• Watch for generic terms such as “fragrance”, which can conceal ingredients that may cause allergies and other health effects.
• Consult GoodGuide to see if your product of choice contains any chemicals of high risk, such as triclosan, alkyl phenol ethoxylates or ammonium quaternary compounds.
• Choose products that are efficiently packaged in recyclable containers.
• Look for cleaning products whose formulations have been certified by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Design for the Environment program or GreenSeal.
• You can always make your own cleaners. For example, vinegar and baking soda will unclog a drain.
• Read more about issues with household cleaners here.

(PS – Sugar isn’t the only thing to consider when trying to eat a balanced diet. It’s just a pretty big piece of the puzzle since we eat so much of it.)

New York Times “Is It Safe To Play Yet?” Profiling parents who go through extreme lengths to ensure their children are living in homes free of chemicals and toxins, GoodGuide is listed as a prominent resource.

Triple Pundit “What 4 Global Trends Will Drive 21st Century Investing?” GoodGuide’s increasing popularity is used as an example of how the demand for ‘good’ is becoming an important trend this year.

Wall Street Journal “How Product Sustainability Matters To Consumers” This video features GoodGuide co-founder Dara O’Rourke at the WSJ Eco:nomics conference discussing why consumers are willing to pay extra money for sustainable products.

Ireland:AM “Beauty: Top 4 Apps” Recognized internationally, GoodGuide was featured as one of the best beauty apps because of the extensive information it provides about the safety of popular grooming products.

In minutes, the app will analyze all of the brands you and your friends “like” on Facebook and reveal if they have good or bad climate change records. Shocked that your sister likes five brands that are polluting the environment? Nudge her to “unlike” the offenders. Proud that your best friend only likes brands working to reduce carbon emissions? Salute him/her on their wall. By sharing this valuable information, you will be educating your friends and family about the brands we should be supporting and those we should be avoiding. Who ever thought you could help save the planet with a click of a button?

Where is the best place to purchase food?

• Shop the perimeter of the grocery store (fresh produce) and avoid the aisles (packaged food).
• Visit your local farmer’s market so you can actually meet the people growing your food.
• Join a CSA with other people in your household or office.
• Plant your own garden! Food in grocry stores has traveled around 1,300 miles on average, which really adds up.

What are tips for cooking at home more often?

• Set an attainable goal to cook at least one meal per day or a few days a week.
• Plan your meals ahead of time and make just one weekly grocery trip.
• Host a dinner party to share sustainable cooking ideas with friends and family.
• Post favorite meals (with pictures!) on your fridge for inspiration.
• Take turns with co-workers cooking a weekly meal for the whole office.

What are the issues with consuming too much meat?

• You save more water by not eating 1lb of meat than you do by not showering for 6 months!
• A meal of fruits, vegetables, and grains generates 24 times less greenhouse gas emissions than 6 ounces of conventionally raised beef.
• Cutting meat usually means getting more fiber, folic acid, vitamins C and E, potassium & magnesium.
• Partcipate in Meatless Mondays and aim to give up meat at least once a week.

What can you do with leftovers?

• Bring for lunch the next day.
• Freeze ends of vegetables and make stock.
• Casseroles, quesadillas, and soups are easy dishes that you can integrate leftovers into.
• Start a compost bin!

What labels/certifications should you look for when choosing food?

• No additives/preservatives and organic certification.
• Check out NRDC’s labeling guide
• The less complicated ingredients, the better.
• Labels are important, but go straight to the source and meet the farmer who produced your food!

Food production has changed dramatically over the past several years, making food cheaper at the expense of our health and the environment. While some would argue that the industrial food system has brought efficiency and reliability to our food supply, the changes in how we get our food have resulted in a major disconnect between consumers and the rest of the food system. However, there is a growing movement to address this disconnect, bring mindfulness back to eating, and show people that their meals do indeed matter. We’re getting in on the action, and so can you: now is your chance to learn how small, simple changes to your everyday meals can have a big impact on your body, the environment and society.

Join the “Your Meal Matters” Twitter chat party on March 27 at 9:30am PST/ 12:30pm EST to learn how. GoodGuide (@GoodGuide) will be partnering with organizations across the globe including Greennovate  (@Greennovate), Roots of Change (@RootsofChange), EatingWell (@EatingWell) and Practically Green (@PracticallyGrn) to share ideas about how each of us can make an impact. We will spend an hour discussing everything from what to do with your leftovers to how to navigate the grocery store. Just follow the hashtag #YourMealMatters to join in!

The party doesn’t stop there! To add to the excitement, we will pick the best tips to be featured as Practically Green actions after the chat. If you have a great idea about how to (easily!) make healthier and environmentally friendly food choices, it could be broadcast to the entire Practically Green community and help thousands of other people make better meal choices.

Partners include:

Greennovate: A sustainable consultancy that aims to raise environmental awareness by providing innovative educational programs such as this “Three Meals That Matter” video.

Roots of Change: Works to develop and support a collaborative network of leaders with interest in establishing a sustainable food system that share a commitment to changing our food thinking, food markets, and food policies.

Practically Green: A community for people striving to lead a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. Provides tools that make green actions much simpler, more personal and fun.

EatingWell: A bi-monthly national food and health magazine and website that provides the inspiration and information people need to make healthy eating a way of life through recipes, cooking tips, health information and coverage of food news and sustainability issues.

We are also excited for organizations including Meatless Monday (encourages going meatless on Mondays to improve the environment and personal health) and Sustainable Table (educates consumers on food-related issues and works to build community through food) to join in the chat and lend their expertise. Let us know in the comments section if you will be attending also!

The Department of Agriculture came to this realization last year and wisely updated MyPyramid to MyPlate. MyPlate is the federal government’s latest attempt to simplify the very complex topic of dietary guidance. While it has its shortcomings (read our blogpost on that topic), it does provide basic, actionable advice that will be of use to all Americans. According to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, “The USDA is committed to helping Americans make healthier food choices and our MyPlate symbol is a simple reminder to think before we eat.” To get people thinking more about their plates (and bowls), the USDA has designated Thursday, March 8th as “What’s on MyPlate?” Day. Working with nearly 6,000 partners, the department is encouraging people to share stories and pictures of their healthy plates on Twitter and Flickr with the hashtag #MyPlate.

We’ve decided to get in on the fun, and will be posting some pictures of our plates tomorrow. Why? At the end of the day adopting new behaviors, or modifying existing behaviors, has to start somewhere. We hope you’ll join us and use tomorrow to practice building your plate with these tips from MyPlate.

• Balancing calories: enjoy your food, but eat less; avoid oversized portions
• Foods to increase: make half your plate fruits and vegetables; make at least half your grains whole grains; switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.
• Foods to reduce: compare sodium in foods like soup, bread and frozen meals – and choose foods with lower numbers; drink water instead of sugary drinks.

Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures

Hewlett Packard (7.2): With above average scores, HP has been very transparent about their environmental and social practices. They recently launched a campaign encouraging consumers to ”Print Like The Lorax” by making eco-conscious choices when printing.

Mazda (6): In conjunction with the release of the movie, Mazda is promoting their new “SKYACTIV” technology that improves fuel efficiency. Scoring comparably to other car companies, many of Mazda’s cars have average environmental scores but the vehicles still are not as high as hybrid or electric choices.

Seventh Generation (7.5): One of the highest scoring household and personal care companies on GoodGuide, Seventh Generation has a 9.4 for environmental management. They are encouraging consumers to purchase their “Lorax-Approved” products, which are highlighted by cartoon images on the packaging.

Stonyfield Farm (6.2): Despite scoring lower in areas such as resource use, Stonyfield Farm is still above average compared to most food companies.  They will also be promoting their “Lorax-Approved” products with large in-store displays.

Whole Foods (5.5): Although it has an average overall score, the company is not very transparent in its environmental and social practices. This is their first-ever partnership with a major film, which they will be promoting in-store and through social media.

It appears that no brands with the “Truffula Seal of Approval” received poor GoodGuide scores, but how many are actually trailblazers? Is Universal really concerned with promoting a green message and empowering consumers, or are they more interested in the earnings potential that comes from appearing to care about the environment? And can we really equate this fictional character to a trusted third party certifier?

The meat section of your grocery store will be undergoing a transformation. As of March 1st, 2012, the majority of meat sold in the butcher case is required to bear nutrition labels. The labels will be just like the ones on other packaged foods, requiring specifics like calories, saturated fat, and protein to be disclosed (see image above).

Why the sudden interest in labeling meat products? Up until now, manufacturers had the option to voluntarily provide this information. However, recent surveys by the Food Safety and Inspection Service show limited participation in the program. Rising rates of chronic disease have prompted a closer look at how to empower consumers to make educated food choices, and making the voluntary meat label mandatory is seen as a way to give people essential nutrition information they can easily act upon. Having the details on these food products is likely to cause serious sticker shock for label readers. One serving of 95% lean ground beef (4 ounces, which is about the size of a deck of cards) is 154 calories, 2.5g of saturated fat, and 24.2g of protein. For more of the basics on what will and won’t be labeled, check out this article from WebMD. While there are some positives to the new disclosure coming to the meat department, this new ruling does bring us back to the question of the utility of labels.

At the end of the day, how many labels do we really need tell us that something is healthy or unhealthy? Maybe in this era of everything right here-right now, we have too many distractions to be able to focus on the basics. Under these circumstances a label is useful: it tells you what you need to make a good decision, and ideally what is most important. But when is a label a crutch, and when is it providing us with information that’s sorely needed? More importantly, what would it mean if we needed labels to give us information that we should just know? Should there be a line of acceptability when it comes to labels, or will we soon see a day when fresh produce carries stickers with nutrition facts to help us conclude they are healthy?