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April 17, 2008
Spend your green on going green
By ELLEN KANNER
Green is green, as the marketing gurus say -- eco-friendly is where the bucks are. So on Earth Day, Tuesday, use your wallet for positive environmental change. Think about buying:
• A thermos, travel mug or squeeze bottle. Then use it. Don't add to the avalanche of bottles, cans and cups headed for incineration, landfill or litter -- more than 36 billion so far this year, according to the Container Recycling Institute.
• In bulk. Fight grocery sticker shock in the self-serve section of the supermarket or natural-foods store. One example: a pound of bulk quinoa is a dollar less than a packaged brand. And with less packaging, there's less waste.
• Organic. It's healthier for you and the planet. Besides, greater demand is bringing prices in line. Example: a 14-ounce box of Wild Oats organic raisin bran was $3.36 on a recent shopping trip -- 43 cents less than a comparable box of Kellogg's non-organic.
• Local. Choose Florida strawberries over California ones, for example. They're fresher and tastier, and your money won't go toward the fossil fuel it takes to haul produce cross country.
And, since this is a vegetarian column, we'll close with what not to buy: meat. Cows are methane machines, and methane has 21 times the global warming impact of carbon dioxide, according to the EPA. Don't blame the cows. But don't eat them, either. Celebrate Earth Day with a meatless meal.
Ellen Kanner writes biweekly about vegetarian concerns.
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/food/story/497534.html
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