Environment & Sustainability

Blog posts on environment & sustainability at Down to Earth Organic and Natural.

Ili’ili Farms Turns Water Into Food

Photo: Farmers Planting Seedlings at Ili’ili Farms

Tucked into the beautiful Lualualei Valley on the leeward coast of Oahu, are dozens of family farms growing a range of produce for the island. One of the newest in the valley is Ili’ili Farms, a certified organic aquaponics farm which we recently had the pleasure of visiting.

Sustainable Practices to Help Keep our Earth Healthy

Photo: Down to Earth Bulk Section

At Down to Earth, Earth Day is one of our favorite days of the year. We love promoting sustainable practices to help keep our Earth healthy!

How to Buy Instant Sustainability Cred

Photo: Mountains and taro fields

In early March, a group of Down to Earth team members attended Expo West, one of the largest Natural Product shows in the entire world. At this convention, the main draw is usually to see new products and upcoming innovations.

Sneaking in Sustainability

Photo: Bok Choy

When you think of the word sustainability, do images of farms, recycling symbols, and windmills come to mind? Sustainability can be a huge concept to wrap your mind around.

Reduce your Forkprint!

Photo: Bamboo Utensil Set

Due to my busy schedule, I am always eating on the go. But I love to eat healthy foods, so I bring food with me everywhere. I drink smoothies in the car, bring homemade lunches to work, pack dinner picnics to the beach, bring snacks to events – you can always find some sort of goodie in my bag.

MA‘O Farms Builds Community

A few weeks ago, I had the amazing opportunity to visit MA‘O Organic Farms, which is a 25-acre organic certified farm in Lualualei Valley on the western coast of O‘ahu, near the town of Wai‘anae.

Make a Difference this Earth Day!

Although Earth Day is officially April 22nd, Down to Earth will be celebrating it on Sunday April 27th with a special day of fun and music.

Sustainable Farming Trumps Industrial Methods

The need to produce more food in some regions of Asia during the past fifty years was—for a time—achieved by increasing the yields of grain crops by as much as 2.5 percent per year using industrial farming methods.

Soil is More Precious than Gold

Photo: Hands Holding Seedling in Soil

As concern over diminishing soil quality grows in the Asia-Pacific region, natural farming methods may hold the cure.  The prime cause of soil erosion and nutrient depletion during the past thirty years is over-application of chemical fertilizer.  

World Hunger Can Be Solved With Vegetarian Diet

Photo: Man in a Wheat Field

The United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said that food production will need to increase globally by 70% to feed the world's surging population in 2050. The FAO says that efficiency gains in agriculture will be overwhelmed by the expected population growth.

As the global population surges towards a predicted 9.1 billion people by 2050, western tastes for diets rich in meat and dairy products, and which are increasingly being adopted around the world, are unsustainable.