Green Your Diet Now
By Siel
Already get your tomatoes in season from the farmers’ market or — even better — grow your own organic produce? If you compost like a pro, sew your own reusable napkins from pre-loved fabric, and never, ever forget your organic cotton shopping tote, you might be feeling smugly self-satisfied about (continue reading...)

Yes, We Chicken
By Lisa M. Hamilton
When I told Tony, my neighbor, that I wanted to get chickens, his response was a litany of reasons why I should not: Noise. Smell. Bird flu. One by one, I dismissed each of his fears with a breezy reason why it was nothing to worry about. When he ran (continue reading...)

You Are More Than What You Eat
Conversations — Interview by E.B. Boyd
Raj Patel used to not give much thought to food. He grew up in a London convenience store, surrounded by, as he puts it, “all kinds of crud.” And in graduate school, where he pursued studies in development sociology, Red Bull was his fuel of choice. But while helping to (continue reading...)

Cooling Crops
On Our Radar —
Confronted with an exponential increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide, many scientists are looking into global-scale solutions to slow climate change. Some of these “geo-engineering” schemes sound far-fetched, such as the plan to build a giant solar reflector in space that will divert the sun’s rays from our warming planet. But (continue reading...)

Blame it On the Rain
On Our Radar —
Throughout most of modern history people have treated rainwater like a nuisance to be flushed away. As a result, our roads, driveways, gutters and storm sewers now send millions of gallons of polluted water into our most treasured waterways — including Lake Michigan — every time it rains. (continue reading...)

Lights Out for Earth Hour Chicago
On Our Radar —
It’s not everyday you get to experience a world-wide rolling blackout, but imagine how the Earth might look like as cities across the globe turn off their lights. Although the darkness will only last an hour, ultimately it might make make the world a little brighter. Last year millions (continue reading...)

Calling All Sustainable Businesses
On Our Radar —
Does your local dry cleaner commit to using greener cleaning methods? How about that tea you sip in local cafes? Do you not only savor its organic aromas, but also the comfort you receive knowing that it is Fair Trade certified? Does your favorite spa impress you not just with (continue reading...)

Get Active!
On Our Radar —
Surfing the web for funny penguin pictures? Clicking through the first lady’s fabulous fashion slideshow? Googling yourself just to get an ego boost (or not)? Yeah, we caught you… you’re wasting time on the Interwebs again. Not to worry, if you’re addicted to the other small screen, we’ve definitely got (continue reading...)

What Counts?
On Our Radar — Compiled by Jenny Rough
86%: A drop in the number of consumers buying hybrid cars since the summer due to cheaper gas prices (California is the state with the highest number of hybrid sales, Illinois is fifth and Washington is seventh). 90,000: Number of cattle and calves slaughtered for food every 24 hours (continue reading...)

Urban Essentials
Urban Essentials — By Andrea Manitsas
Don’t Panic, It’s Organic From NorCal sustainable restaurateur Jesse Ziff Cool comes Simply Organic, a lusciously photographed cookbook full of ooh- and ahh-worthy delights. Bold, yet still beginner friendly, the recipes here are arranged by season to give you year-round farmer’s market inspiration ($24.95, chroniclebooks.com) (continue reading...)

Coming Together for Climate Change
From the Commish — By Suzane Malec-Mckenna
Last September, Mayor Daley unveiled the nation’s most aggressive, comprehensive and detailed municipal climate change plan to protect and preserve the environment. The Chicago Climate Action Plan (CCAP) is a strategic roadmap that is grounded in research, and its goals will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and positively affect our (continue reading...)

Meet Shmeat
Healthy Living — By Lou Bendrick
Last April, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals announced it was sponsoring a one million dollar “X-Poultry Prize” for the creation of affordable, humane and “commercially viable” test-tube meat by 2012. This announcement, not at all surprisingly, piqued public curiosity (for starters, why is PETA endorsing anything with the (continue reading...)

ParaYoga
Healthy Living :: Yogapedia — By Julia Levitt
Origins: Opening a window from the 21st century onto the ancient principles of Tantra, the classic yet contemporary practice of ParaYoga was founded by Colorado-based master teacher Yogarupa Rod Stryker. ParaYoga harnesses subtle energies in the body and mind to empower students in a joyful but disciplined way. The practice (continue reading...)

D to Prevent C-sections?
Healthy Living :: Body Talk — By Elizabeth Barker
Running low on vitamin D might raise your risk of delivering a baby by caesarean section, according to recent research from the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Scientists followed 253 women for two years, finding that those who were D-deficient at the time of delivery had almost four times (continue reading...)

MANA food bar
Healthy Living :: Tastebuds — By Caitlin Elsaesser
Jill Barron is not exactly the kind of person one might imagine opening a meatless restaurant. “I think vegetarian food is pretty gross for the most part,” said the Chicago chef. A meat eater herself, before helping to open Mana with Susan Thompson, Barron often found herself cringing at (continue reading...)

Ramp Up Your Early Spring Menu
Healthy Living :: Savor the Season — By Terra Brockman
The days are still cold and blustery, and the seeds of this summer’s cucumbers and corn are still months away from even being planted. But the very first wild green of the season, the ramp, is here — in the woods, and in more stores each year as their popularity (continue reading...)

Vegan Soul Kitchen
Healthy Living :: The Mindful Menu — By Bryant Terry
The seed for my new cookbook, Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African American Cuisine, was sown back in 2003 when I was asked to submit a recipe for a new book celebrating the growth of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement in America. I dug deep to come (continue reading...)

An Extravagant Hypothesis
Prophet Motive — By Daniel Pinchbeck
As a hypothesis, I propose that humanity may be undergoing a rapid transition from the biological to the psychic phase of species evolution in the next few years. The inertia of physical forces, chemical processes and cellular mechanisms, precisely coordinated over billions of years, has brought us to this make (continue reading...)

Looking Upstream
Art & Soul —
A man was standing beside a stream, when he saw a baby struggling in the water. Without a thought he jumped in and saved it. No sooner had he placed it gently on the shore than he saw another and jumped in to save it, then another and another. Totally (continue reading...)

Reviews
Art & Soul —
I am averse to advice books. Don’t tell me How to Live — that’s why I have an autonomic nervous system! But Henry Alford’s book is not some souped-up self-help tome. Instead, it is as its subtitle advertises: A (continue reading...)

Canned Goods
From the Publisher —
This March issue of Conscious Choice is largely dedicated to food and food culture. I don’t know if everyone (or anyone) finds the history of food as fascinating as I do, but food is one of my favorite topics of conversation and one of my favorite past times. Most of (continue reading...)

Birth Announcement: GAIA Takes Manhattan
To The Editor —
Attention New Yorkers: there’s a new kid on the block! Back in August, we debuted the NY edition of our magazines — which we named GAIA. Next time you’re on the right coast, be sure to look us up! —The Eds. A copy of your latest edition (continue reading...)

Karyn Calabrese
People In Your Neighborhood —
Karyn is one of the most innovative leaders in the health and holistic world. Thirty years ago she used raw foods and detoxification to heal herself of allergies, skin problems, fatigue and other ailments and never looked back. Her ageless beauty and boundless energy have made her a role model (continue reading...)

Big Sky Mind
Life, the Universe and Everything — By Emilie Rohrbach
It wasn’t my intention to fall from the sky. Actually, it was never my intention to be so far from Earth that skydiving out of a Cessna was my only choice of return. Options are usually pretty important to a girl like me. Yet there I was, hunched (continue reading...)