We’re all hearing a lot about bisphenol A (BPA) these days. This chemical additive found in many hard, clear plastics is a suspected endocrine disruptor that may be to blame for the rise in reproductive cancers (breast and prostate, eg) and the growing prevalence of ADHD. more

CNN reports today that makers of Mommy’s Bliss Nipple Cream may be exposing infants to toxins that could lead to respiratory and gastrointestinal problems. more

Last night, after a huge hail storm that threatened to flatten my newly planted vegetable garden, I took advantage of one of our last cold spells for the year and made a huge pot of red-lentil and vegetable soup. It was simple and delicious, but after the first few bites I realized it needed something (and it wasn’t salt). Drizzling oil. Bija (an offshoot of Flora, the company that makes Udo’s EFA blends) just launched a new line of unfiltered and unrefined culinary oils, including almond, walnut, pumpkin seed, extra-virgin and old-grove Greek olive, sesame, sunflower oils. (Lucky me, they sent me each!) Extracted using a low-temperature water-and-salt technique, the oils are packed with nutrition that would otherwise be destroyed or filtered out in conventional processing. more

Newsflash! Oprah is doing a detox diet. The star has embarked on a 21-day detox plan and will be writing about her experience on her blog. Judging from her first post, Oprah’s detox looks pretty balanced more

Well, we knew it was going to happen. For more on the Farm Bill override, click here.

When I accepted an invite to the 2008 Cooking for Solutions / Sustainable Foods Institute Conference at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, I was mostly envisioning a few presentations on safe seafood, some nice buffet spreads, and a dose of beautiful California coastline. But the impressive minds gathered there quickly grabbed my attention on a much more serious level. more

As I mentioned in my last blog, I love getting samples of great food products. The latest is Dagoba’s organic chocolate-covered cocoa nibs. I’m already a cocoa nib fan; they’re crunchy and not sweet, like cocoa-flavored nuts, and I can munch them with a good conscience because they’re full of antioxidants and the other good stuff in chocolate, without the sugar. (Believe it or not, I’m not that big into super sweet stuff; I like desserts that are less sweet, like this Cocoa Nib Mousse.) They’re even good on salad. But Dagoba’s chocolate-covered nibs now have their hooks in me; they’re a treat (because of the chocolate with sugar) that still gives me the health benefits of cocoa nibs. LOVE them. Can’t stop eating them. Would be perfect in cookies or trail mix.

Plus, Dagoba’s rep sent the goodies in responsible, minimal packaging, in keeping with their organic, sustainability principles. Thanks, Dagoba.

I’m feeling a little cranky today because of TOO MUCH PACKAGING. As a food editor, I get wonderful goodies in the mail, and I love it because it keeps me in touch with cool, natural products that are coming down the pike. But some PR firms, even those who should know DL’s mission and audience, evidently don’t get that the Earth’s landfills are overloaded with junk, and that resource wastefulness is just plain wrong. more

Yes, that’s a chair made entirely of garbage. What does that have to do with Great Green Websites? Well, I found it this morning while perusing my favorite green blog. A few months ago, I wrote about websites I love. Now, here’s my list of the hands-down best websites every greenie needs to know about. more

These easy tips will save energy and cut down your carbon footprint.

1. Use blackle.com: This Google-powered search engine has a mostly black screen, which doesn’t use as much power to light. The creators argue that Blackle saves major energy because of the super-high volume of users who perform Google searches. Check out Blackle’s tips for energy conservation here.

2. Turn off your computer: It is a myth that turning your PC off uses more energy than leaving it on. The small surge of power that a computer takes to turn on is still much less than the amount you use if you keep the machine on for hours. That said, to use no power at all, you have to unplug your computer from the power source. Otherwise, it will use “flea power,” or about 2.3 watts to maintain network connectivity.

3. Sign up for Ideal Bite: Get on Ideal Bite’s list and receive daily tips for how to live greener. I do this and have learned some terrific ways to reduce my environmental impact. Plus, you won’t get a bunch of spam — just one usable list of ideas each day. If you’d rather not receive the emails, check out Ideal Bite’s archive of past tips.

4. Stop eating carbon: According to Eat Low Carbon, a website where you can find out the carbon emissions of your meal, the food system is responsible for 1/3 of global greenhouse emissions. This tool is a fun way to find out your favorite foods’ impact. It’s also a great procrastination technique.