Tag Archives: Being Green

Being Organic on a Budget

Here’s an excerpt and link to a really good article from the current issue of Organic Lifestyle Magazine.   I encourage you to take a look at their website http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com  and magazine.

IT CAN BE DONE!  by Stephanie Dickison

If you shop at a typical supermarket, the prices on organic produce might be enough to convince you that only the rich can afford an organic diet.  But you, too, can afford to eat organic.Shopper with list and cart, scratching her head

The first step is to educate yourself.  Right now, we are spending money on being sick (health insurance, co-pays, medication) instead of spending money on being healthy.  Your health begins with eating good food loaded with vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. Whenever possible, that means buying an organic product over a regular one. But it doesn’t always need to be labeled USDA Organic to be a better choice. Did you know the Certified Naturally Grown label also certifies food as organically grown?

Locally grown fruit and vegetables bought at a vegetable stand on the side of the road may have been grown organically. Many small farmers don’t go to the expense of certification. Ask them about pesticide use and crop rotation and do your best to support these small organic farms. Their food has more vitamins, minerals, and enzymes than the organic food farmed by the big agriculture companies (due to a lack of crop rotation).

Click HERE for the complete article.

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‘God’s diet plan’: Health food is organic farmer’s ministry

Organic farmer Richard Kann says his hydroponic-vegetable farm helps him fulfill his Seventh-day Adventist faith

By Jeff Kunerth, Orlando Sentinel

7:16 p.m. EDT, September 8, 2011

There are those who believe in locally grown organic food because they are health-food aficionados and others who believe corporate industrialized farming is bad for your health and some who believe that food trucked halfway across the country is harmful to the planet.

Organic farmer Richard Kann believes he’s on a mission from God.

“We regard this as a health ministry,” said Kann, owner of Heart of Christmas Farms, an organic farm that produces hydroponic vegetables in east Orange County. “Everything is natural and God-given. We call it God’s diet plan.

“Kann is putting his faith as a Seventh-day Adventist — healthy body, healthy mind, healthy spirit — into practice by raising squash, beets, tomatoes, lettuce, herbs and greens without chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or soil.

Follow this link: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/os-adventist-organic-farm-20110908,0,4822144.story to read the full article.

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7 Simple Ways to Detox Your Diet and Your Home

Variety of Citrus Fruits“EatingWell” Magazine has recently become one of my favorite sources for good, healthy information.  There is so much to read on this site, and all of it is helpful in efforts to live a clean, healthy life.  Check out their newsletters, recipes, articles, and more.  I follow them on Facebook as well.

This article just caught my eye today.  It covers a wide range of toxins that we all need to know about and protect ourselves from (bad grammer, I guess).  I read every bit of it.  Here’s a sample and a link to the full article:

Find out what everyday items are the worst for your health in terms of chemicals and toxins and what you can do about it.

Nobody knows just how much of a risk toxins in our food really pose. Most of the associations between chemical exposures and disease are just that—associations. But we’re exposed to dozens, if not hundreds, of chemicals, and the effects of some multiple exposures may be more than the sum of their parts, say experts. Or, in some cases, they might cancel each other out.

What’s more, toxins get into our bodies through more than just food. We are exposed to them through our carpets, lawn chemicals—even our clothing. Check out these 7 toxins you can avoid in your diet and get simple solutions for minimizing these chemicals and toxins in your diet and life.

Here’s you link to the article:  http://www.eatingwell.com/food_news_origins/organic_natural/7_simple_ways_to_detox_your_diet_and_your_home  Enjoy.

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Interview with Nell Newman of Newman Organics in Eucalyptus Magazine

Nell Newman of Newman Organics

Google News is one of the ways that I search for the latest organic products information.  Today I found a press release about this terrific interview.  Here is the first paragraph and a link to the original article.  The Newman products and their company philosophy have such a benefit to all of us.  So glad she’s on this path!

Nell Newman, founder of Newman’s Own Organics, grew up tomboy-style in the Connecticut woods, fishing and hiking and exploring the natural world. Soon after graduating from college, where she earned a degree in human ecology, she worked to re-establish the bald eagle in Central California. Now in her late 40s, Newman is an avid Santa Cruz surfer and angler who occasionally reels in her own salmon for dinner. As photogenic as her famous parents, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, and as business-savvy as most Harvard MBAs, Nell Newman has been a major force in the organic food business. She welcomed us into her Aptos office to talk about her career.

Click HERE to read the full interview.

Hope you enjoy it!

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Hands Across the Sand

No to DrillingStand and be counted as opposed to offshore drilling and in support of clean energy.

This Saturday, June 26, 2010 there will be lines of protest drawn in the sand on beaches and all across america. It’s a quiet, respectful way to show your feelings. Check it out at this website http://www.handsacrossthesand.com/.

In the Myrtle Beach, Grand Strand area, we have six (6) different beaches where you can go to participate.  Arrive around 11:00 am and join hands with your neighbors at Noon for 15 minutes.

Not near a beach, no problem.  There are Solidarity events for you.

You can also send a letter to President Obama and your House Representative.

Bless you, and thanks for your consideration of this event.

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Organic Milk: A Pint of the Right Stuff

Cows in organic field

Happy Organic Dairy Cows

This morning I read a terrific article in “The Independent” of UK.  It covers the pros and cons of switching to organic milk.  It’s such a terrific article, let me share some quotes.

If just 5 per cent of us switched to buying organic milk, says Humble, it would turn 52,000 acres – an area the size of Greater Birmingham – into organic land. For an extra pound a week we would get healthier milk, happier cows, more wildlife and a prettier countryside. Not a bad deal.

That translates into about an extra $2 per week for 5% of the UKs population to protect 52,000 acres of countryside for chemical pollution.  Just think what that could mean in the US!  It sends shivers up my spine to imagine it.  We vote with our dollars every day.  If we buy it, they will produce it.  Our family recently switched to organic milk and it tastes better!

Buying organic milk, says Kate Humble, is one of the easiest and cheapest ways of supporting farming with nature. “You will know it comes from well-managed farms, and you are doing something actively to protect and conserve the British countryside – and what an effortless way to do it.”

While this article was written in the UK, all of the principles are just as valid here in the US.  It’s a simple thing to do.  Just switch to buying organic products as much as you can and you will be changing the toxic load on our environment and ourselves.  Please think about it.  And comments are welcome.

Here’s a link to the full article:  http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/organic-milk-pint-of-the-right-stuff-1970459.html.

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Pesticides to Blame for Bee Colony Collapse Disorder

Colony collapse disorder: Scientists blame pesticides for honeybee decline

New research finds systemic pesticides in 60 percent of tested honeybees and their hives in U.S., Canada

 By Leah Zerbe

(This story is reposted by permission of Rodale.com, where it orginally appeared.)

What you can do
Vote with your dollar: Support organic agriculture that keeps harmful chemicals out of the environment—and our bodies (and the bees’).

 

Agricultural chemicals are wiping out bees that  pollinate our crops and flowers.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Bee fan or not, we all rely on the insects to pollinate the fruit, nut, and vegetable crops we enjoy every day. But in the last few years, the populations of our pollinators, particularly honeybees, have been plummeting. Dubbed colony collapse disorder, the cause of the devastation isn’t known. There are many theories, from mites and viruses to cellphone towers. One potential cause—pesticides—gained more credibility this week with the release of a new study by Pennsylvania State University. Researchers found “unprecedented levels” of pesticides in honeybees and hives in the United States.

THE DETAILS: Scientists tested wax, trapped pollen, and honeybee specimens for chemical pesticides and chemicals originating from those pesticides. Investigating pesticide residue in samples taken from beekeepers from 23 states and one Canadian province during the 2007 to 2008 growing season, researchers found 121 different pesticides and metabolites in the 887 wax, pollen, bee, and hive samples. Nearly 60 percent of the 259 wax and 350 pollen samples contained at least one systemic pesticide—a type of poison that doesn’t remain on the surface of plants, but is taken up inside the plant, too, where honeybees go to feed.
For complete article click HERE.

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A Wake-up Call from Healthy Child Healthy World

This is a wonderful little video about working against toxins in the environment.  It is done by Healthy Child Healthy WorldHealthy Child Healthy World Logo

A Wake-Up Story is a must-see video for every parent and anyone that cares about the health and development of children. Watch it. Share it. Join the movement. Awakeupstory.org

Healthy Child Healthy World is a really terrific non-profit organization.  They have a newsletter, lots of on-line helpful information, and a great and inexpensive book (only $6.01 from Amazon)Healthy Child Healthy World book

Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home

Of course, we recommend that the USDA certified organic, 100% safe and toxin free, MiEssence Mother & Baby line of products is an excellent place to start for these efforts.[tweetmeme source=gsorganics only_single=false]

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ImagiPlay Toys on Sale at Nubius Organics

Eco-friendly, non-toxic toys by ImagiPLAY – On Sale now! at Nubius Organics.

There are a total of 10 toy items from ImagiPLAY included in this sale.  The prices range from a low of $10.36 up to a high of $29.56 for the “Alphabet Dragon” puzzle.  There are wooden “Expedition Sets” and puzzles and two push toys.  Two of the puzzles come with watercolors for the child to use to paint the pieces themselves.  All of the toys are charming and creative.

This is how Nubius Organics describes ImagiPLAY:

The ImagiPLAY company is dedicated to producing each of the toys in their line with the utmost of quality and integrity. Founded with the mission of making safe, high quality toys that inspire imaginations and introduce children to the natural world, ImagiPLAY toys are only made with all-natural, chemical-free, and sustainable materials. More than sustainably made, these toys come with a socially responsible stamp of approval because ImagiPLAY only works with small, family-run facilities, where they have oversight over each and every step of the production process. Because the founders of ImagiPLAY are mothers and grandmothers, they take children’s safety very seriously.

Plan Toys Discount

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Mercury in Canned Tuna

In my update from Natural Food Merchandiser today, they highlighted their article titled “Canned tuna exceeds EPA’s safety levels for mercury.”  The information in the articles comes from testing done by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2006.  Nevertheless, it is interesting.  Read the full article at this LINK.  Here is an excerpt: 

More than half of canned tuna samples from three national brands exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s safety level for human consumption, according to a new study published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Only 5 percent of the tuna studied contained more mercury than what the U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers safe.

A few things I noticed when I looked into the source a little further…

  1. The EPA guidelines for safe levels of mercury in human food is much lower than the levels set by the FDA.  Who to believe?
  2. While they note that one brand is worse than the other two, they don’t reveal the brand names.  Bummer!
  3. They noticed difference in mercury levels in different “types” of tuna.  Seems that “chunk light” was slightly less contaminated than “solid white” or “chunk white.”  Strange.

The conclusions drawn in the article and the study are that there is a need for a long-term monitoring program to ensure the safety of the tuna we consume.  I certainly agree with that!!  So what’s a body to do?

Of course, the answer to that depends on your situation and intention.  For children and pregnant women, the risks appear to be more dramatic.  It might be advisable to avoid tuna altogether.  Other adults might want to use it in moderation.  But there is an option for purchasing much safer tuna, but of course the cost is three to five times more than mainstream brands.  If you are like me, you will want to pay the extra price to be mercury free.

American Tuna LogoThe best mercury-free tuna I have found so far is American Tuna, a group of six fishing families in San Diego, California.  The 6 oz. cans run about $5 on their website market.  I would expect similar prices at the Whole Foods Market locations and other retailers on their list

Best regards to all of you.  Be safe, be healthy. [tweetmeme source=gsorganics only_single=false]

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