Day 23: Enivronmental Working Group, consumer and environmental protection

About the organization

Environmental Working Group is a national organization with a broad mission to protect people and the environment.  They do excellent research to protect consumers (see below) as well as advocate for legislative change, including important issues like GMO labeling, removing nasty chemicals from cosmetics and improved Federal Nutritional Guidelines.



Why does it appeal to me?

EWG does a really good job distilling complicated science into digestible information for consumers.  Their Dirty Dozen list (the worst foods to buy non-organic due to heavy presence of pesticides), the list of toxic and less toxic sunscreens, sustainable seafood guide and even their pet product safety information have all informed my buying decisions.  I recently heard about their new Food Scores guide which allows you to search a food and find out if it has genetically modified, toxic, bad-for-you or questionably processed ingredients  Pretty amazing.  They even have a guide to the most concerning food additives, with a special mention for my recent obsession: "natural flavors."  They also have a guide of how (and why) to avoid genetically engineered food and a guide to kids' cereal's sugar content.  I've known of their work for years but diving into their website today has actually made me even more impressed at their research and content.



Want to learn more?

To learn more, click here.

To donate, click here.

Can't contribute financially but want to help out?  Check out their Take Action page.



Post Script

Today's original post was for a charity that serves Native American families on reservations in South Dakota, but the more I researched it, the more skeptical I was of the impact, the administration and the mission.  Do you know of a reputable, worthwhile charity that serves Native Americans in the US, particularly in education or work training (rather than basic needs)?  If so please comment, I would really appreciate the information!


Follow along with my challenge here on the blog or on Twitter with the hash tag #30daysofcharity.

Want me to see if your favorite organization accepts microdonations, or want me to feature it?  Post a comment below.