Ecofy Your Thanksgiving
Creating an eco friendly Thanksgiving is not as hard as you might think—it just means asking a few questions that might slightly shift your traditions. Do you typically buy a cut flower arrangement for the table? Look for organic flowers or a beautiful living succulent arrangement. Is turkey your main course? Find a free range, […]
Buy Better Candy
Conventional Halloween candy is a serious trick. Chock full of food dyes linked to allergic reactions and behavioral problems in children, the chocolate is typically cultivated in Africa by children who are virtually enslaved. But with a little effort, you can get good treats to give away. First off, make sure your Halloween candy is food […]
Clarify Organic
Newsflash: The words “organic,” “eco” and “natural” are totally unregulated: They can mean that a product contains plant-derived ingredients and is cruelty- and preservative-free, but because they’re simply descriptives, they could also mean the manufacturer just threw these words on the label to make a sale. Get products that walk the talk, by looking for […]
Buy Real Natural
Wouldn’t it be great if we could check our critical thinking at the drugstore door and trust that a label declaring something’s “organic” and “natural” really does mean it is? Sadly, you still need to do a little bit of homework to make sure your products are safe—by your standards. If buying truly natural is […]
Forego Food Dyes
Yellow 5, Red 40, and six other widely used artificial dyes found in sugary cereals, candies, sodas and snack foods have been linked to hyperactivity and behavior problems in children and should be prohibited from use in foods, according to the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest. And don’t just think they stop […]
Avoid Obesogens
The increased use of synthetic chemicals between 1930 and 2000 directly correlates with the rise of obesity in adults. Coincidink? Scientists don’t think so. There’s even a new word for these obesity-promoting chemicals: Obesogens. Yes, really. Including pesticides, preservatives, parabens, hormones, Bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates, obesogens are endocrine disruptors—chemicals that mimic hormones and mess […]
Plan An Organic Weekend
Federal subsidies on things like soybeans and corn—used in cheap feed for livestock and high-fructose corn syrup, respectively—means that America can product a lot of mono-crops, which benefit the big corporations that produce high-volume food but don’t do much for our environment, or our health. The bad news is that because of this practice, most […]
