Organic Farming on the Rise

I have been reading more and more about how organic farming is growing and really needs to be the trend of the future. Organic farming is not only vital for the environment, it provides healthier food sources for consumers.

What is organic farming?

Organic farming is the practice of growing crops without the use of chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. It relies mainly on crop rotation, organic fertilizers and plant-based pesticides and herbicides to maintain soil productivity and tilth.

Not only is it better for our health, it is better for the planet.

Our Job.

In my personal life, I have been doing my best to make organic choices and learn all I can about organic products and farming. In my research, I discovered an awesome organization, WWOOF. WWOOF is short for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. They began in the UK in 1971. In short, it is helping the WORLD come together and make a difference to the environment through the implementation of organic farming throughout the entire planet.

Their purpose is to bring together eco minded individuals and groups to volunteer on organic farms with organic farmers who need help. In return for volunteering, WWOOF hosts offer food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles.

If you are interested in organic farming, as I am, WWOOF is a great resource and organization. Advice on obtaining an American Visa so foreigners can be a part of this can be found here.

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Avoiding Hidden Chemical Poisons in Our Food and Going for Natural Choices

It’s very scary how much our food has changed in recent years.  Just look at the labels and you need a degree just to pronounce half the ingredients!

Money has become more important that nutrition and keeping foods healthy and harmful chemical free. We must eat. So, food is naturally “big business.” In order to make the most profit, farmers began spraying crops with gallons of pesticides and fungicides.  These chemicals make their way into the food we eat every day.  That’s only a part of it. Don’t even get me started on the food colorings, artificial sweeteners, hormones and antibiotics are all added to our processed foods.

Here’s a jaw dropper…Did you know that potassium bromate is illegal in every country except Japan and the United States?? The reason the rest of the world has banned it is because it is a carcinogen. Do we bother to get on the intelligent wagon? Uh, no! We add it to bread. It gives bread that chewy texture because it makes the bread rise higher.  Hmmm…Knowing this, I would rather eat paper!

The harmful chemicals, additives, preservatives and pesticides that we, as a society allow into our foods can cause serious health issues and even life threatening diseases like cancer.

What can we do to stay ahead of the chemicals in food game??

Learn to read labels. Take the time to understand what additives and preservatives are in the food you and your family eat.

Food Additives and Preservatives

Food additives are quite simply, things that are added to our food.  For example, if you make grape jelly, you will add pectin and sugar. Both would then be considered “food additives.”

Unfortunately, unless you are buying an all natural product, if you buy jelly in the grocery store, the label is likely going to list more than just grapes, pectin and sugar.  There will probably be a slew of big words and ingredients that are not necessarily good for your body. Longer shelf life means fatter wallets.

Some of the many jobs of food additives are:

• Acids modify the flavor and preserve food. Some examples; vinegar, citric acid, and lactic acid.
• Acidity regulators modify the acidity and alkalinity of foods.
• Anti-caking agents keep powders from caking or sticking.
• Anti-foaming agents reduce or eliminate foaming in foods.
• Food colorings and color retention agents enhance or maintain food’s color.
• Emulsifiers allow water and oils to remain combined.
• Flavors and flavor enhancers enhance or add flavor.
• Humectants keep foods from drying out.
• Tracer gas improves shelf life.
• Preservatives prevent food from spoiling. Lengthen shelf life.
• Sweeteners are added to foods for flavoring.

Obviously not ALL additives are harmful. Natural additives are OK. However, you must know the difference.

Dangerous Additives:

• BHT. Causes liver and kidney damage, behavioral problems, infertility, birth defects and cancer.
• Artificial coloring. Causes hyperactivity in children, learning disorders, nerve damage and it may be carcinogenic.
• Artificial sweeteners. Cause central nervous system damage, menstrual difficulties, may affect brain and growth development in an unborn fetus, and may even cause cancer.
• Brominated vegetable. Cause organ damage, birth defects, and growth problems.
• Carrageenan. Causes ulcers and cancer
• Partially Hydrogenated vegetable oils. Associated with heart disease, cancer, high cholesterol, and allergies.
• Nitrates. Cause cancer and even death.
• MSG. Causes headaches, reproductive disorders, high blood pressure and allergic reactions.
• Potassium bromate. Causes nervous system, kidney disorders, gastrointestinal issues and cancer.
• Red dye #3. Causes thyroid tumors in rats, and may cause them in humans as well.
• Yellow dye #6. Is a carcinogen and has been found to cause adrenal gland and kidney tumors.

Pesticides In Your Food

As I mentioned earlier, profit is what really matters to the big food manufacturers. We learned how they add harmful additives to our foods. Well, they also harm our food while it is still growing. Pesticides are used to maximize their crops put our health at risk.

The health effects of pesticides depend on the type of pesticide. Some, like organophosphates and carbamates, affect the nervous system. Others can irritate your lungs, skin, or eyes. Other pesticides are carcinogens and cause cancer or affect your body’s hormones.

A chemical like acephate can over stimulate your nervous system causing nausea, dizziness, confusion, and respiratory paralysis or death. Alachlor was classified by the EPA “likely” to be a human carcinogen at high doses, but “not likely” at low doses. Oh, and another one is ethanol, which is generally recognized as a human developmental neurotoxin. YIKES!

Pesticides not only affect the individual who eat them and come in contact with them, they also affect the unborn, resulting in birth defects and neurological problems.

The Top Most Dangerous Produce…aka “The Dirty Dozen”

These are the most likely to have the highest levels of pesticides and harmful chemicals in them.

1. Peaches
2. Apples
3. Bell Peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Pears
9. Grapes
10. Spinach
11. Lettuce
12. Potatoes

You should also know that many of these produce items contain pesticides not approved for use on that particular crop.  For example, a pesticide, which is approved for spinach, may not be approved for use on peaches but was nonetheless found on peaches.  Additionally, carrots, green beans, cucumbers, raspberries, domestic grapes, and oranges all rated very highly in the studies for containing pesticides.

I can almost hear the psycho movie theme music in the background even as I write this!  It all sounds just terrible! No worries though! We CAN win this chemical food battle. How? By learning to read food nutrition labels, and by buying more natural and foods. Making a decision to stop buying foods with harmful chemicals. It we, as consumers, make a stand, the food industry WILL take notice and will be forced to make changes!

Simple Choices to Reduce Exposure to Harmful Chemicals while Saving Money on Food Bill.

Read the label. You should be able to recognize every item on the nutrition label.  If you start seeing preservatives, artificial sweeteners and food colorings then place it back on the shelf.

Avoid all processed foods. Anything that comes in a box and has undergone physical or chemical treatment resulting in a substantial change in the original state of the food.  However, there are organic choices that are better for your family…even if the do come in a box.

Avoid the dirty dozen. Buy organic fruits and veggies when you can.  If you cannot buy organic fruits and veggies because they’re unavailable or too expensive, wash them thoroughly and peel your fruits and veggies.

Organic meats and dairy. Farm animals are not only fed antibiotics and hormones to maximize production, they also eat crops contaminated with pesticides.  Buy organic dairy and meats.

4 Tips Saving Money on Organic Food

Buy what is in season. Buying strawberries in December is definitely going to cost you more than buying them in July.  If you find that you need strawberries in December, consider comparing the cost of organic frozen compared to organic fresh, you’ll often find the frozen option is less expensive.

Buy according to your store’s sales. Every week, grocery stores put their produce on sale. If organic carrots are on sale, then add it to your menu for the week.  You’ll save 20% or more on your food bill following this simple plan.

Buy local. Local organic farmers charge much less for their produce because they don’t have to pay for distribution.  Plus, you’re helping to sustain your local economy.

Eat one more vegetarian meal each week. Meat and dairy are the most expensive items on your grocery list.  By cutting back and eating one less meal with meat, you’ll save money. Also, pay attention to your grocery stores sales. Stock up on organic meats when they go on sale.

God Created a beautiful planet with all the food and things we need to live healthy lives. Let’s not allow manufacturers who want to fatten their wallets take that away from us. The best way to stay healthy, make a difference and avoid all the harmful yuck they put is food is to eat more natural, organic and unprocessed foods whenever possible.

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Slow Food

I recently learned about one of the latest crazes in the “green” movement and I thought it was pretty interesting.  It is called “slow food”.  According to Wikipedia, the slow food movement actually began in Italy as a way to “combat fast food”.  The idea was to preserve cultural cuisine.  Since its origins in Italy the slow food movement has spread across the globe as not just a way to cook, but also a way of living – the fresh, true, organic way.

A few of the main things that the slow food way of life encourage are:

• More organic farming - doing away with things such as pesticides.
• Less genetic engineering in products we eat – the slow food movement lobby’s against this.
• Educating people on the risks associated with fast food and other not so wholesome ways of eating.
• Keeping culinary traditions alive, including using fresh and true to the original ingredients.
• Teaching gardening methods to people.

Slow Food USA is a great place to get information on the slow food movement as well as information on local chapters and events (such as a local slow food potluck where you just may get to try something you didn’t even know existed).  The slow food movement helps to create nutrition programs in schools, mobilize youth to help created programs and educate communities, and also form what is called an “Ark of Taste” which lists hundreds of foods that are in danger of disappearing from our grocery shelves – the idea being that if these foods are promoted people will once again buy them and use them, thus ensuring that they continue on in our diets.

This whole movement makes me think about and wonder just how much of what we eat is not in its original form.  I once had a friend tell me she wouldn’t eat corn anymore because it had all been so genetically modified that it wasn’t even what God created as corn to begin with.  If you look around your pantry and refrigerator you would be hard pressed to find something that wasn’t chemically altered in one way or another.  Food has been so altered that most people don’t think it tastes good if it hasn’t been processed a few hundred times.  It’s really sad – I mean, if we all were to be taken back to the Garden of Eden right now we probably wouldn’t want to eat anything God provided because it didn’t come with a list of ingredients a mile long or in a box.  I know that is a bit harsh, but that is how we live these days.  I think it is time for all of us to do an analysis on our kitchens and just what it is we are feeding our families.  Are you up for that challenge?

Copyright ©  2009, Becki, Green Christian Network, All Rights Reserved

               

7 Valid Reasons Organic Meat is the Way to Go

Buying organic isn’t just good for our health, it is better for God’s planet.

7 reasons to buy organic meat

Green Poop. Manure on large industrial farms is for lack of a better word…pollution.  It’s a health risk that runs into our water supply and contaminates the land for miles around.  However, smaller Mom and Pop type farms that produce organic meat use the “green poop” to fertilize soil, the same soil they’re using to grow the grass and food for their animals.  They’re sustainable farms that manage their resources in the most environmentally friendly way possible.

Less chemical pollution and contamination. Organic farms do not use synthetic pesticides and fertilizers on the food they feed to their livestock.  Not only are the animals, and those who subsequently consume them, saved from ingesting harmful chemicals, the land isn’t contaminated with them either.

Conservation of Natural Resources. Industrial farms consume vast amounts of natural resources to keep their farms running.  They go through thousands of gallons of water each day and the processes to automate the processes consume large amounts of electricity and fuel.  Not to mention the cost of fuel to distribute the grain and feed for the animals. On the contrary, organic farms typically use about 70 percent less energy than industrial farms.  They’re about sustainability and renewable resources, not mass production, and are therefore generally more aware of their environmental impact.

Helps Local Economy. When you buy local and organically grown meat, you’re generally supporting your local farmers.  These same farmers employ local residents and you contribute to the overall quality of life for your neighbors.  Not to mention that you’re buying food that is typically fresher and healthier for you and your family.

No Antibiotics or Added Hormones. Industrial farms argue that they have to inject their animals with antibiotics to keep them healthy and they have to inject them with hormones to increase meat production.  Sadly, we consume the harmful antibiotics and hormones, then flush them into our waste treatment facilities where they become part of our water supply and our soil.  The negative heath and environment effects are only recently being realized.

Consumers Have a Voice. The dollar, and the consumer holding the dollar, is a powerful voice.  If we purchase organic meats, you’re helping to demonstrate to larger industrial farms what we expect from them.  They will in turn, eventually adopt more environmentally sound practices or go out of business.

Green Power. As we begin to make greener choices, others will follow and eventually a large impact will be made towards the positive.  For instance, if we make it a point to buy organic meat, we’re not only affecting the farmer who raises the livestock and the people they employ, we’re also being a better steward of God’s planet and feeding our family a healthier choice.

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Green Tip – (06/25/09) – Green Bedding

We spend about 1/4 of our lives in bed. It would be a good thing to make sure we are greening up the bedroom!

Believe it or not, most mattresses and linens are still made with synthetics and chemicals that are bad for the environment. For most people, buying an organic mattress and bedding may be out of reach financially. Do not let that get you down! There are other ways we can at least make a greener choice in the bedroom!

Greener Bedding Choices

Buy cotton or wool linens. Avoid permanent press and triclosan.

Buy organic fabrics when possible.

Go for low impact dyes or none at all.

Save your money and invest in an organic mattress. Or at least one that is made to last a lifetime!

We can make a difference for God’s planet…ONE green choice at a time!

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Green Up Your Morning Tea or Coffee

I cannot even remember the last time I did not have a cup of coffee in the morning. I love coffee and my children love it because it helps me keep friendly in the mornings since I am not a morning person.

My morning fix got me thinking, can I be greener with it? Yes!!!

Coffee and Tea go Green

Back before money was the only important thing, coffee was actually made the way God intended. Naturally. It was grown under a canopy of trees and was helpful for the animals in that environment as well. It also required few synthetic materials and pesticides.

Sadly though, money became more important than good old fashioned eco friendly coffee. Now, trees are being cut down left and right and synthetics are a staple.

Good News!

There are many people waking up to the green facts and changes are being made.

What to look for if you want the green:

USDA Certified Organic Coffees and Teas

Bird Friendly Labels. This means they are practicing the old fashioned shade method under strict guidelines.

Fair Trade Certified. This means the company has met strict economic and environmental criteria.

Rain forest Alliance Certified. visit: www.rainforest-alliance.org for more info.

Changes you can do for greener coffee and tea

• Only buy coffee and tea that meets above standards.
• Use reusable filters for brewing coffee. If yo must use paper, use non bleached.
• For tea ditch the bag method and go for an infuser.
• Only go to coffee/tea shops that serve sustainably grown coffees and teas.

Like I have said many times, we can make a difference, one green choice at a time! We do not have to give up our morning tea or coffee. We can just make a greener choice with it and show the big companies we mean green business!

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Organic Pet Food Option – Make Sure You KInow What You Are Getting

One of the latest health food crazes is organic food.  It used to be only a handful of farmers produced organic products.  Even when organics became widespread, only a few different food products were available.  Now there’s an organic alternative to almost every product on the market, snack foods, shampoo, and now even pet food.  You’re probably thinking “organic pet food, that’s crazy”, but consider this: when national dog shows are sponsored by a dog food company, the winner gets free dog food.  Most winners then donate that food to local shelters instead of giving it to their dogs.  Why?  Because they know traditional dog foods are bad for dogs.

Most pet foods contain the same chemicals as the food we eat: pesticides, fertilizers, hormones, and other dangerous chemicals. In addition, many pet food producers add small amounts of chemicals that are known to be toxic to pets.  Most house pets have only recently been domesticated.  That means that until recently, dogs and cats ate raw, chemical free meat and fish.  Their bodies aren’t adapted to deal with all the chemicals we feed them.   Feeding your pet all natural organic foods will help their bodies function more efficiently and keep them from building up toxic chemicals in their systems.  This will help your pet have more energy, stay healthy, and live longer.

Unlike food for human consumption, organic pet food is not strictly regulated.  This means that if a dog food contains organic vegetables, the producer can then use non organic beef and chicken, add preservatives and other toxic chemicals, and still label their dog food as “organic”.  While some certifiers have seals for organic pet foods, that doesn’t mean the pet food is 100% organic.  For example, if there is a USDA seal on a pet food package, that means that 70% (or more) of the ingredients in the pet food are organically produced.

While there is not certification that can prove a pet food product is entirely organic, there are steps you can take to find the safest food for your pet.  First, look for foods that claim to be organic and all natural.  Another step you can do is to talk to other dog owners.  You can find experts at a local kennel club, or go online to find out what other pet lovers say.  Just be sure to verify where you’re getting online info from.  It’s very easy for companies to pay someone to say that their food is better than it is.  The best way to verify the quality of a pet food is to look at the ingredients list.  Words that are not pronounceable are probably not organic or natural.  Also be wary of vague terms like “natural flavors”.

While it might take a little time and effort to find a quality organic food for your pet, they’re likely to thank you for it for a long, long time.

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Grow Your Own Organic Veggie Garden

Growing your own organic vegetable garden not only assures fresh, safe, great tasting vegetables all season long; it also provides you with exercise, stress relief, and the knowledge that your hard work is accomplishing great things for your family.  If this sounds like something you’d love to try, here are a few tips you need to know before you get started.

How to Grow and Organic Vegetable Garden

The first thing you need to do is to prepare your humus for the soil.  Ideally, you should start composting well ahead of time so you can simply recycle your yard waste and not have to buy store fertilizers.  Even though you can purchase organic fertilizers, making your own is better.

To make a compost pile: just throw your fallen leaves, grass clippings, and other plant matter into a bin or pile and stir periodically.  This will eventually decompose into quality humus to fertilize your soil.

In addition to your compost humus, there are other natural ingredients you can add to build nutrients in your organic garden soil.  Manure is a great natural fertilizer, but it’s best found locally rather than bought from a store.  You may also have to add natural ingredients to the soil if the pH balance is off.  If the pH of your soil is below 6, add crushed egg, clam, or oyster shells.  If your pH is above 7.5, lower it by mulching with wood chips or sawdust.  These treatments, along with other organic additives, can take a while to work.  You want to prepare the soil up to 6 weeks before planting to make sure the conditions are optimal.

Before you can plant, you need to pick the right vegetables.  You should buy organically grown seedlings.  If you can’t find any, just sprout your own seeds.  This way you can be sure there are no chemicals going into your vegetables at any stage of growth.  You also want to be sure that the variety you buy isn’t genetically altered in any way.  While these plants might grow better looking fruits and vegetables, they produce less flavorful and less healthy fruits and veggies.

Once your organic garden is planted, you can naturally repel pests and fertilize the soil by companion planting.  This means you plant more than one crop in the same area.  If you have an insect problem, you can find plants to repel specific pests.  If you have larger animals eating your plants, you can choose vine vegetables that furry friends prefer not to cross over.  If you choose complementary plants, this can also be used to restore nutrients to the soil.  You want to be sure to rotate out different vegetables every year to further build soils.

Creating your own organic vegetable garden can require a lot of work and research, but once you bite into your first perfect vegetable, you’ll realize that it was well worth the effort.

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