The 4 or 5-digit number that you'll find on the little sticker on your produce is a Price Look-Up, or PLU, code. They've been used by grocery stores for about 20 years to identify produce for pricing at the cash register. (I always did wonder how grocery clerks could spot the difference between Bosc and Bartlett pears on sight.) These days, the International Federation for Produce Standards (IFPS), a voluntary organization of those associated with the fresh produce industry, coordinates the use of standardized codes throughout the world.

We've talked before about the critical connection between toxics and pregnancy - it's an important topic given the potential impacts of chemicals on the developing fetus.

Here at EWG we spend a lot of time investigating the failure of the Federal Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to keep our food, water and consumer goods safe. We focus on toxic chemicals, but, as it turns out, the FDA works pretty much the same no matter what "innovation" is getting pushed onto the market without labeling or testing.

Taxpayers provide commercial fishing subsidies, some may contribute to overfishing

View and Download the report here: EWG Guide to Going Green

It may sound like a strange ingredient, but iodized salt actually helps protect your thyroid from chemicals such as perchlorate. So stick with the iodized salt, especially if you're a pregnant mother. EWG's Dr. Anila Jacob explains.

Remember the petition we asked (and asked, and asked) you to sign to tell Congress to Grow Organics?

I read blogs for a living. Okay, I also write, and edit, and coordinate, and track numbers, and a whole host of other things. But every day I receive links to interesting, diverse blogs where people who may have nothing else in common can agree on this one thing: they want to see more support for organics.

Environmental Working Group's Ken Cook discusses the 2007 Farm Bill and organics at UC Berkeley's "Food Fight: A Teach-in on the 2007 Farm Bill" on March 21, 2007.