Cherry Bombe, an indy magazine and radio show that celebrates women and food, hosted their first west coast jubilee conference in San Francisco last Saturday, October 14th.

The sold-out event was hosted within the gorgeous grounds of The Palace of Fine Arts. Highlights included conscious food and drink from local and sustainable purveyors, networking opportunities, and a plethora of female talent in the form of panels, speakers, and attendees. Although fun and engaging, the conference did not gloss over the looming political and environmental issues at large. The raging wildfires in California, appropriation, sustainability, and female activism were all addressed at length. Yes, the conference was inspiring. And yes, it was fun, dynamic, and pink. But most importantly, the Cherry Bombe Jubilee was unapologetically relevant.

The morning began with an hour of light-hearted networking and nibbling. Upon receiving their pink wristband and hot pink envelope upon check-in, attendees were free to graze the breakfast stations. Options included fresh fruit from Imperfect Produce, an array of bread options from La Brea Bakery with various accoutrements provided by local businesses, mini bread puddings from Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement, and a selection of Kite Hill non-dairy hors d’oeuvres, such as “cream cheese” cucumber canapes and “yogurt” parfaits. San Francisco favorite, Nightbird, also provided elaborate mini toasts topped with scrambled egg, lardo, green sauce, and caviar. An endless supply of La Croix, Health-Ade Kombucha, Smith Teamaker tea, and Counter Culture Coffee espresso drinks and drip coffee kept everyone energized and hydrated.

Fully satiated, the guests made their way to their seats. Cherry Bombe co-founder Kerry Diamond and Claudia Wu welcomed everyone and immediately brought the room’s attention to the devastating fires. “We’re sorry,” Diamond apologized for every attendee who was effected by this natural disaster. “It is a miracle this happened,” she continued. The point is, the conference happened. It was not canceled or delayed due to unpredictable circumstances. This was a running theme throughout the day. Although we may despair about our current challenges, many of which are out of our control, we must adapt and face the situation. Shakirah Simley’s opening remarks reinforced this can-do attitude. “We cannot be paralyzed,” she cautioned. “We need to turn our anger into action.”

Following these sobering words, Lisa Q. Fetterman, the founder and CEO of the first home sous vide machine (Namiku), lightened the mood by introducing the first panel, yelling “This panel is going to be off the chain!” Her bombastic energy provided some much-needed lightness to the serious panel discussion, based around assimilation, appropriation, and affirmation of cultural and ethnic cuisine. Panelists spoke to the controversy surrounding ownership and representation of their cultural dishes, as much of “ethnic cuisine” is still dominated and often bastardized by white male chefs. The conversation popped with various opinions from the panelists, but one thing is clear: they all take pride in their work and their heritage. You can bet that Dominica Rice-Cisneros of Oakland-based Cosecha will never serve you a hardshell crunchy taco.

Next up, a practical presentation by Mandy Aftel, a perfumist, on how to smell. “Eighty percent of taste is smell…nature is the original flavorist,” Mandy informed the audience. She advised everyone to shop with their nose by tearing leafs and digging their nails into their produce to assess the aroma of each food. “I want you to rip things apart!” Admittedly, she advised to use discretion when doing this at your local grocery store, but the flavor is worth the risk of being admonished by the produce stocker. 

The morning portion of the conference concluded with a diverse panel on “What We’re Hungry For,” introduced by the president of William Sonoma, Janet Hayes. Panelists ranged from prominent bloggers, to a second generation farmer, to an Instagram executive. The women discussed the influence of technology in their world, both its benefits and pitfalls. They also seriously considered the prominence of food. The consensus: it is not just food. Food can be healing, in the case with Danielle Walker, who used it to treat her autoimmune disease and later launch her blog, but it can also be destructive in the case of body dysmorphia. Food is identity. Food is culture. Food is social. It is a comfort, a passion, and way to earn a living. To lighten the mood and prepare everyone for lunch, the moderator asked the panelists’ about their go-to comfort foods. The answers were as unique as the discussion: winter squash, baked goods, steamed dumplings, red wine, milk chocolate, and white bread with mayo.

Lunch offered an hour and a half respite to mingle, refuel, and enjoy the seventy-six degree weather upon the lush grasses and cascading columns of The Palace grounds. Guests were treated to boxed lunches prepared by Tender Greens, with options for every diet. Smitten Ice Cream was also churning up fresh stracciatella ice cream in collaboration with Guittard chocolate, and William Sonoma offered a sweet ending with their famous chocolate cherry bark.

Karen Leibowitz kicked off the afternoon session with a talk on sustainability. Leibowitz is known for her many environmentally friendly Bay Area restaurants, such as The Perennial, as well as her work in regenerative agriculture. “Restaurants have a responsibility,” she said. She encouraged individuals to take action as well, even though the issue of climate change may seem too daunting to tackle. Through smart individual choices and business practices, Leibowitz believes there is hope to change our environment for the better.

The conference complimented Leibowitz’s initiatives, as Cherry Bombe made a massive effort to cut down on as much waste as possible. Attendees were encouraged to bring reusable water bottles and utilize the FloWater filling station, all the serving ware was recyclable or compostable, Food Runners picked up the excess food to distribute it to local shelters, and Madewell collected attendee’s old jeans for their Blue Jeans Go Green program, which transforms old denim into new housing insulation.

Amanda Klute, Editor in Chief of Eater, roused the audience with her State of the State address, in which she outlined the gender gap that still exists in the culinary world. Again, she stressed action. We cannot be complacent, waiting for someone to take notice. We must say no to “female only” categories, and we must fight to be included. Its not based on filling a “female quota,” its based on equal recognition for equal talent. Because women are rocking the culinary industry just as hard as the men.

The final two programs, a panel of Bay Area restauranteurs and the keynote by the legendary Alice Waters, focused on hospitality and conscious consumerism. Among the panel were Dominique Crenn of Atelier, Traci Des Jardins of Jardiniere, Emily Luchetti of Big Night Restaurant Group, Elisabeth Pruitt of Tartine, Gabriela Camara of Cala, and Joyce Goldstein (author, former chef and restauranteur). The panelists spoke to a restaurant’s role in providing for the community. They create a home away from home; they create traditions and memories. The concept of restaurant responsibility was another recurring topic. These women not only practice ethical sourcing of their ingredients, they also feel it is their responsibility to create opportunity for their employees by providing a livable wage and reasonable hours. In essence, we must be stewards of the environment and our fellow human beings.

Alice Waters, the renowned chef who embraced the “farm to table” concept in the 1970s with her landmark restaurant, Chez Panisse, echoed the major themes of the day. Waters’ accomplishments far exceed her talents in the kitchen; she is a true food activist. Despite her small stature and composed demeanor, the audience was raptured by her words and her presence. She inspired the audience with the idea of consumer power. We need to buy with intention. In doing so, we can support our local businesses and farmers while simultaneously rejecting the waste and shameful practices of the big-box supermarkets. She also spoke to the importance of food education in schools. When asked about her legacy, she said she wanted to create a system in which every child was provided a free, sustainably sourced, and nutritionally balanced school lunch. Somewhat in jest, she concluded in stating she would like nothing more than to gut all the Whole Foods and turn them into year-round farmers markets.

After the final remarks were made by Diamond and Wu, guests and speakers were free to enjoy happy hour. The social event was exquisitely curated to include thoughtful food and drink collaborations by the Bay Area’s best. Guests left contented with their signed copies of the pink “Cherry Bombe Cookbook” in hand. However, this conference was so much more than just tasty bites and pink-accented goody bags. Food was once a form of escape; for many it still is. But this is not the Cherry Bombe way. Food is a gateway to activism. Food touches every aspect of our lives, and in such, we can harness it to incite change. Through food, we can light a fire, and Cherry Bombe has ignited the fuse.

Find Tanya on Instagram and The Vegan Potluck Podcast. 

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Apps for navigating the complicated world of conscious consumption.

When I vowed to become a more conscious consumer last New Year’s Eve, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Measuring the impact of your purchases can be a hefty task, between considering environmental impact, ethical manufacturing, animal cruelty, anti-trafficking practices, carbon footprints… it’s enough to make you reject shopping for good. But neither is the “Buy Less” philosophy a perfect one, and even the most ardent minimalists need to buy necessities like soap and toothpaste from time to time (we hope). These iPhone and Android apps can help you put your dollar where your values are.

GoodGuide

By scanning a product’s bar code, the popular GoodGuide app lets you instantly access health, environmental, and social performance ratings for over 120,000 food, personal care, and household products. The app also provides customized product recommendations and lets you create your own personal shopping lists.

Available for iPhone and Android for free.

Fair Trade Finder

Discover and share fair trade products with the Fair Trade Finder app from Fair Trade USA, which relies on crowd-sourcing to spotlight fairly traded items available in local shops.

Available for iPhone and Android for free.

Green Globe App

Travelers can locate sustainable hotels, resorts, attractions, cruise lines, tour operators, and other sustainable tourism projects that have received the Green Globe stamp of approval through the Green Globe App.

Available for iPhone for free.

Cruelty-Free

Find products that haven’t been tested on animals with the Cruelty-Free app, which pulls from a database of companies approved by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics’ Leaping Bunny Program.

Available for iPhone and Android for free. 

Free2Work

Created by anti-trafficking organization Not For Sale and supported by the International Labor Rights Forum, the Free2Work app lets you instantly see how different products and brands relate to trafficking and forced labor with rankings on a scale from A to F.

Available for iPhone and Android for free.

Closet Swap

“Don’t shop – swap!” proclaims the Closet Swap app, which facilitates clothing swaps by letting you snap pictures of items that have been sitting in your closet and share them with friends.

Available for iPhone for free.

Thrift Buddy

If your ethical shopping strategy includes thrifting, the Thrift Buddy app can help you locate thrift and vintage stores in your area from a database of more than 10,000 spots.

Available for iPhone for free.

The Good Shopping Guide

Drawing from the popular print Good Shopping Guides from the U.K.-based Ethical Company Organisation, the Good Shopping Guide app lets you compare more than 700 brands across seven categories: Food & Drink, Health & Beauty, Travel, Energy, Fashion, Home & Office, and Money. Summary tables display the good, bad, and ugly within each product category.

Available for iPhone for £2.99 (around $4.75).

ALSO CHECK OUT:

6 Apps for Reducing Your Carbon Footprint

7 Apps to Help You Eat Better

21 Apps for Inspiring and Optimizing Your Home

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In Britain, the amount of yearly food waste can fill London’s Wembley Stadium.

Here’s something humiliating.

I’m a Brit. (That’s not the humiliating bit. Bear with me). We’re so careless with our groceries that we throw away around a third of them each year – at a total cost of $20 billion. Appalling, dreadful and…unreal. Yes, that’s the word. Look at that figure: $20 billion. Try to imagine it for a second, there in the room with you. Bet you can’t. I’ll bet even the Donald would struggle with it. It’s an abstraction that means nothing except to economists and…well, that’s about it.

What’s so may-the-ground-swallow-me-up humilating is this: the people of WRAP’s Love Food Hate Waste campaign just made that number real. In a number of events across the north of England over the last six months, they’ve  taken the amount of food the average British household tosses away in one year, cooked it up, and fed it to 1,000 hungry students. Of course, even students would draw the line at eating that banana I threw away in January, so this food was donated by regional food distribution charities like Food Aware and Real Aid, and the chosen menu focused on big, hearty dishes like vegetable curry and rhubarb crumble. Think Jamie’s School Dinners and you’d also bag the educational side of it – each event featured demonstrations on ways to turn limp leftovers into full-flavored feasts.

Back to $20 billion. How much food is that? Well, you can’t fit it into one room. In fact, you’ll need to fill London’s Wembley Stadium.

…8 times.

That’s a lot of food.

Images: Cushdy, mhaller1979.

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There’s something simple about Saturday mornings. The weekly formula that includes tea, NPR and a ride downtown to go to farmers’ market. The weekly morning excursion is a shopping experience cut down to the basic essentials: run through the mental list of what I need, track down the stand that sells it, take one walk around the stands just to people watch, and then get back on my bike and ride home. There’s no list required. Just a hassle-free and low stress outing that not only ensures that I eat well for the next few days, but also happens to be one of my favorite parts of the week. Unlike trekking the the grocery store, farmers’ market outings never feel like a chore.

But why? Is it just the fact that I’m assured organic, local produce, handed to me by the farmer that grew it? That certainly plays a role. But when I take time to think about it, it’s because I’m not overwhelmed. I know what I want, and I know where to get it. And if I don’t know what I want, I’m subject to an onslaught of flashy, shiny marketing to get me to buy a product. Broccoli is broccoli, apples are apples, and goat cheese is straight up, 100 percent goat cheese. No preservatives, no additives, no fancy packaging, just plain old regular food.

Fortune recently published a story giving an in-depth look at one of the hottest food stores of our time: Trader Joe’s. We all know how popular this California-based grocer has become, in fact its rise to fame is fascinating, but how many of us take time to think about why we like it? One of the reasons is the same reason that I’m personally drawn to farmers’ market: simplicity.

Your average grocery store carries 50,000 items, while Trader Joe’s only has 4,000. To the untrained eye, that looks like limited selection – something that our Western brains have been trained to avoid. In our consumer culture, we’ve long been taught that bigger is better. But our brains know better. “People are worried they’ll regret the choice they made,” Barry Schwartz, a Swarthmore professor and author of The Paradox of Choice, is quoted in the article. “People don’t want to feel they made a mistake.” Turns out that people have actually been proven to enjoy purchases more when there are less options to choose from.

Which brings us back to the foodie movement: size does matter, and in a world of conscious gourmands, less is more. Shopping at big-box stores might sound appealing because no matter what we need, it’s probably there, but ultimately this initial appeal is an illusion. Numerous choices are a byproduct of a system run by cheap fossil fuels. Want 10 kinds of rice noodles imported from Southeast Asia? No problem! In the mood for ice cream? Make sure you’re ready to choose from the multitude of options, many of which have ingredients whose number practically exceeds the number of pints in the store freezer.

Food shopping in the form of farmers’ markets, CSAs and other smaller, localized operations may “limit” what we’re able to put on the dinner table – you won’t be cooking up winter squash in May – but we know what we’re getting is healthy and our brains are happy that we avoid launching into a never-ending path of dinner options, which in turn actually isn’t so limiting after all.

In fact, it’s liberating.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground. Each week, Anna will be taking a look at something new and different that’s taking place in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to culinary avant garde.

Image: iboy_daniel

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Many moons ago I wrote about an eco-conscious baby product company by the name of ZoLi. Now that I have a little baby of my own I’ve had a chance to try out some of ZoLi’s products and promises, and let me tell you, they deliver.

Health-conscious parents will be happy to know that all ZoLi products are BPA and phthalate-free.  (No endocrine disruptors leaching out of the plastic and into your baby’s body.) And their philosophy extends to their recycled paper and soy ink packaging.

But beyond all that, ZoLi’s products are just plain good.

The Baby Ohm ($20, above) is a light, portable, easy-to-clean diaper-changing mat that’s like a little yoga mat for baby. It’s more attractive than any of the other diaper mats I’ve seen and best of all there’s no off-gassing plastic smell to make diaper changing any stinkier than it needs to be.

For teething babies, the Munch teether ($5) is just lovely. The soft, textured silicone seems so much more pleasant to chew on than hard plastic, and it’s non-toxic (free of nitrosamine and PVC).

Parents looking for safe plastic bottles, ZoLi’s BPA and phthalate-free bottles and silicone anti-colic nipples are just what you need. And although my baby is many months away from eating solid foods, I’ve already used the pretty colored stackable snack dispenser ($15) to stow away nuts, sliced strawberries and other little snacks for myself.

Three cheers to ZoLi, a company created by eco-conscious parents, making our world a better place for babies, one product at a time.

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Fruit and vegetables are under a lot of pressure these days. It’s not just about taste, or how and where they’re grown – they have to be glamorous as well.

Late last year, I was horrified to find that the European Union was scrapping laws on the precise measurements of 26 types of fruit and vegetable. What horrified me was that there were laws to scrap. It seems that years ago, strict guidelines were laid down prohibiting the sale of foodstuffs that don’t reflect a standardized shape – as if Nature should conform to some edible version of the International System Of Units. A banana like a question mark? Offensive and vile. A carrot with an extra leg? My eyes, my eyes! And so on.

If these foodstuffs didn’t measure up – they were officially deemed unfit for sale. This amounted to an estimated 20% of the British harvest that couldn’t be sold (as if it didn’t have enough problems already), driving food prices even higher. No sale? It gets thrown away (oh good, we are pleased). Outcry? You bet – from producers and customers alike, after fiascoes like retailer J Sainsbury being told it couldn’t sell forked carrots relabeled as “witch’s fingers” for Halloween. Sorry, kiddies, off you pop – Europe has spoken.

So this ludicrous system is being ditched on July 1st, and good riddance. But is this worrying trend going to go away? Are we going to start obsessing over how our food looks before it’s cooked? It’s a fact that science is learning the genetic mechanisms that determine food-shape; at the moment, tomatoes are under the spotlight. We could be years away from the commercial version of beauty contests – but for now, from July 1st, I’ll be aiming for the wonkiest, lumpiest fruit and vegetables I can find. No matter what Eurocrats might think, they’re the real shape of things to come.

Image: Brettf

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When Guayaki stepped up and claimed that they are now offering the world’s first Fair Trade Certified yerba mate’, I thought “Really? Are they really the first?” With so many mate’ brands out there, I thought surely there must be others. But after Googling around a bit, it seems that yes, indeed, Guayaki is it.

Your first question perhaps: What is yerba mate? It’s Argentina’s national tea and comes from a shrub, actually a relative of holly, that grows in subtropical South America. Yerba Mate and Argentina’s social culture are tightly intertwined – you’ll almost never see a group hanging around without simultaneously passing around a gourd.

And your second question: What is Fair Trade? It’s a global certification which ensures that all the workers (the South American mate’ farmers, for example) are treated humanely and paid a living wage. It also ensures there’s no child labor and no toxic chemical exposure for the workers involved. Fair Trade Certification is a positive way to make sure that everybody involved in a business wins.

Images: Guayaki.

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There’s green action. Then there’s green soul. You can change your light bulbs, recycle and buy organic. Or you can choose to be green – living with consciousness and integrity – deep in your very core.

The book Most Good, Least Harm explores this difference, which the author, Zoe Weil, dubs MOGO. She urges readers to investigate their actions and impact in order to live and create a life that works for the highest good. In her own words:

This is not a how-to book with prescribed choices for doing the most good and least harm. It is, instead, a call to define for yourself your deepest values and to live accordingly.

But the author also takes into account the conflicts this can cause. For example, she used a computer to write her book and educate about MOGO, but is aware of the toxic chemicals used in computer production. She promotes critical thinking for all of us to address these challenges in our everyday lives and, after analyzing the situation, work for the highest good.

The seven keys to MOGO are:
Live your Epitaph
Pursue Joy through Service
Make Connections and Self-Reflect
Model Your Message and Work for Change
Find and Create Community
Take Responsibility
Strive for Balance

For those who could use some down-to-earth guidance beyond the rhetoric, a helpful questionnaire and action plan is included, plus pages of detailed information and a list of online resources to help you on your way.

Living your epitaph – it puts things in a diffferent perspective, doesn’t it? Clearly, creating a life of the highest integrity requires a great deal of introspection and the changes required can seem intimidating. But the author is not asking for overnight change; rather, she seeks to inspire us to think and act from a higher place and make the changes we feel we need to make, at our own pace and one at a time. MOGO is a process, and it’s one we urgently need.

Author Zoe Weil

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Blake Mycoskie, founder of Tom’s shoes in Venice, CA, and a former contestant on The Amazing Race, gives away a pair of shoes for every pair his company sells. He’s now donated over 115,000 pairs through a series of Shoe-Drop tours around the world.

Why?

To give children the opportunity to wear shoes through his One For One program of course, but also because an explosive trend in conscious consumerism is upon us. We want to know who we’re buying from, the size of their carbon footprint and yes, if the people who made it were paid a reasonable amount to do the work.

Giving product and money to causes is part of the new distribution of designer wealth and it’s what’s we want to see. Designers big and small see the benefits of this.

EDUN founders, Bono of U2 and Ali Hewson founded their company in 2005 featuring organic clothing, graphic tees and eco-clothing with a mission to drive sustainable employment in developing economies.

Other designers like Betsey Johnson, Iman, Tory Burch and Nicole Miller have done everything from support the environment to donate to AIDS awareness, breast cancer research and school nutrition programs.

Maybe they do it because they realize how good it feels to give.

Maybe they do it because the numbers add up better if they do it, but maybe, just maybe they do it so that when their kids ask them in ten years: “Mommy, what did you do to help the world?”

Mommy can then look them straight in the eye and say, “A lot.”

Image: Garry Knight

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