New Life in a Used Tub

These are baby Swiss Chard plants starting life in a scrubbed out tofu tub. The tubs make pretty handy little flats for seed starting. Several other tubs are sprouting Redina lettuce and some Coreopsis and Texas Sage flowers. Seed starting is very addictive. And you must not start too early, or you will find yourself a constant slave to their tyrannical needs for sun, water and food...and not too much or too little...it's got to be j u s t right or they sulk. Or worse, collapse and die. Then it's off to the compost heap, but I'd rather they live and grow. These tiny guys will grow up into big shiny-leafed plants and provide lots of wonderful food for very little effort. They could even grow in a roomy pot with some attention to regular watering and an occasional feed.

Co-op America

My husband and I belong to a fantastic co-op in Frederick,Maryland...The Common Market. They are a true grocery store selling real, whole food at fair prices...not a pill-pushing vitamin and supplement shop ( although they have a fabulous health and beauty department ! ) There are lots and lots of items available in nice clean bulk bins allowing us to buy as much or as little as we want at a time. I can even (grudgingly) forgive them the selling of "happy meat", eggs and dairy, because while people are buying those products they are at least exposed to more vegan products than they ever would at a conventional grocery store. Whole Soy Yogurt is standing shoulder to shoulder, sharing the same 'dairy' case as cow's milk and goat's milk yogurts. Tofurky brand Keilbasas and franks are laying side by side next to organic meat-based hotdogs. A great eat-in or take-out deli and salad/ hot food bar top it all off.

I just realized how lucky we are to live near enough to a such a great resource and am proud that we can help Co-Op America achieve some of their goals. Check out their very informative website and consider becoming a member.

They also include lots of useful information on climate change and the role of our eating habits. Look under "climate change" or "food miles".

Some Good Food !!!

With all this attention to how destructive a meat-based diet is to the animals, ourselves and the planet, I've not paid a whole lot of attention ( online anyway ! ) to all the really fabulous food that far outshines what corporate animal ag wants you to know !! So here's a few great sites to get an idea of "what to eat" :)

Chooseveg.org has a number of cooking videos featuring Colleen Patrick-Goudreau from Compassionate Cooks.

Vegetarian Resource Group has lots of recipes and solid nutritional information for the entire family.

The Vegan Diet site is a veritable encyclopedia of food !

Compassion Over Killing not only works tirelessly behind the scenes to relieve animal suffering, the also have a nice cache of recipes and ideas on how to go veg, including a great Vegetarian Started Kit.

Food Miles video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4RCyxgz97g

The SUV In The Kitchen

I just came across this article, The SUV In The Kitchen, and thought it presented a lot of important information in a nice easy to read way. The author, Laurine Brown, quotes Bill McKibben..." We're living on an SUV diet. Our food arrives at the table marinated in oil-crude oil."

More Milk Worries

Persistent industrial chemicals find their way into cow's milk. Yet another reason to give up dairy and explore all the other healthy, humane and sustainable alternatives. Check out this story over at Grist.