This week, the Senate confirmed President Joe Biden’s nomination of Dr. Robert Califf to be the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. EWG applauded Califf’s confirmation and called upon the new commissioner to take action immediately to protect consumers from toxic chemicals.
“We urge Dr. Califf to immediately ban the use of the ‘forever chemicals’ known as PFAS in food packaging and cosmetics, set tough standards for toxic metals in baby food, quickly ban the use of formaldehyde in hair-straightening products, require companies to test their talc-based cosmetics for asbestos, and expedite the agency’s review of chemicals like oxybenzone in sunscreens,” said EWG Senior Vice President for Government Affairs Scott Faber.
New test results by Consumer Reports found dangerous levels of inorganic arsenic in three popular brands of infant rice cereals. In light of these new tests, EWG again urges the FDA to follow through immediately on its plan to set mandatory limits on heavy metals in baby food.
A new statewide poll of 900 California voters, by Newport Beach–based Probolsky Research, found that two-thirds strongly oppose a power-industry-backed plan by the state Public Utilities Commission to crush a popular rooftop solar program by ending incentives and imposing a hefty monthly tax on solar.
“Gov. Gavin Newsom and his handpicked commission should take the results of this survey seriously and scrap the power company plot to crush rooftop solar and impose a steep solar tax on working- and middle-class families,” said EWG President Ken Cook. “It’s terrible for the economy, would jack up rates, destroy jobs and is downright foolish politics.”
And finally, EWG debunked claims made by the meat industry and its lobbyists at a recent hearing that greenhouse gas emissions caused by beef production are simply too small to matter in fighting the climate crisis.
Here’s some news you can use going into the weekend.
FDA Commissioner Robert Califf
The New York Times: Senate Confirms Califf as F.D.A. Chief in Tight Vote
The Environmental Working Group called on Dr. Califf to remove PFAS, known as ‘forever chemicals’ from food packaging and to require companies that sell talc to test their products for asbestos.
CAFOs
Yale Environment 360: Chicken Frenzy: A State Awash in Hog Farms Faces a Poultry Boom
A joint report with the Environmental Working Group (EWG) revealed expansion at a breakneck pace, with poultry operations steadily spreading west from their original stronghold in the eastern part of the state…The EWG-Waterkeeper report estimates that North Carolina poultry farms produce about 5 million tons of waste annually — about five times more waste (and an estimated five times more nitrogen and four times more phosphorus) than hog farms.
Mother Jones: North Carolina Poultry Frenzy: 500 Million Birds and “Zero Transparency”
The exact number of industrial-scale poultry farms is hard to pin down because there is no official state record of their locations. The best available data comes from the Environmental Working Group (EWG), which uses aerial surveillance and satellite imagery to track and identify facilities across 17 watersheds in the state.
Cleaning products
Reader’s Digest: How to Make Your Bathroom Cleaner—and Greener
Pull out all of your cleaning supplies. Then, using the EWG website’s database on household cleaning products, assess everything and discard anything that no longer meets your standards.
Consumer guides
NDNR: Premature Pubarche: A Precursor of Future Health Issues?
To her parents, I recommended the Environmental Working Group’s website for resources to reduce chemical exposures, including their list for foods with the highest pesticides, their database to check personal care products, and their zipcode-based tool to check for water supply issues.
Skin Deep® cosmetics database
According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), these are common but problematic ingredients you should look out for and avoid while shopping for cleaning products…
Byrdie: Decyl-Glucoside for Hair: Benefits and How to Use It
The Environmental Working Group ranked decyl-glucoside as a 2 or “low hazard” on a 1-10 scale. The
Crop insurance report
Mother Jones: What Should Farmers Grow in the Desert?
From 2000 to 2020, crop insurance paid to Pinal farmers rose from $3.2 million to $24.6 million, according to data collected by the Environmental Working Group.
Energy
The Washington Examiner: Daily on Energy: Fears over $100-a-barrel oil
But some other environmentalists oppose the administration’s pro-nuclear approach. Environmental Working Group President Ken Cook pressed Biden ahead of his meeting with utilities heads last week to shirk any request by the executives for additional support for economically compromised reactors, calling the technology a “relic.”
EWG VERIFIED®: Cosmetics
Style Girlfriend: The 6 Best Spring Fragrances for Men
Henry Rose, Windows Down… The collection of fragrances was the first to get a seal of approval from the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit dedicated to helping consumers avoid toxic chemicals in the environment and be Cradle to Cradle-certified.
Grocery Dive: Sustainability label claims are influencing more consumers, survey finds
For example, Walmart, as it expands its sustainable and healthy product offerings, has added icons on its website and app that help shoppers find products that have met independent standards like EWG Verified, Energy Star Certified or Rainforest Alliance Certified.
Farm subsidies
Treehugger: Ethanol Is Worse for the Climate Than Gasoline, Study Finds
The Renewable Fuels Association is hardly an unbiased source, given that, according to the Environmental Working Group, farm subsidies ballooned under former President Donald Trump to $20 billion to compensate for losses due to Chinese tariffs on agricultural imports due to trade wars.
Food chemicals
Livestrong: How Bad Is It Really to Drink Artificially Flavored Coffee Every Day?
Flavor agents that contain any of the nine most common food allergens must disclose their presence, but less common allergens are not required to be listed, according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
Label decoder
Dr. Axe: Study: Online Grocery Nutrition Labeling Severely Lacking
Be wary of the following terms, which the Environmental Working Group label decoder cautions can be misleading because the regulations to use these labels are rather lax.
Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change + Health
Rural Radio Network: American lamb industry evaluating carbon footprint
The American lamb industry entered the spotlight when a 2011 Environmental Working Group Study said lamb is one of the largest contributors of GHG emissions.
PFAS
Inside EPA: EPA Tightens PFAS Purchasing Guide, In ‘Powerful Motivator’ For Industry
“A federal procurement mandate to steer purchasing toward PFAS-free products would help prevent PFAS from entering the environment,” argued one coalition of citizen groups, which included Earthjustice, Toxic-Free Future, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Environmental Working Group.
Environmental Health News: What are PFAS?
Manufacturing processes and waste storage and treatment sites release PFAS into the air, soil, and water. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has identified 41,828 industrial and municipal sites in the U.S. that are known or suspected of using PFAS. Reprinted by PFAS Project Lab; Biz News Post; Food & Beverage Reporter
PFAS in water
Regardless of the source, once PFAS enter the drinking water supply, they are difficult to remove without advanced treatment systems. In August 2019, the NC PFAST network, a group of scientists that monitor the compounds in drinking water, detected eight types of PFAS in Lumberton’s water that had yet to be treated by the city’s treatment plant. (The Environmental Working Group, which also monitors PFAS and other contaminants in drinking water, found similar results.).
PFAS in firefighting foam
The Napanee Guide (Ontario): FireRein's firefighting gel passes key testing milestone
Existing firefighting products include ingredients that are now being found in many drinking water sources in the United States, according to research done by the U.S.-based Environmental Working Group.
Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce ™
MSN: 25 everyday foods that are bad for you
According to EWG’s Dirty Dozen™ list, strawberries top the list of fruits and vegetables containing the most pesticides. Analysis of a single sample revealed residue from no less than 22 different pesticides, and a third of the samples tested contained 10 or more toxic products.
24/7 Wall St.: Foods with a Strikingly Low Impact on the Environment
A type of legume, peas are native to the Middle East – specifically Turkey and Iraq. Frozen peas are on the Environmental Working Group’s “Clean Fifteen” list, making them a safer choice for those who want to avoid pesticides. The Group also gives fresh peas a “low to moderate pesticide residue score.”
EWG Guide to Sunscreens
Listverse: 10 Most Dangerous Beauty Products That We Still Use Anyway
For CoverGirl’s Outlive Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation with SPF in any available shade, the EWG found that the SPF protection was insignificant—and definitely not what was being advertised.
Tap Water Database
Little Southern Life: Do I Really Need a Water Filter?
So much water that plastic bottles aren’t our thing (they’re wasteful, not the best quality, and not environmentally friendly) and tap water isn’t an option (go to the EWG tap water database to test what’s in your water – it’s a HUGE eye opener).
Ventura County pesticide map and report
According to analysis by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), over 32 million pounds of pesticides were used across Ventura County on agricultural properties from 2015-20. The study further noted that 70% of homes in Ventura County are within 2.5 miles of areas where pesticides are applied.
Wisconsin manure report
Wisconsin Examiner: New report: Wisconsin doesn’t have enough land for all the manure
A new report by the Environmental Working Group and Midwest Environmental Advocates (MEA) has found that in nine counties, animal manure is over-applied to farmland, exacerbating rural Wisconsin's water quality struggles.
Midwest Environmental Advocates and the Environmental Working Group began analyzing manure and fertilizer application rates in nine counties last year to understand how nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus are being spread on fields.