7th Gen Blog

Let's be honest: Aside from the fact that "natural" is a nice idea, it's a term that can nonetheless be applied to anything from nuclear energy to cigarettes. And "organic", while now representing a wonderful system that finally has clear regulatory guidelines, is still not a “whole” idea and an end unto itself.

Why? Because an organic soda filled with lots of organic sugar is still bad for your health just as an organic burrito loaded with organic salt is giving your body things it doesn't need.

So who comes along to reinvent things and create a new paradigm we consumers can use to find food that's really good for us? Not your friendly natural food store – but Hannaford, a large grocery store chain here in the Northeast. They’ve just launched their Guiding Star program, which rates 27,000 of the food products the company sells on their health and nutritional values. The system gives no stars to the least healthy products on Hannaford shelves and three stars to the best. Of the 27,000 products that were plugged into Hannaford’s formula, 77 percent received no stars. This system, while far from perfect, is a huge step forward in looking at healthy eating from a more holistic point of view.

Why do we need it? Because labels and claims like “fair trade,” “not-tested on animals,” “non-toxic,” “low-fat,” and “heart healthy,” to name just a few, don’t tell the whole story nor do they incorporate the whole impact the product bearing them can have on your health. There’s more on the program in the New York Times, but for now all I can say is way to go Hannaford!

Greenpeace’s Green My Apple campaign is continuing to roil the digital waters. At least where its target is concerned.

As reported in the most recent edition of Rachel's Precaution Reporter, Greenpeace's high profile 'Green my Apple' booth at the Mac Expo was shut-down at the start of the event. Organizers of the Mac Expo claimed they had received complaints from “unnamed sources” about the display.

As a Greenpeace board member and lifelong Apple user I’m sad if not angry at Apple’s heavy-handed treatment of Greenpeace campaigners who are attempting to raise awareness of Apple’s poor environmental design standards.

This unwillingness to engage in dialogue, this unwillingness to tolerate criticism is the exact opposite of what corporate responsibility is about. And the use of huge corporate resources and connections to silence those who are challenging business to do better is a terrible example for such an innovative company to set.

Yesterday, Treehugger posted a much-needed look at the new Stern Review Report on the Economics of Climate Change, a comprehensive British report on Global Warming that’s been big news elsewhere but has scarcely caused a ripple here in the complacent waters across the pond. The Stern Report assesses the economic impacts of climate change. In a sentence, it says that if humanity ignores the situation and does nothing, we will all be very sorry.

As part of its coverage, the Treehugger post talked about the newspapers in Britian that have placed coverage of the report and the issue center stage. One of the papers mentioned was the Financial Times, a newspaper I have subscribed to for many years because of it’s exceptional coverage of responsible business. (The FT actually ran a small story on Seventh Generation a few days ago, which we’re trying to set up a free non-subscriber link to. Stay tuned…)

In her post, Treehugger’s Bonnie Alter says that the Financial Times “only started mentioning this subject in the last year.” Not so! The Financial Times has covered the issue for a lot longer than that. In fairness to the paper, the record deserves to be corrected. Below are a sampling of stories that go back to 2001:

1. Sept. 8, 2005: The World Must Act on Climate Change Despite Bush
2. Jan. 15, 2004: Investors Demand Action on Climate Change
3. March 12, 2003: Global Investing: Chilling Advice on Climate Change
4. June 26, 2003: Romania looks at Ways to Improve Its Climate
5. November 30, 2001: Survey World Economy: Governments Press Ahead On Climate Change Without The US

This weekend Burlington had the privilege of hosting the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) national conference. There were almost 800 attendees including about 350 reporters. The SEJ is a wonderful group that I want to cover in a separate post. But for now, I’m just going to mention a couple of things while they’re fresh.

I had the opportunity to speak on a panel titled “Sticker Spin: The Murky World of Green Labeling.” Urvashi Rangan, a Senior Scientist and Policy Analyst for the Eco-Labeling Project (see below) at Consumers Union, was part of the panel, and two of her organization’s “green” websites deserve a mention:

The Consumers Union’s Eco-Labels initiative covers a wide variety of products that claim to have environmental benefits. It compares them to those that are conventionally farmed or produced, keeps track of labels recently introduced, and compares everything via an interactive report card that you can easily print to take with you while shopping.

Greener Choices is a CU site that focuses on consumer decisions and the impact (for better or worse) they can have on the environment. Greener Choices covers major environmental issues related to energy, climate change, waste and toxic substances, and connects these larger issues to the things people buy in more than a dozen product categories, including autos, appliances, electronics, home & garden, and food. Find out where your energy dollars go, how the products you buy and use can reduce the trend of global warming, and how they can save you money while they save the planet, Discover new ways to reuse or recycle what you would normally throw away and (this is topic #1 for me) learn how toxics found in everyday products impact the environment and your health. There’s a "green ratings" section for several product categories that features evaluations of a product's energy-, water- and fuel-efficiency, and other attributes.

Both of these sites are extremely helpful guides to navigating today’s consumer waters and making the best choices we can make for our families and the future.