Living Maxwell
Company Stories
Last week, I was in New York City to attend two fantastic trade shows — 2024 Summer Fancy Food Show and Good Food Mercantile.
Whenever I go to these shows, I always come across some outstanding organic products, and this year was no exception.
Here are my Top 10 Organic Products of the 2024 Summer Fancy Food Show and Good Food Mercantile.
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
A girl I used to know in New York City was so fanatical about recycling that she would literally take empty bottles home from bars because she feared that they would be tossed in the garbage.
I’ll never forget the time when we were out one night and she started filling up her designer handbag with empty beer bottles, which weren’t even hers! She was that committed to the environment.
Yet, when she drank her coffee each morning, organic coffee was never even a consideration.
Although I didn’t realize it at the time, this didn’t make much sense. Why?
Because conventionally-grown coffee is incredibly unhealthy for people and the planet.
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.
Living Maxwell
Company Stories
With celebrities rushing to invest in organic food companies these days, Sarah Michelle Gellar truly stands alone.
This long-time Hollywood actress isn’t writing a check, fading into the background and hoping for a payout several years down the line. She is doing the exact opposite.
Sarah Michelle Gellar is helping to run and is playing an active role in building one of the hottest organic food brands in the industry. Along with her two other co-founders, CEO Galit Laibow and COO Greg Fleishman, Foodstirs is redefining the healthy baking category by using the best organic and Biodynamic ingredients available.
In addition to her acting career and responsibilities at Foodstirs, this Emmy Award-winning actress and mother of two recently released Stirring up Fun with Food: Over 115 Simple, Delicious Ways to be Creative in the Kitchen, her #1 best-selling book. Organized by the month, Stirring up Fun with Food succeeds because of its approach — providing engaging “food-crafting” ideas that help kids develop self-confidence, creative thinking, and even math skills in the kitchen.
Living Maxwell
Company Stories
Dr. Bronner’s may very well be the most unique company in the entire organic industry.
Not only has it been producing super-high quality soaps, cleaning and personal care products, and coconut oils since 1948, but its unconventional approach and commitment to social and environmental issues truly set it apart.
Most notably, the company gives 8.6% of its revenues to hundreds of different causes. Yes, 8.6% of revenues — a staggering amount.
Living Maxwell
Company Stories
Regenerative agriculture is a major trend in the organic food world these days, but for many people, it is a confusing and uncertain term.
Wanting people to understand just what ‘regenerative’ means and how the company is embracing this agricultural practice around the world, Dr. Bronner’s has just released an inspirational and compelling new documentary called Journey to Pavitramenthe.
This short film tells the story of fair trade, small-scale farmers in Bareilly, India – located in the state of Uttar Pradesh, 170 miles east of Delhi — who produce regenerative organic mint oil for Dr. Bronner’s products.
Living Maxwell
Must-Read
I almost fell over in my chair the other day when I read this one in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
In nearly half of the samples tested, researchers found traces of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) in peanut butter, cold cuts, turkey, beef, and other fatty foods.
So what is HBCD exactly?
It is a flame retardant commonly used in the foam insulation of building walls, upholstered furniture, automobile interior textiles, car cushions and electronic equipment.
How toxic is it and who is concerned about it?
Living Maxwell
Must-Read
For years, I have been warning about the health risks of drinking non-organic hormonal milk.
But it isn’t just the synthetic growth hormones that are worrisome.
It is also the alarming level of antibiotics that animals receive and the pesticide-soaked, GMO grains they are fed.
A recently published report from researchers at Emory University, in collaboration with The Organic Center, is validating our concerns with non-organic milk.
Living Maxwell
Better Choices
It is a proven fact that our children are born with a shocking number of harmful chemicals in their bodies.
A study from the Environmental Working Group showed that 232 toxic chemicals were found in 10 cord blood samples of infants.
Some of the chemicals included BPA (a hormone disruptor), toxic flame retardants, synthetic fragrances used in common cosmetics and detergents, and PFBA, which is used to make non-stick and grease-, stain- and water-resistant coatings for cookware, textiles, food packaging and other consumer products.
