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

A Rawcumentary

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by Starre Vartan · 05/11/06

This is the story of a woman who wanted to be a showgirl– and got in shape by going on a raw food diet for 30 days.

I haven’t seen Supercharge Me…30 Days Raw, but it looks fun, in the using-self-as-guinea-pig style of Super Size Me.

In case anyone’s wondering what raw food has to do with environmentalism….actually a lot! Raw food meals (especially if grown locally) are meals that use little energy and create little waste (all of it compostable). Most raw-foodists are vegan, which is almost as low-impact as a diet can get.

As the name implies, raw means uncooked (though food can be gently ‘warmed’ or dehydrated). Much of the labor is done by human hands, and though it’s somewhat anecdotal, I vouch for the fact that raw food for days on end makes you feel kind of ecstatic and it’s very energizing. It IS a lot of work though, and there’s little prepared raw food available. I wrote an article on raw food a while back for E Magazine, if you want more details on what it means to be raw.

If you already enjoy raw food, go see this movie and let us know what you think!

Energy, epa, Food, labor, local, magazine, raw food, style, vegan, waste

Vanity Fair's Green Issue Party

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by Starre Vartan · 04/20/06

Vanity Fair’s party for their green issue was so much fun that I was still recovering from it 24 hours later. (It was the green martinis the amazing bartenders whipped up, and the red ones…and the wine….and not enough of the delicious raw and vegan food from Pure Food and Wine).

But now (finally!) I can look back on the night with a clear head and declare that it was a success. A successful party that is. I’m not sure how much world-saving got done, but hell, we all need a good party sometimes!

After an hour of mingle, a few speakers came on, including Gov. Pataki, Graydon Carter, and Paulette Cole, who is the President of ABC’s Home and Planet Foundation. Paulette introduced Robert F. Kennedy, who went hoarse during a rousing speech that touched on the nastiness of the Bush Administration, pathetic press coverage of environmental issues, and the necessity for closing down Indian Point nuclear power plant. Having grown up upriver but still very near Indian Point, I had enough nightmares as a child to get fully behind that last point. My town had giant (like several stories tall) sirens that would go off ‘just in case’ we had to evacuate. Talk about terrifying.

I’d heard RFK was a passionate speaker, and that’s no lie:

[The environmental movement's] biggest problem is an indolent and negative press…which leads to a public that doesn’t understand the connections between things like coal-burning power plants and the fact that fresh-water fish shouldn’t be eaten by children and pregnant women…

This is the worst administration of any in history, with over 400 rollbacks of environmental rules, a deliberate eviceration of thirty plus years of environmental regulations, and who puts known polluters in charge of public offices.

RFK also cited a CDC report that says that 1/6 of American women’s children are at risk because of pollutants in their bodies. He told the crowd that they should all get their blood checked, and admitted that he has twice the recommended limits of certain toxins in his own blood.

Naturally, after that sobering speech, it was necessary to drink more. (And I’m sure I’m not the only organic vegetarian in the room that wondered if our veg-only choices meant our bodies were at least a little less toxified. But then swilled the alcohol, which was NOT (boo!) organic. Where’s Orange V when you need it?)

Talking to fellow bloggers and other green press helped me feel a little better; we’ve certainly not been ignoring the environment, and in 20 years the kids will look up at us as the only ones who were reporting the truth. It’s too bad that we’re consistently relegated to the independent press when everyone needs to hear the Earth’s message loud and clear: “Yes Virginia, there is global warming, and it’s your fault.” Though at least Time Magazine stepped up a few weeks ago with their global warming issue. But when the heck is a major magazine going to tackle the 100,000 chemicals in our lives (less than 10% of which have been tested). Doesn’t that bother anyone in the mainstream?

Though Vanity Fair did not print on recycled paper (double boo!!) props to them for covering the issue; there are some great articles in the magazine, which will reach a lot more people than any party could. You should pick it up just to see the fabulous photos of all your green heros.

Commentary on the party at E Magazine and at Grist, and opinions on the magazine at Treehugger here and here.

Photos, (l. to r.) VF Cover; Remy C. (Greenburbs) and Starre Vartan (Eco Chick); green friendOlga Sasplugas, Brian Howard (E Magazine) and Nick Denton (Gawker); Robert F. Kennedy (Riverkeeper); Graham Hill (Treehugger) and friendRandy Hayes (ED of the Int’l Forum on Globalization); group including Graydon Carter (editor of VF) and Paulette Cole (President of ABC Home and Planet Foundation), our fearless bartenders, Summer Rayne Oakes (Eco Chick) and Adam Black (SustainabiliTV)

Photos by Remy C. and Emily Gertz. See all the party pics by Remy C. here.

alcohol, Bush, car, children, coal, Eco-Chick, fish, Food, gas, Global Warming, Home, India, kids, magazine, mainstream, nuclear, nuclear power, opinion, Organic, paper, party, Plants, recycle, recycled, rum, spa, Starre Vartan, style, summer, Summer Rayne Oakes, Toxins, treehugger, tv, Vanity Fair, vegan, vegetarian, water, Wine, women, women's

Through the Grapevine: Time Style Section to feature "eco"

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by Summer Rayne Oakes · 04/12/06

So an insider from Time, Inc. met with me today and told me that an upcoming Sunday Style Edition will be featuring some stories on sustainable style. They’ve just finished all the pages and you can tune back here to find out what week it’ll come out. Of course, he said, they can’t see too far past Stella McCartney’s vegan-wear, but again, hey…it’s a start…

car, Eco-Chick, Fashion, rape, style, sustainable, sustainable style, vegan

The Meatrix II: Revolting

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by Kimberly Jordan Allen · 04/12/06

Continuing the fight against factory farming and unsustainable practices is something Sustainable Table has been doing through their entertaining and informative Meatrix short film and website. Now, their sequel, The Meatrix II: Revolting is circulating on the net continuing the revolution against big agri-business. GRACE, which stands for Global Resource Action Center for the Environment, founded the Sustainable Table as a consumer campaign to inform and incite action against the horrendous conditions of factory farms, and the importance of supporting humane and ecologically sound practices. In this current online clip, the dairy industry is largely under fire for its use of rBGH. On the ‘get involved’ page readers are encouraged to solicit Starbucks to stop their use of non-organic dairy products that contain the artificial hormone. While there are many vegans who have eluded the Meatrix in their complete avoidance of animal-based products, there are still many who search for more responsible ways to satisfy their carnivorous hankerings. For those who eat dairy or meat there is the eatwell guide which is a useful resource for finding healthy food.

business, car, Dairy Products, Eco-Chick, farm, farming, farms, Food, health, Home, meat, Organic, Starbucks, sustainable, vegan