Eye Opener: Environmental Working Group

The item that I chose to look into was my facial lotion by Olay. I use this lotion on my face when it gets all dried out. The database gave this product a 5. This put it in the medium range category. According to the database my product scored high in the allergy category. Apparently this product has a high chance of causing skin irritation and some allergies with that. I was glad to see that it scored low for risk with cancer and reproductive issues. In fact, the only category it actually scored high in was the allergy one. Overall, they rated this product has having moderate health concerns and considering I don't wear it very often I'm not too concerned. Actually now that I think about it I hardly every wear any sort of make-up or cosmetic products very often at all. I was upset to see that this company tests their products on animals. I understand that testing products before putting them on the market is important but I don't like the idea of testing products on animals. After viewing this product and looking at my other cosmetics products I think I will cut back on my use of them. Not only will it save me money but it will be better for me in the long run as well. Plus it shouldn't be that hard considering I really don't use too many cosmetics very often anyways.

Read 'n' Seed 4: Third Quarter of Hope's Edge,The Next Diet for a Small Planet

This past week I read chapters 7-9, pages 167-243. During these chapters the author traveled to Kenya, and two places in Europe.

In the chapter 7 she arrived in Kenya. A very friendly country where they greeted the author with hugs. laughter and dance. During her stay there she found out that sadly 2/3 of Kenyans live in poverty, most of those on only $2 a day. The land was so bad because of deforestation that it made it very difficult to plant there because of the lack of water. A movement was started in Kenya by a woman named Wangari called the "Green Belt Movement." The purpose of this movement was to get more trees planted and reverse deforestation. Before this movement women would have to walk 15 kilometers one way just to get firewood. What I thought was upsetting was the fact the their were people trying to stop her from doing this. There were quite a few occasions were she was threatened and even beaten for what she was trying to accomplish. Why would someone want to stop someone when they are just trying to improve the living conditions in their country? For years Kenyans have been mistreated and misled by those who were suppose to be helping them. Thanks to the movement, Kenyans have become more empowered. They celebrate life instead of focusing on suffering. They teach women their rights so that they can no longer be bullied. I think that what Wangari did is a great example for what we should all be doing. Focus on helping to improve our lives while improving the environment at the same time.

In chapter 8 they traveled over to Europe and make a stop in Holland. Here they learn about the coffee trade what is going on with that. The author discovers that the coffee trade has trapped many farmers in poverty. This is odd considering that it is the second most valuable commodity traded today. This injustice to the farmers brought on fair-trade. This allowed the farmers to get their fair share of the profits and ensure that they were no longer getting ripped off anymore. This movement became so big that it spread to the United States and it's now has spread throughout the world. I think we need to create more opportunities for fairness in our market. Large corporations need to stop cheating the farmers out of their earnings. This effect all of us, because as consumers we are paying for these products.

In chapter 9 which is the last chapter that I read, they went to Paris. Here the author saw that the country was exporting their goods and food products while there were people in the country who were starving. In some areas of the country the water is so bad that they are unable to drink it. This is due to the high levels of nitrate in the water system which comes from the nitrogen fertilizing. This isn't just happening here either, its happening everywhere around the world! In Europe, Greenpeace has worked to stop the use of GMOs in that country. They have educated consumers about buying non-GMO products and now 80% of France is GMO free. This country has done a great thing by showing that they disapprove of corporate globalization. I think that what France did should be shown as an example as to what the rest of should be doing. Stand up and show the large corporations that they can't control us or our food intake by not buying their products. They are working are stopping the use of GMO in America but we can help them with this by just choosing not to buy GMO foods. I know that as college students we can quite afford to do this but if we start by just buying a few non-GMO products here and there when we can I believe that we can make a difference, especially if we can start networking this idea to our friends and family as well.