According to Environment Canada, transportation is the single largest contributor of carbon dioxide emissions - accounting for 30% of the total. One of the reasons for this fueling involves "food miles" which is the distance food travels from the field to your home.

What can the average person do to reduce these emissions? Here are a few suggestions from Jill Rhynard, a co-ordinator of health promotion at the Interior Health of the Okanagan health delivery area:

• buy local produce and support the local agriculture
• visit local u-pick farms and the farmer's market
• ask for and get local products at grocery stores
• grow your own fruit and vegetables, cook with a friend
  
• join a local community garden and/or support them
• grow tomatoes and herbs in your kitchen
• replace meat with vegetable protein sources (meat products use more resources)
• try veggie burgers and tofu instead of meat products
  
• avoid plastic bags and use cloth grocery bags
• buy products that have less packaging
• plan your trips to the grocery store with other errands

When you buy local and support the local community initiatives you not only reduce CO2 emissions, you also strengthen your ties with the community.

Source: Article by Jill Rhynard titled "Support your local farmer"

The 3rd annual Organic Okanagan Festival takes place this Sunday September 21st at the Summerhill Pyramid Winery located at 4870 Chute Lake Road from 11 AM to 4 PM.

It's being called the Okanagan's Finest Green Living Expo and is organized by the Okanagan Green Society. There will be over 40 exhibitors talking about natural health and healing, sustainable energy, alternative education, recycling and composting. Samples of locally grown organic food will be given out as well.

Entertainment includes films such as The Story Of Stuff and Table Land and music by The Raging Grannies, The Treelight Room and Daybeats.

There will be kids activities, blind taste tests of organic versus non-organic foods (put on by Nature's Fare, a new sponsor). Nature's Fare will be handing out a goody bag filled with coupons, a green guide and organic food items.

Attendees will be given Taterware plates made from potato starch to sample some of the foods and after the event the plates will be composted. Solar power will be used to provide Vendors at the event with power.

Admission is $5 plus a Kelowna Food Bank donation. Funds raised at the event will support the Okanagan Green Society's projects including Local Food for Local Schools and the Kelowna Food Bank.

Source: Article by Lori-Anne Charlton in the Event Magazine titled "Keen on Green"

SPCA Certified ensures Cage-Free Eggs, Specialty Meats

SPCA Certified products ensure that the farm animals have a high quality of life and the farm owners are commited to the welfare of the animals.

Here are some of the SPCA Certified specifications:

• egg-laying hens are not confined in cages
• pregnant pigs are free from gestation stalls
• dairy cows have access to the outdoors and are not tail-docked
• environments for the animals provide natural behaviours and healthy interactions
• no antibiotics or growth hormones are used

Vale Farms takes pride in a healthy environment, healthy animals and healthy people

Vale Farms Grassroots' mission is "to promote strong and healthy families by prodividing local communities with a choice of nutritiuos farm products while cultivating a sustainable balance". The key to their success is their high-quality pastures.

They have farming practices in place that preserve the natural environment, have health benefits for humans and meet animal welfare standards.

Environmental benefits:

• grasslands and riparian areas are conserved
• air quality is improved by grasslands - carbon from carbon dioxide is stored in the soil
• grass needs less machinery and fossil fuels to maintain
• pesticides and herbisides are avoided

Health benefits:

• livestock feed on grass and mineral supplements
• animals are processed in a provincially inspected certified organic facility 
• low in fat and have fewer calories
• high in beta carotene and CLA (antioxidant and anti-cancer properties)
• high in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E
• no growth hormones
• free from animal by-products
• antibiotics, grain and GMO feeds
• pesticides & herbicies, synthetic fertilizers

Animal welfare:

• animals have the freedom to behave naturally
• they graze on organic pastures
• there's low-stress livestock handling (LSLH)

The family operated Farm is located between Vernon and Lumby and it was established by Michael and Charlotte Ruechel.

Local produce will be available downtown

The Waterfront Park and the Dolphins complex (on Sunset Drive off Clement Avenue) parking lots will be transformed into the Kelowna Farmers and Crafters Market on Thursdays from 2 PM to 10 PM from June 5th to Sept 4.

The 60 vendors will move have already been selling their produce at the corner of Springfield and Dilworth on Saturday mornings and Wednesday evenings.

Eight benefits for eating local foods

Consuming foods that are grown in your local areas is not only good for you, it helps your environment and it tastes better.

The following reasons (from an article by Molly Watson) outline the benefits of eating locally:

• freshness - it doesn't take a week for the veggies to arrive from out of town
• seasonal - waiting a few months to bite into something that has just come in season can be rewarding
• less environmental impact - there's a big carbon footprint from transporting foods
• preserve green space and farmland - buying local foods allows for more farmland
• promote food safety - when you know your food comes from home, you know how safe it is
• support the local economy - the money stays in the community instead of leaving the area
• promotes variety - we can raise the need for additional produce from local farmers
• creates a community - you interact with the local farmers and others that purchase local foods

Top 10 Green Vacation Ideas

• Use public transportation as much as possible
• Pack light - to save on energy exerted on the additional weight
• Go on a Volunteer vactation for a worthwhile cause
• Check-in at an eco-friendly hotel
• Use a digital camera, use rechargable batteries - save on film and batteries
• Avoid destinations that would suffer with the arrival of tourists - Amazon Rainforest
• Rent a smart car
• Conserve energy in hotel rooms
• Don't do too much laundry - washing sheets everyday is unnecessary
• Eat locally grown produce

Source - Article by Susan Sardone at About.com