Responsible Consumption

The Interdependence Project, a meditation/activism group I participate in (when I have time, ha!), does a Responsible Consumption monthly challenge every once in awhile.   There's a pledge, suggestions for individual areas to focus on, and a place to log any 24 hours of your consumption practice.  (They have lots of great projects and classes, if you're in the NY area, I definitely recommend checking them out.)

Here are parts  of the pledge I particularly like:

• Remembering that everything in the world is connected, I pledge to do my best to be aware of the damage caused by lack of attention and careless convenience.

• Knowing that it’s impossible to cause zero harm, I pledge to maintain a sense of humor about my actions as I practice, while still working to limit the negative impact of my consumption choices on myself, others, and the planet we all share.

I love the idea of mini self-improvement projects like this, challenges to your normal daily operations.  Small steps seems to be the best way to make these types of little life changes, because they're not difficult, they just require a small shift in your regular activities.  Take the water bottle issue... I've finally gotten into the habit of carrying my resuseable bottle with me, EVERYWHERE.  I drink a ton of water, and if I leave without it, I end up dehydrated for the day.  But it took a slight adjustment.  Now when I leave in the morning, I check to make sure I have my wallet, keys, phone, and bottle.  Done.

I think I've also (mostly) conquered the resuseable bags, energy efficiency, composting and reducting waste, minimal shampooing and healthy food areas.  I'd like to work on carrying a coffee mug (I probably waste at least 1 paper cup a day), carrying a tupperware or glass jar for leftovers for when I pick up food on the run to reduce packaging and waste, and minimizing other unhealthy personal care products.  The goal of the month is to really focus on a particular area, so I think I'll go with the coffee mug / tupperware practice.   It really just seems to be about planning.  Here on the IDP website, they suggest a basic kit:

Low Impact Survival Kit
One of the big insights that came from those of us who did the practice last time was that if you started out with a few key pieces of equipment it became really easy to cut down on waste and actually saved money too. 

- Drink bottle : check
- Container for food/left-overs: this month's practice 
- Shopping bag: check
- Chopsticks, silverware: 
- Cloth napkin

So with a sense of humor and more awareness, it begins.  One step at a time...  So what could you work on?

Real Food Please

Sorry if this isn't up your alley, but it's important to me, and I think to many of you. I think it's time to move beyond little lifestyle changes (which are also important), to speaking up in policy forums. Here is an opportunity. I'd love to see these comments jump in number to send a little message that we are noticing the poor governance of our food supply. Maybe this should be prefaced with: I do not trust the FDA, at all...

In response to spinach troubles, the FDA recently announced a rule allowing manufacturers to irradiate spinach and iceberg lettuce. You might like to know that other foods are already being processed with radiation, to kill off bacteria and extend shelf life, including meats and other fruits and vegetables. Irradiation is not acceptable processing under the USDA's 'organic' guidelines, only for non-organic foods. Here are some thoughts from Europe.

From Wikipedia, "food irradiation is the process of exposing food to ionizing radiation in order to destroy microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, or insects that might be present in the food. Further applications include sprout inhibition, delay of ripening, increase of juice yield, and improvement of re-hydration. Irradiation is a more general term of deliberate exposure of materials to radiation to achieve a technical goal. As such it is also used on non-food items, such as medical hardware, plastics, tubes for gas-pipelines, hoses for floor-heating, shrink-foils for food packaging, automobile parts, wires and cables (isolation), tires, and even gemstones."

But let's remember, we don't generally ingest these objects...

A food's make-up (fats, carbohydrates, etc...) determine what exactly changes in the food's content once irradiated. Spinach and lettuce are mostly water, so the result isn't totally damaging. But it's the basic idea that it is causing free radicals, bacterial mutations, and generally altering the DNA of your food. That just seems weird to me.

FDA is accepting comments and opposition until Sept 21st. Here is where you can comment. - http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocumentDetail&o=09000064806d2f95
Make sure you include the docket # - FDA-1999-F-2405
Click on the Add Comments button, and go to town. You can submit as an Individual Consumer in the Submitter Category box. You can post as anonymous or with your name.
Here is some recommended text that I modified a bit from another commenter...

------------------------------

My already poor trust in the FDA is only being deteriorated. Just like my food's nutritional qualities.

Allowing irradiation of lettuce and spinach is an irrational response to a continuing problem of mass-farming and lax health regulation and inspection. The reason that we have seen an increase in the outbreak of salmonella and e. coli is that the farms, handling, and distribution centers are filthy. Irradiation is not the answer for food-borne illness. It is a overly simplistic bandage to offer a false level of confidence in the public sector. It is only serving the needs of the out-of-control food industry.

Irradiation is not a safe solution. Not only do we see vitamin loss and the loss of essential fatty acids in irradiated foods, there is a real possibility of promoting a mutation of the strains of e. coli and other food-borne microorganisms. Additionally, there are concerns over the formation of free radicals, which can set off chain reactions in the body destroying antioxidants, tearing
apart cell membranes, and making the body more susceptible to cancer, diabetes,
heart disease, liver damage, muscular breakdown etc.

I insist that the public not be misled and ill-informed. While simple labeling in the grocery may allow a consumer to make her own choice about the use of irrradiated food (which seems poorly enforced anyway), this does not prevent restaurants, school lunchrooms, hospitals, etc. from serving unknowing consumers foods that have been irradiated. Given the known and potential health concerns, this is hardly an acceptable solution.

Please take all comments into consideration, and understand that we ARE noticing the poor governance of our food supply.
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Again, sorry if you don't care about this. But maybe forward it on to another friend that may.

Your public service announcement person on patrol ...

Body Image

As we're now 2 weeks into the new year, seeing diet ads everywhere, body image has been on my mind.

Via Feministe: this toddler size "Hooters girl (in training)" tee...


Not that it's not always in your face, but really... is anyone else disturbed on almost a daily basis over things like this?

Fortunately, there have been a few things catching my eye that are out to battle the plastic surgery/perfect celebrity/fake body fake personality THING going on here.

One. How to Look Good Naked with Carson Kressley. You know, the AWESOME guy from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy? I watched two episodes this weekend, and I. Love. It. He basically takes a woman with a non-Cosmo-cover body, and shows her in various ways that what she's got goin' on is beautiful and worthy of loving and flaunting. I totally support the idea that you've got to love and appreciate what you've got in order to inspire you to change it, if you want to. It has nothing to do with getting them to diet or exercise (though I do think it's always good to encourage healthy exercise like some simple walking and weights). He gets them to find proper fitting and beautiful undergarments, which most women don't have. One woman was wearing a 38C, and she's actually a 36E! No wonder she's uncomfortable and can't find clothes that fit her well. And he's brilliant with the women. But a big ole boooooo for Lifetime for allowing a Botox ad to play during the commercial break. Come ON Lifetime. Get your priorities straight. Less Botox, More Carson.

Two. The book Self-image and the teenage girl: a review of Body Drama by Nancy Redd. I actually read about it on the One City blog from the Interdependence Project (my weekly meditation group), so I can't say much about it from a personal perspective, but it looks really great. It talks about smelly feet! Girls need to know that smelly feet are ok! And that even prissy blonde celebrities have smelly feet! And it shows girls' bodies the way they are, in all their beautiful sizes, shapes, and colors. I think we need a little more of this. I think Dove has been doing some ads around this idea as well, go Dove!


Listening to: Aretha Franklin - Never Loved a Man

sustainable living?

So this is a fun little game that determines how many earths it would take to support the global population if they all lived with your current lifestyle. It looks at housing, utilities, transportation, eating and shopping habits, etc...
Apparently, if everyone lived like me, we'd need 4.2 earths to support us. That's just a little shocking isn't it? Part of it is I drive a lot to work (which I'm trying to cut down on), and I fly. To be honest, I'd fly even more if I could, and I must say, I think the benefits of cross-cultural learning and communication far outweigh the costs of a little flight to, say, India, right?
Another thing was coffee consumption, where I'm at about 15 cups a week. However, they're assuming that you buy generic coffee that's flown from poor farmers in Timbuktu. I try to buy New England or Bucks County (PA) coffee, which I'm assuming is grown locally as well, but I'll have to check my labels on that.
Otherwise, I'm doing pretty well. My energy consumption, trash, and food habits put me in the right place... If only I could get rid of that car...

This all fits right into what I'm studying in class this semester. We've covered personal and municipal waste management, residential and community options for decreasing utility usage, pollutant reduction in general, and safe water. Every thing we learn about gets me thinking about how wonderful the house I grew up in was. The whole back of it was glass, so it was solar heated in the winter. We had a trash compactor, so an entire 4-person household put out pretty much 1 bag of trash each week. We also had an outdoor compost which contributed to our garden which provided nearly all our vegetables through summer and fall. I've thought about composting here, but can't yet figure out what to do with the compost once I get it going. There's a community garden down the street, but they haven't replied to my emails yet...

What's your score, and what changes have you considered to live a more sustainable life?

listening to: NPR News

Yoga + Dancing = Pain

I started going to yoga again, after a year or so of not using about half of my muscles apparently. There are muscles hurting that I didn't know existed. Particularly in my back. It's fascinating really. And it's not like you can stretch more before or after yoga. Before, I used to take a more restorative type of yoga, and these classes have been very fast-paced, strength-building. It's great, and I feel so much stronger already, but dear god, it hurts.

And today we went to Dance Dance Party Party again, and it was as fun as I remember. Imagine a dance studio, lights turned down, multi-colored disco ball glowing, a dance mix playing loudly, and 10-15 women of all ages, shakin' it like nobody's watching. I'm telling you, if you are a woman (sorry guys...) and you live near NY, Providence RI, Chicago, Austin, or LA -- GO! If the other cities are anything like NY's, it is the most energetic, judgement-free fun you will ever have! I'd really love to make it a weekly thing, so we'll see if I can work out the Sundays.

So with yoga and dancing kicking my butt this weekend, I am a sore lady. Wrapping up the night with some tea and tylenol.

listening to: Jai Uttal - Durga Pahimam

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Welcome to Breast Cancer Awareness Month! As most of you know, my mom is a survivor. So me and my sister keep abreast (no pun intended) of the latest studies, screenings, etc... It seems like every month, new studies are coming out showing that pretty much everything causes cancer, and everything also can prevent cancer.
Don't drink. But have a glass of wine a day.
Don't eat sweets. But have a piece of dark chocolate for dessert.
Pesticides are dangerous. But eat plenty of fruits and veggies.
No meat because of the hormones. But get lots of protein.
Wearing bras, not wearing bras. Deodorant, lotion, nutrasweet, artificial light, grapefruit...

Seriously.

As an educated consumer, health enthusiast, and cancer lookout, my own tip of the day is awareness and screening. Read the studies for yourself, compare studies, talk about it, and get early detection screenings whenever possible. And don't depend on your doctor to tell you when. Ask for yourself.

American Cancer Society seems to present some non-biased information here. Don't let it all weigh you down too much though. If I find any truly conclusive information, I'll pass it on. In the meantime, enjoy your grapefruit.

listening to: Beta Band - Dog's Got a Bone