As some of you may know, I homeschool my two boys. This week I have two extra kids who are staying with us. We started the day by baking some pumpkin bread (yum!). While the bread was baking, I had the kids check their shirts to find out where they were manufactured. Out of four shirts, only one was made in the USA. The other three came from Latin America (Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador). After having the kids locate the countries on a world map, we discussed the typical working conditions in Third World countries — sweat shop conditions, workers being paid pennies on the dollar compared to American workers, no OSHA, minimal environmental regulations — a pretty grim picture overall.
Central American factories often source many of their materials from the US. Chinese goods are not likely to contain materials from the US. Either way, the transportation of the raw materials for your clothing and the clothing itself creates an environmental footprint sized like the sneakers of an NBA player. The demand for bright colors and patterns often means a synthetic cocktail of chemicals is released from these factories and introduced into ground water. This pollution has been linked to agricultural crop damage, skin disorders and other health problems.
Ideally, we could all buy locally, organically produced garments with no synthetic dies — and then there’s reality. It’s darn hard to find clothes manufactured in the US, and organic items can be really pricey. If you can afford it, spend the extra money on US organic. Another good option is to buy used. This will reduce the transportation footprint (especially if you shop locally), keep items out of landfills, and double use of an item for the same manufacturing footprint. Shop mindfully and vote with your wallet for a greener future.
Related Links:
Who Will Turn Off the Lights? El Salvador’s Youth Exodus — An alternative view — the problems with CAFTA and other similar trade agreements.
Environmental and Ethical Cost of T-Shirts – Tiruppur, South India — A look at the true costs of that cheap t-shirt.
Recipes:
Toscana Soup
Ingredients:
1 pound Italian sausage
1 medium onion
½ pound bacon
2 ½ teaspoon garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
5 medium potatoes
4 cups fresh kale
1 cups heavy cream
Directions:
Brown and fully cook sausage; drain and set aside. Peel and dice potatoes; set aside. Thinly slice fresh kale; set aside. Cook diced bacon over medium heat in 6 quart saucepan until slightly crispy. Add chopped onion and sauté until translucent. Drain excess grease. Stir in garlic and cook one minute. Add chicken broth, water and potatoes. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer for 25 minutes until potatoes are tender. Stir in kale, cream and sausage. Cook for five more minutes. Serve warm. Freezes and reheats well.
French Bread from suite 101
Ingredients:
2 packages (5 teaspoons) dry yeast
2-1/2 cups warm water
1 tsp. sugar
6 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. salt
Directions:
Make sure water temperature is 110 to 115 degrees F. Place water in a large bowl and sprinkle with yeast and sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes until yeast dissolves and starts to bubble. Stir in 2 cups flour and salt. Cover and let rise for 1/2 hour.
Then gradually stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. (Knead by pressing on the dough, then folding over and pressing with the heel of your hand.) Then clean the large mixing bowl, grease it with canola oil, and place the dough in the bowl. Turn it in the bowl so the dough is greased (this prevents the top from cracking as it rises).
Cover the dough and let rise at room temperature for about 2-1/2 hours, until doubled in bulk. With your fist, punch down the dough. Divide in half and place one half on a lightly floured surface.
Using a rolling pin, roll dough to a 12×6″ rectangle. Starting with the 12″ side, roll up tightly. Seal seams and edges by pinching. Repeat with remaining dough.
Grease a cookie sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place loaves on prepared sheet. Cover and let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray the loaves with a bit of water (or brush with a mix of two tablespoons water and ½ teaspoon salt), then using a blade, made a few slashes across the top of each loaf. Bake at 425 degrees F for 25-30 minutes until loaves are golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool on wire rack.
Cranberry-Apple Crisp with Maple Syrup
Fresh cranberries are usually sold only from November through January. So freeze a few extra bags to make this anytime. Originally from Bon Appétit magazine. Serves 6.
Ingredients:
For topping
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
For fruit
2 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered, cored, thinly sliced
2 cups cranberries (about 8 ounces)
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
Chilled whipped cream
Directions:
Make topping:
Mix flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl. Rub in butter with fingertips until moist clumps form. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Make fruit:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 11 x 8 x 2-inch ovenproof dish (or another shallow 8-cup-capacity dish). Mix apples and next 5 ingredients in large bowl. Transfer to dish.
Bake fruit 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Crumble topping over. Bake until apples are tender, juices bubble thickly around sides and topping is golden brown, about 35 minutes longer. Let stand at least 10 minutes and up to 1 hour. Serve with whipped cream.
