One of the biggest contributors to rainforest destruction is palm oil. This is closely followed by coffee plantations, cacao for chocolate, and eventually our methods for producing food including both, plant and animal agriculture. I strongly believe that we consumers must be aware of what we buy and how it is made. In our modern societies, we have been disconnected from the process of manufacturing. The food we need is ready for purchasing in the supermarket aisles and all we have to do is put it in our trolleys and pay for it at the cash register. We lack awareness of how the food was made, where it was made, who was responsible for it, and most importantly, the negative consequences of its manufacturing. In indigenous hunter gatherer societies, the people hunted and foraged their own food so they truly knew what it did for them and the environment. We have shifted the responsibility for foraging or growing our own food to other people (companies included) who we do not know. While I am not suggesting we have to revert back to those ways, we should certainly learn from the practices of hunter-gatherers and be more aware of the impacts of our food. Another extremely important aspect of the food we buy is what it does to our bodies and how it affects our health on all levels. It is extremely important that we learn where our food is coming from and what harm or good it can do to our health. Ultimately, what we do to ourselves, we do to the world. I highly recommend buying local grown food or trying to forage some plants as its not only beneficial to the environment but also greatly more beneficial to our health. If you are healthy, you can help yourself and those around you. 

Reduced food waste is one of the top 10 solutions to global warming.
This is why I decided to contribute by joining a non-profit global organization, Refood, where I've been a member for almost one year now - so much energy, teamwork and fun.
How this initiative works? as a practical tool to eliminate food waste and hunger in local communities – while steadily strengthening local social bonds.

"How do we find our way back to a world interrelated and interconnected, whose priority is to thrive and evolve?

What kind of belief systems are emerging now that reinforce and contribute to a world increasingly disconnected from nature?
And what about the belief -my belief- in all that is wild?

I return to the wilderness to remember what I have forgotten, that the world can be wholesome and beautiful, that the harmony and integrity of ecosystems at peace is a mirror to what we have lost."
-Terry Tempest Williams

I adore the invitations of Ms. Williams words, for us to seek the kinds of belief systems that are emerging that reinforce our awareness of how interconnected we all are, and that it is our interconnectedness and relationship with nature that is key to our collective thriving and evolution.

I truly believe the work of Project Drawdown and NWEI are examples of one of these belief system shifts, and I can see and feel the power of an ever-deepening commitment to the relationship between humans and nature. 
What an astonishing thing is is to pause and acknowledge the "harmony and integrity of ecosystems at peace," and to hold their example as a horizon for humanity to strive toward.

These past two weeks have been a bit of a blur as redeye travel schedules mixed with long days of work that continues to stretch me inwardly and outwardly.
Along the way I've kept my commitments to my drawdown ecochallenge and with those commitments I feel my roots drawn deeper still in this belief that humans have a wild capacity for creativity and evolutionary development.
There is so much we must do. And there is so much we can do. Every single day, every single decision, it all is supporting the forward momentum of our species as we move toward the beckoning horizon.
And I don't know about you, but the horizon I'm walking toward is laced with the silhouettes of old growth forests that have been silently supporting us all along our journey, for centuries. 
These, among so many others in our natural world, are wise companions I wish to continue learning from, for centuries to come.

I enjoyed learning more about silvopasture and the huge impact this one solution can have. It made me realize what a massive opportunity we have here in Chile to support more progressive land management practices and try to stop the parceling and selling off of pasturelands that currently have a wide diversity of native trees growing in them. I've recently been asked to act as a director on the board of a land preservation project here, and I'm really excited because the land is an ideal silvopasture project. Looking forward to continuing to support this important solution!!

wow, this is very cool to learn all of the additional things that can be done, besides all the things i do already.  i thought i was being fairly ecologically responsible and probably have been (relatively speaking), and so it's great to learn of all these other important actions.  love the learning process and the "un" learning process!

This post is related to my commitment to cut more food out of my diet that is contributing to the destruction of tropical forests.

I'm traveling between countries today and as I was cruising through the airport I thought I'd check on some of the snacks to see if anything surprised me related to packaged food and palm oil. One big surprise was to discover ginger throat drops that were using palm oil

I also checked out a few Justin's products because I remember hearing a little bit about this brand and noticed the peanut butter cups were organic. Upon closer review, I found that they were using palm oil, but for the peanut butter cups say "sustainably sourced palm oil"

Whereas in their other product that was sold next to it- organic banana chips and peanut butter, the peanut butter has regular palm oil.

I work in the world of global supply chains, so I know how long it can take to phase out an ingredient that is coming from an unsustainable place or has critical issues- it takes time and commitment and companies need to be encouraged in their journey.  However, I think this is a great example of why we have to look at every ingredient label- even if it is a product of a brand that sells some things without palm oil or from "sustainably sourced palm oil". Don't take for granted that a brand has their entire supply chain following the same strategy or protocol for every product, and when you notice variance write them and ask for more transparency about their journey and their dedication to ethical and sustainable sourcing strategy. 

As I was spending time learning about our need to phase out HFC refrigerants and responsibly dispose of our air conditioners and refrigerators, I had two big things come up: 
1. I'm so happy that I don't own an air conditioner and I intend to never buy one/install one in my house (fan-power and natural home building techniques all the way!)
2. I have no idea how to responsibly dispose of my refrigerator here in Chile! And I don't even know where to look. My first go to was Google, but there weren't really many helpful options there. So I'll be having to do a lot more local research here to see how the system works. In my research I was also surprised to see how inconvenient it seemed to be to responsibly dispose of refrigerators and air conditioners- you really have to dig to find who will handle it locally and responsibly, even if you live in the USA.

Has anyone found a good resource or perhaps an App that's been developed to make this process easier? It would be awesome if this process was super easy and streamlined, then I could see a lot of people taking individual action and owning up to their responsibility for proper disposal. If it's not simple and straightforward, I feel like people are more likely to just send them off to the dump...

Would love to hear if anyone else has come across solutions for making responsible disposal more available and widespread!