003. Shop Locally Grown

Your local farmer's market is a great place to buy produce.

We understand that it is important for our health to choose organic products. This week, we will discover the importance of buying locally grown produce. By choosing to buy locally grown products, we are helping the environment by reducing pollution, while also supporting local farmers. 

A majority of produce in the U.S. is transported from different states and even different countries before it gets to your dinner table. Produce on average is shipped 1500 miles (wow!) in the United States before reaching the store. For example, according to http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs/staff/files/food_travel072103.pdf ,  "Fresh produce arriving by truck at the Chicago Terminal Market from within the continental United States traveled an average one-way distance of 1,518 miles in 1998, a 22 percent increase over the 1,245 miles traveled in 1981." We can only imagine that produce shipped from other countries travels even further distances. By shopping locally, you reduce the emission of green house gases that would be used to ship the produce. Also, you are supporting local farmers who are unable to produce mass quantities to supply to the larger grocery stores. 

Local farmers and farmer's markets are going to benefit if individuals choose to shop what's grown locally. Why not make the change this week? Most cities have a local farmer's market. Look up yours online and visit it this week. It is going to benefit farmers and the environment!

Remember! Farmer's markets have all sorts of goodies besides produce, so take advantage!

002. Challenge the Image of Beauty

This week, look at beauty under a different light.

We live in a society where we are constantly bombarded by images of beauty from the media. Turn on the television, computer, open a magazine, drive down the street and we are continuously being told what is beautiful and which product to buy in order to achieve this narrow definition of beauty. If the advertisement causes us to question our appearances, then the company has done their job. Their main goal is to make money and they do this in extremely creative ways. Many beauty practices that women follow have not been around very long and their origins can be disturbing. Understanding where these practices originated from can help us challenge the narrow image of beauty. Once we become more informed about these practices and products and if we choose to still participate, at least we are not blindly following. 

This week we want to change the narrow image of what is considered beautiful in the media. We decided to research the origin of breast implants. Please understand that we are not judging those with breast implants because it is your right to choose.  We all have the right to choose and we should do this with as much information as possible. Breast implants became popular during the 1940s following WWII. Japanese prostitutes who were pursuing American servicemen, began injecting their breasts with silicone, sponges and paraffin. These women risked their lives by having this new procedure done because they believed all American men were attracted to large breasts. This is obviously not the case with all American men or society as a whole in neither 2011 or in 1940. Unfortunately, this narrow "Westernized" image of what was perceived to be beautiful caused many Japanese women serious injury and even death. 

It is vital to be informed where beauty practices originate from. It is also important to ensure that narrow focused views of beauty in the media are challenged. Beauty should be subjective and to each their own. We are all beautiful regardless!

This week research something that you use to "improve" your appearance. Razors, hair dye, make-up, hair straighteners and etc.

Post what you have learned in the comment section. We are interested to hear your responses. 

People truly do come in all shapes and sizes. Take care of yourself and remember that you are enough. Tune out those ads that are primarily focused at making you feel bad about yourself and selling you a product. Do not be passive. An educated society is an empowered one.

001. Choose Organic!

Change your habit. Your favorite food can also be organic. 

Why Organic?


Our food supply is largely controlled by organizations that have their personal interests in mind, rather than the interests of the consumer. Advances in biotechnology have allowed massive quantities of food to be produced efficiently, however there are significant health risks that are equated with consuming the unnatural products that make this mass production possible. This week we offer a simple way to demand healthy food products that can bring change to the food that is sold. In the end, we are the consumers and have a right to food that isn't filled with pesticides and hormones. 


It may be unrealistic for all individuals to start buying organic products because it can be expensive. Other times it may be difficult to break the habit of which items we choose to purchase, regularly. Through marketing we've fallen victim to brand loyalty. Therefore, we must propose a small task that will make a big difference in the long run.


Starting this week, make a commitment to purchase and consume only organic insert product here. It may be milk, apples, cucumbers, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. Organic products have become more popular in recent years, and they are more available at the local grocery store and farmer's market. Each time you purchase an organic product, imagine that you are voting for the items you want the store to continue carrying. If the company notices a surge in organic milk consumption, they will stock it more frequently. The grocery store is a business and every business wants to make a profit. Be careful, because not all items that say "Organic" on the label are actually 100% organic. According to www.organic.org, "The USDA has identified for three categories of labeling organic products: 100% Organic: Made with 100% organic ingredients, Organic: Made with at least 95% organic ingredients, Made With Organic Ingredients: Made with a minimum of 70% organic ingredients with strict restrictions on the remaining 30% including no GMOs (genetically modified organisms)." Take a few moments to read the label on the item that you are about to purchase. We definitely encourage you to shop at farmer's markets for locally grown products, which we will explain more thoroughly in the future.


By starting small and becoming loyal to buying one organic product, you are exercising your right to pesticide and hormone free food! Hopefully this small act will help you prove to yourself and those around you that we all deserve access to healthy and affordable food. The change from non-organic to organic foods will give us healthier products in our future!


We would love to hear what organic products (if any) that you're already using. Feel free to share ideas!