Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: California, Green, LA City Council, Los Angeles, Paul Koretz, Plastic Bag Ban, Southern California
Last week, Los Angeles became the largest US city to ban single-use plastic bags, after the Los Angeles City Council overwhelmingly endorsed a ban on the distribution of single-use plastic shopping bags in grocery stores, convenience stores and pharmacies within city limits.
Regarding the passing of the bill, Councilman Paul Koretz said, “I’m deliriously excited about the passage of this measure. Ever since I first heard about the floating plastic island in the Pacific, while I was still in the state legislature, I have been trying to move the ball forward on banning plastic bags in this state.”
Great job, Paul! Paul Koretz is my council member and a passionate, great guy.
Councilmember Eric Garcetti, added: “Plastic bags clog our landfills, clog drainage systems, and litter neighborhoods. This ban will help us keep our communities healthy and clean.”
At Organically Grown®, we have been struggling with the philosophy of our packaging. The idea that our clothes are packaged in a plastic poly bag personally disturbs me. However, others believe that our customers expect it as part of a finished product.
What do you think?
By Bob Stein, founder of Organically Grown
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Beef, Beef Products Inc., BPI, Burger King, Change.org, Green, Jamie Oliver, Kroger, Lean Beef Trimming, McDonald's, organically grown, Pink Slime, Safeway, USDA, Walmart
Today, Beef Products Inc., the company that manufactures beef product known as “Pink Slime,” announced that they would close three of their four manufacturing plants that make what they refer to as “Lean Beef Trimmings.” According to the Change.org petition that brought attention to the Pink Slime controversy, “’Pink slime’ is the term used for a mixture of beef scraps and connective tissue (formerly used only for pet food and rendering) that is treated with ammonia hydroxide to remove pathogens like salmonella and E coli.” After treating the mixture, it is blended into ground beef and hamburger patties.
Disgust over the Pink Slime publicized by Change.org and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver quickly led to thousands of people signing the petition, and sharing their outrage across various social media channels. In turn, fast food chains such as McDonald’s and Burger King as well as supermarkets like Kroger, Safeway, and Walmart have announced that they will no longer carry ground beef containing “Lean Beef Trimmings” from BPI.
You know, I wish they would sell the Pink Slime separately. I’ve been really curious if you can blow bubbles with it like bubble gum…just like my brothers and I used to do with the mozzarella on our eggplant parmesan until my mother would yell at us for being morons.
But thanks to the USDA for keeping pink slime alive. According to the Huffington Post’s article today, they plan to order about seven million pounds of Lean Beef Trimmings for the national school lunch program. So eat up all you lucky kids in America…You’ve been slimed!
By Bob Stein, co-founder of Organically Grown
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Ed Begley Jr., Green, Green living, organically grown, Rachelle Carson-Begley, Saving K-9 Lives
We were honored to have Ed Begley, Jr. and his beautiful wife Rachelle Carson-Begley at our home last week, where they filmed a public service announcement promoting the organization Saving K-9 Lives…I will be blogging about the event and the charities in full later this week.
Rachelle and Ed have been on the forefront of the environmental movement before it was considered to be “cool.” They are the real deal. They have incorporated green living into their daily lives by using hybrid cars, solar and wind power in their home, among countless other green products. Ed has also been honored many times for his environmental work, including receiving the Thomas Alva Edison Award for Energy Independence, and has written two books about living an eco-friendly life.
I would like to thank Rachelle and Ed again for donating their time to a great cause, and I am happy to share this photo of them sporting some of our 100% organic cotton apparel. Ed is wearing our “Act Now” t-shirt, and Rachelle is wearing our white Racerback Tank and Zip-Up Jacket, as well as our Pink Leaf hat. All of these items are available on our website, shoporganicallygrown.com.
We couldn’t have asked for two more beautiful supermodels!
By Bob Stein, co-founder of Organically Grown
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Coffee, Green, Organic Coffee, Starbucks, Sustainability
There was a disturbing article in The Washington Post last week, stating that by the year 2050, if changes are not made immediately, we will lose a large portion of the world’s coffee supply. This is attributed to global warming, which has caused hurricanes and more resistant bugs, reducing crop yields.
As Starbucks prepares for the possibility of a serious threat to their coffee supply in Central America, Jim Hanna, the company’s sustainability director, briefed members of Congress on climate change and its effect on coffee, along with the Union of Concerned Scientists. Hanna told The Guardian, “If we sit by and wait until the impacts of climate change are so severe that is impacting our supply chain then that puts us at a greater risk…From a business perspective we really need to address this now, and to look five, 10, and 20 years down the road.”
It’s one thing to have a hole in the ozone layer, droughts, hurricanes, and floods, but you know it’s really serious when climate change threatens our morning cup of joe. It’s tough enough getting up in the morning.
By Bob Stein, co-founder of Organically Grown
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Daryl Hannah, Environment, Green, Keystone XL, Obama, Oil, Oil Pipeline, President Obama
Actress Daryl Hannah and over 500 others were arrested at a sit-in outside the White House to voice their opposition to the planned construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The pipeline would run from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Hannah is bringing attention to what could otherwise be a quiet deal between Obama and the oil industry. Earlier this month, an editorial in The New York Times opposed the pipeline, reading, “We have two main concerns: the risk of oil spills along the pipeline, which would traverse highly sensitive terrain, and the fact that the extraction of petroleum from the tar sands creates far more greenhouse emissions than conventional production does.”Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Connecticut River, Entergy, Fish, Green, Nuclear energy, Scientifc American, Vermont, Vermont Yankee
I agree with the President and the Republicans. I think nuclear energy is great. The fish in Vermont glow in the dark now, so you can see them…Think of it, you don’t even need a rod, just scoop them up with a net.
No pun intended, I am just shedding light on the situation in Vermont: According to an article in Scientific American, scientists have recently found a fish containing a radioactive material that is known to cause bone cancer and leukemia, in the Connecticut River near Entergy’s Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.
According to the article, “Strontium-90 and other human made radioactive materials come from the fairly constant release of very low quantities from medical and industrial users of radioactive materials, and from infrequent releases such as above-ground nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s, and the nuclear reactor accidents at Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011.”
It is tragic that a beautiful place like Vermont has to be tainted with the pollution stemming from poor policy decisions in Washington.
But at least now, when you go to your favorite sushi restaurant, think of the savings in energy…Who needs lights when you can see your dinner in the dark?
By Bob Stein, co-founder of Organically Grown
Filed under: Celebrtity Moms, Infant Products | Tags: baby clothes, bodysuit, celebrity mom, constance marie, cotton, Green, infant clothes, motherhood, nursery, organic, organic baby clothes, organic fabrics, organically grown baby, peace sign, sustainable materials, us weekley magazine
Constance Marie has had no shortage of parenting practice , having played a mom on TV for the past five years. But the real life role bought on new duties and responsibilities that the hollywood actress was all too eager to tackle. While preparing for motherhood, Constance found that one
of the best ways to protect her new daughter was to go green. Cloth diapers and furnishings made from sustainable materials have become household staples for the family. Extra precautions were taken in the nursery which boasts everything from organic fabrics to non-toxic paint. Determined to be there for her little girl in every way possible, Constance has created the perfect home to keep her safe and sound. -US WEEKLEY MAGAZINE
Featured in the basket : Organically Grown Baby “Peace sign” Bodysuit $12.00
