She kindly consented to allow me to do a brief video interview of her at her booth at the Green Festival.  You can view this video by visiting Youtube link.

Over the next few posts, I’ll share more information about the Green Festival.

One of the great features from this year’s event is the fact that part of the admission fee includes Green Bucks which can be spent with vendors at the festival.

I’m curious to see how it will be in a different venue. I’ll be posting some of the interesting things I see and hear at the event this weekend with photos.

Farm Workers working in a crop field

Vera Chang of Bon Appétit Management Company   gave a talk at Bellevue College on Thursday April 21, 2011. The company she works with provides sustainable food services with the motto, “food services for a sustainable future.”

According to Vera, there are approximately 1.4 million crop farm workers in the United States. Most of them live marginalized lives, working long hours for low wages without benefits, paid time off or overtime pay. They also work under conditions that risk their health and safety.

She’s spoken to a number of these workers and relayed one of her conversations to us. A farmworker she met experienced skin rash and eye problems from working in conventional strawberry fields where they spray. He has to quickly change out of his field clothes before his children come home so that they do not accidentally hug or touch his pesticide-laden clothing.

My own opinion: The cheap ‘conventionally’-grown food comes with a added price that’s unseen at the cash register when the customer buys it. There are unseen costs not only to the  environment but also to human health and welfare. Our current food system harms farmworkers as well as the people who eat the food produced by it.

There are groups that are working to improve conditions for farm workers. One of them is United Farm Workers who is currently working to stop the use of the toxic pesticide methyl iodide  .

Personally, I have some idea of how hard farm workers work, especially because of the long hours required when crops need to be harvested, sorted and packed quickly. A few years ago, I helped out on a friend’s organic fruit farm. I found it was very challenging work because I was not used to the type of labor and the hot climate. At the end of the day, I was so exhausted that I just fell into bed. So just imagine what it’s like for the average farm worker: working long hours, in the heat, with little or no breaks and then receiving little pay for his or her efforts.

The company that Vera works with is creating relationships with suppliers that are attempting to produce food in a more sustainable manner and that includes better working conditions for the people employed in helping to produce the food. There are organizations label certify some foods like chocolate, coffee and bananas as Fair Trade but there are no such certifications for food in the United States.

She told us that Full Circle Farm is working towards the goal of providing health benefits for all their employees. Interesting to note that this same business had a booth at the Farmers Market on Bellevue Campus just 2 days earlier.

I believe that as more people become aware of these issues and more businesses support suppliers that are producing using sustainable methods (including better conditions for workers!), people will start to make healthier food choices and this will also improve conditions for farm workers.

Note: Farm workers image is courtesy of Vera Chang

Earth Week at Bellevue College

This week Bellevue College celebrates Earth Week with a number of guest speakers, films and a farmers’ market.

I was very pleased to see Full Circle Farm with a nice selection of local organic produce.

Full Circle Farms Market Booth

Above is a photo of their booth.

You can check out and see what else is happening on  the schedule for Earth Week at Bellevue College.

Here’s the link  to the first part of the show:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN8XhF2Kdx0

Peter is the founder of Castagra, his company that produces a durable, renewable veggie plastic.

 Visit his company’s website:http://www.castagra.com/

Here’s a photo of Peter. At 6 ft. 7 inches, he’s not only a tall man but a man with tall ideas. See the next post to read about them.

• An article on a commonly used pesticide
• A story about Canada’s Most Famous Ecopreneur
• Tips on saving money and resources
• How restaurants can be more green/sustainble.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXF8AsqT0o0

Who made it public enemy number 1 of your lawn?

Who had vested interest in it? Next time you think about using some chemical on your lawn or garden, consider that what you’re using might have some unwanted effects on your health and the environment around you. Watch for an upcoming article related to this topic.

photo of David Korten and the blog author

Over the next few days, I write about some other ideas, products and services that I found there.

To find out more about the Green Festival visit:http://www.greenfestivals.org/