I hate admitting how old I am, but I remember that first Earth Day in 1970.

The students from my small town in the foothills of Colorado were bused to a larger school in the district, where a series of speakers and seminars spoke of the urgent need to stem the destruction of the earth’s water, soil and air.

Two years earlier, the first astronauts to orbit the moon had beamed down photographs of the earth. What once seemed vast now seemed tiny. The concept of the earth as our island home was born.

A small group of activists organized Earth Day to galvanize the general public to take action to protect this island home.

Some changes came relatively quickly. The Clean Air Act and Clean Water Acts were passed. The dangerous pesticide DDT was banned two years after that initial Earth Day. The term recycling became a common phrase in our language.

Other changes came more slowly. Organic farming had previously been dismissed as a wacky notion practiced only by small bands of hippies. After Earth Day, some farmers looked at the arsenal of chemicals in their barns and began to wonder if it was possible to produce food without those poisons.

It took a full generation—20 years—from that initial Earth Day for Congress to pass legislation establishing standards under which food could be certified as organic. And, it took another 12 years to develop the initial regulations on how to implement that law.

Earth Day is still a work in progress.

But as I walk into my local supermarket and see the growing offerings of organic food and locally grown produce, I wonder what our island home would look like if a group of activists hadn’t organized that initial Earth Day.

Yesterday I attended the Earth Day, Earth Fair in San Diego’s Balboa Park. It was the 25th anniversary and it felt like the entire city had come out to celebrate. Although getting into the parking lot was challenging, once there, it proved to be quite an enjoyable Zen- type scene.

While roaming around, I couldn’t help but reflect on how much I love being in an environment where so many people advocate change – hanging out in crazy costumes, dancing and playing music. I personally wasn’t of age for Woodstock, but I imagine it must have felt something like this.

I ran into many old friends and found quite a few t-shirts that were so compelling I just had to buy them. Organic food messaging was prominent everywhere, along with recycling and re-use products. Wild Oats got several exciting shout-outs for lowering the price of organic food, and watching rapper Virtuoso do his thing made me really think about organic movement messaging. More to come there.

I gave Virtuoso a Wild Oats t-shirt and some Wild Oats products and thanked him for advocating change through a medium like rap. He has quite the talent, and I really like his approach to getting important messages out in a different medium like rap.

All in all, the number of people out supporting Earth Day was overwhelming and at the same time very encouraging. As my Earth Day Blog on Wednesday will accentuate, we have a lot to be grateful for this year on Earth Day 2015.

Well that’s it from San Diego — Go Organics and Happy Earth Day!

This Wednesday marks the 45^th anniversary of Earth Day! At Wild Oats, we’re thankful for this beautiful world we live in, so we try to keep it green and clean by producing natural and organic food that everyone can enjoy. We’ll definitely be celebrating this great occasion with some of our yummy products. How will you be celebrating? Tell us about it for a chance to win a Wild Oats prize pack. Simply comment or reply on our Twitter or Facebook page with your Earth Day plans and you’re automatically entered!

To share your plans through Facebook, simply comment on our Mission Monday post by 8:59pm PT/11:59pm ET tonight to be entered to win!

To share your plans on Twitter, tweet us using #WildOatsMission and #sweeps by 8:59pm PT/11:59pm ET tonight to be entered to win!

Full Sweepstakes rules and details can be found here: bit.ly/1DoNN9U

Growing up, the part of vacations with my family that I loved the most were always the road trips to get there. This was back before minivans with dvd players, Mp3 players, handheld video games and other new technology that makes road trips tolerable as an adult. Back then, I loved the conversations we’d have as we traveled down the highway, the games we’d play with the license plates we’d see, the fun goody bags that my Mom would make up for each of us to open along the way and since we weren’t a family that snacked often, I loved all the great road trip snacks that my Mom would pack. It made the whole trip feel so special.

Now, I want to pass on the special parts of road trips to my kids. I will pack them each a goody bag filled with things to do along the way. I will require the electronics be turned off for a portion of the trip. And I will pack a bunch of delicious snacks to take as well. Here are a few of the Healthy Road Trip Snacks that will be traveling with us this year.

1. Wild Oats Marketplace Organic Granola Bars – Granola bars are a great snack for road trips. They are easy to eat on the go and they don’t make a mess. They are great to throw into your bag while you are on vacation as well. Be sure to pack extra boxes so you don’t have to buy expensive snacks during your trip.

2. Wild Oats Marketplace Organic Honey Graham Teddy Bears – Another easy snack for road trips that won’t make a mess of the car. These little guys can be put into individual containers so everyone has some and there are no arguments over who’s hogging the box. Bring a few boxes along with you, these are great for the beach, an amusement park or a day hiking with the kids.

3. Wild Oats Marketplace Organic Cinnamon Apple Sauce Cups – I usually pack up sandwiches, carrot sticks and some fruit for us to have at a rest stop along the way. We have a little picnic on the benches while stretching our legs and giving the kids a chance to burn off some energy. These apple sauce cups would be perfect for lunch. If there’s any mess, it won’t be in the car!

4. Salty Snacks – There are a few of us who love having salty snacks while on the road and Wild Oats Marketplace has some delicious organic options to please everyone in my family. Whether you love popcorn, pretzels or tortilla chips, you can’t go wrong with these organic snacks.

5. Something Sweet – No road trip is complete without a little something sweet to enjoy along the way. We always pick up a bit of everyone’s favorite candy or cookie. This year, I’m trying to make things a bit healthier by eating more natural so I will bake up some muffins or cookies to take along on our road trips. Wild Oats Marketplace has ingredients like cinnamon and coconut flakes that can be used for them as well.

What I like about Wild Oats Marketplace products is where I can find them. When I’m getting the family ready for a road trip, I want to run as few errands as possible. Getting everything in one place is a great help and finding affordable organics is essential. All of these things can be found at Walmart which helps us prepare and pack up as efficiently as possible, getting us on the road in no time.

Have you ever wondered why it seems like some of your fittest friends are always eating ice cream and still look amazing? What secrets do they share that you don’t know about? Read on to learn some inspiring (and simple) habits of fit people that might surprise you!

Eat More Raw Foods
Eating raw food gives us beneficial enzymes that enable our bodies to function properly. As we age, our vital enzymes are depleted, which makes eating raw foods necessary to sustaining good health. To go raw, try simply opting for an easy pre-or-post workout snack, such as those from Go Raw, to help boost your body through those hard workouts.

Drink Lemon Water In the Morning
Did you know that simply drinking warm lemon water in the morning can help your digestion throughout the day and may even help promote weight loss? Simply squeeze the juice of one fresh organic lemon into a cup of warm water and sip it as you are getting ready for your day. It helps to loosen toxins from the body and invigorates your system with a variety of nutrients including potassium, vitamin C, B-complex vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and fiber.

Power Your Body with Targeted Supplements
Make sure that you are hydrating and nourishing your body to get the most out of your fitness routine. Nuun is a leader in portable hydration with drink options to keep you refreshed and replenished all day, everyday. Nuun’s special formulation helps increase the amount of water that’s absorbed into the blood stream to help power your body. Also, you can fight pain, inflammation and fatigue with Hyland’s Bioplasma Sport with Electrolytes featuring a powerful combination of cell salts in an “on-the-go” dosage form.  The powder is developed to dissolve instantly on the tongue and enable more rapid absorption.  Plus, they are easy to slip in the gym bag or put in your pocket when you head out for your workout.