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Photo credit: Jenna Spevack With the recent roll bag vote and the expanded TerraCycle collections happening at the Coop, plastic has had increased visibility among Coop members.  However, there’s one area where plastic chemicals are ubiquitously present yet mostly unseen within the walls of 782 Union. Where? Actually inside our food and then ultimately in our bodies.  To understand how plastic chemicals end up food and then in people, a basic lesson in polymer chemistry is needed.  Simplified, plastics are made up of long chains of plasticizer chemicals (a monomer is a plastic compound, which when strung together make up polymers that form the building blocks of plastic.)  Plastics of course have a wide variety of uses.  From hard, colored plastic to flexible, transparent cling film and other types of food packaging, plastics have brought a certain ease to many us living a modern life. Unfortunately popular plastic chemicals share two characteristics that’s a pr...

The Food Coop's Environmental Committee has enjoyed collaborating with other committees. Check out their blogs to learn more about some of the great work they are doing: The Animal Welfare Committee has only been in existence a short time, but has already surveyed several aisles of the Coop, to determine which products have been tested on animals. Their blog has a listing of their work, plus other useful information. The GMO Shelf Labelling Committee has been investigating which products on our shelves contain genetically modified ingredients, since US law does not currently require manufacturers to disclose this information. Their blog will keep you up-to-date on the latest in the quest for better labelling laws in this country and more.

The risk to the clean water and produce we enjoy from upstate New York, not to mention the beautiful land itself is at risk from hydrofracking. The time to comment on the latest plans from the NYC DEC is now— the deadline is January 11, 2013 . Please don't put it off—every comment helps. The easy-to-use form at the New Yorkers Against Fracking site will help you quickly construct a few comments and send them. Otherwise, New York State may look like this: Learn more about how hydro-fracking affects the food and water supply , as well as air quality and global warming. Farms in upstate New York: Photo by Keturah Stickann/John Menier Fracking image by J. Henry Fair

by  Vladislav Vorotnikov 21 Dec 2012 Source: http://www.allaboutfeed.net  In December a decision made by the Cabinet of Ministers, has approved the rules for determining the possible dangers posed by genetically modified plants for consumers and the environment in Azerbaijan. These rules in particular provide the establishment of the Expert Group of the Scientific and Technical Council, who will determine the direction of research into the possible harm of the genetically modified organisms (GMO). Azerbaijan plans to establish a control system to clarify how dangerous the GMO products are that currently can be found on the markets of human food and animal feed . According to the document, the research team will be studying the impact of areas planted with GMO crops on the nearby crop plants, the elements of the natural flora, as well as  farm animals and wild animals that will be feed with such products. This group will conduct research in the laboratories of state ...

Every year the Environmental Working Group (EWG) releases a list of the 12 fruits and vegetables which routinely contain the most pesticides. If possible, choose to get organic versions of these. Washing your fruits and vegetables won't remove all traces of pesticide and pesticides tend to remain within our bodies over long periods of time. These chemicals have been linked with many health problems such as asthma, autism and learning disabilities, birth defects and reproductive dysfunction, diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, and several types of cancer. The Pesticides Induced Diseases Databases at Beyond Pesticides will tell you more. Here is the current list of fruits and vegetables to eat in organic form whenever possible: Apples Celery Sweet bell peppers Peaches Strawberries Imported nectarines Grapes Spinach Lettuce Cucumbers Domestic blueberries Potatoes EWG also lists a clean 15 --fruits and vegeetables that aren't so bad to eat non-organic.

Stop by the Park Slope United Methodist Church at Sixth Ave. and 8th St. on Thursday, November 3 for a screening of Gasland, followed by a Panel Discussion w/ fracking experts from the Park Slope Food Coop, NY H2O, United for Action, the Brooklyn Food Coalition and Assemblyman Jim Brennan, plus refreshments Film starts at 6:30pm; panel discussion begins at 8:30pm Find out what you can do to protect our water and our food from fracking.

A big victory for the Non-GMO movement is occurring at the Coop! Starting on November 16, the GMO Shelf Labeling Committee will install on-shelf labeling of Non-GMO Project certified products. For those new to the issue: we basically don't know the long term effects of products containing genetically modified ingredients (GMOs) and would like food to be labelled so we can decide whether or not we want to chance eating these ingredients. The US government and the NYS government have so far resisted requests by consumers to force manufacturers to indicate on the label whether or not the product contains GMOs. The European Union established labelling laws in 2004. Australia, Japan, Brazil, and China have mandatory labelling laws as well. The Food Coop's GMO Shelf Labelling Committee wants to create labels inside the coop, so shoppers can have that information. Beginning November 16th, you will be seeing a 3/8 inch green dot saying "Non GMO" on the shelf label for...