Livingmaxwell Homepage

Organic Insider

Company Stories

David Bronner, the Cosmic Engagement Officer (CEO) of Dr. Bronner’s, saw this coming years ago.

With California having legalized cannabis in 2016, he knew that this plant was headed down the path of other agricultural crops — mass industrialization, genetic engineering, enormous energy consumption through fossil fuels, and the displacement of small-scale family farmers.

Where cannabis differs from other agricultural commodities, however, is that there can be no such thing as “organic cannabis” until the federal government stops classifying it as an illegal drug.

Living Maxwell

Better Choices

I get asked all of the time by people “how do I know that the food that I am eating is organic?”

Well, when we buy food in the supermarket, there is an organic certification process managed by the USDA. Those organic food products have the organic seal.

Yet, what do we do when we go to restaurants?

While there are very few restaurants that have actually been certified organic (there used to be one in NYC called Gustorganics), most of them are not.

In this video, I share with you the one question that I always ask when I go to a new organic restaurant. The answer gives me a good idea about how serious they are about organic.

Organic Insider

Must-Read

With the ag-biotech industry having made incredible progress brainwashing consumers and politicians into thinking that GMO foods are perfectly safe, the fact remains that no independent, long-term safety studies of these foods have ever been conducted on humans.

And because the general public has been falsely convinced into believing that GMOs are safe and government oversight has been minimal, scientists are pushing genetic engineering into other areas that could spell potential disaster for our planet and our survival.

Living Maxwell

Company Stories

Last week in New York City, the two biggest trade shows of the summer took place — the 2023 Summer Fancy Food Show and Good Food Mercantile.

Impressive innovation was on display everywhere, and narrowing down the best of what I saw was no easy feat.

Here are my Top 5 Organic Products of the 2023 Summer Fancy Food Show and Good Food Mercantile.

Living Maxwell

Personal

Last week, I was asked by a friend of mine if I ever cheat.

No, she was not asking if I ever cheat on women but rather wanted to know if I ever cheat on my diet.

While I was taken aback by the question and didn’t have an immediate answer, she followed up with “Don’t you ever eat a doughnut?”

“No, I never eat doughnuts,” I quickly responded. That was an easy one to figure out. The thought of putting a Krispy Kreme into my body never ever enters my mind.

The larger question about cheating, however, really got me thinking and this is what I came up with.

Living Maxwell

Better Choices

I spend an inordinate amount of time learning about the healthiest and newest organic food products available. Through my research at the various trade shows — most notably, Natural Products Expo East and Natural Products Expo West —  talking to industry contacts, roaming supermarket aisles, speaking with as many well-informed food people as I can and reading books, I have come to the following conclusion:

You can take almost any food in the world and some health expert will have something good to say about it while a different health expert will have something bad to say about it.

So, what I do is educate myself as much as I can and then make my own decision about whether I should be eating it or not.

The following five organic foods seem to be the most controversial. While books could be written on all of the foods below and by no means am I covering all of the pros/cons of each, I will try to highlight the most salient points.

Living Maxwell

Company Stories

Several years ago, I was introduced to Erewhon, and my life has not been the same since.

Not only is it my first stop whenever I go to Los Angeles, but anytime I meet someone who is from there, I always ask “So, do you go to Erewhon?” It is that impressive of a supermarket and is a place I think about often, even from 3,000 miles away in New York City.

What many people may not realize is that Erewhon has been a pioneer in the health food world since the 1960s and was profiled in Joe Dobrow’s fascinating book Natural Prophets: From Health Foods to Whole Foods — How the Pioneers of the Industry Changed the Way We Eat and Reshaped American Business.