Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Our Organic Experiment


Well it wasn't exactly an experiment. This is how it went down…

This past weekend we had some friends staying with us from out of town for 2 days/nights. In addition to having to feed them, we had invited another couple over on Friday night, and another on Saturday night, both for dinner. So there we were…faced with the dilemma of deciding whether to buy all the food needed for the weekend from ACME (very few organic foods available), or from Harvest Market, our organic/natural food market of choice. Given that our budget was tight, and that we knew our guests do not go out of their way to eat organics, we erred on the side of cheap sustenance. We went to ACME. Sorry Bob (owner of Harvest Market). And yes, we saved money. And we figured…"what ill effects could eating non-organic foods have on us if we were only doing it for a few days?" And we didn't think much of it. Actually, we were sort of proud that we saved money on this one occasion by choosing to go to ACME. Gasp! I thought I knew better…

As the weekend went on, I began to not feel so great. Not sick or anything. Just not as good as I have been feeling in the previous weeks and months. Then I started thinking. Hmmm…maybe it's all the refined white breads, Tostitos, non-organic non-free-range chicken, eggs and more that I ate over the course of the weekend. So I asked my wife how she was feeling, and she echoed my feeling "off". It's not to say that some of it couldn't be in my head. That was actually my first reaction. The mind is, after all, a very powerful thing. But I could definitely recognize that I felt considerably worse than I had just a day before. And now that I'm back to eating mostly organics, I'm feeling much better, much more like myself again.

My conclusion…organics absolutely make a huge difference in our day-to-day well-being. I'm 100% convinced. Not to mention they're sustainable!

Friday, February 20, 2009

Get Your Green On - Green Networking That Is


OK…the term "green" is WAY overused. We know that. But in this case, it's still cool. To many, the term "Green Networking" is a foreign one. But it's growing in popularity, and many are sitting up to take notice. Green Networking events are generally held at local bars and restaurants, and the attendees are people who are interested in living more green, sustainable lifestyles and/or running green, sustainable businesses. These events are generally held by someone who has a personal interest in sustainability, and/or owns a business in the sustainability industry. Some events have a broad focus, such as Green Drinks. And others are focused on specific topics within the realm of sustainability. We've recently started attending these events, and although we were skeptical at first whether they'd be worth it or not, we were pleasantly surprised. These events were not only productive, they were actually fun! When was the last time you went to a networking event and actually had a good time? That's what I thought.

Check out the Events page on our site for a list of the Green Networking events that we know of, plus some other green events. And if you know of one that we don't have posted yet, please contact us. We reside in Wilmington, so it's tough for us to keep tabs on downstate events. So help us keep this information we'll-rounded. We don't intend to neglect the rest of the state. We promise.