Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

What’s on Your Plate? The Film About Food Politics from a Kid’s Perspective

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by Alicia Lubowski-Jahn · 02/09/10

Planet Green is serving up some food for thought as it premiered the exciting documentary What’s On Your Plate? on February 6 at 10pm (airs again on February 11 at 11pm). Part of the Reel Impact environmental documentary series, director and producer Catherine Gund has captured the discovery journey of two eleven-year-old New York City kids, Sadie and Safiyah, to uncover sustainable food systems and a path to self nourishment.

The essential question of “What’s on Your Plate?” is answered through the girls’ exploration of the sources of their food through to its consumption. In addition to learning to make non-wasteful and healthful choices for themselves and the environment, the tweens also discover the community benefits of choosing food from local organic farms, greenmarkets, and community supported agriculture (CSA).

“What’s On Your Plate” is exactly the film we need now.
– Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto and The Omnivore’s Dilemma

Congratulations, Sadie and Safiyah! It is great to have you take us through the food cycle. As somebody said: “You are what you eat.” Thank you for helping us get it right. You will definitely capture the imagination of your peers and generations beyond.
– Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations

Although several documentaries, including Super Size Me (2004), Fast Food Nation, (2006) and Food, Inc. (2008), have exposed the dangers of the mainstream American diet for the well-being of our bodies and the earth, What’s on Your Plate? is speaking directly to children, parents, and the public school system. The powerful message of the kids’ compassionate determination to improve our food chain stirs us to make more sustainable choices for them, ourselves, our neighbors, and our earth.

Food, kids, Politics

Crude, the Film, Shows Real Price of America's Oil Addiction (Hint: It's Not Just the Environment)

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by Kimberly Jordan Allen · 08/10/09

Crude is the story of a community of 30,000 tribal members in the Amazonian jungle of Ecuador who hold a corporation to bear for its crimes against their land, their livelihood, and most importantly, their lives. The film follows the intricacies of what has been called the “Amazon Chernobyl.”

The indigenous population claims that Chevron, the parent company to the former Texaco, spent thirty years contaminating the air, land, and water of an area the size of Rhode Island which is now called the “death zone.” Cancer, leukemia, and birth defects are among some of the effects of Big Oil. The film was shot and edited over a period of three years, with Berlinger and the crew sacrificing their own safety by facing both environmental (toxic fumes, disease, searing equatorial heat) and man-made dangers (shooting near the Colombian border where drug runners and FARC rebels are very active) to capture a story they felt must be shared with the rest of the world.

Berlinger’s cinematic sensibility paints a picture that captures the lush vitality of the Amazon, the horrendous atrocities endured by the tribespeople, and the complicated path that social justice must traverse, all the while avoiding cliche and stereotypes. Amazon Watch and the Rainforest Foundation have both been instrumental in bringing the Ecuadorian devastation to the public eye.

Trudie Styler, Sting’s wife, and noted activist, appears in the film to lend celebrity to the cause. Repeatedly referring to the Amazon as “the lungs of the earth,” Styler and others point to the far more serious nature of the toxicity than mere dollars can assuage. If Ecuador is in trouble, we are ALL in trouble. If tribe members cannot fish or swim, that affects us directly. Transnationals can no longer act in a vacuum of backyard antics.

Vanity Fair featured an article in the 2007 Green Issue on the case in Ecuador, and attorney Pablo Fajardo, who passionately represents the plaintiffs. In one scene in the film, Fajardo notes that he is not intimidated by the high powered legal team because he has truth on his side, which makes his work that much easier. He doesn’t have to work diligently to create lies about what is happening.

Without sensationalizing the health effects of the toxic swamp left in the Ecuadorian jungle, Berlinger simply allows the water to tell the tale. The water, the rivers, the streams, and pools appear fresh from a distance as children play, women wash, and people drink. Once approached, the rainbow sheen of petrol catches the light and the scent of gasoline sends heads reeling. The ground is soft sludge as the pollutants work their way through the soil and into the Earth. One of the Texaco/Chevron representatives claims: “this is not contamination, this is industrial exploitation that your government permitted.” Amazing. This film must be seen.

In order for this film to have a chance of being seen by the rest of the country, it must nearly sell-out in NY, LA and SF, so tell your friends, blog about it, spread the word…go see this film. Because the film doesn’t have huge marketing dollars, it’s up to people like you and me to spread the word online.

Here are some important screening dates: for locations click here
-NYC: September 9-22
-L.A.: September 18-24
-S.F.: September 25-October 1
-D.C.: October 23-29

Amazon, Cancer, Chevron, children, cities, community, death, exploitation, farm, fish, gas, health, Lush, News, NYC, oil, Outdoors, Politics, rainforest, rum, style, Tea, Vanity Fair, water, women

President Obama, Wear a Sweater! The POTUS' Eco Sins and Virtues

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by Starre Vartan · 01/29/09

Mr. President, I know you’re originally from Hawaii, but that’s no excuse to waste fossil fuels keeping the Oval Office as warm as Honolulu!

Loved this piece in the NYTimes about our new President’s style; it’s kind of an intimate look at the day-to-day life of our new POTUS and how different from Bush he really is. I picked out a few clues from the piece about his eco-cred. Just like most Americans, he has started down the road to green, but has some issues to work on yet.

Yes, I do realize I’m a teensy bit obsessive about the planet, but hey, it’s the only one we’ve got, right? And isn’t this man going to be in charge of a huge chunk of it?

‘Nuf Said, Onto the Eco Crit!

Nay!
According to Times’ reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg, “Obama’s senior adviser, David Axelrod, who occupies the small but strategically located office next door to his boss (says), “He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there.”
-Obama keeps the temps toasty in the middle of winter, a big energy waster. My home office is kept at 62, which works just fine as long as I have a few layers on. Put on a sweater, Mr. President!

Yay!
Obama’s keeping a specially-commissioned rug that W. installed, but wants to get rid of some of W’s decorative plates. Barack says he’s not a ‘plates kind of guy’.
-The President is not hot-to-trot on redecorating the Oval Office, a perfect example of reducing consumption and reusing well-made pieces. You can sell those plates on Ebay or Craigslist to one of the last 100 Americans who thinks George W. was a great president, and use the cash for a couple new organic sweaters!

Nay!
Obama seems to eat quite a bit of meat. The Times reports: “For Mr. Obama, lunch generally means a cheeseburger, chicken or fish in his small dining room off the Oval Office.”
-Meat is the most energy- and water-intensive food you can eat. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Department reports that 18% of greenhouse gases come from meat and dairy production. Go veg at least half-time Mr. President, and you will save your heart, your colon, and the planet.

Yay!
Obama drinks organic tea- specifically his fridge is packed with Honest Tea (Hey, I love this stuff too!) in Black Forest Berry and Green Dragon flavors.
-Honest Tea works directly with farmers, making sure they receive a fair wage, and organic teas mean tea plantations (most commonly in China and India) aren’t drenched in pesticides and herbicides, many of which are banned in the US because they’re too hazardous, keeping local water and soil supplies clean for the people and animals who live there. And that means our President isn’t ingesting toxic chemicals in his drinks either, keeping him healthier.

Nay!
Obama STILL hasn’t committed to planting a Victory Garden at the White House.
-What better way to encourage Americans to grow their own food, embrace local produce AND teach Sasha and Malia the value of clean soil and solar energy than growing a garden! I mean, I know he’s been busy closing Guantanamo and all (a HUGE energy saver if there ever was one….and great for human rights too of course), but let’s get growing!

Yay!
Obama has a 30-second commute; he eats breakfast and dinner with his family and then heads downstairs to govern all day and half the evening.
-Telecommuting saves fossil fuels and money. The average person can save about $1700 a year and reduce their carbon footprint by working from home as often as possible. Plus you don’t have to dress up!

Energy, Obama, Organic, Politics

Under President Obama, Will the FDA Finally Do Its Job?

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by Stephanie Rogers · 11/07/08

Under Bush’s leadership, the FDA has failed us. The Food and Drug Administration is supposed to be protecting us from harm, ensuring that the drugs that we take and the ingredients that go into products we use are safe. That rarely happens, however, as the FDA has put the interests of the pharmaceutical industry and corporations above the needs of the people.

In fact, we – the people – have been forced to police ingredients in the cleaning products, cosmetics, personal care products and other items that we use ourselves, since we’ve found that we can’t trust the FDA to do it for us. The FDA has failed to set adequate limits or remove entirely toxic substances like parabens, phtalates and other chemical compounds that can cause birth defects and cancer from cosmetics. They’ve failed to keep high levels of Bisphenol A from being used in plastic items like baby bottles. They’ve failed to keep dangerous levels of lead from being ingested by children who play with toys imported from China.

In 2006, the Union of Concerned Scientists determined that even FDA scientists themselves felt ineffective at doing their true job – protecting us – because of pressure from the Bush administration. Among the findings:

• Three in five scientists said they knew of cases where commercial interests inappropriately attempted to change an FDA action.
• One fifth said they were asked by FDA decision makers to provide “incomplete, inaccurate or misleading information to the public.”
• Nearly two in three said that the laws and regulations that govern the FDA need “change for the agency to better serve the public.”
• Only half felt the FDA is acting effectively to protect the public health.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve spent much of the last eight years being very angry at the FDA. Why should we be fearful of every product we purchase, thinking, “what’s in this that could harm my family?” President Bush made it clear to all of us that he values business interests above our own, especially as he spends his final months in office on an environmental rampage, doing as much damage as possible so that corporations can make even more money.

But now, we have hope. We have President-elect Obama, who has spent his entire career helping the common man, not increasing corporate profits.  Under President Obama, the FDA will undoubtedly undergo some major changes, not the least of which is the fact that the agency will no longer be pressured to alter their results to please lobbyists.

We can expect President-elect Obama to appoint someone responsible as the FDA chief, in stark contrast to Bush-era FDA officials like former lead counsel Daniel E. Troy. Troy helped the government aggressively fight lawsuits from citizens that claimed that FDA-approved medications had devastating and unexpected side effects. Unsurprisingly, he had previously represented major U.S. pharmaceutical firms before he was named lead counsel.

Analysts say that Obama will likely take as long as 6-18 months to choose a new FDA commissioner.  Many believe that Obama will choose someone who will offer a renewed sense of political independence and focus on science, something that has been sorely lacking under Bush’s rule.

Regardless of who Obama ultimately chooses, I believe that we can feel pretty confident that the FDA will once again resume its job of protecting us. That doesn’t mean we can totally let our guard down – after all, government agencies are still fraught with inefficiency and things won’t change overnight.  We must remain our own advocates, but at least now we can breathe a little easier knowing we’re not engaged in a constant battle against a government that would cast us aside in favor of Big Business.

Photo via Flickr user Kanko*

FDA, Obama, Politics

In Memory of Central Park – Interview with Queenelle Minet

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by Amanda Quraishi · 11/05/08

Last month saw the release of a new book by author Queenelle Minet entitled In Memory of Central Park.  It is a futuristic story of New York City.  In the book, the city has seceded from the United States. Within this microcosm the author describes political, social, and environmental issues that mirror our own global issues today.  It is also a love story, based on the author’s own relationship with her husband and her years of practice as a clinical psychologist.  The characters are vivid and real against the fantastic backdrop of a futuristic city that is in peril.  A compelling–and provocative read.

Ms. Minet co-authored the book with her husband, Dr. Aaron Spilken, who passed away in 2003 before the book was completed. I had the chance to interview Ms. Minet this month about her book.
—————–
Amanda:  Thank you for taking the time to discuss your new book with me. I don’t get a chance to read fiction as often as I’d like, but I actually picked it up and read it in a single day. It reminded me that I need to take time to read more for pleasure.

I’d like to ask you a few questions and share you answers with my readers.  First of all, the original manuscript for the book had been started by your late husband. What was the single biggest factor for you deciding to finish the story?

QM:  The most important reason I decided to finish the book was my realization that the quirky vision of New York City my husband had created was an extremely apt metaphor for the world we live in today.

Amanda:  In the book, the future you paint is bleak. The citizens of New York live totally disconnected from the natural world. In fact, as the title suggests, Central Park has been destroyed to make room for more housing. Do you see this same disconnect happening in the world today? Do you think it is a real threat for future generations?

QM:  Yes. I don’t think it likely that Central Park itself will actually be built over. Rather, the destruction of Central Park is a symbol for the destruction of nature that’s going on all over the world—damage that is so extensive and so serious it threatens the earth itself and all its life forms, including humans. The basic root cause is the same as that which resulted in Central Park being built over in my novel—overpopulation. In 1986 humans reached the earth’s carrying capacity.  Ever since, we’ve been living beyond our means by over-exploiting our fisheries–whole species of fish are in serious threat of extinction, overgrazing pastureland so that it becomes desert, destroying forests, and polluting the earth’s water and atmosphere. Add to this the Co2, global warming problem and the fact that by the year2050, the population is projected to reach 9.1 billion (an increase of approximately the size of the populations of China and India put together) and the future does indeed look bleak.

Amanda: The citizens of New York suffer a terrible fate because they have poisoned their own environment. Yet, up until the very end, they refuse to believe they are in danger. What parallels do you see between this fictional scenario and the environmental concerns that people are ignoring today?

QM:  The parallel is quite clear. Look at what the main concerns are in the world today—the economy, terrorism, the War in Iraq. While these things are worthy of concern, they are not nearly as serious a threat, nor will they cause nearly the loss of life and suffering as will the environmental problems that so far are not being dealt with in any effective way. It seems that only when millions are actually displaced by flooding, only when millions are actually dying from starvation, only when uncontrollable fires are actually raging across drought stricken lands will people wake up and realize the danger they are in.

Amanda:  The book describes a society that, over time, has become controlled by a single political party which has offered them ‘protection’, and in exchange has taken away their freedoms. What important factors do you think have contributed to this political landscape?

QM: Well, once again, this is going on right now in our own country. Civil liberties have diminished as never before since the Bush administration has been able to use terrorism as an excuse to carry through with their desire to greatly strengthen the presidency—to make it more like an old fashioned monarchy or a dictatorship.

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book review, environmental activism, futuristic, In Memory of Central Park, political satire, Politics, Queenelle Minet