Part 3: Eco-Entrepreneurs Do the Right Thing

Part 3: Eco-Entrepreneurs Do the Right Thing

A few years ago, la Boîte Gourmande opened at the corner of Rivard and Laurier East. A stone's throw from my daughter's school, this café is the perfect venue for homework and people watching. After tasting the latté and reading one of the four Montreal dailies the restaurant carries for its customers, I was hooked.

The site of the new café was once a bank, and the new tenants decided to keep the vault and change it into a kid-friendly room, complete with chalkboards, toys and books. Along with a few paintings from a local artist, you will see some old doors used as wall coverings. In addition, among the eclectic collection of wooden tables and chairs, you may find yourself sitting on what appears to be a church pew, or you can opt for a seat on the retro orange sofa, set against a floor to ceiling window.

I quickly discovered that Hélène Marquis and Alexandre Simard (chef extraordinaire) used local, organic ingredients whenever possible and served their takeout food in containers that were recyclable in our municipality. Another hit with parents, la Boîte Gourmande does not serve soft drinks. They also have a self-serve ice water station with reusable cups and a recycling bin, which is so rare in most cafés.

One day, I commented on how pleased I was to see that my takeout containers were recyclable.
Hélène said, "Choosing to reduce our ecological footprint was a conscious decision. The only thing I haven't been able to do away with is the plastic stretch wrap for the sandwiches."

She showed me her takeout cutlery, which is usually made from #6 plastic and cannot be recycled in the greater Montreal area. She held up two sets of cutlery in front of me. "These are made from potato, and they come from China," said Hélène, showing me the first set. "But I have opted for the second set from a supplier in Virginia. They don't travel as far, we're supporting our neighbours, and they're still biodegradable."

Now, as you may have guessed, prices are higher here than at other café-restaurants, but you'll find that's a moot point after you taste the quality of their offerings. I stopped in there two weeks ago and had superb chicken Provençal. Alex is a fabulous chef, and Audrey and Hélène make wonderful desserts and baked goods. They also have child- and adult-sized servings, and adults can order a child's portion if they so wish.

Like the other eco-entrepreneurs I have written about, Hélène, Audrey and Alex love what they do. This is evident not only from their smiles and flock of regular customers, but also by how good their food tastes. By the way, these eco-entrepreneurs also use the services of Compost Montréal, our eco-entrepreneurs in Part 1 of my three-part series.

If you're in the neighbourhood with your laptop, la Boîte Gourmande also has Y5 Internet access.

Other Eco-Entrepreneurs:
Part 1: Eco-Entrepreneurs Do the Right Thing (Compost Montréal)
Part 2: Eco-Entrepreneurs Do the Right Thing (la Gaillarde)


Related posts:
Why we should compost--Even Urbanites
Meet the Clean 15 (Produce with lowest pesticide levels)Evironmental Working Group Updates its Dirty Dozen (12 fruit and veg with the highest pesticide levels)
Buying Local: Vegetables Year Round
Plastics: Of the 3 Rs, we should REDUCE
3 Simple Q&As about Children and Pesticides

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MomActivism: McDonald's Canada

MomActivism: McDonald's Canada

In my previous post, I had contacted both McDonald's Media and Non-media Relations to find out why there were no recycling bins in its restaurants. The company spokesperson called back the very next day and left a message. Hopefully, I will be able to speak to him on Monday.

In the meantime, I decided to firm up some questions. I went back to the company's website to do some more research. I discovered that 95% of the cardboard used behind the counter was recycled and that McDonald's was the largest user of recycled paper in its industry. Under the heading Environment: Recycle, there is a picture of two men standing outside a McDonald's restaurant, watching a dumpster being unloaded into a green garbage truck with the golden arches logo on the side. Funny, this was the first time, I had ever seen a green McDonald's garbage truck. On the same page, it states that the restaurant chain has "undertaken a number of composting pilot projects" in recent years, but no dates or locations of such projects were given. Please bear in mind reader, soiled paper products cannot be recycled, but they can be composted.

The website also points out that "food waste is converted to compost material and energy." This would suggest that the company conducts two different types of composting: aerobic and anaerobic. However, before you can compost, you have to have a sorting system to separate food scraps from the plastic and wax-coated paper. So again my question: why aren't there recycling bins in McDonald's restaurants?

There's no doubt that recycling requires more work. You have to take the time to wash recyclables, you often have to sort them, and then they have to be taken out to the street. But everyone I know does this. McDonald's is a large corporation with 1,400 restaurants nation-wide and is one of Canada's largest employers of youth, employing some 70,000 people. It has the financial means to set up sorting stations and wash its plastic containers.

I believe that a restaurant chain that targets our children with its clown and toys and later entices them with the independence of employment should be setting an example and reinforcing the values that we establish in our homes. Although I recognize and applaud the corporation's efforts on the other side of the counter, it still needs to model socially responsible behaviour where we can actually see it.

Research tip: When researching a company always check the Investors' and Media sections of the website. You will often find some very interesting facts that are not disclosed in the sections intended for the general public.

Source:
McDonald's Canada

Previous post:
Sad Ending to An Otherwise Happy Meal

Related posts:
Mom Activism: Raising Retail Awareness about Eco-Friendly Packaging
Plastics: of the 3Rs Your Best Bet is to REDUCE
Part 1: Tipping Point of Tim Hortons Paper Cup
Part 2: Tipping Point of Tim Hortons Paper Cup
Part 3: Coming to Grips With Change
Part 4: Success is Not All Roses
Tim Hortons: Some Freshly Baked Environmental Solutions

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Sad Ending to an Otherwise Happy Meal

Sad Ending to an Otherwise Happy Meal

On a cold bright Sunday morning, I took my children to McDonald's to treat them to a happy meal. As we went to the condiment table to pick up the requisite ketchup, now in bulk dispensers (good!), I noticed the "one napkin, one meal" sign atop the napkin dispenser. As I took our three-napkin quota, I noticed that our paper friends were not bleached white but beige, more environmentally friendly. I was intrigued at this point, and while my children were playing with their cute little Vancouver Olympic toys, which were wrapped in number 4 plastic, a plastic recycled in our municipality, I had a look at all the packaging.

The happy meal box was made from 100% recycled paper, a minimum of which is 50% post-consumer content.In addition, there are games on the box, which extend its useful life. The kids' drinks were in waxed paper cups, which can be composted at some facilities. Ditto for the fries and cheese sandwich wrappers.

I didn't go for the low-cal salad option, as I probably should have. I had the 560-calorie quarter pounder (yes, beef...sinful) with the 360-calorie fries. But to hell with the calorie counting, I was more interested in whether our meals would wreak havoc on the environment, not me hips.

The cardboard carton for my quarter pounder was made of 50% recycled paper, 35% of which was post-consumer fibre. Very good. However, my cardboard fry box had no such indication, which leads me to believe that it's a single use container.

Now, I know that you're expecting me to be critical of McDonald's Canada for its packaging practices. But in fact, I was thrilled when they got rid of their polystyrene shells. I realize that it's so last millennium, but we don't go often. Today, quite surprisingly, apart from the polystyrene lids (number 6 plastic), the plastics used at the golden arches can be recycled in our municipality. Bravo! And I applaud the "one napkin, one meal" program. What's more, I surfed the McDonald's Canada site and discovered that the company had abolished its domed plastic lid and spoon for its shakes. Behind the counter, the company has also reduced the weight of its corrugated boxes and increased the size of its shipping containers to minimize the amount of packaging materials. In terms of packaging, McDonald's Canada appears to have given the environment some due consideration.

Now, this is all wonderful, but at the conclusion of our meal, we noticed that there were no recycling bins. I asked the supervisor. No, I was not blind. There were no recycling bins. Now reader, you tell me: What is the point of using recyclable materials, if they're going to a landfill site? Am I wrong to think that this is a half-baked solution?

What's more, what kind of message does this send to the happy meal customers? Our children recycle at home and at their friends'. They recycle at daycare and school. They see the owners at the Boite Gourmande, our neighbourhood café, openly practise the three Rs in addition to composting. But then, at the neighbourhood McDonald's, the remnants of an otherwise happy meal are thrown in one big trash can!

Like most children, my kids love Ronald McDonald, and it's time that this clown realized that as a purveyor of small collectible toys and fries, he is also a role model for our children and should be modeling responsible consumer behaviour.

Now, I told my husband this info this morning. He realizes that I'm NOT a few fries short of a happy meal, I just need a plausible answer. So today, I contacted both the McDonald's Media and Non-Media Relations. A very polite Josée promised to make some inquiries at head office and then would get back to me. In turn, I promise to pass on the message to you....I'm waiting.

Related posts:
Mom Activism: Raising Retail Awareness about Eco-Friendly Packaging
Plastics: of the 3Rs Your Best Bet is to REDUCE
Part 1: Tipping Point of Tim Hortons Paper Cup
Part 2: Tipping Point of Tim Hortons Paper Cup
Part 3: Coming to Grips With Change
Part 4: Success is Not All Roses
Tim Hortons: Some Freshly Baked Environmental Solutions

Read more »

Book Review: Violent Partners by Linda G Mills

Book Review: Violent Partners by Linda G Mills

NB: This is my first book review for Feminist Review, and because I had a 600-word limit, I had to curtail my criticism. For starters the author, Linda G. Mills, chose to promote her book on the FOX network's O'Reilly Factor. This should already raise a few eyebrows.

Although I've cited only one example of a questionable interpretation of statistics below, I found more than a few instances of this, and it led me to conduct my own research. For an overview of domestic abuse in a western country (Canada), where intimate abuse is also criminalized click here.
This study clearly shows that in the vast majority of instances, men are more violent than women. I'd advise that if you do read this book, do so with a critical eye and don't allow the author's credentials, a scholar and a self-described feminist, to influence you.


Violent Partners: A Breakthrough Plan for Ending the Cycle of Abuse
Linda G. Mills
Basic Books


Author Linda G. Mills is a scholar, lawyer, social worker, and the founder of the Center on Violence and Recovery at New York University. In Violent Partners, Mills challenges the tenets of the battered women’s movement. These basic principles held that:

o Domestic abuse was caused by deeply rooted misogynist beliefs, which condoned violence against women;
o Women were rarely violent;
o If women endured the abuse and didn’t leave, it was because they feared the consequences; and
o Criminal action had to be taken against violent men.

Mills proposes a controversial breakthrough plan to end the cycle of violence, which includes counseling for violent couples who want to stay together, group counseling, and healing circles. The author believes that the criminalization of domestic abuse has been unsuccessful in ending the cycle of violence and, in many instances, has only exacerbated the problem. Although Mills uses many compelling cases to support her arguments, she fails to give the reader a specific case to illustrate what it might have been like to be a victim in the late 1960s, before the women’s movement had championed the cause. This would have given the book a more balanced perspective.

The author also uses some statistics that give a skewed picture of violent women in intimate abuse cases. For instance, the author cites a US Department of Justice-funded study, which has neither footnote nor name, showing that arrests in California for domestic violence between 1985 and 1995 grew by 37% for men and 446% for women. These figures were to illustrate the author’s claim that the number of violent women was dramatically increasing. However, there is no mention that this surge could be attributed to increased reporting by men or greater public awareness vis-à-vis domestic violence. In addition, these figures don’t give the reader a clear idea of the percentage of domestic violence cases that are actually perpetrated by women. In Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical Profile of 2004, published by the Canadian government, it states “females are more likely to be victims of spousal violence (85% vs.15%),” a figure based on domestic abuse offences reported to police.

Mills objects to the generalization that men are always the perpetrators, and women are always the victims. She believes that both partners play a role in the dynamic of violence and that understanding this dynamic is key to stopping any recurrence. I believe that the author’s intention was to emphasize the importance of understanding the dynamic rather than pointing a finger at one gender, but unfortunately, what many may take away from the book is that women are just as violent as men. This, in turn, could seriously undermine the support for and financial well-being of the current system, which has undeniably saved tens of thousands of lives in the past 30 years.

The book is convincing in its explanation of who becomes violent and why, and the impact of domestic violence on future generations. Mills is also successful in showing the complexity of intimate abuse. What’s more, the author makes it abundantly clear that we now know a lot more about family-related violence than we did 30 years ago and that with our new wisdom, we should embrace new solutions.

I applaud the comprehensive approach that involves looking for new ways to stem violence in future generations. I also found the peacemaking and healing circles to be a promising and relatively inexpensive remedy, which could work in certain situations. However, I would only recommend this book to therapists, public health policy makers, and professionals working with victims of abuse and in the criminal justice system.

Cross posted at FeministReview on Friday, January 29, 2010.

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Return of the Angels

Return of the Angels

Last week, a colleague told me of a spectacular happening out in the street that I couldn't miss. I grabbed my camera, and we ran up Mansfield to see the above statues being loaded onto a flatbed truck. They had been stored in the basement of the Mary Queen of the World Cathedral Basilica on René Lévesque West since 1978, and were now on their way to the Quebec Conservation Centre* in Quebec City for restoration.

On Mansfield, we also met Kevin Cohalan, the Vice-President of the Plateau Mont-Royal Historical and Genealogical Society. He informed us that these statues, the work of renowned religious sculptor Olindo Gratton, had originally been mounted in 1909 on the Saint-Enfant-Jésus Church in the Mile End. Some of you non-churchgoers may remember this as the site of the 2009 Expozine. The wedding cake façade of this church is indeed unique, and it somehow reminds me of the St-Sulpice in Paris.

As you can see from the pictures below, these were wooden sculptures covered with copper sheets that were welded together. This was cheaper and lighter than using bronze and a widespread practice at the time. Unfortunately, over the years, water seeped into the wood, causing it to rot, and the statues eventually began to fall apart. Bernard Mulaire, the great-grand-nephew of Olindo Gratton, noted the poor condition of the sculptures in 1977 and was instrumental in having the Montreal diocese take them down and put them into storage. The Plateau Mont-Royal Historical and Genealogical Society has been lobbying for the restoration and return of the angels in order to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Saint-Enfant-Jésus Church.

As I took my pictures, I was astounded by the beauty and, particularly, the fine details of the sculptures, which would be perched some 50 feet off the ground, far from anyone to fully appreciate. In the pictures below, you will notice the folds in fabric, the natural wave of the hair, the expression lines on foreheads and cheeks, and even the veins and tendons on the hands and forearms. It was a unique opportunity to see these 10-foot sculptures up close, and it was reassuring to learn that the Quebec Religious Heritage Council (CPRQ) would be funding 70% of the $90,000 project.

Have you ever been moved by a beautiful religious work of art? I'd love to hear about it.

All of these statues form two separate works: the Last Judgment and the Star of Bethlehem. To see these two works on the front of St-Enfant-Jésus prior to 1978, click here.

*As a courtesy to my readers, I have translated the names of organizations. The official names are always in French.

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6 Things Children Never Say

6 Things Children Never Say

In a previous post, I raised the issue of the perceived barriers of raising a child whose first language was not English. Since I wrote this post, my daughter's English has improved, and those perceived/real barriers have somewhat faded.

I've also discovered something quite reassuring. Regardless of differences in languages and times, my daughter and son say basically the same things as my brother and I did as children. Even though my kids have their own unique likes and dislikes, I can still accurately predict what my children will never say. Here are six of them:

1) I hate toys. I prefer to use my imagination.
2) I don't want a Wii. (Fill in the blank here. In my case, it would have been cable TV.)
3) I still have room for my vegetables.
4) That's way too much chocolate.
5) Oh, I'm tired. Think I'll brush my teeth and go to bed.
6) Mom, I think you need some time to yourself.

Please feel free to add to this list!

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Internet Addiction: Poll Results

Internet Addiction: Poll Results

As the responses to our poll flooded in, we found that that most readers had a healthy relationship with the Internet. While one poor respondent teetered on the brink, about a third of you confessed to a full-blown Internet addiction (IA). Maybe the four of you can meet up in a café, obviously not an Internet café, and establish an Internet Anonymous chapter. If you don't live in the same city, you can always establish a...never mind.

I must admit. My research into IA has made me painfully aware of how much time I waste surfing the net. StumbleUpon has helped me to find the absolute best sites, but I've also allowed it to become my poisoned chalice.* I more than stumbled upon it; I fell on it face first. To prove to myself and my entire family that I am not Internet addicted and that my attention span is on the mend, I watched a movie, Mary & Max, three times this past weekend. Am I still addicted, if, after 15 minutes into the film, I was convinced I was going to blog about it? Or that I choose to blog at night or early morning when everyone is asleep. You tell me reader.

Special thanks to my significant other who DIDN'T take the poll...Hmmm, maybe he has something to hide.

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Film Review: Mary & Max Directed and Written by Adam Elliot

Film Review: Mary & Max Directed and Written by Adam Elliot

Mary & Max is a claymation tale of two penpals that begins in 1976 and spans 20 years. Eight-year-old Mary Daisy Dingle accompanies her shoplifting mother, Vera Lorraine Dingle, on an errand to "pick up" some envelopes at the post office. While waiting, Mary spots a Manhattan phonebook and thumbs through the pages of New York surnames. Vera's stashed box of envelopes unexpectedly falls from her dress and onto the floor in front of the enraged post office manager. Vera beats a hasty retreat grabbing Mary who takes part of the phonebook page with her.

When Mary returns to her suburban Melbourne home with her sherry-swilling, cigarette-smoking, cricket-loving mother, she decides to write a letter to a name on the torn phonebook page, one Max Jerry Horowitz, a middle-aged, obese, atheist who also suffers from Asperger's syndrome.The penpals quickly discover that they are both lovers of chocolate and the Noblets (cartoon characters) and have loneliness and friendlessness in common.

In addition to giving a touching portrayal of friendship, this tragicomedy deals with some very adult themes: depression, suicide, anxiety and alcoholism. But don't be scared off. For every sad moment, there is something equally hilarious to offset it. For instance, Mary's letters often trigger Max's anxiety attacks. After a particularly intense episode, Max is unable to write to Mary for a very long time. When he finally sits down to type a letter, he tells her that not much has happened in his life, except for his facing manslaughter charges, being committed to a state mental institution and winning the lottery.

Unlike most animation features, this film doesn't have a lot of colour, but somehow more colour would have detracted from all the details. The scenes in Australia are filmed in sepia tones, while those in New York are filmed in black and white. There is a splash of red in every scene to emphasize certain objects: Mary's barrette, Vera's lips and a pompom that Max wears on his yarmulke, a gift from Mary.

I enjoyed this movie enough to watch it three times. What I loved the most was the writing, and Adam Elliot's love of threes and his balanced names, such as Bernie Clifford who teases Mary about her poo-coloured birthmark and pisses on her spam sandwich, and Marjorie Butterworth who tries to seduce an anxiety-ridden Max. I also liked all the fine details that working with clay allows for. I much prefer the naive imperfections of clay models to the slickness of computer-generated images (CGIs).

Oddly enough, this is based on a true story. Writer and director Adam Elliot had a New York penpal with Asperger's syndrome. In the interview below, he claims that Mary most resembles him and his life growing up in Mount Waverly, a suburb of Melbourne.

This is a great movie for adults! See trailer (2:05 min)

Further reading:
Interview with Adam Elliot

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