With all of the information overload about the state of our current agriculture system, sometimes it's hard to keep the most basic rules straight. Whether you've been buying local produce for some time or you're finally getting serious about avoiding all the crazy pesticides, the Environmental Working Group makes it its job to inform people about which produce is best organic and where you can Read more

On Thursday, the Oakland, CA-based Center For Environmental Health (CEH) filed a suit against 26 cosmetic companies, claiming the beauty brands have been misleading the public with their misuse of the term "organic." Even though the California Organic Products Act of 2003 states that any product with an "organic" label on the front must consist of 70 percent organic ingredients (and those with Read more

I'm definitely a fan of Valentine's Day, but mostly because I like the excuse to eat chocolate. Besides tasting good, dark chocolate is full of heart-healthy flavonoids (equal to many fruits), can soothe a cough, increase blood flow, and lower blood pressure. Spread the love even more this holiday by buying my picks for chocolate that's organic, Fair Trade, or health-inspired, and don't forget Read more

Add rock-country musician Sheryl Crow to the growing list of celebrities-turned-cookbook-authors. Her first compendium of recipes is due out this March. The tome, cheekily titled If It Makes You Healthy: More Than 100 Delicious Recipes Inspired by the Seasons, is cowritten by Chuck White, her personal chef who's been cooking for her ever since she was diagnosed with breast cancer. It will contain Read more

How will America's food landscape change in the coming year? If two recent articles from MSNBC are any indicator, organic will really hit the mainstream in 2011. The first details results of an adult consumer survey, which illustrate that while the percentage of people who buy organic over the past two years hasn't budged, what has changed is where they're buying it. Fewer sales are coming from Read more

Here's a post from OnSugar blog A Beginner's Journey . . . Gardening: Last year, I planted my very first vegetable garden too late in the season and was partially impressed. I planted carrots, peas, string beans, okra, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce and herbs. What did manage to grow was quite impressive. However, I was afraid to eat it because I wasn't sure if it was safe (me = beginner). I have Read more

Eating healthy isn't always as easy as it seems — especially when navigating your way down the grocery aisle. Our tip is to shop the perimeter because it's usually where whole, unprocessed foods are kept like produce and meat. This chart from the healthy eating blog Summer Tomato will make things even easier to decipher. Darya Pino, a food scientist, put together this "supermarket GPS" chart as Read more