November - Ban Products From China

 In these modern times it's hard to walk into a store and find a product that doesn't say Made In China (Or the fancy code name they created: P.R.C.- Peoples Republic of China). From Kitchen products to children's toys to clothing, nearly everything sold in stores have been shipped overseas and came from Chinese factories. A day in the life of one of these workers  would probably seem a nightmare to us pampered Americans. Here is an excerpt from an independent lens documentary called China Blue.

Sugar Exposed

 When we think of the word addiction, pictures of drugs and alcohol usually come up, we never suspect anything as innocent as sugar could be an addictive substance as well. According to one website, "Sugar is eight times as addictive as cocaine", while this statistic may or may not be true, it is certain that some people get really hooked on sugar. To help understand how sugar could possible be addictive, here is an excerpt of an article from livescience.

Food Coloring, A Colorful Mistake

 Bright yellow, neon orange, blood red; none of these colors would be possible without the use of synthetic food coloring. Food dye is something that will show up on food labels, but no one ever thinks "Well what could this be made out of?", but you can tell just by looking that these colors are not natural. In fact, most food dyes are derived from petroleum! There are other things that can be used though. If you ever read the back of a product and stumble across the names of three food dyes: cochineal, carmine, or carmanic acid, these dyes are made from the crushed up bodies of a female South American insect called a cochineal insect.

Not only is this absolutely disgusting to think that we could be eating crushed up insects, but it's infuriating to know that this information isn't included on the label! If this isn't enough to make you run screaming away from the very thought of synthetic food coloring, here are some more reasons to quit the colors. There have been at least three studies on the link between the consumption of food dyes and ADHD in children. Despite these studies and bans on 5 food dyes (tartrazine, yellow 6, food red 17, FD&C blue No. 2, and FD&C No. 1)  that were linked to ADHD and cancer in Europe, the FDA continues to allow foods with artificial coloring to be sold without any kind of warning! But wait it get's even worse! According to Wikipedia a food dye banned in Europe called Tartrazine or yellow #5 is allowed in organic food! Despite being a synthetic dye, tartrazine may be legally included in organic foods, because the USDA allows processed foods to be certified organic if they are 95% organic by weight.  Talk about scary! To think that those organic chips you love that are USDA certified could only be 95% organic, the other 5% could literally be anything!

Resources

• http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/food-dyes-rainbow-of-risks.pdf 
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmine
• http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/bugjuice.asp
• http://csglobe.com/europe-bans-food-dyes-due-to-adhd-cancer-links/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartrazine

October-Ban Corporate Candy

 With Halloween at the end of this month, people have already started planning for the big night. Halloween is a holiday filled with spooky decorations, costumes, and don't forget the candy! Earlier in the 20th century Halloween wasn't such a big thing, and cookies and apples were common treats (if anything was handed out at all). This quaint idea to celebrate a holiday has morphed into a corporate holiday, I mean what better way to sell so much chemical-laden candy! Three big companies own practically all the candy produced, these three corporations are Mars, Nestle, and Monelez International. Take a look at some of the candy brands that each of them own in the US and Canada.

What's Behind the Pink Ribbon?

 With October approaching, the breast cancer awareness month, everyone is getting ready to put on those pink ribbons and raise money to find the cure for breast cancer. You would never guess it, but there's something sinister lurking behind that cheerful pink ribbon. Companies who sell products with the pink ribbon on it, are mostly just trying to cash in on other's misfortune, or worse yet contribute to the cause of the disease. You have to read the fine print to find out how much these companies claim to be donating, it could sometimes even be as small as a penny! To add to the irony, cosmetic companies who sell products with the pink ribbons on them often contain ingredients that can cause cancer! (For example, cosmetic companies offer makeovers at the hospital to cancer patients  using their cancer causing products!) There's a whole hidden history behind this pink ribbon that the industry wants to hide. Here is an amazing video called Pink Ribbons, Inc. which tells the true history behind this pink ribbon. So next month instead of buying a product with a pink ribbon on it, make it your business to stop supporting the very companies who help create this awful disease, and raise awareness about the despicable pinkwashing!   

Because Babies Care...

 Who doesn't love a baby? With their soft and chubby skin and such innocents, who could not care about them? Well it turns out there are people who hate babies, these people work for corporations who sell you your baby care products! Many products you would never have suspected, are actually loaded with toxic chemicals. Soap, shampoo, conditioner, and bubble bath could all contain cancer causing chemicals. Just think, you could be bathing your baby in a soup of toxins! The argument of the corporations is there is such a small amount of these chemicals that it couldn't possibly harm them, plus it's only getting put on the skin! In case you didn't know, our skin is our largest organ and anything put on it can easily be soaked into the blood stream. Here are some products to be wary of.

September-Ban Unsafe Personal Care Products

 It probably has never crossed your mind what might actually be in the beauty care products that you put on your body every day such as deodorant, make-up, and even soap and shampoo. If you have thought of this you most probably pushed it away immediately, because who wants to think about safety when that new blush or perfume is calling your name? The dangers of personal care products is an issue not many people want to talk about, let alone listen too, but it is of such importance that everyone is informed about it. The sad truth  is that we pay so little attention to what's actually in these products that the companies that make them could put almost anything in them, and they do! No one wants cancer or any other horrible sickness, so how come more people aren't angry about the chemicals added to these products? Now is the time to face your fears and look this problem in the eye instead of ignoring it!