Green grill guide
May 21, 2008
Barbecue season has officially begun for most Vancouver residents. Like many things we do in our daily lives, there are ways to make your summer barbeque party lighter on the planet - from your choice of grill and fuel to what you cook and what you use to eat it. Granted, a single grill probably isn’t going to ruin the environment, but when millions of people opt to cook outside, the impact can really add up. Check out our tips for greening your backyard parties this year.
New report says we can have our fish and eat it, too
May 16, 2008
A year after the provincial legislature’s Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture recommended a rapid transition to closed-system fish farms, the provincial government continues to support net-pen salmon farming on BC’s south coast. A new report released by the David Suzuki Foundation and Georgia Strait Alliance shows that a shift from open to closed-system fish farming is not only a viable alternative to open net cage farming, but is also a vibrant and rapidly developing global industry.
Bottled water backlash
May 16, 2008
Chi-chi restaurants are now banning bottled water. How did the ubiquitous accessory become the latest environmental sin? It’s not just daft, it’s decadent. In 2007, Canadians spent over $670 million on bottled water, consuming an amazing 2.3 billion litres of it. But, if early indications of the recent backlash are any indication, what was once a fashion accessory is becoming a fashion crime.
Bisphenol A - the latest
February 7, 2008
This week some of the most heavily used brands of polycarbonate baby bottles across Canada have turned up ‘very significant levels’ of bisphenol A in a report released by the Toronto-based environmental group Environment Defence. Read more
The trouble with teflon
February 1, 2008
The ease of cooking with Teflon pans is familiar to anyone who’s ventured into the kitchen, but few of us have considered their potential health effects. At high temperatures, Teflon cookware emits at least six gases - including two carcinogens. Once released, these gases can hang around the environment forever, cause illness in humans and even kill birds. Read more
Urban agriculture in Vancouver
February 1, 2008
This is one of the first of many posts on urban agriculture in Vancouver and BC, and to kick off such an important component of our cities, we thought a picture (or in this case a video stream) is worth a thousand words.
Organic sesame seed recall
January 24, 2008
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public not to consume certain pre-packaged and bulk organic sesame seeds because they may be contaminated with Salmonella. CFIA said some of the affected products are pre-packaged and some are in bulk, with a sell date between mid-October of last year and this month.
Is that baby bottle safe?
January 19, 2008
Health Canada is conducting studies on baby bottles and formula cans to find out whether the Bisphenol A they contain poses a danger to infants. Bisphenol A (BPA) is commonly used in hard plastic containers such as water and baby bottles and has been linked to illnesses that could be caused by hormone disruption.
Food security for BC
January 13, 2008
Food security is a situation in which people do not live in hunger or fear of starvation. Two commonly used definitions of food security come from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization and the US Department of Agriculture:
Local little success story
January 12, 2008
Kalpna Solanki is a mother whose public health and environmental background led her to evaluate all baby food products on the market while her baby was still breastfeeding. Her findings revealed that baby food didn’t seem very creative and was not of the calibre that she wanted for her child. She was uncompromising when it came to the quality of her baby’s nutrition, so when it was time to introduce solid foods, she made everything from scratch using the best quality organic ingredients.