Share & Voice: article!

So, to begin, I found an article that I had to look at 3 or 4 times and still have a hard time believing, but if this really is the plan, then heck yes! (Even if its not, its at least the right idea!) 
The website I came across is called guardian.co.uk. The website appears to be legit, and has many interesting articles, world news, sports, etc. The article I happened to come across was called "Countdown to Copenhagen," which is a MUCH bigger countdown than one would think. 
Am I the only one in the dark here? As quoted in the heading, "Europe offers to cut emissions by 95% by year 2050 if deal is reached at Copenhagen." This is a very clear message; Europe is making the first move and wants everyone else to follow! Like I said on one of my previous blogs, just taking that first step and making the initial decision is oftentimes the most difficult part, once you make that decision, you have somewhere to start! 
This article was posted just last Wednesday, the 21st, and the importance is that Copenhagen has 6 weeks to sign the pact, after 27 EU countries have already finalized a common position. In addition, the proposal also states that a 30% cut in carbon emissions will be the goal by 2020. One major setback is the few developing countries involved may have some financial burdens and over-reliance on coal, so these problems are still being discussed. 
This seems like a huge deal, and Europe deserves a pat on the back for making the first move. 
I did find another older article ("Carbon Offsets") that also talks about Europe's plans to cut emissions 20% by 2020, but this more so mentions their plans to delay this project. 
Anyways, I just found this to be really cool even if it is a few years down the road, has anyone else heard about this?

Reflection: Weeks 5 and 6

Week 5 started with a quiz activity on Monday, followed by a movie on the "Future of Food," and a discussion. It was a really eye opening movie, sad as well. Farmers appear to be getting the shaft from large companies such as Monsanto, and GMO's are taking over America's food supply. We can't give in! Our discussion after the movie was informative as well, it was really interesting to hear everyone's take on this. 

As the week progressed, I delved deeper into Newman's Own and really enjoyed the facts on organic food, and incorporated some of what I learned into my diet to add to my Lifestyle Change project.

Week 6 began with "Diet for a New America" which was a film by John Robbins addressing how terrible many American foods are, and discusses portion sizes pertaining to meat and dairy. I learned that what is considered to be a "normal" meat portion here is 5 times greater than average in many other countries such as Japan. We as a society really need to make some huge diet changes if we all don't want to die from heart diseases and cancers in our 50's and 60's. 

Weeks 5 and 6 overall were very informative and interesting to me, and helpful in my aim towards cutting out meat and some dairy from my diet. 

Share and Voice: Enviro -Cool Blog Award

I received the cool blog award from Karly for my share and voice from an experience I had at Fitgers. This experience was great; I went out of my box and tried something new (that being a veggie burger) which I thought would never happen. AND to my surprise, it ended up being my first step to a healthier lifestyle because I discovered that it was actually good, so I went home and decided I wanted to try and make these on my own! I left the recipe on that blog if anyone is interested in trying it (it worked out well for me!) thanks Karly for the award! I am passing it onto Abby, for her share and voice: worry about more than just your water bottles. I thought this blog was very informative and shocking... everyone needs to see it! 

1. Leave a comment below so that I know you "picked up" the award.
2. Within 1 week, create a Share and Voice post that says you've received the award and indicate who the award is from (be sure to hyperlink).
3. Also indicate to whom you are going to pass on the award and why. Be sure to hyperlink the blogger (use main blog URL) and the blog title (use the specific URL for that blog post).
4. Copy and paste these instructions at the bottom of your post.
5. Publish the post.
6. Visit each blogger you've awarded and leave a comment telling them they've won.
7. Continue the process...

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 3: Weekly Update

One more week down on my lifestyle change, and its going smoothly. 

My SMART goal was to not eat red meat, and cut down on my intake of other meats to less than 2 meals per week. This week was a success for several reasons. This past weekend I went home to celebrate my birthday and my "sister" Jessica's wedding which usually would mean a lot of tempting "bad" food. But, luckily Jessica is vegan so there were many options great for both of us! She actually made a vegan banana cream pie AND "chocolate" cake that were surprisingly delicious! So, I accumulated a couple new recipes.  :) On the challenging side, because of my birthday, my mom wanted to cook me a huge meal, which usually consists of a hamburger type hot dish. Luckily, my dad had been hunting and caught pheasant, so we had fresh pheasant which was awesome! I learned many more new things this week, especially from the movie in class as well as the discussion, and they all kept me positive about my goal. Specifically, when we talked about the mistreatment of animals, and how much grain it takes (12lbs) to equal out to 1lb of hamburger, I was satisfied with my semi-vegetarian choice. 

So this next week, I probably wont modify my goal, but of course I am going to try and turn down meat as much as possible. (pictured above, my mother, happy I finally came home, making home-made tortillas with a plethera of fresh garden veggies!) 
"Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 3 hosted by Amy@Eco-Chic with Amy."

Share & Voice: idea and experience

When I decided I wanted to start incorporating more vegetarian meals into my diet, it all started when my boyfriend took me on a date to Fitgers in Duluth. We were browsing the mall there and a lady greeted us in an outerwear store. We got to talking and said we were headed to the Fitger's diner for a date, and she got all excited and said "oh! I would suggest trying the wild rice veggie burgers! Even though I'm not a vegetarian, they are amazing." I looked at Michael and cringed a bit. The idea of veggie burgers has always put eerie pictures in my head. So anyways, I got there, and got to thinking, and I decided to let go of those horrible feelings and trust this lady I had just met because I had been wanting to convert to a mostly vegetarian diet. After trying it, I was in awe. How could a burger that doesn't have any "burger" not be completely worthless? Well, apparently you can mock the taste of a burger and its consistency by using wild rice and other veggies...Yes. It's true. I went home and actually looked up their recipe. Which I could not find. I'm sure its a secret, but I was able to guess on most of what was in it, as well as find mock recipes. So, finally Michael and I tried making these beasts and had a little get together with some carnivorous friends who all gave us the thumbs up after trying. (Here is a link to a Sue Redmond's  wild rice burger recipe I found, but I would suggest adding mushrooms and onions on top after you patty up and cook the burgers). This share and voice may seem minuscule compared to some, but for me, it was the first huge step into a diet that I thought would be impossible, and I really wanted to share my positive experience. So, if you or anyone you know, wants to become a vegetarian but just can't seem to make that first move, show them this website (as soon as possible) AND take them to Fitgers (directions here) for a wild rice veggie burger. 
Becoming a vegetarian is very eco-friendly. Seriously. check out the website I have posted above if you haven't (or here). Some of it seems hard to believe, but a lot of the information I found on there, I found on many other sites as well, but this particular website is very straightforward and isn't here to make you feel good about eating cows and "hot dogs" all-American style.