On Tuesday, EWG released an analysis of laboratory testing that shows glyphosate, the notorious weedkiller linked to cancer, in more than 80 percent of non-organic hummus and chickpea samples. Glyphosate was detected at far lower levels in organic samples than in their conventional counterparts.
“Beans, peas and lentils are a nutritious, affordable source of protein and an important part of the American diet,” said Olga V. Naidenko, Ph.D., EWG’s vice president for science investigations. “These excellent foods would be much better without glyphosate. Toxic weedkiller should never be allowed to contaminate these products, or any other foods, that millions of American families eat every day.”
As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, EWG took a look at farmworker protections that were being put in place across the nation. We found that only eight states have wide-ranging mandatory protections for farmworkers, and 26 have failed to take any action.
This week, the peer-reviewed journal Chemosphere published a study by EWG scientists that concludes that burning, discarding and flushing waste containing the toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS all contribute to environmental contamination.
“The three common ‘disposal’ options for getting rid of PFAS do not eliminate these contaminants but rather end up just returning either the same chemicals or their byproducts back into the environment,” says Tasha Stoiber, Ph.D., EWG senior scientist and primary author of the study. “PFAS disposal is really just another step in the contamination cycle.”
Here’s some news you can use going into the weekend.
Study for Disposal of PFAS Waste
Chemical Watch: US EWG alerts to possible presence of PFAS in air from waste incinerators
US NGO, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), has called for urgent research into the potential presence of per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in air emissions from waste incinerators.
Waste Today Magazine: Study concludes that PFAS disposal increases contamination
According to a study published in Chemosphere, scientists at the Environmental Working Group (EWG), Washington, D.C., have concluded that burning, discarding and flushing waste containing the toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS all contribute to environmental contamination.
Children’s Health
Baby Chick: Puracy: Natural & Safe Household Products That Actually Work
This is a true all-purpose, every-surface cleaner, and with the grade of A on the EWG site, I appreciate that it is safe to use around my family.
Eco18: Eco-Products for Moms-to-Be
One of their most popular options is their plant-based wet wipes, which are ultra-soft, biodegradable, hypoallergenic, EWG Verified, MADE SAFE® certified and made with only water and plant-based ingredients.
Moms.com: Is Fabric Softener Really Necessary?
According to the Environmental Working Group's article Skip The Fabric Softeners, most fabric softeners contain preservatives such as methylisothiazolinone, which is a potent skin allergen.
Glyphosate in Hummus Report
USA Today: New study finds weed killer in popular hummus brands – here's what you need to know
The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit environmental organization that receives funding from organic food companies like Stonyfield Farm and Organic Valley, conducted the study and found glyphosate (which is used in herbicides like Roundup) in many non-organic products it tested.
Traces of glyphosate, a weed-killing chemical, has been found in various samples of hummus and chickpeas, according to a new report out today from the Environmental Working Group.
Delish: Many Hummus And Chickpea Brands Were Found To Contain A Chemical Used In Weed Killer
More than 80 percent of non-organic hummus and chickpea products in independent laboratory tests commissioned by Environmental Working Group contained detectable levels of glyphosate, a chemical used in weed killer, according to the group.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) recently conducted a study that found several chickpea products contain more of the herbicide glyphosate than the benchmark for recommended daily consumption.
The Environmental Working Group, the same organization responsible for the annual Dirty Dozen produce list, says its new findings suggest popular store-bought hummus products as well as raw, canned, or boxed chickpeas contain various amounts of glyphosate.
The Hill: Weedkiller chemical found in popular brands of hummus
The study, from the Environmental Working Group (EWG), found the chemical glyphosate in more than 80 percent of the non-organic hummus and chickpeas samples it studied.
Eat This, Not That: These Hummus Brands Could Be Making You Seriously Ill, According to Science
Today, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) released a new report that tested samples of popular hummus brands for glyphosate, an herbicide that has been linked to cancer, and the results are not what we expected.
Whole Foods Magazine: EWG Finds High Glyphosate Levels in Hummus
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) commissioned laboratory tests on hummus and chickpeas samples, and found glyphosate in more than 80% of non-organic samples.
Fox Business: Whole Foods, Sabra hummus could contain cancer-linked weedkiller found in Roundup
Glyphosate, one of the most widely used herbicides, was found in more than 80 percent of non-organic hummus brands and several organic versions including the popular brand Sabra, according to a report from the Environmental Working Group, an environmental health nonprofit organization, released Tuesday.
Star 102 (Cleveland): Whole Foods, Sabra Hummus and More Tested Positive for Weedkiller Chemical
Well EWG Toxicologist Alexis Temkin says that you might just have to buy organic hummus and chickpeas to make sure you're not coming in contact with glyphosate.
Launch of EWG VERIFIED® Prima Products
Harper’s Bazaar: CBD Skincare Has a Clean Beauty Problem, but Prima Is Changing That
As the first CBD brand to be EWG Verified, Prima seeks to clear up the confusion.
Global Cosmetic Industry: Prima First to Offer EWG Verified CBD Products
Prima, which became a certified B Corporation in June 2020, is reportedly the first hemp CBD brand with Environmental Working Group (EWG) Verified products.
COVID-19 and Farmworkers
Bloomberg: Only Eight U.S. States Have Virus Rules for Farms as Cases Rise
A little more than a dozen states have safety recommendations, but they aren’t enforceable, while the rest of the country hasn’t issued any protocols, according to the Environmental Working Group, which released its findings on Tuesday.
Reprinted by Yahoo! Finance
Agri-Pulse: Daybreak July 15—Report: Few states have COVID-19 farmworker protections
Most states have not issued any guidance for how to protect farmworkers from the coronavirus, according to a new analysis from the Environmental Working Group.
Progressive Farmer: Washington Insider—Thursday 7/16
Only a handful of states have put mandatory COVID-19 protections in place specifically for farmworkers, according to an analysis from the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
COVID-19 and Farm Bailouts
Politico: ‘Here’s your check’: Trump’s massive payouts to farmers will be hard to pull back
“There’s definitely a connection between his supporters and the people who are getting the money from these huge payments,” said Schechinger of the Environmental Working Group.
“It’s a giant downside for agriculture as a result of it’s not sustainable,” mentioned Anne Schechinger, senior economics analyst on the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit watchdog organisation.
Bayer-Monsanto Settlement
Green Prophet: Bayer-Monsanto Agrees to $10B Settlement With Victims Poisoned by Roundup Weedkiller
Three separate rounds of laboratory tests commissioned by EWG in 2018 and 2019 found glyphosate in nearly every sample of popular oat-based cereals and other foods marketed to children.
Cleaning Products
Berkeley Wellness: Do Eco-Friendly Cleaners Destroy the Coronavirus?
The Environmental Working Group recommends these less-toxic virus-killing ingredients, which you can find when you search the EPA’s list of cleaners.
Natural Health 365: The 6 best antiviral essential oils
Eucalyptus oil is found in 30 different natural cleaning products approved by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit research association.
Taste for Life: Environmentally Friendly Cleaning 6 Ingredients to Embrace (and 5 to Avoid)
Source: “What are parabens, and why they don’t belong in cosmetics products?” by Tasha Stoiber, EWG.org
Treehugger: What Is Castile Soap? Uses and Benefits
Castile soap is great at cutting through greasy dishes, and it gets an A from the Environmental Working Group for being a 'product of low concern'.
Skin Deep® Cosmetics Database
Pre-crisis, women in the US apply an average of 168 chemicals, including endocrine disruptors, carcinogens and neurotoxins, to our faces and bodies every day, according to non-profit Environmental Working Group.
Environmental Working Group reports the active ingredient Octinoxate has startling possible side effects including: biochemical or cellular level changes, developmental/reproductive toxicity, endocrine disruption, allergies/immunotoxicity, and organ system toxicity.
Cheat Sheet: Is Kourtney Kardashian Trying to Subtly Influence Her Sisters’ Businesses?
In 2018, Kourtney worked with the Environmental Working Group (EWG) to lobby Congress for reforms to cosmetic regulations. She even went to Washington D.C. to support the Personal Care Products Safety Act, which was a bill introduced in 2015 to put forth new health and safety standards for cosmetic products.
Glossy: AI clean beauty startup Good Face Project is the latest ingredient research app
Like ingredient research platforms such as mobile app Think Dirty and the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep app, The Good Face Project launched its app for iOS today to help clean beauty consumers do ingredient research.
EWG VERIFIED®
Allure: The Best Beauty Products You Can Buy on Amazon
Not only is Herbal Essences' Honey & Vitamin B Sulfate-Free Shampoo EWG Verified — which means its ingredients meet rigorous standards — it's color-safe, pH-balanced, and formulated to moisturize and soften hair.
Happi: Henry Rose Expands Scent Collection
Henry Rose, a line of genderless fine fragrances founded by actress Michelle Pfeiffer and created to meet environmental standards from the Environmental Working Group and the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, has expanded its collection with Smyth, a fruity fragrance.
The Manual: The Best Men’s Colognes for Summer
Henry Rose, founded by Michelle Pfeiffer, conceives of all of its fragrances as genderless. This latest offering, Queens & Monsters, is also Environmental Working Group and Cradle to Cradle certified for sustainability efforts.
Who What Wear: I Wore a Different Perfume Every Day for a Month—These 10 Earned Me Compliments
It's gorgeous, and like all of Henry Rose's fragrances, it's verified by the Environmental Working Group and certified by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.
The Zoe Report: Henry Rose’s New Smyth Fragrance Is The Late-Summer Scent You’ve Been Searching For
You won't find endocrine disruptors, parabens, phthalates, and carcinogens in any of the brand's products and each scent has to pass strict guidelines that are put out by the Environmental Working Group and Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.
Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change + Health
Thrive Global: Climate Change: What’s Really Happening?
In the U.S., 50% of lamb is imported, according to EWG and CleanMetrics Report, its carbon footprint thus includes its transportation cost.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Nolte Family Irrigation Project
MinnPost: Water wars: Can a Sebeka farmer grow potatoes in the sandy soils of central Minnesota?
A few days later, however, the Environmental Working Group, a national organization that has led the opposition to the Nolte project, said it will ask the Minnesota Court of Appeals to order the environmental review.
PFAS Military Map
EHS Daily Advisor: EPA Issues Rule Moving Forward with PFAS Protections
106 military sites were identified by the Environmental Working Group “where the drinking water or groundwater is contaminated with PFAS” at unhealthy levels.
“Part of the reason we know so much about the toxicity of these compounds in general, and in particular about PFOA, is because of the contamination of over 70,000 people in Parkersburg, West Virginia and the surrounding communities in the Ohio River Valley,” David Andrews, senior scientist at the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, told NM Political Report.
Scott Faber, senior vice president for government affairs at the Environmental Working Group, said prospects for strong PFAS language is better this year than it was last year.
The foam has been found to contaminate groundwater and well water around bases. Recent data from the EWG found 28 bases with PFAS levels in drinking water at levels above state standards.
Top Class Actions: PFAS Chemicals Protections Proposed for Service Members
These sites were identified by the Environmental Working Group led by Scott Faber.
New Hampshire Public Radio: Kuster Backs New Effort To Add PFAS Package To Defense Spending Bill
The Environmental Working group says that list includes more than 600 military sites.
PFAS Tap Water Contamination
Chemical & Engineering News: Why limiting PFAS in drinking water is a challenge in the US
“This is a multi-administration failure to take action on PFOA and PFOS and on the broader class of PFAS chemicals that may pose health effects,” says Melanie Benesh, legislative attorney for the Environmental Working Group, which has called for limiting the two chemicals in drinking water since the early 2000s.
Another study commissioned by the Environmental Working Group in January discovered PFAS in the drinking water of dozens of cities across the United States — including El Paso County.
Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™
Good Housekeeping: What Are the Dirty Dozen Foods? Take a Look at the Full 2020 List
The Environmental Working Group has released the 2020 version of its annual Dirty Dozen list.
Easy Health Options: 5 health-changing reasons to eat arugula
Recently we’ve discovered, with the help of the Environmental Working Group, that kale is also one of the most pesticide-ridden vegetables out there.
Easy Health Options: Pump up your pear intake for better blood pressure and blood sugar
Since you’re eating the skin, buying organic pears will be extra important so you can keep your pesticide intake down… especially, since pears consistently land on the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen.
MindBodyGreen: 5 Effective Ways To Support Your Gut This Summer & Always
If you're on a budget, Bush recommends letting the EWG's Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists help you prioritize what fruits and veggies to buy organic and what's the safest (in terms of pesticide residue) to buy conventional.
973 The Dawg: Annual List of Fruits and Veggies With the Most/Least Pesticides
Every year the Environmental Working Group releases a list of fruits and vegetables that contain the highest amount of pesticides.
EWG Guide to Sunscreens
Alternative Daily: FDA Reports New Concerns with Sunscreen Ingredients
In general, mineral sunscreens tend to rate better than chemical sunscreens in the Environmental Working Group (EWG) sunscreen database.
Ask Men Australia: Best Sunscreens for Men
The oil-free formula has an EWG rating of one and applies smoothly and disappears like you’re not even wearing layers of SPF 30.
Over the years, sunscreen shopping has been demystified thanks to the Skin Cancer Foundation and the nonprofit Environmental Working Group.
Buzzfeed: 15 Sunscreens Reviewers Say Are Actually Non-Greasy And Don't Leave Any Residue
I found this gem on the Environmental Working Group (EWG) website.
Coveteur: A No-B.S. Guide To Sunscreen Safety
All of the above points mean nothing if your SPF is lacking in the PF department (that’s Protection Factor, of course), and a 2019 study from the Environmental Working Group showed that an astounding 60 percent of sunscreens tested did not offer the advertised sun protection.
The Eagle: The (Com)Post: Sustainable BIPOC-owned businesses for everyday purchases
As a result, every item sold is sustainably made, plant-based, cruelty free and adheres to its policy avoiding ingredients on the Environmental Working Group’s “Toxic Twenty List.”
Tap Water Database
Duluth News-Tribune: Lawmakers discuss tighter regulations for private water wells
The nonprofit Environmental Working Group reported in March that nitrate levels in rural Minnesota oublic water systems have risen since the mid-1900s, likely because of agricultural runoff, and that the same could be true for private wells, which often draw from the same sources of water.
A quick glance of the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) data collected from public drinking water suppliers along the Ohio River reveals that all public drinking water sources along the river have pollutants that in many cases exceed the EWG health standards and in some cases exceed federal standards.
Mamavation: Best & Worst Shower Head Water Filters 2020
Check with EWG’s handy-dandy tap water database which can tell you what’s in your area by providing your zip code.
Indiana Public Media: How Polluted Is My Home Or Neighborhood? Here's How To Find Out
This is likely why the Environmental Working Group has their own water quality database — which may give a better idea about how your water measures up.