http://www.greenhome.com/about/policy/whatgreenmeans.shtml
This article is about a company who makes "green" products for all parts of life, including the restaurant industry. Their product list for restaurants ranges from cups to bags to to-go containers. They also product furniture and other household items that could be used in a restaurant.
I think this company is a great example of how restaurants can be going green. Green Home says that they want to add "environment friendliness" to things that customers consider when buying a product. I think that's a great goal for a company and it should really get customers thinking about what they're buying and why.
I found this article and website to be very positive and encouraging because there is an entire company dedicated to bettering the products put in people's homes and in the restaurant industry. After looking around the website and at all the products, I was so impressed with how many different ways this company offers customers to help them go green in their homes and in their businesses.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Chefs rate top trends for 2010
http://www.nrn.com/article.aspx?id=376446
well i found this article which pretty much confirms and puts us up as the number one trend for 2010 in the food industry. which just cracks me up because for the past few year I've been watching the whole idea of going green and watched as people just laughed at it. They made fun of it because it was costly and all people care about any way is how much money they make i.e have. meanwhile I've been having crappier and crappier ski seasons every year due to the weather patterns being destroyed by the past one hundred years of man tyring to maximize profit. not to mention all the test they've been running on us unknowingly... I've been drinking milk my entire life and so far here's the list of what calcium hasn't apparently worked on for me... ribs(2), back(luckily titanium screws are stronger),right arm, both collar bones, and split my heel bone in 2. woot woot! lets not get into the two knee surgeries either totally beat. now your probably wondering wtf is he talking about but what I'm getting at is the fact that at age 21 eating a very healthy diet my entire life my bones and ligaments seem to just be falling apart.
now here we are all these years later feeling like I'm falling apart and worlds going to crap. Now were starting to realize that we are the cause off all this. just trying to make an extra buck we've modified everything we eat. and so now in 2010 we have decided that the new trend is sustainability in the restaurants from every possible aspect. hey at least we figured it out eventually and are starting to act on it now. maybe in the future people will eat healthy organic food in Eco friendly restaurants and grow up to be strong and healthy like their uh...grandparents.
well i found this article which pretty much confirms and puts us up as the number one trend for 2010 in the food industry. which just cracks me up because for the past few year I've been watching the whole idea of going green and watched as people just laughed at it. They made fun of it because it was costly and all people care about any way is how much money they make i.e have. meanwhile I've been having crappier and crappier ski seasons every year due to the weather patterns being destroyed by the past one hundred years of man tyring to maximize profit. not to mention all the test they've been running on us unknowingly... I've been drinking milk my entire life and so far here's the list of what calcium hasn't apparently worked on for me... ribs(2), back(luckily titanium screws are stronger),right arm, both collar bones, and split my heel bone in 2. woot woot! lets not get into the two knee surgeries either totally beat. now your probably wondering wtf is he talking about but what I'm getting at is the fact that at age 21 eating a very healthy diet my entire life my bones and ligaments seem to just be falling apart.
now here we are all these years later feeling like I'm falling apart and worlds going to crap. Now were starting to realize that we are the cause off all this. just trying to make an extra buck we've modified everything we eat. and so now in 2010 we have decided that the new trend is sustainability in the restaurants from every possible aspect. hey at least we figured it out eventually and are starting to act on it now. maybe in the future people will eat healthy organic food in Eco friendly restaurants and grow up to be strong and healthy like their uh...grandparents.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
A Delicious Revolution
http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/The-Sustainable-Food-Movement-A-Delicious-Revolution/1
Last time I'm not sure what I did wrong when posting my link to my site so this time I just figured I put the entire address on here so I don't mess it up again.
I found this piece on the sustainable food movement, and I really liked what it had to offer and informed me of more details about sustainability in the food service. This article features different opportunities that involve sustainability such as farming, replacing processed foods in cafeterias, and advocation of local produce. The article goes in depth about the benefits that growing organic produce and raising livestock have. I really hadn't ever thought about the benefits on the land, but in the article it talks about a family that moved to Iowa to start a livestock farm and how well received the idea was in the area. The economical sense was also mentioned, noting that the net return per acre on an organic farm is incredibly higher and more profitable than that of a conventional crop farm.
This article made the idea of sustainability all very relative and showed the power of the cause and how the public is reacting and receiving. I also really like how they wrote about Dan Barber and how he is advocating for the freshness of food. Proving that gourmet can mean, fresh produce, simply prepared, so customers can enjoy the taste of local produce.
All of the ideas mentioned in this piece seem like strong trends that will help to support the idea of going green and sustainability and will help better explain it to the class. All them are simple concepts that will help support our topic.
Last time I'm not sure what I did wrong when posting my link to my site so this time I just figured I put the entire address on here so I don't mess it up again.
I found this piece on the sustainable food movement, and I really liked what it had to offer and informed me of more details about sustainability in the food service. This article features different opportunities that involve sustainability such as farming, replacing processed foods in cafeterias, and advocation of local produce. The article goes in depth about the benefits that growing organic produce and raising livestock have. I really hadn't ever thought about the benefits on the land, but in the article it talks about a family that moved to Iowa to start a livestock farm and how well received the idea was in the area. The economical sense was also mentioned, noting that the net return per acre on an organic farm is incredibly higher and more profitable than that of a conventional crop farm.
This article made the idea of sustainability all very relative and showed the power of the cause and how the public is reacting and receiving. I also really like how they wrote about Dan Barber and how he is advocating for the freshness of food. Proving that gourmet can mean, fresh produce, simply prepared, so customers can enjoy the taste of local produce.
All of the ideas mentioned in this piece seem like strong trends that will help to support the idea of going green and sustainability and will help better explain it to the class. All them are simple concepts that will help support our topic.
Sustainable Restaurants Serve Green-Minded Diners
My second blog posting is an article pointing out all the flaws in non-green restaurants. I found this information very interesting and some of it shocking.
The first fact I found shocking was that the average food service establishment uses 300,000 gallons of water a year. The article says the Environmental Protection Agency states that this is double the amount a family of four uses in one year. Another shocking fact was that a fast food restaurant generates 200 pounds of waste for every 1,000 of sales. About 95 percent of that waste could be composted or recycled. According to the EPA this trash piling up in our dumps releases methane a green house gas that is 21 percent stronger than carbon dioxide. One last fact I found interesting was that many refrigerators can contain chlorofluorocarbons, a substance that depletes the ozone layer. And of course food service industries are the largest commercial user of refrigerators.
The article wraps up by pointing out what vendors in the area are doing to go/stay green. A place called Sprouts Green Café found in Emory Village, uses paper products that are 100 percent recycled. Plus their ingredients are all organic or from locally produce or free-range meats. A coffee shop a few shops down features fair trade coffees that improve the relationship between the coffee farmer and roaster.
Even thought this article doesn’t focus on green sustainability in fine dining, I feel it’s a good article for all the facts it covers.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
What is green? What is sustainability?
While looking for articles today I thought "does everyone out there understand what being green and sustainable mean?" So I figured I'd post an article explaining the explainging the two.The article explains green as making smart use of the resources you have at hand. Two examples givien are using less electricity and cutting down on products used in your establishment. There are many other things you could do but starting here is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint and save money.
Thoguh this article is from one persons viewpoint and opinion, I think he did a good job giving a brief view of the terms.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Going green to save money and resources
http://www.entrepreneur.com/management/greencolumnistbillroth/article194882.html
I found this article really interesting, originally I was looking for information about the economical side of going green and sustainability in the industry but I came across this and thought it might be worthwhile to share. I liked the ideas the piece mentions from the holistic vision that the featured pizza restaurant is aiming for to the 60- day decomping goal of the restaurant. I think we all agree that the topic of going green and sustainability in the food service is definitly a trend that will continue to make a large impact currently and in the years to come, not just a fad that will die out shortly. This article mentiones the local community is reaching out to the pizza restaurant, some people even driving up to 100 miles to get some of this organic, natural pizza, One of the main benefits mentioned is how restaurants going green can help support the local economy and increases the support for other local restaurants.
Restaurants practicing sustainablity are not only helping to save resources but are also saving money for their instuition. Decomposable containers and utensils are more expensive then cheap styrofoam and plastic, but where the restaurant may being losing money in buying nicer containers they are gaining money in the efficient appliances they are using. Low flow faucets and toilets and compact light bulbs that use less energy are helping to pay themselves off and provide more profit for the restaurant in the long run.
I found this article really interesting, originally I was looking for information about the economical side of going green and sustainability in the industry but I came across this and thought it might be worthwhile to share. I liked the ideas the piece mentions from the holistic vision that the featured pizza restaurant is aiming for to the 60- day decomping goal of the restaurant. I think we all agree that the topic of going green and sustainability in the food service is definitly a trend that will continue to make a large impact currently and in the years to come, not just a fad that will die out shortly. This article mentiones the local community is reaching out to the pizza restaurant, some people even driving up to 100 miles to get some of this organic, natural pizza, One of the main benefits mentioned is how restaurants going green can help support the local economy and increases the support for other local restaurants.
Restaurants practicing sustainablity are not only helping to save resources but are also saving money for their instuition. Decomposable containers and utensils are more expensive then cheap styrofoam and plastic, but where the restaurant may being losing money in buying nicer containers they are gaining money in the efficient appliances they are using. Low flow faucets and toilets and compact light bulbs that use less energy are helping to pay themselves off and provide more profit for the restaurant in the long run.
a good starting point
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/07.17.03/dining-0329.html
although i realize that this article is a little outdated being that it is from 2003 i find that it is a good starting point when looking into sustainability in the food industry. it is good to see that a problem had been realized, in that the food industry consumes and waste many many products. it is also good to see that people have started making changes in their restaurants. Though few at first, i feel that the restaurant industry has started to come about and start taking action to reduce their Eco footprint. A long with this also comes the urge to serve more organic and locally grown foods rather than the mas produced, manipulated products out there.
i was quite surprised when reading about sparks and how just about everything is recycled or came from recycled products. the idea of reusing all your fryer oil and using biodegradable/ recyclable products for take out containers to reduce their Eco footprint out the door. I never thought about sustainability in a restaurant from this perspectives before. Both front and back of house can be sustainable in many ways to help reduce Eco footprint, cost and improve quality.
i was kind of shocked when i read that Roxanne's had been talked down against due to the fact that i love the sounds of what they did. The idea of using hemp as a medium for everything from napkins to seat covers and curtains is great. as well as the recycled wood and solar set up on the roof. although it is typical to find that they were talked down about due to the fact that it was funded from previous success. Which let them do things most restaurateurs could not do.
I think that this article lies down a good foundation and also lets us look back and think have we started to change since this came out? maybe it did have an effect on how we are thinking about sustainability today in the restaurant industry...
although i realize that this article is a little outdated being that it is from 2003 i find that it is a good starting point when looking into sustainability in the food industry. it is good to see that a problem had been realized, in that the food industry consumes and waste many many products. it is also good to see that people have started making changes in their restaurants. Though few at first, i feel that the restaurant industry has started to come about and start taking action to reduce their Eco footprint. A long with this also comes the urge to serve more organic and locally grown foods rather than the mas produced, manipulated products out there.
i was quite surprised when reading about sparks and how just about everything is recycled or came from recycled products. the idea of reusing all your fryer oil and using biodegradable/ recyclable products for take out containers to reduce their Eco footprint out the door. I never thought about sustainability in a restaurant from this perspectives before. Both front and back of house can be sustainable in many ways to help reduce Eco footprint, cost and improve quality.
i was kind of shocked when i read that Roxanne's had been talked down against due to the fact that i love the sounds of what they did. The idea of using hemp as a medium for everything from napkins to seat covers and curtains is great. as well as the recycled wood and solar set up on the roof. although it is typical to find that they were talked down about due to the fact that it was funded from previous success. Which let them do things most restaurateurs could not do.
I think that this article lies down a good foundation and also lets us look back and think have we started to change since this came out? maybe it did have an effect on how we are thinking about sustainability today in the restaurant industry...
The Simplicity of Sustainability
http://www.starchefs.com/features/trends/green_restaurant_design/html/index.shtml
In the article "The Simplicity of Sustainability: Green Restaurant Design Made Easy," author Katherine Martinelli talks about the ways that some restaurants have been making efforts towards the Green Movement. Not only does Martinelli address some ways restaurants can change their old habbits, but she also mentions the difficulties, hurdles, and challenges that come along with the efforts towards sustainability.
One of the first remarks that Martinelli makes is that restaurants and chefs are realizing that going green and sustainable isn't as hard as some may think (Martinelli 2009). It doesn't require having a farm behind your restaurant, building a new establishment, or even require an entire transformation. There are several things restaurants and chefs can do to minimize their carbon footprint on any scale.
For restaurants who are just starting out, efforts can take place during the construction process. Non-toxic paint, salvaged building materials, and green toilets all can be included in the floor plan to minimize environmental impact (Martinelli 2009). On the other hand, restaurants who are already in existence have many options, as well. One option is to simply recycle. This may be one of the easiest ways to help the environment without any trouble at all. Another small change restaurants can make is reconsidering their to-go containers. As opposed to styrofoam or plastic, 100% compostable containers are now available - even utensils (Martinelli 2009).
If restaurants want to take a bigger leap towards sustainability, they can look into composting their food waste (Martinelli 2009). Not only is this a good thing on its own, but it could also be a head start to creating an on site garden, as well! These gardens, made with the compost, could range from a little herb garden to a full service garden that provides for the entire restaurant!
"While there's ample enthusiasm over going green, the process is not without hurdles," (Martinelli 2009). A chef who switch over to green methods after already being open said that the hardest part was breaking old habits. Employees were so used to simply throwing all waste in the same bin and using paper products carefully that it can be hard to stop right on the stop. Although it would take some time and initiative, the sacrifices are definitely worth the sustainable efforts. Another argument is that the volume of local product isn't enough for all restaurants (Martinelli 2009). This might restrict menu items or the local food they order.
Overall, I think this article had some great information about restaurants and going green. Although it can be dificult, there are many restaurants in the industry who are taking on the challenge, and with great rewards! This article shows that it doesn't require reconstructing or redesigning an entire restaurant to take a step towards sustainability. The action could be as small as begining to recycle, planting an herb garden, or changing food purveyors. It is also good to have restaurant names and cities who are currently taking steps towards sustainability, it gives hope and inspiration to those restaurants looking to take the leap.
In the article "The Simplicity of Sustainability: Green Restaurant Design Made Easy," author Katherine Martinelli talks about the ways that some restaurants have been making efforts towards the Green Movement. Not only does Martinelli address some ways restaurants can change their old habbits, but she also mentions the difficulties, hurdles, and challenges that come along with the efforts towards sustainability.
One of the first remarks that Martinelli makes is that restaurants and chefs are realizing that going green and sustainable isn't as hard as some may think (Martinelli 2009). It doesn't require having a farm behind your restaurant, building a new establishment, or even require an entire transformation. There are several things restaurants and chefs can do to minimize their carbon footprint on any scale.
For restaurants who are just starting out, efforts can take place during the construction process. Non-toxic paint, salvaged building materials, and green toilets all can be included in the floor plan to minimize environmental impact (Martinelli 2009). On the other hand, restaurants who are already in existence have many options, as well. One option is to simply recycle. This may be one of the easiest ways to help the environment without any trouble at all. Another small change restaurants can make is reconsidering their to-go containers. As opposed to styrofoam or plastic, 100% compostable containers are now available - even utensils (Martinelli 2009).
If restaurants want to take a bigger leap towards sustainability, they can look into composting their food waste (Martinelli 2009). Not only is this a good thing on its own, but it could also be a head start to creating an on site garden, as well! These gardens, made with the compost, could range from a little herb garden to a full service garden that provides for the entire restaurant!
"While there's ample enthusiasm over going green, the process is not without hurdles," (Martinelli 2009). A chef who switch over to green methods after already being open said that the hardest part was breaking old habits. Employees were so used to simply throwing all waste in the same bin and using paper products carefully that it can be hard to stop right on the stop. Although it would take some time and initiative, the sacrifices are definitely worth the sustainable efforts. Another argument is that the volume of local product isn't enough for all restaurants (Martinelli 2009). This might restrict menu items or the local food they order.
Overall, I think this article had some great information about restaurants and going green. Although it can be dificult, there are many restaurants in the industry who are taking on the challenge, and with great rewards! This article shows that it doesn't require reconstructing or redesigning an entire restaurant to take a step towards sustainability. The action could be as small as begining to recycle, planting an herb garden, or changing food purveyors. It is also good to have restaurant names and cities who are currently taking steps towards sustainability, it gives hope and inspiration to those restaurants looking to take the leap.
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