Recently, I received a copy of Martin Lindstrom’s Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy.

The reason that I wanted to read it was because Whole Foods was discussed in the book and I was curious to know what he had to say about the company.

As Martin Lindstrom correctly points out, Whole Foods is very strategic in how it merchandises its products. A few examples that he mentioned were:

– Putting flowers by the entrance. These are called “symbolics”,  and they evoke freshness and “prime” us as we begin our shopping.

– All of the signs in the produce and fruit section are written on black slate with chalk, a tradition of European marketplaces. Apparently, marketers refers to this tactic as “farmgate”, so that consumers think a farmer just drove up and dropped off the vegetables. Read more »

When I go to the organic trade shows twice a year, I see hundreds and hundreds of products.

Many of the products I am already familiar with but some are brand new. And in this category of brand new products, there are always a few that make a long-lasting impression.

Fearless Chocolate happens to be one of those organic products, which I encountered at the 2011 Expo West show in Anaheim, CA, and I vividly remember not being able to stop eating it.

While I favor raw chocolate over non-raw chocolate, because it tastes so much more light and healthy, the Fearless Chocolate Matcha Green Tea Peppermynt was something special.

The combination of green tea and peppermint, both of which I am a huge fan, was what made this chocolate bar so refreshing, compelling and unusual. Read more »

I just got into Baltimore to attend Natural Products Expo East, one of the two biggest trade shows in the organic industry, and I am incredibly excited about this year’s show for several reasons.

One, I am speaking on a panel tomorrow at 4PM called “Allergens, Additives and Special Diets” – the first time that I have been asked to speak at either Expo East or Expo West.

I’ll be covering various topics including: organic vs. natural, the relationship of GMOs and allergies, the different organic labels, and how retailers can better educate consumers about organic.

Ever since I started livingmaxwell less than two years ago I had always been hoping that one day I would get to take part in a panel. Now it is happening.

Two, I am staying at the most organic hotel I have ever come across in my life called the Inn at the Black Olive. This place is AMAZING!  I checked in a little while ago and am so over-the-top impressed. Read more »

At the recent 2011 Expo West trade show, I got a chance to speak with Minh Tsai, the founder of Hodo Soy Beanery. Hodo Soy Beanery is based in Oakland, CA and makes artisinal organic tofu.

The other great product that Hodo Soy Beanery makes are organic yuba strips. If you’ve never heard of yuba strips, definitely give them a try. They are phenomenal!!

In this video, Minh and I talk about his products, what it means to be an artisinal tofu maker and when Hodo Soy Beanery will be expanding its distribution to the East Coast.

I don’t know why it has been so difficult lately but it has taken me several days to find an organic coconut oil that I wanted to buy.

Yesterday, I stumbled across Artisana’s Organic Coconut Oil and immediately picked it up.

The Requirements

There are three main things that I have to see when buying coconut oil.

1) It has to be organic This goes without saying.

2) It has to be in a glass jar As I have written about before, I carry glass water bottles to work and want to use glass, instead of plastic, as much as I can.

I often see several different brands of coconut oil in plastic containers. Regardless of how badly I want or need the coconut oil, I don’t buy it and prefer to wait in order to get something that I am happy with. Read more »

When I was at Expo West this past Spring, I was talking with Jerry Zeifman, president of Health Matters America, a distributor of various organic foods, and asked him what he eats for breakfast.

Jerry, who looks looks about 10 years younger than his actual age, told me that he drinks smoothies filled with superfoods and uses organic herbal tea as his base.

Immediately, I thought to myself, “Using tea in a smoothie? Yeah, that makes total sense. Why didn’t I think of that?”

While I had been making the exact same smoothies as Jerry, I was using Brazil nut milk instead of organic tea.

I have since cut back on nut milk and make it about twice per week but am now incorporating tea a majority of the time, thanks to Jerry. Read more »

As I have written about before, I believe that the most important person in this country fighting against GMOs is Andrew Kimbrell, the Executive Director of The Center for Food Safety (CFS).

The CFS has single-handedly stopped many GMO crops from coming to market and is constantly taking the USDA and Monsanto to court in order to protect organic food.

If there is a number two on this list, his name is probably Jeffrey Smith from The Institute for Responsible Technology. Read more »