June 30th, 2010 by Geoff Marks
An Organic farmer in Nicaragua shared his struggle to maintain a farm with two visiting Lutheran students on a Fair Trade mission. Surrounded by bigger interests, organic farmer Martin Vincente Padilla impressed the students with his dedication to the environment. The two Northern Michigan University (NMU) students – Lisa McCarthy of Greenville, WI and Sarah Swanson of Rapid River, MI – are giving presentations across the Upper Peninsula on their recent Lutheran World Relief trip to Nicaragua during which they met with coffee farmers and learned about fair trade. This is the first of several excerpts from their presentation. Parts 1 & 2: www.youtube.com www.youtube.com In part three, the students describe how the women of Nicaragua are treated with respect, the importance of families and the environmental protection efforts of one Nicaragua’s organic farmers. As members of the NMU EarthKeeper Student Team, the students were touched by the story of farmer Martin Vincente Padilla, a father of four who grows …
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April 15th, 2010 by Geoff Marks
Part 2 of an interview with Marcus who runs XOCOCO (sho-co-co, or kiss-hug-co-co) at the market in Brisbane’s inner city suburb of Kelvin Grove every Saturday. We discuss organic foods and talk in more detail about fair trade and how it works. (See part 1 which covers how he runs his business in an environmentally manner and the challenges of doing so.) You can find Marcus at XOCOCO at Kelvin Grove on Blamey Street every Saturday from 6 am to 1 pm to try his delicious organic coffee and hot chocolates. Support fair trade coffee and cocoa. Your taste buds will thank you as you’re doing a good deed. Visit the XOCOCO site for more information and to read the blog: www.xococo.com.au Please comment at the Earth and Body Friendly blog: www.earthandbodyfriendly.com.au
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March 25th, 2010 by Geoff Marks
Part 1 of an interview with Marcus who runs XOCOCO (sho-co-co, or kiss-hug-co-co) at the market in Brisbane’s inner city suburb of Kelvin Grove every Saturday. In part 1 we cover how he runs his business in an environmentally manner and the challenges of doing so. In part 2 ( www.youtube.com ) we discuss organic foods and talk more about fair trade and how it works. You can find Marcus at XOCOCO at Kelvin Grove on Blamey Street every Saturday from 6 am to 1 pm to try his delicious organic coffee and hot chocolates. Support fair trade coffee and cocoa. Your taste buds will thank you as you’re doing a good deed. Visit the XOCOCO site for more information and to read the blog: www.xococo.com.au Please comment at the Earth and Body Friendly blog: www.earthandbodyfriendly.com.au
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March 13th, 2010 by Geoff Marks
Two Northern Michigan University (NMU) students – Lisa mccarthy of Greenville, WI and Sarah Swanson of Rapid River, MI – are giving presentations across the Upper Peninsula on their recent Lutheran World Relief trip to Nicaragua during which they met with coffee farmers and learned about…
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February 9th, 2010 by Geoff Marks
After oil, coffee is the most highly traded substance in the world. The worldwide demand for coffee stretches from coffee houses in New York, to cafe’s in Italy, to street stalls in Vietnam.
Undoubtedly, this coffee consumption takes a heavy toll on the environment. Most of us do not consider the deforestation caused by commercial coffee farming, the huge amount of water consumption, and the mountains of paper products (filters, cups, etc.) we create as a by-product of our coffee habit.
If you want to drink coffee (relatively) guilt free, below are some ways to make your coffee habit less harmful to the environment:
Drink Local Coffee – Buy coffee which has traveled the shortest distance to reach you to help lower the impact of shipping on the environment.
Buy A Cool Mug – Purchase a really cool mug that you will want to again and again; eliminating the need for plastic or styrofoam cups.
Do Without A Coffee Stirrer …
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January 24th, 2010 by Geoff Marks
Two Northern Michigan University (NMU) students – Lisa McCarthy of Greenville, WI and Sarah Swanson of Rapid River, MI – are giving presentations across the Upper Peninsula on their recent Lutheran World Relief trip to Nicaragua during which they met with coffee farmers and learned about…
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