A new online database called The Adaptation Private Sector Initiative Database recently launched by the United Nations will showcase successful strategies that businesses and communities are using to adapt to climate change while simultaneously increasing their profits and using their resources more efficiently. The database, which can be accessed through the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) website, features more than 100 examples from companies such as Coca-Cola, Levi’s, Microsoft and Starbucks, which share the details of their business-friendly adaptation practices. “By showcasing private sector adaptation success stories, we intend to help both communities and businesses become more climate-resilient and to put the benefits and business sense of adaptation firmly on the agenda of the private sector,” said UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres, speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos.“Climate risks which affect communities around the world are always also business risks,” she added. Examples of best practices in the database include efforts to make drinking water clean and safe in developing countries and efforts to improve the yield of coffee beans in regions that are particularly vulnerable to climate change. They also cover activities such as the development of climate-friendly goods and services and climate proofing the supply chains of companies. Ms. Figueres underscored the importance of businesses and governments implementing measures to prepare for natural disasters such as massive floods, as these have a big impact on the operation of local and global businesses.“The initiatives detailed in the database both show how the private sector can secure early advantages by adapting without waiting for absolute policy certainty at the international level, and how governments and the private sector can work together to respond to climate change now. Public-private partnerships and cooperation with a wide range of stakeholders is becoming increasingly important to ensure successful implementation,” Ms. Figueres said.In addition to the new database, the UNFCCC secretariat’s Momentum for Change Initiative provides a platform to showcase successful public-private partnerships at all levels that have led to positive changes for both people and the climate.The database is part of a wider effort by UNFCCC following the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, to prioritize adaptation efforts as well as mitigation of natural disasters. Who's going to the San Francisco Zinfandel Festival? It's an event I look forward to every year. The Saturday Grand Tasting will feature A to Zin. Savor the journey through the world’s largest single varietal tasting as you sample from hundreds of barrel samples, new releases and premier Zinfandels. Meet winemakers from each of the unique Zinfandel growing regions and explore the dimensions of this authentically American varietal at the most comprehensive showing of Zinfandel wineries in the world. This distinctively “A to Zin” experience lets your senses guide a spirited adventure through the many tastes of America’s Heritage Wine. Gratitude Gourmet Broccoli Facebook Recipe Contest - Help Prevent Cancer - Tell Your Friends1/25/2012
I've previously written about Vegetables and their Cancer-Preventive Properties, and here's a new Study for your reference. Per the University of Illinois Website and Cancer Today magazine, there's mention of a January 2011 study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, published in Nutrition and Cancer which "provides convincing evidence that the way you prepare and consume your broccoli matters, and also suggests that teaming broccoli with broccoli sprouts may make the vegetable's anti-cancer effect almost twice as powerful." Per Elizabeth Jeffery, a University of Illinois Professor of Nutrition, "Broccoli, prepared correctly, is an extremely potent cancer-fighting agent--three to five servings a week are enough to have an effect. To get broccoli's benefits, though, the enzyme myrosinase has to be present; if it's not there, sulforaphane, broccoli's cancer-preventive and anti-inflammatory component, doesn't form." She also states that "many people destroy myrosinase by overcooking their broccoli....and "steaming broccoli for two to four minutes is the perfect way to protect both the enzyme and the vegetable's nutrients." Jeffrey also says that "Other foods that contain sulforaphane can also be teamed with broccoli to boost its benefits: mustard, radishes, arugula, and wasabi." She advises: "To increase the vegetable's benefits, you could sprinkle broccoli sprouts on your broccoli or make a mustard sauce to serve with broccoli." Wusthof Pairing Knife Gratitude Gourmet is sponsoring a Broccoli Recipe Contest! Do you have a favorite Broccoli Recipe or have you wanted to try one? Get your favorite recipes out, because Gratitude Gourmet is hosting its first ever Broccoli Recipe Contest! Recipe Submission Deadline: March 30, 2012 Voting Deadline: 8PM PT, April 30, 2012 *Only one recipe per participant, please. 1. Submit your favorite vegetarian/vegan recipe (appetizer, entree, side dish...the choice is yours!) by posting it to our Gratitude Gourmet Facebook Wall by March 30, 2012. 2. We will upload the recipe to this Official Gratitude Gourmet Facebook Recipe Contest Photo Album. 3. The recipe with the most Likes by APRIL 30, 2012 at 8PM Pacific Time will be announced as the winner. 4. By the end, we will all have a list of great broccoli recipes for everyone to enjoy, and your homemade broccoli casserole could be famous! What's the prize, you ask? Just the thing to get your cooking underway, a Wusthof Classic Pairing Knife 3.5" valued at $67. This Wusthof 3.5-inch Paring Knife is ideal for all light chopping tasks in the kitchen, whether peeling, coring or garnishing and is perfect for cutting Broccoli and Vegetables. The straight edge offers precise depth control producing flawlessly beautiful dishes. Wusthof's New Precision EdgeTechnology (PEtec) gives this knife an extraordinarily sharp blade that retains its edge 30% longer, features a traditional, triple riveted, ergonomic handle design, precision forged from a single sheet of steel with bolster and full tang, use for light chopping tasks, such as peeling, coring or garnishing. I've really enjoyed my high quality Wusthof Classic 5 Piece Studio Set, and the products have a lifetime warranty. Follow Wusthof on Twitter @wusthof & Like them on Facebook. QUESTIONS? Post any questions or inquiries to our Facebook page wall and we'll get back to you ASAP. We can't wait to see what you're cooking! Here's a great recipe for Broccoli, Soba & Shiitake Mushrooms With Wasabi-Mustard Vinaigrette and Toasted Sesame by Dean Rucker, a chef and author of Golden Door Cooks at Home to get you inspired! Remember: Submit your favorite recipe (appetizer, entree, side dish) by posting it to our Gratitude Gourmet Facebook Wall by March 30, 2012. Please share the contest on Facebook/Twitter and in your networks to help get your friends and family healthy too! More good Karma for you :) Book Review: President Clinton's Back To Work: Why We Need Smart Government For A Strong Economy1/21/2012
Hi Everyone, In President Clinton's latest book 'Back To Work: Why We Need Smart Government For A Strong Economy' he mentions great ideas on how smart government and smart business can work together to get people back to work. I wrote a review of the book here for your reference on my Clean Tech and Green Business News site. One item Bill Clinton also mentioned was to Start a Rooftop Garden. When I started Gratitude Gourmet back in May 2008, I wrote about smart and easy gardening options such as growing sprouts in a jar etc if you don't have a gardening space outside. Do any of you have a rooftop garden or a garden at all? Please share your successful or not so successful gardening stories with us at Gratitude Gourmet and everyone can gain from your knowledge and experience for a healthier community and world. Thx! Gratitude Gourmet Chocolate Sampler By Popular Demand, Gratitude Gourmet has just released 2 Chocolate Sampler Boxes in time for Valentines Day! The Gratitude Gourmet Vegan Sampler in a Merlot Gift Box features Fresh, California-made Hazelnut Chocolate Praline 2pcs, Fruit Pate 3pcs, Orange Baton 3pcs, Chocolate Covered Pretzel 4pcs, and Chocolate Covered Coffee 10 beans. The Gratitude Gourmet Chocolate Sampler in a Merlot Gift Box features freshly-made chocolate confections with 2 pcs each Lavennise, Chocolate Hazelnut Praline, Fruit Pate, Salted Caramel, Almond Toffee, and 10 pcs of Chocolate Coated Coffee. All Chocolate is Fair-Trade & Small and Large Orders are available. Order in time for Valentines Day. Gratitude Gourmet Healthy Food Box Join our Gratitude Gourmet Healthy Food Box Monthly Delivery Program, and Receive Free Shipping on deliveries to your home or office. As an added bonus for joining now, you will receive one delicious box of Gratitude Gourmet Vegan Chocolate Pralines as our Valentines Day Gift to you. The Gratitude Gourmet Healthy Food Box Monthly Delivery Program brings you and your family convenient, healthy food items containing vegan and mostly organic sweet, healthy snack, cereal, and soup product surprises for $19.99 each month with free US shipping. The Food Products alternate each month for a fresh surprise. Subscribe on our Gratitude Gourmet Home Page by Clicking HERE, and your first box with your Chocolate Valentines Day Gift will be delivered as soon as possible. Enjoy! We have an incentive to encourage you in your goals.
The Healthy Eating Plate, created by experts at Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School, points consumers to the healthiest choices in the major food groups. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's MyPlate, they say, fails to give people some of the basic nutrition advice they need to choose a healthy diet. They also state The Healthy Eating Plate is based exclusively on the best available science and was not subjected to political and commercial pressures from food industry lobbyists. More vegetables are needed, since Americans are deficient in vegetable consumption and drinking water is best. Some Vegetable Recipes are on the Harvard website. If you're looking for weekly or monthly Healthy Food Deliveries in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Gratitude Gourmet. What are your thoughts on the Healthy Eating Plate? Gratitude Gourmet Chocolate The University of Adelaide, Australia published a study suggesting that dark chocolate is superior to placebo in reducing systolic hypertension or diastolic prehypertension. More information on the study is located on the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) website. NCBI advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. Gratitude Gourmet Chocolate is 64% Dark Chocolate & Fair Trade. What are your thoughts on the study? |