Your Right to Know

More than half of America's processed grocery products—from corn flakes to granola bars to diet drinks—contain genetically altered ingredients. They are unlabeled and untested, and we are eating them.

Your Right to Know explains the issues and tells us what we know and don’t know about these foods, while providing guidance on how to find healthy and organic alternatives. This book provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date information on the very real dangers these altered foods present to our health, the environment, and farm communities.

All of the necessary tools to better understand this critical food issue are inside, including in-depth and easy to apply advice on:

— How to identify the foods in your supermarket that may contain GE ingredients
— Where the major food companies and supermarket chains stand on using GE crops
— GE-free and sustainable brands you should buy and where you can find them
— How you can become active in promoting a GE-free food supply

Under pressure from the chemical/biotechnology industry, our government has refused to label genetically engineered foods, putting everyone at risk. Not only can genetic engineering lower the nutritional value of foods, but GE crops can lead to increased pesticide use as well as to the extinction of salmon and other fish species. The evidence is overwhelming and in the news now more than ever. Everyone deserves an environmentally sustainable and socially just food culture and reading Your Right to Know is a step in helping to make that happen.

Your Right to Know
by Andrew Kimbrell, Center for Food Safety

Andrew Kimbrell is the founder and executive director of the Washington D.C. based Center for Food Safety and the International Center for Technology Assessment. As an author, lawyer and activist for more than twenty years, Kimbrell has been at the forefront of legal and grassroots efforts to protect the environment and promote sustainable agricultural production methods. He edited Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture and The Geen Lifestyle Handbook and wrote The Human Body Shop: The Engineering and Marketing of Life and The Masculine Mystique: Men and Technology. Kimbrell's written work has appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines including The New York Times, Washington Post, and Harper's, and he has testified at numerous congressional and regulatory hearings. The Utne Reader, in 1994, named him one of the world's leading 100 visionaries.

National Parks in Jeopardy

What are your favorite National Parks? Chances are, photographer, Ian Shive, has included them in his book, "The National Parks: Our American Landscape." 

A portion of the proceeds from this book go toward protecting our national parks in conjunction with the National Parks Conservation Association.

National Water Quality Month

If you drink bottled water or filtered water you know there's a big difference between the water you consume and the water that comes from the tap. What about the water quality in other parts of the world?

Blue Planet Run highlights the vital contributions of nonprofits around the world, including the groundbreaking work of the Blue Planet Run Foundation, which seeks to provide safe drinking water to 200 million people by 2027.

You can learn more about Blue Planet Run by joining their Blue Planet Network online or by picking up a copy of the book which provides readers with a fascinating and thought-provoking look at the water problems facing humanity on every continent, as well as some of the hopeful solutions and courageous "water heroes" focused on alleviating this crisis.

One hundred percent of the royalties from this book will be used to provide clean drinking water to people around the world who desperately need it.

The Peaceable Forest

In this ancient parable from India, a forest-dwelling hunter learns that cruelty has consequences and that compassion has rewards. When the hunter meets the wise man Narada, "Do unto others as they would do unto you" takes on a very concrete meaning as the sage leads the hunter on an imagined journey in which the hunter becomes the hunted. When the hunter realizes how his actions affect other living things, he has a change of heart and begins to live in peace with the animals he once pursued.

Kosa Ely adapts this traditional Indian tale into an inviting narrative that presents the universal golden rule in a new and appealing way. Anna Johansson's richly detailed illustrations evoke the animal kingdom and enchanted forests with fine lines and luminous colors. The Peaceable Forest is the ideal picture book for inspiring young readers to respect life in all its forms.

Kosa Ely grew up in a family of artists in the coastal towns of California, writing and painting from a young age. After graduating from Laguna Beach High School, Kosa's English and art studies took her around the world, exploring storytelling and folk arts in eighteen countries. From the rainforests of Peru to villages in South India to remote areas of Australia.

Swedish born Anna Johansson's work has been featured in a variety of books and magazines. Her primary inspiration comes from the yoga traditions of ancient India and the fantasy styles of Arthur Rackham and Warwick Goble. She works primarily with pencil and ink. Anna and her daughter Vrinda are co-creating a three-volume illustrated version of the Indian epic Ramayana.

National Relaxation Day

How do you relax? Whether you unwind during yoga or meditation, with music playing or accompanied by only the sounds of nature, we hope you find time to relax today.

For those who have not experienced meditation for themselves, we highly recommend you start with our Meditation Kit, which includes all of the necessary elements to direct the mind to reach a desired state of focused awareness, relaxation and inner peace.

American Adventures Month

Summer is nearly over but we're excited to hear and see what places you may have visited during these last few months or plan to visit during American Adventures Month. 

Did you recently take a trip to one of The National Parks here in the U.S.? If so, please head over to our Facebook Page to share some photographs you may have taken on your American Adventure. 

Olympic National Park, photograph by Ian Shive

And if you haven't already checked out Ian Shive's latest photography book, you might want to pick up a copy for your armchair travels. 

The gorgeous images on each page will have you yearning for a vacation getaway and will inspire you to seek out the quiet spots in America that are captured inside The National Parks: Our American Landscape.

Happy Travels!