The 5 Worst Foods for Environmentalists to Eat

Spoiler alert: Stop reading now if you can't live without Quarter Pounders, packaged pastries, or expensive sushi. —Avital Andrews

 

We'll let Pulitzer Prize–winning food critic Jonathan Gold get on his soapbox for this one: "People need to stop eating BLUEFIN TUNA. Period. It'll be difficult because bluefin is uncommonly delicious and tends to be served at high-end sushi bars, where the fashion is to say 'omakase' and submit to the chef's will. But the numbers of these magnificent fish are dropping fast. If we don't stop eating them now, we'll stop in a few years anyway because there won't be any more." Carl Safina, who founded the Blue Ocean Institute, adds, "Because they're long-lived, bluefin populations don't stand up well to heavy fishing pressure—that's why they're so depleted. It's just too sad to eat them. Plus, big fish are high in mercury." To rein in your share of the overfishing disaster currently unfolding—bluefin stock is down by more than 96 percent from unfished levels—order a vegetarian roll instead.

How You Can Help Bring Solar Power to Uganda

How can a country in which only 8.5% of people have electricity illuminate itself? What's more, how can they accomplish this without suffering from the devastating effects of kerosene smoke? Masa Energy, a Ugandan start-up, has come up with an affordable clean-energy answer. Their first product, a portable solar lantern, is easy to use and costs just $12.

Masa Energy has started a fundraising campaign on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo.com with the goal of $50,000. [UPDATE: Donate to Masa Energy's fundraising campaign before February 28, 2014.] All contributions from the campaign will go directly towards building materials and factory space, with the potential to fund future product development and new hiring.

According to their Indiegogo page, Masa Energy's goal is "to make affordable solar products for the millions of people in Africa without access to electricity." The World Bank estimates that only 8.5% of Ugandans have access to electricity, by far the lowest in East Africa. Because of this, "many people, especially in rural areas, still rely on solutions that their grandparents relied upon, like kerosene lamps."

9 Sacrifice-Free Resolutions

For the past couple of years, we've given you tips and tricks to make your New Year's resolutions last and even provided a list of resolutions to accomplish in the next 24 hours. But for some of us, New Year's goals are viewed as an unpleasant sacrifice where one swears off chocolate or BuzzFeed. The problem is that people tend to dislike giving up what they enjoy, which leads to the demise of well-intentioned resolutions. For those of you who want a sense of achievement without the suffering, we've listed nine resolutions that don't ask you to leave behind anything you would rather keep around.

1. Add local, organic, seasonal foods to your diet. This doesn't mean you can only eat foods that satisfy these requirements -- instead, think of this as an excuse to try out more tantalizing recipes that rely on eco-friendly foods. If you don't know where to start, look up organic farms in your area to see if any participate in community supported agriculture, a program that rewards you with fresh, seasonal produce each week of the farming season.

5 Outdoor Activities to Beat Holiday Stress

The holidays often bring families together, which can be both a wonderful and an extremely stressful thing. If you're anticipating a full house of stir-crazy relatives this Thanksgiving, plan a moment to give everyone some much-needed breathing room and get outdoors. Younger family members can run off some energy and adults can work up an appetite with these outdoor activities perfect for your holiday celebration. However you celebrate, take a minute to step outside this Thanksgiving (if only to avoid your grandmother asking for the fifth time why you aren't married yet). 

"Turkey Trot": Many cities host annual Thanksgiving walks or runs to benefit charity. These events are a perfect opportunity to get outdoors and give to others. Most have kids' races as well, so the whole family is welcome. 

4 Awesome Ways to Prepare Squash

Most people make the mistake of only using squash for decoration. But squash, which come in loads of unique varieties, are a lot more versatile than you think. With the holidays right around the corner and loads of different kind of squash in season, it is definitely the right time to learn some new ways to prepare these crazy veggies.

These simple squash creations should have you appreciating gourds a lot more, and they might even help you spice up your traditional holiday feasts with some new food classics.

As always, if you know any other awesome, crazy, or unique ways to prepare squash, make sure to let us know in the comments.

3 Easy Vegan Pies for the Holidays

With multiple vegan dessert books under her belt, including Easy as Vegan Pie: One-of-a-Kind Sweet and Savory Slices (Skyhorse, 2013), which includes over 100 recipes, it is pretty safe to say that Hannah Kaminsky knows a thing or two about pies. So with the holiday season on our heels, we asked Kaminsky to share some of her favorite recipes for vegan pie creations. She even threw in a simple crust recipe, which we put at the bottom of this post. Pretty sweet...

Cran-Cherry Impossible Pie

Big Ideas: Building a Food Desert Oasis

For millions of Americans who find themselves in food deserts, getting their daily apple is tougher than usual. The USDA defines a food desert as an impoverished region of the country where thousands of people can't regularly access healthy, affordable, and organic foods due to lack of grocery stores, farmers' markets, and personal transportation. And the constant availability of fast food restaurants in these food deserts certainly doesn't help America's rampant obesity epidemic.

U.S. cities lacking in fresh fruits and veggies aren't limited to the big city expanses of Los Angeles, Oakland, Detroit, or Chicago; in fact many small towns in the heart of the nation suffer just as much from lack of fresh greens.

Here are some big ideas for providing resources to help food desert dwellers around the nation enjoy the taste and benefits of farm-fresh produce. 

100 Yards of Harvest After having to sack its football program due to low enrollment, Paul Quinn College, a small liberal arts college near Dallas, Texas, transformed their vestigial football field into a huge farm. Today, staff and students (and in collaboration with PepsiCo Inc.) at Paul Quinn cultivate the WE Over ME Farm, growing collard greens, heirloom tomatoes, swiss chard, mustard greens, and more. The cornucopia of food harvested from the farm is then distributed to local charities, grocery stores, community markets in surrounding Dallas, and the college students, who get to enjoy the fruits of their hard work.  

5 Healthy Takes on Classic Comfort Foods

Whether it's the changing weather, a hard day at work, or the approaching holidays, around this time of year many of us find ourselves reaching for comfort foods — the saltier, crunchier, greasier, or sugarier, the better. For those without iron willpower, fall is often a season of cheesy, fried, baked, deliciously unhealthy meals and snacks, sometimes from unknown or unsavory sources. However, there is hope, for your cravings, arteries, and food ethics: there are delicious and healthy comfort foods out there. We've collected a few of the easiest and most satisfying healthy comfort food favorites for you to try. Next time you feel tempted to turn into a drive-through or reach for boxed mac 'n cheese, try one of these eco-recipes to sate your appetite: 

For Dinners and Snacks: 

Groom & Grow Your Beard Naturally

Now that "No-Shave November" is looming, many are planning to honor the month with a nice face-sweater (pictured). Maybe you're following in the footsteps of 19th century mountaineers, poets, and philosophers like John Muir, Walt Whitman, and Ralph Waldo Emerson, bearding their way into American history; or taking after modern day facial-hair heroes like Jack Passion, the world champion, with a billowing fire-red beard.

Beards, indeed are a privilege, and with privilege comes responsibility. Before growing out your "Grizzly Adams," you ought to check out these modern beard products, designed for the environmentally conscious beard grower — because you're worth it!

Beard Oils Brooklyn Grooming boasts a fine line of vegan beard beautifying products from their Fort Greene collection, namely their moisturizing and soothing beard oil. After all, beards can itch and tingle and, like your scalp, develop dandruff over time. This oil consists of hempseed and organic sesame, and is subtly scented like a passing breath.

Or, if your natural musk is not enough and you'd prefer a mildly scented beard, slap on some Beard Tamer conditioning oil, made by Queen Bee Trading. This concoction consists of oils of avocado, jojoba, and almond and has a rich scent of sandalwood, white cedar, basil, and black pepper.

Beard Wax There comes a time when beard bristles grow rebellious. Wax helps keep your beard in check. There are plenty of beard waxes out there, but then there's Honest Amish  Original Beard Wax, handmade and blended with beeswax, fruit and nut butters, and botanicals.

Clean Sweets: 5 Eco-Friendly Sugar Alternatives

Winter is for hot toddies and nogs, pies still warm from the oven, and fudge that makes your teeth ache. For those planning on baking up treats this holiday season, these sweeteners will ease the guilt that'll come with each glorious bite.

When former healthcare executive Jim May founded WISDOM NATURAL BRANDS in 1982, it was because a Peace Corps volunteer who'd worked in Paraguay convinced him to taste the leaves of an herb called stevia. Once May learned that the processed plant can be up to 300 times sweeter than sugar but lacks calories, carbohydrates, or chemicals, he realized it could be a potent natural alternative to artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, and high-fructose corn syrup. He sunk his life savings into starting the company that now makes SweetLeaf Stevia, instilling strict rules for sustainable practices: No chemicals, solvents, or alcohols are used when extracting or purifying the plant; leaf residue becomes mulch or cattle feed; and water is recycled to irrigate local Guaraní farms. $14 for a 4.1-ounce bottle

Zeke Freeman grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania, where his twin passions sprouted: producing artisanal food and caring for pollinators. "I was able to eat homegrown fruits and vegetables off the land," he says. "We won't have that if we lose the honeybees." After he founded BEE RAW, he started the Save the Bees fund to combat colony collapse disorder, which has wiped out millions of hives. The company's Single Varietal Honey is pesticide-free, of course, but also unprocessed, unfiltered, and packaged in beautiful, gift-worthy glass. Flavors include wild raspberry, star thistle, orange blossom, and blueberry—each of which will last years if properly stored. $12 to $15 for a 10.5-ounce jar