I’ve written before about our quest for artificial growth hormone-free milk that led us to sign up for milk delivery from our local creamery. Why hormone free? Artificial growth hormones (rBGH) have been linked to type II diabetes and cancer. While many of the major retailers have since banned rBGH milk from their shelves (kudos to Wal-Mart, Kroger/Fred Meyer, Chipotle), it is still being produced and distributed to our public schools. I am fortunate to be able to afford organic milk, but the majority of kids who rely on school meal programs don’t have that option. The USDA is about to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act (CNA) so write today to urge them to give the schools the option of offering  artificial hormone-free milk to our schoolkids. Visit the Food & Water Watch action site RIGHT NOW to send an email. The comment period ends October 15, so comment and forward the link to your friends today!

(Note: the Food & Water Watch message does not ask USDA to mandate the choice, it merely asks them to allow schools to make their own choice.)

Two essential items in the FoodieTots pantry are broth and beans. My favorite broth brand is Pacific - all natural, organic, and comes in handy 1-cup individual cartons that minimize waste when you know you won’t finish a whole full-size carton within the week. I was annoyed that they didn’t have a low-sodium version of the free-range chicken broth, until I had a chance to compare with conventional brands and discovered that it has the same sodium level as the Swanson’s low sodium. Pacific does have lower sodium options, they’re just not stocked at every grocery, and don’t come in the smaller sizes. To further reduce the sodium, I usually do a half-stock, half-water mix when using it in soups or to cook couscous, quinoa, etc.

In my quest for the best organic canned beans (more on that later), I discovered Eden — a family-owned, environmentally-conscious company based in Michigan. They are unique in the bean market in that most of their beans have *no* added salt. And most significantly:

Eden Organic Beans are packed in lead free tin covered steel cans coated with a baked on oleoresinous c-enamel lining that does not contain bisphenol-A (BPA). (Oleoresin is a natural mixture of an oil and a resin extracted from various plants, such as pine or balsam fir). These cans cost 14 percent more than the industry standard cans that do contain BPA. This costs Eden $300,000 more a year. To our knowledge Eden is the only U.S. company that uses this custom made BPA-free can.

(Read more on BPA and canned goods here.)