Though more than 65 percent of people in the U.S. get their drinking water from rivers and streams, nearly 40 percent of U.S. rivers and streams are too polluted for even fishing or swimming. Cascadian Farm is working to help restore U.S. waterways through its “Change Flows” Earth Day initiative.  
 
People have been able to visit Facebook link on the Cascadian Farm website until April 30 to “like” the U.S. region that they think is most deserving of river cleanup. As part of the “Change Flows” initiative, Cascadian Farm is contributing $50,000 to American Rivers, a leading environmental organization dedicated to protecting and restoring U.S. rivers.

Nearly everyone in the U.S. says they think clean water is important, but less than half realize how polluted our water is, a recent Cascadian Farm survey showed. The Change Flows effort hopes to increase awareness.

“At Cascadian Farm, we realize how precious water is for life, vitality and growth,” says Tom Nientimp, marketing director for Cascadian Farm. “We’re asking Americans to join us in this effort to restore and preserve this vital natural resource.”

Minimizing impact
Although agriculture is the leading source of water pollution in the United States, Cascadian Farm organic farming methods – where no synthetic pesticides or chemical fertilizers are used – minimizes the impact on the environment.

“If we want healthy communities, we need to invest in healthy rivers,” says Andrew Fahlund, senior vice president of Conservation for American Rivers.

As part of this year’s effort, Cascadian Farm is encouraging people to take easy steps to protect our water resources:

• Did you know it can take about 3 liters of water to produce 1 liter of bottled water? Consider drinking tap water instead.
• Collect the water you’re rinsing fruits and vegetables with, and then reuse it to water household plants.
• A full bathtub can require up to 70 gallons of water, while taking a 5-minute shower uses only 10 to 25 gallons.
  Use mulch wherever possible to keep moisture from leaving the soil and to minimize weed growth.
• A leaky toilet can waste about 200 gallons of water every day. To find out if your toilet has a leak, place a drop of food coloring in the tank. If the color shows in the bowl without flushing, you have a leak.

The Change Flows initiative coincides with Earth Day, but Cascadian Farm believes living greener should be continual.

Cascadian Farm is one of the leading organic brands in the U.S. and offers more than 75 products, from ready-to-eat cereals and granola bars to frozen fruits and vegetables, juice concentrates and fruit spreads. For the past five years, Cascadian Farm has been growing at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 9 percent.