As a warm up to this year’s ExpoWest, Root Concepts presents as yet, unreleased interviews with some eco personalities.
Seventh Generation’s Jeffrey Hollander, actor and now eco-entrepreneur
Ed Begley, Jr. with Joshua Onysko of Pangea Organics, Livity Outernational’s
Isaac Nichelson and David Karr, co-founder of Guayaki Yerba Mate.

To hear the episode, click on the play button below. You can also check us in iTunes at the RootCast, and remember to subscribe to our feed for the latest RootNews.

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The nation’s largest natural, organic and healthy products trade show expects more than 45,000 people to attend the industry event in Anaheim, California this week from March 14 - 16. In its 28th year, this year’s Expo will publicly display its commitment to Green. For the first time, Expo West will implement widespread programs to reduce waste, limit carbon footprint, and encourage its attendees to do the same.

Image courtesy: Natural Products Expo West/Supply Expo

The Green Team’s list will include:

• Powering the 930,000 square foot Anaheim Convention Center with wind and solar energy through offsets.
• Providing attendees and exhibitors a green-powered travel option, through the purchase of renewable energy certificates via registration.
• Encouraging “car” pooling through a regional bus service or participating in the shuttle service provided by Natural Products Expo West to the official host hotels.
• Using sustainable building materials for show structures and exhibits that will be reused over a 3-year period, including, but not limited to plyboo, Woodstock, muslin drape, 100% recyclable aluminum extrusion and low-VOC paints provided by Freeman.
• Using biodegradable flatware at Natural Products Expo West events and feature areas.
• Outfitting Expo staff with organic t-shirts with vegetable dye ink
• Offering attendees green educational seminars.
• Collecting and donating unused samples and products to local Anaheim charities and food banks.
• Providing local, free-range, natural and organic products at concessions and events in partnership with Aramark.
• Printing show promotional materials on 30-100% post consumer recycled paper.
• Purchasing show premiums and gifts made of recycled materials.
• Biodegradable table liners in all exhibit booths.
• Providing the exhibitor service kit online only, eliminating paper and CD production.
• Offering environmentally friendly exhibit packages through Freeman, including recycled carpet, 100% recyclable aluminum extrusion, plyboo panels and low-VOC paints.

The green policy reflects the show’s producer, New Hope Media’s own greening efforts, and we applaud the move.

Root Concepts will be there to hear New York Times Magazine best-selling author, Michael Pollan, winner of the James Beard Award for best food writing, for The Omnivore’s Dilemma, deliver the keynote address on March 15. We’ll be checking out eco fashions when thinkproducts bring together eco-fashion icons at the thinkVitality Fashion Show to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Susan G. Komen For The Cure. Komen For The Cure is the largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors, and the largest nonprofit fund dedicated to fighting breast cancer in the world.

Be on the lookout for a RootCast derived from our travels.

Image: Courtesy of Indigenous Designs

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As consumers looking for green solutions, we expect the products we purchase to represent the intention of the business.

Toxic Waste Hazardously Sour Candy isn’t organic, fair traded, or gmo free, however this company targets the mainstream, tween population to raise awareness, and educates children to act responsibly towards the environment.

Found inside a barrel of toxic waste, the message will reach a broad audience because it’s candy. So as they go on tour with a tween, all-girl band to summer camps educating 8-12 year old kids about their environmental impact they will also contribute to their tooth decay, insulin levels and ingestion of bt pesticides through gmo corn syrup. So here at ROOT we will inaugurate our greenwash category with this product. What will be next? Apocalypse Gum, you can’t blow up the world but you can blow up the world in you?

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People around the world are purchasing bottles of water, marketed as pure and natural. The bottled water industry has created the idea that for up to 4 dollars a bottle everyone can drink from the most pristine landscapes in the world. Sounds a lot better than municipal water that falls from the tap. However, many questions surround regulation as well as the social and environmental impact of bottled water:

According to the World Watch Institute,

“Excessive withdrawal of natural mineral or spring water to produce bottled water has threatened local streams and groundwater, and the product consumes significant amounts of energy in production and shipping. Millions of tons of oil-derived plastics, mostly polyethylene terephthalate (PET), are used to make the water bottles, most of which are not recycled. Each year, about 2 million tons of PET bottles end up in landfills in the United States; in 2005, the national recycling rate for PET was only 23.1 percent, far below the 39.7 percent rate achieved a decade earlier.”

In order to talk about this problem in the context of a solution, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order this week banning the use of city funds to purchase single-serving plastic water bottles. The order also prohibits the sale of such water containers on city-owned property. In this interview, Newsom talks about fighting such a huge industry, joining other mayors across the country, as well as looking at the changes individuals can make, such as owning portable, reusable bottles.

As consumers, our dollars are our vote, so instead of buying bottled water begin carrying glass or stainless steel portable containers and regaining confidence in tap water.

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Following a previous post, an article in the Los Angeles Times, reported Anheuser-Busch’s announcement that since the USDA has not yet approved the list of 38 additional non-organic ingredients, their organic beers are now 100% organic. Active consumers sent over 1,ooo complaints to The National Organic Program about the list of non-organic ingredients. Permission to use some non-organic ingredients in foods expired Saturday which leaves the question open for food manufactures. Anheuser-Busch had previously used only 10% organic hops in their beers and are uncertain how to maintain production of 100% organic hops. The Organic Consumers Association continually updates news of changes in standards and provides action solutions for frustrated consumers.

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As organic standards continually become less restrictive, and the biotech industry grows, consumers seek fresh healthy food from their local communities. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) connects local farmers with local consumers. According to Local Harvest, CSAs; develop a regional food supply and strong local economy, maintain a sense of community, encourage land stewardship, and honor the knowledge and experience of growers and producers working with small to medium farmers. With production and consumption directly linked, consumers are able to visit farms and learn about the sustainable practices used to grow their food. A monthly subscription supplies CSA members with access to a variety of fresh, local produce and often other locally produced specialty food products. As mentioned in a previous post here, Local Harvest is an excellent source for locating CSA programs near you.

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Currently there is a growing demand for organic food as consumers seek healthy and sustainable products. The desire for these products has created a boom in the industry leading big companies like Anheuser-Busch to create its Wild Hop Lager labeled “USDA Organic”. The USDA is continually changing the industry standards in order to cater to large scale industry. It is stated in this article that the agency is considering a proposal to allow 38 nonorganic ingredients to be used in organic foods. Because of the broad uses of these ingredients — as spices, colorings, and flavorings for example — almost any type of manufactured organic food could be affected, including organic milk, cereal, sausages, bread and beer. Changes such as these in USDA Organic standards threaten consumer confidence and trust in the organic label as well as lead to less accountability from big industries to provide information to the consumer about the sources of their food.

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From The Independent: Research linking GM potatoes to cancer in lab rats was conducted in 1998 by the Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and has been suppressed for eight years.

It showed that the potatoes did considerable damage to the rats’ organs. Those in the “control groups” that were fed non-GM potatoes suffered ill-effects, but those fed GM potatoes suffered more serious organ and tissue damage.

The potatoes contained an antibiotic resistance marker gene. The institute that carried out the studies refused to release all the information. However, Greenpeace and other consumer groups mounted a protracted legal battle campaign to obtain the report. In May 2004 the Nikulinski District Court in Russia ruled that information relating to the safety of GM food should be open to the public.

The institute, however, refused to release the report. Greenpeace and Russian activist groups again took the institute to court, and won a ruling that the report must be released.

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Whole Foods Market and Wild Oat Markets announced they have signed a definitive merger agreement under which Whole Foods will acquire Wild Oats in a $565 million deal.
This move clearly puts Whole Foods in the lead as the natural products retailer globally. What will be interesting and curious to watch is whether this move will encourage Whole Foods to maintain organic quality and provide a local platform for farmers in the area these stores service. These are two of the biggest issues Root sees as a priority for the retail king of this market segment. Stay Tuned. Download the PDF for details of the deal via Whole Foods website. Download pr07-02-21merger.pdf

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Benjamin Fahrer, a Sonoma County Permaculturist living at Oceansong, commits to the Mayan People of Mexico to preserve their traditions and the integrity of indigenous corn.

read more | digg story

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