 A new Greenpeace report: 'How Nestle’s Use of Palm Oil is Having a Devastating Impact on Rainforest, the Climate and Orangutans” shows how Nestle’s growing use of palm oil is linked to companies involved in the destruction of forests and peatlands in the Paradise Forest region of Southeast Asia. Please take a look at the article and send your own message to Nestle. Add Comment  You know I'm a fan of planting trees since I partnered with MokuGift to plant a tree for each attendee at the Green Software Unconference I co-founded. Here's another opportunity where YOU can plant a tree and enjoy some delicious chocolate. Original Beans' Cru Virunga is the first-ever single-source chocolate from the heart of Africa: the Congo. It's 70% cocoa, and the Ingredients are directly-traded cacao beans, sugar, and cacao butte.For every Original Beans bar you purchase, Original Beans will plant a tree in the region of the bean's origin to replenish and protect the areas where the cacao beans thrive. Each bar comes with a Tracking Number, and you can enter that Number on the Original Beans website to track the conservation efforts at your bar's forest of origin. Original Beans allies directly with the farmers to create positive change and preserve our precious natural environment. Their 20-step chocolate making process - from tree planting to final bar - allows them to reveal the beans finest flavors. I asked Phillip Kauffmann, the co-founder of Original Beans, some additional questions about the Congo project. Per Phillip: "We started a public-private partnership to organize a substantial reforestation effort and build a sustainable cocoa sector among ten thousand farmers, mainly around the Northern end of Virunga National Park. The Gorilla habitat is in the South of Virunga. It is threatened by migration and charcoal trade out of the park and by developing a sustainable smallholder cocoa industry, coupled with explicit replanting work, we expect to slow these trends. We also expect to play a crucial role in supporting th post-war development of this society. Already, we can see that farmers are returning to their land, which they fled from into the cities during the war.....To date, more than 1 million trees have been planted, cocoa and shade/wood trees. We are also integrating forest conservation criteria into the internal control system of our organic certification, and we will, this year for the first time in the cocoa world, measure the net positive climate contribution of sustainable small farming to demonstrate that smallholders need not be among the worst carbon polluters in the world (through slash and burn practices)." "If you're attending the March 20 San Francisco Chocolate Festival, you will be able to try Original Beans Chocolate in person: Drexelius Chocolates will be hosting Original Beans at Booth 33. Here's an added Bonus: You can use promo code SALON to receive 20% off your product purchase at http://drexeliuschocolates.com The promo code is good from 3.15.10 to 3.31.10.  Photo Credit: NKU by Seth Affoumado I'm really excited to share this NKU Alumni Going Green Article with you about the work I'm doing to help our Planet, and it also features Gratitude Gourmet. Thank you to all my Gratitude Gourmet readers and supporters throughout this Journey! Let's keep working to make this Planet a better place!  World Water Day is coming up this month, and there will be a showing of Tapped-The Movie March 20 in Sunnyvale. You may remember my interview with the Producer. If you haven't seen the movie yet, I highly recommend it. Where: Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church, 728 W. Fremont, Sunnyvale, CA When: Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 7:00pm in Fellowship Hall. Details: The movie lasts for 76 minutes. There will be a short discussion afterwards. Popcorn furnished, bring your own water, beverage. Event: All About Composting! 03/02/2010
 The UCCE Santa Clara County Master Gardener Program is sponsoring an All About Composting event this Saturday, March 6 starting at 10am. More information about this event is here. Mobile Gratitude Gourmet Blog 03/02/2010
 Do you want to read Gratitude Gourmet's Blog on your Mobile? Now, you can at the following url: http://gratitudegourmetblog.wirenode.mobi/ Let me know if this works for you, and if you have any comments and suggestions. Thanks! Prevention: The Case for Natural Foods 03/01/2010
 Credit Prevention A March Prevention article on 'The Case for Natural Foods' is my recommended read for Gratitude Gourmet readers. It mentions a study by Dean Ornish, M.D. and his colleagues where they assigned men with Prostate Cancer to a "clean living" intervention that included a wholesome, plant-based diet, regular physical activity, and stress management. As a result, these men with Prostate Cancer "demonstrated a marked reduction in the activity of genes that can promote prostate cancer growth and a significant increase in the genes that are able to control it". The article is here.  Petition Secretary Vilsack to stand up for organic family farmers and reject approval of GMO alfalfa by signing this Petition. Additional references are here: 1. Farmers Sue USDA Over Modified Alfalfa Crop http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2883 2. Roundup Ready® Alfalfa Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) website http://www.aphis.usda.gov/biotechnology/alfalfa_eis.shtml 3. USDA stance on GM alfalfa threatens “fabric of organic industry”, The Organic & Non-GMO Report, February, 2010 http://www.non-gmoreport.com/ |
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