Hosking arranged a local screening of her documentary, and invited the town’s 43 shopkeepers, and all but seven showed up. It seems her work was quite persuasive. After viewing the film, every single shopkeeper voted for a voluntary ban on plastic bags.

A detailed article on this plastic bag revolt offers several surprising stats. The one that caught my eye the most was overall usage. 500 billion plastic bags are consumed every year, with each requiring 500 years to decay in a landfill. Since the information is from the U.K, the stats show that the average British consumer uses 167 bags per year. Unlike most European countries, U.S. grocers do not charge consumers for bags. Rather they load us up with just one or two items per plastic bag. I can only imagine (but would rather not) the average consumption of plastic bags per person within the U.S.

A few years ago, I fell in love with the reusable bag, and cannot promote them enough, for the environment, and quite frankly, for ease. Since picking up my first reusable bag for just $2.00 CDN in Vancouver, my tote has seen hundreds of miles. It easily fits three plastic bags worth of groceries, but slings over my five-foot tall frame to be carried without strain. It also earned me two free reusable bags from Trader Joe’s when their bring a bag, get a bag promotion was going on. I have yet to purchase more groceries than could fit in these three jumbo bags. On days when I accidentally forget one of my bags, the guilt piles on as I watch and try to stop baggers from placing a single item in one bag.

Thanks to a growing awareness, most grocers have their own reusable bags for sale. Save some plastic waste and pick up an environmentally-friendly bag or two on your next visit to the store! If they don’t suit your style, pick up a more stylish reusable tote to fill with the week’s groceries. The World Feed Bag is an awesome and charitable option, or check out Cate’s recommendation for a good selection of image-conscious bags.

Originally written for Go Dairy Free.

It seems that one major contributor to this high cost is actually storage. Organic produce has a much shorter shelf life than pesticide-raised produce. However, some researchers in Israel have identified an easy and cheap oxygen treatment that may allow growers to store organic produce for longer, and consequently deliver lower prices to the consumer.

By using a simple week long pre-treatment with low levels of oxygen, 90% of the the apple test group was “saved” from typical problems and diseases after eight months of cold storage. None of the untreated apples survived the eight months. The researchers believe that the same oxygen treatment will prove successful for a variety of produce.

While the technology is not yet on its way to producers, it does look like organic produce prices could potentially see some relief in the future.

This interesting little tidbit was reported on Science Daily.

The Physicians for Responsible Medicine filed a petition with the FTC back in April 2005 due to the misleading nature of the initial 3-A-Day campaign. In mid-2006, milk processors pushed further, eliciting high profile celebrities for their Great American Weigh Loss Challenge and Body by Milk promotion, the latter targeted specifically at teens. As action is taken on the FTC demands, we expect to see these elaborately funded operations come to a close.

Though it was a long fought battle, many predicted that the PCRM would emerge victorious. The initial study upon which these multi-million dollar campaigns were based was relatively small, and funded in part by the National Dairy Council. It consisted of little more than 30 people, only 11 of which were in the high dairy group. The participants were also instructed to follow a reduced calorie diet, which many feel was the actually key to their weight loss success.

As cited on Go Dairy Free (http://www.godairyfree.org), an informational website for dairy-free living, numerous other research programs have actually shown an inverse relationship, linking milk and dairy consumption to weight gain. In fact, an expansive Harvard Medical School study following 12,829 United States children, showed that those who consumed more than three servings of milk per day were approximately 35% more likely to become overweight than the children who drank just 1 or 2 glasses of milk per day.

The PCRM may have won this battle, but we don’t expect the Dairy Council to wave the white flag just yet. Though they have agreed to call it quits with the weight loss claims, they are attempting to stay in the game by “shifting the message.” Even with this large blow to their credibility, milk producers may make a plea for consumer attention by changing their taglines from “weight loss” to “weight maintenance.”

Cefquinome belongs to a class of potent antibiotics, which are among medicine’s last defense against several serious human infections. No drug from that class has ever been approved in the United States for use in animals.

Numerous health groups, including the American Medical Association, have warned the FDA that administering Cefquinome in animals would very likely speed the emergence of microbes resistant to that important class of antibiotic. Those “supermicrobes” could then spread to humans.

Oddly enough, the FDA advisory board rejected Intervet’s request last fall to market this drug.  So, what has changed?  The FDA recently implemented a “guidance document” that shows incredible favor to pharmaceutical companies, while exhibiting little respect for the recommendations of the World Health Organization.  In line with this new policy, unless a ‘direct link to human mortality’ is proven from the use of these drugs on animals, the FDA should find no reason to prohibit its marketing or use.

Unfortunately, any potential harm to the health of our population may not surface until it is too late.  Passing antibiotics such as these directly into our food supply may result in a very risky experiment on humans.  If and when any negative affects surface, reversing the damage may prove too difficult.

The average American may be subject to the approval of potentially harmful drugs such as these without a voice.  However, making the best choices at the supermarket is a powerful weapon.  Refusing to purchase conventional milk and beef, and reaching for organic whenever the need arises will send a message to suppliers while limiting personal health risks.  If better quality is demanded, they will have no choice but to offer it.  Though prices of organic may be a hindrance at first, as supply increases to meet with rising demand, our wallets will reap the benefits.

Keep in mind that the use of hormones and antibiotics on cattle is legal within the United States.  Unless it specifically states ‘certified organic’ or antibiotic and hormone-free, it is safe to assume that hormones and antibiotic residues may be present in the beef or milk.  It is illegal to administer hormones to poultry and pigs, though antibiotics are permitted.

Whole Foods has announced that they plan to purchase rival Wild Oats Market. It isn’t a major surprise to see the country’s largest natural food retailer gobble up their number two competitor. Especially as their slowing growth could benefit from the positive momentum that the Wild Oat’s family of stores has been experiencing.

In fact, Whole Foods has a huge opportunity to benefit from this merger in many ways. Though many Wild Oats and Whole Foods stores are in common cities and regions, Wild Oats seems to pursue lower rent neighborhoods, which are rarely occupied by the big block Whole Foods stores. Strategically, it may permit them to gain a bigger piece of the pie in neighborhoods where they lack presence. In addition, the buyout should allow Whole Foods to utilize their already existing distribution network to reduce costs across the board. Unfortunately, it is also probable that they will reduce costs if they merge workforces and layoff any duplicate employees. Nonetheless, reduced costs and a bigger market share will increase their staying power against the new natural food aisles popping up in traditional grocers.

But, investor relations aside, I can’t help but wonder, how will this merger effect consumers?

I have been a Wild Oats customer for several years. I have had the pleasure of shopping Capers (in British Columbia), Henry’s Markets (in Southern California), and several of the Wild Oats namesake stores. Some people may be taken back by natural food prices at first, yet I have been very pleased with the quality, service, and competitiveness of Wild Oats.

Wild Oats has followed an admirable path in their pursuit of growth. When they purchased grocer chains such as Henry’s Market and Capers they made very few changes to the stores, at least from a consumer perspective. The same cheap produce, weekly sales, and friendly staff seemed to be on hand, even after the mergers. It is wonderful to walk out with two grocery bags full of fruits and vegetables for just $10, and to stock up on my favorite milk alternatives when they are on sale for just $1.00 to $1.50 a piece. Will Whole Foods follow Wild Oat’s purchasing strategy, or are my sale shopping days numbered?

Unfortunately, I have never had these pleasant experiences with Whole Foods. Their stores are beautiful, the food looks incredible, but their prices could eat up an entire week’s paycheck in a single trip to the store! Okay, I exaggerate (slightly), but even their conventional produce is typically priced at double the market value. To add insult to injury, Whole Food’s idea of a sale is marking five products down to a reasonable (but not good) price for an entire month. The insane (and rather unfriendly) crowds combined with an understaffed crew have also deterred me from shopping at Whole Foods on many occasions.

I would hope that the efficientizing of the Whole Foods / Wild Oats Network will result in lower prices for the consumer. Yet, investors’ demands for higher returns may push the company towards profits rather than price cuts. With luck, Whole Foods will at the very least leave well enough alone, allowing the Wild Oats family of stores to operate as is, while they reduce costs on the back end.