Ei Newsletter 2018 Summer

Follow the Ei Blogs, The IMPACT and Regeneration in ACTION, to keep current on project status and tales from the journey.

In the past month, the RiA Blog reader mix shifted from primarily Windows-sourced to iPhone-driven. Previously, there were minimal phone views. In addition, FB links drove the vast majority of the August views where the RiA blog, the Ei site, and Google searches were the primary view drivers in the past.

WorldChefs hosts the biannual four-day Worldchefs Congress & Expo as the premier showcase for culinary innovation. In mid-July, over 1,000 chef delegates and competitors from 80 countries converged on Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the Worldchefs Congress & Expo 2018.

The 2018 Congress celebrates 90 years of empowering chefs through education, competition, and camaraderie.

On day three of the 2018 Congress, the educational plenary program was dedicated to Feed the Planet. Presentations focused on the current global food waste scenario along with empowering programs committed to evolving the seemingly broken food system. After the “big picture” presentations, the focus narrowed down to local, effective initiatives and case studies on food waste reduction in culinary operations.

The RiA Blog article, Feed the Planet: an empowering WorldChefs Initiative, gives an overview of WorldChefs and a recap of the Feed the Planet session.

Photo: Feed the Planet presenters, courtesy of WorldChefs.

After a quick overview of the successful Zero Waste Zones 2009 launch in Atlanta, GA, Holly shared a recipe for food waste reduction success. In addition, Holly outlined the basics of where and why back-of-the-house food waste is generated.
Through powerful case studies, Holly emphasized key ingredients for success with the bottom line message:

A well-run kitchen generates minimal waste!

The main thrust of The Profitability Waste presentation was the four inspiring case studies:

1. Ted’s Montana Grill – Stopping food waste starts with prevention.
2. Affairs to Remember Caterers – Sustainability is integral to the business model.
3. Georgia World Congress Center Authority – A hospitality industry pioneer.
4. Levy Restaurants – Good doesn’t quite cut it at Levy. (combined with the GWCCA case study)
5. Arwyn Watkins – Measuring food waste minimizes food waste.

Throughout the four case studies, the key ingredients for success in food waste reduction programs were interwoven within the respective culinary operations.

Beyond the “right thing to do,” Food waste reduction is the “profitable thing to do,” … and the “EASY thing to do!”

The RiA article, The Profitability of Waste: the business case for food waste reduction, published with an overview of Holly’s presentation highlighting the four case studies.

A comprehensive Feed the Planet PPT presentation, as well as the solo The Profitability of Waste: the business case for food waste reduction presentation, are available for download on the Ei Speaking Engagements page.

Photo: Holly during her presentation, courtesy of WorldChefs.

Feed & Seed’s mission statement is to ensure food security for all residents of South Carolina. Feed & Seed is connecting regional growers and producers with regional demand.

Mike with Feed & Seed facilitated farm introductions and met Holly for lunch at the infamous Grits & Groceries in Belton, SC. The first meeting was with fungi expert Tradd Cotter, Mushroom Mountain Founder, who generously educated Holly on the magic of fungi. There are powerful synergies for a fungi-based Soil Health Initiative – the Ei ground is inoculated!

The Ei FB album, Upcountry SC Farms, gives a pictorial recap of the visit.

Yet, traditional media often falls short of conveying intended messages.

In its many formats, artwork provides tactile renditions of challenging situations that communicate in a profound manner. Whether mystically beautiful or a harsh depiction of the scenario, artwork speaks in a language unavailable with the written or spoken word.

The IMPACT Blog article, Art Makes an Impact Beyond Words, showcases renowned, global artist Pamela Longobardi’s empowering photographs, sculptures, and installations using forensic plastic collected from the oceans and coastal areas.

In 2015, Pamela was the driving force behind The Plastic GYRE Symposium: Artists, Scientists, and Activists Respond hosted jointly by the Welch Foundation at GSU, the Center for Disease Control (CDC)and the Plastic Pollution Coalition. The Symposium was a highly successful effort to raise awareness and discourse on the global plastic pollution crisis.

Pamela’s current Crossing Over exhibition hosted at the CDC Museum complements the CDC’s The Refugee Journey to Wellbeing, an immersive museum experience. Crossing Over is an artistic compilation of photographs, sculptures, and installations that explore and document the intersection of a humanitarian crisis and an environmental catastrophe. The exhibits are open to the public at the CDC Museum July 9 – October 5, 2018; reservations are required.

The IMPACT Blog article ends with an Ei Integrates Art & Impact section.

Photo: Pamela Longobardi with works “Economies of Scale” (L), and “Bounty, Pilfered” (R), photo by Kip Evans.

The recently launched Ei Digital Books are in partnership with Holly Elmore Enterprises and comprised of Fingertip Press publications supported by Holly Elmore Images photos. Created and published by Ei Partner Nancy Suttles, the digital books augment Ei’s profound work within the Soil Health and Water Use | Toxicity platforms.

The RiA Blog article, Ei Digital Books: an integration of art and impact, introduces the digital books along with a review of Ei’s evolution from a valuable media and industry resource to respected environmental journalism and recently to photojournalism.

With publisher and creative director Nancy Suttles on the Ei Team, opportunities abound in the publishing arena. Nancy is an independent creative consultant with over three decades of in-depth industry experience. Highly-skilled at developing original concepts, design, photography, and production, Nancy has worked with an array of publishers, corporations, and agencies over the years. Nancy creates results-driven special interest publications, magazines, books and other marketing material for traditional print and digital media.

Nancy validates the powerful Ei partnership, “I am proud to work with such an accomplished and talented professional as Holly. Her words and beautiful photos take the reader behind-the-scenes to learn more about the process of living a more regenerative life. The introduction of the new interactive Ei digital library of books will further enhance Ei’s mission on an international scale.”

The town hall meeting creates opportunities for citizen-led and community-oriented innovation for a sustainable circular economy, looking at lessons and examples from Europe and Atlanta, then engaging in a discussion. POCACITO in the US is an initiative of Ecologic Institute in Washington, DC, and funded in large part by the Delegation of the European Union to the United States’s Getting to Know Europe program.

POCACITO in the US invites innovators and experts from EU cities to help lead interactive workshops and discussions in select US cities to promote European priorities and efforts in areas of shared interest with the US. For POCACITO, those areas are urban sustainability and the circular economy.

POCACITO in the US redefines the urban sustainable development process by engaging diverse perspectives in the conversations about local issues and reimagining international cooperation. The resulting transatlantic relationships serve to affirm the potential of cities to lead the global sustainability movement.

Register online for the September 19 5:00 p.m. From Circular Economy to Circular Society Town Hall Meeting hosted in Atlanta at Southface.

Support Ei through AmazonSmile!

AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop Amazon, with no extra cost to the shopper. With the exact same shopping experience, AmazonSmile donates 0.5% of the purchase price to your charitable organization of choice.

ZWA Blog The IMPACT Blog