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Enjoy a cup of coffee, knowing it is sourced exclusively from women-led
co-ops in Ethiopia, Colombia, and
Indonesia.
Most of us begin our day with a steaming cup of hot java, be it expresso or drip; we love our cool beans. Their rich, dark flavor gives us the daily courage to go out and do good work.
But how many of us think about where those beans came from and who planted, harvested, and packed them? How did this delicious brew get to our morning mug?
The history of coffee has a dark side steeped in human exploitation.
You don’t have to climb these steps to get involved in Food Policy
I just returned from The Organic Produce Summit in Monterey, Calif., where 2100 of my favorite friends gathered to celebrate. Finally connected in person—after a year like no other—growers, buyers, friends, sometimes rivals—we celebrated the part we played in 2020.
As the world changed, organic food sales went wild. OTA reports that organic food sales soared to $62 billion, growing twice as fast as the year before. Yet organic food huddles still at around 4% of all food sales.
There’s clearly work to be done beyond growing, selling, and buying organic food—it’s policy and political work.
You can’t ignore the dire warnings of the IPCC’s 6thclimate assessment report. The proof presents itself as we witness centuries-old forests burn, German villages flood, and arctic glaciers melt. We know that carbon dioxide is the primary driver of climate change. However, short-lived pollutants—like methane—can be far more potent—hundreds to thousands of times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.
Cows beset with flatulence, spewing oil and gas wells, and waste fermenting in our landfills produce methane.
Waste from homes and businesses and the methane generated in landfills as waste decomposes is the third-largest source of CH4 emissions in the United States.
Reducing our waste is something we can do right now, and it’s evolved from the notion of vestibules that separate paper, plastic, and glass. It requires commitment and planning.
At home, it seems simple, but the approach in our workplace, be it corporate or small business, can make even bigger impacts but can be daunting.
How does one begin the journey as a business owner or an engaged earth champion at work?
