In Washington DC the USDA's Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and locavore darling Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan take to the internets today at 10 a.m. local time (yep, now) to launch the USDA's new Know Your Farmer Know Your Food Compass. more ›

Are you worried that the chemicals you're using to turn you into a Oompa Loompa bronzed goddess might not be totally organic? This sign sent into us—spotted in the window of an Atwater Village salon—assures you there's nothing to worry about. more ›

While we love Santee High School's culinary students because they can rock a chile relleno stuffed with corn, beans and squash for the likes of Artisanal LA, but this week they have been rocking the same high school/high end cuisine for the venue known as Occupy LA. more ›

Vegans, vegetarians, pescetarians and curious omnivores, we’ve discovered a new local vegan joint that will knock your socks off, even if they are made of wool. Serving up an imaginative menu of organic, vegan and macrobiotic fare, Seed Bistro in West L.A. opened just three weeks ago. more ›

July is National Ice Cream Month. To celebrate, we'll be reviewing some of our favorite ice cream spots -- and some new ones, too -- all this week. more ›

When you spring for organic cosmetics, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it's because you expect them to be organic. And you'd be right to expect that -- the California Organic Products Act of 2003 requires that cosmetics and personal care products that are labeled "organic" contain at least 70% all-natural ingredients. more ›

Devotees of organic and vegan cuisine will have a new temple at which to worship starting tomorrow, when the long-awaited San Francisco export Café Gratitude opens up its doors on Larchmont to welcome conscious eaters into their fold. more ›

A new study that compared Calfornia-grown organic strawberries to conventional ones found that organic ones win. That is to say, organic ones "were more nutritious, had a longer shelf life, and left the soil in healthier condition compared to the conventional crop," says KPCC. The upside is the higher concentration of antioxidants and vitamin C, the downside is the smaller size and less potassium and phosphorus. Strawberries are a $1.6 billion industry in California, with much of it coming out of Ventura County. more ›

At Local in Silver Lake, they fill their the chilaquiles plate with eggs, queso fresco, black beans, salsa, avocado, and crème fraîche. Take one bite and you'll be dreaming about this dish in the middles of the night and wake up craving it in the morning. For those of you who don't eat eggs, the nice people at Local will make their chilaquiles with tofu too. more ›

We've been looking forward to the opening day of KindKreme in the Cahuenga Pass for almost an entire year now, and the wait is finally over. The first vegan ice cream parlor in Los Angeles is in their soft opening phase, and Saturday, May 15th they'll celebrate the sweet occasion with their grand opening. more ›

Gentlemen--and ladies--if there's one thing I learned from the evenings I spent with the Chicks With Knives, it's that they want you to know there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of. Yes, they wield sharp cutting tools...but they only use them for good, not evil. And when I say good, I mean good tasting. That's because Chicks With Knives is actually a duo of chefs, Rachael Narins and Suzanne Griswold, and the name of their monthly supper club that focuses on S.O.L.E. food. more ›

Only three weeks old tonight, the Yamashiro Garden Market is a great opportunity to pick up produce and other locally-sourced edibles, nosh a little (hello, Bulgarini Gelato cart!), and take in a pretty staggering city view. We hit up this new market, which is run by the non-profit L.A. City Farm, last Thursday (before Daylight Savings Time, as the velvety black skies in our photos attest) and had the chance to talk to some of the vendors, and grub on the fusion tacos from Yamashiro's own market stand. more ›

Last week Tender Greens opened their fourth SoCal location, on Sunset Boulevard near Vine right in the heart of Hollywood. This also happens to be just a hop, skip, and jump from where the bustling Hollywood Farmers' Market takes place each Sunday, and to maximize on the proximity, Executive Chef Fermin Arias has announced he will shop the market each Sunday morning and create same-day specials for diners to enjoy. more ›

Organic-focused local restaurant chain Tender Greens has announced they will open their fourth location tomorrow at Sunset and Vine in Hollywood. The eatery is built upon a philosophy of serving comfort food in a congenial atmosphere and practicing ecological and community awareness by sourcing their food from local growers and vendors; most of their produce comes from a family farm in Oxnard. more ›

You're an environmentally friendly person. You go to farmers markets, you joined a CSA, you patronize chef-run restaurants that locally source their food, but sometimes you just want a slice of pizza, plain and simple. Question is, can a pizzeria be eco-friendly and locally sourced? In short, yes. Where? Santa Monica and Hollywood. more ›

Thirty-three states, including California, announced an agreement today with American Spirit Cigarettes that ends the company's "misleading marketing" of their organic cigarettes. "Stamping an organic label on tobacco products is ultimately a distinction without a difference--organic or not, cigarettes are bad for your health," Attorney General Jerry Brown said in a statement. "Today's settlement with [parent company] Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company ensures that all future advertisements make it clear that organic tobacco is no safer or healthier." The company has 30 days to update all advertising within 30 days to say "Organic tobacco does NOT mean safer cigarettes" and other similar statements about roll-your-own and pouch tobacco. more ›

After celebrating their grand opening in Santa Monica this weekend, Pizza Fusion also quietly opened their new Hollywood location on Tuesday. "The response we received at our soft opening on Tuesday was wonderful", owner Michele Orlando said. "Hollywood residents are really warming up to our organic and socially conscious approach to restaurant service." more ›

Organic is not-so-secret code for expensive. (Even though LA organic is cheaper than other cities.) Expensive is code for not for Recession Obsession readers. That was until this author/adventurer stumbled upon Green Zone in San Gabriel. more ›

When compared to New York City and Chicago, Angelenos score a cheaper price when buying organic, finds a study release by IBISWorld. "The study looked at three product categories: Private label or store brands, commercial brands, and organic items," explained Wallet Pop. The cost of groceries depends largely on what part of the country you live in. Chicagoans get a cheaper groceries than the next two bigger cities (but pay among the highest sales taxes), except for organic items. If you want to eat more naturally, you'll pay less in L.A. But organics in general will set you back more, about 18% more than branded products and 37.6 % more than store brands, according to the findings." more ›

Check your fridges, citizens -- those eggs you fried up for breakfast might be toxic! Yep, it's another major salmonella recall, this time for Costco's Kirkland brand organic brand eggs. Information on the recall and plant codes can be found here. And while you're in there, you might want to toss the hamburgers and steaks as well: those of you who consume more than 4 ounces of red meat a day are at a 30% higher risk for cancer and heart disease, according to a new study of over 500,000 Americans. Now might be a good time to pick up a flexitarian diet. more ›

If you know about lifecasting, then you probably know or even follow iJustine or the self promoting Julia Allison (if you read Wired Magazine, you'll remember that cover of her). And more than likely, you might know about Mary Rambin of Allison's lifecasting harem. more ›

Okay, so this is not exactly new to the world--it's been around for over a year now--but for some reason Ralph's just made us notice this past weekend and we had to try the novelty that is the Organic Batter Blaster. It's pancake batter in a Easy Cheese-like spray can that is organic. Whole Foods had it on their shelves at one point, so it met their standards, but TreeHugger called it "UnTreeHugger." It's actually pretty tasty and would be convenient for camping, but once the fun wears off and you realize you're that guy, being that lazy, it's really not all that. more ›

We're in the middle of apple season and all of the sudden, our late night snacking became healthy. What has come of us? more ›

Naturewell will host their grand opening next week, but they're offering free samples this afternoon, they said earlier today as they prepped their signs and storefront. more ›

Skratch is a new entry in that great thing that's happening in the middle of Culver City these days, with fresh, original food served up fast. Though a lot of restaurants LA are jumping on the organic bandwagon with mixed results. Culver City has a number of the better places on its roster. more ›

The Los Angeles area's growing stock of eco-friendly businesses increased Saturday with the grand opening of O!burger in West Hollywood. The organic burger joint uses only certified organic ingredients in their grass fed beef burgers, free range turkey burgers, hot dogs, salads, French fries and shakes. more ›

In Pasadena, Orean claims to be the first vegetarian fast-food drive-thru (fast it is not). And beginning Saturday, a new restaurant in West Hollywood will be taking claim to being Los Angeles’ first fast food burger house using only certified organic ingredients. O!burger will offer grass fed beef, free range turkey, hot dogs, salads, French fries and shakes. And yes, they have veggie burgers made from their own recipe based on spinach and corn. more ›

You may remember a few years back when the workers of the South Central Farm, who maintained a grassy patch of garden just south of Downtown, were evicted from the land in a rather bitter eminent domain battle. Now, the collective has purchased land outside of Bakersfield, in a town named Buttonwillow (home to a speedway and not much else), in anticipation of rebuilding and replanting their farm. Thanks to a sizable donation from a non-profit group, the South Central farmers now have 85 acres upon which to begin reconstructing their organic farming dreams. more ›

So maybe some of you kids have it easy when it comes to eating green: you're a vegetarian or vegan, you don't eat dairy, and you shop at your local farmer's market every week. You probably bike a lot and never talk on your cell phone while you're driving. Congratulations, you're our editor! But for the rest of us mortals, the recent explosion of articles and blog posts about "Sustainability!" "Grain Shortages!" "Carbon Footprints!" "OMG WTF BBQ Cow Farts!", etc, might leave you wondering: so what the hell am I SUPPOSED to eat? more ›