Sharing the sustainable mindset

By Jennifer Henry, Special to the Sun

Friday, Sept. 28, 2018 | 2 a.m.

Be the change you want to see in the world. Really, try it. Maybe it’s hard to imagine how one fewer plastic straw could combat the “Great Pacific garbage patch,” which now spreads across 600,000 square miles, according to USA Today. And going vegan won’t ensure the happy life of every animal on the globe. But it’s important to remember a salad for lunch isn’t a bad option for you or the planet.

It’s that kind of eco-realism—a rational sense of personal responsibility, combined with an integral understanding that doing something, anything at all, is far better than doing nothing—that is the central tenant of the new environmentally conscious movement. It’s not about seeking perfection, it’s about pitching in. Las Vegas locals Minimal Market and Monson Made This are prime examples of individuals close to home who are doing their best to make the world at large a better place by teaching us how, one real change at a time.

Minimal Market

It started with the laundry. Stay-at-home mom Alexandra Hamilton felt that familiar pang of disposable plastic guilt every time she emptied a bottle of detergent. With two little ones and two adults in the house, Hamilton knew cleaning products were a necessity. But throwing away so much petroleum-based refuse felt like a persistent problem she could conquer with the help of her craftiest confidante, Brie Lujan.

Their plan was simple— create a refill station right here intown. Lujan was already an experienced soap maker, and Hamilton longed for the opportunity to keep her family and the planet clean.

It took two years for their concept to come to market. They started sketching plans for their minimal waste, community-minded brand and established two monthly pop-ups; every first Sunday at PublicUS and every third Sunday at Market in the Alley. They also have a micro-boutique inside Fergusons Downtown, where they offer a selection of multiuse cleaners, such as locally sourced Citrus Fusion ultra-concentrated laundry soap.

Fill one of their amber glass reusable containers, or better yet, bring your own.

“BYO, bring your own, that’s what we always say,” Lujan says. “That really is our best advice,” Hamilton adds. “BYO!”

Their best-seller, the BYO reusable bamboo cutlery and steel straw, comes in its own upcycled cloth pouch and eliminates the need for plastic takeout utensils.

But you don’t have to buy their wares to minimize your trash, Lujan says. “Ours is cute and compact, but you can make your own set out of any reusable cutlery and straw—just wrap a cloth napkin around it and throw it in your bag!” Hamilton’s advice is even simpler: “When I go out to eat, I say, ‘No straw please.’ ”

“No one can do it every time,” Lujan says, “But we’re still being conscientious, and that’s important.”

Monson Made This

A former CCSD high school English teacher for 13 years, Michael Monson went vegetarian just after graduating from high school in 1998, but it didn’t last long.

“Other kids were doing it,” he recalls. “I guess I just wanted to be cool.”

His next foray into a strictly plant-based diet was spurred by watching a PETA slaughter video in 2005. “It was awful by design, of course,” Monson says. But it wasn’t until the results of a routine physical came back with serious warning signs that he started to look at his diet with real concern.

Hoping to avoid being prescribed medications to combat his high cholesterol, high blood pressure and pre-diabetic conditions, Monson tried low-carb and Paleo diets, but the numbers kept climbing.

As a last resort, he returned to his old stand-by, veggie-based eating. “I always liked to cook for myself,” Monson says, and remaking standard recipes without the meat had long been a practice of his.

Now the at-home chef was eliminating all animal products and finding that his plant-based substitutions were both healthier and more delicious.

“Make it vegan,” Monson says, “and make it good.”

Monson’s numbers soon dropped to healthier levels, and a year later, he and longtime partner Ben Seider hatched the idea to make a series of vegan cooking videos for YouTube.

The popular Monson Made This channel was born in their Silverado Ranch kitchen and broadcast recipes and kitchen tips every Monday with a simple message: “Good food is still good food.”

Although Monson eats a strictly plant-based diet, his numbers have increased again, causing him to reassess what plant-based fats and sugars he’s eating.

“Some people think veganism is this silver bullet, it’ll cure everything— the planet, your health. But nothing works like that,” Monson says. “I’m not striving for some kind of vegan environmentalist perfection. I just want to teach people about the options when they make something to eat.”

This story originally appeared in the Las Vegas Weekly.