College Life
Green-ify Your: Love Life
Contributed by Elizabeth Nicholas, Harvard Eco-REP
February 2009
Sustainability and romance do not, upon first reflection, seem to have much impact upon each other. Sustainability entails reducing the amount of waste in the tangible world. And romance is anything but tangible. However, in the spirit of Valentine's Day, it would advisable to consider the physical manifestations of romance on the environment, and whether or not it is possible to be more environmentally friendly in our romance.
Perhaps the most obvious result of romance is the dinner date. But beyond walking or biking to a dinner date, it seems difficult at first to see how going to dinner itself could have a positive environmental impact. However, taking a few dinners together to see what it might be like to be a vegetarian could be a fun experience with real benefits for the environment. As Dr. David Brubaker, PhD at Johns Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future, explains, "The way that we breed animals for food is a threat to the planet. It pollutes our environment while consuming huge amounts of water, grain, petroleum, pesticides and drugs." The energy consumed raising animals for consumption, relative to plants, is astronomical—a recent University of Chicago study found that a vegetarian diet results in a carbon output of 1.5 metric tons fewer than a typical carnivorous diet, with even greater savings for vegans (who eat sans meat, milk and eggs.) Although going perma-vegetarian is optimal, every vegetarian meal negates the negative impact of a carnivorous one. And of course, the benefits are double when a couple makes the move to go vegetarian together.
Cambridge and Boston offer a plethora of vegetarian dining menus and options of every stripe for prospective vegetarian couples to scope out, and all of them are better than average at orienting the mood towards romance. As anyone who has ever been to a generic white linen tablecloth restaurant can tell you, no matter how nice the food is, sparks usually fly a little faster in ambiance that hints of a little something unusual, a little unexpected, and a little saucy. Few restaurants fit the bill so neatly as Cambridge's Upstairs on the Square— the brainchild of lifelong friends Mary Catherine Deibel and Deborah Hughes—and few spots in Cambridge are so romantic as one of the restaurant's corner or window tables on a cold night. Upstairs's décor is based on the heady, exuberant, rococo motifs of Alice in Wonderland, and dim lighting and a healthy dose of gold add to the sense that Upstairs is an unusual place in the best sense. Upstairs, in true Cambridge spirit, has created a five-course vegetarian meal, that Chef Steven Brand says was born of heavy demand from Upstairs's clientele. "Vegans and vegetarians were looking for something besides hummus—" Chef Steven Brand told me, "and a restaurant whose chef won't make them feel like a pain. As a rule, we don't say no to menu alteration requests, so we figured after a number of vegan and vegetarian requests to permanently offer both vegan and vegetarian tasting menus." Senior Lewis Bollard, a longtime vegetarian, says "I would certainly take a girl to a five-course vegetarian dinner. It'd be like treating her to a delicious feast and a garden show all in once." (Upstairs on the Square is located at 91 Winthrop Street. Reservations can be made at 617-864-1933. www.upstairsonthesquare.com)
If you'd prefer to wine and dine your date on a leaner budget, look just down the street to a joint with every bit the personality of Upstairs, only down a few stairs instead. Veggie Planet is tucked into the alleyway in between the Coop and Church Street, and is commonly acknowledged to offer some of the best vegetarian food in Boston. Veggie Planet couldn't be more environmentally friendly—the restaurant is fastidious about composting and recycling everything, uses real silverware to eliminate the waste of production and disposal that goes along with plastic utensils, serves only fair trade coffee, has an entirely vegetarian menu, and uses all organic pizza dough. "On the back of the menu are a bunch of scintillating facts about where the food is from," says sophomore Michael Baskin, who says he may or may not have taken a girl there last Valentine's Day. "If your date doesn't notice those facts, you can spit them out and sound as bad-ass as an Art History 101 student in a museum." Baskin also notes that the tables are small, which makes for more intimate conversations, and that the proximity of Club Passim (in the next room) adds either a post-dinner opportunity to extend the date, or an opportunity to bond over "making fun of middle-aged singers still living the dream on stage." Due to the tucked away, hidden location, the low ceilings and the soft light, the vibe of Veggie Planet is, more than anything, secret, and as anyone who has ever had a secret love affair can tell you, secret is definitely romantic. Let your date know that chef Didi Emmonds, aside from arranging menus for similarly eco-friendly restaurants around Boston, also teaches a cooking class for the Boston Vegetarian Society—if you and your date like the food and each other, perhaps that could be date number two. (Veggie Planet is located at 47 Palmer Street, and can be reached at 617-661-1513. www.veggieplanet.net)
However, romance isn't comprised only of dinner dates alone, and in fact, can often be heightened when the activity isn't as conventional or contrived. Sustainable living's most alluring calling card is perhaps its focus on experience and people rather than on things, or places. There are few things that actually allow two people to get to know each other as well as taking a walk, and Boston and Cambridge offer a great number of scenic pathways to take advantage of. Especially for a new date, taking a walk for its own sake, or to that dinner spot, puts people in a situation they are not often in. And for a date you perhaps know a bit better, there are few restaurants or walks I can think of that would be better than simply getting a bottle of wine (Frey Vineyards Organic Wine can be purchased at C'est Bon) and bringing it back to your room, turning off all Blackberries and computers, banishing your roommate, and hanging out for a solid several hours. Diminished carbon imprint, and the spirit of sustainability at its best.
Can getting ready for a date be sustainable too? As some of the biggest names in the beauty industry have recently said—yes! Organic and eco-friendly labels focus on using recyclable packaging, using natural and organic ingredients and as such, are free of the carcinogens and irritants that can cause flare-ups. Stella McCartney, (Beatle Paul's daughter) has been an avid animal rights/eco-activist since the day she founded her eponymous line of clothing, shoes, accessories, skincare and makeup. While Stella's clothing is very London—laidback without losing an ounce of luxe, its price points are in the low four figures for most items, and as such, remains aspirational for the majority of college daters. Stella's skincare and makeup lines, however, are far more affordable, and are made of 100% certified bio-active ingredients, with no petrochemical products, silicone or synthetic preservatives. Care also takes care not to include any animal-derived components or endangered plant species, and does not test its formulas on animals. The ubiquitous fashion website fabsugar.com boasts rave reviews for McCartney's makeup and skincare. "I was blown away," one commentator wrote, "my skin is sensitive and I've had bad reactions to a number of products, but this product does not produce any breakouts/rashes at all… It was very fresh in scent and feel, my skin was instantly cooled and felt even smoother than it normally does." McCartney is adamant that taking a responsible tack on consumerism doesn't mean forgoing effectiveness. "Why shouldn't it be possible to adopt a more natural, organic lifestyle without forgoing luxury?" She asks. "I believe it's possible to have all these things without compromising your personal beliefs and the safety of the environment." (Stella McCartney Care can be found in Sephora stores and at www.sephora.com, and ranges from $15-90)
Along with getting dolled up for a dinner, another seminal mark of Valentine's Day is the expectation of a gift. Sending men the world over into a kvetching fit of excuses on the holiday's impure, market-driven origins, gifts have nonetheless remained expected. Perhaps it is unsurprising, then, that low-cost and easy to find chocolates and stuffed animals—two of the least creative, least welcome gifts most college women could imagine receiving—remain the hallmark (no pun intended) gifts associated with the day. Memo to the boys: We bought Stella McCartney makeup and most likely raided all of our friend’s closets looking for a dress we thought you'd like—so step it up! Flowers may be a generic romantic gift, but no woman in her right mind would oppose a bouquet, especially a bouquet grown near Boston, as the hydrangeas at the Brattle Street Florist, which come from nearby Cape Cod, are. For a more tangible remnant of the holiday, jeweler Monique Pean creates jewelry from recycled gold and conflict-free diamonds inspired by her travels around the world, particularly in the Middle East. Pean's jewelry can be found online at www.moniquepean.com, or purchased at Kirna Zabete in New York's SoHo.
And for those individuals who went to Aujourd'hui for dinner, I heartily recommend a handbag from Ferragamo's new line Eco Ferragamo. Made from nontoxic tanning technique, lined in hand-woven hemp and dyed with natural elements like tree bark, Pean's bags are luxe, biodegradable, water resistant, and totally fantastic. I just might like one even more than the wine-and-solitude date.
