduces the amount of wasted food.

The Eco Cooler is an innovative new hand made terracotta fruit bowl and root vegetable store with natural cooling properties. Water poured in the bottom plate is absorbed by the terracotta. As the water evaporates it cools, helping to create the ideal cool, damp, dark environment to store potatoes, onions, garlic, swede and other root vegetables inside. Root vegetables last longer if stored 3-4 degrees below room temperature and in an environment a little warmer than a fridge. Fruit likes to be slightly chilled, but stored in the open air and light, so Eco Cooler also has a bowl on top which cools fruit just a couple of degrees.

Another nifty gadget which can help food last longer is the Ethylene Gas Guardian (RRP £3.99) This ingenious little egg shaped device can save households money by absorbing the ethylene gas fruits and vegetables give off in the fridge thus keeping them fresher for longer.

Many fruits and vegetables, especially if they have been damaged, give off ethylene gas as they ripen. Although harmless to people, much of the fresh produce in fridges is sensitive to the presence of even very low levels of ethylene gas and the refrigerator acts as a trap allowing the ethylene to build up to damaging levels.

The easiest way to combat this and save the costs of prematurely aged produce is to declare the refrigerator an ethylene gas free zone. By keeping the ethylene gas guardian on duty in the refrigerator, a very low presence of ethylene is assured regardless of what produce is stored there and users can continue to enjoy fresh produce for longer whilst saving money at the same time.

Both the Eco Cooler(RRP £69) and the Ethylene Gas Guardian can be bought online at Ecoutlet.

A website recently delineated a simple list of 10 ways that you can reduce your environmental footprint through changes in your food choices.

The list is fairly straightforward and involves changes that any person in any country can make to reduce their carbon footprint.  Substantive facts for each item are also laid out and explained along with a brief description of how the change can affect the environment in a positive manner.

Here the list of changes you can make to your food choices to reduce your environmental footprint:

    * Eat less beef, pork, and lamb

    * Eat out at restaurants less often

    * Eat fewer dairy products

    * Drink fewer soft drinks

    * Eat seasonal and local fruits and vegetables

    * Eat fewer packaged snacks and junk food

    * Upgrade to an energy efficient refrigerator

    * Eat wild fish that are not endangered

    * Drink less bottled water

    * Walk to your local farmers market or grocery store

Source; Eat Drink Better

Buying organic makes sense for the health of the earth, farm workers and your family … But if you’re pinching pennies (and who isn’t these days?), choose from this list to avoid pesticide residue.

So these are the 15

1. Onion - Less pest threat = less pesticides.
2. Avocado – Think skins = less pesticide build up.
3. Sweet Corn – Unlikely to end up with any pesticides on kernels.
4. Pineapple – Tough skin protects form pesticide residue.
5. Mango – Flesh protected by thick skin.
6. Asparagus -  Less pest threat = less pesticides.
7. Sweet Peas - Sweet peas are among the least likely vegetables to have pesticide residue.
8. Kiwi – The peel provides a barrier from pesticides, but wash before cutting.
9. Cabbage - Less pest threat = less pesticides.
10. Aubergine/Eggplant - Think skins = less pesticide build up.
11. Papaya - Pesticide residue stays on papaya skin, but be sure to give them a wash before slicing open.
12. Watermelon - With that rind, watermelon has a natural defense against the onslaught of any chemical.
13. Broccoli - Conventional broccoli doesn’t retain so many pesticides because the crop faces fewer pest threats, which means less spraying.
14. Tomato – Not sure why!
15. Sweet Potato - Not only are sweet potatoes unlikely to be contaminated with pesticides

Source & Full Article – The Daily Green

All those people who scorn at green ideas, here’s the Mother of Them ALL, and its by biggie Philips, so lets see what you’re gonna do about it! Biosphere Home Farming is a structure that houses fishes, root veggies, grasses, plants and algae all under one roof. It takes all your kitchen-trash as fodder for the farm and manages to generate food, water and cooking gas for the family.

In short you consume your trash in a more refined way! Ok, enough of green bashing hit the jump to see what exactly Philips has to say about this concept.

“Biosphere home farming concept generates food and cooking gas, while filtering water. The concept supplements a families nutritional needs by generating several hundred calories a day in the form of fish, root vegetables, grasses, plants and algae. Unlike conventional hydroponic nurseries this system incorporates a methane digester than produces heat and gas to power lights, similarly algae produces hydrogen and the root plants produces oxygen, which is fed back to fish. CO2 is pumped into the plants. It is a closed loop interdependent system. The system uses waste water and non-consumable household matter and delivers food in return.”

Source – Yanko Design

You should this foodie quiz at Planet Green to see if you are an “Eco eater’. 

How green are you when it comes to your food? Don’t worry, it won’t taste bad!

Finally you be surprised to find out what a ‘locavore’ is.

One is a fruit drink made by a boutique company with a clutch of foodie awards and an impeccable ethical brand, which even boasts a halo on its logo. The other is a fizzy pop, famous for rotting teeth, made by a corporate giant almost synonymous with globalisation.

But when it comes to the environmental issue of the moment – the carbon footprint of their products – the bottle of Innocent smoothie comes off worse than a can of Coke. At least at first glance.

Coca-Cola today becomes the biggest global brand to publish the greenhouse gases produced by making, packaging, transporting, chilling, and disposing of their most popular products. The study, done with the government-funded Carbon Trust, shows a standard 330ml can of Coke embodies the equivalent of 170g of carbon dioxide (CO2e), and the same sized Diet Coke or Coke Zero 150g.

Coke’s UK business follows Innocent, which helped the Carbon Trust pioneer its footprinting, and whose 250ml bottle of mango and passion fruit smoothie has a carbon footprint of 209g.

Source and full article: The Guardian

We’re not going to take your big, greasy pizza away from you. Sure, you could mak yours vegetarian or vegan, or you could make your own pizza dough—no preservatives, nothing hydrogenated—in only five minutes a day. Or you could be tired and lazy and more in the mood to log in and click up The Natural from Pizza Hut. Ok. We can run with that idea. The thing is, what are you gonna do with that big, greasy cardboard box afterwards?

If you suspected that you probably shouldn’t be sneaking your grease-soaked pizza box into the recycling bin, you were right. Earth911 lays it out in black and white: “Pizza boxes that are tarnished with food, or any paper product that is stained with grease or food, are not recyclable—unless you remove the tainted portions.” Umm, “tainted”? Ouch!

For the full article at Super Eco <click here>

Source; Super Eco