I’ve been complaining about the quality of kids’ snacks for a while now. Many traditional manufacturers seem to put little if any thought into the ingredients. High fructose corn syrup. Preservatives. Artificial colors. Artificial flavors. Hydrogenated oils. The more unpronounceable the ingredient, the better. Case in point: traditional General Mills Fruit Roll-Ups. Check out the [...]
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The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) isn’t going to take it anymore. The environmental action group today filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for, “failing to issue a final rule regulating the chemicals triclosan and triclocarban, which are commonly found in antibacterial soaps.” I’ve written about the topic many times before, [...]
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You have, no doubt, heard about the 28 million box Kellogg’s cereal recall. The company recalled select boxes of Kellogg’s Corn Pops, Honey Smacks, Froot Loops and Apple Jacks cereals. Consumers said there was an “off” taste and smell. Oh, and that they were giving some people nausea and diarrhea. Kellogg’s said the packages were [...]
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I started my career writing about technology and business. I was on staff at several computer pubs including PC Magazine where I wrote one or two product reviews daily. When I left to finish my master’s and freelance (on October 16, 1999) I was extremely lucky. I continued writing reviews and product-related stories, seeing my [...]
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Ask my sister and brother if I can cook. As my husband. They are probably going to tell you no, she can’t. My mother, too. I usually concede the point. I am the person who, one time, made cupcakes and forgot to add eggs. The one who, two days ago, almost burned down the house [...]
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I don’t really use a lot of makeup. A little lipstick, maybe. Some blush. Occasionally, mascara. Still, I end up with lots of little plastic tubes and packages that can’t go into my recycle bin. I don’t throw them out. I just leave them in the bathroom hoping to find a way to recycle them. [...]
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As many of you know, I belong to an amazing community-supported agriculture program called the Golden Earthworm Farm. This year, in fact, I am a drop-off location, which means my house is the place where 19 people come to get their just-picked organic veggies. While the price is pretty reasonable — about $20 per week [...]
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This isn’t a shocker. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that television ads promote poor, imbalanced diets. Researchers analyzed 84 hours of television on the big four networks — ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox. According to researchers, if someone selected only foods advertised on TV during that time [...]
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I will come out on record now: I never got caught up in the SATC trend back in the late 1990s. Yes, we had HBO at the time. Yes, I was a female 20-something. But I just never bothered. I was too busy watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Charmed. (Those shows — and [...]
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I am participating in the 2010 Blogathon, Portland-area blogger & entrepreneurial writer Michelle Rafter’s challenge to bloggers who want to get serious. Our task: blog every day between May 1 and May 31. As part of the challenge we were invited to do a “swap” with another like-minded blogger. I was lucky enough that T.A. [...]
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