Post Script

A misLEEDing certification?

An interesting editorial in The Atlantic discusses green buildings and their less than stellar performance - in some cases.

And now for something organic and uplifting

A beautiful organic lavender field in Surrey, England. Courtesy of the Mother Nature Network's best photos of 2009.

A brown bag lunch may be the way to go

While we're on the topic of food safety, there is an ongoing series in USA Today, looking at the standards in place (or not) in our school lunch systems. Food injury attorney and blogger Bill Marler offers valuable commentary, asking the question: Who does the USDA work for ... the public or the industry it oversees?

The USA Today team is reporting on some alarming facts and figures, such as:

"The USDA helps egg producers by buying 'spent hen' meat from hens past their egg-laying prime and passing it on to the school lunch program. The chicken is so unappealing that Campbell Soup stopped using it more than a decade ago."

And then there's this:

"The USDA buys meat for the school lunch program from the lowest bidder among those certified to meet USDA standards. But at least one certified bidder - Beef Packers Inc. of Fresno - has recalled tainted meat twice this year and earlier was suspended from the school lunch program three times."

Food for thought.

Why the good guys are the good guys

This week, the ObamaFoodorama blog links to a Food Safety News list, lauding the good guys in the food business. Michelle Obama's garden gets a nod, as does the White House farmer's market and the USDA's Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food program.

But the president-watching blogger goes one step further, giving a brief explanation of why these projects made the list and why they are good for the food system, and Americans overall. She also discusses steps being taken by the Obama administration to improve oversight of food safety measures. It's one blog post that's worth a read.

An excerpt: "But if both the White House and the USDA continue to encourage smaller and local farmers and producers, and the food system shifts accordingly in response to consumer demand, perhaps by 2012 we'll have a landmark year, free of a massive (food) recall."

EPA reverses pesticides decision

Manufacturers of pesticides will be required to disclose inert ingredients in their products, according to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).

An inert ingredient is anything added to a pesticide that does not kill or control a pest, and in some cases, is a toxin. The full story here.

iRecycle

Did you get an iPhone? Lucky you. Want to know what to do with your old model? 

Collective Good will refurbish your phone and sell it to someone in a developing country. Call to Protect reprograms old cell phones to dial 911 and gives them to domestic violence victims.

Via Green America.

Greenseams program quietly protecting land, rivers

The Journal Sentinel reports on Greenseams, a Milwaukee project that is keeping woodlands around rivers intact, helping to filter pollution and retain natural spaces in the region. 

An excerpt: "Greenseams buys lowland properties in rapidly growing communities so development does not encroach on those wetlands, woods and fields in the future and they can do the job nature assigned to them: storing floodwater and preventing downstream problems."

A bonus? Future hiking, cross-country skiing and bird-watching trails.

The pursuit of happiness

This makes us happy. An appealing, uncomplicated homage to the virtues of slow food, the family table, fresh ingredients and of teaching those things to our children.

Not a bad thought to take us into the holidays.

We wish you all a happy, safe and meaningful holiday.

Just don't tell our staff nutritionist ...

At Outpost, we have our very own nutritionist, Judy Mayer, who guides owners, customers and staffers through our stores, gently revealing the yays and nays of healthy eating. And of course, there is her Simply Health column every month in the Exchange. Judy does not like it when we eat bad things, or at least too much of a bad thing. And Judy is no fan of too much salt.

So she will probably shake her finger at us for this post. Even the title of this gorgeous, indulgent, recipe-filled, sumptuous foodie blog will make Judy cross: It's called Not Without Salt.

*ducks*

But check it out if you're looking for a last-minute delicious dish for the holidays. Poached pears anyone?

Eco-friendly architects will dig this

A proposed 5-star hotel in Surrey, England, would be built underground. Planned for a swanky golf club in the green belt of London, the design places all rooms below the ground, quite literally, with the whole complex covered with a grass roof. Now that's taking green design to an entirely new level.

Via Inhabitat.com.