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News Release | WashPIRG Foundation | Public Health, Antibiotics

Chain Reaction report urges burger restaurants to beef up policies to eliminate routine use of antibiotics

Two growing burger chains, Shake Shack and BurgerFi, stand out from the herd when it comes to serving beef raised without the routine use of antibiotics in the burger industry. They were the only restaurants to earn an “A” on the fourth annual Chain Reaction scorecard released today by six major consumer and environmental organizations. The vast majority of hamburger chains — 22 of the top 25, including giants such as McDonald’s — got an “F” grade because they lack established policies restricting antibiotic use in their beef supply chains.

Blog Post | Safe Energy

#EEDay2018 - States Can Lead | Abe Scarr

The cheapest, cleanest energy is the energy we don’t use in the first place. Whether you care about improving air quality, fending off the worst impacts of global warming, or simply saving money, energy efficiency and conservation are critical.

Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

A Citizen's Guide to Reducing Energy Waste

The future is here—but we’re living in the past.

Clean energy from the sun and wind can provide for our energy needs without the global consequences of pollution, yet we’re still producing and consuming virtually all of our energy in ways that do lasting damage to our environment, our health and our climate. To make matters worse, much of the dirty energy we produce goes to waste.

Blog Post

Walmart To Phase Out Paint Strippers Linked To Dozens Of Deaths

In the absence of government action on deadly paint strippers, retailers are stepping up to protect consumers.

Blog Post

Drinking Water Shut Off In All Detroit Schools Due To Lead

As school started for the year, many students in Detroit returned to schools with drinking water containing lead—a toxin that can impact how they think, learn and behave.

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News Release | WashPIRG Foundation | Public Health, Antibiotics

Chain Reaction report urges burger restaurants to beef up policies to eliminate routine use of antibiotics

Two growing burger chains, Shake Shack and BurgerFi, stand out from the herd when it comes to serving beef raised without the routine use of antibiotics in the burger industry. They were the only restaurants to earn an “A” on the fourth annual Chain Reaction scorecard released today by six major consumer and environmental organizations. The vast majority of hamburger chains — 22 of the top 25, including giants such as McDonald’s — got an “F” grade because they lack established policies restricting antibiotic use in their beef supply chains.

News Release | U.S. PIRG | Consumer Protection

U.S. PIRG response to reports of Facebook security breach

Facebook announced today that earlier this week, "attackers exploited a vulnerability in Facebook’s code that impacted “View As”, a feature that lets people see what their own profile looks like to someone else. This allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens which they could then use to take over people’s accounts."

News Release | WashPIRG Foundation | Consumer Protection

WashPIRG Foundation Recommends Credit Freezes, Now Free for All By National Law

Our press release about the national free credit freeze law that goes into effect today. It includes tips about credit freezes and other steps consumers can take to protect themselves from different types of identity theft and fraud.

News Release | WashPIRG Foundation | Consumer Protection, Financial Reform

New Report: How State Officials Can Protect Consumers 1 Year After Equifax Breach

A year ago, Equifax announced that hackers had breached its system and accessed the data of nearly 150 million U.S. consumers. To mark the anniversary of that notorious announcement, WashPIRG Foundation is releasing a report containing suggestions on how Washington state officials and consumers can safeguard personal information.

News Release | U.S. PIRG | Higher Ed

U.S. PIRG statement on the resignation of Seth Frotman, CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman

> Keep Reading

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Result | Antibiotics

Victory! KFC Goes Antibiotic-Free

On April 7, 2017, KFC U.S. announced that by the end of 2018, all chicken purchased by the company will be raised without antibiotics important to human medicine. A coalition of consumer and public health groups, including WashPIRG (Public Interest Research Group), had urged the company to act on the issue.

Result | Health Care

Keeping our data secure

Many Washingtonians have found themselves at risk from data breaches, including those at Premera Blue Cross, TurboTax and the IRS. WashPIRG helped win a law that better protects Washington consumers’ privacy and helps us guard against data breaches.

Result | Democracy

Giving Washingtonians a greater say in our elections

The size of your wallet shouldn’t determine the volume of your voice. In 2015, WashPIRG helped Seattle voters pass a first-in-the-nation small donor empowerment program, Initiative-122: Honest Elections Seattle. The program gives Seattle voters “democracy vouchers” that can be donated to local candidates and lowers the limit on contributions candidates can receive.

Result | Consumer Protection

Protecting Washingtonians from toxic chemicals

Despite a variety of safer alternatives, toxic flame retardants are still used in many products. Thanks to the support of members like you, WashPIRG helped pass a bill through both houses of the legislature to ban five toxic flame retardants in the state. It also gives the Washington Department of Health the authority to ban other harmful flame retardants used in furniture and children’s products.

Result | Democracy

Delivering one million petitions to President Obama on dark money

U.S. PIRG joined a broad coalition to deliver one million petitions from Americans, including U.S. PIRG members and supporters, calling on President Obama to shine a light on dark money, or secret political spending.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

A Citizen's Guide to Reducing Energy Waste

The future is here—but we’re living in the past.

Clean energy from the sun and wind can provide for our energy needs without the global consequences of pollution, yet we’re still producing and consuming virtually all of our energy in ways that do lasting damage to our environment, our health and our climate. To make matters worse, much of the dirty energy we produce goes to waste.

Report | WashPIRG Foundation | Consumer Protection

Equifax Breach: One Year Later

A year ago tomorrow, Equifax announced that hackers had breached its system and accessed the data of nearly 150 million U.S. consumers. To mark the anniversary of that notorious announcement, we are releasing a report containing suggestions on how state and federal authorities and consumers can safeguard personal information.

Report | WashPIRG Foundation | Consumer Protection

Safer School Supplies: Shopping Guide

With this Safer School Supplies: Shopping Guide, parents, teachers, and students can make more informed decisions while shopping for school supplies this Back to School season. We want to give parents and teachers the option to choose school supplies that do not contain toxic chemicals. This Shopping Guide should serve as a handy tool for finding products free of several types of toxic chemicals.

Report | WashPIRG Foundation | Transportation

Highway Boondoggles 4

America's infrastructure is in rough shape. Many of our roads, bridges, and transit systems are aging and in need of repair. Yet, year after year, state and local governments propose billions of dollars' worth of new and expanded highways that do little to reduce congestion or address real transportation challenges, while diverting scarce funding from repairs and 21st century priorities. This report profiles nine highway projects that epitomize the need for a fresh approach to transportation spending, including the proposed $1.5 billion North Spokane Corridor.

Report | WashPIRG Foundation | Public Health, Transportation

Electric Buses

A new report shows that a full transition to electric buses in Washington State could avoid an average of 89,567 tons of climate-altering pollution each year -- the equivalent of taking 17,291 cars off the road, and highlights King County’s leadership in transitioning to an all-electric bus fleet.

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Blog Post | Safe Energy

#EEDay2018 - States Can Lead | Abe Scarr

The cheapest, cleanest energy is the energy we don’t use in the first place. Whether you care about improving air quality, fending off the worst impacts of global warming, or simply saving money, energy efficiency and conservation are critical.

Blog Post

Walmart To Phase Out Paint Strippers Linked To Dozens Of Deaths

In the absence of government action on deadly paint strippers, retailers are stepping up to protect consumers.

Blog Post

Drinking Water Shut Off In All Detroit Schools Due To Lead

As school started for the year, many students in Detroit returned to schools with drinking water containing lead—a toxin that can impact how they think, learn and behave.

Blog Post

'This Infection is Resistant to Everything We Have'

Those are not words any patient wants to hear.

But a surgeon at The Johns Hopkins Hospital tells U.S. PIRG Education Fund that he and other doctors are being forced to deliver that message. He points to the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture as a major culprit.

Blog Post

Monsanto Asks Court To Throw Out $289 Million Verdict In Roundup Case; Faces 8,000 Similar Lawsuits

Monsanto is back in court and probably will be for awhile.

Pages

Blog Post

Walmart To Phase Out Paint Strippers Linked To Dozens Of Deaths

In the absence of government action on deadly paint strippers, retailers are stepping up to protect consumers.

Blog Post

Drinking Water Shut Off In All Detroit Schools Due To Lead

As school started for the year, many students in Detroit returned to schools with drinking water containing lead—a toxin that can impact how they think, learn and behave.

Blog Post

'This Infection is Resistant to Everything We Have'

Those are not words any patient wants to hear.

But a surgeon at The Johns Hopkins Hospital tells U.S. PIRG Education Fund that he and other doctors are being forced to deliver that message. He points to the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture as a major culprit.

Blog Post

Monsanto Asks Court To Throw Out $289 Million Verdict In Roundup Case; Faces 8,000 Similar Lawsuits

Monsanto is back in court and probably will be for awhile.

Blog Post | Consumer Protection

1 Year After Equifax Data Breach, Here's Everything You Need To Know

One year after announcing the biggest data breach in history, Equifax still hasn’t been held accountable or provided the information and tools consumers need to protect themselves. Since Equifax won’t help protect consumers, WashPIRG is stepping in.

McDonald's Got an "F" on antibiotics

Our new report ranks America’s 25 largest burger chains on their policies relating to antibiotic use in their beef supply chains.

SEE THE REPORT
HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?

One year after the Equifax breach, a U.S. House committee is recommending weakening privacy standards.

ACT NOW
Tell L’Oréal: Make It Toxic-Free

Products we use on our bodies shouldn’t contain toxic ingredients that put our health at risk. Tell L’Oréal: It’s time to make toxic-free products.

TAKE ACTION
JOIN THE CALL FOR CLEANER BUSES

All-electric buses are here, and they’re cleaner, healthier and often cheaper in the long run. Tell our governor to invest in clean, all-electric buses.

TAKE ACTION

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