Last week, the major retailer announced they will introduce a new line of about 250 food and beverage items created to appeal to shoppers like us under the brand name Simply Balanced. From the press release:

“The Simply Balanced collection is crafted to be free of artificial flavors, colors and preservatives, and avoids high fructose corn syrup. The collection never uses trans fats, is mindful about the amount of sodium in each product, and forty percent of the products are organic – giving guests more of the simple, recognizable ingredients they know and want – and a food label they can understand.”

The majority of the collection is also GMO-free, and Target promises the entire line will be GMO-free by the end of next year. The new products will begin appearing on shelves this month with the whole product line launched within the next few months.

As always, remember to read the nutrition label and ingredient lists before you buy! 

If you’re a loyal Target shopper, you will soon have new choices. Good news?

Image Credit: Target

We’re big fans of school lunch reform around here, so I couldn’t resist sharing this trailer that I ran across! Fourth grader Zachary Maxwell used hidden cameras to document the underbelly of his school’s lunch program and used the footage to create a documentary about it. Here’s the trailer:

The film - Yuck: A 4th Grader’s Documentary About School Lunch – debuted in 2012 as part of the NewFilmmakers regular Fall Series, and since then has received critical acclaim. ABC News talked to Maxwell about his film:

During Zachary’s investigation, he compared descriptions of lunch items on the school-provided menu with secretly recorded video of what he was actually being served.

“It sounded like it was coming from the finest restaurant, but what we were actually getting served, it wasn’t too good.”

The next showing of Maxwell’s film will be on June 21, 2013 at the Manhattan Film Festival.

Image Credit: Screenshot from the video above

White Cherry is just the most recent flavor addition to the Skinnygirl line of “low-carb, low-calorie” vodkas and it joins “natural flavors” tangerine, coconut, cucumber, and “bare naked” (which, curiously is also labeled as having “natural flavors”).

According to fatsecret.com, There are 75 calories in a 1.5 fl oz serving of Skinnygirl Vodka (the Skinnygirl site says 75.6 calories) Most vodka?  Commonly, 1 serving (1 jigger) of vodka equals 1.5 fluid ounces of 90 proof alcohol and this has about 100 calories. So, how exactly does Skinnygirl make low-calorie vodka?

The simplest way to make a low-calorie drink is to lower the percentage of alcohol. As mentioned previously … Skinnygirl vodka is only 60 proof, so of course it has fewer calories. And no surprise, it actually has more calories than the equivalent amount of common vodka that would yield a 60 proof drink.

To be fair, Skinnygirl is not alone.  According to an article in BeverageMedia.com, calling low-alcohol beverages low-calorie is a full-blown trend. However, none are as big or as bold as Skinnygirl. And none are positioned as “natural”

So, what about those natural flavor claims? So far no response from Skinnygirl.

Earlier today, Chris listed the 10 most common GMO foods, and USDA is close to adding one more to that list: GM potatoes.

I just received an alert from Food & Water Watch explaining that McDonald’s is the world’s #1 potato buyer, which means that if they refuse to buy GMO potatoes, farmers won’t plant them. Jo Miles said in this afternoon’s press release:

“You may not like McDonald’s. I’ll be honest: I haven’t eaten there since I was a kid. But thanks to their famous fries, McDonald’s is the single largest purchaser of potatoes in the United States. That’s why we’re calling on them right now, before the GE potato is even approved, to commit that they won’t buy it.”

Sure, you can avoid GE potatoes if they get approved by buying organic, but we’ve seen over and over that GMO crops cross-breed with conventional and even organic crops, contaminating them and sometimes even hurting trade with other countries who have bans or regulations on GMOs.

GM Potatoes: Get Heard

Want to stop GM potatoes in their tracks? Tell McDonald’s that you won’t buy genetically modified fries. Food & Water Watch has an online petition that makes it easy to join the ranks of consumers saying no to GM potatoes.

Image Credits: Creative Commons fries photo by hildaaa and McFrankenfries image via Food & Water Watch

Genetically modified organisms, such as plants and livestock are already found in our supermarkets. GM plants are much more common than many people realize too. Here is a list of the 10 most common GMO foods so you can be more aware while grocery shopping.

1. Soy

Up to 90% of soybeans in the market have been genetically modified to be naturally resistant to an herbicide called, Round Up. This increased resistance to the herbicide allows farmers to use more Round Up to kill weeds. However, this results not only in a genetically modified food product, but also a food product loaded with more chemicals.

2. Corn

Half of the US farms growing corn to sell to the conglomerate, Monsanto, are growing GMO corn. Most of this corn is going to be used for human consumption. Genetically modified corn has been linked to health problems, including weight gain and organ disruption.

3. Canola oil

Canola oil is derived from rapeseed oil. It is considered one of the most chemically altered oils sold in the US.

4. Cotton

Even cotton has been genetically modified to increase yield and resistance to disease. Most concern relates to the cotton oil. Cotton originating from India, and China, in particular, is considered higher risk for personal health.

5. Milk

One fifth of the dairy cows in the United States have been given growth hormones to help them grow faster and increase their yield. These hormones can be found in some of the milk produced by these cows. These growth hormones have been shown to act inside the human body.

6. Sugar

Genetically modified sugar beets were introduced to the US market in 2009. These sugar beets are modified to resist Roundup, like corn.

7. Aspartame

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener used instead of sugar by many people. There is some question concerning the the safety of aspartame in the body, including its possible link to certain cancers. Aspartame is manufactured from genetically modified bacteria.

8. Zucchini

Genetically modified zucchini contains a toxic protein that helps make it more resistant to insects. This introduced insecticide, has recently been found in human blood, including that of pregnant women and fetuses. This indicates that some of the insecticide is making its way into our bodies rather than being broken down and excreted.

9. Yellow squash

Yellow squash has also been modified with the toxic proteins to make it insect resistant. This plant is very similar to zucchini, and both have also been modified to resist viruses.

10. Papaya

Genetically modified papaya trees have been grown in Hawaii since 1999. These Papayas are sold in the United States and Canada for human consumption. These papayas have been modified to be naturally resistant to Papaya Ringspot virus, and also to delay the maturity of the fruit. Delaying maturity gives suppliers more time to ship the fruit to supermarkets.

These are just 10 of the most prevalent GMO foods found in the supermarket. There are many others currently for sale and being grown for the market. GMO safety is not yet certain, so if you want to stay away from it always keep an eye out for a label that indicates food is organic or non-GMO.

Image credit:  Some rights reserved by KevinLallier

Who needs chemical-packed Fruit Roll Ups when you can make your own at home with no special equipment?

Kids love fruit roll ups, but the conventional sort are full of artificial food coloring and GMO ingredients. You can find natural fruit roll ups made from dried fruit, but they’re pretty pricey and come wrapped in single-use plastic. Next time your kiddo begs you for a fruit roll up in his lunchbox, grab your blender, a few ingredients, and whip up a batch at home instead! Check out the video recipe from Fifteen Spatulas:

What I love about this project is that you don’t need special equipment to make it. Instead of a food dehydrator, she uses her oven to dry out the fruit roll up. It’s also flexible. Strawberry looks delicious, but you could also experiment with other fruits, like fresh peeled peaches, raspberries, or cherries!

I think pretty much any berries or stone fruits would work well with her recipe, but crunchier fruit like apples or pears might need a little tweaking.

Have you made fruit leather at home? I’d love to hear your favorite DIY fruit roll up recipes!

Image Credit: Strawberries photo via Shutterstock

My husband and I are raising our child vegetarian, and this felt like it might be a glimpse at the compassionate kiddo-to-be we are raising! Our baby, Darrol Henry, is only three months old right now, but once in a while when I see older kids I feel like I’m getting a preview of his future. This video was one of those moments for me, and I couldn’t resist sharing it with you!

In the video, Luiz’s mother serves him octopus gnocchi, which spurs a conversation about eating animals. Vegetarian and vegan mommas and poppas, get out your hankies, then hit play:

The quote that got me? “These animals…you gotta take care of them…and not eat them!”

Over at our sister site, Planetsave, Zach shares a second video with some more grown-up reasons to eat veg. Click here to check that out!

In many parts of Spain – including the capital city of Madrid – dumpster diving carries a hefty fine.

Madrid was the first Spanish city to outlaw dumpster diving back in 2009, but since then many other provinces have jumped on board. The fine for folks caught dumpster diving in Madrid is 750 Euros, which is almost $1000. So, why the crackdown? According to Ana Botella, environmental delegate in Madrid:

“I refuse to live in a city and in a society in which I am forced to accept that there are people who go rummaging in the garbage to eat. The Town Hall has to ensure the sanitary conditions of the city. Unfortunately, the destruction of a million jobs in one year is creating new social profiles, but the social service network offers resources for them.”

That seems like a pretty dicey bit of logic to me. You won’t accept that people will dumpster dive for food, so you outlaw dumpster diving? Wouldn’t it make more sense to try to divert that food waste to people who need it? Making dumpster diving illegal feels like treating the symptoms, and like my favorite band sings, “If you can heal the symptoms but not affect the cause, then you can’t heal the symptoms.”

Jessi Stafford wrote a great piece on dumpster diving here at Eat Drink Better last April, and I think she really nails it (emphasis mine):

“Many dumpster divers utilize urban foraging as a sort of protest against the established corporate food system and as a means to eliminate unnecessary waste. Basically, it is the practice of sifting through trash (mostly commercial, sometimes residential) in search of salvageable food, clothing, and other discarded, but still useful, items. Dumpster diving is an intentional action against a materialistic and wasteful society.“

Here in the U.S. laws on dumpster diving vary by city. In some areas, there aren’t laws against the practice, in others it falls under privacy or anti-trespassing laws, and some towns outright forbid it.

Is dumpster diving legal where you live? Have you been fined or arrested for foraging for food? Tell us in the comments!

Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by mike krzeszak

A recent study showed that genetically modified salmon can produce hybrids with brown trout, a closely related species. The study also showed that the GM hybrids were even more dominant in the natural ecosystem than their GM parents.

Salmon and brown trout are similar species that can sometimes produce hybrids in the wild. These natural hybrids are similar to the non-hybrid fish in terms of feeding and predation. In other words, they don’t impact the activities of either the trout populations or the salmon populations.

However, when researchers crossed the GM salmon with a brown trout, they found the resulting GM hybrids grew even more rapidly than their GM parents. In a lab environment that recreated natural stream conditions, the GM hybrids grew so rapidly, both the GM salmon and the non-GM salmon and trout experienced stunted growth.

Advocates of genetically modified salmon point out two things in their defense. First, the GM salmon will be created sterile, with only a 5% error rate (meaning 5% of GM salmon will have full reproductive capabilities). Second, the salmon and brown trout hybrids in nature are sterile.

Both of those points are true, but consider the following scenario:

Supposing the GM salmon becomes the salmon farming industry’s favorite fish for stocking their pens. It is estimated that roughly 3 million farmed salmon escape each year and there’s no reason to believe that GM salmon won’t be able to escape just like their non-GM counterparts. (Yes, I know GM salmon are supposed to be raised in the Panamanian hills, but how long do you think that restriction would last once profits are involved?)

Out of 3 million GM salmon escapees, 5% would be able to reproduce, or about 150,000. Most of those would breed with other salmon, with effects we’ve already discussed on EDB. Some of them would breed with brown trout. Those GM hybrids would outcompete the other hatchlings in the river. According to the study referenced above, the GM hybrids suppress the growth of natural salmon by 54% and GM salmon by 82%.

In that scenario, the GM hybrids would die off at the end of the year, but they would have affected the growth of the native salmon significantly. Those remaining native salmon would be easier prey and would take longer to reach reproductive size. The GM salmon escapees would still be around and able to produce a few more GM hybrids in the coming years, which would continue to impact native salmon populations. The impact on wild fisheries would be significant. People would lose their livelihoods.

Trout photo via Shutterstock