Fwd: Go Organic! for Earth Day September Newsletter

September 20, 2008

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Go Organic! for Earth Day Newsletter

September 2008

In This Issue

Organic Farming Leads to Greater Yields

Green Your Life Tip

Quiz: How Green Are You?

Earthbound Farm Recipe

Kids' Activity

Product Spotlight

Quick Links

Go Organic! for Earth Day

Earthbound Farm

Dear Cyndi,

This month's edition of the Go Organic! for Earth Day Newsletter features a recipe and product spotlight from Go Organic! sponsor Earthbound Farm as well as many other resources to help you green your life.

Organic Farming Leads to Greater Yields

Organic farming can yield up to three times as much food asconventional farming on the same amount of land, according toresearchers from the University of Michigan. In addition to equalor greater yields, the authors found those yields could beaccomplished using existing quantities of organic fertilizers andwithout putting more farmland into production. Their article,entitled "Organic agriculture and the global food supply," appearsin Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (2007) 22: 86-108.(Source: The Organic Trade Association)

Green Your Life Tip: Reusable Shopping Bags

While making those last minute back-to-school shopping trips, be sure to reduce your environmental impact by using reusable shopping bags. Each year the US uses 84 billion non-biodegradeable plastic bags which can have a sizeable effect on our environment.

Quiz: How Green Are You?

Click here to find out how "green" you are by taking a quiz from National Geographic's Green Guide.

Enjoy this delicious recipe from Food to Live By: The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook

California Salad with Avocado, Apricots, Almonds and Goat CheeseServes 4 as a side salad4 ounces (5 to 6 cups) mixed baby greens, carefully rinsed and dried1/4 cup fresh whole tarragon leavesAbout 1/4 cup Lemon Vinaigrette (see below)1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled mild semisoft goat cheese or feta cheese1/2 ripe avocado, preferably Hass8 dried apricots, each cut into 3 or 4 stripsJust before you plan to serve the salad, place the greens and tarragon in a large salad bowl and toss to combine. Add 3 tablespoons of the vinaigrette. Toss to lightly coat the leaves, then taste to see if more vinaigrette is needed.Transfer the greens to a platter or individual salad plates. Scatter the almonds and cheese on top of the greens.Peel the avocado and discard the pit. Cut the avocado lengthwise into thin slices. Arrange the avocado slices around the edge of the platter or plates. Sprinkle the apricots over the salad. Serve immediately.Lemon VinaigretteMakes about 1 cup1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, preferably Meyer2/3 cup high-quality extra-virgin olive oil1 tablespoon Dijon mustard3 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed3/4 teaspoon coarse (kosher) saltPlace all ingredients in a glass jar and seal the lid tightly. Shake the jar vigorously to combine. The vinaigrette can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 1 week. Let it return to room temperature and remove garlic cloves before using.

Kids' Activity

Teach your kids about organic farming with a free activity book from Earthbound Farm!Click here for the online book.

Earthbound Farm Mixed Baby Greens

Earthbound Farm started farming organically more than 24 years ago on a small 2 1/2-acre garden, with a big commitment to protecting the health of the land and those who enjoy our harvest.Earthbound Farm's produce is grown by 150 farmers on 40,000 acres using sustainable farming methods, which keep about 13 million pounds of conventional agricultural chemicals out of the environment every year.

Happy Fall!Sincerely,

The Go Organic! for Earth Day Team