Go Green Travel Green

Don’t worry - I’m not going to get all PETA on you and condemn you for torturing baby cows by eating meat. I’ve been an on-again off-again vegan/vegetarian (currently in an on-again phase) for the past 8 years, so I’m obviously not one to talk about permanently committing to being meat and dairy-free.

That said, with the explosion of factory farms, slashed funding for organic agriculture, and overfishing across the world, there are some things you should know about the impact of what you eat - from produce and dairy to seafood and meat - on the environment and your health.

And, as is generally the case with choosing the eco option, it’s not only better for the environment, it’s better for your health, too. For example, choosing organic veggies and hormone-free milk means that pesticides and rBGH won’t end up in you.

Food policies and requirements vary across the world, but a good rule of thumb is the know where your food is coming from. Here’s how I try to do that:

1. Get produce, meat, and dairy from the farm itself. Site visits are good because you can see the way the animals are treated and build a relationship with the farmers. See if you can stick around a while and help out. CSAs in the US encourage you to.
2. Get the goods from a farmer’s market where you can talk to the farmer himself. That way you can ask questions - about what’s organic, their farming techniques, or whether or not the eggs are really from free-range hens. (Obviously, it helps to know the language of the farmer here.)
3. Dine at local restaurants and talk to the workers. The owners are likely to support the local economy and have relationships with the farmers themselves. Most bigger chain restaurants lose that sense of community and responsibility. You can ask the owners questions about where the food comes from. Again, the language barrier can be an issue here; but look at this as an opportunity to practice the new language you’re learning.
4. Research. Use resources like the Eat Well Guide (US and Canada) to find sustainable food and restaurants wherever you are. In the UK, check our Sustainweb’s Food Calendar.

Produce

The industrial pesticides sprayed on foods damage the environment and could negatively impact your health. So go organic when possible and when it’s not available, go local. The farther your food has to travel to get to you, the bigger its carbon footprint.

If you’re in the US, use the Natural Resource Defense Council’s Guide to find what’s in season near you, then find out which produce has the highest pesticide concentration with the Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce.

photo credit: Dawn Endico

Dairy

I love love love cheese. It may well be my favorite food. But I do not love hormone and antibiotics in my food. Yuck. Unfortunately, the bovine growth hormone (rBGH) increases cow’s milk production so there’s a big incentive for factory farmers to inject it. The fact that it negatively affects cows (and possibly humans) isn’t really a consideration. The good news is, it’s banned in Canada in the EU - but not the US.

Sustainable Table gives a fabulous, if enraging, background on the issue. Bottom line: if at all possible, find out where your dairy comes from before you dig in.

Poultry and Eggs

There are two main things to think about when ordering chicken or eggs: Animal welfare (were the chickens kept in cages and not allowed to move their entire lives? were their beaks clipped to keep them from pecking at each other in such close quarters?) and organic certification.

Ideally, you want chickens that were allowed to fulfill their chicken destinies by being free range; that is, clucking around outside in the grass every day. And you want chickens that were fed organic grain and not injected with antibiotics to increase production; those things end up in you when you eat them. Green Living Ideas has good background on sustainable poultry.

Seafood

Your seafood choices can contribute to overfishing, habitat damage, and sea animals accidentally being caught, then being tossed back injured or dead.

Check out Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Guide and Regional Guides to learn with fish are best choices (abundant, well managed and fished or farmed in environmentally friendly ways) and which to avoid (overfished and/or fished or farmed in ways that harm other marine life or the environment).

Also have a look at Environmental Defense Fund’s seafood-related Health Alerts that cover the levels of mercury and PCBs (toxic chemicals that were banned but still pollute water) in various fish and other ocean dwellers.

Meat

Sustainable Table has a great overview of the issues around sustainable meat, including environmental impact, factory farming, and waste.

The Food Alliance, a “nonprofit organization that creates market incentives for sustainable agricultural practices, and educates business leaders and other food system stakeholders on the benefits of sustainable agriculture,” lets you search for certified members by US region.

WWOOFing It

When you’re traveling, especially in a place where you don’t speak the language, it’s not always easy to find sustainable food - or even ask about it. A great resource for travelers is WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms), which lists organic farm volunteering opportunities across the word. Consider volunteering and even if you can’t, use WWOOF to find organic farms in the country you’re visiting.

Sustainable Dining Guide is the fifteenth post in Go Green Travel Green’s 25 Days to Green Travel series. If you haven’t already, subscribe to our feed (also available via email) and stay up to date.

Bottled water destroys the earth, but I might be drinking someone else’s leftover Viagra in my tap water? If recent news of hormone disrupting BPA in water bottles, pharmaceuticals in U.S. tap water, and the environmental impact of bottled water has got you down, you’re not alone.

In the U.S., drinking filtered tap water is the way to go. But when you’re traveling abroad, it’s not always a safe option Besides, who carries a Brita pitcher in their pack?

Here are some (realistic) environmentally-friendly tips for finding healthy water anywhere.

Filter tap water. If tap water is safe to drink, drink it; but filter it when you can. In the U.S., tap water is better regulated than bottled water so it’s a safer bet. And carbon filters (like Brita) and reverse osmosis (R.O.) systems remove most of the not-so-pleasant things that find their way into our water.

Avoid the disposable water bottles. Cheap plastic bottles are hard on the environment and they can leach chemicals that are bad for your health. Skip them when you can.

photo credit: Conor Lawless

Boil your water. If you know tap water isn’t safe to drink, boil it to kill bacteria. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you should “boil water vigorously for 1 minute and allow it to cool to room temperature.”

Buy big jugs when you need to drink bottled. Sometimes bottled water is the safest and most convenient option. When you have to buy bottled, get big jugs. They create less waste so they’re better for the environment.

Invest in a stainless steal or other reusable water bottle. Our personal favorite is Klean Kanteen because unlike polycarbonate plastic bottles, they’re free of bisphenol A. And they’re pretty lightweight. If you’re in a city where you have to drink bottled water, pour some of the water from your jug into your Klean Kanteen before heading out for the day. For more info on finding a water bottle that’s right for you, check out our post on How to Choose a Healthy Water Bottle: 34 Resources.

On drinking tap water in developing (and some developed) countries. Just in case I didn’t make this totally clear, please don’t go an en environmental crusade when traveling and decide to universally ditch bottled water in favor of tap water. In some places there are bacteria in water that could make you sick or kill you. (Cryptosporidiosis, anyone?) The good news is there are some easy steps you can take to avoid getting sick. The CDC’s Water Treatment Guide will get you started.

Healthy Water Abroad is the fourteenth post in Go Green Travel Green’s 25 Days to Green Travel series. If you haven’t already, subscribe to our feed (also available via email) and stay up to date.

We’ve concluded the Before You Go section of 25 Days to Green Travel so now we can get into the really fun stuff: When You’re There. Whether you’re currently traveling, planning a trip, or just day-dreaming at your desk, the rest posts in the series will be about how to be a green traveler once you’re traveling.

We’ve talked a lot about water and water bottled lately, so I’ll save that for another post and start with the fun stuff - alcohol (and juice).

Local, Organic Beer

Ah, one of my favorite topics: beer. Just as with produce and other food, locally-produced and organic is the more environmentally-friendly option with beer. Plus, when you eat and drink organic you’re consuming fewer pesticides so it’s healthier, too. Drink organic when you can.

Here are some organic beer resources to get you started:

• 7 green beer resources from my St. Patrick’s Day post on organic beer
• BeerActivist’s organic beer roundup
• Grist reviews 7 organic beers

And I would TOTALLY be here if I could, but I’m returning from my honeymoon 2 weeks before. It’s my goal to volunteer here next year - the North American Organic Brewers Festival. This year it’s on June 27-29, 2008 in Portland, Oregon.

Local, Organic Wine

I have to admit I’m not a big wine connoisseur (except with Rieselings - thanks for the Mosel tour, Adam and Jason!). Two buck Chuck from Trader Joe’s is generally just dandy, but I always buy organic when possible. But apparently the USDA doesn’t allow sulfites in organic wine - even though they’ve been used for centuries to slow the fermentation process (and make the wine taste good longer). Read more about it at Serious Eats. Gotta love it.

If you’re willing to give it a go, check out these sites:

• Background from the Organic Consumers Association
• Recommended Wines from About.com
  
• Search for wines by country or type, care of the Organic Vinters Association
• Find more organic wines at The Organic Wine Press, a small, locally-owned store in Oregon
• Get organic wine recommendations from Ideal Biters

Regional Liquor

I’m not gonna lie. When I studied abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia in college, I drank. Way more than I probably should have. But, hey, I was young and that’s part of the study abroad experience, right? My beverage of choice involved Gzhelka, an amazingly smooth yet incredibly cheap vodka. Coming back to imported Smirnoff sure was a shocker.

During my travels abroad, I also experienced the worst alcohol I’ve ever tasted - Becherovka. It’s a Czech alcohol that tastes like a putrid, strong cough syrup. I don’t doubt that there are ways to drink it that make it taste better - perhaps a 1:50 mix with a sweet juice of choice - I just never found it. But the point is, you’ll never know until you try and experimenting with different local liquors (responsibly, of course) is a fun way to experience a new culture.

photo credit: Zesmerelda

Juice and Local Drinks

Some of the best juices I’ve ever had were in Russia and Egypt. Growing up on American “from concentrate” juices, I had no idea what real grape juice could taste like and I’d never even thought about drinking the nectar of peaches and cherries. Even juice from the supermarket was better than anything I’d found at home, short of fresh-squeezed. So go out on a limb and try something new. You never know what you’ll find.

Drinking Green is the thirteenth post in Go Green Travel Green’s 25 Days to Green Travel series. If you haven’t already, subscribe to our feed (also available via email) and stay up to date.

If you already make efforts to be a “green” traveler, what does it take to be even greener? This week we will explore various ways to step up your green travel efforts using our shades of green travel spectrum. If you’re not familiar with the spectrum, it ranges from “pea green” travelers who are least likely to make extreme efforts to travel green; to “kelly green” travelers who make moderate efforts to be eco-conscious while traveling; to “forest green” travelers who will go to almost any length to leave no impact while traveling.

Food

Green or Pea Green: When it’s Easy & Cheap

The pea green traveler dines in when possible, shops at farmers markets when it’s convenient, and eats organic or local food when it’s easy to find and affordable. All things equal, he’ll choose the greener option. But if the organic spinach is more expensive than the conventional, he’ll buy the latter. The pea green traveler is conscious of his impact on the environment, but it doesn’t always dictate his travel decisions.

He doesn’t mind eating out or getting takeout every once in a while. And, though he keeps an eye out for restaurants that serve organic and locally-grown cuisine, he’s not opposed to indulging in the occasional Big Mac or personal pan pizza to satisfy a craving. The pea green traveler likes to cook for himself, but he eats out more often than not when traveling.

Greener or Kelly Green: Even If It’s More Expensive

Unlike her pea green counterpart, the kelly green traveler prioritizes eating locally-grown and organic food, even if it’s not the cheapest or easiest option. She’s not a die-hard locavore, but she’ll walk three miles to the local farmers market before heading to the chain grocery store around the corner. And when she pays 50% more for organic eggs, she considers it an investment in her health and the environment. She regularly cooks for herself in her hostel and when she dines out, she opts for locally-owned restaurants that serve local or organic food.

photo credit: Tawheed Manzoor

She avoids takeout because of the waste it creates, but might pick up a street stand schwarma on her way home from a night out. After a long day of exploring, she might even pick up some local cuisine to go on her way back to the hostel. The kelly green traveler is very aware of her impact on the environment. She feels very strongly about eating locally-grown, organic food and will go out of her way to do so, but if it’s not available, she’s fine sampling the local cuisine - even if the restaurant she chooses uses ingredients that aren’t locally-grown.

Greenest or Forest Green: No Matter What

Of all the green travelers, a forest green traveler holds himself - and his food - to the highest standards. He’s passionate about eating only locally-grown, organic food. If he can’t find food that’s both local and organic, he’ll settle for organic or, if necessary, just locally-grown. He takes locavore to a whole new level. He may not be a vegan, but he avoids eating meat and other animals products because of the environmental impact of meat.

He cooks most of his own meals at his hostel or campsite and makes sandwiches to bring with him on long days. He enjoys going to the local market, picking out seasonal vegetables, and trying his hand at cooking a dish native to the region he’s visiting. But the forest green traveler also appreciates the authenticity of local restaurants and likes to sample the cuisine there. He avoids places with styrofoam or paper plates and plastic cutlery, and opts to split a meal with a friend rather than having to take leftovers home in a takeout container or throw extra food away.

This post is part of our Shades of Green Travel series. Check out the last post on bottled water.

If you already make efforts to be a “green” traveler, what does it take to be even greener? This week we will explore various ways to step up your green travel efforts using our shades of green travel spectrum. If you’re not familiar with the spectrum, it ranges from “pea green” travelers who are least likely to make extreme efforts to travel green; to “Kelly Green” travelers who make moderate efforts to be eco-conscious while traveling; to “forest green” travelers who will go to almost any length to leave no impact while traveling.

Bottled Water

Although water bottles may seem like an unimportant part of traveling green, with the sheer amount of waste produced by bottled water each, even one bottle can make a difference. So what are the “shades” of green travel with a water bottle?

Green or Pea Green: Buy Bottled Water

Green travelers may not own or want to carry their own reusable bottle on their trip, but they don’t want to buy and waste a new bottle each time. Thus, a green traveler might buy a bottle of water at the airport, and reuse that same bottle for most or all of their trip, refilling it many times.

Greener or Kelly Green: Bring Bottled Water

A greener traveler is also reluctant to bring her own reusable bottle - she thinks “maybe I’ll lose it, maybe TSA will confiscate it, maybe it won’t look professional.” So, the greener traveler brings an empty, non-reusable bottle from home. Then at the end of the trip she can recycle it. (Note that you shouldn’t refill bottled water bottles more than a few times, as it’s not good for your health.)

photo credit: aarontait

Greenest or Forest Green: Bring a Reusable Bottle

The greenest travelers bring their own reusable bottle. If you already own it, any reusable bottle is better for the environment than buying bottled water. Besides being environmentally friendly, bringing your own bottle of water can save you hundreds of dollars over the course of a trip. If you are concerned about what type of reusable bottle is best for your personal health, next week we will write a comparison post of reusable water bottles.

This post is part of our Shades of Green Travel series. Check out the last post on green transportation.

You don’t have to travel to Ireland to find good beer on St. Patrick’s Day. No matter where you are, just head to a local grocery store or favorite bar and look for an organic brew. I love beer, so I don’t hesitate to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by sipping on a few quality brews. And since I prefer my food (and drink) to be pesticide-free, I go organic when it’s available. It’s better for the environmental and for my health - plus, it tastes good.

Find the best organic beer and let someone else do your homework for you.

• Sprig’s picks of the Best Organic Beers
• The writers at Ideal Bite break down their favorite organic brews
• Readers at The Green Guide rate their favorites
• TheDailyGreen gives some background on the organic brewing movement with their list of beers
  

Can’t pick just one? Order an Organic Beer Sampler Set and try 4-10 different brews. Alternatively, see if your local bar has a sampler of organic beer, or if your favorite grocery store will let you mix and match a six pack.

If you’re more of a do-it-yourself type, visit Brew Organic and learn how to brew organic beer at home.

Still not convinced? Read this Co-op America article, which touts the advantages of organic beers and wines, and Green Guide’s Organic Beer post, which outlines local and organic beers by region.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

photo credit: kapital

Travelers, it’s 10 am. Do you know where your organic food is?

Possibly on its way to your local grocery store from a corporate food processor.

You might have been concerned when Clorox acquired Burt’s Bees last October. I know I was - somehow bleach and personal care products just don’t mix in my mind. But did you know that M&M Mars bought Seeds of Change, a company whose mission is to promote sustainable agriculture, over 10 years ago in 1997? Or that Coca-Cola owns Odwalla and Pepsi owns Naked Juice? The list goes on - Kraft lays claim to Boca Foods, Kellogg has dibs on Morning Star and Kashi.

It seems like all of the major American corporations are jumping on the green bandwagon.

Does it change how you feel about the food you buy from these companies?

image credit Phil Howard

I first saw this image, created by Associate Professor Phil Howard at Michigan State University, a year ago. His website has lot of other interesting charts and even a movie depicting how it all comes together.

The locavore movement, defined as trying to eat only food grown or harvested within a 100-mile radius of your home, started in San Francisco in 2005 as a challenge for people in the Bay Area. The movement grew quickly and in November of last year, Oxford University Press named “locavore” its word of the year.

I’ve been a proponent of eating and shopping locally ever since I began to understand the impact my food, clothes, and everything else I buy has on the environment when it has to travel thousands of miles to get to me. I try to buy my produce at farmer’s markets, do most of my clothes shopping at thrift stores, and dine out at local restaurants.

But it isn’t always easy. While I wholeheartedly support the concept of being a locavore, I need variety. Try as I might, I’m just not happy eating the same kind of locally-grown apple every day or even wearing my favorite sweater from Goodwill each week.

Luckily for me, I love to travel. And I can be a locavore by eating foods produced within 100 miles of wherever I am - be it Buenos Aires or Bangkok. As a traveling locavore, you get to visit amazing places, experience exotic cultures, and dine on delectable local food - all while supporting the local economy and making earth-friendly eating choices. When you’re at home (wherever home may be), you have a limited number of different local foods. But when you travel around the world, you’ll discover delicious (and sometimes not-so-delicious) local foods you didn’t even know existed.

Becoming a locavore is easy. According to the original Locavores, here’s how you should prioritize your food buying to have the lowest environmental impact:

1. locally produced
2. organic
3. family farm
4. local business
5. terroir (which means “purchase foods famous for the region they are grown in and support the agriculture that produces your favorite non-local foods such as Brie cheese from Brie”)
6. always buy from a farmer’s market before supermarket

To become a traveling locavore you prioritize your food in the same way, but have the added benefit of experimenting with produce, meat, and dairy products native to the region you’re visiting. In the coming weeks, we’ll explore what it means to be a traveling locavore in a number of destinations - from Placencia, Belize to Dingle, Ireland.

photo by al pohaku

Even in the city with an reputation for being obsessed with politics and more than a bit uptight, you can find quality organic food in eco-conscious restaurants. You just have to know where to look.

Here are our top picks for green restaurants in the U.S. capital.

Coppi’s Organic Restaurant (U Street)
How it’s green: The Green Pledge on this bicycle-themed restaurant’s website outlines the steps they take to be green, including: sustainedly sourced fish, local organic produce, grass fed/free range meats and poultry, a wood burning oven, wind power electricity, and low wattage light bulbs.
1414 U St NW, Washington, DC 20009
http://www.coppisorganic.com/
Metro: U Street / African America Civil War Memorial / Cardozo (green and yellow)
Hours:
Sun: 5:00-10:00 pm
Mon-Thurs: 6:00-11:00 pm
Fri-Sat: 5:00 pm-12:00 am

Java Green (downtown / K Street)
How it’s green: Java Green, which bills itself as an “organic eco cafe,” concocts its dishes with organic and fair trade ingredients, uses wind power, “uses real chinaware to reduce the use of disposable containers,” and also offers “biodegradable serving ware and carry-out bags made from corn, sugar cane fiber, and potato starch.”
1020 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
http://www.javagreen.net/
Metro: Farragut North (red) and Farragut West (blue and orange)
Hours:
Mon-Wed: 8:30am-8:30pm
Thurs-Fri: 8:30am-9:00 pm
Sat: 11:00 am-6:00pm
Sun: Closed

Sonoma Restaurant + Wine Bar (Capitol Hill / Eastern Market)
How it’s green: Like other DC area green restaurants, Sonoma prepares its food with naturally-raised, seasonal, and local ingredients. Its website also mentions using renewable energy, though it doesn’t specify the sources.
223 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20003
http://www.sonomadc.com
Metro: Capitol South (blue and orange)
Hours:
Mon-Thurs: 11:30 am-2:30 pm; 5:30-10:00 pm
Fri: 11:30 am-2:30 pm; 5:30 pm-11:00 pm
Sat: 5:30-11:00 pm
Sun:5:30-9:00 pm

Restaurant Nora (Dupont Circle)
How it’s green: Restaurant Nora was the first American restaurant become certified organic. According to Nora’s menu (which is printed on recycled paper with environmentally-friend dyes), Chef/owner Nora Pouillon concocts her dishes with ingredients “from certified organic farmers and products who do not use synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, or GMOS.” Even the water is from the tap, filtered by their “special system,” which eliminates the environmental impacts associated with bottled water.
2132 Florida Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
http://www.noras.com/
Metro: Dupont Circle (red)
Hours:
Mon-Thurs: 5:30-10:00 pm
Fri-Sat: 5:30-10:30 pm
Sun: Closed

SweetGreen (Georgetown)
How it’s green: As its website touts, “not all ingredients are organic, but a lot are.” And according to a January 16 Washington Post article, the walls are made of recycled wood, carry out containers and utensils are biodegradable, and they use energy-efficient wiring.
3333 M St NW, Washington, DC 20007
http://eatsweetgreen.com/
Metro: Rosslyn or Foggy Bottom-GWU (blue and orange)
Hours:
Mon-Fri:11:00 am-9:00 pm
Sat-Sun: 12:00-8:00 pm

Bonus you happen to work on the Hill, you’ve probably noticed that your dining options have recently gotten greener. According to the Washington Post, under House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Green the Capitol project even Congress is greening its lunch offerings, which now include sustainable seafood and organic, locally grown produce in the House cafeterias. They’re even using compostable plates and cutlery. Wait… is this the same U.S. government that has slashed renewable energy funding, chosen nuclear energy over the environment, and admittedly put on an international climate change meeting just for show?