Sound Consumer

New, experimental genetic engineering techniques are altering food and other products while racing ahead of regulations. What are the consequences and will they be allowed in organics?

Soon PCC will be offering Sound Consumer articles by email. Every month we’ll round up a mix of our best features, recipes, news bites and letters in an e-newsletter, along with other great content. Sign up.

Some of our favorite meals entail simply piling good ingredients in a bowl. These loose recipes play with different flavors and cuisines but are merely suggestions for ingredients that mingle well. By all means, improvise with whatever you have on hand! It’s hard to go wrong, and there’s no limit to delicious combinations that are easy to prepare — and clean up.

Three major megamergers in the seed industry are on the horizon: Bayer and Monsanto, DuPont and Dow, and ChemChina and Syngenta. This means three corporations will own nearly 60 percent of the world’s seed supply. Learn why that’s a problem, and what we as consumers can do to fight back.

Face milks clean skin without soaps and harsh detergents and are gentler than foaming or gel cleansers. Here’s a roundup of some of our favorite brands, why we love them, and how they’re used most effectively.

TDE Mandarins, Pixie Tangerines and Gold Nugget Tangerines are brightening our produce departments this month. Also try a few of our nutritionists’ favorite products: locally made beeswax candles; an organic, Fair Trade chocolate bar with crunchy popped quinoa; a spicy, superbly nutritious turmeric elixir; and more!

Farmers earn 3.5¢ of every dollar spent eating out, and 16¢ of every dollar spent on food eaten at home.

What should “healthy” mean? · Carbonated water · Glyphosate and grains · Whole grain rice · Canola oil · Anti-nutrients in grains · Small store benefits

GE salmon update · Biotech industry influences GE policy · Study: GE not equivalent · Fresh vs. frozen nutrition? · Pesticide-coated seeds dangerous to insects · Washington dairy overtime lawsuit · Palm oil investigation · What defines “milk”? · EPA: fracking contaminates drinking water · Cracking down on seafood fraud · Dannon “natural” lawsuit · Livestock antibiotics increase · Americans say organic better for health

Organic Valley is transitioning to carrageenan-free foods, Oregon’s Coho salmon are facing threats, and President Obama prohibited future oil and gas development in parts of the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans before leaving office. Hear all the details, plus more current food and agriculture reports.

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