You hear this question every time you go to the grocery store – and I hope your answer is always “paper”. Paper is reusable, biodegradable, and made from renewable sources. Better yet, get a couple of those reusable cloth grocery bags and use those.

Wait! Why does this have anything to do with 2 Small Pills? Well, this post was spurred on because of this article in the press room on the Whole Foods Market web site stating that all of their 270 stores throughout the U.S., Canada and the U.K. will end the use of plastic grocery bags on or before Earth Day, April 22nd, 2008. They become the first U.S. supermarket to commit to completely eliminating disposable plastic grocery bags to help protect the environment and conserve resources.

This is a great idea, and I suggest that we all encourage our local grocery stores, and all stores for that matter, to stop using plastic grocery bags. A healthy Earth is important to healthy Earthlings!

While browsing the aisles at the grocery store today I became very frustrated in the juice aisle looking for some cranberry juice. Though it’s always been hard to find just straight cranberry juice, not a cocktail or combination, I never realized just how many juices out there that are not 100% juice actually say they are on the bottle. It’s amazing to me that anyone could claim their product is 100% juice when they clearly are not. Will someone please explain to me how a product made from concentrate with “enough water to reconstitute” is 100% fruit juice? Doesn’t that little bit of water mean that it is no longer 100% juice?

It was astounding to look at bottle after bottle of “100% Fruit Juice” to see water listed in the ingredients. When did water become fruit juice? Is it safe to assume then that the water coming out of my kitchen faucet is fruit juice? Eew, what about the stuff in my toilet – is that fruit juice? And just where are they getting this water from to “reconstitute” the fruit juice? If it’s 100% natural spring water, then it’s not so bad, but are there regulations on that?

So, the next time you pick up a bottle of “100% Fruit Juice”, take a look at the label and see if it really is 100% Juice. I bet you will be surprised. And for those that care, I left the store with no cranberry juice – I couldn’t find any that were 100% juice.

Warning: I actually found TWO bottles of “100% Fruit Juice”, as stated on the label, that actually had High Fructose Corn Syrup in the ingredients list. Funny, I thought corn was a grain, but I guess now it’s fruit.

Today, Kim Klaver at the Health Gawker pointed me to another great site to find places to get Whole and Organic foods, Local Harvest. You can search and find local grocers and farmers in your area, or, if you can’t find someone nearby, you can shop right on their web site. I have found a couple of places on this site already that I will go and check out – I encourage you to do the same and share your experience here.

Previously, when I lived in Trempealeau, Wisconsin, I had a very hard time locating a place where I could purchase Whole or Organic foods. With the recent move to Prescott, Wisconsin, not far from the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area, I had hoped I could find a place to purchase the foods I wanted. Ironically, the first place I found is the Whole Earth Grocery in River Falls, Wisconsin. We found this place while just driving around to familiarize ourselves with the surrounding towns. We enjoyed it so much that we became members on our second shopping trip.

I know, you don’t live anywhere near River Falls, Wisconsin, so you can’t enjoy the wide variety of certified organic foods that they carry. I feel for you, I really do. My first suggestion is to check if there is a Whole Foods Market in your area by searching their store locations. I see that there are two in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area that I will have to check out and report on, so you know if they are worth visiting. Their web site certainly looks as if they are a huge supplier of Whole and Organic foods, and if you have been to one already please feel free to share your comments about it.

Regardless of where you buy your Whole and Organic foods, if you are doing so, you have take a giant step into living a longer, healthier life. Share your thoughts and comments about your favorite store, so others can start to locate the best places to buy the good stuff.