IS THE BODY SHOP STICKING TO ITS MISSION STATEMENT? by Sue

I have been using Body Shop products for years, in fact I was living in Brighton when Anita Roddick set up her first shop in 1976. She chose her location well, the Infinity Foods health food emporium was just around the corner - it is still going strong. The Body Shop was groundbreaking and caught on very quickly. Brighton, which has just elected Britain's first Green MP, has a sizeable 'alternative' eco-minded population against such practices as animal testing and for organic products and fair trade.
When Roddick sold out to L'Oreal in 2007 my immediate thought was that they would abandon her principles and I would have to look around for another brand. However, when I checked out this Body Shop site, it seemed that L'Oreal is upholding the core values and I have given them the benefit of the doubt. If anyone knows any different, please post a comment.
I now have six used pots to be returned for recycling, so at least I shall find out if that principle still stands.

Did you know this week is WORLD WEEK FOR ANIMALS IN LABS? To find out more about it, click on article by Alicia Graef for Care2 causes. Gary Francione's excellent book 'Introduction to Animal Rights' has a well-researched, non-emotional, non-fanatical chapter on vivisection for those who are particularly concerned about man's use of animals.

ECOPAINTS by Sue

It's widely accepted that household paint is full of dodgy substances, after all there are enough warnings on the tin, but do we really know what's in it? Here's a list of some of the goodies, the comments in red are to give an idea and not exhaustive:

* animal products (the mind boggles)
* heavy metals - lead, cadmium, mercury etc.,
* formaldehyde (classified as a probable human carcinogen, and listed by the US) and acrolein Cigarette smoke and exhaust fumes contain acrolein which causes burning of the nose and throat and can damage the lungs)
* vinyl chloride (a colourless gas that can cause dizziness or worse if breathed in in large quantities)
* phthalates ( observed to correlate with hormonal changes and birth defects, as well as other damage to the liver and reproductive system of rats. Some studies have been done which also indicate harmful effects on humans)
* APEO (a surfactant - has poor biodegradability, is toxic and can act as an endocrine disrupter)
* solvents and white spirit, turpentine, terpenes, ethereal oils, VOC'S glycols,
coalescents
* Acrylic Softeners (damaging to the environment)

Worried? Check out this eco paints site passed on by Caroline.

NESTLE - THE GREENPEACE KIT KAT CAMPAIGN

Further to our palm oil piece, we recently signed the Greenpeace petition against the use of palm oil and destruction of the rain forest involved in the manufacture of Kit Kat, and doubtless, numerous other Nestlé products. If you haven't already signed up and would like to know more, here is the link.
The latest email from Greenpeace includes a request to contact Nestlé direct to ask them to clean up their act. I checked out their chief execs to choose one to write to and have sent a letter to the only woman on their board of directors. To read what I said, click on Letter to Nestlé at the top of the page.

If you wish to contact them too, this is the relevant webpage. And The Ecologist is covering the story too. Sue

BLOODY BAROSSO!

We've just received an email from Greenpeace about the introduction of GM crops into Europe. If you would like to act on it, here is the link.

Thanks Mart

I brought up the subject of palm oil at a meeting this morning and someone threw cosmetics into the arena. I came home to find a very useful comment from Mart with a link to a Times article. As most, even all of us, use cosmetics, I think we should be aware of what's in them. Scroll down to bottom of article and click on 1 comment to access the link. Sue

NOS ENFANTS NOUS ACCUSERONS

This important little film needs large numbers of visitors to the site as soon as possible to get it into the cinemas. It's in English and French with the respective sub-titles and it's short and strong. Click here to see it.

PALMED OFF by Sue

The other night, PANORAMA on BBC1 covered an investigation into PALM OIL cultivation in Indonesia. We've all heard of palm oil, but do we really know about the havoc being created by this massive industry and what we can do to stop it.
Indonesia is the third biggest carbon emitter on the planet - why? Thousands of hectares of forest are being cleared to make way for palm oil. Along with soya, palm oil is now being used in vast numbers of processed foods, often it's labelled as vegetable oil. Why is this a problem?
FIRSTLY, the destruction of the forests is disastrous.
SECONDLY no steps are being taken to stop illegal planting, primarily on land that has peat within three metres of the surface. Peat, along with methane, can release massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.
THIRDLY orang utangs and other animals, are losing their jungle habitat and will soon become extinct.
These are the main problems and we do not wish to be associated with what's going on.
We rarely buy processed food and when we do, we always check the label. Up until now, we hadn't known the full extent of the damage caused by palm oil production and certainly didn't know that vegetable oil almost always is, or includes, palm oil. So here's another no-no on the ingredients list.
If enough of us refused products that include the oil, and made our reasons known, the industry might get the message and use an alternative, but we're not optimistic. It's the cheapest oil and it seems the majority of processed food buyers are more interested in the price they pay than the price the planet is paying.
Friends of the Earth has more information here and there are plenty of other sites on the subject.

RED ALERT! THE BIOTECH COMPANIES ARE AT IT AGAIN by Sue

Genetically modified potatoes have been approved by Brussels. Google GM potatoes and see the many sites on the subject. They say the BASF (a German biotech company) amflora potato is not for human consumption and will be mainly used for pulp in paper-making. That's all very well, but the risk of contamination of other crops is high. According to this up-to-the-minute Reuters report France is, at least, being extremely cautious, but the French farm minister wants across-the-board agreement on GM in Europe which doesn't augur well. The debate is likely to rumble on but it's important to remain vigilant.
Anyone who saw the documentary 'The World According to Monsanto' ('Le Monde Selon Monsanto') will know how dangerous the introduction of genetic modification really is and what this biotech giant, Monsanto, has been up to. If you didn't catch the documentary on TV and are anxious to find out what's going on, you can get the DVD or the book from Amazon here.

GM (OGM in France) products are already sneaking into loads of foods - GM soya, one of the principle modified crops, is frequently listed among ingredients of processed foods, including the most unlikely. When we asked a local farmer what he feeds his pigs, he said maize and soya from Brazil - it may not be GM but the chances are strong it is and anyway, soya cultivation as animal feed is causing the destruction huge tracts of rain forest. No, not all soya is GM but it's still advisable to carefully read the label when not buying organic.

For those who are concerned and want more info on the subject, there are loads of sights about the dangers of GM. Try this one from Friends of the Earth.

GETTING CLUED UP ON THE FOOD INDUSTRY by Sue

For anyone who's concerned about what's being sold by the supermarket chains, particularly in the way of processed food, we can recommend a handful of excellent books. It's no secret that the big companies are producing cheap food, far too cheap for it to be good for us. Our bodies can only take so much ill-treatment before they begin to get sick. Logically it's a good idea to be clued up on what's truly nourishing and what's potentially unhealthy, even toxic. We've been told about watching the quantity of food we consume, but we believe the quality is just as important.

Here are a few book titles:

'Eat your Heart Out' by Felicity Lawrence
'We want Real Food' by Graham Harvey'
'Food for Thought' by Philip Day
and, of course, 'Fast Food Nation' by Eric Schlosser
This is the conclusion to Felicity Lawrence's great book:




All the books mentioned above are interesting and informative and, for some, could prove life-changing.