Welcome to the LivingGreen Journal

I hope this will become a forum where people can exchange ideas on how to live more lightly on the planet and share ideas, recipes and food suggestions.

I'm the editor of EatingWell Magazine, former editor of Audubon, and passionate about this topic. So I'lll be regularly posting and asking for suggestions on how we can all do a better job of greening up our diets and our kitchens, our homes and our lives.

I'll post links to some of our EatingWell stories that offer great advice and tips (during the work week) on what you can do to green up your diet.

Green Tip of the Day:  Don't Be Fooled. It's April Fools but don't be fooled by "all natural" "made with organic ingredients" or "local"  labels. More and more, marketers are trying to "greenwash" their products, to make them sound more environmentally friendly than they are. For instance, "Natural" is not a regulated term and may not mean much, unless it's associated with naturally-raised meats.
To learn to sort the truth from the hype, read my blog post "Food Labels That Lie."

What You Can Do: Instead, spend this weekend finding one new local food producer, farmer or locally-made food that you can incorporate into your diet. For instance, just yesterday I  ran into  Nick Cowles owner of  Shelburne Orchards (EatingWell did a great harvest story there, with amazing  recipes such as Apple Squares), which is just down the road from our office here in Vermont and found out he's making a limited amount of Calvados — an apple brandy — this year. Mmmmm...
Localharvest.org is a great resource as are farmers markets if they are up and running near you. Supporting truly local foods means you are cutting down on the environmental impacts of transportation and supporting small farms. Plus, it's just plain fun to meet the people who are growing your food.

And Speak Up!: What are some of the worst examples of "greenwashing" you have seen? And the best new local products you have found?

Sante! (to your health)
Lisa