Imagine taking 6-20 plates of food and dumping them in the trash, perfectly fresh and edible. Off they go to the landfill. Obviously, none of us would behave so wastefully.

And yet that's precisely the effect each time any of us consumes meat, since the vast majority of the calories consumed by a chicken, pig, or other animal goes into keeping that animal alive (or into producing bones, blood, and other parts humans don't consume). Only a small fraction of those calories is turned into flesh.

Our first Live Butterfly Exhibit will open for the Flying Colors Butterfly Festival, and stay open until July 31. For a limited time, come out for a truly unique butterfly experience.  Get nose to proboscis with hundreds of free flying, native butterfly species in this temporary live butterfly exhibit. While you are here, learn how you can attract these beautiful creatures to your garden. Butterfly host and nectar plants will be available for sale. The exhibit is open each day from 10am- 4:30pm and is included with general admission. General admission: $6 for Child/$10 Adult/$7 Seniors 65+/$7 Students 13-18/Free CNC Members & Kids 2 and under.  Open Mon-Sat 10-5 pm & 12- 5pm Sunday. Find more programs on our website at www.chattnaturecenter.org.  

Whole Foods Market® partners with The Xerces Society to protect pollinator populations

One of every three bites of food comes from plants pollinated by honeybees and other pollinators, and pollinator populations are facing massive declines. At Whole Foods Market in University Heights, Rhode Island, some customers recently found out just how this may affect their lives.

New olive oil and vinegar tasting bar also carries Georgia’s only produced olive oil

Strippaggio, a unique, full service olive oil and vinegar tasting bar has opened at Emory Point.  Serving Atlanta’s burgeoning foodie population with artisan oils, vinegars and culinary products and gifts, Strippaggio offers the finest small batch producers of olive oil from California and features Georgia’s only single produced olive oil from Georgia Olive Farms.  Strippaggio stands alone among other Metro Atlanta tasting bars with an eye towards a long standing passion for high quality artisan culinary ingredients.

You’ve been buying organic foods, driving a hybrid and recycling for years now. But, is it possible to also make the most extravagant day of your life environmentally friendly? “Absolutely, you can go green at your wedding!” says William Fogler, principal of WM Events, based in Atlanta and Denver.

One of Fogler’s masterpiece green weddings took place at Pastures of Plenty, a picturesque venue outside of Boulder in Longmont, Colorado. The setting featured a tent and arbors decorated with flowers grown on the property. Since the menu was based on seasonal produce, only a menu “landscape” was selected in advance, but the actual dishes were created with the ingredients that were available at the time of the nuptials. The guests enjoyed a seated first course followed by a family-style meal from the Tuscan and Mediterranean landscapes.