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 An
Introduction to Green Martha
Green Martha is the alter ego of ML. Healey, an environmental activist living
in West Tisbury, who specializes in sustainability issues or what she calls
"conscious consumption". Sustainability is a word that is being heard more
and more these days, and it refers to measuring the environmental consequences
of our decisions and actions. Very basically, if our consumption happens
faster than the resources involved can regenerate, then the utilization
is unsustainable. Statistically, we in the United States consume 24 percent
of the world's energy and natural resources, but we make up less than 5
percent of the world's population - not a sustainable situation, and hardly
fair.
A historical example would be the New England whaling industry of the 18th
and 19th centuries. The native people had always fished whales, but once
the European settlers introduced their own methods of whaling and uses for
the oil, the local waters were soon depleted. Few folks saw this coming
because they were caught up in the euphoria of whaling's financial success,
and fewer still planned ahead for the days after whale oil. To impede the
inevitable, whaling captains sailed as far away as the Arctic Circle via
the Pacific Ocean to catch whales, while back home, petroleum was discovered
to be a superior product to whale oil. That was the end of the boom, and
a critical source of revenue vanished for boat builders, sail makers, sea
captains, sailors, marine financiers, purveyors of whale products, and all
their families. This is an example of an unsustainable behavior, and its
rippling effects.
But how does that work in the modern world? Because our lives are so busy
and complicated, it can be difficult to see the unsustainable nature of
our choices, but it is possible to look more deeply into what goes into
the products and services we buy. According to a 1997 report by Northwest
Environmental Watch, "The typical mouthful of American food travels 1,200
miles from farm to consumer", and most of it has been treated with nitrogen
fertilizer and pesticides. As we all know, anything we don't buy in the
fresh produce department has been processed in some way, which adds a few
more stops before packaging and then shipment to a warehouse. Therefore,
what we buy is usually the product of many steps, incorporating lots of
natural resources, and the work of many hands, but in our rushed lives we
can take these elaborate food production and distribution systems for granted.
The whole thing can feel too overwhelming to contemplate, and make us feel
too insignificant to do anything about. In exasperation it may seem that
our only options are feeling depressed or living in denial. However, if
we concentrate on the personal picture over the planetary one, it all may
begin to feel more manageable as we increasingly become part of the solution.
Green Martha's work is to point out relatively easy ways to adjust our patterns
of consumption towards gentler, healthier, more respectful choices in our
daily routines by highlighting the personal benefits of these shifts. Real
change is incremental, and often slow, but that may be change's best feature.
Going slowly into anything allows time for reflection and adjustment - the
play of it. After awhile, change tends to customize as we discover personally
satisfying ways and new reasons for embracing what we are doing.
Another aspect is how we come to see that everything is connected to everything
else. Once we adopt a modification of an old way, maybe it's eating at home
more often, walking after dinner, or focusing on healthier foods, other
actions follow naturally at their own pace. A whole world of inquiry reveals
itself in totally personal ways because no two people follow the connections
in the same way.
What follows are suggestions and ideas that have developed over the years
from my own experience with the adventure of becoming more aware of consuming
consciously for my personal health and that of the larger world. "Green
Martha in the Kitchen" includes sections with information about buying in
bulk, guidelines for choosing and storing foods, easy and healthful cooking
techniques, the basics of some restrictive diets, and facts on household
cleaning products,. Strategic sources of facts I worked with are usually
indicated by a hyperlink so readers have quick access to more in depth information.
None of this is gospel, and certainly not intended to replace medical
advice. Green Martha's presence on Cronig's web site is for informational
purposes only, and merely one person's point of view as the site gets
up and running. However, the content would be greatly enhanced with additional
input from Cronig's customers. Please feel free to contact
ML at cronigsmarket.com
with any ideas, comments or corrections you might have.
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