Do you ever walk into a supermarket and get that sinking feeling in your stomach, as you look around at all that wasteful plastic and unnecessary packaging? Imagine getting your groceries in a plastic free environment with no plastic bags and no plastic single use containers. A place with fresh fruit and vegge, friendly staff, plenty of vegan options, and a scale to tare your own jars. 
Canada's capital city is home to Valerie LeLoup's zero waste grocery store Nu Grocery. Started in 2017 Valerie has made her vision a reality - a place where we can buy food without destroying the planet with all that packaging. 
Tune in to find out what it takes to run a zero waste grocery store and learn more about co-founder Valerie as Laura stops into her shop for a visit in Ottawa.

22. Nu Grocery

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Mushrooms have been eaten by people for thousands of years, or perhaps even longer. They are used as a healthy food source, as medicine, fire starter, meat replacement for vegans, and Ikea is even experimenting with using them as packaging! There is promising hope that certain types of mushrooms could help with cancer and mental health issues.
 

 

 

Denis Vidmar is a second-generation mushroom expert and enthusiast. He joins the Zero Waste Countdown to talk about staying healthy with mushrooms and his business TheMushHub.com .
 
 
 

Denis Vidmar From The Mush Hub 
 

 



https://www.brianmuraresku.com/the-immortality-key

145. Mushrooms

Rick Nahmias is the founder and CEO of Food Forward, an organization based in L.A. that addresses food waste and food insecurity. In July 2021 they had their biggest month on record with 7 million pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables recovered, helping to meet the food needs of 150,000 people.
 

 

 
Rick joins the show to talk about the growth of the organization over 9 years, how fresh fruit is recovered on such a large scale, and why Southern California and particularly L.A. is a hub for fresh fruit recovery.

144. Food Forward L.A.

Cuba is known as a beautiful tourist destination with colourful landscapes and beach resorts. But what is it like to live under a communist government? Is it better for the environment?
 

 
Daylin Horruitiner of Spanglish Generation is a Cuban American born in Cuba. She creates content that gathers attention to the plight of the Cuban people under such strict governing, and joins the Zero Waste Countdown to discuss what environmentalism looks like under a communist regime. 
 

 
While the environmental movement in the West seems to insatiably tug further and further to the left, Daylin discusses the dangers in going too far to any side of the political spectrum. She explains environmental issues such as rolling blackouts, why the Cuban government imposed food rations that particularly targeted beef, and how environmental protests in Cuba are often organized by the government themselves in order to get foreign funding.

143. Cuba

Lou Corbett works with plants in a cabin in the woods north of Toronto. She founded Northshore Apothecary where she sells her products, all made sustainably. She takes great care to ensure the natural environment around her is healthy, while creating products from the natural world that benefit us and our own health.
 
 

 
 
Lou joins the Zero Waste Countdown to talk about her processes, scent distillation, sustainable harvesting, and how we can use invasive species to our advantage.
 
 

 
 
Connecting with plants, whether that be through aromatherapy, food, bath soaks, creams, or even just learning about plants and choosing not to use them, can help us forge relationships with the outdoors and with our own health.
 
 

 
 
Check out her story on Instragram: @northshore_apothecary and if you'd like to buy one of Lou's wildcraft products for yourself or for a loved one, she gave us this discount code: WILDCRAFT10 to save 10%.

142. Northshore Apothecary

Julie Cielo is the founder of Ferm Fatale, a shrub kombucha mocktail company offered in sustainable packaging. She started Ferm Fatale to replace alcoholic drinks with something much healthier for our gut.
 
 

 
Julie walks us through her autoimmune journey that led her into taking control of her own health and wellness while giving us tips on how to do so ourselves.
 
 

 
She discusses the link between gut, body, and mind health and how we can keep all of them working together harmoniously in these difficult times. Coupon code ZEROWASTE20 to save 20% if you'd like to try Ferm Fatale.

22. Nu Grocery

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