Congratulations to the Gratitude Gourmet Uzuri Peets Coffee Winners! The 5 winners are: Winner #1: C Fetch; Winner #2: C Faulk; Winner #3: S Powell; Winner #4: Carolsue; Winner #5: A Gross For future giveaways, please make sure you're on the following Gratitude Gourmet websites to receive the latest opportunities! Facebook, E-Newsletter, and Twitter.
On March 23, Alexandria, VA became the second city in the nation— and the first in a major metropolitan area— to pass a Green Foods Resolution. Farm Sanctuary has launched a groundbreaking national campaign to introduce Green Foods Resolutions in cities and towns throughout the country.
A Green Foods Resolution is a city or town council resolution designed to counteract the health threats and massive environmental damage caused by animal agriculture by calling on citizens to eat lower on the food chain. Animal product consumption is a leading contributor to heart disease, stroke and certain forms of cancer, and animal agriculture has been cited by the United Nations, World Watch Institute and a host of leading environmental experts — including Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, 2008 Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — as being among the leading causes of greenhouse gas emissions. Healthy Food Alexandria supports the creation of a citywide, citizen-led initiative to increase residents’ access to locally grown, environmentally sustainable foods by increasing public awareness; encouraging the development of citizen-initiated community gardens and expanded access to farmers’ markets; and supporting healthy food choices, especially those involving locally produced food.
The initiative would also work to: - increase public awareness through educational events and by providing special recognition to restaurants, businesses and organizations that use local food produced with sustainable methods;
- increase access to healthy, local foods for low-income communities by seeking opportunities to allow food stamps to be accepted at farmers’ markets;
- support community education efforts to help children learn more about healthy, local food by expanding locally sourced foods in their school-provided meals;
- facilitate partnerships between the city, community organizations, nonprofits, local businesses, faith-based organizations and local farmers to increase residents’ access to locally produced foods by offering classes and workshops in gardening, nutrition and cooking.
A group of Alexandria residents with a strong interest in promoting local, healthy food in the city and the Partnership for a Healthier Alexandria’s ACHIEVE Planning Team — a community partnership that received a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to work with policy and grassroots leaders to reduce childhood obesity — collaborated to bring the resolution to fruition. The resolution, which was endorsed by the Partnership for a Healthier Alexandria and the city’s Environmental Policy Commission, is also consistent with the goals of the city’s Environmental Action Plan 2030, which calls for educating residents about and increasing “equitable access to safe, healthy, and organic food, particularly for children and pregnant women, and to encourage local and regional food production.”
“We congratulate the Alexandria City Council for taking much needed steps to protect the health of their citizens and reduce the environmental devastation caused by industrial animal agriculture,” said Gene Baur, president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary. “With the evidence that has emerged in recent years on the link between our food choices and the degradation of the environment, people are finally waking up to the fact that green living isn’t just about what kind of car you drive or the type of light-bulbs you use, it’s also about what’s at the end of your fork. Our so-called cheap food comes at a steep cost to the environment and to our health.”
The NY Times has a great recipe for Black Bean Soup. Did you know Black Beans contain anthocyanins, the phytonutrients found in blue and dark red foods (such as blueberries, red grapes, and red cabbage) that are being studied for their antioxidant properties? Here's the Black Bean Soup With Cumin and Tomatoes Recipe, courtesy of Martha Rose Shulman.
Last weekend's SF International Chocolate Salon visit yielded new Chocolate Entrepreneurs: Confections by Kay Dillon and Nicobella Organics.
Confections by Kay Dillon features a 'Vegan Do Anything! line with eight delicious vegan truffles of creamy ganache made with Belgian chocolate and coconut milk infusions, and vegan caramels made with coconut milk and Celtic Sea Salt and dipped in semisweet chocolate. The Walnut Caramel with chocolate and toasted, chopped walnuts was Amazing!
Nichole Dandrea started Nicobella Organics, and features a variety pack of vegan organic dark truffles, including walnut flaxseed crunch, sunflower banana butter, pumpkin chai, blueberry almond, ginger green tea, and pure cocoa bliss. I highly recommend the Pure Cocoa Bliss!
Here's an update to my recent Post re: a new Greenpeace report: 'How Nestle’s Use of Palm Oil is Having a Devastating Impact on Rainforest, the Climate and Orangutans” and I asked you to email Nestle. Per your emails and Facebook Posts on Nestle's Facebook Page, among many others, I have Good News to share per this Guardian article.
"Since Wednesday, Nestlé has been at the centre of a PR firestorm after Greenpeace alleged that its palm oil supplier Sinar Mas is involved in illegal rainforest clearance in Indonesia. Nestlé has since cancelled its contract with Sinar Mas, but says that it is still receiving palm oil from the firm through its supplier Cargill.
Cargill is one of the world's largest privately held corporations, exporting palm oil to more than 30 countries.
In a statement on its UK website, Nestlé said it had sought assurances from Cargill about its supply chain. "Cargill has informed us that Sinar Mas needs to answer Greenpeace's allegations by the end of April," the statement continued.
José Lopez told Guardian Sustainable Business that Cargill are investigating the case, and if found at fault, Sinar Mas would be cut out of Cargill's supply chain by Mid-May. "We definitely expect that to happen," he said."
Great work everyone! Here's an example where every person can make a difference!
 Recently, I've been writing about food, genes, and cancer. See my posts on: Epigenics, Nutrigenomics, and Prevention and Natural Foods.
Here's a new article on how green leafy vegetables may prevent cancer.
Specifically, the article and study mentions people who eat more leafy green vegetables have less risky DNA. The “better” or less risky DNA has less methylation in certain genes. Here’s how the proposed model works: More Vegetables → Less DNA Methylation → Lower Risk of Lung Cancer. This can be expressed in an opposite model: Less Vegetables → More DNA Methylation → Higher Risk of Lung Cancer. More information is here.
The NRDC recognized that Food is an important part of the environmental equation by sponsoring last year's Growing Green Awards. I have more good news to share with you. The NRDC and Garrison Institute now recommend less meat and dairy consumption and more consumption of plant-based foods. You can read the full article here.
The public library has installed gardens outside its Mission and Noe Valley branches with plans for more, and is leading classes for teens on how to cultivate them.Per Mayor Gavin Newsom, "Urban agriculture is about far more than growing vegetables on an empty lot...It's about revitalizing and transforming unused public spaces, connecting city residents with their neighborhoods in a new way and promoting healthier eating and living for everyone."Astrid Haryati, the Mayor's greening director, said the food grown on city property will either be given at low or no cost to neighbors or distributed to local farmers' markets. But she noted there's a benefit beyond healthful food: a more beautiful landscape. "It's not only about feeding mouths," she said. "It's about feeding the soul and feeding the pride of San Francisco urban dwellers."
Read the full article here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/23/BA4V1CJP4C.DTL
 I've been a fan of Field Roast Loaves for many years since I bought them to share during a Thanksgiving celebration. I'm happy to report that the Field Roast Loaves also come in several other flavors: Lentil Sage, Wild Mushroom, and Smoked Tomato. Field Roast also has Sausages that come in Italian, Smoked Apple Sage, and Mexican Chipotle. Are you hungry yet? I must say that once you try these, you'll be impressed. If you're looking for recipes, the Field Roast website lists several options to try including: Smoked Tomato Pesto Skewers, Linguini with Sausage Bolognese, Grilled Classic Meatloaf Sandwich. Enjoy!
Check out this recent NY Times Post where the FDA is looking more closely at food company claims, specifically by releasing 17 warning letters to food manufacturers.
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