COVID-19 & Your Health
As all Americans struggle to adapt to the new reality of daily life in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, EWG’s mission to empower people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment is more relevant than ever.
During this difficult time, EWG will continue to provide science-based, practical recommendations for consumers so they can make the best decisions for themselves and their families.
We’re here to help you understand food safety, parse cleaning product ingredients, improve the air quality in your home, get a better grasp on public health and environmental regulations and keep an eye on the Trump administration response.
Please consult your doctor if you’re experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19,. This material is for general informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice
Although not yet as pervasive as outbreaks at meatpacking facilities, COVID-19 is on the rise at America’s food processing facilities. EWG’s search of news stories published from March 14 to June 8 found that almost 1,200 food processing workers at 60 plants have been infected by the coronavirus.
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This week the Department of Agriculture unveiled a pandemic relief initiative that will give farmers $16 billion in direct payments. Just like the Market Facilitation Program, or MFP, which gave $23 billion in subsidies to farmers in response to President Trump’s trade war, most of the money won’t go to small family farmers but to the largest and wealthiest farms, which need the money the least.
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Meat and poultry processing plants are hot spots for COVID-19 outbreaks, constricting the supply chains for beef, chicken and pork – and sending their prices soaring.
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As many hair salons remain closed months into the national shutdown triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, at-home hair dyes are flying off store shelves. But many of these products may contain potentially harmful ingredients.
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Counties with or near meatpacking plants have almost twice the rate of known COVID-19 infections as the national average, according to a geospatial analysis by the Environmental Working Group.
Read MoreDepending on the season, an estimated 1 million to 2.7 million workers, mostly undocumented, toil on the nation’s farms. Without farmworkers, the American food system would collapse – and during the coronavirus pandemic, they are especially essential to ensuring that food arrives on grocery shelves.
Read MoreThe following is the statement of Scott Faber, EWG’s senior vice president of government affairs, on Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue’s May 5 letter on meatpacker expectations.
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President Donald Trump signed an executive order today declaring meat-processing plants essential infrastructure and allowing the Agriculture Department to use the Defense Production Act to force them to stay open during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the growing numbers of food and farm workers sickened by the virus, according to a report by Bloomberg News.
Read MoreBeing stuck at home for weeks on end stinks. But it’s necessary to flatten the curve of the coronavirus, so let’s make the best of it.
EWG came up with ways to take advantage of this time of self-isolation with little or no contact with other people besides those in your pandemic “pod.” Here are five ideas to consider that can benefit your skin and your overall health.
Read MoreClick on the pdf above to see a joint letter from EWG, other environmental health organizations and public health institutions calling on Congress to pass vital legislation to ensure that healthy, safe and affordable food is available to all and t
Read MoreThe Trump administration’s plan to spend billions to address the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on agriculture may help industrial-scale produce farms but does little to assist farmworkers threatened by COVID-19, a new EWG analysis shows.
Read MoreHere is a statement by Scott Faber, senior vice president for the Environmental Working Group, on the $484 billion COVID-19 bill currently under consideration by Congress:
Read MoreAs the coronavirus pandemic continues, farmworkers are risking their lives to feed us. So why are some officials in the Trump administration and some Republicans in Congress trying to cut farmworkers’ pay?
Read MoreMore than 20 million people grow, harvest, pack, process, transport, serve and sell our food. The food and farm industry rivals the energy and health care sectors in terms of number of jobs.
Read MoreIgnoring his own scientists and public health advocates, Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler refused today to tighten federal standards for soot emitted from auto tailpipes and smokestacks that causes serious respiratory harm.
Read MoreCoronavirus sufferers in places with dirtier air are far more likely to die than those in areas with cleaner air, according to the first nationwide study of the connection between fossil fuel pollution and deaths from COVID-19.
Read MoreCongress may soon spend billions to upgrade our aging drinking water infrastructure, which would significantly improve the safety of our drinking water and create tens of thousands of jobs. The following EWG reports and maps detail the health threats posed by chemicals and contaminants in our water and the benefits of new investments.
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Congress must make support for the nation’s food and farm system a priority in the next COVID-19 stimulus bill, said Scott Faber, senior vice president of government affairs at EWG.
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By now you may have seen the effects of repeated handwashing, and they’re not pretty.
Read MoreActor and environmental advocate Mark Ruffalo applauded House leaders for proposing to spend $75 billion in the next COVID-19 stimulus bill to upgrade our drinking water infrastructure.
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