Happy Earth Day!

If you didn’t already know, today is Earth Day. I actually have a fun afternoon planned to celebrate and hope you’ll be doing your part, too!

I’m taking the day off from work today – I have some appointments, a bunch of errands, and a fun event this afternoon. It’ll be a very busy day.

Thankfully, Nick made coffee this morning and I made a big bowl of oatmeal to fuel my morning ;)

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I love this Just 4 Nuts Butter!!! And I love that it’s not completely smooth and creamy – there’s some texture to it, but it’s not super crunchy.

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I made a simple bowl of banana oatmeal so I could really taste the nut butter (and dark chocolate).

  • 1/2 cup oats, 1 cup water, pinch salt
  • 1/2 banana, sliced
  • cinnamon
  • 1.5 Tbsp Just 4 Nuts Butter
  • 1/2 Tbsp dark chocolate chips

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Great way to start the morning, along with 2 cups of coffee and some playtime with Maggie.

 

Food, Inc.

I’m so glad I got the chance to watch Food, Inc last night, and Nick watched most of it, too.

Overall, I wasn’t really surprised by much that was covered – I’d read reviews about the film – but, even knowing what I know, it’s still a bit shocking to see that what you’ve heard is true.

I had heard about Monsanto after reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver but seeing what they were doing to Farmer Moe was sickening. Farmers that aren’t working with these huge conglomerates cannot keep up and cannot afford to fight back, and it makes me sad that we have companies going after these people simply because they know they can win. They have the money and power to push others around, but when you’re dealing with our country’s food and lives, that should not be happening.

While the entire film was important and eye-opening, the  biggest things I took away from it were:

  • To eat locally as much as possible
  • To view every purchase you make as your choice, your vote for what you want

Nick and I already try to shop locally when we can, but I also know that we can do more. Searching out and supporting all the things you have around you in your community is so easy to do, but it’s something that many people just don’t take the time to do.

Two places to find local farms, dairys, co-ops, etc, are:

We may not be able to fix these monopolies that are in charge of the food in this country, but every single item you buy is your vote that day.

You may not be able to get everything you need locally, but I want to buy whatever I can local and fill in the rest if needed.

Every time you buy from your local farmer’s market or join a CSA or Co-op, you’re putting your vote in the farmers’ corner. And if enough people start putting their votes in those places, change can happen.

 

Earth Day 2010

I feel like watching Food, Inc last night was a good activity to do right before Earth Day :)

Today, I’m doing what I can!

  • Taking my own water with me today in my reusable bottle
  • Eating local for lunch and at home for dinner
  • Using reusable bags for the items I need to purchase today
  • Celebrating Earth Day at a local university (details later!)

 

What are YOU doing to celebrate Earth Day today?

 

15 comments

  1. We are planting our garden!

    Have a great Earth Day!

    p.s. did you get my tweet last night?

  2. I dvr’d Food, Inc last night and I can’t wait to watch it! Have a great Earth Day!

  3. I need to watch Food Inc. although I don’t know that I’m fully ready yet after watching that Earthlings Trailer the other day… so eye opening and really makes you take a step back and reassess how important just your purchases truly can be. I agree with you about buying locally and I plan on doing that as much as I possibly can going forward. Great post!

  4. Just remember….If you eat you are involved in agriculture!! Third generation farmer!!!!!

  5. The spread looks good. Do you have a Food Inc review? cookinfanatic up there has a great comment. I love the food spread. And Happy earth day, too! I’m about to grab my green bags and head out the door!
    Katherine

  6. We have to go to Albany and I want to eat at a local restaurant for fun. And when we grocery shop I will definitely bring my own bags which are already in the van.

  7. So happy you enjoyed food, inc. I really felt the same way, I read about a lot of the things covered in other Michael Pollan books, etc. but still felt like it was a must-see and learned more and gained more compassion for small farms. I think I need to buy some chocolate chips for my oats, nothing is better than starting off your day with chocolate!

    my earth day events (before my long day @ work) are taking in my brita filters to whole foods for recycling and ordering a compost for my fruits and veg scraps!

  8. That oatmeal looks good (and I haven’t eaten any in ages)! Happy Earth Day!

  9. ohhh, i still want to read animal, vegetable, miracle by barbara kingsolver!

  10. dang that is some expensive nut butter!! i really want to try it though. it seems similar to Nuttzo which i’ve also been dying to try. guess i’ll have to wait until i find a job… :)

  11. I’m dying to watch Food, Inc!

    Ugh your oatmeal always looks amazing! Have a great Earth Day

  12. I am probably the last blogger not to have seen Food Inc. yet!

    Last year I decided to join a CSA – it cost me $25 a week for 8 weeks, and to tell you the truth, it wasn’t really worth it – the first few weeks were so cool, that all I got was a box of kohlrabi and some strawberries. And try as I might, I never liked kohlrabi!

    Have fun today!

  13. I love the idea of “voting” for what you want through your purchases….I really try to keep that in mind!

  14. I would never have considered chocolate chips in my oatmeal (which I eat practically every morning), but your photos/description got me rummaging through my kitchen, looking for chocolate chips! I’m all set tomorrow morning! Also, thanks for your tips and review of Food, Inc. I saw it a while back and it (along with Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma) further encouraged me to sustain my commitment to the organic/local food movement.

  15. catching up with your blog – have you found any local farms around you? I’m curious because I know you are in VA and Im trying to figure out where to find places that sell local meat.

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