Self-described locavore, and author of The Locavore book, Sarah Elton is a local food GreenHero. We contacted Sarah after hearing about her journey as a food journalist, which spans the Canadian landscape and profiles all kinds of up-and-coming local food heroes.
Her story means a lot to us because she’s just like us; she’s a regular mom of two on the run (who admittedly doesn’t live to cook!), who completely transformed the way she looks at food after uncovering the origins of her daughter’s cookie (that would be China). Sarah took a moment to speak with our team from her home in Toronto.
Read our exclusive interview with her below, and remember that all of us can make small changes in the way we eat for a healthier Earth.
There's eating locally, and then there's eating locally – we're talking the 100-mile diet, an extreme challenge to the way most of us are used to eating. The 100-mile diet has become a trend of sorts, but it stems from an enlightened idea, that the way we eat can impact the way food is produced, consumed, and shared. A husband and wife team were the first to dig into the idea and blow it up on a major scale in Canada, by spending a year eating from within a 100-mile radius of where they lived, living to tell the tale, and writing about it.
It's the height of the harvest season. I'm at the grocery store looking for a tasty treat - a juicy pear or a crisp apple - but all I can find are fruits from afar.
New Zealand. Washington. Chile.
Where are my local goods? And, perhaps most curious of all, how come I didn't just pluck some fruit from the heavily-laden tree I passed by on my way here?
There’s no ingredient more important to life than the food we eat. According to the David Suzuki Foundation, the average distance our food travels is more than 5,000 kilometers from the farm to our plates.
The food is often sprayed with harmful pesticides to deter pests and rodents, and preserving chemicals to keep the products looking ripe and “perfect” for grocery displays, not to mention the massive amounts of carbon emitted along the journey.
In contrast, food that is grown locally requires less energy to produce, preserve and transport, making it healthier and tastier for us as consumers. And, more of our food dollars go directly to local farmers and producers.
Photo by Medmoiselle T via Flickr (CC)
Water nourishes and sustains us – it is the lifeline of all beings. But for those who hold it so sacred, Canada’s First Nations, poor water quality is often a reality. According to the Council of Canadians, over 80 First Nations communities are currently under “boiled water advisories” and 21 communities are deemed to be at high risk for contamination. These communities lack infrastructure and funding to deal with wastewater treatment and drinking water. They also face pressures from private water companies encroaching upon their communities.
Put that bottle down – tap into your tap water! You might not know it, but Canadian tap water is award winning. In blind taste tests, Canadian tap water takes the lead. That's because we have wonderful, pristine water sources, sources worth protecting for generations to come. According to the Polaris Institute, a tap refill saves up to 5 liters of water that would have been wasted in making 1 liter of bottled water. Bottled water is 2000 to 10000x more expensive than water from the tap, even though over 40% of bottled water is merely filtered tap water!
We first learned about the work of GreenHero Gail Krantzberg through her involvement in spreading awareness about water and the Great Lakes in Ontario's Greenbelt. Gail is Professor and Director of the Centre for Engineering and Public Policy, The School of Engineering Practice, McMaster University. And though water science is her specialty, it's her infectious personal passion for the Great Lakes and dedication to preserving them that shines through her work.
If you live in Canada, the issue of water scarcity may never cross your mind. But water scarcity is a reality, even in places where rainfall and freshwater is plentiful.
Don't take clean, freshwater for granted.
We should know the facts.
Karen Kun (left) with co-founder, Tatiana Glad
Karen Kun is a GreenHero. Though a multi-faceted activist and entrepreneur, Karen’s primary focus is water. Karen co-founded Waterlution in 2003:
To be an active contributor in influencing the behaviours of individuals, communities, companies, policy-makers, and educators in the way that we all experience, use, manage, and distribute our water.
Karen and her team offer customized, facilitated workshops designed to raise awareness and build capacity of individuals and organizations in addressing complex water issues.
As Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, I am charged with the duty to protect and celebrate Lake Ontario. It's a big job and a rewarding job that I take very seriously. I have a vision of the lake where the water is clean enough to swim in, pure enough to quench your thirst and safe enough, wild enough, to toss in a line and pull out a fish to feed your family.
I've been working towards making this vision a reality for over ten years with the help of local communities and active individuals. It's the dedication of the local community that creates victories for all of us. Because of the action taken by residents of Bath, Ontario and our Trustee, Gord Downie, there will be no tire burning at the Lafarge cement kiln in Bath.
Login with Facebook
