Conscious Consumer

Plastic Lettuce Mystery Solved

This recent You Tube video posted below demonstrates a woman removing what appears to be a film of plastic from organic romaine lettuce leaves. Nasty. But what is being peeled off is not plastic. It’s called an ‘epidermal peel’.

See video

Fungicide Detected in Orange Juice


On January 9, 2012, the U.S Food and Drug Administration announced it will step up testing for a fungicide that has been found in low levels in orange juice. They say they are not concerned about the safety of the juice but will increase testing to make sure the contamination is not a problem. Not a problem? The fungicide they are referencing is carbendazim, classified by Friends of the Earth as one of their ‘filthy four’ pesticides.

Sugar Bombs

“Most parents would never serve dessert for breakfast, but many children’s cereals have just as much sugar or more”.
Jane Houlihan, Senior Vice President,Environmental Working Group

Navigating the Yogurt Aisle


Yogurt has long been considered a ‘health-food’. It can make a great dessert or mid-morning snack. It’s also easy to throw in your child’s lunch box. So it’s important to pick a yogurt that actually delivers on its promise. That can be challenging particularly when advertising claims don’t necessarily correspond with nutritional facts. The choices can be overwhelming but after a little investigation, you’ll quickly discover that not all brands are what they seem.

Pass The Salt


Campbell’s newly appointed CEO, Denise Morrison, announced recently that she had a new strategy to bring sales and taste back to their product. Her plan? Bump up the salt.

Summer, Your Lawn and Your Liver

Ahhh Summer. There's nothing like it. And, for those who like to putter in the garden during the long days of summertide, there's nothing finer than the gratification of a finely manicured lawn. Unfortunately cultivating that fine patch of green may be detrimental to your health.

Advertising Food

"...advertising directed toward children is inherently deceptive and exploits children under eight years of age."
The American Academy of Paediatrics

Canadian GMO Foods

GE Crops Canada
It has been 15 years since genetically engineered crops and foods were first introduced into Canada without public debate. Today, over half of Canada’s corn and soy is genetically modified. The majority of canola grown in Canada is GM. All three GMO ingredients are in processed food ingredients such as corn starch, soy lecithin, found in chocolate bars, and canola oil.

Palm Oil

Few food crops illustrate the problems in the global food chain as well as palm oil. Squeezed from the tree’s plum-size bright red fruit, oil palms are remarkably efficient producers of food. Only sugar cane produces more calories of human food per acre. But this globally traded agricultural commodity that is used in 50 percent of all consumer goods takes a great toll -- heart disease, rainforest destruction, threatened extinctions of animals, serious greenhouse emissions and human rights violations.

Mitsubishi Cornering World's Bluefin Tuna Market

Japan's sprawling Mitsubishi conglomerate has cornered a 40 per cent share of the world market in bluefin tuna, one of the world's most endangered fish.

A corporation within the £170bn ($26B USD) Mitsubishi empire is importing thousands of tonnes of the fish from Europe into Tokyo's premium fish markets, despite stocks plummeting towards extinction in the Mediterranean.

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