How to fight climate despair

No one, especially when it comes to those of us in the natural products industry, is immune to climate despair. Forty percent of Americans feel helpless about climate change, and 29%  feel hopeless, according to this December 2020 survey. So how can you go about raising morale among your customers and staff? Experts say the key to fighting climate despair is to think beyond the actions of the individual and offer community support and collective solutions. The biggest contributors to carbon emissions in the United States (transportation, electricity and industry) are unfortunately not really under the average person's control, which is why this Vox piece asserts that beyond collective action businesses must put pressure on the government to see real change.

Amaranth, a health trend 8K years old that survived colonization

Amaranth is now a billion-dollar food and personal care product, having first been introduced to the Western retail shelves in the 1970s. Health-conscious shoppers seeking out ancient grains tend to discover it in natural retailers stateside, but it's even become available in some stores in Europe and the Asia Pacific. As a complete protein with all nine essential amino acids, amaranth is a highly nutritious source of manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, iron and antioxidants that could improve brain function and reduce inflammation. It also has deep cultural value for Indigenous peoples across North and Central America, and these groups have begun sharing their ancestral knowledge of how to grow and prepare the crop. The Guardian delves into how amaranth has led to food sovereignty and an economic lifeline for these Indigenous farmers.

Meet the typical Whole Foods shopper, a highly educated West Coast millennial woman earning $80K

Ready for some stats on who's shopping at Whole Foods? For starters, this article on Business Insider reports that just 1 in 10 U.S. consumers make it a habit of going there. Whole Foods is most frequented by "a west-coast millennial woman between 25 and 34 years old. She typically has a graduate degree and an annual income of more than $80,000," and the store is especially popular among Black and Asian American shoppers. In true health nut fashion, the data also suggests that people shopping at Whole Foods are more likely to buy kombucha than those shopping at big-box retail chains. Shocker!

The real paleo diet: Scientists debunk ancient food myths

Scientists can learn a lot about our ancestors' diets by examining everyday items from thousands of years ago, and a recent finding might throw followers of the caveman diet for a loop. Three ceramic bottles that were uncovered in Bavaria tested positive for animal milk residue, which means mothers living between 1200 BCE and 450 BCE were weaning or supplementing their childrens’ diets with animal milk. In fact, emerging archaeological investigations indicate that stews, cheese, butter and bread were consumed more regularly by peasants than one might imagine. That's a paleo diet more people might get behind. Inverse has the details.

Postmates settles lawsuit for nearly $1M over alleged violations of paid sick leave rule

It's not often gig workers score a victory over third-party delivery apps. On Aug. 4 Seattle’s Office of Labor Standards announced it settled a lawsuit for nearly $1 million with third-party delivery app Postmates over alleged violations of the city’s Gig Worker Paid Sick and Safe Time ordinance, writes Eater. The ordinance, which was passed unanimously by the city council and went into effect last year, allows drivers for third-party delivery apps like Postmates access to paid sick time —one day off for every 30 calendar days worked. The Office of Labor Standards began an investigation last fall after local workers raised concerns that Postmates was not adequately instituting these benefits, and allegedly violated several other aspects of the law, including failure to provide them with notice of the policy or their sick time balance.