If you start your day with organic, fair trade coffee, like to cook with organic olive oil, and treat yourself to gourmet fair trade organic chocolate on occasion -- then you're a lot like me. And you might want to sign up for one of these environmentally and socially conscious eco-educational vacations coming up to get a closer look at the coffee, chocolate, and olive oil you love:

Screen capture of video blogI was an early adopter of video blogging and screencasting.  In the last year or so, I've gotten away from it.  I really miss making videos and screencasts. 

In 2004, faced with threats of mad cow disease and outbreaks of E. coli, the USDA launched the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) with the goal of ensuring food safety. The plan is to tag every single livestock animal and keep their information and location in a searchable database, thus quickly tracing the animal's trail during an outbreak. A noble plan if not for the scads of farmers and ranchers who are vehemently against it.

Canadian Governor General Michaelle Jean was in Kugluktuk, Nunavut (Canada’s arctic region) yesterday and while there, took in a controversial snack.  Jean took a traditional ulu blade, co-skinned a seal and then ate a raw piece of its heart. It was meant to show solidarity with Inuit traditions in contrast to the European Parliament's recent vote to ban seal hunting.

Can we still eat pork? The answer is YES. The H1N1 flu is not a food-born illness, it is a respiratory illness. And we are NOT AT RISK of contracting the H1N1 flu by eating pork products. However, earlier this week the World Health Organization confused the issue by saying that pigs infected with H1N1 must be kept out of the food supply. So, to clarify... From CNN...

Have you ever wondered how the foods we choose to eat each day affects our carbon footprint? You might be surprised to find out just how much it does. But, do we all have to start growing our own food and become vegetarians to save our planet? No. Even if we just make one or two changes in our eating and purchasing habits, we can each begin to make a positive impact on our environment. So...I'm going to give you a few tips on little things we can all do to help us get on the path to greener eating.

Last week I watched Valerie Bertinelli and Marie Osmond on the Oprah Winfrey Show talking about their personal weight loss success stories, and I found both stories to be very inspirational. As most of you already know, I've been struggling with my weight for several years now. And for that reason, I find myself easily able to relate to these two women. After watching that show I felt more motivated then ever to continue eating healthy and losing weight. I don't think I was alone, but as always, there was also a backlash. Did you see the show? Or the cover of People magazine? What did you think? Inspiration or controversy?

Victory Gardens. If you read the news, it sounds like everyone is doing them.

It's hard times.  As our nation's needs soar, and charitable donations plunge, it is taking its toll on the nonprofit sector.  Foodbanks, soup kitchens, and many other nonprofits that address the hunger issue are being hit by a triple whammy.  Cash and food donations are dropping,  budgets are being cut, and with unemployment rising there is more demand than ever at food banks. 

When it comes to the health of our children, people can usually put aside their differences for the common good.  Except maybe not when it comes to the issue of school lunches.  An op-ed co-written by Alice Waters in the New York Times has sparked an interesting debate, and highlighted some differences of opinion when it comes to the best way to revamp public school cafeteria offerings.

As a predominantly local eater, I’ve seen my definition of what I consider to be local go through many permutations over the years.  At my strictest, it was a 250-mile radius for just about everything save coffee and spices.  At my most exhausted and lenient, it was more like whatever could be purchased with these here dollar bills found locally in my wallet.  

Who is to blame for childhood obesity? There certainly seems to be a lot of blame to go around. Are the parents to blame? Katherine Berry from Pajamas Media wrote...