The EWG VERIFIED™ program was developed to take the Skin Deep® database to the next level, and make it easier for consumers to quickly identify products that meet our stringent ingredient and transparency requirements. In order for products to get the EWG VERIFIED™ mark, companies must submit them for approval. Products such as cosmetics, lotions, shampoos and soaps must score in the “green” range according to our criteria, and they must comply with our strict ingredient standards. Companies must have good manufacturing practices and robust labeling. The program went from having 60 listed products in February 2016 to more than 800 by December, and a video about the program was viewed more than 1.5 million times on Facebook.

Learn more about EWG VERIFIED™ here.

Every five years, the U.S. issues dietary guidelines that inform federal food policy, what goes into school lunches, how companies label food and what kind of advice health care providers give patients. In 2016, the new federal guidelines were confusing and inadequate because they were unduly influenced by the food industry and were not solely based on science. To correct this problem, we created EWG’s Dietary Guidelines, which offer clear, unambiguous guidance on how to choose a diet that’s healthy for you and the environment.

See the guidelines here.

In 2016, we released the annual update of our popular Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™, which consumers rely on to help them decide which fruits and vegetables to buy organic and which are safe to buy conventional. The guide includes the Dirty Dozen™ and the Clean Fifteen™, as well as a complete list of 48 items ranked from worst to best for pesticide residues. Upon its release in April 2016, the guide got more than 1 million views on Facebook.

See the full list here.

The Zika virus, which can cause severe brain damage in newborns and trigger nervous system disorders in adults, posed a serious threat to millions of people throughout the world in 2016. Those living in or traveling to Latin America and the Caribbean were most affected, but the disease also showed up in Miami, and there was concern that it would spread to other regions of the U.S. EWG stepped up to address the growing crisis by releasing a Guide to Bug Repellants in the Age of Zika to help people, particularly pregnant women, deal with the Zika outbreak and protect themselves with the appropriate repellants and clothing.

Read the report here.

In Iowa and across the Corn Belt, drinking water, lakes and rivers are being polluted from farm runoff. The government’s response to this problem has been to encourage farmers to adopt conservation practices to curb runoff by providing them with federal tax dollars. But this voluntary program bolstered by agriculture interests hasn’t worked, and the water in the region remains dangerously dirty. EWG’s report, “Fooling Ourselves: Voluntary Programs Fail to Clean Up Dirty Water,” released in February 2016, proves that there have been no lasting gains and no significant progress in reducing runoff in eight key Iowa watersheds. The report makes a powerful case for making simple, conventional practices mandatory in order to make progress toward cleaner, safer water.

Read the report here.

“Crop Insurance: A Lottery That’s a Sure Bet,” describes how the federal crop insurance program has little to do with the traditional insurance market and is instead a convenient, low-risk way for farmers to make money. The February 2016 report highlights how U.S. taxpayers fund about 60 percent of the premiums, all of the costs of administering the program and a large share of the claims payouts. Over time, most growers collect far more in payouts than they pay in premiums. EWG urged reforms to the program to make it more fiscally and environmentally responsible.

Read the report here.

In its continuing effort to shine a light on ineffective agricultural practices that harm the environment, in October 2016, EWG published “Feeding the World: Think U.S. Agriculture Will End World Hunger? Think Again.” The myth that U.S. agriculture feeds the entire world has been used to defend “modern” farming practices that pollute our air, water and land with toxic chemicals. The truth is that 86 percent of American agricultural exports in 2015 went to 20 of the wealthiest countries, while only half of 1 percent went to nations with large undernourished populations. By debunking the “feeding the world” myth, we can begin to change commonly accepted farming practices that harm the environment and instead develop strategies that will truly increase global food security.

Read the report here.

After years of fighting a bill in Congress that would prohibit states from requiring GMO labeling, in 2016 EWG helped kill the bill known as the Deny Americans the Right to Know Act, or DARK Act. By hosting Capitol Hill lobbying days, holding congressional briefings with celebrity chefs, meeting with lawmakers and their staffs, and collecting comments and signatures from the public, EWG played a pivotal role in making sure Americans aren’t denied the right to know what’s in their food and how it’s grown. Polls had shown that nine out of 10 Americans wanted clear labeling of GMO products on packaging, as opposed to high-tech gimmicks such as “smart labels.” EWG later helped develop compromise legislation to create a mandatory national labeling standard for GMO foods that was passed in the House and Senate, and signed into law by President Obama on July 29, 2016. Our DARK Act petition got 101,037 signatures, the most of any of our 2016 petitions.

Farms in California’s Central Valley, which grows 40 percent of all U.S. produce, are allowed to use oil and gas wastewater to irrigate their crops, potentially putting hazardous chemicals into the food we eat. Over the last three years, farmers in the region irrigated 95,000 acres of food crops with billions of gallons of oil field wastewater, but this practice has been used for 40 years or more. EWG’s October 2016 report, “Toxic Chemicals May Contaminate Oil Field Wastewater Used to Grow California Crops,” analyzes oil companies’ reports to the water board regarding the chemicals they used in oilfields from which wastewater was sold for irrigation between January 2014 and May 2016. The report highlights the amounts of potentially toxic chemicals present in the water, as well as the ways in which oil companies hide ingredients behind “trade secrets” protections. EWG served as a key witness and negotiator for bills designed to improve regulation of the use of oil and gas wastewater for irrigation.

In 2016, EWG ramped up its work in support of the Personal Care Products Safety Act, which was introduced in by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Susan Collins, R-Maine. The proposed law would require the FDA to investigate risky ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products, allow the agency to prevent companies from selling unsafe products, and give the FDA power to recall any products found to be dangerous. EWG’s efforts included working with House leaders to develop companion legislation to the bill; hosting lobbying days with Procter & Gamble, L’Oreal, Revlon, Johnson & Johnson and other industry leaders; conducting polling to show Americans’ support for such legislation; testifying before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; providing analysis and commentary to the media; and investigating consumer injuries caused by specific cosmetics. While the U.S. government lags in creating a science-based regulatory system for the cosmetics and personal care products industry, EWG continues providing critical health and safety information to consumers through our Skin Deep® database.