What Mr. DiCaprio and I have in common...and why we all need to become Revenants

What Mr. DiCaprio and I have in common...and why we all need to become Revenants

The Revenant had me on the edge of my seat, the classic man vs. nature on steroids, transforming Leonardo DiCaprio into an early 1800’s trapper that literally comes back (The Revenant, from the French term ‘Revenir’ meaning ‘To Return‘, literally from the dead) after being attacked by a bear and left by his group in the harshest conditions.

The icing on the cake was that he used his time on the stage accepting his well-deserved Oscar (finally!) to urge people to care about the environment. That’s when I knew we were kindred spirits.

“Making ‘The Revenant’ was about man’s relationship to the natural world, the world that we collectively felt in 2015 as the hottest year in reported history — our production needed to move to the southern tip of this planet just to be able to find snow. Climate change is real. It is happening right now. It’s the most urgent threat facing our entire species and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating. We need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters, but who speak for all of humanity, for the indigenous people of the world, for the billions and billions of underprivileged people out there who would be most affected by this. For our children’s children, and for those people out there whose voices have been drowned out by the politics of greed. I thank you all for this amazing award tonight. Let us not take this planet for granted. I do not take tonight for granted.”

– Leonardo DiCaprio 2016 Oscar acceptance speech

 

I founded Grow Green Industries, INC. in 2009 as the holding company of our patented eatCleaner® Wash + Wipes line for three main reasons – to give people a solution for many things – to remove pesticide residue and agricultural chemicals, to remove potentially life-threatening bacteria from fresh food, and to help save the environment. I grew up in NY, then Boulder, CO, the epicenter of all things natural and sustainable. You could say, honoring the environment was built into my root system. I am a tree-hugger and I don’t care who knows it. Composting, shopping the bulk bins, bringing my own bags to the store, eating a plant-forward diet, recycling, upcycling clothes, driving an electric car, growing produce, riding a bike when I can. It’s all part of what I believe is our civil duty to the environment and how I strive to conserve. Our natural resources are our sustenance, but they are often disregarded and abused and it shows.

 

One of the prime man-made offenders is landfills Many people don’t realize this, but uneaten food rotting in landfills is a huge contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Landfills are the second largest human-related source of methane in the United States, and also include livestock farming, and the production, transportation and use of fossil fuels. Food accounts for 25% of methane produced from landfills, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Now think about that on a global scale.

Food waste accounts for a quarter of the freshwater supply, and 300 million gallons of oil a year. That’s a lot of wasted resources at a time of water shortages and higher gas prices.

 

Americans throw away more than 25 percent of the food we prepare, about 96 billion pounds of food waste each year according to the US Department of Agriculture’s Estimating and Addressing America’s Food Losses. Food waste includes uneaten food and food preparation scraps from residences or households, commercial establishments like restaurants, grocery stores, and cafeterias. A 2004 University of Arizona study puts the figure closer to 50 percent, finding that Americans squander some $43 billion annually on wasted food. Lead researcher Timothy Jones reported that on average, U.S. households waste 14 percent of their food purchases. He estimates that a family of four tosses out $590 per year in meat, fruits, vegetables and grain products alone. Now what if you could make your meats, produce and prepared foods last up to 5x longer?

 

If we know that we have a problem, and everyone is responsible for making real change happen, there is a real answer. It starts with our habits. It’s sad to me that the media made the green movement a fad that came and went. I think we need our own Revenant to come back from the dead and resurrect this for our survival.

 

Here’s a friendly suggestion for my top 4 Food-Centric tips of what we can do starting TODAY in our own little ecosystem as Revenants.

 

  1. Wash your produce with eatCleaner® Fruit + Vegetable Wash when you bring it home from the store. The blend of antioxidants and fruit acids will actually help your produce last up to 5x longer, saving your fruit and veggies from an early demise. That saves you money and the environment from harmful methane emissions. You can get it in our spray or concentrate form. We also have a concentrated version for food service processors and will be releaseing an eco-friendly powder soon.

 

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before and after strawberries

2. Treat your cut produce with eatFresh-FC. We created this unique, organic anti-oxidant blend to prevent browning on cut fruit and veggies, which is a big reason why people throw food away. It also deters the growth of bacteria, yeast and mold, preserving freshness. Just add a scoop to 16 oz. of cold water and mist or soak your apples, pears, avocado, guacamole or other prepared foods. Schools, restaurants, supermarkets and food processors can easily use this in their facilities, too. One 5-lb. container can treat up to 4,000 pounds of food.


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3. Grow your own and start composting. There’s nothing like the taste of fresh herbs and produce from your own garden, and your lessening the carbon footprint of the food you eat. For the times you do need to throw items like peels, cores and the occasional gone-bad item, a composter gives you the opportunity to give back to the soil that’s growing your goodies. Gone are the days where you have to get the hand-crank kind and put in worms to get the party started. There are varieties that get you going a lot less ‘stinkily’ and you can start with a compact unit to put outside.

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4. Go #MeatlessMonday. Livestock farming is a huge contributor to the methane problem, and if we all lessened our meat consumption, not only will it improve our emissions situation, it will help our health and save you money. We have a Meatless Monday Pinterest board with fun recipes, like a yummy Polenta Veggie Bake and Arugula and Garbanzo Bean Salad with Feta Cheese. And it’s LEAP YEAR Monday so I can’t think of a better time to take the jump!

 

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A few more resources:

 

  • For your viewing enjoying, I would also highly recommend watching these 4 short films narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio on environmental awareness.

 

 

Remember, Our earth is not ours…it is really just a loan from our children.

 

God bless and protect our Mother. xxMareya

 


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