I’m kinda tired, so I’m too lazy to blog much right now. However, last week I went to the epicenter of the locavore movement, Chez Panisse Cafe, and it rocked. I’ll tell ya about it later. I also want to tell y’all about the garden experiment, year 3, in which the squirrels won, sadly.

Green City Market is sponsoring an initiative called “The Localvore Challenge” from September 10-16th. This event is designed to increase awareness of eating locally, as well as sharing information about how people can meet that challenge head-on from cooking, freezing at home, to eating at restaurants that purchase locally grown food.

Check out the link above for a complete detailed list of activities and guidance on how you can participate in “The Localvore Challenge!”

This is a GREAT profile on the Chicago Tribune highlighting one Evanston couple’s attempt to eat locally. They’ve said so far they’ve accomplished 70% of their dietary needs from local sources - which is a great number. Be sure to check out the video too.

Personally - we think having both organic and local is the best thing to have, but when weighing one way or another, we’d prefer to go with what helps us reduce our carbon footprint the most.

When faced with a decision, do the best you can to investigate the methods of how the food item in question came before you. As the Fresh Squeeze said, there are surprising answers - such as the study of  growing onions in Great Britain being more eco-costly than shipping from New Zealand.

Some activities of the day include:

• Live music by Freeway Rangers and Sonés de Mexicobands
• A magician, clowns, face-painting, crafts and more
• Health education booths including: Breathe Well, Cardiovascular Health, Women’s Health, Digestive Health, and Alternative Medicine
• Food demonstrations: Raw food, hispanic cooking, Indian Delight, Fast & Easy, Tofu, and more
• A keynote by Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj: Meditate to Destress The Mind, Body, and Soul

Admission is free, parking and handicapped access will be available. For more information, call 630-955-1200 or visit the festival web site. 

First off, the inspiring Bill Moyers had E.O. Wilson on his show to talk about the earth. Now, normally I’d be all about that, but part of Wilson’s message is that we are simply destroying the habitats, right up to the very last 1, 2, 10% of these areas. It’s difficult to look at a worldwide problem with local eyes, but it needs to be done. I keep getting this image in my head of the last stand of trees in my beloved Marinette County falling, the last reef in St. John’s dying, the last panther stalking through the rain forest. Biking to work, I ride past condo after condo, new constructions all. EO didn’t mean to bum me out.. but.. HE DID! Others took messages of hope away from the broadcast (see their blog). Maybe I’m just too cynical.

Those big fat whales are on a diet again. They’re such attention whores they can’t STAND being off the endangered species list.

And, in the category of things we should have been doing earlier but finally got around to, Japan is leading the way for the rest of the world (Wake up, America!) in creating the first hybrid train. Not only do we need to rebuild our rail system, but we need to make ‘em cleaner when we do it.

Just like health care, we had better invest in change now as opposed to leaving things to rot. Speaking of rotten, here’s Alex Avery, a dude who JUST FOR YOU! ACT NOW! is going to save you from eating organic food. Gosh, he’s also written about why nitrates aren’t bad for your baby. Sure does grow ‘em big. Taste the nitrates.

Now, where’s that last panther? Alex, ArcherDaniels Midland called. They need the panther clubbed and tested for nitrates. It may have eaten some Genetically Modified corn and they’re afraid it’ll mutate into a cornther. Outside of self-promotion of his book, this kind of astroturf (for false grassroots special interest group) movement sickens me. What big pesticide manufacturer or other agri-business company bought you, Alex. It’s too easy to buy people’s opinions. Let’s keep working to make the Internet a place to propogate information, sharing the good stuff and burying the fertilizer.

So, let’s counteract the disinformation and check out Chicago’s very own A Fresh Squeeze, who are busting 10 myths about organic food. See you at the farmer’s market, Alex.

Thanks to the Foresight Design folks for putting things together.

Please consider alternative options. We use a Brita tank in our refrigerator. There are tap filters as well as home water-line filters that can be purchased.