ecobites.com

Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

Until recently, that is.

Now, city dwellers can choose from a small but growing assortment of quick-service restaurants offering organic, local, and all-natural meals. Organic and sustainable fast food restaurants are cropping up in North America and the UK.

By Giovanna Dunmall

Organic food has often been accused of elitism because of its high prices and lack of availability on the mainstream market. But as farms expand their organic capacities and the supply chain gets more reliable, the high prices once associated with organic fare are falling. The market is growing beyond niche and becoming more and more mainstream. From Europe to North America, small eco pizza and burger joints are popping up, while an increasing number of conventional fast-food chains are going organic. Here are some of the best eco bites you can find, both in North America and across the pond.

Org-e, UK: Short for “organic excellence,” the joint is new to the scene, having opened near London’s Covent Garden in April 2007. Owner Sanjay Sridher set up the restaurant because “there were no real options available to me when I wanted to buy eco friendly and healthy lunch time meals.” Plus he wanted to make organic food “fun and trendy.” The small but cheerful venue is decorated with low-VOC paints and reclaimed timber floorboards. Customers choose from an enticing array of organic salads, sandwiches, and burgers using seasonal ingredients and prepared on site—minimizing the need for unnecessary food miles.

Ozone Organics, Canada: At this Ontario eatery, folks can get a burger for five bucks; all of the potatoes and vegetables are pesticide-free; and the beef, chicken, and dairy products do not contain antibiotics or hormones. Everything on the menu is organic (the sweet potato fries are a must-try!) and takeout containers and utensils are made out of biodegradable materials.

Better Burger NYC, US: This New York City spot has been serving burgers and hot dogs since 1998 from meat and poultry that is sometimes organic and always antibiotic-, hormone-, and nitrate-free. Patrons chow down on organic, air-baked fries (meaning 2/3 less fat than traditional fast food fries, according to Better Burger’s website) and organic, sweetener-free drinks. The restaurant now has three locations in Manhattan.

Hot Lips, US: Located in Portland, Oregon, the eatery uses organic and regional ingredients to create imaginative pizzas. Seasonal variations are also a big feature and include squash, wild mushrooms, and local spuds or greens. The restaurant also serves soups, salads, and sandwiches. Hot Lips’ eco principles include using electric or pedal-powered vehicles for deliveries, and at one location, waste heat from pizza ovens is re-captured and used to boil water for washing dishes.

Bon appetit!

Eco food delivered to your door US

San Francisco, CA --- DINING IN (www.dininginsf.com) the specialized personal chef service that delivers fresh, healthy, flavorful and affordable meals to your home or office on a weekly basis is already green, when it comes to organic food. Now the five-year San Francisco-based business is proud to announce it has expanded with an environmentally-conscious kitchen. Currently, DINING in delivers to San Francisco, East Bay, Oakland, The Peninsula, Los Altos, San Bruno, San Mateo, Foster City, San Carlos, Menlo Park, Marin and Palo Alto. Due to demand and continued growth, a new 4,500 square foot kitchen will occupy the new 6,100 square foot business space and will now be servicing the areas of Orinda, Lafayette, Walnut Creek and soon San Jose and Los Gatos..

For more information on DINING IN’s ‘No Mess and No Stress’ healthy food service go to www.dininginsf.com 

Editors note on fast food chains: Whilst is seems all good, what concerns ecobites is the larger fast food chains are adding some organic lines to its junk food, just to allow them to promote their swill as healthy. It might fool some of the populace, but it just adds to the hypocrisy of their message. Last McDonalds report that was aired in Oz, was that in each burger, there is a mixture of meat from over 500 different cows and that the feedlot cows live, eat and drink on top of 1 metre of urine and excrement for there entire lives. Would you drink an organic cup of coffee whilst eating a burger. I don't think so. This is an enviromental disaster waiting to happen if Mad Cow gets in to their feedlots.