11. Eat dairy as seldom as possible, for the exact same reasons meat consumption should be minimized or eliminated.

12. Use a little elbow grease in place of electronic appliances. Good for muscle tone and energy/carbon savings.

13. Avoid purchasing unnecessary appliances that not only consume electricity but that also are not necessarily recyclable and definitely not biodegradable. For example, line a strainer with a square of t-shirt cloth put espresso-grind coffee into it, pour boiling water through -- coffee is just delicious. No appliances, no waste, economical too! (Boil the filter cloth at least once a week)

This is a WONDERFUL way to start! Simple, concise and you don't have to be a "confirmed healthnut" like me!!!! Good for you, Alexandra and EWG!!!!

(Excerpt from my blog...)

1. With respect to processed foods – Don’t eat anything with more than 5 ingredients: I set this rule after finding out that I had celiac disease (an allergy to wheat, barley, rye and respective derivitives). Reading hundreds of labels will do that to you. I got to the point where I just wanted to glance at the ingredients without reading every single one on every product, and thus “the no more than 5 rule.” You can effectively pass on things like Doritos without even looking.

An interesting phenomenon: For products with equal or less than 5 ingredients, it’s very likely that the ingredients themselves will be simple (like “salt” or “sugar” for example) rather than complex (like “maltodextrin” or “monosodium glutamate”). What I’m saying here is that products with smaller ingredients lists tend to have more basic “salt of the earth” (so to speak) ingredients. So this adds extra incentive to go with the 5 or less ruling. Uncanny isn’t it?

2. With respect to organics – Try to avoid international produce/products if at all possible: “Call me prejudice, but I don’t like eating anything that’s not grown in this country and only about half of what is.” Processed organic products are so difficult to verify (in terms of the “organic-ness” of the ingredients) that I don’t trust any of it… especially if all or part of the ingredients come from other countries. We’ve got orange juice boxes now that contain juices from upwards of five countries or more. That can’t be energy/fuel/cost efficient, and isn’t likely all organic either. Who’s verifying all the time that all of the juice is actually organic? No one. It’s impossible and far too expensive to have USDA satellite offices all over the place in other countries. No one will pay for such a presence, let alone the testing.

So I stick with the basics – the things I can almost count on as being truly organic and following the regs to the letter of the law – US produced fruit, vegetables, and possibly chicken… and that is pretty much it. US Fruit and vegetables must be cultivated according to the organic standards. Therefore they can likely be trusted. I don’t trust beef simply because of the mad cow thing and how utterly out of control everything’s been here. Until every living cow is tested for BSF I refuse to trust even what’s considered to be “organic” beef. Since we’re (my wife and I) are shooting for a plant-based diet this becomes a non-issue. But philosophically, I still believe that this is a good perspective to hold.

3. With respect to cooked/baked goods – buy as basic as possible and make it all yourself: Buy flours, spices and other individual components that are easy to verify as organic. Buy too from US producers that get their components from US sources. Again, I’m not an ardent patriot or anything – but I am convinced that food security, safety, and quality assurances only go as far as the border, if that.

Most importantly from here – make the food yourself so that you can insure its overall content and quality. Look at it this way: Food producers (big or small) have one thing in mind – profitability. And if that means purchasing less than perfect ingredients, or cutting corners by using unhealthy fillers (or oils or whatever) they’ll do it. You’ll never notice anyway. It’s time to go back to basics people – cooking and all that. I know that most people don’t even know how to cook anymore, but if it’s important enough we’ll all relearn… and believe me when I say that it is.

We are what we eat. We are technically just giant nano-tech machines that take in materials and refresh ourselves with all of it. So the higher the quality the materials, the greater the integrity of the complex assembly. And the lower the quality, the lower the integrity.

14. Every three days, turn leftovers into a new meal.

My biggest beef in the kitchen is food waste. Bletch.

This is wonderful! So simple, yet so important. I especially like #10 "Make noise". It is important to respectfully talk about the changes that all of us can make. My family often eats at a wonderful taqueria that serves plastic utensils when we eat on site! I am going to nicely make some noise and ask them to use reusable utensils!
Every little bit counts.

Another way to make coffee without a coffee maker is to put the grounds in an earthenware jug, pour boiling water over them, stir and stand for a few minutes then pour into the cup through a strainer. Wash the jug and strainer and use next time.

Well you COULD use a french Press... I've had the same one since 1980...don't have to buy a thing unless I break the jar which I've done about three time since 1980...I've learned the ways I break it so I don't do so anymore...

So I looked at this to see if I might want the book but this is not news at all . . . been doing this stuff for years and then some, in office and at home, and in my mom's house too . . . most of all, despite what is being said about saves money, most of the items here are good if you have lots of money and/or don't have a job.

Avoid plastics? What about the forests? What about the new corn-based "plastics" (they look like plastic but are made from plant and biodegrade quickly)?

Your list is simplistic and very yesterday.

For instance, #2, this is fine but if you can't drink tap water then why not talk about the alternative? City water and well water can be overly contaminated. Use a Multipure water nailing and buy ecologically good bottles.

I like Ilyse's #11 + #12.

We've got a three pronged approach to healthy eating...

As long as organic standards are upheld to the letter of the law and without corporate erosion – organics will be better than conventional (at least with respect to fruits and vegetables). There’s a lot of controversy regarding whether organics have greater quality and nutrient content. All I can say is this – slower growing, more naturally fertilized plants tend to have more nutrient content and greater similarity to foods that we’ve eaten for thousands of years. So why change now. Why eat something that grew in alien nutrients twice as fast as its more natural equivalent? There’s no way to truly prove that it’s different yet, but I’m sure that somehow it is.

1. With respect to processed foods – Don’t eat anything with more than 5 ingredients: I set this rule after finding out that I had celiac disease (an allergy to wheat, barley, rye and respective derivitives). Reading hundreds of labels will do that to you. I got to the point where I just wanted to glance at the ingredients without reading every single one on every product, and thus “the no more than 5 rule.” You can effectively pass on things like Doritos without even looking.

An interesting phenomenon: For products with equal or less than 5 ingredients, it’s very likely that the ingredients themselves will be simple (like “salt” or “sugar” for example) rather than complex (like “maltodextrin” or “monosodium glutamate”). What I’m saying here is that products with smaller ingredients lists tend to have more basic “salt of the earth” (so to speak) ingredients. So this adds extra incentive to go with the 5 or less ruling. Uncanny isn’t it?

2. With respect to organics – Try to avoid international produce/products if at all possible: “Call me prejudice, but I don’t like eating anything that’s not grown in this country and only about half of what is.” Processed organic products are so difficult to verify (in terms of the “organic-ness” of the ingredients) that I don’t trust any of it… especially if all or part of the ingredients come from other countries. We’ve got orange juice boxes now that contain juices from upwards of five countries or more. That can’t be energy/fuel/cost efficient, and isn’t likely all organic either. Who’s verifying all the time that all of the juice is actually organic? No one. It’s impossible and far too expensive to have USDA satellite offices all over the place in other countries. No one will pay for such a presence, let alone the testing.

So I stick with the basics – the things I can almost count on as being truly organic and following the regs to the letter of the law – US produced fruit, vegetables, and possibly chicken… and that is pretty much it. US Fruit and vegetables must be cultivated according to the organic standards. Therefore they can likely be trusted. I don’t trust beef simply because of the mad cow thing and how utterly out of control everything’s been here. Until every living cow is tested for BSF I refuse to trust even what’s considered to be “organic” beef. Since we’re (my wife and I) are shooting for a plant-based diet this becomes a non-issue. But philosophically, I still believe that this is a good perspective to hold.

3. With respect to cooked/baked goods – buy as basic as possible and make it all yourself: Buy flours, spices and other individual components that are easy to verify as organic. Buy too from US producers that get their components from US sources. Again, I’m not an ardent patriot or anything – but I am convinced that food security, safety, and quality assurances only go as far as the border, if that.

Most importantly from here – make the food yourself so that you can insure its overall content and quality. Look at it this way: Food producers (big or small) have one thing in mind – profitability. And if that means purchasing less than perfect ingredients, or cutting corners by using unhealthy fillers (or oils or whatever) they’ll do it. You’ll never notice anyway. It’s time to go back to basics people – cooking and all that. I know that most people don’t even know how to cook anymore, but if it’s important enough we’ll all relearn… and believe me when I say that it is.

We are what we eat. We are technically just giant nano-tech machines that take in materials and refresh ourselves with all of it. So the higher the quality the materials, the greater the integrity of the complex assembly. And the lower the quality, the lower the integrity.

Excellent blog post! Would you be interested in reviewing my upcoming cookbook, Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook? due out this July. Over 100 tasty recipes for Seasonal Vegetarian Cooking. Please email me and let me know: leslie@lesliecerier.com

Kate, Thanks for weighing in - and yes, this list isn't going to be for everyone. For some it's old news, but for others it's very much a starting point for today. Thanks for adding to the conversation - perhaps a beginners list and a "next steps" for those who are way past this would be useful? The 1st 10 and the 2nd 10!? Again, thanks for bringing your perspective to this list.