To honor Earth Day this year, we’re taking a look at how the day came to be and how certain restaurants and food-related retailers are making strides to adapt and become more eco-friendly.
Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 of each year and began as the modern environment movement in 1970. During a time in America when leaded gas, industrial building smoke stacks, and air pollution were not highly contested, the first Earth Day was introduced by Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, who witnessed the devastating effects of the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. His goal was to enforce environmental protection into the national political agenda. By the end of 1970, that first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. By 1990, Earth Day went global and encouraged those around the world to participate in a day that put environmental consciousness on the forefront. While much has been done to protect the Earth since 1970, issues such as global warming and plastic pollution in our oceans have forced changes in the consumer experience.