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Going Green for a healthier and Sustainable 2009
By Martin Kabaki – Lead Organizer –
wwww.JacksonvilleGreenExpo.org
Over the past few years, there has been a growing demand for green
products as people are becoming more concerned and aware of the need
to reduce the negative impact to our environment. Below, we
discuss several things you can do different to play your part in
being sustainable.
1.
Eating Organic
Organic whole foods are foods
that are unrefined/unprocessed completely or processed and refined
as little as possible. Examples of organic whole foods are
unpolished organic grains, organically grown produce,
non-homogenized milk, etc. Most often, you can find organic
whole foods at Farmer's Market near you because most organic produce
and many other whole organic foods have a short shelf life.
Therefore, organic foods
including meats are all natural and they have been produced free of
pesticides, genetic modification, chemical fertilizers, artificial
additives, etc. The soil is naturally enriched by its own minerals
and gardening activities like crop rotation, composting,
inter-cropping, etc
Organic whole foods tend to be high in
anti-oxidants, which are shown to reduce the risk for certain types
of cancers, heart diseases, asthma, and even arthritis.
Organic whole grains are higher in fiber than refined grains and are
essential to a healthy digestive tract.
When eating your balanced diet of seasonal fruits
and vegetables, make sure it is all natural and organic. Fresh
organic produce contains on average 50% more vitamins, minerals,
enzymes and other micro-nutrients than intensively farmed produce.
Science says that it's good for you!
Many foods are stripped of their vitamins and minerals
after being processed or refined. Part of the reasoning behind
stripping these nutrients is to lengthen shelf life. For
example, the skin is taken away from canned tuna and the skin is
where many of the essential Omega-3 fatty acids are located.
Refined and processed foods also have many chemical additives and
fillers to promote longer shelf life, or to simply make the color
more attractive. Organic whole foods do not contain these
chemicals or additives.
When shopping for organic produce or organic whole foods,
it is important to make sure you check the labeling. As all whole
foods are not organic, all organic foods are not considered whole
foods either.
Going organic is the only practical way to avoid eating
genetically modified (GM) food. And by buying organic food, you are
registering your mistrust of GMO's and doing your bit to protest
against them.
2.
Eat fresh, buy local, support
local growers
There is a growing demand for locally grown produce. Most
of the local vegetables and fruits are always fresh and sometimes
organically grown. Produce from out of state is usually delivered in
trucks driven for hours and this in turn contributes to air
pollution and carbon emission. We now have several local farmers
markets and community gardens in the areas of
3.
Wash your clothes with cold water
An easy way to clean green is to turn the dial on your
washing machine to cold. Most loads don't need hot water, and 90% of
the energy used by washing machines goes into heating.
4.
Use a reusable bag for
your everyday shopping
The
latest green trend that is taking the grocery shopping frenzy is
Re-usable bags. Forget adding to the 450 trillion plastic bags that
are hardly decomposing on our beautiful soil. Grab a reusable
grocery bag instead and save the landfills. You can use the bag not
just for groceries at your local supermarket or at the fresh market,
but at the mall too!!!
5.
Do not dump, donate!
The next time you upgrade something, can no longer stand
the sight of something hideous, or simply need to downsize, think
"donate" instead of "dump.”
6.
Use energy efficient bulbs
Buy energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs for your
most-used lights in your home or apartment. Even though the
traditional light bulbs revolutionized the world in the 1880's, they
waste a lot of energy making heat. Today, we can do better. We now
have energy-saving fluorescent bulbs which use a fraction of the
electricity and in summer, since they do not burn as hot as
traditional bulbs, they help to lower your cooling bills.
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