One of my Xmas gifts was a terrific booklet, The Guide to Ethical Supermarket Shopping, published by Ethical.org….au – thanks Beth.

Using it and other sources I’m adding another topic to my blog, Food facts (that’s its ‘Tag’ – to see all my blogs by topic you may search for them by clicking on a ‘Tag”).

One of our greatest powers as citizens and individuals is to choose to spend our money so we do not support destruction of habitat, pollution and human abuses such as slavery – yes, it’s still here – in the production of food and ‘stuff’.

If you don’t want to carry a little booklet to the shopping market (who does?) you may wish to get a phone app so it’s in your phone if you’re looking for guidance while shopping: visit it here:

-http://outware.com.au/shopethical/ShopEthical.html

Or search “Shop ethical” on an iphone.

I only go to chain stores to buy ‘stuff’ I can’t get from farmers, or grow myself, such as toilet paper.  There’s some simple, beaut and effective recipes for us to make our own soap and detergents and other things that I’ll put up from time to time.

Here’s two  to kick off ‘Food facts’.

1   SLS – a foaming agent used in soaps, detergents, toothpastes, engine cleaners, floor cleaners:

It ends up in our skin, mouth, scalp. (The technical term is Sodium lauryl sulfate.)

It gets rid of a key thing our body needs – oils on the skin which are used by the body to regulate moisture and ‘air condition’ our body.

It’s used because it’s cheap and often comes from palm oil which is won by cutting down trees that destroy where orangutan live.

To avoid it buy SLS free shampoo, toothpaste, detergents.

One of many alternatives to buying these things in chain stores are products made from hemp oil and sold by several outlets, for example, the online shop:  www.greenhemp.com

They sell hemp soaps, pure oil, face cream, lip balm, shampoo, conditioner, hand and body lotions:  03 9710 1644

2  Company criticisms – for more info, see:  www.ethical.org.au

The booklet provides this information:

Aldi international:  Animal testing, worst practice, sweatshop labour, worker abuse

Coles / Wesfarmers: Gaming – direct involvement

Nestle:  irresponsible marketing of baby formula; promotion of bottled water; labour exploitation; palm oil supply chain

Woolworths:  Gaming – direct involvement; greenwash; misleading advertising

May our farmers, farmers markets, home farms, road gardens, walking to buy food, Australian businesses – and our money, be with us and not with the unethicals,

Michael