The folks at Nature’s Path contacted me about a contest they are hosting with Everyday with Rachael Ray called “My Path to Sustainable Living.” They are searching for people who understand the importance of giving back, sustainability and the value of good nutrition and its connection to the earth. And on their website, they want to know where you are on the path to sustainability – how did you first get on the path, where you are now and where you want to go next?
The winner will receive $5,000 for themselves as well as $5,000 for a charity of their choice from a list of amazing organizations (The Breast Cancer Fund, The Lunchbox Fund, Habitat for Humanity, Big Brother Big Sister). The winner will also receive a year’s supply of Nature’s Path breakfast products (which would totally work for us – husband is addicted to Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola) and a block party hosted by Nature’s Path in the winner’s community where they will provide an organic breakfast for up to 100 attendees. Additionally they will appear in the February 2010 issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine.
While entering the contest, I thought a lot about my path to sustainable living. Without sounding trite, it is really about being true to my family. Once my kids arrived, and started to eat real food, many of the ideas I had about food began to coalesce into a regular practice. Feeding them healthy food and educating them about where food comes from, how they can be part of the process, and how to manage their own diets became important to me. Learning to eat local and seasonal foods became easier and less expensive, to say nothing of tasting better. Connecting with the farmers who grow our food was a fun way to introduce my kids to a part of my family history (my mom’s family had a small farm in southern California). Talking with my kids about why we avoid products with high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils caused me to seek out alternatives in the grocery store. When finding alternatives became difficult, recreating a favorite at home became my path.
Sustainable living for me is about the ability to make my own choices and take responsibility for those choices. On a regular week, we choose bike riding over car trips; we choose to know the farmers who grow our food; we chose to recycle and compost; we chose to be beekeepers and urban farmers; we chose reusable containers for drinks, snacks and lunch; we chose to help our friends and family understand our choices and influence through positive role modeling.
What is your path to sustainable living? What choices have you made?
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6 Comments
Gudrun, It was lovely to met you at Blogher. I am so happy I could tag along on your outing to the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market. That Primavera tamale was fantastic. I am so very happy to have stumbled upon the Sustainable Food post. It is my mission to switch from being a girl raised on hamburger helper to one who eats whole local foods. Can’t wait to hear more from your blog.
Gudrun, It’s always nice to get a reminder like this. Sometimes I’m gung-ho about lessening my impact and other times, well…..I lose focus.
While not completely sustainable, I’ve curtailed my retail spending a large amount this year. I look for alternatives to getting the same task done without first heading to Amazon. Second hand clothes are the norm (except when I buy new organic clothes as I still like to encourage more organic cotton farming through consumer demand) as is ‘making due’. I also live in an area with a large amount of farms and it’s nice to know the grower.
Thanks for the reminder!!
Twitter: kitchengirl
I was totally raised on Hamburger Helper! And you know what, it was good
. And now, because it is my passion, I am trying to introduce those same sort of comfort foods into my family meal plans, made from scratch and using local and seasonal ingredients. Glad you are along for the ride!
Twitter: kitchengirl
oh, wow, my first response to your comment was that you had me beat on spending. Then I realized, we are not in a competition – you are taking on the challenge to reduce spending and reuse and recycle, and I am deciding to focus on food issues. It is all good stuff!
I just learned about the organic cotton clothing issue, I did not realize the impact cotton growing has on the environment. Any pointers with more detail?
I haven’t done a ton of research, but I know that cotton uses a LOT (yeah, I used all caps) of fertilizer and pesticides to grow. For me, I feel it’s important to support and encourage those who grow cotton organically by creating more demand. Markets respond to increased demand, regardless of legislation.
Twitter: kitchengirl
I had heard a similar thing about peanut butter, and that if you could chose one item to buy organic, then peanut butter would be an impactful one.
Thanks for the followup…