There were a few articles that caught my attention over the past week or so that I wanted to share, along with a little commentary.
The first involves Chipotle, which I have a very serious addiction to but that is a whole story unto itself, and which relates to their continued work with their supply chain. In this case, they are partnering with the e-comm firm Shopify to help create a virtual farmers market for farmers in their supply chain to access a wider customer base. The timing is certainly great, as many of us have increased the amount of shopping we do from home, and with the added assurance that the farmers have been vetted in order to be a part of the Chipotle supply chain it provides extra assurance that you will be getting high-quality, organic food. At this point in time they only have about four farms that are up and running with the e-commerce sites, but I can definitely see how this will continue to grow and flesh out. I know from my perspective, these are exactly the types of business I want to support and anytime I can get increased access to great, healthy food that is raised in a responsible way I am fully on-board. You can check out the original article here, and from there it will allow you to jump to the actual virtual farmers market that has been set up.
The second involves new rules in the state of Vermont which is now banning food waste from their regular trash collection. State officials believe that this measure will be an important part of hitting their goal of diverting 50% of landfill to being recycled, composted and reused. It’s important to note that 72% of Vermonters are already doing some form of composting so this is not a big step in behavior change for the population, but the upside is huge in terms of environmental impact. With 20% of their current garbage being comprised of food waste, the combination of taking that out of the landfill process, and removing the ensuing methane has a huge impact on the warming of the planet. I wonder how easy it will be to eventually expand this program to other states as we all look for ways to reduce the amount of trash we produce. You can view the original article here.
The last article that caught my attention involves a new 100% recycled plastic bottle being introduced by Evian that has no label in an effort to further reduce waste. I am not a fan of single use bottles, as they represent an enormous amount of plastic being introduced into the environment everyday, but at least this is a step in reducing that toll. While I certainly try to bring a refillable water bottle with me whenever possible, there is generally always some point where it’s not possible, (or I forgot it) and some water is needed. Evian is not a brand I have generally gravitated toward, but this new bottle would push me in their direction. You can read the original article here. What I really need is Hint Water to come up with a solution to only being sold in single use plastic bottles. I love their product, but avoid it just due to the bottle issue.
As always, feel free to share your thoughts.
The Free Range Viking
The Free Range Viking 