sustainability - Our Green Health

Citizens Devoted to the Conservation of Biodiversity

01/03/202222/03/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

The conservation of biodiversity appeals to many citizens. In this article, I introduce 2 examples of citizens initiatives, committed to the conservation of biodiversity: GREFA, a wildlife biodiversity initiative, and RMDS, an agricultural biodiversity initiative.

Because we live in Spain, the examples are Spanish. We’re convinced, however, that these types of citizen initiatives can be found everywhere.

GREFA is a citizens’ wildlife conservation intitiative: Grupo de Rehabilitación de la Fauna Autóctona y su Hábitat (Group for the Rehabilitation of Autochthonous Fauna and its Habitat).

Throw an Eco-Friendly Party for Unique Birthdays or Holidays

22/08/202111/03/2021 by Hannie Mommers

Whether it’s a birthday party, one of the holidays like Christmas or Eastern, or just a party because we feel like it. Food, family, friends, and fun – it doesn’t get much better than that, does it?

Well, actually it can get better than that. We can have that same food, family, friends, and fun while also having a positive, or at least a neutral, effect on the environment. It’s so easy to forget all about our intentions if it gets too busy with preparations for a large group.

Yet, it certainly is possible to be sustainable and conscious, even when you are preparing for a large number of people. Here are tips to throw an eco-friendly party.

Grow your Own Herbs Indoors or Outside for Quality Herbal Tea

04/03/202204/03/2021 by Hannie Mommers

Grow your Own Herbs Indoors or Outside for Herbal Tea

As you may know, Tom and I are huge advocates of organic food. Yet we are also aware that in some places organic produce is hardly available. So why not grow some yourself? And if you don’t have a garden, herbs are especially easy to grow indoors.

Some are easy growers, others need more attention. The orientation of your window is important, as well as the soil you put them in. You can sow them or use cuttings. And nowadays there are complete, highly sophisticated indoor systems.

Agrifood Chain Overlooks the Importance of Customer Loyalty

28/01/202201/02/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

The importance of customer loyalty is overlooked by the agrifood chain. The loyalty of consumers is questioned by acting as if they’re stupid. That is one of the opinions I shared in the series of articles I recently wrote about the agrifood complex and its impact on customers.

The first article discussed the food anxiety depression that’s sold to us by governments, agrifood businesses, and scientists.

The second article introduced the debate about food safety.

The third article explained the complexity of the debate about food and the food industry.

In this article, I express my surprise about the lack of the food industry’s confidence in their own capacities. I will illustrate this with two examples. The first is the dairy debate that emerged in The Netherlands at the beginning of the 21st century. The next is the false claims in the European Parliament that the European Green Deal will cause food shortages.

What is Sustainability in Food and How Can we Achieve it?

24/01/202228/01/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

What is sustainability in food and how can we achieve it, is the central question I addressed in my previous 2 articles. In this article, I will explain why governments, the agrifood industry, supermarkets, and scientists, do a lousy job when it comes to the citizen’s sustainability agenda.

In my first article, of this series of 3, I argued that we don’t really suffer from food anxiety depression.

In my second article, I stated that in general, we consider our food to be safe.

Why do you have a Soap Allergy? What are Promising Solutions?

10/01/202211/01/2021 by Hannie Mommers

From the 70s my parents went on holiday in Spain and brought Maja soap back home with them. The scent of that soap still reminds me of my sunburnt mother who blissfully unwrapped her soap.

The scent was too flowery for me, but what I liked was the paper packaging. I don’t have a soap allergy, but I want sustainable products, including their packaging. Nowadays there is hardly any soap available in Spain that is wrapped in paper. Even in the Eco store, the Marseille soap is wrapped in plastic.

Unlock the Benefits of Reducing Food Waste with a Personal Food Plan

06/04/202204/01/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

The best way to start to reduce food waste is by developing a Personal Food Plan. This plan helps you to reduce food waste by reflecting on why, what, when, how, and where you eat.

Your Personal Food Plan has many more advantages, but for now, I stick to the benefits of reducing food waste. Write your Personal Food Plan down on your laptop or mobile, or by hand in a journal.

I will explain the details of the plan in this article. At the bottom of the article, you find a link to an example of a Personal Food Plan.