85 replies to this topic

[Shortpoet-GTD]

It's not just the foods we eat (and how they have been processed) but all the chemicals/additives
added to them.
But it's also the everyday products we use that enter our systems-shampoo's, personal
care items, cleaning products all get absorbed into our skin.
Over 2,000 chemicals are in our systems if we are not using organic or other healthy
alternatives.

This article is an eye opener. It also contains several links.

Source

[Shortpoet-GTD]

This segment about Robin Quivers beating cancer, through treatments but also changing her diet completely
to a vegan diet is another example of how eating healthier, non processed foods will change our lives.
  http://www.doctoroz....d=2719985066001

[eds]

Water scarcity, erratic weather conditions and
. . . a burgeoning global population, with rising expectations of living standards and
. . . an increasingly carnivorous diet, is driving pressure across the food chain.

As food producers look for ways to boost productivity and
. . . safeguard their crops from an unpredictable climate,
. . . has the time come to take agriculture indoors?

2013-10-11 Source:  The rise of indoor gardening  Future  The Farmery

Attached Files

•  garden.jpeg   12.63K   0 downloads

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Growing produce indoors, like Holland does on a large scale, is not only a way to "beat" the weather, but they
can control the soil conditions.

The fertility of soil (in America at least) has been declining since the 1950's and we are not getting the same
percentage as we used to.

From a 2004 article; from a study done at the University of Texas.
http://www.utexas.ed...1/nr_chemistry/
And-
http://www.scientifi...-nutrition-loss

Breeding for looks and size verses nutrition-
(Not to mention Gmo's-where are the studies on the nutrients in them?)


Vertical gardening is an excellent idea and should be pursued-especially in cities where space is at a premium.
This link has how-to instructions.
http://www.sunset.co...00400000064901/

[eds]

During a drought, Texas has a lot in common with southern Africa.
. . . Scorching heat, thin layers of topsoil and elusive rainfall can make for a brutal summer
. . . when gardening is not for the faint of heart.
Recent Texas droughts are the most severe on record, and
. . . the National Weather Service warns that the long-term forecast is drier still.

2013-10-12 Source:  KeyHole Garden  No-Work Garden

Attached Files

•  Keyhole.jpg   99.41K   0 downloads

[Shortpoet-GTD]

I just recently heard of Amaranth, a "grain" (in paraphrases) because it's not technically a grain but a seed,
but it is high in protein (13-14%) compared to other seeds/grains and should be incorporated into vegan diets.
It has no gluten.

Fyi factoid-Cortez; in an effort to destroy the civilization of the Aztec's decreed that anyone growing the
crop of Amaranth be put to death.

For those readers that want to put more grains into their diets-here's an A-Z list.
http://wholegrainsco...e-grains-a-to-z

[Shortpoet-GTD]

More on the nutrients we are not getting from today's produce.
http://www.scientifi...ion-out-of-food

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Another article about what's lurking in your cosmetics and personal care products.
Toxins....
http://seattleorgani...er-products.php

[Dustoffer]

It looks like anything from the Pacific is suspect.  
Canadian 10th Grader Discovers Radioactive Imported Seafood Long After Government Stopped Testing

Brandon Baker | April 1, 2014 4:10 pm | Comments

Radioactive seafood isn’t foreign to Canadian grocery stores, but we have no research and development professionals to thank for that information—just a 10th grader from Alberta.
Bronwyn Delacruz of Grande Prairie Composite High School in Alberta made her discovery with the help of a $600 Geiger counter her father purchased and the need to complete a science project. She told Metro Canada that she decided to test the radioactivity of seafood—mostly seaweed—because she was shocked to learn that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) stopped testing imported foods in that manner the year after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.
“Some of the kelp that I found was higher than what the International Atomic Energy Agency sets as radioactive contamination, which is 1,450 counts over a 10-minute period,” she said. “Some of my samples came up as 1,700 or 1,800.”"
Not only radioactivity but add in all the mercury fallout from China's brown cloud.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

And yet tuna is still selling for .77 a can. So lower income folks will continue to eat it as one of their protein sources.

[Dustoffer]

Yes, ma'am, that's the kicker.   I know our family, as we get more and more educated and try to find actual good food, it is costing a LOT more.  It is like a conspiracy to use high fructose corn syrup, and numerous chemicals for flavor, coloring, and preservation.  Unwashed insecticide/herbicide residue, and many untested things like fish.
The poor are poor because of overpopulation and are increasing.  Being forced by economic necessity to eat less healthy and nutritious diets, leads to increasing death rates from malnutrition, low immunity, cancers, birth defects, sickness and starvation.  Many right now are drinking feces and/or industrial chemical contaminated water   Hundreds of thousands in each large city in India never use a toilet in their entire lives.   Huge swathes of farmland with no organics left in the soil.  Empty aquifers.
Increased demand equals higher prices, and with increased demand for jobs, wages fall, per capita income drops with each new baby.
Even now, mostly the rich are the ones who can afford to eat healthy.  Other smartening up people are spending more of their income on healthier food.  Others, with old fashioned farms and ranches, have often been lucky enough to have been eating right all along, except for citrus....

[Shortpoet-GTD]

And now there is new evidence to suggest that all those antibiotics they give the livestock we eat;
cattle, pigs, chickens can "help" to store more fat in our bodies.

Obviously, it's not the only reason for obesity, but these new findings are striking. Kids live on hot dogs,
chicken nuggets and burgers; all overloaded with antibiotics.

I know many people are not ready to give up meat but as to your comment on "eating healthier is more
expensive"; you bet.
But, if meat is eliminated, that frees up a good portion of the grocery budget for more nutritious foods;
perhaps even organics. Local, local, local whenever possible.
Sure, they may use pesticides too but the shipping is reduced.

And I am seeing a few more people reading labels, but not as often as it should be.
All consumers should READ EVERY LABEL.
Price remains their ruler.

It does take more time but it's worth it.
I wanted to get bar-b-que sauce for a stir-fry tofu recipe I wanted to try; and every single bottle had
high fructose corn syrup as either the first or second ingredient.
I finally found one (a very small company) that used molasses; and it tasted wonderful.
(Anything to disguise the taste of tofu)

As for chemicals, from my own experience: a few years back I started to eat a banana. Who washes
bananas? We compost it (greenies) or toss it (unaware idiots), so we don't wash them.

I took a bite and my mouth went numb. It felt like a shot of Novocaine. Evidently, the shipping chemicals
they spray on them to keep them green longer from South America leached into the pulp itself.
I didn't eat bananas for several months after that, but when I do, they're organic and I wash everything-
even if it's not eaten. (rinds, peels, etc.)

[Dustoffer]

The high fructose corn syrup that seems to now be in just about everything other than the fresh foods aisle, and red rib meat, got me with gout.  I've had to totally change my diet and lost 40 lbs.   Our grocery costs have gone up 50%.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Dustoffer, on 08 April 2014 - 07:21 AM, said:

The high fructose corn syrup that seems to now be in just about everything other than the fresh foods aisle, and red rib meat, got me with gout.  I've had to totally change my diet and lost 40 lbs.   Our grocery costs have gone up 50%.

Good for you on the weight loss!!
But being thinner makes you feel better/healthier, so maybe the extra cost of groceries is worth it?
And in the long run, less medical costs.
(I've cut way back on sugar too, except the natural stuff in fruits, and eliminated salt (finally-completely) and along
with changing other bad habits I had with junk foods have lost almost 60 lbs myself.)
And I feel wonderful.
I've been a vegetarian for several years, but was still loading up on starches and carbs. Big no no.

Now I walk around with paper weights on my feet so I don't float away.................

[Shortpoet-GTD]

It's a secret and the FDA doesn't care.

http://ecowatch.com/...a-food-nervous/

(The 1958 provision "GRAS" [generally recognized as safe], has been manufacturers loophole that allows
them to not disclose all these toxins in products.)
PDF file-
http://www.nrdc.org/...food-report.pdf

[Shortpoet-GTD]

The "going in" part-

are your apples sprayed with DPA? Better question; would we even know?

The epa's standards for the chemicals are 100 times higher than is allowed in Europe. Does the fda, the epa
or any of the other "watchdog" agencies actually do anything to protect the American public?
http://www.motherjon...-apples-you-eat

[Dustoffer]

Toxics Across America: Report Details 120 Hazardous, Unregulated Chemicals in the U.S.
Alissa Sasso, Environmental Defense Fund | April 16, 2014 9:52 am | Comments
Tweet

"Recent spills in West Virginia and North Carolina cast a spotlight on toxic hazards in our midst. But as bad as they are, these acute incidents pale in scope compared to the chronic flow of hazardous chemicals coursing through our lives each day with little notice and minimal regulation.

A new report by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Toxics Across America, tallies billions of pounds of chemicals in the American marketplace that are known or strongly suspected to cause increasingly common disorders, including certain cancers, developmental disabilities and infertility."
"Among the findings:

At least 81 of the chemicals on the list are produced or imported to the U.S. annually in amounts of 1 million pounds or more.
At least 14 chemicals exceed 1 billion pounds produced or imported annually, including carcinogens such as formaldehyde and benzene, and the endocrine disruptor bisphenol A—or BPA.
More than 90 chemicals on the list are found in consumer and commercial products. At least eight chemicals are used in children’s products."
http://ecowatch.com/...emicals-in-u-s/

[Shortpoet-GTD]

monsanto & dow (among others) =no safe anything.

[Dustoffer]

More ;
‘Extreme Levels’ of Monsanto’s Roundup Herbicide Found in Soy Plants

Emily Cassidy, Environmental Working Group | April 18, 2014 12:01 pm | Comments

"A new study led by scientists from the Arctic University of Norway has detected “extreme levels” of Roundup, the agricultural herbicide manufactured by Monsanto, in genetically engineered (GE) soy. The herbicide has triggered a cycle of super weeds resistant to Roundup, which then means more Roundup is needed to try to kill the hardy weeds. Photo credit: Shutterstock
The study, coming out in June’s issue of Food Chemistry and available online, looked at 31 different soybean plants on Iowa farms and compared the accumulation of pesticides and herbicides on plants in three categories: GE “Roundup Ready” soy, conventionally produced (not GE) soy, and soy cultivated using organic practices. They found high levels of Roundup on 70 percent of GE soy plants.
Crop scientists have genetically engineered soy to survive blasts of Roundup so farmers can spray this chemical near crops to get rid of weeds. But some so-called “super weeds” resistant to Roundup have developed. In turn, some farmers use yet more Roundup to try to kill those hardy weeds. This leads to more Roundup chemicals being found on soybeans and ultimately in the food supply."

It would sure be good to know if the soy in food we buy is Monsanto sprayed or GE.

[Dustoffer]

Sugar-Coated Science: Food Industry Uses Deceptive Marketing to Hide Added Sugar

Union of Concerned Scientists | May 6, 2014 3:49 pm | Comments
56 44 0
122 3
"Food companies use misleading marketing and front group campaigns to obscure the health consequences of added sugar in their products, according to a new report, Sugar-Coating Science: How the Food Industry Misleads Consumers on Sugar, from the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)."
http://ecowatch.com/...de-added-sugar/