Archive for the ‘Organics’ Category

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PBS Videos: The Lexicon of Sustainability

Wednesday, March 12th, 2014
Chickens at feed

Chickens at feed

by Catherine Haug, March 2014 (photo, right by Keith Blaylock)

Check out a very informative and entertaining series of short videos that explores new vocabulary associated with farming, food security, and other sustainability topics. From the Lexicon of Sustainability home page:

“For the past three years we have conversed with the foremost practitioners of sustainability in food and farming. They have shared their insights and experiences… and contributed their words to our rapidly growing Lexicon of Sustainability. To spread their knowledge our photography project has grown to include short films, study guides, traveling shows, a book and lastly a website where people can add their own terms to this ever-evolving lexicon.”

Read on for more about, and links to the videos. (more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Community, Compost, Ecology, Food-Nutrition-Health, Gardening, GMO, Livestock, Organics, Shop Local | Comments Closed

The case for organ meats (offal)

Monday, December 30th, 2013

by Catherine Haug, December 30, 2013

I’ve been eating liver since I was a kid – as liverwurst, sautéed chicken livers, liver paté, and calves’ liver. I love the heart from a chicken but have not tried heart from other animals. And I’ve yet to try kidney or brain. But I know most people gag at the thought of eating these foods. Certainly there is cause to dislike liver that has not been properly cooked, or liver from an older animal. Or kidney that has not been deodorized by removing the urine before cooking.

The most important consideration in eating these foods is that they are rich in vital nutrients that are very bioavailable (much more so than taking those minerals supplementally. Another important consideration is the importance of using these foods ONLY if they come from pastured animals, which means that you need to get them from the rancher/farmer or from an Organic source, as commercially raised livestock are highly contaminated with toxins that tend to collect in the organ meats, especially in the liver. (more…)

Posted in Food-Nutrition-Health, Health, Organics, Remedies | Comments Closed

2013 “Dirty Dozen” – Foods best as Organic

Tuesday, October 8th, 2013
Apples at Market

Apples at Market

by Catherine Haug, October 8, 2013

Good Housekeeping recently published it’s new “Dirty Dozen” list – foods overly contaminated with pesticide and other chemicals, so that it pays to pay more for Organic. You can read the full report at The Daily Green: The New Dirty Dozen: 12 Foods to Eat Organic, but read on for a summary. Note that many local produce found at Farmers Markets or at your local grocer is raised Organically, even though it may not bear the Organic label, so be sure to inquire. (more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Food-Nutrition-Health, GMO, Organics, Shop Local | Comments Closed

Organic vs chemical fertilization for farms, gardens

Thursday, August 15th, 2013
Dryland Farming - Palouse Hills

Dryland Farming – Palouse Hills

by Catherine Haug, August 15, 2013

(photo, right from Wikimedia Commons)

Our readers believe in using organic methods to feed their gardens, but do we all walk the talk? Do we share our belief, our method with our neighbors? Do you compost your food and garden waste, then use it to augment your soil? Do you add manure to your compost to heat it up? Do you use aged manure to augment your soil?

Have you considered that if everyone – including farmers – used organic methods in their gardens and fields, that we could completely replace the need for chemical fertilizers? Have you ever wondered how the widespread use of chemical fertilizers come to replace natural organic methods?

It’s all about nitrogen. It is the most abundant gas in our atmosphere, but it doesn’t feed our plants in that form. In order to be useful to plants, it has to be ‘fixed,’ which means converted from nitrogen gas (N2) to ammonia (NH3). Fixing nitrogen requires enormous amounts of energy, amounts that can only be provided in an industrial setting. But using manure and composting food and garden waste bypasses the need to fix nitrogen, because it is already in a fixed state in manure and compost. Thus have humans been able to grow their own food since the dawn of agriculture eons ago. (more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Compost, Ecology, Gardening, Organics | Comments Closed

Your primitive brain – your gut

Thursday, July 25th, 2013

by Catherine Haug, July 25, 2013, updated July 29,2013

In college I took a class on comparative vertebrate anatomy – we studied the anatomy of many vertebrates as a way of better understanding our own anatomy. This study began with the tiny fertilized egg of each species studied, and progressed through the development of the adult. One of the things I took home from this class is that the first organ to form is the gut, and it serves as the brain for the developing individual while the heart and circulatory systems form, and finally the central nervous system (CNS) and the brain. But we also learned that the primitive brain in the gut continues to function in intimate contact with the actual brain, throughout the life of the individual.

What does this mean for us humans? It means that while modern medicine has pretty much ignored the effect of the gut on human health and happiness, the gut deserves more study and respect. We need to ensure that our gut has healthy colonies of gut flora (probiotics), and that it is not overburdened with toxins in our food.

It is important to remember that diet and gut health are not the only factors that influence the overall health and longevity of a human individual, but it may well be one of the most important. Other factors include (but are not limited to) genetics, lifestyle and stressors (7), medical care, gender, accident, and environment.

(more…)

Posted in Ecology, Fermentation, Culturing & Curing, Food-Nutrition-Health, Health, Organics | Comments Closed

Unhealthful common foods to avoid

Sunday, June 16th, 2013

by Catherine Haug, June 16, 2013

Dr. Mercola lists 9 common foods you should never eat. I heartily agree with his assessment. If you avoid processed foods, use unrefined sea salt, and buy Organic produce (or locally-grown food from growers you trust), you will mostly avoid the bad foods on the list. The 9 common foods are: (more…)

Posted in Cat's Fats, Food-Nutrition-Health, GMO, Health, Organics | Comments Closed

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