The Environmental Working Group (the other “EWG”)
NYYM’s Earthcare Working Group (EWG) often gets confused with two other organizations: One is Quaker Earthcare Witness, which brings Friends from around North America together to work on Earthcare concerns and joys. NYYM has a long-standing relationship with QEW.
The other group shares our acronym, EWG, but their “E” stands for “Environmental.” The Environmental Working Group advocates for public policies that promote public health and provide information to consumers so they can make informed choices. They have created a series of databases and guides on food, water, cosmetics, endocrine disruptors, etc, all downloadable from their website.
Their Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce is especially useful when deciding which fruits and vegetables to buy. The Shopper’s Guide includes the Dirty Dozen, which lists the non-organic fresh fruits and vegetables with the most pesticide-contamination. Whenever possible you may want to buy strawberries, spinach, kale, apples, grapes, etc, that are organic or at least produced by farmers who use low spray techniques.
When organic options are unavailable or unaffordable, the EWG advises shoppers to buy produce from its Clean Fifteen. Happily, this group includes favorites like avocados, sweet corn, onions, frozen sweet peas, kiwi, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, watermelons, etc.
Three other guides address concerns we have discussed in this issue of Spark:
- The health benefits of a whole foods, plant-forward diet: A plant-forward diet is rich in plant foods but can also include eggs, dairy foods, and occasionally lean meat, poultry and seafood.
- EWG’s quick tips for reducing your Diet’s Climate Footprint Eating less meat, especially beef, can significantly reduce how much your choices contribute to the climate crisis. If the U.S. meat and dairy industry were its own country, it would be the world’s 12th largest greenhouse gas emitter.
- Factory farming produces more than the food on your table. Lax regulations have allowed an explosion of factory farms, often located in areas with predominantly Black, Latino and Native American populations and low-income communities.