Artisanal Food Locator

A great new website, Foodzie.com allows you to search local zip codes for artisanal, organic foods (including cakes and such).   I've just spent a few hours browsing hungrily.  All US so far, so we need a Canadian version!

Environmental Defence 'Just Beautiful' campaign launch - Is Aveda complying?

Environmental Defence "Just Beautiful" campaign launch - The Globe and Mail
A worthy undertaking - environmental cosmetics. So - Aveda or not?

Here's a discussion

The impressions we have formed of Aveda makeup, skin care and haircare products are primarily from the services we received over the years in beauty salons such as facials, manicures, pedicures, and hair colorings...

When you visit the Aveda website, you are immediately seeing big, bold, clean water ads, and organic farming ads, 'Farming is the #1 polluter of US waterways. Organic farming keeps them free of pesticides and chemicals.' And yet, they continue to dump toxic chemicals into the Aveda line. As many of you know from... parabens seep into skin tissue and have been linked to cancer. The Aveda makeup and skincare line uses several of these parabens in much of the cosmetic line, mostly methylparaben.

Phenylenediamine, resorcinol, along with fragrance, slicylic acid, and ethyl lactate which causes skin, eye, or lung irritation are some of the not so natural ingredients in Aveda products. It is nearly impossible to get exact ingredients in each of their products by visiting the website. They have a general 'ingredients list'on the Aveda website. Natural? Sure. The ingredients they list are natural. But why are they not listing the rest? On the website….'Aveda products show that what you put on your body should be as healthy and natural as what you’d put into it'.

hmmm. Evidently Aveda pledged to be 'paraben-free' by August 2010. Want to check?

Try SKIN DEEP, the COSMETICS DATABASE from the Environmental Working Group. I did find Methylparabens, and other toxicity elements in MOST Alveda products including an unidentified FRAGANCE additive.

Check your own brands - and see what mysteries lurk in your 'organic' products....

Kortwright Centre - A green venue?

The Kortwright Conservation Centre is another venue which promotes 'green' credentials. Here is their list of compliance, to compare with other venues, such as the Black Creek Village venue (posted below) or other sites you may visit. It's work having some of these lists to ask questions...

• Complete local and organic menus available.
• Source local vendors to supply food, alcohol and linens.
• Vegetable and soy wax candles used to create an intimate ambience.
• Fair trade coffee and tea served.
• 100% Bullfrog powered facility.
• No use of chemicals or pesticides to maintain grounds.
• Facilities cleaned with eco-friendly and biodegradable products.
• We have an onsite recycling program.
• We reduce water consumption with an onsite wetland wastewater treatment system.
• We have an onsite solar hot water heating system.
• Our staff car pool to work to reduce carbon emissions.
• All proceeds go towards environmental education programs.
• By holding the ceremony and reception here we reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by your guests' vehicles.

Black Creek Pioneer Village - a green venue?

Black Creek Pioneer Village

It's worthwhile asking a "Green" venue what concrete (sic) factors make them an ecological choice.
For instance, here's a checklist from Black Creek Pioneer Village: 'Toronto's Original Green Event Venue'

At Black Creek Pioneer Village, being "green" means going back to our past. In 1860's Toronto, being green wasn't a movement; it was a way of life. Almost everything consumed was locally made or produced. Taking our cue from this bygone era and using some common day ingenuity, we have taken the following steps to help reduce our footprint.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
* The goal is to have ZERO landfill refuse at the end of the event.
* Any left over food is composted.
* We only purchase compostable napkins, plates, cutlery and cups.
* All glass, cans, plastic containers and cardboard products are recycled.

Local Food, Wine and Beer
* We support local farms by purchasing vegetables and meats. Our goal to locally source 60% of all of the food used
* We operate an historic brewery on-site and sell locally produced craft beer and promote local craft brewers.
* We host a events that highlight and promote local food and beverage producers, including Brews Fest
* We promote seasonal menus that feature Ontario produce.

Products
* Only tap water is used at events.
* All paper products are chlorine-free, made from 100% recycled material; we use hand cloth towels throughout our kitchen.
* All coffee is fair trade.
* All dishwashing and cleaning products are toxic and chemical-free

Vegan chef wins cupcake competition

Vegan chefs and their cakes are pretty mainstream, now - but Chloe Cosarelli is making waves by winning traditional cooking contests - you might enjoy her blog, and the news about her tiramisu and chocolate cupcake prize-winning recipes (as well as her Mango fusion curried cauliflower panini). She's even featured in the NY Times.

Brickworks Culinary Wedding

An urban country wedding - thestar.com
[WE had been wondering  about  weddings at the Brickworks, as it's just down the hill from our house.. and lo, it's beginning.....]

".... Streiman, 30, and Epstein, 31, love food. There really is no overstating that. And so, their wedding is about fresh, local food, country living, family, and the Jewish faith, perfectly packaged together in an old industrial building at the Evergreen Brick Works, along the Don Valley.

Birds chirp and bees buzz at the old brickyard, which has been turned into a community environment centre but still has faded bricks and shattered windows. Fruits trees and tomato plants are tagged for sale nearby...(Guests) mingle over bread, cured beef and duck, sheep’s milk cheeses and fruit laid out on tables covered in burlap sacks. They sip beer and water out of mason jars that will later be used for canning... Last December, the couple bought a 40-hectare farm in Maple Valley, not far from renowned chef Michael Stadtlander’s Eigensinn Farm and the town of Creemore. They plan to open a bed and breakfast called Mad Maple Farm, with comfortable suites, farm-to-table brunches, cooking classes and foraging expeditions. Their urban wedding is the beginning of their foray into the country. Roughly 20 chefs are preparing an incredible meal at five stations set up in plain view of the guests.

These are rising stars in Toronto’s restaurant industry, and close friends of Streiman’s, who knows where every ingredient in this feast has come from. The fish was caught the day before the wedding, by Akiwenzie’s Fish & More, a small First Nations fishing company in Georgian Bay. The rainbow carrots, beets, salad greens, fennel, eggs and duck came from a co-op of 20 farms called the Kawartha Ecological Growers, as did the 128 chickens, raised just for today.

The fruit is from Niagara and the water, the Niagara escarpment. The artisanal breads were made at St. John’s bakery, part of St. John’s mission in Toronto. The cheese is from Monforte Dairy in Stratford. The beer from the Steam Whistle brewery. The list could go on. Luis Valenzuela, chef at Torito in Kensington market, admits he pulled an all-nighter because the fresh lamb and baby chickens arrived just before the wedding.

Conscious Food Festival Toronto

Conscious Food Festival Toronto's Blog |
This celebration of local food and sustainability will be held Saturday August 14th and Sunday August 15th, 2010, at Fort York National Historic Site, Toronto.

The Conscious Food Festival is the first ever Canadian collaborative event to help promote the growing sustainable food movement while introducing thousands of people to food that is local, natural, healthy and delicious. The Conscious Food Festival brings city dwellers, rural neighbours and visitors to Fort York National Historic Site to experience a range of activities such as tastings, exhibits, seminars, debates and an urban farm, that will connect local restaurants, local farms and local food suppliers to your table.
One speaker is Jeff Crump, Author of “Earth to Table: Seasonal Recipes from an Organic Farm” as well as the Executive Chef at Ancaster Old Mill, Jeff is a Canadian Slow Food pioneer and an advocate of local, sustainable gastronomy. Jeff has developed his talents at a number of the world’s top restaurants: Lumeire in Vancouver, Chez Panisse in Berkeley California, and The Fat Duck in the UK.

Foodprint Offers Food for Civic Thought - cupcakes!

Foodprint Offers Food for Civic Thought - Torontoist

Interesting panel on the possibilities of changing urban food patterns ...

"you can trace the progress of gentrification in a city by mapping the spread of its cupcake shops."

Though looking at how cities work solely through their food may seem like an odd, overly specific approach, consider this: according to work done by a Rutgers University researcher, you can trace the progress of gentrification in a city by mapping the spread of its cupcake shops.
It was just that kind of unexpected insight on the relationship between what we eat and urban environments that characterized Foodprint Toronto, the second in an international series of conversations about food and the city. Organized by Nicola Twilley and Sarah Rich and held at the always-great Wychwood Barns, the day-long event was comprised of four panels, each of which gathered a variety of people, from policy makers and academics to writers and suppliers, to discuss how food shapes and influences our city.
What quickly became clear over the course of the day was that how to sustainably and responsibly feed Toronto over the coming years in the face of climate change, shifting market conditions, our diverse population, and sprawling suburbs will—to put it mildly—be a little complicated.

As an example, Barbara Emanuel, senior policy adviser at the City's Board of Health and part of Foodprint's first panel, spoke about how she tried to get the City to allocate 10% of its twenty million dollar food budget to local produce. Heading down to the Ontario Food Terminal, however, she discovered that in the face of the $300 million contracts between suppliers and distributor, her $2 million budget could do little to change where produce was sourced from....

Nonetheless, as anyone who has watched The Wire will tell you, cities are incredibly complex places, and although some in government fail to innovate, many others—including those at City Hall—are making things happen. Some of the best examples came from Darren O'Donnell, who has organized dinners between his arty "theatah" friends and recent arrivals to Canada, breaking down the barriers between groups using food. Similarly, Laurel Atkinson of Not Far From the Tree explained how her program gathers people to pick fruit on homeowners' land that would otherwise go to waste, usefully blurring the urban distinction between public and private—not to mention saving about nine thousand pounds of fruit last year.

"Green" wedding locations in Toronto

Most 'wild' locations in Toronto are only suitable for small, informal weddings. For big weddings (over 20 people) you must book the large sites (Botanical Garden, Kortwright@Guelph, Edwards, etc.) as mentioned in the BlogTo article mentioned below.) or places like the Algonquin Island clubhouse/beach, or choose a destination/event location with a garden, such as the Donalda Club, McClean House, various Country Clubs, Sunnyside, the Old Mill, Black Creek Village, etc.

We wrote about smaller green locations HERE, including
parks, the Toronto Islands (wards and hanlans by preference), Allan Gardens, Kew Gardens, the Music Garden (now limited to 20 people), Cherry Beach, the spit, hidden bits of High Park & the Ravines, Ashbridges, Humber, bits of Taylor Creek, the Rouge, and of course the Brick Works - mostly big events, but investigate!

Blog TO; The Best Green Wedding Services in Toronto

The Best Green Wedding Services in Toronto
They say:

"The best green wedding services in Toronto might soon have a little more competition. In a shaky economy and during a surge in environmental awareness, more couples are opting for sustainable and do-it-yourself celebrations. Let's face it - "green" is more than a passing craze ... Shops and services catering to eco-minded brides and grooms are popping up across the city faster than you can say, I do!"

Listed are dresses, caterers, event planner, Mill Street brewery, tux rentals, flowers and venues. Glad to see eco|stems - But would have liked to see a broader range of suppliers. The comments, as usual, offer some other ideas - like The Bride's Project, which we've discussed before, and a new 'locavore/guerilla organic' flower project: my lucious backyard, Etsy, but we would have liked to have seen more vintage, both grooms and brides, or the new or the new Green Wedding Boutique(recycled gowns), and more 'outside the box' ideas .

Also missing - vegan caterers, and lots more green wedding sites. Think I'll blog about that...

Green Bride Guide April campaign

From the Green Bride Guide:
Did you know the average wedding produces 63 tons of CO2 and 400-600 pounds of trash? The impact on the planet is substantial. The goal of the Greener Weddings Awareness campaign in April is to educate engaged couples about the importance of making eco-friendly choices in the planning process to lessen the environmental impact of their wedding.
I like their option of shopping by "Eco Strategy".  Though I wish they had more info about the companies listed - but if you click "Buy", you'll go through to the verification websites (like Veriflora)

SierraEco eco floral organization

Sierra Eco Floral Organization:
ONTARIO FLORISTS who are members of Sierra Eco

Every time you give someone Sierra Eco flowers, you are also giving a family a chance to earn a decent living and provide for their children while preserving the environment for future generations - quality flowers that respect people and the environment!

Sierra Eco is committed to improving and assuring fair living standards for flower farm workers and their families by ensuring worker safety, wage security, education and health care. Farms that carry the Sierra Eco label secure funds for housing, education and recreational programs.

In order to maintain healthy soils and ensure the availability of clean water supplies, flowers with the Sierra Eco seal come from farms that practice environmentally responsible flower growing methods, recycling and waste disposal

eco|stems ~ an environmentally and socially sustainable flower shop in toronto: Vase and Pot Amnesty!

eco|stems ~ an environmentally and socially sustainable flower shop in toronto: Vase and Pot Amnesty!

From a Sustainable Florist in Toronto (Queen East)
"Here at eco|stems we are always thinking of ways we can lesson our collective impact on the environment and get our customers involved. With that in mind, we wanted everyone to know that we will happily take any used vases and/or pots you've got collecting dust. Bring them in and we'll trade your vase/pot for a flower. Cracks, chips or scratches are no problem, we'll take those too! Metal, glass and ceramic etc. are all accepted.

We'll put them all to good use and keep them out of landfill. Give us a call if you have larger quantities and we'll arrange to pick them up. A big thank-you goes out to those individuals who have already brought in their vases and pots for reuse!"

SeaChoice for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad

SeaChoice for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App StoreSeaChoice for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store This is from David Suzuki's Blog. It's an APP about sustainable seafood. So if you do plan to have a Sushi Station at your reception, at least check what you're eating. Remember that restaurants re-title fish to avoid restrictions (Tilapia/ sea bass, etc.).

Wedding Chairs in Forests - not!

Well, OK, for your granny.  But everyone else can stand. This is from a post about Green Spaces in Toronto, here. But in general, whether it's in national parks, heritage locations, waterfronts, or gardens, an outdoor green ceremony should be simple, short, and respectful of the location.  Which means NO CHAIRS, in Central Park, in Algonquin Park, in the wilderness.

The worms will thank you, too, and the leafcutters.

Gluten Free wedding cakes?

Wild Earth Bakery and Cafe offers "celebration cakes" - and they make extra efforts to avoid contamination:
Our unique line of gluten-free baking is made with non-wheat flours such as potato, tapioca, rice and coconut. Our exclusive line of baked goods is so delicious that you won’t even be able to tell the difference between our organic products and those that are gluten-free.

Cross contamination is a major concern for those that are Wheat intolerant or Celiac. We have taken every precaution possible to prevent this from happening. These steps include separate baking days, separate bakeware, keeping our flours separated and even separate tongs and utensils to ensure that anything that starts out gluten-free remains that way. We would be pleased to answer any questions that you might have about this issue.

Vintage Dresses in Toronto

VintageBride.ca is a tiny boutique tucked into Mirvish Village - an antique, artists and vintage shopping area in Toronto. Vintage is run by the theRefinery.com, a retro and vintage store across the street.

You can make an appointment to view their vintage dresses at vintagebride, or go chat with the lovely person who curates the collection over at The Refinery (where you can enjoy some of the fun things she brought back from Paris).
Be sure to browse bridesmaid dresses and accessories at Refinery - and also bring along your beau for vintage clothes for men - why limit yourself to the save old boring wedding + funeral suits! Linen jackets are so much classier :-)

Here's a post I wrote about Men and Wedding suits after a hot summer of red-faced grooms in black suits .

DIY: Sew your own accesories (or wedding dress!)

Here's The Workroom in Toronto. Bernina equipped, laser cutters, engravers, etc. They warn "You must know how to sew to use our equipment". But if you don't, then take a class! Buy organic fabric, make your dress, table runners, canopy, napkins -- learn something and have a blast!

Not on the wedding menu: Shark fin soup

A bride we know is making wedding donations (instead of table favours) to
StopSharkFinning.net This is particularly appropriate, as "Shark Fin Soup" is a 'traditional' wedding banquet dish. Every year tens of millions of sharks die a slow death because of finning. Finning is the inhumane practice of hacking off the shark's fins and throwing its still living body back into the sea. The sharks either starve to death, are eaten alive by other fish, or drown (if they are not in constant movement their gills cannot extract oxygen from the water). We commend this usual spotlight on a cruel practice, and recommend you see the film Sharkwater

Organic Cotton Fraud

Well, H&M got caught, but that's just the tip of things.

Man, it is so not shaping up to be H&M’s year when it comes to doing the green thing. The Swedish fast-fashion purveyor and other leading European retailers and brands, including C&A and Tchibo, have been hawking certified-organic cotton clothing contaminated with genetically modified cotton from India, according to the German edition of the Financial Times, which is crying fraud—well, alleged fraud—because GMOs are verboten in organic standards.... With the pervasiveness of biotech crops around the world, cross-pollination with their organic counterparts is not unheard of. The fault, however, could lie with with the offending brands and their inadequate monitoring of their overseas supply chains. “The fashion chains were not vigilant enough,” Monika Buening of the Federal Consumer Affairs Agency, told the Frankfurter Rundschau, adding that both H&M and C&A need to act tout de suite to minimize the damage.

Also see:  Why does organic cotton matter, if we don't eat it?

Kate McGarrigle

We thank her for everything she gave us.

eco-underwear

An interesting post on Grist discusses organic underwear, including bras and soy panties!  Yes!  The soy pantie brand is - Uranus Apparel (amazing) "Our soyshorts are colored with 100% natural vegetable dye and packaged in burlap drawstring sacks that are 100% biodegradable. We encourage you to compost your burlap bag or reuse it as a pouch to hold your most valuable treasures".  The problem with the bras is that most need to be fitted, and UMBRA suggests you learn to make your own underwear  - or, of course browse Etsy.  So for all you spring brides, here's a good winter research project:  eco bra sewing....

EcoArt

Running the Numbers looks at contemporary American culture through the austere lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on. My hope is that images representing these quantities might have a different effect than the raw numbers alone, such as we find daily in articles and books. Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 32,000 breast augmentation surgeries in the U.S. every month.  (thanks to my daughter for this facebook link)

Sustainable Wedding Florists

I spend most of my time between Toronto and Manhattan.  Its interesting to compare the two cities, and what type of green services are available.  Here is a great florist, located in a 'gentrifying' area of Toronto known as Corktown:

 Eco|Stems :

"We are an environmentally and socially sustainable flower shop located in downtown Toronto. Our award-winning designs use only local, organic, and fair trade flowers to create unique and beautiful floral arrangements that are available for delivery throughout Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area.

We strive to minimize our impact on the environment.  We limit our water use, reduce emissions from cars by delivering by bicycle, reduce energy consumption, and use green electricity.  We reuse and repurpose floral containers and materials, and we buy used before new.  Our packaging is biodegradable, made from recycled materials and is recyclable.  Finally, we donate old flowers so they don't go to waste."

Lovely website, and their comprehensive approach to sustainability is impressive - because it also includes fair trade flowers - and here is an essay from the website discussing labour exploitation and other issues:

eco|stems offers local, organic and fair trade flowers, plants and accessories because we know the truth about the cut-flower industry. The majority of cut flowers bought in Canada are grown overseas, usually in Columbia or Ecuador. Workplace legislation in these countries offers little protection for workers. In the cut-flower industry, workers are paid less than a living wage, forced to work overtime without pay, exposed to hundreds of toxic chemicals, deprived of the right to unionize, and subject to harassment and violence.

Environmental issues also abound. The cut-flower industries in these countries use toxic chemicals that have been banned in North America. Some of these chemicals leech off of the flowers and contaminate the subsoil and water table where they are grown, but some remains on the flowers and end up in your home. The cut-flower industry also contributes to water and soil depletion by placing unsustainable demands on the local biosphere. When the flowers are fully grown and ready to be sent to Canada for you to enjoy, they are flown. Emitting 1.48 tons of carbon dioxide and contributing to global warming.

These are a few of the reasons why eco|stems chooses local, organic and fair trade flowers. To learn more about the cut-flower industry, please visit the International Labour Rights Forum's Fairness in Flowers campaign website.