Wondering how to live greener? You've come to the right place. Each week we challenge ourselves to try a new task ... or "amp up" something we're already doing. We raise our awareness, learn from each other and develop Eco-friendly skills which will improve our lives and protect our planet. Doing so together gives us power ... the power to Change The World!
If this is your first visit, please click HERE for information and a complete list of all the challenges we've taken on so far.
This post contains great information and I encourage you to read through it at your leisure ... however, if you are short on time, you might find the following quick links helpful:
Last week's challenge, to eliminate plastic from our lives, might have seemed a bit strange since our topic, for the month, is nutrition. Plastic, and the toxins it carries, has entered our food chain, turning once nutritious foods into harmful substances.
Here's something you may not know ... studies have shown that detectable levels of BPA (a plastic) in urine have been identified in 95 percent of the adult population in the U.S.
Getting rid of plastic may be impossible ... but we can, and should, do our best to eliminate it from our lives. For my part, I'm trying to look at every single thing I buy to ensure that it is safe. That's much easier said than done and often means that I go without some items. I also ask my grocery store to give me options. For example, in a store where all the produce comes in Styrofoam trays, I ask the produce manager if there are any items, waiting to be wrapped, which I can buy. It's surprising how often they say "yes". Bulk isles, if one brings their own container, is another good option. And, of course, I'm a Farmer's Market shopper and put groceries directly into my own reusable bags.
The Honor Society are those people who help us spread the "green" word by writing an article about our challenges and/or leaving pertinent comments.
Randy wrote Big Onion ... Little Onion ... And Reusing Mesh Fabric ... which addresses both our challenges on textiles and last week's challenge on reducing plastic use. He's found a great way to store onions ... they last longer (reducing waste), keep plastic out of landfills, and affords him an economical way to buy food. Brilliant, Randy!
Charlotte stopped by and shared this: "I love this months theme - nutrition. And this weeks challenge to minimize the use of plastic is a brain-teaser. Thank you for yet another World Changing Wednesday!"
Vicality wrote Keep plastic out of the food chain and challenged their readers to refuse one particular plastic item. It is the #1 plastic pollution in Monterey Bay, next to cigarette butts. Can you guess what it is? Hop over to the post to find out!
Is there sawdust in your food? Lois stopped by and shared this: "I am looking very closely into nutrition and what goes into our food this week. This began when I saw a Food Babe video on cellulose. I never questioned before what it was but learning it is saw dust (yes from cutting lumber) I knew it was time to dig deeper into my food and where it comes from. As for seaweeds, I stopped eating it after the Fukishima disaster because I questioned whether it was safe any more. Plastic is a hard one. I am having trouble sourcing my staples without plastic. Even the bulk food stores have the staples measured and weighted in plastic bags. This week I had to purchase potatoes which I could only find in plastic bags, my spinach (growing in a window box isn't ready to eat so my daughter-in-law picked up organic spinach for me when she went shopping, that came in a plastic container, then there is the plastic on the organic bananas and even plastic bag holding the oranges. I am so ready for the farmers' markets to reopen! You covered quite a bit here, I'm not sure I have any good suggestions to add to it."
Morag has a bunch of ideas for us including microbead plastic pollution and cotton ear swabs. She said this: "Plastic - one of my favourite topics! We have 29 plastic quests here: http://worldchanging.me/quest-tag/plastic - if you are stuck for ideas check them out or check-in for points and badges when you have completed one of them! xx "
Christine joined us and shared this: "I'm afraid I'm a practical plastic user. There are second hand plastic tubs growing crops on the concrete hard standing on the allotment to make full use of the area. Two households share the produce of the allotment. Plus others take a share of surplus plants in plastic pots and trays which are returned for future use. I have a collection of zip lock freezer bags and small boxes which store the produce from the allotment in the freezer. These get reused till they fall apart. Not sure what I would do without them as the allotment is supposed to produce food to see us through from one season to the start of the next. Shampoo, hair conditioner and washing up liquid come in 5 litre containers which are decanted down in to everyday bottles collected over the years. The big ones are recycled as are the small ones if they dare to wear out. Charity plastic bags are the bane of my life - three in a week sometimes but they do line household rubbish bins. Now there's a waste of plastic. I mean how many clothes does the average household have?"
Kimberly stopped by and said this: "I'm loving this! Pinned and tweeted. I hope to see you tonight at 7 at our party. I can't wait! Lou Lou Girls "
Deborah dropped in and shared this: "I try to include sea vegetables and dried seaweed powders in most of my meals to boost my nutritional intake. Thank you for sharing Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW) - Food from the Sea with us at the Healthy, Happy, Green and Natural Party Blog Hop! I sincerely appreciate it. I’m pinning and sharing!"
Alicia joined us and said this: "We have been trying to eliminate plastic for the past several years. We are doing pretty well but still seem to have some plastic to deal with. We use glass straws and are just getting ready to order some stainless steel ones. We use a shampoo bar and no conditioner and use a household cleaning bar instead of liquid detergent so we have very few plastic bottles in our home. It's the plastic from the grocery that we have to deal with the most. Little by little I am reducing it though. Great challenge."
Our Twitter friends joined the conversation and shared the following:
From @GronaVra
- Sir David Attenborough talks about plastic pollution in our oceans: youtu.be/qfDKEzPxhzQ via @YouTube
From @rulesofgreen
- When It Comes to Food Packaging, What We Don’t Know Could Hurt Us shar.es/1fo1ho via @Cornucopia_Inst
By the way ... my survey, this month, is all about nutrition so, if you have a minute, click HERE and tell me how you amp up your nutrition.
The #CTWW Gang are those folks who tweet our challenges using the hashtag #CTWW. If you're a Twitter member, I recommend following them ... they share great things. Let's meet them:
My Final Thoughts:
Years ago, canaries were brought into coal mines to warn miners of increased carbon monoxide levels. Being much smaller than humans, they were affected quicker and their death warned people in the mine to get out before experiencing the same fate. Sentinel species have been used throughout history to warn people of harmful environmental situations. While sea life isn't being used for this purpose, we need only look at the plight of plant and animal life to see the effects of plastic contamination ... to see what's in store for us. That scares me! We must take action now!
Thanks, everyone! If you wrote an article, I Stumbled, Tweeted, Facebooked and posted it on Google +. You can help spread the "green" word by using the share features located below this post.
This Week's Challenge:
March's theme is: Nutrition
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| Cooking with kids teaches them about nutrition |
It's also a fun family activity!
Here's your challenge ...
This week, invite your family into the kitchen to either cook a meal or bake together. Include them in the menu selection and talk about ingredients and nutrition. Make this a fun experience and then enjoy your meal together!
OR ...
If cooking a meal with your family isn't doable, invite them on a grocery shopping adventure. At the market, discuss which foods are the most nutritional and what could be cooked with various items. Also read labels on packaged foods and discuss the various ingredients and nutritional content.
If cooking a meal with your family isn't doable, invite them on a grocery shopping adventure. At the market, discuss which foods are the most nutritional and what could be cooked with various items. Also read labels on packaged foods and discuss the various ingredients and nutritional content.
OR ...
If the first two options don't work for you, talk to your friends or family about ways to improve nutrition. Come up with at least one improvement and incorporate it into your life.
If the first two options don't work for you, talk to your friends or family about ways to improve nutrition. Come up with at least one improvement and incorporate it into your life.
Are you ready for a nutritional, fun week? I know that you are!
Until next time ...
WE'RE CHANGING THE WORLD ... ONE CHALLENGE AT A TIME!
This post is shared at Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party