October 23, 2013 / Issue 149

     



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"Air fresheners turn out to be among the most toxic products in our homes.... Even air fresheners labeled "natural" contain harmful ingredients. "Natural" is a term without any standards behind it."

 

-- Alice Shabecoff, author of Poisoned for Profit

 

 

How Greenie is Your Halloweenie?

 

How boring would a title like "How To Green Your Halloween be?" Enough said. Halloween is, without a doubt, one of my very best favorite days/times of the year. First of all, it's Mr. Green's birthday - always cause for fun and celebration. Secondly, my childhood memories just about make me swoon. Remember - it was back in the day when on Halloween it was safe to go Trick or Treating for hours and even stay out after dark. It was okay to get a mountain of candy and spend hours trading for favorites with siblings the next day. No fair trade chocolate nor high fructose corn syrup nor the awful production methods for cheap costumes nor childhood obesity ever came up - not ever. It was just "Trick or Treat?"

Well, that was then and this is now and I still say LET'S MAKE HALLOWEEN FUN AND SUSTAINABLE!!! Here are just three very simple things you can do to green your Halloween and in turn, celebrate your health and your kindness to the earth:

1. SHOP RESALE! Ladies and Gentlemen and children of all ages - get creative about costumes. Use things from home, visit your local Goodwill Industries, Buffalo Exchange, Savers. Please - don't buy cheap, made in China or India by slave labor 100% polyester looky likey costumes. If you are the adult setting the example, you are the one to get your kids excited about using their imaginations. You've got the purchasing power to make a green choice and to get your kids thinking about living consciously in a way that should be fun.


2. HEALTHY TREATS - I am coming clean here just like I did last year. I cried when I was five because someone gave me an apple in my bag. This info can still be verified by at least one of my siblings. But that was then and this is now. Even though I will probably NEVER do any of these things, I know there are some of you out there who will. These are adorable, fun and clever ideas for healthy treats if you are having or going to a Halloween Party.


3. GET UNREAL - Yup, there is a healthy chocolate and yes, it is readily available in cities at Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond or can be ordered online. I read all about it last year, went out, got some and it PASSED this Chocoholic's taste test. Check it out.


p.s. At the end of the day, Halloween comes once a year. This can be your time of year to consciously choose to say "the heck with it" and just eat all the chocolate your little heart desires. It shall forever be my wish that if that is the road you take, you will treat yourself to something you can feel great about that bears the label "FAIR TRADE." That's sustainable.

 

Mrs. Green On The Move - Again

 

All I can say when I look back over this year is "WOW" (becoming a common word for me.) It has been and continues to be a year of spreading the Mrs. Green word from coast to coast - including the coast of Alaska. It has been a year of connecting with people from around the world who share the intention of creating a global community of people who care about the planet. A perfect way to end a great, green travelling year is getting to partner once again with Go Green Conference - Phoenix. If you are a business owner in Arizona and want to be on the cutting edge of what's happening in the world of sustainability, join me! Get empowered, get inspired, get connected. 

UPCOMING SHOWS

 

October 26

Creator of a Salad Revolution

Myra Goodman Myra Goodman, Founder, Earthbound Farm

This is another "just pinch me" kind of moment. I met Myra when I attended the Sustainable Foods Institute in Monterey, CA, this past May. She is the co-founder of Earthbound Farm and a cookbook author. At Earthbound Farm they make the connection between our health and the way we eat. Ready for this? Earthbound Farm became the FIRST company to successfully launch prewashed, packaged salad for retail sale. When they introduced their mixed baby greens or "spring mix" to restaurants and supermarket produce aisles, they literally started a salad revolution. Twenty-five years later, twenty-five years strong. And, I just have to add that the breakfast we enjoyed at Earthbound Farm was delicious, nutritious, beautifully presented and their team over the top welcoming and friendly. This show sponsored by Chapman Tucson.

 

November 2
The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth
Heather White Heather White, Executive Director, ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP
The EWG has had more of a significant impact on my life and the life of many people in Mrs. Green's World than any single organization I have read about, interviewed or written about.  They are about safe cosmetics, about removing toxins from your home, about safe sunscreen for you and your children. They take NO government funding. They are 100% transparent.  Manufacturers either love them or figure out how to get on or OFF their "safe" lists - like The Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen (safe and unsafe fruits and vegetables.)  This is such a great organization and I am honored to be interviewing Heather White.  This show sponsored by The Fairfax Companies.
 
November 9
Food Tank: The Food Think Tank
Danielle Nierenberg, Co-Founder
Our food system is clearly broken. Case in point? Forty percent of the world's food NEVER gets eaten. Dani Nierenberg and her co-founder Ellen Gustafson, are on a passionate mission to change all that and they are. Food Tank is for farmers and producers, policy makers and government leaders, researchers and scientists, academics and journalists AND for you and me! This dynamic duo hope to bridge the domestic and global food issues by highlighting how hunger, obesity, climate change, unemployment, and other problems can be solved by more research and investment in agriculture. HOPE AND SUCCESS! I met Dani in New York City and I can promise you this will be a fantastic show. This show is sponsored by Chapman Tucson.   

  

November 16

Focus On Our Future: Biosphere2 Ocean Makeover

Rafe Sagarin Dr. Rafe Sagarin, Program Manager

Rafe, a marine ecologist and environmental policy analyst, is unveiling GREAT plans for Biosphere2 Ocean. But titles can be deceiving. This innovative scientist and educator has studied responses of marine communities and wetlands to climate change, illegal fishing, pollution, and other human impacts. Rafe uses unusual data sets from writers, naturalists, artists, and gamblers to re-assemble historical patterns of ecosystem change, including reconstructing changes to the Sea of Cortez since the expedition of John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts. He is the author of a fabulous, well written, exciting book called Learning from the Octopus. Now he's bringing new life to the ocean exhibit at Biosphere2. Got any doubts? I sure don't. This show sponsored by The University of Arizona.

 

November 23

Are Your Clothes Fed by Threads?

Alok Appadurai, Fed by Threads Co-Founder

There is such a thing as perfect timing and having Alok on the show at this time has taken on new meaning since my trip to New York City. The Go Green Conference had a series of outstanding speakers describing the horrors of the textile industry and I mean horrors. Yes, I cried and I was not alone. It will be an honor to interview the co-founder of Fed by Threads, the first and ONLY humanitarian, sustainable, US-made clothing line and store in America that feeds 12 emergency meals to hungry Americans from each item sold. They believe the choice is simple. They believe the results are profound. They are making REAL goods for our national economy. They are not outsourcing jobs. They are NOT even harming the environment much less destroying it. They sacrifice profits to feed hungry Americans. Is there a downside to Fed by Threads? I think not. I can't wait to join Alok! This show sponsored by The Fairfax Companies.

 

November 30
Best of Mrs. Green's World
Mrs. Green [that's me!] will be in Los Angeles for Thanksgiving with a very long list of things I will be giving thanks for starting with the blessing of family. If you have a particular show you would like us to re-run, would you let us know? Do you know how happy it would make all of us at Mrs. Green's World if you did? VERY!!!  If you feel so moved, please email [email protected] with your request. 
 
December 7
Two Fruits, Five Veggies
Renata Jayne!
HUGE OMG - this is our FIRST EVER INTERNATIONAL GUEST! Renata Jayne is from Australia and is a children's storyteller, musician and educator. She has presented to more than 120,000 kids in over 1,000 places in Australia and Africa. She helps prepare kids for the world by raising their awareness about different cultures, helping them to understand social and family issues and empowering "their little souls with the knowledge they are active participants in their world." She has created fun, musical shows for just about anything, including one of my favorite topics: healthy eating. Her show/campaign called Two Fruits, Five Veggies made me laugh out loud. This is a HUGE milestone for us and hope you will plan to be a part of it! This show sponsored by Goodwill Industries of Southern Arizona.  
 

December 14

Chipotle: Redefining Fast Food

Chris Arnold, Director of Communications

When Chipotle opened their doors in 1993, they had one simple goal: to serve high quality, delicious food quickly with an experience that not only exceeded, but redefined the fast food experience. I believe that they do serve food with integrity, with a conscious commitment to people, animals and to the planet and that they are game changers.The chain recently became the first fast-food chain to label the ingredients it uses that contain GMOs; the list is deep in its website, not in stores, but it's a start. I believe Chipotle is standing for something better. Not convinced? Take a look at Chipotle's Scarecrow Game then plan to join us. This show sponsored by Chapman Tucson. 

 
Mrs. Green's World
GREEN TALK RADIO Show 
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