Living Maxwell
Company Stories
For as long as I have been covering the organic food industry and giving out Natural Products Expo West awards, it has always been a Top 5 list.
However, due to the incredible number of fantastic products that I saw at the 2024 show and at the urging of my good friend Liana Werner-Gray, I have expanded the list to a Top 10.
Living Maxwell
Company Stories
For those of us who are fans of Dr. Bronner’s, the company’s products have a constant presence in our households, and we use them to clean our bodies and physical surroundings on a daily basis.
While this is unquestionably a critical component of our lives and imperative to maintain good health, cleaning transcends removing whatever is on our skin, on our clothes or on our kitchen countertops. It also affects our emotional well-being and directly impacts how we show up in the world.
And this is precisely why Lisa Bronner’s Soap & Soul: A Practical Guide to Minding Your Home, Your Body and Your Spirit with Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps spoke to me so much, as it squarely touches on the importance of cleaning both the tangible and intangible — an essential formula for a meaningful life.
Living Maxwell
Company Stories
For as long as I have been covering the organic food industry, I have attended Natural Products Expo East, with my first show in Boston in 2009.
So, it is very bittersweet to report that after last week’s show in Philadelphia, there will be no more Expo East moving forward. New Hope, the organizer of the event, has decided to launch something new in 2024 called Newtopia Now.
Living Maxwell
Better Choices
I got a comment from someone the other day who said “Why should we care about GMOs (genetically-modified organisms)? Let them grow what they want. It doesn’t impact the people who eat organic.”
Unfortunately, this individual could not have been more wrong.
GMOs impact everyone, including people who eat 100% organic, and a recent study from the Pesticide Action Network confirms this.
Water sampling results from communities across four Midwestern states — Illinois, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota — indicate Atrazine is present in drinking water at levels well above those linked to birth defects and low birth weight.
WHAT IS ATRAZINE AND WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IT
Present in 94% of our water supply, Atrazine is a toxic weed killer and 76 million pounds of it is dumped onto our farms each year, mostly for corn.
And the health effects of Atrazine?
A message from Tradin Organic
At Tradin Organic, we believe that regenerative organic farming is key to growing healthy and nutritious food ingredients — for now and for future generations.
And in Sierra Leone, we have grown the world’s first Regenerative Organic Certified cacao.
Living Maxwell
Better Choices
One question has been really bothering me as of late: Is there such a thing as USDA certified organic honey?
Despite the picture you see above, there is good reason for me to have serious doubt. Here is why.
In the past, I have spoken to numerous local beekeepers and when I asked them if their honey is organic, they have all told me that there is no such thing as USDA certified organic honey.
Yet when I go to the market, I see one or two brands of honey that have the USDA organic seal on the label. Almost all of the honey that has the seal on it comes from Brazil, which has made me wonder whether there is some type of corruption going on with the certification.
Organic Insider
Must-Read
If you are a consumer or participant in the organic industry, something new is set to hit the marketplace that you absolutely want to know about, and it is called the Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC).
Started by three organizations — Patagonia, Dr. Bronner’s and Rodale Institute — the certification aims to raise the bar for what organic represents.
But contrary to what one might believe, it is not a substitution for the USDA organic seal. Instead, it adds onto the USDA organic seal and is referred to as an “add-on” label. The USDA organic seal is a requirement, or a baseline, in order for a company to receive the ROC certification.
Living Maxwell
Better Choices
Earlier this year, I wrote a post talking about the tremendous health benefits of black sesame seeds.
I love putting them on quinoa, millet, and on my salads, and they add a whole new dimension to whatever food that I am eating.
Since Brazil nut milk and cashew milk are two drinks that I make quite often, I started asking myself “What if I made a milk out of organic black sesame seeds?”
My immediate thought was that the taste would be too harsh or too strong, and that I would need to use a lot of honey or organic palm sugar to even it out.
Over the past week or so, I have been experimenting with black sesame seed milk and much to my surprise, I have been thrilled with the results.
Living Maxwell
Company Stories
Within the last 12 months, organic baking start-up Foodstirs has quickly and firmly established itself as one of the hottest brands in the industry today.
While it is undeniable that having a Hollywood celebrity as a co-founder has helped attract tremendous media attention and opened many doors, Foodstirs is leading the marketplace because it has delivered a top-notch product line to a category that was ripe for innovation. With proven entrepreneur Galit Laibow as CEO, long-time industry veteran and brand-building guru Greg Fleishman as COO, and marketing standout Sarah Michelle Gellar as Chief Creative Officer, the company’s intentions were clear from the very beginning.
“Foodstirs is about the power of baking, and we wanted to help create an experience that allows families to connect with each other in an easy and convenient way. Our product is empowering them to do this,” said Greg Fleishman.
A message from E3Live
The best testimonial that I can give is that I drink this every single day, as it impacts my mood in an incredibly positive way.
E3Live + BrainON is certified organic, fresh-frozen AFA (Aphanizomenon flos-aquae) with a concentrated, aqueous, organic extract of Phenylethylamine and Phycocyanin.
Organic Insider
Company Stories
Let me say right up front that I support the USDA’s national organic certification program. Why?
Because it is the only nationally recognized and accepted system we have in place for organic standards.
I firmly believe that the more people we have participating and engaged in the system, the stronger it will become. Conversely, the more people who opt out of the system, the weaker it will become.
Living Maxwell
Better Choices
As I have written about many times before, I am a water fanatic. I like clean, ultra-purified water and have a four-stage filter (with a .015 micron filter on filter #2) in my apartment.
When I go to work, there is a Poland Spring cooler but I refuse to drink from it. Why?
The water tastes very, very off and is not purified.
So, I bring my own bottles of water to work each day. This may sound crazy to some people but drinking high quality water is essential to staying healthy.
Given that I take so much effort to drink good water, the type of bottle that I use is also of great importance.
I used to drink from a BPA-free plastic bottle. The problem with that is that it is still plastic and is leaching other chemicals into the water.
