In your opinion, which of these is the most impactful Earth-friendly effort? Take our poll on green efforts and see how your thoughts stack up with others.

From sky-high energy usage to a floating island of trash twice the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean, it’s clear we need to do a better job taking care of our planet. Earth Day began in 1970 as a huge grassroots protest over what was happening to our environment—from the rivers and lakes to our land and air—and the need for action is just as strong today.

Every one of us can make choices that will help our planet. And at Whole Foods Market, we believe that goes for companies, too. In fact, we have long believed that companies have a responsibility to be conscious about their impact on the environment, and we’re happy to lead the way with big commitments company-wide and small actions by passionate team members in our stores. After all, what we put on our plates goes way beyond food.

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March marked the two-year anniversary of Premium Body Care at Whole Foods Market. In case you aren’t familiar with it, products with the Premium Body Care™ symbol are the most exceptional personal care products available. They meet the strictest standards for quality sourcing, environmental impact, results and safety.

When we created our Premium Body Care distinction, our primary goal was to help dispel some of the confusion our customers faced when trying to find personal care products that were truly natural, effective, environmentally friendly and safer alternatives.

Our dedication to this mission has continued to gain strength. There are now over 3000 products in our stores that qualify for our Premium Body Care symbol, and we’ve identified over 380 ingredients unacceptable to our standard.

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In case you are just tuning in, we’ve been celebrating April with our Whole Trade™ pineapples that are setting a sweeter standard for quality, as well as environmental and social responsibility.

But time is running out for you to enter to win a 9-day trip to Costa Rica! To celebrate the expansion of our ethical sourcing program in Costa Rica, we’ve partnered with Intrepid Travel to offer a chance to win a trip to Costa Rica, home to the Whole Trade pineapple found only at Whole Foods Market. The contest ends on April 30^th, so enter your name now for a chance to win.

Our Whole Trade pineapples are grown in Costa Rica on farms that never compromise on providing delectable sweet and juicy fruit, and who keep the health of the planet high on their priority list. Our Whole Trade™ Guarantee ensures that these responsible farms and their workers receive equitable wages and better working conditions – and that you enjoy the best quality tropical treat, delivered to our stores at peak ripeness.

These Whole Trade pineapples are truly amazing. I’ve been packing it in my daughter’s lunch box for quite a few weeks now and she’s still loving it! So are these customers:

I just picked up some fantastic pineapples from the Princeton Whole Foods in New Jersey. They taste amazing!  I made some fresh pineapple juice with my Norwalk Juicer. Delicious!  —  Tony

I just ate some of this pineapple and it’s the sweetest pineapple I’ve ever had. I’ll definitely be back to Whole Foods for more. I just wish it wasn’t a 45 minute drive.  —  Joy

Want to know how to select a great pineapple? Carol offers some tips in her post on Busting Myths about Fresh Pineapple. Looking for ideas on how to serve some delicious pineapple? Here are some of our favorite pineapple recipes and you can also check out over 150 recipe ideas from our readers.

How are you enjoying your pineapple?

B Murray is our randomly selected winner of the $25 gift card. Thanks everyone for your entries!

Have you seen Fast Food Nation? Read on for a chance to win a $25 gift card!

Did you make it to one of the 151 screenings of films about food shown in our Let’s Retake Our Plates Film Series? If so, we hope you enjoyed it and learned something! To wrap up our month of reviews, Lauren Craig reviews the Richard Linklater comedy Fast Food Nation.

I had to read this novel while in culinary school to set the scene for our in depth look at 21^st century consumerism and food choices. The book made a big impact on me, causing me to me think about my food choices and how I could make simple changes to be healthier and make less of an impact, to be more aware of my food choices. It also painted a much better picture of the grim reality our country faces when it comes to food, and that most of us are oblivious to our downward spiral. Read the rest of this entry »

What’s your top priority when shopping for personal bodycare products? Take our poll on bodycare products and see how your thoughts stack up with others.

Let’s face it: what goes on our bodies is as important as what goes on our plates.

The U.S. government does not require health studies or pre-market testing for personal care products. And there are many non-natural components and processes in most U.S. personal care products. Even those labeled “natural” may contain harsh preservatives or ingredients with environmental concerns. Think about it: the body care products we all use eventually go down the drain and into our environment. They can also be absorbed right through our skin into our bodies.

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Is asparagus on your menu these days? If not, it should be! This spring treat is easy to cook and extremely versatile—it can be boiled, steamed, grilled or roasted. Lightly steamed asparagus is wonderful with just a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Look for asparagus that’s evenly green from top to bottom and choose bunches with stalks that are uniform in size to ensure even cooking. To prepare asparagus for cooking, simply take a stalk in your hands and bend until the woody end snaps off. Cook just the tender top spears, and compost the ends or use them when making vegetable stock. Need any more reasons to take advantage of peak-season asparagus? It’s a good source of vitamin C and also supplies iron, folate, beta-carotene and glutathione (an antioxidant).

Now, let’s talk recipes! Here are some of our favorite ways to enjoy this classic spring vegetable.

Salads, Soups and Simple Sides

• Asparagus with Mustard-Herb Vinaigrette
• Red Potato and Asparagus Salad
• Spring Salad with Asparagus Curls
• Creamy Spring Asparagus Soup
• Lemon Sesame Asparagus

Pastas and Risottos

• Asparagus and Portobello Farfalle
• Pasta with Asparagus, Prosciutto and Pecorino Romano
• Brown Rice Spring Vegetable “Risotto”
• Risotto with Asparagus

Oven-Roasted Dishes, Stratas and Quiches

• Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus
• Roasted Asparagus with Garlic and Parsley
• Oven-Roasted Pecan Crunch Catfish with Asparagus
• Portobello and Asparagus Egg Strata
• Turkey and Asparagus Quiche

Now it’s your turn to tell us: what’s your favorite way to enjoy asparagus? Post a note in the comments below to share your idea!

Earth Day is a big deal around here. So much so, in fact, that we celebrate the entire month of April as Earth Month! Every Earth Day, Whole Foods Market makes specific commitments to do more as a company to help our planet. One year we announced a 100% offset of our energy use with wind energy credits; another year we eliminated plastic grocery bags. These are strong commitments that continue long past Earth Day.

And with each year, our team members push harder to come up with more, better and greener ways of doing things. They don’t shy away from the hard stuff, knowing that we, as a company, are committed to doing what’s right for the Earth. So, without further ado, here’s our 2010 Earth Day commitment:

Whole Foods Market commits to reduce our energy consumption by 25% per square foot by 2015.

How are we going to do it? Lots of specifics below, but putting our stores on a healthy consumption plan, replacing older equipment with more efficient alternatives and ensuring all stores have the tools necessary to optimize operation of equipment will make the biggest dent in the energy reduction goal. This, combined with our aggressive green building, innovative refrigeration practices, advanced transportation practices, more on-site renewable energy and continued wind energy credits will all play a part in significant emissions reductions.

Bottom line: Saving energy costs less than buying it, so we are reducing our appetite for energy from both traditional and renewable sources. We are implementing energy and emissions tracking systems to help us track our progress and identify areas for improvement. We are really excited about the changes this commitment will bring about.

Here are some of the details of what we are doing now and how we are going to move it forward. Read the rest of this entry »

For the past 20 years, it has been the avowed mission of Seventh Generation to help us protect our world with naturally safe and effective household products. Which is one of the reasons, we at Whole Foods Market, love them so much. Another is they offer an amazing array of green cleaning products that actually work. From botanical disinfectants to powdered detergents that really do dissolve to an all-purpose cleaner, that despite being plant and mineral derived, has been able to cut through any number of steadfast and stubborn messes in my own home, Seventh Generation delivers effective products without the carbon footprint we’ve come to accept as inevitable if we want a clean home.

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When you buy beef, what are you concerned about? Take our poll on meat standards and see how your thoughts stack up with others.

It’s often easy to forget that the burger, steak or drumstick on your plate was once an animal. How was that animal raised? How was it treated? Where did it come from? What did it eat? What about hormones and antibiotics? Was its growth artificially accelerated to get to market sooner and reduce feed cost?

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We opened our very first Whole Foods Market store in Austin, Texas on September 20, 1980. Thirty years and hundreds of stores later we owe much of our success to the love of our Team Members. In honor of Team Member Appreciation Week, here are 30 reasons we love them back!

Our Team Members:

1. Make Whole Foods Market cool.
2. Make every effort to recycle – from yogurt tubs to corks to jokes.
3. Sing on the sales floor just because the spirit moves you.
4. Make our Green Mission real and challenge us to do even more.
5. Drive an amazingly long chain of shopping carts across the lot with ease.
6. Are as excited about their team’s success as they are about their own.
7. Are passionate about our products and it’s contagious!
8. Are why we made FORTUNE®’s “100 Best Places to Work” list every year.
9. Knock customers’ socks off.
10. Love local!
11. Support Whole Planet Foundation with fundraising and your own dollars.
12. Adapt to change, even when the changes come fast like they do.
13. Share the love by sharing Whole Foods Market with friends and family.
14. Help improve the health of people, animals and the planet.
15. Bring it. Every day.
16. Are 50,000+ faces making Whole Foods Market more than a grocery store.
17. Maintain organic integrity.
18. Make work fun!
19. Are the reason our stores are real members of our communities.
20. Make other people laugh…or at least smile.
21. Have style…from the clothes they wear to the displays they build.
22. Are devoted to helping each other and to helping others.
23. Make awesome food!
24. Step up even higher when there’s a higher step to climb.
25. Have creativity that keeps us fresh.
26. Have boundless compassion for those devastated by natural disasters.
27. Wear really interesting jewelry.
28. Volunteer at local farms, food kitchens, creek cleanups and more.
29. Keep Whole Foods Market unique.
30. Make our day with your smiles.

Feel free to let our Team Members know why you appreciate them too!