The new environmentally friendly Eco-haus store in San Francisco celebrated its opening at Greenfest this year, showing off its awesome dual-flush toilet, which uses water from the sink to flush.

“With an average flush of just 1 gallon, Dual Flush toilets reduce water consumption by 40-70 percent. Just imagine the water savings when the water . . . → Read More: Favorite Greenfest 2010 picks]]>

The new environmentally friendly Eco-haus store in San Francisco celebrated its opening at Greenfest this year, showing off its awesome dual-flush toilet, which uses water from the sink to flush.

“With an average flush of just 1 gallon, Dual Flush toilets reduce water consumption by 40-70 percent. Just imagine the water savings when the water from your hand washing gets recycled on top of it all!”

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The Nada chair, which is so portable and comfortable! Made of fabric, it wraps around your knees and back to support your posture like no chair can. I sat down to try it and a smile came over my face right away. I want one!

Since the Nada-Chair follows your body with every move, you constantly enjoy firm, adjustable and dynamic support hugging your low back. “The Nada-Chair acts like an extra muscle that never tires,” explains Arthur White, MD. By using the knees to stabilize the pelvis, muscles are relieved of their isometric tasks. The pelvis becomes a stable pedestal on which the spine can effortlessly rest with natural curves restored.

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Last but not least, Greenfest always has a million food samples to try. Here’s ones I recommend:

Hemp seeds and hemp milk by Manitoba Harvest, full of healthy omega fatty acids. Use promo code SFGF2010 to get 20% any orders. The seeds blend well with anything you eat.

My favorite fair trade chocolate: Alter Eco dark quinoa full of antioxidants and higher in protein. I bought a case : )

I got to catch up with Executive Producer Erica Priggen from Free Range . . . → Read More: Changing our food system through media and education]]> Last night I attended a night of foodie-activist mingling and new media at the Green Zebra Remake Lounge. I met Anne from Civil Eats’ Kitchen Table Talks, saw familiar and new faces, and sampled some really good quality chocolate by Alter Eco (great stuff!)

I got to catch up with Executive Producer Erica Priggen from Free Range Studios, who I worked with to make Food Battle in 2007 (the video’s up to 150,000 views on YouTube and gotten a lotta comments) and heard a lot about the latest offshoot from the Story of Stuff video: Cap and Trade. We watched the Meatrix series and Grocery Wars too, love’em!

We also learned of a Low Carbon Diet Calculator designed by the national catering company Bon Appetit, mostly aimed at its college student population. It showed me a few new things I wasn’t aware of.

One would think eating all/mostly vegetarian would make a huge difference, but certain foods have higher carbon emissions than others. Grains and different types of rice even have their differences. Lundberg rice is one that’s grown in an environmentally friendly way, while some in the bulk bin may not be, even if organic.

Tofu, surprisingly, has a higher carbon footprint than locally raised chicken, and so do processed foods in general.

Of course meat and cheese are high in carbon emmissions. This means that even if you are driving a Prius, as a carnivore, you may want to watch what you eat to keep your impact down. A chili with beans has a lower value than one with meat.

But at the end of the day, we can make these changes, yet it’s our food production that most needs to change. A new series called Nourish by Worldlink strives to educate the public to ask these questions. I watched a trailer that looks good night, and would love to get involved with this campaign. The DVD will be available to high schools and educators, and series will air on KPBS next year.

Check it out: