Abeego on the go

Today I learned about a remarkable natural snack & food wrap called Abeego that you can use to transport sandwiches, nuts, or anything your foodie heart desires. These stylish wraps keep food fresh and are made from hemp/cotton fabric infused with beeswax and natural plant oils and are easy to clean: simply rinse it in cold water and let it air dry. They make a fantastic (and funky) alternative to using plastic bags, and are made right here in B.C.! An innovative Vancouver Island woman manufactures the wraps and sells them at the Moss Street Market in Victoria as well as online at Etsy.

It's unfortunate that it's so difficult to find much information on Abeego online, but I did stumble across a plucky Vancouver Island blogger--TrampledbyGeese--who visited the woman's stall at the Moss St Market; TrampledbyGeese posted an entry with photos, instructing the reader on how to get the best use out of their Abeego. My only skepticism is how the cloth will fare in hot weather--will the wax melt and get on the food or do the plant oils help keep it bound to the fabric? Even so, beeswax is non-toxic--it's found in many lotions and lip balms--and I'd rather eat beeswax than ingest Bisphenol A, an organic compound that may leech into food or liquid from plastics and cause health problems. Despite the Canadian government's reassurance that it doesn't pose a health risk to the general public, I don't believe enough long term research has been conducted.

Since beeswax served as humankind's first plastic, I think I'll have to purchase an Abeego wrap and test it out for myself. If it works, it will not only reduce my risk of ingesting potentially harmful chemicals, but will also save a lot of plastic and paper from cluttering up our already overflowing landfills.

Small Steps

Miss 604 has put out a challenge to let her know which of the 83,000 charities listed on the CanadaHelps website you would donate to and why; if your entry is chosen, she will give you a $25 gift e-card to donate to that charity. For her CanadaHelps Gift Card Giveaway, this is my choice:

The David Suzuki Foundation

I grew up in an environmentally conscious household with high school science teachers for parents. My mother was into recycling and composting before environmentalism became hip and my father has always been an avid outdoor enthusiast, as well as an accomplished taxidermist and entomologist. (I owe most of my topographical, ornithological, entomological and botanical knowledge to them). Many weekends of my childhood were spent gathering plant or pond water samples for my parents' high school biology classes. We often watched "The Nature of Things" and listened to"Quirks and Quarks" on CBC. After David Suzuki launched his foundation in 1990, my parents started making regular donations to help fund his fight to preserve Canada's oceans and forests for future generations; I want to continue my family's legacy.

I've always admired Suzuki's relentless activism in the face of extreme criticism; it's people like him who make profound changes because they don't give up the fight for what they believe in. I believe in Suzuki's push to re-examination of our lifestyle and how it impacts the greatest resource we have: the earth. If we pour toxins down the drain, they don't disappear; they poison the water supply. If we clear-cut forests, the top-soil erodes and the land is left barren. Everything is inextricably linked; what affects one thing affects the whole. I want to contribute to the whole.