If you need more signs that the movement against plastic is gaining traction, look no further than last month’s World Petrochemical Conference. Some of the planet’s largest plastic chemical manufacturers gather in Texas every year to discuss advances in technology and industry trends. Last year’s WPC theme was about “cresting the wave” and prospering in… ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸

We come in contact with them every day of our lives. Wedged into wallets, they chronicle the highs and lows of our retail therapy, our mid-afternoon mocha binges and the daily tab for being human in a consumer economy. Turns out common thermal receipts also deliver a dose of estrogen-mimicking chemicals, which is thrusting the… ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸

At a bustling restaurant in downtown Toronto, rumour has it Silicon Valley’s hottest innovation is here somewhere. Not the latest smartphone wedged to a diner’s ear two tables over, but a heaving burger, served up with pickles and special sauce, according the specials board. So, what does this burger do that makes Bill Gates and… ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸

By all historical accounts, I should really be a grocer. Both my dad’s dad and my mom’s maternal grandparents owned grocery stores in Montreal back in the day. One in the French Canadian neighbourhood of Rosemont, one a Greek import “emporium”, as my aunt Babs proudly calls it, on lower St. Laurent. That was before… ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸

Unlike store-bought nut milk, the homemade stuff tastes like dreams. And it’s got no wasteful packaging, no weird fillers, no carrageenan and… ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸

We’ve all had plenty of foods die a slow death in our fridge. But it’s not just us. Up to half the food we produce in the West is trashed on fields, in store dumpsters and household bins. Time for some fresh tricks, tips and apps to help us get a grip. FOODFUL.LY How many times have… ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸

What do your gym shorts, cat food and oil tankers have in common? They’re all making a mess of the planet’s life-sustaining oceans. Here’s how you can do your part at the grocery store, in your laundry room and when tweeting your MP to prevent rampant overfishing, oil spills, microplastics and climate change. ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸

Mark your calendars – 2016 isn’t just bound to be the hottest year on record, it’s also cooking up all sorts of (mostly) planet-friendly ideas Goodbye, paleo diet; hello, climatarians and reducetarians The New York Times recently talked up “climatarian” as a top new food term to describe anyone whose prime dietary goal is reversing… ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸

I didn’t grow up in a canning family. My mom is an awesome home cook but just didn’t get that canning ‘n preserving gene, even though her dad came from a farm family of 18 – yes, 18 –  kids in Ste. Justine, Quebec, one that no doubt survived on lots of farm-canned goods. Her sister,… ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸

Back when I was a kid we ate a lot of canned food. Loved me some Chef Boyardee or Zoodles for lunch, maybe a small tin of syrupy fruit for dessert. Seemed delicious at the time. My mom’s a great cook, but this was before much of my family found religion in a health food store… ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸

I’ve often joked that I’m on the high carb, low protein diet. People tend to respond with confused looks, inquiring about the exact name of the diet I’ve adopted. Really, I just like bread and pasta and don’t eat meat. Though these days, I do try harder to sneak in more protein, and often supplement all my carb-loving with a… ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸

You know that deep love of cooking that drives people onto shows like Master Chef or even just to their kitchen to make 3 hour long chilli? Yeah, I don’t have that. I’m a decent cook. I make a mean salad and can whip up healthy, homemade dinners in, oh, 20 minutes, but I’ve always left the heavy-lifting… ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸

I hate it when healthy things turn out to be tainted with not so healthy things. Take arsenic in rice. We first heard about rice being contaminated with arsenic a few years ago, but there’s new data out this month and it ain’t exactly consoling. First, a UK investigative TV show teamed up with a university there… ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸

There are times in life when I say there’s absolutely nothing wrong with burying your head in the sand. Like mid way through August when everyone’s talking about the imminent arrival of fall and you’re all, ‘Hold up, people, I’m trying to enjoy every last minute of this blissful season!’ In honour of all those… ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸

This column first appeared in the Mother’s Day issue of Ecoholic in NOW Magazine. Let’s get straight to it… NON-STICK First the good news: Teflon, the most famous of the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) non-stick coatings, is now being manufactured without the notoriously persistent, suspected human carcinogen PFOA, as the result of U.S. government pressure. However, critics… ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸

My grandfather Nick was what you’d call a Black Sea Greek. In fact, he was a Greek born and raised in Crimea, from another messy time in history – the years leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917. My family fled after my great-grandfather was shot for being on the losing side. By the… ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸

Have you ever blinked and missed a few weeks of your digital life? Somewhere between January and now, well, I fell off the blog train. Did I hit my head on the way down and find nirvana, lined, inexplicably, with chocolate and cough syrup? No, but I did get to spend some time with a… ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸

With the festive season in full swing, most of us are, let’s just say, enjoying holiday spirits a little more enthusiastically. Whether you’re sharing a hostess gift or stocking your wine rack for your own celebrations, be sure to check out the Ecoholic wine guide, with a ranking of five of the most popular along… ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸

All it took was one beak trimming scene at a hatchery in the movie Baraka to turn me off eating chickens two decades ago. Now 20 years later, I realize the egg business isn’t all it’s cracked up to be either. Vegetarians still eat eggs, since technically they’re not eating meat, but in doing my guide to eggs in the last issue of… ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸

I’m a farmers’ market ho. I feel like I hit up different veggie stands nearly every day of the week thanks to the explosion of local farmers markets in this town. Of course, all my trolipping around (or should I say turniping) will soon be coming to an abrupt end by month’s end. Every year… ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸

Wedged up in the dark corners of my kitchen, I have colonies multiplying. Not armies of ants or mice, but some sort of offshoot ancient culture of microscopic “mothers.” At least I’m trying to make what’s called mother, I think. Deciphering the code of food-preservation-speak is actually the hard part. Inviting bacteria to ferment and… ◂ReadPreviousNext Post▸