Pumpkin Farms in Central Illinois Aim to be Eco-Friendly

Photo Courtesy of EvgeniiAnd/Shutterstock

By: Hannah Mitchell

Date: 10/4

On September 29th, ABC News shared that Central Illinois pumpkin farms are adapting to improve soil and lower emissions. With fall in full swing, families begin to take to pumpkin farms to enjoy the cozy season. As fun as pumpkin patch season is though, it's also important to reflect on the environmental impacts of jack-o-lantern carvings.

According to Hope Ngo, writer for mashed, “The World Economic Forum says in Britain alone, of the 10 million pumpkins grown every year, 95% are tossed after Halloween, resulting in 18,000 tonnes of food waste. It's not much better in the United States, where 900,000 tons of pumpkin is tossed. These pumpkins end up in landfills where they start to rot and produce methane, making them environmentally problematic as a result.”

Its quite unbelievable and frankly hard to realize that an innocent tradition in households during spooky season could be causing such large environmental damage. This is why farms in Central Illinois are taking a step to fight back by using regenerative farming. According to greenamerica.org, Regenerative farming is known as a holistic land-management practice that uses the power of photosynthesis in plants to isolate carbon in the soil while improving soil health.

Associated Press Writers Dee-Ann Durbin and Teresa Crawford reporting for ABC News share, “On the Central Illinois farms that supply 85% of the world’s canned pumpkin, farmers are adopting regenerative techniques designed to reduce emissions, attract natural pollinators like bees and butterflies and improve the health of the soil.” This effort is backed by the 150-year-old canned food company named Libby’s. The company Libby’s processes 120,000 tons of pumpkins each year from Illinois fields. Libby’s parent, the Swiss conglomerate Nestle, is one of a growing number of big food companies supporting this transition to regenerative farming in the U.S.

Illinois families can still find themselves enjoying time making pumpkin flavored goods, but now with a lower carbon footprint.

Comments

A New Board Game Coffee Shop in Shorewood: The Critical Grind

Noëllie Inard Credit: www.criticalgrind.com On Thursday, November 10th, a new cafe named the Critical Grind Board Game Café opened in Shorewood, Illinois. This coffee shop is a little different from cafes already opened in the Joliet, Plainfield and Shorewood areas. Situated on 852 Sharp Drive in the Sharp Center off Black Road near Route 59 in Shorewood, the coffee shop, previously owned by a kickboxing studio, is close to the Bliss Hair Studio. The owners, Dana Buxbaum and her husband Shaun Tenant, mixed what they loved to create their idea of the perfect coffee shop. “I always wanted a coffee shop,” said Dana Buxbaum, “My husband and I combined our love of gaming with my vision of the coffee shop.” The coffee shop has made available bookshelves full of games such as Clue, The Serial Killer Trivia Game, Sorry, Dragoon and many more. In an interview with Patch editor, Buxbaum stated that they have “[...] about 400 games in [their] library” with family-friendly and inclusive...

Rory Richards Facebook Certain Fields From Profile Bios, Including “Religious Views”; Does Not Say Why Facebook has announced plans to remove certain fields from profile bios. Starting on December 1, users will no longer be presented with an option to list their sexual orientation, their political views, their address, or their religious views on their personal profiles. Facebook did not provide an explanation for this decision. The decision was announced one week after Meta, the parent company of Facebook, fired 11,000 employees, 13% of its total workforce; whether or not these two events are correlated, however, remains unclear.

Bolingbrook Blues Showcase is Happening on September 24

Photo Courtesy of www.bolingbrook.com By: Saba Aamir Bolingbrook, IL. – The Windy City Blues Society and the Village of Bolingbrook are bringing the “Bolingbrook Blues Showcase” to the Roger C. Claar Performing Arts Center on September 24, 2022. The showcase will feature nine bands from Chicagoland who will compete in round 2 of the “Chicago Blues Challenge." The challenge will be timed, judged and scored as the bands perform. Finalists of the challenge will move on to the “International Blues Challenge” (IBC) in Memphis, according to the Bolingbrook Arts Council press release. Performances for the showcase will feature Darren Jay and The Delta Souls, Downtown Charlie Brown and Binford, Hendricks and Cash, Kevin Purcell and The Nightburners, Lil Harvey and The Chitown Blues Band, A Patch of Blues, The Sean McKee Band, Tip Jar Stars and Win Noll and The Rockin’ Souls. The Village sponsored band, The Instinct, who was part of IBC in 2018 and 2019, will headline...

WAM 3 Communicator

Search This Blog