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Archive for October, 2009

Coalition of Immokalee Workers: Classes and Peaceful Info Picket

Posted in Action Alerts & Activism, tagged , , , , , on October 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

The Unitarians are banding together with Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) to provide a day of classes and and info picket for farm workers and fair food! Come to the bits you like best!

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CLASS INFO

Coalition of Immokalee Workers will be appearing Nov 1, 2009 at both Unitarian churches in Orlando to hold classes about farm workers! They will teach us what life as a tomato picker is like and the human rights obstacles they face.  Presentation is free to anyone — families welcome.

You can attend these at

Room 9 in the Education Building 9:30 – 10:30 AM at
First Unitarian Church of Orlando
1901 E. Robinson St
Orlando, FL 32803

and

Main Building from 12 – 1 PM
University Unitarian Universalist Society
11648 McCulloch Rd
Orlando, FL 32817
THE ISSUES

The precedent-setting agreements with Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonald’s, Burger King, Whole Foods, Subway, and Bon Appetit to improve wages and conditions for tomato pickers include the first real wage increase for farmworkers in 30 years, a code of conduct against abuses–with zero tolerance for slavery, and farmworker participation in monitoring improved conditions. To date, three Florida growers have committed to implement these fair food agreements.

Yet Publix, whose sales in the first half of 2009 topped $12 billion, refuses to pay just one more penny per pound to improve wages for tomato pickers and work with the CIW to guarantee fair conditions for those who pick its tomatoes. What’s more, Publix continues to knowingly purchase tomatoes from two tomato growers implicated in a recent farmworker slavery operation.

PICKET INFO

In the afternoon at 2:30 PM, Coalition of Immokalee Workers  moves on to hold a peaceful, information picket at the Publix on Shine and Colonial to raise awareness for the plight of the farm workers.  It is part of a month long info picket at various Publix supermarkets in the state of Florida.Join farm workers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) in calling for fair wages and human rights at a Publix near you:

Sun., November 1st at 2:30 pm
Educational Picket in front of Publix
1400 E Colonial Drive, Orlando

MORE INFO

Can’t wait until Sunday? Come in costume on Sat., October 31st at 2 pm for a Halloween-themed Event in front of Publix 2015 Edgewater Drive, Orlando

And mark your calendars to join us at Publix Headquarters on Dec. 5, 2009 in Lakeland!

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Farm to Table — an Ourlando Event

Posted in Coffee and Tea, Deals Around Town, Food and Nutrition, Local "Green" Events, tagged , , , , , , , on October 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Ourlando is organizing the Farm to Table event at the Enzian!

farmtotable

Sunday Nov 15, 2009

12:oo PM – 2:30 PM

Enzian Theater, 1300 S. Orlando Ave

The purpose of this event is to connect the community with their food source, network and promote a sustainable community for Orlando and the surrounding areas. Come, be a part of this and support the local food movement.

Featuring the documentary “Food Fight” by Chris Taylor and food by Chef Josh Oakley.

Come meet our local farmer’s and local food vendor’s. The event begins with passed hors d’oeuvre made with locally grown produce by Chef Josh Oakley, the executive chef of Enzian. Followed up with the showing of Food Fight.http://foodfightthedoc.com

After the documentary, there will be plenty of time to meet and mingle with our local farmers and vendors. We will also be featuring the organically, fresh brewed beer of Orlando Brewery, fair trade coffee from Austin’s and assorted blends of tea from Dandelion Communitea just to name a few.

Tickets: $18, includes hors d’oeuvre, beer, coffee and tea.

Tickets available at the Enzian box office and through their web site.

Support local, independent business and help build a sustainable local food economy.

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Orlando 350.org pix at VegFest on Oct 24!

Posted in Action Alerts & Activism, Local "Green" Events, tagged , , , , , , , on October 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

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What: Orlando 350.org pix

When: 3:50 PM (Come early to find parking and make it to the tent)

Where: The Green Team tent near the statue
VegFest in Loch Haven Park,
900 E. Princeton St,
Orlando FL

Oct 24 is International Day of Climate Action. The 350.org faq is an excellent place to start learning about it and about global warming.

As for what you can do about it… I’ve been organizing the Orlando 350.org pix!

Everyone and anyone is invited to show up at VegFest to be in it! You are invited to come as you are or in tie-dye to the Green Team Tent just to the right of the statue at the entrance to the park.

Want to make 350 signs? Paint your face? Wave balloons? Earth flags? Come on down and we’ll all squish in!

At 3:50 PM we snap our Orlando picture to stand up for Climate Action along with the other 4,500 events planned in over181 countries! Don’t miss it! And check out some other inspiring images at the 350.org Flickr collection.

Florida Bicycle Association is running a bike bus for VegFest as another 350.org action. Make it an extra “green” effort and take the bike bus in to the festival!

MORE EVENTS

Can’t make it down to VegFest? There are other 350.org and environmental activities happening Oct 24:

UPDATES

We made it into the Orlando Sentinel climate gallery! The first 3 photos in the series are from our picture project at VegFest.

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LIVING LIKE ED: A Book Review

Posted in Book Reviews, Conservation / Environment, Food and Nutrition, Organic Gardening, Organizations/Activism, Reduce-Reuse-Recycle, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on October 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

LIVING LIKE ED

LIVING LIKE ED

Perhaps you’ve heard of Ed Begley, Jr. He’s an actor with quite a list of credits to his name. Not a leading man, but nevertheless a successful actor who has been in the business for over 30 years, with many appearances on both TV and screen.

It turns out that Ed has also been doing something very unconventional for that same 30+ year time period. Ed has been consistently living green, investing in sustainable businesses, and living off the grid for most or all of this time.

It has not been an easy journey, more one of small steps. In his book, LIVING LIKE ED, released in 2008, Ed and his more aesthetically focused wife, Rachelle, share their methods of maintaining a balance between his dedication to total Eco-friendliness and her desire to weave in a bit of the glamour and glitz that Hollywood has to offer.

For instance, while Rachelle’s Prius gets 50+ mpg, Ed prefers his electric car or a bicycle for local transportation. By charging his car off of his solar-created electricity, he is using virtually zero electric that has been created by unsustainable sources. His home and his car are all powered by a collection of unconventional, sustainable methods such as a wind turbine, solar, and more.

Of course, as an actor, public speaker, and businessman, Ed occasionally has to travel long distances that his electric car cannot manage. The Prius works for most of his cross-country trips, unless time does not allow the drive. His occasional plane trips are definitely taken begrudgingly, but he compensates by using Terrapass, to help recover the damage done by his kerosene-powered trip on a jet. This company invests your fee, paid to erase your use of petro-chemicals, by investing your money in projects that do just that. It’s a fascinating business concept to read about in Ed’s book, and one that is growing in popularity.

Ed’s book shares his daily tips and techniques for living lean, simple and completely carbon free, in an entertaining format, bouncing back and forth with Rachelle’s segments that share her slightly lighter shade of green. While both committed to the environment, Rachelle struggles to enlighten Ed to see the beautiful side of life, as well as all that is green and Eco.

A great primer for the beginner, this book opens the readers’ eyes to the possibilities and answers the question, “What can I do to live like Ed?”

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Florida Friends of Midwives (Central Florida)

Posted in Action Alerts & Activism, Birth Centers, Health and Safety, Homebirth Midwives, Natural Pregnancy, Organizations/Activism, Uncategorized on October 11, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Are you familiar with the Florida Friends of Midwives? This non-profit, grass-roots organization was formed by consumers, professionals, families, and birth advocates to preserve the tradition of midwifery and the rights currently afforded to Florida midwives and families.

 

We are very excited to be bringing FFOM a little closer to home with the Central Florida chapter. Intended to support midwives, the midwifery model of care, and build community, FFOM (Central Florida) is kicking off with a chapter meeting at Seven Sisters Coffee House on October 20th, 2009 from 6:30-9:30pm.

 

We would love for you to join us, or pass along our information to other women and families who may be interested. 

Join our yahoo group at:  ffomcentralflorida@yahoogroups.com

To be added to our mailing list: ffomcentralflorida@gmail.com

For additional information about FFOM: http://www.flmidwifery.org/

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Save even more at SuperTarget!

Posted in Reduce-Reuse-Recycle, tagged , on October 4, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Target

I do my weekly grocery shopping at SuperTarget.  I like their selection of organic groceries, their extremely helpful and friendly staff, and their good prices.  Now I have another reason to like them!  SuperTarget is now offering $0.05 cents back on every cloth bag you use on check-out!  Since I always bring my own cloth bags, it was nice when the cashier took an extra $0.20 cents off my total.  If you shop at SuperTarget, ask the cashier about this cloth bag incentive!

target bags

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Fall in Love with Handmade Oct 3!

Posted in Deals Around Town, tagged , , , , , , , on October 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

“Fall in Love with Handmade” is happening tomorrow, Oct 3, from 9 AM to 4 PM over at Cottage Industry Coop/Infusion Tea featuring items like painting, sculpture, pottery, glass art, and more!

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