You want to make the right choices so your lifestyle matches your ethics. But how do you know what the right thing is all of the time? How can you make the best purchase when you shop, hire a company, buy clothes or even make more charitable donations and get them to the right groups?

Ethical mobile apps are coming to the rescue. For almost any issue you care about, you can probably find an app that will help inform you, guide you and make it easy for you to not just talk the ethical talk, but walk the ethical walk. We’ve partnered with The Humane Eating Project to highlight theirs and five others that are particularly helpful.

Here are 6 ethical apps that work for Android or IOS devices, or both.

1) The Humane Eating Project

This is a “restaurant app for people who care about animals.” It highlights the cruelty that farm animals experience when produced by giant, industrial factory farms.

Among the problems:

√ Hormones and antibiotics are overused so animals will gain weight quickly

√ Too many animals are raised in a too small space, creating a “mosh pit” that is filthy and inhumane

√ Many animals receive no anesthetic when subjected to such painful procedures as beak trimming, castration and tail docking

√ Factory farm animals are often fed unsavory foods.

The free app helps consumers find 20,000 restaurants in three categories: those serving food that’s humanely raised; those serving vegan, vegetarian or veg-friendly options; and those that have made the “watch list (avoid)” because they serve foods the Project considers to be offensive or illegal, like veal, fois gras and sharkfin.

Diners can also search for a restaurant by name, cuisine, location and price, plus get directions and reviews.

Created by the non-profit America for Animals, the app is just one of several state-of-the-art web and mobile projects the organization has launched to promote animal compassion and stop abuse. Works on both Android and IOS devices.

2) PaperKarma 

If you’re tired of junk mail but find that writing “cancel – return to sender” doesn’t work, this free app may be for you. Just take a picture of the mail you don’t want, and tap “unsubscribe.” PaperKarma will instantly submit a request to the company on your behalf. PaperKarma can stop magazines, catalogs, coupon books, credit card offers and other mail. If the company that sent the mail isn’t in PaperKarma’s data base, they say they’ll track it down. Works on both Android and IOS devices.

3) Buycott 

Buycott is a bar code scanning app that helps shoppers in 192 countries boycott companies that are behaving unethically. Crowd-sourced campaigns raise awareness about the issues, then enable consumers to scan barcodes when they shop to learn more about a product’s history and decide whether or not to buy the product. You can also use the app to send the product manufacturer a message about your decision not to buy. Current campaigns support fair trade, encourage consumers to avoid palm oil products, advocate a boycott of chocolate produced by child slaves and are working to stop wildlife slaughter in Africa. Works on both Android and IOS devices.

4) True Food 

Want to avoid GMOs but can’t do it on you’re own because they’re not labeled? The free True Food app can help. It provides information on common genetically modified ingredients and lets you know what brands to look out for wherever you shop. Browse the 16 categories in the shoppers guide, choosing what’s “green” and avoiding what’s “red.” You can even call or email companies in the “red” to tell them you won’t be buying they’re products until they switch to non GMO ingredients. IOS only.

5) Light Bulb Finder

This free app makes it easy to switch from conventional incandescent light bulbs to LEDs and CFLs. It will help you figure out the right bulb to meet your need, then take you to a shopping site where you can make the purchase. Light Bulb Finder also helps you find rebates or incentives in your state to help defray the cost of switching bulbs. Available forAndroid and IOS.

6) Carpooling and Ridesharing 

There are so many apps for sharing a ride and sharing your car that I’m linking to a good source on 15 of them. Uber and Lyft are on the list, of course. But so is Sidecar.com, which connects riders with everyday drivers in their personal vehicle, and Sidecar Deliveries, which delivers both people and packages going along the same route.  There’s also Ridescout,which gives someone information about all available route options: bus, rail, bikeshare, car share, taxi, carpool, walking, biking, driving and parking.

Partner Note: We partner with organizations and companies that meet our stringent criteria in order to provide you expertise and information that will help you meet your greener living goals. Our editorial opinions remain our own. Thanks!

The post These 6 Ethical Apps Make It Easier to Practice What You Preach appeared first on Big Green Purse.

In a major victory for all of us who believe we have a right to know what is in our food, the Campbell Soup Company has decided to voluntarily disclose the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in its products.

Campbell said it supports federal legislation that would require “all foods and beverages regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to be clearly and simply labeled for GMOs.”

Campbell also supports a national standard for non-GMO claims all food manufacturers display on their packaging.

That means that, here on out, not only Campbell’s Soups but other products in the Campbell’s line, including Pepperidge Farm, Bolthouse Farms, V8, Swanson, Prego and Royal Dansk, will reveal when its ingredients contain GMOS – and when they don’t.

(In case you can’t read the label, right, it says: “Partially produced with genetic engineering. For information about GMO ingredients visit Whatsinmyfood.com.”)

Most food companies vehemently oppose GMO labeling, because they worry that if consumers know genetically modified organisms are in their food, they won’t buy it.

However, 92 percent of Americans support GMO labeling, said Elizabeth O’Connell, director of consumer advocacy for Green America. Campbell’s decision supports “the people’s Right to Know what’s in their food,” she said.

Don’t Miss: The 7 Most Important Reasons to Avoid GMOs

Campbell’s President and CEO Denise Morrison said that the company supports mandatory national labeling of foods that contain GMOS due to consumer demand.

“We are operating with a “Consumer First” mindset. We put the consumer at the center of everything we do.  That’s how we’ve built trust for nearly 150 years.  We have always believed that consumers have the right to know what’s in their food.  GMO has evolved to be a top consumer food issue reaching a critical mass of 92% of consumers in favor of putting it on the label.

In addition, we have declared our intention to set the standard for transparency in the food industry. We have been openly discussing our ingredients, including those derived from GMO crops, through our WhatsinmyFood.com website.  We are supporting digital disclosure through the Grocery Manufacturers Association’s (GMA) SmartLabel program.  We have announced the removal of artificial colors and flavors from our products.  However, our support of mandatory federal GMO labeling sets a new bar for transparency.

Morrison noted that individual consumer campaigns being waged from California to Maine to force companies to label products ultimately forced the company to support a national law.

Without the efforts by groups like Green America, Environmental Working Group, JustLabelIt.org, and of course, Big Green Purse, to mobilize consumers, Campbell’s may not have voluntarily agreed to be so transparent.

If you ever wonder if your individual purchases make a difference, wonder no more. They do! They help protect you and your family first and foremost. But they can also force powerful corporations to do the right thing.

Hooray!

Read Campbell’s complete corporate statement here.

Read the complete statement of Denise Morrison, Campbell’s President & CEO, here.

Top image reprinted with permission of GreenAmerica.org.

The post Campbell’s GMO Labeling Victory Shows the Power of the Purse appeared first on Big Green Purse.

“GMO” stands for genetically modified organisms. Some people also call them genetically engineered organisms. Either way, GMOs are foods whose genetic make-up has been re-engineered, altered or modified to give them different traits than those they evolved with.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 94% of all soy, 93% of the corn, and 96% of the cotton grown in the U.S. is genetically engineered. That means you could be eating GMOs in your bread, cereal, packaged cookies and cakes, and any other foods that contain soybean oil, corn oil, and high fructose corn syrup, to name a few.

Many biologists, scientists, public health officials and consumer advocates believe we should avoid GMOs. Here are the most important reasons why.

[box]

7 Most Important Reasons to Avoid GMOs

1) Health risk – According to the Academy of Environmental Medicine, animal studies link GMOs to organ damage, gastrointestinal and immune system disorders, accelerated aging and infertility. This may happen because genetic material inserted into soy plants, for example, can transfer into the DNA of bacteria we already have living inside us. The American Public Health Association and American Nurses Association oppose the use of genetically modified (GM) bovine growth hormone because milk from cows that have been given this hormone contains more IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1), which is linked to cancer.

2) Contamination of other crops – Like other plants, GMOs cross pollinate. When the wind blows, their seeds can travel. Farmers trying to grow crops organically or with non-GMO seeds report that their fields are being contaminated through the natural cross pollination that occurs when GMO seeds go airborne. Once GMOs are present in a field, they are almost impossible to get rid of.

3) Increased pesticide use – Most GMO crops are engineered so that they are not susceptible to particular herbicides. For example, many GMO crops are resistant to Roundup, an herbicide produced by Monsanto. Ironically, as a result, farmers appear to be using more Roundup to control their weeds than previously.

4) Unpredictable side effects – We’ve all seen science fiction movies that feature monsters created when lab experiments go wrong. What happens if our GM foods turn into “Franken-Foods”? The Union of Concerned Scientists worries that the process of creating genetically-modified plants could lead to new allergens, carcinogens, nutritional deficiencies, and toxins that we’re unprepared to confront. It’s taken us decades to clean up after toxins like lead and asbestos, and those were known elements. How are we prepared to deal with the side effects of GMOs?

Don’t miss: Benefits of Organic Food: It’s More Nutritious!

5) Serious effect on the environment – GMOs are causing an explosion of “superweeds,” weeds that have evolved resistance to glyphosate, a chemical used on GM crops. As a result, even more powerful insecticides must be applied to control weeds, which ultimately contaminates groundwater and kills many animals and plants that are not targeted by these toxic chemicals but are nevertheless susceptible to them.

6) Devastating impacts on birds, bees, and butterflies – Research is ongoing into the impacts that GMOS could be having on birds, butterflies, bees, frogs, and micro-organisms that live in soil and our lakes, rivers and streams. Monarch butterfly populations are down 50%; scientists are exploring whether GMOs are reducing their habitat, or poisoning the milkweed that butterflies feed on. Roundup herbicide used in conjunction with GMO crops has been linked to high rates of mortality in some amphibians and organ damage to various animals.

7) Corporate control of seeds and agriculture – Ideally, farmers could get seeds from a variety of sources or save their own seeds for the next planting cycle. Today, one company controls about 95 percent of GM seeds. As cross-pollination increases, more and more natural crops may be unable to produce their own seeds, putting farmers – and us consumers, too – at the mercy of an agribusiness that is more focused on profit that people or the planet.[/box]

[box type=”tick”] What Can You Do? Use Your Purse!

√ Buy from local farmers who are growing food without GMO seed.
√ Shift your spending to organic food.
√ Look for the Non-GMO label when you shop.
√ Support legislation that would require all GMO foods to be labeled so that consumers can make informed choices when they shop.

RELATED

8 Fast Food Chains That Serve Local, Organic Food

The post The 7 Most Important Reasons to Avoid GMOs appeared first on Big Green Purse.