Green Living
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
**SuperGreen**
Hi - you're in my area. I saw your post below and was wondering what restaurants serving local/greener fair you know around here. I just heard of Food Matters in Alexandria but haven't been yet. Bonus for gluten free options. Thx!
BTW, there's a Monsanto ad on WTOP radio that's just wretched. Talks about how Monsanto is saving the world through GMOs and support to farmers. Don't know if you've heard it. Just awful.
Re: **SuperGreen**
Hi barkers! I'm in Chantilly, so just over the border into Loudoun county from Fairfax County. As you know, the regions of Northern VA aren't actually very close together, so I don't have any restaurant recs in northern Northern VA, like Arlington or Alexandria. There's two awesome vegetarian restaurants near me, Lotus in Chantilly and Sunflower in Fairfax. They both serve asian-style food, which is awesome, like egg rolls and stir frys, it's not like salads with sprouts or anything weird.. Vintage 50 in Leesburg and Vintage 51 in South Riding serve local food.
Here's the website to Eat Local Virginia: http://www.buylocalvirginia.org/index.cfm which has restaurant guides for each region, and VA farmer's markets: http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/vagrown/index.shtml I'm sure there's one in Arlington, I know D.C. has several because the vendors from my Leesburg market go there too.
I've heard that ad and I flvcking HATE IT! I scream at the radio "YOU ARE NOT AMERICA'S FARMERS SO SHUT THE FvCK UP!" I just can't take it.... it's on all.the.time and I despise WTOP for running it.
Thanks for the recs. I'm trying to do more farmers markets over the usual Whole Foods-Trader Joes-Costco circuit - so much running around though. I really want to go to Smith Meadows Farm Day (Berryville) on May 1, but I'm volunteering at Reston Pet Fiesta instead.
I'd like to have ad money to run a segment with the real story to run right after the Monsanto lies. Same for the TV spot about how great corn syrup is. No truth in advertising.
Loudoun County has a Spring Farm Tour weekend, it's May 15-16.
http://www.loudounfarms.org/default.asp?contentID=52
A large portion of the farms in Loudoun county open up to the public, we take the map and plot a route to 2-3 farms and a winery or two, and enjoy the scenery. They have one in the spring and fall and we always go, but this spring we booked a camping trip for that weekend like 6+ weeks ago. Tons of weekends go by where we don't plan anything, but the moment we do plan something, another awesome activity comes up. We're having the same problem this weekend. I'm missing the Climate Rally in D.C. to go camping.
I understand the running around. I go to the Farmer's Market on Sat mornings, our regular grocery store on Sat afternoon, and Whole Foods on my way home from yoga on Sunday afternoons. It's gotten to be a habit now, and I consider getting healthy food for my family to be one of my top priorities.
I wish I had the money for that too. I'd talk about how Monsanto claims to be "feeding the world," but since they determine the price of GMOs, which aren't viable the following year (they don't reseed), the second year price hike is bankrupting farmers worldwide. So much so that cotton farmers in India committed suicide after they lost their farms from switching to Monsanto's seed. Or how Monsanto is the #1 seed manufacturer monopoly in the world, and they can determine any prices they want. Or the cycle of increasing Roundup use. Farmers plant roundup-ready seeds, spray those seeds with Roundup to kill weeds, the weeds next year are resistant, so they spray more Roundup, and Monsanto engineers Level 2 Roundup ready seeds to withstand the increased spraying. Roundup use has increased like a hundred fold or something in the past 10 years, HOW is that "better for the environment" as they claim? It makes me so mad.
And next year, thanks to the Supreme Court, we'll have "Elect Asshat for Senator, brought to you by Monsanto."
Thanks for the Farm Tour link - sounds like fun. Even though I'm from Arlington, my husband is from Winchester and my rescue group is all over VA so I get around.
I didn't know all that about the Monsanto seeds, did know about the Roundup. A lot of people are anti-gov't regulation - personally, I don't think there's enough when it comes to big business. They own us and the Government - it's appalling. Do you think the Monsanto (and other) Execs just don't care, or have they just swallowed so much of their own kool-aid they don't know the difference. Argh!
Oh I think they definetely don't care. I don't think Monsanto CEOs actually think they're feeding the world, they just see $$$$ and will do whatever it takes to get more. Their practices are extremely predatory, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto provides a good overview of all the terrible stuff they're doing. And our government lets them and other corporations do whatever they want because they fund their re-election campaigns, and/or the politican used to work for them, and/or the politician will go work for them once they're out of office and make a huge salary. Here's a quote that sums up their position:
A Monsanto official told the New York Times that the corporation should not have to take responsibility for the safety of its food products.
"Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food," said Phil Angell, Monsanto's director of corporate communications. "Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the FDA's job."
It would be nice to think the FDA can be trusted with these matters, but think again. Monsanto has succeeded in insuring that government regulatory agencies let Monsanto do as it wishes.
Take a look:
Prior to being the Supreme Court Judge who put GW Bush in office, Clarence Thomas was Monsanto's lawyer.
Former US Secretary of Agriculture Anne Veneman was on the Board of Directors of Monsanto's Calgene Corporation.
Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was on the Board of Directors of Monsanto's Searle pharmaceuticals.
Former US Secretary of Health,Tommy Thompson, received $50,000 in donations from Monsanto during his winning campaign for Wisconsin's governor.
The two congressmen receiving the most donations from Monsanto during the 2000 election were Larry Combest (Former Chairman of the House Agricultural Committee) and Missouri Senate candidate John Ashcroft (later to be named Attorney General). (Source: Dairy Education Board)
Wasn't Cheney one of them, too? Or was he just on every other corporate board?
I've read that Monsanto quote about 'not our responsibility' before - I think in 'The Unhealthy Truth.' Probably several places. Sickening lack of ethics, morals, or accountability.