As summer vacation rapidly approaches for my kids (yes, they still have one more day of school!) I wanted to take a moment to update you on a few top stories of interest and other happenings over here.
TOP NEWS
Helpful Tool: Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Food Scores app rates more than 80,000 foods
EWG’s Food Scores helps us find healthier choices in nearly every aisle of the supermarket. EWG’s Food Scores is the first app to rate foods for their: nutritional value; health concerns about ingredients (including additives and preservatives) and contaminants (such as mercury, arsenic and BPA [1]); and the degree and type of processing.
I did a test run by looking up Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies [2]. With 1 being the best score and 10 being the worst, they overall received a 6. The biggest issue for Annie’s, according to the EWG app, was with processing. Annies scored a 5, which means the product likely has more artificial ingredients, more ingredients that have been significantly modified from whole foods, and more ingredients overall.
This app provides a great starting point when you’re at the market. Remember to always read the labels!
Philly Enacts Soda Tax
Philly takes the lead and imposes a sugar tax on all sugar-sweetened and diet beverages. According to Philly.com [3]: “The tax will hit thousands of products – essentially anything bottled, canned, or from a fountain with either sugar or artificial sweetener added, with a few exceptions.” The money raised will be used to [3] expand prekindergarten programs in the city; creating community schools; improving parks, recreation centers, and libraries; and offering a tax credit for businesses that sell healthy beverages. Fingers crossed that other cities and towns follow their lead.
GROOVY GREEN UPDATES
Thanks to Cilantro Cooks [4] for including me in their Expert Interview Series. What a fun experience. You can read it HERE [4].
I’m honored to be included in Tiny Box’s list of 27 of Our Favourite Eco-Friendly Blogs [5].
Thank you to Laura Wellington and ThreadMB for the wonderful article highlighting my site in her article: ‘Groovy Green Livin’ Is Groovy, Green and Growing! [6] So many friends and colleagues reached out to let me know that they had seen the feature.
FirstSiteGuide.com was kind enough to list Groovy Green Livin as one of The Best Eco & Green Blogs To Follow [7]. They went a step further and made me my own avatar. What do you think? Does it look like me?
Happy summer everyone! Do you have any top news to report? How about big plans for summer vacation?
P.S. If you liked this post you might enjoy our Groovy Green Livin Newsletter [8]. Receive new posts and special opportunities delivered right to your inbox! Sign up HERE [8].