what would buddha do?

I've been a vegetarian since I was 7 years old, but I never thought of vegetarianism (or veganism) as an environmental issue. I just didn't like the thought of eating cute little cows and chickens. But I've recently become aware (partly thanks to a recent NY Times article called "Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler") of how much energy and space is required to raise animals for meat, and what terrible effects this has on the environment.

The United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that one fifth of the world's greenhouse gases are the result of livestock production (making it a larger contributor to climate change than transportation). The world’s total meat supply was 71 million tons in 1961. In 2007, it was estimated to be 284 million tons. Nevermind the ethical issues related to raising animals in order to kill and eat them, but there just isn't enough land to support our planet's hamburger habit. Livestock production leads to deforestation (just in the past five months, 1,250 square miles of rainforest in Brazil were lost to livestock production) - both to raise the livestock and to produce the feed for the livestock.

But what if we decided we could do without the meat, or, at least, eat less of it? Even if you switch one meat meal for a vegetarian meal every week, that's a big difference. The National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Japan estimated that 2.2 pounds of beef is responsible for the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the average European car every 155 miles, and burns enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for nearly 20 days.

So here's my meat substitution suggestion for those of you living in Tel Aviv: Buddha Burgers. Delicious, "meaty", and totally guilt free. This vegan burger place has two branches - one on 21 Yehuda Halevi (which is bigger and has more seating room) and one on 86 Ibn Gvirol. Along with a variety of vegan burgers, Buddha Burgers offers healthy juice drinks, salads, and vegan desserts. Who said trading in your ground beef burger had to be a sacrifice?

the incredible bulk

Hulk, bulk, shmulk. He's green, so it sort of counts. And he rhymes, too.

In an attempt to reduce the amounts of garbage that my food consumption generates, I've started buying as many of my dry foods in bulk as possible. Not only does this reduce the packaging (and garbage) associated with the food I eat, but it also means that the energy used to get my food to me (such as the gas used to transport the food) is more efficient. It is much more efficient for a truck (or van, or whatever) to transport large bulk bags of a product as opposed to a much lesser quantity of individually packaged products. Plus, since it is much more efficient means of food supply, it is way cheaper to buy food in bulk.

If you live in Tel Aviv, then your average AM:PM definitely won't have a bulk food section. But if you go to some of the health food stores that are all over Tel Aviv, it's easy to find a wide variety of foods offered in bulk. My favorite is Nitsat Haduvdevan at 58 Ibn Gvirol. They have a really big selection, and the products that I get there in bulk are always a fraction of the price of their packaged counterpart. Their bulk products range from grains to dehydrated vegetables, to all kinds of flour, legumes, nuts, and dried fruits. Teva Castel, which has stores all over Tel Aviv (including a really nice new one on the corner of Dizengoff and Frishman), also has a big bulk selection that includes spice blends and granola. The Organic Market at 59 Sheinkin Street has a small bulk foods section, but they offer organic bulk products. It's definitely the yuppiest store of all three.

Buying in bulk means you need to figure out your own means of packaging the food, though. I keep a bunch of reused plastic bags for buying bulk foods in my bag so that I have them whenever I want to go shopping. Then I transfer the food into reused glass jars and containers when I get home so that I can reuse the plastic bag instead of consuming another one the next time. A little fanatic, but plastic is bad.

recycled toilet paper (it's not what you think)

I promise you, it's definitely not what you think. I'm not going to go into what it is you might think recycled toilet paper may be... but trust me, it's not that. Emphasis on the recycled paper and not on the recycled toilet paper.

Toilet paper is a product we use constantly, and most brands are made from virgin paper. Meaning, lots of trees are cut down so that we can use toilet paper. If you calculate how many trees that means for your own personal consumption, I don't know the math, but it's gotta be up there. And it could be easily avoided.

Shmurat Teva (שמורת טבע) toilet paper, which is available in most supermarkets, is made of quality paper fibers that were specifically sorted and collected for the purpose of making toilet paper. Although it comes in plastic packaging (for packages of 32 rolls), the company emphasizes that the minimal plastic wrap can be recycled. I made the switch about a month ago, and can't really tell the difference (except for that it doesn't smell like pineapples or roses like some other brands of toilet paper which, frankly, I think is a very good thing). And it's definitely not gross... if the whole "recycled toilet paper" thing still freaks you out. I promise.

brita is brighter

In some parts of the country (like Kiryat Shemona), the tap water is tastier and healthier than bottled water. I live in Tel Aviv. And that is definitely not the case here. But I am not going to resort to drinking bottled water and consuming countless plastic bottles. Yes, the bottles can be recycled, but that's still a huge amount of plastic on a regular basis that I'd rather avoid. Think about it this way: if you consume one 1.5 liter bottle of water a day, that adds up to 31 bottles a month as opposed to the one Brita filter you'd use over the same period of time. That's why I have a Brita filter and pitcher (and no, I'm not working on commission to help them promote their filters).

The filter itself is made of plastic, though, so a couple of months ago I called the Brita offices in Israel to find out if they are part of the Brita company's recycling program in Europe. I finally got to speak to a very nice woman called Ilanit who told me that they were starting to recycle filters in Israel and that I could collect a few of my used filters and somehow get them to her (she suggested a few different methods of doing this). My tiny household of two only uses one Brita filter every month and a half, so at this rate my contribution of filters to be recycled by Brita isn't going to encourage them to continue with their recycling program. So if you're out there, living in Israel, and you use Brita filters - I'd like to encourage you to contact Ilanit (03-9762448) or whoever else you can speak to about recycling the filters in order to encourage Brita to continue with their new program. (If you live in the US and want to encourage Brita to start their recycling of filters then please see Beth's posts on the subject at Fake Plastic Fish).

five recycle, six recyle, seven recycle, more!

I know I told you about Freecycle already, but someone told me about Israeli websites that operate according to the same idea and serve as a place for people to give and receive items. They're great websites, and all allow you to search or post items according to categories. They are Agora, Altezachen, and Barvaz. Worth giving a shot!

one recyle, two recycle, freecyle, four

Freecycle. Until recently, I didn't really understand what this catchy name meant. I mean, I got the "free" part, and I got the "recycle" part, but I didn't really understand how they went together. Wasn't recycling always free?

Until I joined the Freecycle Tel Aviv group, which is part of the larger Freecycle network. Freecyle is a grassroots, non-profit movement of people who are giving away and receiving items for free (and preventing stuff from ending up in landfills). You can easily recycle paper or aluminum cans or plastic bottles, but it's a little harder to figure out how to recycle that kitchen appliance that's in good condition but that you just don't use, or that old piece of furniture that you don't want anymore. You would feel bad throwing those kinds of things away, but just don't know who would want them. Enter freecycle. Freecycle connects people within the same area so that those trying to get rid of things can post a message to the group and give their items to someone nearby. Conversely, if someone is looking for a particular item, he or she can post a message to the group asking if anyone has one to give away. Unlike craigslist, this all takes place without the exchange of money. It is truly "free recycling".

The Freecycle Network, which was recently the subject of a New York Times article, is composed of 4234 groups with 4,449,618 members around the world and it is constantly growing. Recent items I've seen offered on Freecycle Tel Aviv include closets, printers, scanners, small ovens, furniture, and more. The people offering these items are genuinely happy to give them away.

There are additional freecycle groups in Jerusalem, Ashkelon, Yokneam Ilit, Zichron Yaacov-Alona, Herzliya, and Ramallah. Even if you have nothing that you want to "freecycle", its worth joining the group - you never know what you might find.

i struck oil!

My most recent bottle of olive oil, which came from my infamous Moroccan grandmother, was in a Jagermeister bottle. Not because my grandmother is an alcoholic, but because she buys olive oil in big containers and then distributes the oil into glass bottles (that she reuses from other products, such as Jagermeister). Without even knowing it, she's reusing resources and reducing consumption of packaging.

It's not easy to buy olive oil in bulk when you live in a city, though. Even though I would like to buy it in bulk and reduce the packaging associated with olive oil, especially since it's something I use on a daily basis, I just figured it was pretty much impossible since I currently live in a city. I thought I'd just rely on my grandmother for all of my bulk olive oil needs.

But no more! Today I passed by Shook Levinsky (a great market for bulk dry goods) on my way home to pick up some loose black tea and found an olive oil store that lets you bring your own glass bottles from home and fill them from an olive oil tap that they have in the store. Some of the types of olive oil that they carry are even organic. The owner of the store is very nice and will let you try the different kinds of olive oil, too. The store - called "Hamesik shel Oded (המסיק של עודד)" - is located at the corners of Levinsky Street and Hachaluzim Street.

If you do decide to go there, my grandmother swears by keeping olive oil in dark glass bottles such as - you guessed it - Jagermeister.