Sierra Club Green Home

The meat is grown from bovine muscle and stem cells in a culture dish under the watchful eyes and delicate care of trained scientists. Scientists already answered the question of “can we do this,” but there is a lot to consider regarding the “should.” First and foremost, is test tube meat safe? Since the meat is grown in a sterile environment, it is free of pathogens. So, from that perspective, it is safe. But, what about the other factors, such as the safety of genetically engineered meat? (Photo by Carin, Stock.Xchng)

The Dervaes Institute implemented the Urban Homestead ® program to help people living in urban environments become less reliant on purchasing food by growing their own. But, the Urban Homestead program is more than just growing plants. The program instructs residents how to restore a failing property, how to be better citizens, and how to be good neighbors who pitch in to help improve their community. (Photo courtesy of The Dervaes Institute)

Have you heard about the Safe Sushi smartphone app that the Sierra Club released last December? This handy app makes it easy to check which types of seafood are safe and sustainable. Here Rebecca Silver of the Sierra Club tells Sierra Club Green Home about the organization’s motivation to create this tool, and plans for future apps. (Photo by Kasia, Flickr)

But, what if you purchased a large quantity of fresh produce and do not want it to ripen too quickly? You could place it in the refrigerator to slow the ripening process. Now, a novel approach is being used to retard the ripening process and thus extend the shelf life of our expensive fruits and vegetables. (Photo by Daniel Göttler, Stock.Xchng)

FRESH is a documentary by Ana Sofia Joanes which focuses on local farmers and food suppliers and their positive relationship to the food that we eat. Watch FRESH The Movie online for free today, or sign up to host a screening anytime. (Photo courtesy of Growing Power)

All through the year, massive amounts of food are discarded in landfills in the United States. Not just from homes, but from grocery stores and restaurants as well. Much of this food is perfectly edible and, as the documentary Dive shows, still packaged. Why do we as individuals and a nation discard so much food? Is it just an automatic response? Are we too busy to find a happy home for the leftovers? Maybe many people do not think of food waste as a problem, because they assume it will biodegrade in the landfill (it won’t). (Photo by Ericortner, Stock.Xchng)

Everyone wants to enjoy the freshest food possible. Sierra Club Green Home recommends fresh produce that is grown locally and bought in-season. Many local farms have Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs where people can buy shares in the farm and receive part of the harvest. (Photo by Safari11, Stock.Xchng)

OAKLAND, CA — Six hospital systems in the San Francisco Bay Area are joining with local food distributors to make healthy, sustainable food an integral part of the hospital network. The Regional Produce Sourcing Project aims to make sustainable food more available to hospital systems, and to create more demand for it. (Photo courtesy of Kaiser Permanente)

It takes 17 million barrels of oil to produce the amount of bottled water Americans buy each year. Coca-Cola’s brands Dasani and Odwalla, claim to have a solution: plastic made from plants. Sierra Club Green Home decided to find out how these PlantBottles compare to conventional plastics. (Photo by Leonardo Bonanni, Flickr)

Sierra Club Green Home will ring in the new year with gratitude for what 2011 has given us and excitement for what the next year holds. Here, writer Roland Oehme shares the top 12 things he is grateful for going into 2012.