Organic Food Products To Be Tested For Residues Starting In 2013

by: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online In order to make sure that farmers are not using banned pesticides or genetically-modified organisms, organic food will be forced to undergo periodic residue testing starting in 2013, USDA officials have announced. The agency first implemented regulations governing organic food production 10 years ago, and […]

The “Green” Christmas Tree

For many families, the centerpiece of Christmas celebrations is the luminous, awe-inspiring tree decorated with care in the living room. But with all the options now available, how do you know which Christmas tree is the greenest choice for the environment? The question for many is deciding between a real, fresh tree or a fake […]

Kaiser Permanente advises customers against GMOs

It has come to our attention that Kaiser Permanente, the largest managed healthcare organization in the United States, has advised its members against GMOs (genetically modified organisms) in food. In its Northwest Fall 2012 newsletter, Kaiser suggested membership limit exposure to genetically modified organisms. “GMOs have been added to our food supply since 1994, but […]

“Oprah’s Organics” to Hit the Shelves

It appears that the media mogul Oprah Winfrey is venturing into the organic food business. Several applications for “Oprah’s Organics” were filed last month, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office. The filings indicated toiletry items such as soaps, oils, hair products, sunscreen, as well as expanding into food products like salad dressings, frozen […]

let’s not forget to be thankful for the earth

Thanksgiving is just a week away and many of us will be surrounded by friends and family enjoying an amazing home cooked meal of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy. With delicious food on our minds, we often forget how the Thanksgiving holiday affects the environment. Of the 248 million turkeys raised each year, over two-thirds […]

Reclaiming Outdoor Advertising

Urban Air: Los Angeles Artist Transforms Billboards Into Floating Gardens – Liz Dwyer Imagine sitting in traffic during your daily commute and instead of seeing the clutter of countless billboard advertisements you see gardens floating in the sky. That’s the kind of green experience Los Angeles-based artist Stephen Glassman wants us to have as we travel […]

What To Takeaway From Prop 37’s Defeat

If you haven’t heard yet, California’s Proposition 37 did not pass, therefore there will be no mandatory labeling of genetically modified food, well….yet.  The ballot initiative dramatically gained attention leading up to the vote as massive amounts of opposition commercials hit the airwaves. Corporations not supporting the initiative spent more than $46 million, compared to […]

Hidden GMOs in Packaged Food

  Grab any packaged food in your pantry and read the label. The following are ingredients that may contain GMOs, unless certified organic or non-GMO. Aspartame (also called AminoSweet®,    NutraSweet®, Equal Spoonful®, Canderel®,  BeneVia®, E951)baking powdercanola oil (rapeseed oil)caramel colorcellulosecitric acidcobalamin (Vitamin B12)colorosecondensed milkconfectioners sugarcorn flourcorn masacorn mealcorn oilcorn sugarcorn syrupcornstarchcottonseed oilcyclodextrincysteindextrindextrosediacetyldiglycerideerythritolEqualfood starchfructose (any form)glucoseglutamateglutamic […]

Groceries as Communities for Change

Photo: Kathy Geissler Best / SF [via SF Gate] One year after Occupy Oakland, we find that what seemed to have so much potential produced little to resolve our communities’ social and economic problems. Yet the Occupy Wall Street movement did illuminate a very important and growing sentiment: People want to have a meaningful role […]

Chefs Back Measure on Labeling G.M.O.’s

By Stephanie Strom, Diner’s Journal, New York Times Alice Waters / Laura Morton for The New York Times  More than 700 of the nation’s chefs and professional foodies, from prominent names like David Bouley to up-and-comers like the chef Bryant Terry of Oakland, have lined up to support a California ballot measure that would require […]