From Green Right Now Reports:

Greenpeace followed up the release this week of its latest Carting Away the Oceans scorecard with a friendly and fishy demonstration outside Trader Joe’s stores in San Francisco.

Greenpeace members, two of whom dressed as orange roughy and others who parodied Trader’s by wearing Hawaiian shirts mimicking the store’s trademark uniform, handed out information on why its important to select and buy seafood that can be replenished and also asked prospective customers to sign petition postcards to privately held grocery company.

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By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

When you fish for seafood at your local grocery, it can be difficult to tell whether you are supporting sustainable fishing practices.

Was the snapper you selected caught using legal, sustainable fishing practices? Should you even be buying it? Is the Chilean Sea Bass you just purchased on the “Red List” of jeopardized marine species? Does the grocery you’re patronizing buy seafood certified by the Marine Stewardship Council?

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By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

Calling the fight against cancer “one of the most notorious public health failures of the 20th century” four leading cancer and environmental experts called on Congress and the Obama Administration this week to acknowledge the role environmental carcinogens play in triggering cancer and dedicate more money to cancer prevention.

In a letter to Congressional leaders, the national medical and scientific experts said they were concerned that prevention has received little attention in the Obama Cancer Plan. They noted that health care costs could not be brought under control without a better plan to fight the disease that claims 1,500 American lives daily and costs $89 billion a year to diagnose and treat. (Costs rise to $219 billion annually, when lost productivity and premature death costs are factored in).

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From Green Right Now Reports

Norovirus and Salmonella were the leading causes of food borne disease outbreaks in 2006, according to a report released yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report offers the most recent available information on which illnesses are linked to specific types of foods.

The foods associated with the largest number of cases in 2006 were poultry (21 percent of all outbreak-associated cases), leafy vegetables (17 percent), and fruits-nuts (16 percent). The food commodity categories defined by CDC are fish, crustaceans, mollusks, dairy, eggs, beef, game, pork, poultry, grains-beans, oils-sugars, fruits-nuts, fungi, leafy vegetables, root vegetables, sprouts, and vegetables from a vine or stalk.

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By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

If you love coffee, you know that it’s all about the bean. It must be fresh and properly roasted. Beyond that, the environmentally conscientious of us like to know that the coffee we drink was organically grown and responsibly managed; that workers made a fair wage and that sustainability was a consideration from planting to transporting. It’s really not too much to ask. Coffee, the world’s most popular drink and a food export item that supports tens of millions of people, has been cultivated this way for some time.

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From Green Right Now Reports

After a trial run than began last year, TapIt Water, a water bottle refilling service, is officially launching in New York City.

TapIt engages a network of cafes and eateries across New York City that volunteer as partners to provide clean drinking water to those who carry in their own reusable bottle. TapIt users can find partner locations at TapitWater.com and iPhone users can download a locator application from the App Store. The web site also has a map locating water fountains around the city.

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By Laura Elizabeth May
Green Right Now

BestinBeauty.com is an information site and store all rolled into one. Co-founder Tara Lee founded the site after spending twelve years in the entertainment business, where she was shocked by the levels of toxic chemicals in make-up and beauty products.

The company recently launched a campaign Labels for Life, in order to raise awareness about toxic chemicals in makeup. The campaign’s slogan is a phrase designed to help you read labels when shopping for make-up. “Pretty products for healthy people minus

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By Chris Reinolds
Green Right Now

A new cancer study from India suggests that fluoride is a contributing factor to osteosarcoma, or bone cancer - but just how much fluoride intake causes the uncommon disease is not clear.

Fluoride in Americans’ tap water has spurred controversy since its introduction in 1945. Anti-fluoride activists say the risks are too high to add “medication” to the water, while government officials cite scientific studies that prove fewer cavities and no serious risk.

In Europe, most countries refuse to treat their water with fluoride with the exception of the United Kingdom. According to the British Medical Journal, fluoridation was introduced in 1963, and the Department of Health reports that rates of dental decay have been reduced 70 percent. But experts remain divided over epidemiological research that has suggested that water fluoridation might be linked to osteoporosis, dental fluorosis, irritable bowel syndrome, and other health problems.

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From Green Right Now Reports:

As toxicologists see it, our chemical world is neither as dangerous as portrayed by the mainstream media and environmental groups, nor as safe as the American Chemistry Council and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) would have us believe.

That’s according to a survey of 937 members of the Society of Toxicology in early 2009. The survey, released Thursday, was administered by Harris Interactive and conducted by the nonprofit Statistical Assessment Service (STATS) and Center for Health and Risk Communication at George Mason University.

“This survey suggests that the public doesn’t get a full and balanced picture of chemical risk,” said Dr. Robert Lichter, the survey director.

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By Christopher Peake
Green Right Now

COME EARLY

Get there as soon as the market opens … the bigger the market the more customers there will be … vendors are in a better mood than we’ll be later in the day …

BRING YOUR OWN BAGS

All vendors have bags but with the exception of the odd paper bag vendor (they cost vendors more money than plastic, so fewer have them) you’ll be toting home thin plastic bags.

BRING CASH

All vendors take cash, many take checks and none take plastic. Few Farmer’s Markets have ATM’s conveniently nearby, so cash is king.

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By Christopher Peake
Green Right Now
How’s this for a Sunday morning breakfast: 6 ounces of a dark red drink of kale, beet, carrot, apple and ginger? Actually, it wasn’t as awful as it sounds; in fact I could taste the clean ginger. (Curious about the taste? The dominant flavor was beet and the taste reminded [...]

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By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

You’ve already heard about how curcumin, or turmeric, may help reduce your chances of getting Alzheimer’s, a disease that is virtually unheard of in India where this spice turns up in a lot of dishes.

Today’s news brings another reason to eat your turmeric-spiced curry: It may help reduce the size of your tummy. Researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University found that mice fed high fat diets that were supplemented with curcumin gained less weight than a control group that was fed a high fat diet without curcumin.

The scientists warn in a news release that they don’t know if the results can be replicated in humans. What they observed, however, was that the curcumin seemed to inhibit a process known as “angiogenesis” that helps grow fat, which would appear to be applicable to larger (get it?) life forms as well.

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