Show love to your Valentine and the Earth

A weekend to experience! Super Bowl plus Valentine’s Day is my dream weekend come true.

I have been a football fan since I was a little girl, a daddy’s girl at that. When My dad and I would watch football (he played in high school), I learned the game from him. To this day, as a 97-year-old, we recap the games every Monday! He doesn’t miss a thing and we have been prepping for this game.

In so far as that we were originally from New Jersey, we were born into the Eagle support system; we have more than adopted and now cherish our Carolina Panthers and Charlotte Football Club, but our Green roots are showing this Sunday.

Mind you, I love Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City team. Who doesn’t adore both Kelse boys (men)! So, this Super Bowl is a Valentine’s celebration too! I cannot lose this game. If the Eagles win, I win; if the Chiefs dominate, I will totally revel in the win. And I love football! Win, win, win.

So the only downside to the Super Bowl is the next seven months without a football discussion with my dad. I guess we can talk about the weather. Fly Eagles Fly! Go Chiefs!

Now, let’s have a serious discussion about Valentine’s Day. If you haven’t purchased anything yet, let’s talk about sustainable choices. Many of us gravitate toward chocolate and/or flowers. Chocolate that is an ethically sourced treat not only provides that sweet treat to give or share with your special someone, it is good for the world.

Fair trade chocolate come from companies that treat and pay their workers fairly and have workers that harvest and grow in environmentally safe conditions. There are candy companies that avoid palm oil; palm oil is used in about half of all packaged foods and for companies to keep up with the demand, land in places like Indonesia and Cameroon are clear cut, removing indigenous farmers from their lands, claiming the land for themselves.

This not only harms the humans, but any of the local animal species living on the land are displaced or destroyed. Cocoa sourced from fair trade certified farms ensure that workers, the land and practices to bring the beans to market are equitable and sustainable. Many of these companies sell their chocolates at our local stores like Walmart, Target or Amazon.

Purchasing fair trade chocolate checks all the boxes: chocolate is considered a superfood (in small amounts) as it provides some heart healthy properties, 70% or higher cocoa, not milk or white. It can enhance moods by triggering hormones in the brain, can reduce cholesterol (bad) levels and increase the good cholesterol; chocolate can also signal to the brain that you are full, and stop eating.

So, not only are you giving your sweetie a Valentine’s gift, you are telling them that you care about sustainability, treatment of other humans and the environment, and you are concerned about their health! Another win, win, win.

Now, let’s give cut flowers a go. Unbeknownst to most of us, flowers at many local shops are sourced from Ecuador and Columbia. Over 40,000 women in Ecuador and 100,000 women in Columbia pick and cut flowers (especially roses) and are exposed to pesticides that contribute to lung and skin problems.

You can ask your florist or supermarket to find fair trade flowers and refuse to buy those that are not sourced fairly. To avoid this completely, provide your valentine with local pollinator seeds, cultivate an area in view of new flower garden and grow your very own. Another win, win, win! Exercise for you, flowers that will last longer than any store bought and nectar for our pollinators!

Nan Kirlin is recycling coordinator for Gaston County.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Show love to your Valentine and the Earth