By
Diane Selkirk
| Image:
Flickr | krossbow |
Published: August 04, 2010
Eating local and organic isn't just for hippies and elitists. It's for everyone, even those who shop at Costco
Something happened recently that made me realize local eating is going main stream: I was having dinner at my sister’s place and my brother-in-law explained that dinner tasted so good because everything was local and organic. For most of my friends this wouldn’t be a revelation, but for my sister’s family (and bless their hearts, I love them dearly…) who normally shop at Costco, the fact that fresh local food is not only delicious but also better for them was, well, news…
By Granville
| Image: 4Real |
Published: October 02, 2009
New logo takes the guesswork out of organic
That new logo you started seeing on grocery shelves last summer isn’t just another marketing gimmick; it’s the Canadian government’s stamp of approval on any food claiming to be organic. Any food marketed as organic must now meet national standards developed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and will qualify for the new Canada Organic logo.
The Certified Organic Association of B.C. will continue to oversee its own voluntary certification system here in B.C.; its check-mark logo will provide the additional assurance that the food was produced in B.C.
Canada has also negotiated an equivalency agreement with the U.S. “From our point of view, it’s great – we don’t have to be double certified,” says Doug Falck, organic program manager for Nature’s Path. And less red tape should translate to lower prices at the till, he adds.
One loophole remains: the Canada Organic standards apply only to goods moving across national or provincial borders, so food produced and sold within B.C. is exempt. Farmers taking goods to local fairs or markets, for example, can make any claim they want about being organic.
By Diane Selkirk
| Image: iStock |
Published: September 28, 2009
How will you celebrate the new season?
I’ve always loved late September. There was something about the clear warm days, cool nights and the squeaky new runners that I would get for school each year that made early fall one of my favourite times. Sure, I missed the summer—those endlessly free days that stretched into the evening and well-past bedtime. But there was something about the structure of fall that gave stability to my normally dishevelled personality.
By Victoria Ronco
| Image: Victoria Ronco |
Published: September 25, 2009
Will Victoria find an egg that's truly cruelty-free?
When I read Glenn Gaetz's guest blog post,
Understanding ‘Cruelty-Free’ Eggs, my heart sank. As I read paragraph to paragraph, I kept thinking, "He's going to tell us what to do at the end, right? There's a happy egg out there,
right!?" But Glenn offered no such hope—and I just couldn't accept the thought that there were no happy eggs to be had, that I'd have to go egg-less. It was too tough to swallow, and so I decided I would embark on a mission…
By
Danielle Carrie
| Image:
Flickr / iLoveButter |
Published: September 01, 2009
Reality check: eating organic is worth the extra money!
By Larry Cowan, Nature Vancouver
|
Published: August 17, 2009
Pack a lunch and grab your bike! Here's a great day trip from Vancouver that you can easily reach by public transit
Grant Narrows Regional Park lies at the end of a 15.5 km flat cycle ride through wide expanses of diked farmlands and nature reserves.
The park, at the south end of Pitt Lake, is at the north end of a narrowing valley between rugged mountain peaks. The view of the surrounding mountains is spectacular, particularly when snow-capped.
The park is small. However, it is located within the Pitt-Addington Marsh Wildlife Management Area (PAMWMA), into which several trails lead from the park. Grant Narrows is the focal point of many kilometres of dike-top trails. Its boat launch facilities provide a jumping-off point for land and water adventures for boaters, kayakers and canoeists travelling up Pitt Lake and beyond. A favourite adventure is to rent a kayak or canoe at the park and enjoy a leisurely paddle through the meandering waterways of Widgeon Creek to a public campsite and a short hike to Widgeon Falls.
By
Hilary Henegar, Granville Online editor
| Image:
Flickr / Roland |
Published: May 12, 2009
Why eat local? Here's a whole whack of reasons...
By
Lesa Dee Tree
| Image:
Courtesy UBC Farm and by Jeannette Ordas
|
Published: April 06, 2009
Lesa Dee Tree talks with the Friends of the UBC Farm’s Andrew Rushmere about the plight of the UBC Farm and how they plan to save it.
Learn about food security and organic gardening programs on the UBC farm, and understand the implications of the Official Community Plan on the farm. Plus, find out who’ll be speaking and performing at the Great Farm Trek of 2009.
Photos are by Jeannette Ordas and courtesy the UBC Farm.
By
Lesa Dee Tree
| Image:
Courtesy UBC Farm and by Jeannette Ordas |
Published: April 06, 2009
On April 7, the Friends of UBC Farm are organizing the Great Farm Trek of 2009. While this is an opportunity to celebrate the farm and its community of supporters, organizers of the event also hope to encourage the UBC Board of Governors to support the proposed preservation of the 24-hectare farm in its current location.
By Guy Dauncey, president of the BC Sustainable Energy Association
| Image: iStock / matteodestefano |
Published: February 17, 2009
<<< Go back to "Guy Dauncey's vision of a sustainable Future Vancouver"<!--<
Part 3: Farms
The next morning, Johanna and I walked down the street and took a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle from the Go Zero Travel Club that Johanna had arranged to borrow the night before. The first 80 kilometres would be all electric; after that the car would switch to biogas, which, as Johanna explained, came mostly from Vancouver’s sewage and composting programs.
As we travelled east, I noticed a lot of fancy looking coach buses heading into the city.
“What are they?” I asked.
“They’re the new Green Line Coaches,” Johanna replied. “Luxury commuter coaches for people who live some way out but work in Vancouver. They used to commute by car, but when the income from carbon taxes and road tolls started supporting these new coaches, people tried once and signed up for a season ticket immediately. They’ve got tables, lap-top plug-ins, cappuccino, the works. Some people even get paid for working on the bus—and most people can pick one up within a short bike ride from home.”
