With the Christmas season upon us, you’re bound to be making a trip or two to your local grocer’s or the nearest superstore – there’s all the traditional ingredients for the family Christmas dinner to be bought. This has provided Greenpeace with the opportunity to publish two guides giving details of genetically modified consumer products. The Gavarni is pleased to review these two vital guides for your next shopping expedition.

Greenpeace’s GM no GM shopper’s guide
This fun, easy-to-use guide comes in notebook form so it can be slipped into your pocket as the perfect companion over the coming months. The guide features excellently designed sections identified by tabs which correspond to the different sections in a supermarket. Greenpeace is opposed to open-field GM crops because of the high risk of contamination of the food chain and the environment. It’s important for us to take a stand as citizens, express our point of view and our wishes to government and to the EU.

The “GM-no GM” Christmas shopping guide
This has been the key theme of Greenpeace’s Christmas consumer awareness campaign. The idea is to make your traditional Christmas bird, foie gras and iced yule log purchases completely GM-free. Christmas shopping is a great opportunity for choosing environmentally-friendly, healthy products. To receive your copy of the guide – very handy in the run-up to Christmas – send a stamped addressed envelope to Greenpeace and they’ll send you a copy of this mine of information in return.

Greenpeace
22, rue des Rasselins
75020 Paris
France
http://blog.greenpeace.fr

www.ecologie-pratique.org is one of a number of fun and attractive websites with a whole host of information for those wishing to do DIY at home. Eco-construction is of increasing interest to private individuals who are environmentally aware and who are also looking for ways to make savings – large or small

This site provides users with all the information needed for building work, renovation and fitting out of your home. The site also has information for professionals, with a list of materials, techniques, energy sources and resources for their construction work. The site deals with a fairly wide variety of topics. For instance, there is technical advice such as “how to design an electrical installation” and topical articles, for instance: “how to reduce household energy consumption.”

The excellent book “Pesticides: a French scandal unveiled” was published by Fayard a few months ago.  It takes us to the heart of the most disturbing ecological secrets and reads like a thriller. The book features revelations on the truth about the use of pesticides in today’s society and the pressure from lobbies following the book’s publication. Despite being attacked and slandered, the authors of “Pesticides” have had the courage of their convictions. Of course, such determined advocates as Fabrice Nicolino and François Veillerette are not easily thwarted. The first is a journalist who previously worked for Le Canard Enchaîné and is now with Terre Sauvage; the second is a former chairman of Greenpeace and presently a trustee of PAN Europe (Pesticide Action Network).

And the goal of publishing this book? The reason is that as with all environmental problems, pesticides may be scary but at the end of the day, they appear to be a remote threat. However, in truth they are everywhere: in the atmosphere, rain and dew, rivers, groundwater – in fact, in any watercourse. As well as being harmful to the environment, pesticides are very dangerous to our health. The risks include cancer, neurological diseases and loss of fertility. We consume a significant quantity of pesticides every day completely unawares. Even when pesticides are used in very small doses in industry and farming, these tiny doses are repeated many times, so that their combined impact is eventually much larger. Today, 5% of fruit and vegetables still exceed the authorised limits of pesticide residue. It is worth raising awareness of this alarming issue if it leads to us being submerged by pesticides no longer.

For more information, visit the official website of “Pesticides: a French scandal unveiled”.

Pour plus d’informations, connectez-vous vite sur le site officiel “Pesticides. Révélations sur un scandale français”.

Christmas is an opportunity to buy gifts which our loved ones have been dreaming about – or perhaps nagging us to buy! There are plenty of lovely and original gifts available to delight your friends and family without falling into the excesses of our consumer society. They include both intangible and practical presents. The Gavarni has come up with a list of really useful ideas. And if you’re one of those who prefer not to receive gifts for environmental reasons, an innovative gift exemption voucher has just seen the light of day.

(Virtually) intangible gifts
You can offer a concert ticket to music-loving sons, a one-year museum pass to that grandma of yours who is a contemporary art buff, cooking lessons to fathers who have decided to take up cooking as they approach the age of forty, a spa treatment for mothers-in-law who love their little comforts, or a gym membership for your fitness-crazed twenty-year-old sister. These simple gifts will be very much appreciated by all your family.

Practical presents

If concert tickets and the like are not your cup of tea, you can always go for a practical gift which is also environmentally-friendly. Selections include: a lovely wicker basket for market shopping, a guide to acts of greenness for your newly aware son-in-law or a set of handkerchiefs for your grandson who has never known anything other than disposable tissue

A gift-free Christmas
The mescoursespourlaplanete.com website has taken the unusual step of offering a gift exemption certificate. This involves sending a letter to our friends and family indicating we do not wish to receive presents from them. The suggested text is as follows: “Because money can’t buy the best things in life and I already have everything I need, I, the undersigned hereby take great pleasure in exempting X from the obligation of buying me a gift for Christmas 2008. With all my love, Y.” This unusual concept has already attracted a lot of fans!

Source: Paris.fr

Public opinion is being increasingly affected by environmental issues, which are often in the headlines. People are feeling increasingly concerned by questions of pollution, energy-saving and caring for the environment. This explains the growth of a large number of green communities online, with discussion groups, forums, and stories in which ecology and personal experience are to the fore. We found two to be of particular interest:

Planete Attitude
Discussion and debate in this community focus on protection of the planet and of the species. Planète Attitude is a kind of green version of Facebook, with individual pages and groups. You can invite your friends, publish content, share ideas or simply respond to information circulated by other users. The sole purpose of the community is to act in favour of our planet.

Eco-bio
Eco-bio is a general-interest forum dealing with environmental issues in daily life, with experiences and advice about the realities and results of 100% green living. There is discussion of such contemporary issues as home births (the hot topic at the moment) and washable, environmentally- friendly nappies. Other open-ended and divisive subjects are also discussed, such as the politics of environmentalism and “the organic society“. There are also other, more surprising subjects such as the relationship between environmentalism and spirituality. At least one of the issues under discussion is bound to be one you’re interested in.

There’s just one week left before Christmas in which to buy your Christmas tree – and if you want it to be an act of greenness, buy it from Jardiland. This is because the well-known garden centre chain has joined forces with SOS Sahel to combat drought and desertification in Niger. Every year, almost 250,000 hectares of arable land are disappearing because of this desertification – an area the size of Luxembourg

As a result of this partnership, 300,000 trees will be used to reforest the Sahel – a belt of land which extends from Cape Verde to Djibouti to the south of the Sahara. This unexpected combination is in fact perfectly logical, because the two enterprises have the same core business: plant life. It’s a great idea for celebrating Christmas in the spirit of sharing and helping across the nations.

Credit photo

Crudus
This trendy and organic venue is run by the same team as the Cibus. Forget the more complex dishes and go for the plates of mozza, burrata and mind-blowing delicatessen. An evening meal will cost you €35 (not including drinks). It’s a place to eat which is both stylish and accessible and a delightful meeting place for the environmentally-aware.

Crudus
21, rue Saint-Roch
75001 Paris
France
Phone : +33 1 42 60 90 29

Photo credit: Adrian Moore

Kloog Cafe
This flashy diner is beloved of the residents of Paris’s 17th arrondissement. In Scandinavian tones, with classic 50s furniture and nice prices, Koogle Cafe is the perfect place for a day out with friends. Starters cost around €5 (green olive and goats cheese Kloofoutie) and main courses go for €11-12 (Kloog platter: soft boiled eggs with cream, onions and a slice of bacon, curried organic quinoa and spinach salad with sesame): highly “Kloog” flavours for a memorable evening.

Kloog Cafe
63, rue Guy Moquet
75017 Paris
France
Phone: +33 1 42 29 59 18
Closed on Monday and Sunday nights.

Addresses seen in Glamour.

Supernature
This restaurant reconciles organic devotees and refined palates, with aubergine curries and not-to-be-missed potimarron squash and pea risottos. Starter and main course for €14. The restaurant also offers lunch with a Comté cheese muffin, soft-boiled eggs with Philadelphia cream cheese, whole-grain pancakes, almond milk cream and tonka beans. Magazines including l’Express, Pariscope, Le Figaro and Elle are all going crazy about this place and it’s easy to see why.

Supernature
12, rue de Trévise
75009 Paris
France
Tel: +33 1 47 70 21 03
super_nature@yahoo.fr

L’Oiseau Blanc – La Capucine
After a hard day, make for Clarisse Demory’s bucolic-sounding organic bar and restaurant. You can try unusual organic wines like Beaujolais Village and the excellent dishes including the house tarama, marinated artichokes and the sublime Tzatziki. The prices are attractive too. You’ll have a great time and soon be recommending it to your friends.

L’Oiseau blanc – La Capucine
35, rue de l’Orillon
75011 Paris
France
Tel: +33 1 43 57 94 67
cafe.oiseau@yahoo.fr
open on monday to friday, from 6pm until 1am.

Adresses vues dans Glamour

Bob’s Juice Bar
Bob is in fact called Mark. He hails from San Francisco and serves great organic food from his store near the Canal Saint-Martin: soups, sandwiches, delicious fresh fruit juice and wickedly good muffins, US style. As well as the famed mixer which takes pride of place on the counter, there is a corner with all the American press for added atmosphere. A soup, muffin and smoothie lunch costs €8.50.
It’s well worth a visit not just because it’s environmentally aware, but also because the proprietor is friendly and engaging.

Bob’s Juice Bar
15, rue Lucien-Sampaix
75010 Paris
France
Tel : +33 9 50 06 36 18
bob@bobjuicebar.com
Open on monday to friday, from 7:30am to 3:00pm

Le Look
Ludivine Billaud is an illustrator by trade. A lover of Berlin, good eating and pleasant places, she designed this venue with the help of designer Martino Gamper. Le Look is a great place to meet at any time of day over a delicious hot dog and salads which vary with the whims of the proprietress. Bionade, the new elderberry soda, is a delicious way to quench your thirst. Testing out this delightful little restaurant will cost you about €16.

Le Look
17, rue Martel
75010 Paris
France

Credit photo: Harris Graber

Adresses vues dans Glamour.

For Christmas, Gavarni hotel suggests where organic ecological and environmentally friendly gifts are not lacking. In “L’Espace des Blancs Manteaux”, from Friday 12th to Sunday 14th December, the show “Noel en bio” is an opportunity to participate in a meeting of solidarity and fair, with organic producers.

On the stands, many different ideas: cosmetics, clothing, health products, organic foods and gifts of all kinds, all fully green. Open from 11am until 8pm, you’ll find a little time to devote to this beautiful salon, friendly and playful. In addition, entrance is free. It’s a little christmassy before Christmas time!

Salon Noël en Bio
Espace des Blancs Manteaux
48, rue Vieille du Temple
75004 Paris
France
Phone: +33.1.44.54.75.79