Sustainable September 2017 - Day Eleven

SEPTEMBER 11 (MONDAY)

FOOD & STORAGE - MEAT FREE MONDAY

Hi everyone, 

How did you go with getting your coffee or tea today? I got to use my Keep Cups agan today and i love that they fit in our car cup holders. 

Now... Another week means another theme for the week. This week is all about Food and Storage. So everything to do with what you can do to minimise kitchen waste to how to choose more sustainable foods and eat healthier for your environment.

Sustainable September Day Eleven - Participate in Meatless (aka Meat Free) Monday.

Always a favourite Monday activity in our house, Meatless Monday is a wonderful way to reduce the amount of carbon footprint you have on the planet by reducing the quantity of meat you consume.

There are lots of reasons you might give up eating as much meat. One... it saves you a bunch of cash because meat is often the most expensive part of the meal. Two... the meal industry has been responsible for a lot of concerning practices when it comes to the care of its animals. Three... then there is the environmental impact of the meat.

In 2006 the Independent News wrote that "A United Nations report has identified the world's rapidly growing herds of cattle as the greatest threat to the climate, forests and wildlife. And they are blamed for a host of other environmental crimes, from acid rain to the introduction of alien species, from producing deserts to creating dead zones in the oceans, from poisoning rivers and drinking water to destroying coral reefs. The 400-page report by the Food and Agricultural Organisation, entitled Livestock's Long Shadow, also surveys the damage done by sheep, chickens, pigs and goats. But in almost every case, the world's 1.5 billion cattle are most to blame. Livestock are responsible for 18 per cent of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming, more than cars, planes and all other forms of transport put together." Read the article here.

Then there is the whole Carbon Footprint side to it too. What resources have gone into producing the meat?  How far has the meat travelled before it got to your plate? The smaller the distance your food travels from the farm to your plate, the better it is for the environment. Environmentally speaking reducing the amount of meat we consume, and therefore demand, has to help. It might not seem like it but it does make a difference.

If you enjoy TedTalks You might enjoy this one all about Meatfree/Meatless Monday and why it works. Its really interesting if you have 15 minutes.

Then you look at the waste that the meat packing industry creates. I know I throw out a whole bunch of plastic, in either plastic wrap, plastic tray or even polystyrene tray form. I buy in bulk to minimise the amount i am bringing into the house, but there is still a lot of plastic involved. Some Zero Wasters have found buchers who are willing to pack your meat into reusable containers, however not all meat specialists/buchers are willing to put their product into your containers.

For years now I have used the old meat trays after they have been washed, as palets for my paint and my artworks - its a nice way to reuse something that would otherwise be thrown into landfill. I can wash them many times and mix my paints on them. Its probably my favourite upcycled skill.

ACTIVITY: Be adventurous... Find an amazing vegetarian recipe and give it a go!

Sure it might not be something you would usually do, but being brave and giving something new a go, might mean that you find some new staples that can save you a bunch of cash (because you dont have to add meat) and are just as yummy. If you need any advice check out my Pinterest Board called Meatfree Mondays

I hope you enjoy this challenge,
Enjoy
love Daena x

Sustainable September 2016 - Day One

Hello lovely people,

Have you missed me? I have been terribly sick for the last several weeks and although i have recorded a couple of videos i havent had a chance to post them online yet. Having two differing systems of video processing doesnt help much either! :S when i get that sorted i will post the videos.

Anyway.... So it is that time of the year again where i get my bottom into gear and do a solid month of blogging. It may also help the Environment, which is another passion of mine, whilst sharing kindnesses.

I thought this year i would do it again.

I had to really think about what i wanted to do here. Things have been changing for me since last year and in someways i feel like i need to do more. In Australia, the government seems to be actively avoiding Climate Change conversations. It seems like the responsibility of caring for the earth, and all those that rely on it, falls on communities and individuals. If we want our kids to grow up in healthy environments we need to start paying attention to what it is that we are actually doing on a daily basis. are we doing anything that is harmful? Do we know what actions we are taking that are actually hurting the environment? Can our actions be changed to help the environment? I think every person has the capacity to change and live a more sustainable life.

What do i mean when i say Sustainable? Something is Sustainable when it is:
"* able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed
* involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources
* able to last or continue for a long time " (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sustainable, 2016).

The biggest problem we have is that we often dont know what natural resources are used to provide things that we use daily, or the impact we have when we are finished using these things. I know there are times in my life i have just not been aware of the problems that occur in our environment as a result. From using plastic bags, bottles and straws (which often end up in landfil and take thousands of years to disintergrate or end up in the tummies of animals), to paying attention to the types of food we are eating and knowing where it came from and how far away it came (the farther away something was grown from us, the more fuel that has to be burned to get it on our tables). The thing is there are lots of awesome simple things we can do to be kind to our environment.

You may wonder what any of this actually has to do with kindness. And the truth is... a lot more than you would think. Not only is caring for the environment and using sustainable practices a kindness to the environment, but also to generations of people who will be born on this earth after us. It also makes a huge difference to many people. If we care for our environment wisely we may be able to decrease the amount of toxins in the air, which will make asthmatics breathe easier. If we care for our waterways then the birds and animals that use it, and those who catch and eat those animals (or even use the water for sport) will be healthier and our animals wont die with plastic in their stomachs.

I know from doing 365days of kindness that one person can make a difference.  And if a consequence of that difference means that someone has clean water to drink or clean air to breathe then I want to be part of that. There is so much we can do individually to make our lives more sustainable, to be kind to ourselves and the environment and to make a difference.

So i thought this year i would have a theme... everyone loves a good theme right?

"Live Simply, so others may simply live."

I was told this quote when i was about 13 years old. my youth leader at the time was very passionate about the environment (she still is too). She shared with us then the amazing things one person can do to make a difference. And she made a huge impact on me.

What does living simply look like? well, it will be different for everyone.

I have  some amazing friends J &E  who have retrofitted their house to be more sustainable. They grow their own vegetables, collect rainwater for the hotter months when water is in short supply, they have solar panels on their roof, they preserve their own food, they purchase second hand goods. E & J inspire me, because that is what i want in the future.

But not everyone has the ability to retrofit a house. Renters or apartment owners might struggle to do so much to their homes.

OR if you are starting off, all of that stuff might be too overwhelming. But dont be put off, it is all about taking small steps toward making the world a better place. A place where we can all live together, we can support nature and nature can support us.

One pit fall that i have fallen in to a few times myself, is feeling guilty. Even if, as we go through this month, you do just one thing and making one long term change you are still reducing the impact you have on the earth. And every little bit helps! :)

What i thought about adding this year was a little more that the last few years, i will give you a sustainable and environmental kindness, a kindness idea (probably loosely related), and then people who are working on the front lines to make lots of lives better (this will include charities, individuals, groups, TED Talks, videos and whatever else i can think about as i go along).
 
So i will give you tomorrows...
Sustainable September Day One: Use (or buy) a reusable cup or mug.

Why is this important? millions of Single use coffee cups, lids, spoons, etc end up in landfill everyday. When i was at work i used to get a chai latte most days, sometimes if i was lucky i would buy two. I alone would have easily consumed 365 cups of Chai per year. I have been drinking Chai for the last 6 years because I cant drink coffee anymore. And before that i started drinking hot coffee in my uni days. Some 4 years before that. Of course i wouldnt have a coffee/chai in a take away mug every single day, but other days i would have a couple of coffees/chai's in a day. So, in other words, the number of coffee cups really adds up. And before you all panic that this is what i actually did, then dont. It is mainly for demonstration purposes. Mind you, i am not completely innocent. For the last 3 years I have been using my Keep Cup to buy hpt beverages. Amazingly, i usually keep a Keep Cup in my handbag (i think i must have robbed Mary Poppins when i found my bag - its really so much bigger on the inside).

Kindness Idea: Buy a cup of coffee for someone behind you in a queue. Often when you buy coffees regularly you get membership cards or rewards cards. You can then redeem a free hot beverage when you have paid for a bunch of them. I often save up my free ones and give the card to someone who needs it. Or a friend who is having a rough week. It doesnt cost me anything but it makes a difference.

Front Lines: Suspended Coffee Movement. This one is an awesome front lines movement when it comes to kindness and to hot beverages (and also food). Starting a few years ago, this idea has blossomed. I follow the webpage and facebook page, but the most powerful thing i came across was a TEDx talk from the founder of Suspended Coffees.

Now i hope you can understand an Irish accent because their subtitles are off. comically bad but you should be able to make it out! :)

Okay, so i hope that helps kick it all off. Kindness is so important. Kindness for others, Kindness for ourselves and kindness for the earth.

Welcome to Sustainable September!

I will post again tomorrow.

Cheers,
Daena x

ps. If you have any sustainable september ideas that you want me to look into, comment below. :)

Sustainable September 2015 - Day Twenty One

Good Evening my dears (for those in Western Australia) and a time-specific-greeting to you too (wherever you may be),

How did you go at the Farmers Market? Buy anything delicious? Mmmm... foood! :)

Sadly, my nephew had his Soccer Grand Final today so I missed the farmers market! On the plus side, he and his team WON!!! Yay! Go kiddo! I am a super proud Aunty (and not just now either!)! I enjoyed the fact I was there to watch it.  So I guess that just means...next weekend I'm off to the farmers market. 

The Sustainable September idea for today is...

September 21: to find a local bulk supply store and buy what you need for your pantry! 

I recently discovered a bulk buying store called the Wasteless Pantry. Mum & I went there the other day & bought a few things.

The Wasteless Pantry can be found in Mundaring, WA, Australia.

So many things to choose from!!!!

The Spice cabinet part of the Wasteless Pantry!

Buying the Almond meal I need to make a delicious Almond and Orange cake! mmmm.

For our first trip we only bought a few things I knew we needed (whilst staying at my sisters house & for home later too).

The best part was we could bring our own jars and containers and they would just weigh them and then we filled them up and re weighed them. We paid the difference! So awesome! Prices were pretty good & we got exactly enough to fit in the containers we had! Pretty great of you ask me. :) no waste! No packages to return to our homes to them be chucked in the bin! They had a HUGE range too! They are fairly new in Perth, WA! One awesome feature was that they had a couple boxes of glass jars of all shapes and sizes that were clean and that could be used if you forgot to bring your own. They also had matching ones you could buy... but i love the rustic look, and I know now another place where I can take my excess jars to be used instead of ending up in recycling! :)

When I was in Sydney a few weeks ago I found another store just like it! It is called Scoop Wholefoods :)

Being my first experience at a store like this it was kind of like Daena Heaven or Nirvana! :) Paradise!

One of the cool things was they had paper bags for you to use and you could also buy little cotton bags too. I bought one for me to use again here in Perth.

These were the jars at Scoop that you could purchase. All of them looked so Pretty!

I got SO excited they had WHEAT FREE Licorice! I know Licorice isn't everyone's favourite sweet. But i love it. Technically now that i am grain free its still off the table of things I can eat, but its great to know other options now exist for others with weird food intolerances.

I wanted to taste all of the delicious grain free goodies. I however didn't have enough time to sample them all and probably not enough money at that point either! hahaha. So good!

So much deliciousness! I loved this store in Sydney! :) I love these stores generally too! We need more of them around! :) I love the whole waste free idea! 

I mean it all fits in to the Zero Waste Home idea too! It is one of Bea Johnsons biggest suggestions! :) I am almost finished reading the book now and I cant believe that I am still learning so much. I was so proud of myself when I went to the shops yesterday to meet my best friend for "coffee" (neither of us actually drink coffee), and I only bought two things. Both of them for other people. My sister needed some dishwasher tablets that are environmentally friendly, and I went to buy a birthday gift for a friend. Usually when I go shopping I have lots of things I buy. None of it is vital. Its just bits I think I might need, things I can usually do without! Using Bea Johnsons book has helped me plan a bit better too. And I like that! I am now a more conscious shopper.

Anyway, I need to head to bed now. The cooler weather has not helped me coughing! It must get better soon, i have stuff to do! Things to achieve! :)

I hope this finds you all well, 

Much love, 

Daena x

Sustainable September 2015 - Day Seventeen

Hello my lovelies,

I had to stay home from work today because I was so crook/ill/sick. I spent the day resting and healing, with lots of vegetable soup, hot tea, tissues/hankies and a couple good books. I think often when we look at kindness we forget ourselves. So today was a day for me to get myself healed and rested, a true kindness to myself. If I am not well, how can I act with kindness to others?
I admit I had had a very busy weekend, and I have not had a chance to slow down since returning from Sydney. I am so blessed that my boss allowed me the time off today to recover. I am not completely 'fixed' yet, but I am well on my way now. At least I hope so. :)

Sustainable September is always a perfect time for me to get in a daily act of blogging. Sometimes it is simple, sometimes a lot of research goes into a subject. Some ideas I have had for a long time and been meaning to add them to the list of possible Sustainable September ideas.

Tomorrows idea is one of those 'long time' ideas. This idea sprang from last years Sustainable September idea for a Meat Free Monday (which is an awesome idea to undertake regularly not just in September). I have been watching a lot of TED talks recently. I am learning everything I can on all sorts of issues. The one that stuck out for me was this one below.

September 17: Become a Weekday Vegetarian. 

I saw the video by Graham Hill on TED about why he is a Weekday Vegetarian. It is pretty good. Plus its only a short 5 minutes, as opposed to the video yesterday that was 43minutes. Here it is.. 

Now this sounds really hard for us meat lovers everywhere. However I love the benefits that becoming a Weekday Vegetarian can afford you.

Lets look at the financial benefits first. Meat is often the most expensive component of any meal you prepare. I often spend on average about $4 AUD per person per meal on the meat component of any given meal. Sometimes its less, sometimes more. The Vegetable part of the meal is often less... way WAY less. Plus with vegetables you can also often grow your own. Winning!

Then there is the part that it is better for the animals on this planet if we don't eat them. The cows, pigs, sheep and chickens in this world (the most consumed meats in the Australia, and perhaps the world), often are not treated as well as they could be. The smaller of the animals often stuck into intensive farms, that do not allow quality of life. Being a weekday vegetarian helps or reduces the impact on these animals.

Then there is the environmental impact of the meat. In 2006 the Independent News wrote that "A United Nations report has identified the world's rapidly growing herds of cattle as the greatest threat to the climate, forests and wildlife. And they are blamed for a host of other environmental crimes, from acid rain to the introduction of alien species, from producing deserts to creating dead zones in the oceans, from poisoning rivers and drinking water to destroying coral reefs. The 400-page report by the Food and Agricultural Organisation, entitled Livestock's Long Shadow, also surveys the damage done by sheep, chickens, pigs and goats. But in almost every case, the world's 1.5 billion cattle are most to blame. Livestock are responsible for 18 per cent of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming, more than cars, planes and all other forms of transport put together." Read the article here.

Then there is the whole Carbon Footprint side to it too. What resources have gone into producing the meat?  How far has the meat travelled before it got to your plate? The distance your food travels from the farm to your plate, the better it is for the environment. Environmentally speaking reducing the amount of meat we consume and therefore demand for it, has to help. It might not seem like it but it does make a difference.

Then you look at the waste that the meat packing industry creates. I know I throw out a whole bunch of plastic, in either plastic wrap, plastic tray or even polystyrene tray form (i use the old meat trays after they have been washed, as pallets for my paint and my artworks - its a nice way to reuse something that would otherwise be thrown into landfill).

I love that on this Weekday Vegetarian lifestyle you can still eat meat, you don't have to give up Bacon! mmmm Bacon! You just save it for a treat on the weekends, where you have time to savour it, enjoy it and celebrate the deliciousness. mmmmm... bacon! Did I mention the bacon? mmmmm. Bacon! Bacon! BACON!!! Forgive me for my mild obsession with the deliciousness that is bacon. I know that for some religious people bacon is not consumed, so just imagine you have replaced all the bacon in this blog post with your favourite type of meaty goodness! :)

If you are looking for recipes for being a Weekday Vegetarian the simply google "vegetarian recipes" and thousands, probably MILLIONS of recipes will come up. You might be lucky too if you add what ingredients you have in your fridge/garden that you could add to the meal.

KINDNESS IDEA: Make a vegetarian meal to share. You could make it for a friend or family member going through a rough time. Or you could invite a friend, neighbour, colleague over for a meal to share something different with them. Be aware of some peoples allergies, and dietary requirement.

I hope this finds you all well. And if you are not well, that you are on the mend. And if you are not yet on the mend, that the tide will break soon and you will heal fast when you can. Sending healing love to you all.

Much love to you all,
Love Daena (Bacon) Guest

PS. I going vegetarian for 5 days straight is hard, start with Meat Free Mondays. It is a great way to regularly reduce the quantity of meat we consume.