Cook And Consume Consciously With Treats From These Eco Purveyors
We'll use any excuse to turn a holiday into a food-focused event, especially when it aligns with our need to find delicious, unadulterated products that benefit the earth–and our taste buds.
The excess of "earth-friendly" goods on the market makes it hard to decipher the true eco warriors from their eco-ish counterparts. So, for tomorrow's Earth Day, we've picked our favorite purist food providers. These four brands harvest, manufacture–and in some cases, even deliver–their goods in a way that gives new meaning to conscious calorie consumption.
Askinosie Chocolate You can trace each of this company's amazing single-origin bars back to its source via a code on the parchment packaging. Owner Shawn Askinosie, who resurrected Mexico's heritage Soconusco bean, personally selects his cacao farmers and pays them above Fair Trade wages (askinosie.com).
3-Corner Field Farm This sustainable dairy on the New York-Vermont border raises sheep and lambs that graze and fertilize the fields they live on, eliminating the need for harmful chemicals and oil-guzzling mowers. Order the farm's superb cheeses, yogurt or cuts of wholesome, lean lamb (dairysheepfarm.com).
Mountain Rose Herbs Selling herbs and spices that are free of irradiation and chemical treatment, this Oregon-based company sources directly from growers around the world. Its facility runs exclusively on renewable energy, and its total waste output each month equals that of an average four-person household. Plus, the company's commercial trucks run on 100 percent biodiesel (mountainroseherbs.com).
Blue Bottle Coffee San Francisco's roaster of the moment ships certified organic, shade-grown coffees within eight hours of roasting. The beans are packaged in recycled paper bags lined with 100 percent biodegradable cellophane (bluebottlecoffee.net).