10 Ways To Celebrate Labor Day, Sustainable Style

by Sarah Newman · 2010-09-02 09:30:00 UTC
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As summer's long hot days quickly fade, Labor Day weekend festivities are often people's last chance to picnic, lounge in the grass and soak in the sun before trees turn to crimson and the sky darkens early.

In the spirit of the holiday, there's plenty you can do to honor the intertwined issues of labor and our environment. Being a patriot is about a whole lot more than just sporting your red-white-and-blue. It's about building a country that's also committed to green, worker-friendly practices that ensure a healthy future for all. Here's how to honor workers around the world, sustainable style.

1. Buy union certified foods. What better way to honor the thousands of men and women who toil daily to bring us fresh foods to our tables every day? Buying union foods is the best way to ensure that they are picked by workers who received fair wages, benefits and protections.

2. Make your business local. Visit your farmers market or a local farm for freshly picked fruits and veggies for your holiday weekend meals.

3. Meet a farmer. While you're there, why not chat with the person who makes the fresh fruits and veggies appear on your plate? You might learn a thing or two.

4.  Start a garden. Gardening is sure labor-intensive, and not everything grows in summer. From spinach to carrots to broccoli, there is lots of delicious produce to plant and harvest this fall. It'll be fun and a good way to put yourself in a farm worker's busy shoes.

5. Join a community garden. You the type that can't toil alone? Join with others to grow flowers, food and community.

6. Go offline. I know, I know -- probably the most radical suggestion on this list. Enjoying a media-free weekend (or even just a day, if you will risk severe withdrawal symptoms without plugging-in) is the best way to savor the remaining days of summer. All of us, no matter what our occupation, deserve some rest.

7.  Buy organic. Icky fertilizers and pesticides aren't only harmful to consumers. They also may be related to a host of health ailments to farm workers and their families whose daily exposure is associated with increased rates of cancers, lung ailments, developmental problems, vision and cognitive difficulties, and seizures.

8. Buy fair trade. Not everything comes from the US, so if you're buying international, look for the fair trade label whose standards empower and protect small producers and traders globally.

9. Be a patriot: The Gulf oil spill was a slap-in-the-face reminder of why we to wean ourselves off of our oil addiction. Lighten your oil load this weekend by using less petroleum-derived plastic, getting on your bicycle, and and turning up the thermostat.

10. Any tips I missed? Please share!

Photo credit: kjunstorm, flickr creative commons

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Sarah Newman is Research Manager, Social Action for Participant Media
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