Archive for the ‘Home & Ranch’ Category

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Regenerative agriculture to reverse climate change, a documentary video

Friday, November 27th, 2015

By Catherine Haug, Nov 2015

“Healthy soils are necessary to feed the world; they are also the planet’s largest carbon sink. This task is for all of us: farmers, gardeners and food consumers. Together, we can heal the earth.” (from an Organic Consumers Association email).

While burning fossil fuels sends carbon into the atmosphere, regenerative agriculture stores carbon in the soil, for a more nutritious food supply and a healthier planet. Learn more from  a PBS documentary, “Food Forward, SOS: Save our Soils” (3). (more…)

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Another reason to avoid plastics

Thursday, October 8th, 2015
Garbage Can with Lid

Garbage Can with Lid

By Catherine Haug, Oct 2015 (Photo, right, from US Plastics (1)

It is now well known that we should avoid the plastic BPA or BPS because they can cause cancer. But I have long believed that all plastics are bad for our health – not just as a cause for cancer. Recently, my belief has strong scientific support.

Most plastics are not biodegradable, but they do break down in a different, harmful way. They form micro-particles/fibers that make their way into our waters and eventually to the oceans where their pollution of the water is analogous to pollution of our air by micro-particles. Remember how your lungs, sinuses and throat felt this summer from breathing the micro-particles in smoke from forest fires? (more…)

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Kitchen Hint: keeping cleaning sponges fresh with real soap

Wednesday, September 30th, 2015
Kirk's Castile bar soap

Kirk’s Castile bar soap

By Catherine Haug, Sept 30, 2015 (Photo, right, from Amazon (4))

Do you use sponges in your kitchen and bathroom for cleanup jobs? Synthetic sponges tend to get rather smelly after only a few uses, even if you rinse them well. That smell comes form bacteria living in the sponge. A NSF International survey of sponges in U.S. homes found 77 percent of the sponges and dish cloths contained coliform bacteria, 86 percent had yeast and mold, and 18 percent had Staph bacteria. These are what produces the smell.

Another NSF International study in Michigan found that kitchen and bathroom sponges are the ‘germiest’ places in the home. Next in line in the study: toothbrush holders, pet bowls, kitchen sinks -especially the drains, and the coffee reservoir where you pour the water to be heated (5). What’s the best cleaner to rid these places of bad germs?

This hint is from Cat; read on for more. (more…)

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Think twice about commercial pork

Thursday, September 17th, 2015
Pigs on the farm

Pigs on the farm

By Catherine Haug, Sept 18, 2015 (Photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

The photo, right, is how we imagine commercial pigs are raised, with room to roam and dig in the dirt or mud, find shade or sun, and receive adequate and appropriate food and water.

But the pork you buy in most grocery stores (especially the large grocery chains), or when you eat out, is not raised that way. I’ve included several videos below so you can see for yourself.

If you love pork, please buy from local farmers whose methods you trust, or look for Certified Humane (5) on the packaging. Also suggest your favorite restaurants source their pork from local farmers. (more…)

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Kitchen Hint: Homemade toothpaste powder

Wednesday, September 9th, 2015

By Catherine Haug, September 9, 2015

This kitchen hint comes from Dr. Mercola (1). He provides two different recipes you can make with ingredients found in your kitchen or bathroom cabinet. He also provides a list of harmful ingredients found in commercial toothpaste.

When I was a small child in the early 1950s, commercial toothpaste had not yet made it to NW Montana (neither had commercial laundry detergent or dish ‘soap’). Most people ate home-cooked food, made from scratch, a diet that was good for the teeth, leaving them naturally clean. If a bit of meat or other food got stuck between the teeth, one used a toothpick. For special occasions such as a date, you used baking soda on your fingertip to clean your teeth and freshen your breath. (more…)

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Livestock and predators

Tuesday, August 25th, 2015

220px-Suffolk SheepBy Catherine Haug, August 25, 2015 (photo, right, from Wikipedia; link has been lost)

“What the right livestock dogs can mean for the maintenance of large predators, like the wolf, on the landscape.” (1)

Check out this 7-minute video from High Country News (1), about a family in northern Saskatchewan, Canada, who raise cattle and sheep amidst numerous predators. The key to their success is a mix of guard dog breeds, each of which plays a specific role in keeping their livestock safe and content, while preserving the wild animals in the habitat.

If the video does not appear below, the link is available in reference 1, to view in larger format. OR, to view the video in full screen, click the symbol at bottom right corner of video screen.

References

  1. High Country News video: hcn.org/articles/searching-for-the-best-dog-to-save-livestock-and-wildlife/video-livestock-guardian-dogs

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