Archive for the ‘Food-Nutrition-Health’ 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

Why do doctors advise avoiding GMO foods?

Wednesday, March 5th, 2014
Frankenfood

Frankenfood

by Catherine Haug, March 5, 2014 (image, right, used with permission from Organic Consumers Association)

The following text is written by Jeffrey Smith of Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT) for the Huffington Post ‘Food for Thought’ blog on 2/17/14. His email to IRT subscribers gives permission to ‘enjoy it, share it, “like” it, and help spread the word.’ In publishing it on The EssentiaList, I’m doing just that.

His article opens with these questions, “Why are thousands of physicians advising patients to avoid eating GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) and how did these high-risk foods get onto the market in the first place?”. He then presents documented facts about the harm of GMO foods for humans, livestock and pets.

 

Here is his article. Please read, then pass it on. (more…)

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

A Healing Garden: Milkweed for Monarchs

Thursday, February 27th, 2014
Female Monarch in May

Female Monarch in May

by Catherine Haug, Feb 27/2014 ( photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons; photo, below, from Wikimedia Commons)

In addition to bees, we are also losing another valuable pollinator to the effects of GMO crops: the Monarch Butterfly. This beautiful animal feeds only upon milkweed in its youth, but the spraying of GMO crops with Roundup and other herbicides is killing off all the milkweed. You can help by growing this flowering plant in your yard or garden. See Monarch Watch: Growing Milkweed.

Don’t confuse the common milkweed with Asclepias tuberosa, also called butterfly weed, because it is listed as toxic.  Asclepias tuberosa has erect, orange flowers and watery rather than milky sap. (See ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/poison.htm for more about this).

Milkweed in bloom

Milkweed in bloom

Milkweed has medicinal use and is also used as a food. For example, young milkweed can be used much like spinach; the shoots can be cooked like asparagus, and the buds can be coated with beer batter, then deep-fried. See Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association: Milkweed.

For more on a Healing Garden, see the original post A Healing Garden – for You and Bees.

 

 

Posted in Agriculture, Ecology, Gardening, GMO, Health | Comments Closed

A Healing Garden – for You and Bees

Monday, February 10th, 2014

by Catherine Haug, February 9, 2014; updated Feb 27,2014 regarding monarch butterflies

Our pollinators, especially bees, are in trouble, dying in great numbers. The situation is getting so severe that growers are concerned their crops will soon lose the ability to to produce seed for future crops, because of the decline in healthy pollinators. This affects almost all vegetables – including squash, tomatoes, greens, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, beets, beans, peas, etc.; and many fruits – including huckleberries and other berries, apples, pears, peaches, apricots, plums, melons and more.

Update: We are also losing another valuable pollinator to the effects of GMO crops: the Monarch Butterfly. This beautiful animal feeds only upon milkweed in its youth, but the spraying of GMO crops with Roundup and other herbicides is killing off all the milkweed. You can help by growing this flowering plant in your yard or garden. See Monarch Watch: Growing Milkweed.

But there is something you can do – every one of you – to help not only the plight of pollinators and our food supply, but also for the health of your family. (more…)

Posted in Ecology, Gardening, Health, Remedies | Comments Closed

Kitchen Hint: More Uses for Apple Cider Vinegar

Wednesday, January 22nd, 2014

by Catherine Haug, Jan 22 2014

See also Kitchen Hints for others on this site, including Uses for vinegar from 2012. The EssentiaList: Homemade Apple Cider provides instructions for making your own raw apple cider vinegar.

The following uses for apple cider vinegar are from TakePart.com (1), or other sources as noted. You don’t need to use raw apple cider vinegar unless you ingest it (as in items 1, 3 and 9). Save money and use regular apple cider vinegar if it is not to be ingested. For household uses, you can use white vinegar. (more…)

Posted in Ecology, Food-Nutrition-Health, Health, Kitchen Hints, Remedies | 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

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