Sustainability City - Soul Food Cafe

Sustainable Living - Every Day

"Sustainability City" is part of a Soul Food Cafe initiative called "Wild Gardeners". The intention of this lens is to provide information on urban sustainability, how it is possible, and how it is working every day, often without any fanfare or fuss. Nature just does the work, and the living things of the plant kingdom thrive to their natural pace of evolution with the seasons. It's easy in busy lifestyles to forget that Nature endures, that all life has its place, even in heavily populated urban environments. Possibly these are the places that need nature the most?

EARTH HOUR 2009! - RESULTS...

Most people said they loved Earth Hour 2009 and many countries around the globe took part, making it a brilliant success!

">Sustainability City - Earth Hour 2009 Results

It's that time again, so get ready to switch off on the 28th March and tune in to Earth Hour updates online to get you there. Search for local times in your region and be part of this global event, that changes the way people think about energy and how we use it.

Sustainability City - Earth Hour 2009

NEW TRENDS emerging:

URBAN LIVING - BACKYARD SUSTAINABILITY

Mini Farms & Urban Backyards

View this great video on two women who have made it with sustainable urban backyards, through CookingUpAStory's Rebecca Gerendasy!

Commercial Composting:

Find out how a Portland Cafe is handling the issue of composting in new, creative ways, by viewing another brilliant film from the Cooking Up a Story team.

Commercial Sustainability

Vertical Gardens and Green Roofs!

Follow the progress of the vertical gardens and green roof growth trend for cities, providing relief from extreme weather events and warming.

greenroofs.org

** And don't forget to take note of the extensive sustainability and green links from Squidoo lenses across the community. There are some great resources within Squidoo!

Kitchen Literacy with Ann Vileisis

Part One of a Discussion on Food Production

Hosted and produced by Rebecca Gerendasy's "Cooking Up A Story", here is an interview with author, Ann Vileisis, on her book about food and sustainability: "Kitchen Literacy". The book is featured above, linked at Amazon.

FOOD NEWS: Kitchen Literacy

PART 1—A conversation with author, Ann Vileisis about Kitchen Literacy, what we know about our food, and how we came to know it. For Ann, her book Kitchen Literacy came about because she was struck by how much she didn't know about the common foods she encountered in the supermarket. In the research for her book, she was surprised to learn how much people expected to know about their food in pre-industrial times. For example, meats, they would find out the sex and age of the animal, the farm it came from, and even the animal's background. Certainly a far cry from our expectations today! To see more stories, get recipes, and links to additional resources, go to: http://cookingupastory.com/

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Kitchen Literacy with Ann Vileisis

Part Two of a Discussion on Food Production

Continuing on the dialogue on food production with author, Ann Vileisis.

FOOD NEWS: Kitchen Literacy-2

Continuing the conversation with Ann Vileisis, author of Kitchen Literacy, she explains how over time we became gradually disassociated from how foods were produced, and where they originated. Most importantly, the advertising industry played a significant role in changing American values toward food, and easing the transformation to the industrial food production system of today. No easy feat to accomplish, it took 50 years to fully inculcate society to the new norms of food consumption. To see more stories, get recipes, and links to additional resources, go to: http://cookingupastory.com/

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Kitchen Literacy with Ann Vileisis

Part Three of a Discussion on Food Production

The final part of the dialogue on food production with author, Ann Vileisis.

Kitchen Literacy-3

Part 3, Ann Vileisis talks about the need to start making connections between our consumption of food, and the environmental and social consequences that result. By taking a more integrative approach to how we choose food, we can promote better environmental practices, healthier food consumption, and insure a locally produced supply of fresh, and nutritious foods. To see more stories, get recipes, and links to additional resources, go to: http://cookingupastory.com/

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Making the Most of City Living

Urban Sustainability Smarts

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The Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns Can Change to Sustainable Practices by Sarah James

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In Defence of Food - Michael Pollan

Food Discussion - In Four Parts

Part One

View and discuss with friends, the brilliant series on food, from Rebecca Gerendasy, of Cooking Up A Story, about Michael Pollan's latest book, "In Defence of Food". Rethink your own ideas about food and sustainability. The book is available below from Amazon, along with Anne Vileisis' work "Kitchen Literacy", whose films from the same producer are included further down.

FOOD NEWS: Michael Pollan: In Defense Of Food

Michael Pollan's new book, In Defense of Food, provides the backdrop for his talk at the Bagdad Theater in Portland, Oregon, and this prior interview with Deborah Kane of the environmental nonprofit organization, Ecotrust. Remarkably, Mr. Pollan is talking about a defense of food in a literal sense: it's increasingly difficult to escape from eating foods that are food-like substances (processed foods), but are not whole (real) foods. We have come to look upon "nutritionism" as a valid means of determining (healthy) value in our diet; food has been reduced to its composition of good and bad nutrients, but are we really eating healthier? In part one, we see how simple changes in food labeling requirements can influence consumer behavior, and how food manufacturer's apply overwhelming pressure to effect laws that ultimately protect their own interests. To see more stories, get recipes, and links to additional resources, go to: http://cookingupastory.com/

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In Defence of Food - Michael Pollan

Food Discussion - In Four Parts

Part Two

Michael Pollan: In Defense of Food 2

In this segment, Michael Pollan talks about how we (Americans) have come to view food through the lens of nutritionism. Focused upon the good and bad nutrients within foods, this is our measure of what we deem healthy to eat, while also largely ignoring other reasons for eating, like pleasure and enhancing a sense of community. To see more stories, get recipes, and links to additional resources, go to: http://cookingupastory.com/

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In Defence of Food - Michael Pollan

Food Discussion - In Four Parts

Part Three

Michael Pollan: In Defense of Food 3

There's more to eating than just its effect upon our health. Pleasure, a sense of community, our sense of connection with nature, these are all highly important aspects of eating that may get overlooked. In this segment with Deborah Kane of Ecotrust, Michael Pollan connects the dots, between our over-reliance upon science, in this case, the science of nutrition, and our gross under-appreciation of culture as the trustworthy guide to our approach to eating food. To see more stories, get recipes, and links to additional resources, go to: http://cookingupastory.com/

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In Defence of Food - Michael Pollan

Food Discussion - In Four Parts

Part Four

Michael Pollan: In Defense of Food 4

"It is the best of times, and the worst of times when it comes to food. But, I focus on the best, and there are alot of very positive things happening." So says Michael Pollan in this final installment, as he completes the dots between government policy, public health, and the cost and availability of fresh wholesome foods. To see more stories, get recipes, and links to additional resources, go to: http://cookingupastory.com/

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Sustainable Tips and Tricks

Good Books on Amazon

Have you ever wanted to become more effective in your living habits? Here are some great titles for thinking about food production and consuming, sustainable living and saving resources in urban places. Make changes in the kitchen and in the yard, to increase quality of living and improving sustainability.

Kitchen Literacy: How We Lost Knowledge of Where Food Comes from and Why We Need to Get It Back

by: Ann Vileisis

Amazon Price: $17.79 (as of 07/05/2009)

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto

by: Michael Pollan

Amazon Price: $14.93 (as of 07/05/2009)

Food Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Yard into a Garden And Your Neighborhood into a Community

by: Heather Coburn Flores

Amazon Price: $16.50 (as of 07/05/2009)

The Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns can Change to Sustainable Practices

by: Sarah James, Torbjörn Lahti

Amazon Price: $17.12 (as of 07/05/2009)

Superbia: 31 Ways to Create Sustainable Neighborhoods

by: Dan Chiras, Dave Wann

Amazon Price: $21.46 (as of 07/05/2009)

Sustainability Links and Resources

Educate Yourself

The world wide web is an excellent resource for gathering links and education on being green and sustainable practices. Purchases, information and know-how all contribute to a better future. Search for links below and save them for future reference.

Eco-Bags Cotton String Bags: In a variety of lovely fresh colours, cotton string bags make a fashionable alternative to plastic bags, and hold lots of groceries!
Gaiam Fair Trade Products: Choose from a range of fair trade products at Gaiam, a wonderful resource for sustainable purchases.
Gaiam Eco Home and Outdoor: Shop for home and outdoor at Gaiam, for a range of environmentally conscious choices for every day living.
You Grow Girl: Wonderful site on all things green in relation to gardening.
It's a Green World: A great site for information on green and eco travel, worldwide.

Great Sustainable Stuff on Amazon

Change the Way you Shop!

The power of choice as a consumer is a big one. Use it wisely when thinking about replacing items already in use. Always re-use, recycle, where possible. Buying low energy light bulbs, a battery recharger and rechargeable batteries is a good place to start. These choices save in more ways than just one!