Visit Costa Rica

EARTH University students are passionate about affecting societal change and improving conditions in their home countries and the tropics through their knowledge and leadership — like recent graduate Pierre Paul Audate, who advises small growers in Haiti.Calling all banana and pineapple fans — this is an opportunity you don’t want to miss! We’re teaming up with EARTH University to give our customers a chance to win a trip to Costa Rica to visit EARTH University’s lush campus in Guácimo, Limón. Five winners will embark on a seven-day Costa Rican adventure. No purchase necessary! Just visit our contest page to enter by September 30th.

Whole Foods Market started selling fresh EARTH University bananas in 2007, then added their fresh pineapples, and were excited to begin offering the new frozen EARTH University Pineapple Chunks and EARTH University Banana Chunks in early 2011. The sales of EARTH University fresh and frozen fruits help fund scholarships, and finance research and investment in organic and sustainable agriculture. (Try our collection of tasty recipes featuring EARTH University pineapples and bananas.)

All of Whole Foods Market’s EARTH University offerings are part of our Whole Trade® Guarantee, which ensures fair prices are paid for products, better wages and working conditions for growers and sound environmental practices.

Why is this cleaning foods so important

Why is this important? One word: Transparency. You deserve to know what’s in your cleaning supply products. How can you make good choices if you don’t know what you’re using to clean your homes on a daily basis? We feel it’s important to include this information on actual labels (not just on company websites) so that this information is available to you while you’re shopping. Many people are surprised to hear that full disclosure labeling is not currently required for cleaning products by the government.

Almost three out of four adults (73%) falsely believe that the government requires household cleaning products to provide a list of ingredients on the label, according to a Whole Foods Market survey conducted online in April among 2,483 US adults aged 18 and over. Another two-thirds (64%) believe that many household cleaning brands opt to disclose the full list of ingredients on packaging, when, in fact, few provide this information on product labels.

 

• 　　Here’s the nitty-gritty on what you can expect from products sold in our stores:
• 　　Ingredients must be listed on all products on our shelf by next Earth Day (April 22, 2012). This gives our suppliers time to make the required changes to their labels.
• 　　Ingredients will be listed in INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients), which is already commonly used for personal care products.

Listing ingredients or ingredient blends as “proprietary” or using a trademarked name without an INCI name is not allowed, except for fragrances and enzymes only. (Note that as part of the audit process, all fragrance and enzyme blends will still be reviewed for acceptability to our standards).

What does all that mean to you? Well, you may start to see some unfamiliar ingredients listed on your cleaning products. The fact is that cleaning supply products are made from ingredients that most people may not be entirely familiar with. I always say that learning about cleaning supply ingredients is like learning a new language. If you have questions about any of these ingredients, some of which are multi-syllabic or may seem very “chemically,” let us know. For each ingredient, we have an explanation of why we allowed the ingredient in the appropriate tier, or why it was a better alternative than other available ingredients.

FDA summary scientific and regulatory assessment of the food

In the 1992 policy, FDA recommended that developers consult with FDA about bioengineered foods under development; since issuance of the 1992 policy, developers have routinely done so. In June 1996, FDA provided additional guidance to industry on procedures for these consultations (the consultation procedures).

 

These procedures describe a process in which a developer who intends to commercialize a bioengineered food meets with the agency to identify and discuss relevant safety, nutritional, or other regulatory issues regarding the bioengineered food and then submits to FDA a summary of its scientific and regulatory assessment of the food; FDA evaluates the submission and responds to the developer by letter.

The 1992 policy clarified the agency’s interpretation of the application of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to human foods and animal feeds derived from new plant varieties and provided guidance to industry on scientific and regulatory issues related to these foods. The 1992 policy applied to all foods derived from all new plant varieties, including varieties that are developed using recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (rDNA) technology. This site refers to foods derived from plant varieties that are developed using rDNA technology as “bioengineered foods.”

In the Federal Register of January 18, 2001 (the premarket notification proposal; 66 FR 4706, available as text3 and 193 KB PDF4), FDA issued a proposed rule that would require that developers submit a scientific and regulatory assessment of the bioengineered food 120 days before the bioengineered food is marketed. In the premarket notification proposal, FDA recommends that developers continue the practice of consulting with the agency before submitting the required premarket notice. The comment period for the proposed rule ended on April 3, 2001.

Game-Day Dips of Four Seasons

In a research study conducted in 1997 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in London, England, significant differences were found in the nutrient content of pasteurized milk in summer versus winter. Iodine was higher in the winter; beta-carotene was higher in the summer. The Ministry discovered that these differences in milk composition were primarily due to differences in the diets of the cows. With more salt-preserved foods in winter and more fresh plants in the summer, cows ended up producing nutritionally different milks during the two seasons. Similarly, researchers in Japan found three-fold differences in the vitamin C content of spinach harvested in summer versus winter.

What does this mean for you? Eat seasonally! To enjoy the full nourishment of food, you must make your menu a seasonal one. In different parts of the world, and even in different regions of one country, seasonal menus can vary. But here are some overriding principles you can follow to ensure optimal nourishment in every season:

• In spring, focus on tender, leafy vegetables that represent the fresh new growth of this season. The greening that occurs in springtime should be represented by greens on your plate, including Swiss chard, spinach, Romaine lettuce, fresh parsley, and basil.
• In summer, stick with light, cooling foods in the tradition of traditional Chinese medicine. These foods include fruits like strawberries, apple, pear, and plum; vegetables like summer squash, broccoli, cauliflower, and corn; and spices and seasonings like peppermint and cilantro.
• In fall, turn toward the more warming, autumn harvest foods, including carrot, sweet potato, onions, and garlic. Also emphasize the more warming spices and seasonings including ginger, peppercorns, and mustard seeds.
• In winter, turn even more exclusively toward warming foods. Remember the principle that foods taking longer to grow are generally more warming than foods that grow quickly. All of the animal foods fall into the warming category including fish, chicken, beef, lamb, and venison. So do most of the root vegetables, including carrot, potato, onions and garlic. Eggs also fit in here, as do corn and nuts.