Posts Tagged ‘sustainability’

The end of consumerism: Our way of life is ‘not viable’

January 14, 2010 Worldwatch released a report this month, State of the World 2010: Transforming Cultures, in which “sixty renowned researchers and practitioners” share their thoughts on how we might go about shifting “from cultures of consumerism to cultures of sustainability”. via @TheIndyNews Go to Original Post…

Failure to Cultivate: A Response to Caitlin Flanagan on School Gardens

January 12, 2010 Well thought out with good points made in response to Atlantic Journal post yesterday, How school gardens are cheating our most vulnerable students. Chef Kurt Michael Friese, owner and publisher of Edible Iowa River Valley, writes about the importance of school gardens and what children may learn from doing so. “There is [...]

Native Perspectives on Sustainability – a series

January 12, 2010 “Extensive research suggests that the collective behavior of humanity is on an unsustainable path (e.g., Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). More and more people are awakening to this reality and are beginning to pursue answers for a just and sustainable future. In the midst of this unfolding story are indigenous people across the [...]

Working with Nature, and Against It

Sustainable, yes, natural, no. Home ownership is the great American Dream. To own the land (and the structures on the land) is pretty much the pinnacle of capitalist endeavor. For TwoJunes, our house is our savings, our retirement, a hobby, a joy, and occasionally, sheer terror. Admittedly, it is enormously gratifying to have control over [...]

The Cutting Garden

For sustainable, local fresh flowers, it’s DIY As foodies, a trip to the grocery store or market is a delight to the senses. So much so that little luxuries seem to jump right in the basket. . .a fine aged cheese, a bottle of wine, flowers. Ah, the flowers. . .what represents the “the good [...]

A Fair Artisan Wage: Soldiers in the Sustainable Trenches-Part 3

Part 3: Operating an ethical, caring, much less sustainable, small business is a risky and difficult endeavor. Artisan production is by definition not a huge volume business. Small food business margins are very low. Providing employee insurance is a huge strain. Overhead is high. Quality ingredients cost more. That high price tag on an artisan [...]

A Fair Artisan Wage: Soldiers in the Sustainable Trenches-Part 2

Part 2: Despite the disparity between available funds and the cost of organic, sustainable food, a large proportion of the community of chefs and bakers here in Portland spend a huge portion of their not so huge income for quality food. They put their dollars where their hearts and stomachs lead them, and tend to [...]

A Fair Artisan Wage: Soldiers in the Sustainable Trenches

Part 1: Portland, Oregon, is a city on the cutting edge of food. We’ve got great restaurants and talented chefs, wine and beer to die for, excellent bakeries, chocolatiers and coffee roasters, and a wealth of natural riches provided by sustainable small farms, year-round farmer’s markets, and locally-owned sustainable grocers. We field an excellent and [...]