Organic Integrity: Quality vs. Quantity

3 days and counting.

That's 3 days until I get my first box or 'share' of organic produce from our local CSA (community supported agriculture), Maple Creek Farm. I can tell you within days of eating the fruits and vegetables that were literally picked that day, how different my body reacts. I literally feel more alive. No surprise, because the food is alive.

There's a lot in the news recently about food shortages and our food supply being taxed to the max with industrial farming of soybean, corn and other nutrient deficient crops that are robbing our soil of the biodiversity it needs to crank out real food. Technology and science is a remarkable thing, but when it come to our food, leave it alone. Food is food. End of story, no need to reivent it, no need to reduce the fat content so we consume low-fat replacements loaded with toxic chemicals. If you're not convinced, you must read Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. Pollan not only addresses the epidemic of obesity and disease in the U.S. as a result of eating nutrionless food - a term he calls 'nutritional inflation', he underscores the relevance and importance of organics. I call it organic integrity. Organic food is integral to a healthy life. People ask me why organic food wasn't around 50 years ago. It was. It's called the food our mothers and grandmothers used to make - it is why there were only 2 aisles in a grocery store or local market rather than 20 in a 'superstore'. (18 of which you shouldn't walk down!)

So remember, next time you're enticed to buy that new cereral, or the low-Snackwell crackers, you're not doing your body or the future of our food supply and health any favors.

Is the world really going green?

This weekend I spoke at the annual Earth Day Expo at Oakland University. This event has grown from less than 1,000 people two years ago to an expected 7,000 attendees this year. Next year they're hoping to get 50,000. That's a big jump, but I bet they get there. With more and more in the media about 'going' green, it's the newest and greatest thing. But for many of the people attending and businesses exhibiting at the expo it is a way of life.

I love attending events like this and meet so many incredible people doing really cool things, small and large, and the best part is many are here in Michigan. That's what organic education is to me. A way of life. A philosophy. It's more than the next best thing. I'm convinced as the quality and quantity of our food systems deplete and chemical companies continue to pump out toxic cocktails for cleaning and beauty products, we will become a sicker, more nutrient-depleted, unhappy and sickly society. In my presentation I discussed how an organic lifestyle can benefit your health and community. Learn more about organics, the myths, how to read labels, and how to transition affordably and simply at my next presentation at the Green Street Fair. It's a great time to go organic! Hope to see you!

Sign up too for Pure Buzz eNews, to learn more about organics and organic products. Email me at heather@purealternatives.net to sign up.

Sierra Club battles Clorox

I knew trouble was brewing when I read a few months ago that Clorox bought Burt's Bees. Now, the company's line of 'green' cleaning products, called Green Works is making news. I'll be honest, I haven't tried the products and I probably should since I've been getting a lot of questions. But, I have to tell you I'm skeptical. A 2004 study by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund named Clorox Company 'one of the nation's most dangerous companies'.

That's why I was so disappointed to read this weekend that the National Board of the Sierra Club - one of the nation's most respected environmental advocacy groups - voted recently to remove the leaders of the club's 35,000-member Florida chapter for opposing the national board's decision in December 2007 to allow The Clorox Company to use the Sierra Club's name and logo to endorse its Green Works brand.

To me and I'm sure for them, the Florida members viewed this alliance as a threat that would harm the reputation of the Sierra Clubs brand. (I failed to mention Sierra Club is expected to gain substantial financial benefits from a portion of sales kicked back to them from Clorox). As a nonprofit, I'm sure this was a hard decision to make, but it's great to see the decision made in the interest integrity rather than money. Hopefully the national office will recognize the leadership and integrity of its volunteers and rescind the decision.

For safer alternatives, you may want to download the following Green House Cleaning Guide (PDF) A friend forwarded this to me and it's great. I will also include in Pure Buzz , my e-newsletter too. Remember to visit www.purealternatives for update on other pure products.

Oprah's marketing machine misleading to consumers

How many of you have purchased a product or service or admired something because it's been endorsed by someone you respect? I've done it countless time I'm sure. Just last week, I purchased Oprah's recent book club. (I actually learned of it before I knew Oprah endorsed it!) There's a lot of buzz now about 'natural' and organic products, including Shaklee which although they don't claim to be organic, they've made a huge comeback thanks to Oprah's endorsement a few months ago. The New York Times published an article today and other recent reports of an emerging trend in home parties, called the EcoMom Party which promotes 'natural products' primarily Shaklee.

Now, I'm not out to knock anyone's business, but this is where I get revved up. I cannot help but wonder if the people making and selling Shaklee and other natural imposters really think or know if their products are truly natural? I recently contacted Shaklee to ask for a copy of its product ingredients. Nothing is listed on the company's website which as a 'natural' company you'd expect they'd want to promote and market. They provided me with a glossary of definitions listing general terms like 'emulsifiers' and 'humectants' with no specific ingredients breakdown. When I asked for a specific list of what ingredients were included, I was told they do not provide that info. Huh?? You're a 'natural' company right? Don't you want to market that? Isn't that something your customers would want to know? Obviously not. So, instead they choose to market an image of ambiguity and the perception of purity to consumers. We need to do better.

Consumer purchases are based on choices. Until companies begin to ethically promote transparency in product ingredients and government better enforces labeling standards, we need to continue education in order to help people understand that safer and pure alternatives are available.

Toxic ingredients in common Cold medicines too

I just learned today, that many of the chemicals I've been advocating against and educating you to stop using are not only in personal care products but in medicines too.

The last few days I've been strugging through a cold. The worst I've felt all winter with a fever, sweats and congestion. I don't like taking medications, so instead of trying a natural herbal remedy, I wanted more immediate results, afterall who has time to be sick right? So, I broke down and took a couple Tylenol. It's been a long time since I've taken over the counter meds and Tylenol is a reputable company, so when I looked at the ingredients on the box I was amazed. In addition to the active ingredient Acetamiophen, there are 25 'inactive ingredients', 7 of which are considered toxic including: propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfate, pothethyelene glycol, butyl and propylparaben and polysorbate 80. All of these are found to cause respiratory, nervous system and neurological problems so what benefit are these ingredients providing me at the expense of some other harm to my health? They provide zero benefit that's why they're 'inactive'. Many of these chemicals only treat the symptoms of the problem rather than helping build imnunities to better combat the problem to begin with.

If you really want to know what's in the products you're buying that are supposedly helping make you better, be sure to check out my Toxic Ingredient Directory which Material Safety Data Sheets . These are great resources where you can search for thousands of ingredients and their harmful affects.

So, it's a toss up: Continue taking the meds or take the natural approach knowing I'm not creating a bunch of future health problems. So...I'm off to concoct an herbal remedy. I'll let you know how it goes.

Give the Gift of Less 'Stuff'

I just received a wonderful gift and thought I'd share it with you. For those of you who haven’t seen it, I invite you to view The Story of Stuff. This time of year is a great time to take inventory of all the ‘stuff’ in our lives. I admit I like nice stuff, but all “stuff’ comes at a price and I'm aware now more than ever that every consumer purchase is linked to consumption of land, trees, oil, and other natural resources. Of course we all need to buy things, but instead of thinking ‘what’s on sale?’ maybe we need to begin thinking “what choices can I make to reduce the stuff that’s contributing to the degradation of my health, my community, the environment and ultimately our society? Studies show that in the U.S. we have more ‘stuff’ than other country, yet we're less healthy than many living in third-world countries. Maybe it's all that stuff we're consuming that's stressing us out!

The comparison of consumption and health isn't mutually exclusive. Many people don’t realize that going organic is more than a health choice, it’s a sustainable lifestyle choice. Products cultivated from organic farming lessen the burden on our bodies, the environment, waterways, not to mention the pesticides used in traditional agricultural farming carry toxins that deposit into our bodies. Not convinced? Check out BodyBurden.org. And, when you’re out this week buying last minute 'stuff' for the holidays, I hope you’ll pass on this gift to others.

Burt's Bees & Bleach?!

Reports of mega mergers and corporate buy- outs are common, but I could not believe what I read in a report today from the Organic Consumer's Association. The well known natural product company Burt Bee's has been purchased by...of all companies CLOROX! Yes, the company that makes bleach -one of the most toxic and environmentally dangerous cleaning agents - is now going to own a natural product line?! More interesting was a search of 'clorox' on the company's site and "Recent news" turned up no mention of the transaction. Could it be this doesn't exactly fit its 'environmental and sustainability values' agenda?

This speaks volumes about the direction of our consumer purchases, the impact of established branding and the global impact of consumer purchases. Burt's is also negotiating with Wal Mart, (my opinion on Wal Mart is another issue itself I won't go into here!) Burt's has established itself an affordable, respected brand used by millions of consumers. But what you may not know is that it's common for companies to change ingredients during buyouts. This happened when Estee Lauder purchased Aveda. Aveda products are nothing more than natural imposters, but its brand retains a strong market share and loyalty and consumers trust they're buying the original product.

You can be sure I will watch the Burt's/Clorox story unfold and keep a close eye on whether the ingredients change. In the meantime, if you're interested in safer, pure alternatives, you know where to find me http://www.purealternatives.net/.