How do you define organic farming?
Organic farming is the production of crops and livestock without synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, hormones, drugs and artificial techniques.
Now, if you’d like to go beyond just a definition, say maybe, get a degree, then the place to go is the University of Florida.
UF's major is one of the first in the country, announced around the same time as a program at the University of Washington. Five students have signed up for the UF major, and the organic crop production class is expected to attract more, said Melissa A. Webb, coordinator of academic support services for horticultural sciences.
University will be one of the first in the U.S. to offer an organic farming major – Gainesville.com
Link to the Department of Horticultural Sciences at the University of Florida here.
[thanks, Jeff!]
According to Oceans Alive (see previous posting here), Sardines are an especially good fish. They are high in omega-3 fatty acids AND low in environmental contaminants. And they are not likely to be "fished" off the planet anytime soon.
But you say you don't eat them because you can't stand looking a fish in the face? (I'm not crazy about the little tails either). Then check out RAB Food Group's Season Brand Sardine Fillets! Link.
[via junkfoodblog]
Sometimes is seems like the battle against obesity is already lost on the current generation of adults. I’m not a doctor but it seems that even if some people ate a perfect, low calorie diet starting today, they still wouldn’t have enough of a life span left to get down to an ideal weight.
So some people are concentrating on children who have a better chance to unlearn bad habits before it’s too late for them as well.
Obesity war's latest battlefront: the school cafeteria School nutrition is activists' passion
How 4 dedicated people work to help Bay Area students eat right – San Francisco Chronicle
[thanks, Jeff!]
Apparently, eating in America is so dangerous that there are special classes for refugees on how to eat in this country without ending up looking like us. You see, these darn immigrants refuse to become assimilated!!
Refugees taught how to eat American food – BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5216960.stm
A fungus that thrives in a moist environment nearly killed all American Chestnut trees in the early part of the 20th century. This discovery of a grouping of trees near Warm Springs Georgia give scientists the hope of pollinating new heartier trees.
"The chestnut foundation may use pollen from the trees in a breeding program aimed at restoring the population with blight-resistant trees."
Nearly Extinct American Chestnut Trees Found - Live Science
The Chestnut Foundation - Link
Hey, I have an idea. Instead of all this tredmill and eating right to get fit, why don’t I take a cue from big business and just get a law passed that says I’m in shape! That would save a lot of time and effort!
When the small farmer wanted to get his beef labeled “grass fed”, he actually let the cows graze and earned the designation. But big business doesn’t have time for this approach.
Stopping Companies from Defrauding Consumers with Bogus 'Grass-Fed' Labels – Organic Consumers Association
Only kidding. What your looking at is a picture I created with a tool called the Ronald McHummer sign-o-matic. It seems our friends at McDonald’s worked a deal with Hummer to offer little Hummers in Happy Meals. This has some people very unhappy with the Happy Meal and McDonald’s. Their position is that McD’s is already causing kids to be fat and unhealthy, now they want to promote over consumption of gas! I take the point but I wonder how many kids would be happy with a plastic celery stick for a toy.
Go ahead a make your own sign! The best creations are posted and you can vote for your favorite.
Link to Ronald McHummer sign-o-matic here.
[thanks, EWG]
They say that your diet in the first 10 years is extremely important. It sets the stage for your diet for the rest of your life. It literally determines what your tastes are as well as helps you define what you consider to be a comfort foods and which foods you consider "gross".
So why not help your kids to a lifetime of good eating by setting the stage correctly?
Summer is particularly challenging what with barbeque and visits from the ice cream man. Renee Simon has some tips to help you keep things on track.
Below her article is a link to download the full article (including a helpful chart for fridge posting) in MS Word format,
What to Feed Your Kids this Summer - by Renee Simon
Pixie sticks, baby bottle pops, fun dip, air heads, war heads, and cartoon ice cream pops are some of the typical snack bar fare that are offered to kids at many of the local town pools and parks. These treats don’t resemble real food at all and are made of pure sugar, high fructose corn syrup, AND artificial colors and flavors. Some also contain partially hydrogenated soybean oil, which is thought to be a carcinogenic. Yes, we want our children to have fun this summer, but do we want their blood sugar bouncing, causing erratic mood swings, and more sugar cravings? Do we really want their teeth full of sugar and artificial ingredients? Do YOU want them to be part of the childhood obesity and early diabetes risk factor statistics?
As a certified nutritionist working with many families in the area, I believe that moderation is key, not only to a healthy diet, but to a healthy body as well. We don’t want to be so restrictive that our children binge on candy outside of the household (when ever they get a chance), but at the same time we need to teach them how to make a good healthy choices at the youngest age possible. That way, good nutrition will be part of their lives throughout adolescents and adulthood. In addition, if kids are so used to eating artificial ingredients, high sugar, and preserved food, their taste buds will have a hard time adjusting to natural whole foods and sweetness. For instance, if high fructose corn syrup is a large part of the child’s diet, fresh fruit will NOT taste sweet to him or her.
If your children are routinely eating lunch at the town park/pool snack bar, there are better choices to teach your children to make. When ever possible it is always a good idea to pack lunch and offer healthy snacks like cut up vegetables with dips, fresh fruits, hard boiled eggs, nuts or trail mix, cheese sticks, home made lower sugar muffins or oatmeal raisin cookies, yogurts with all natural ingredients, and of course lots of water.
Kids also love frozen bananas and grapes as a refreshing treat instead of ice cream.
Renee Simon is a NYS certified dietitian-nutritionist with offices in S. Salem and Katonah, NY. She is the author of Take Back Your Health – A Total Wellness Guide for You and Your Family and can be reached at 914 763-9107 or www.totalwellnessnutrition.com.
Download file
Of all fruits and vegetables, blueberries are among the highest in Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. In more familiar terms, they are packed with anti-oxidants! There’s no reason you shouldn’t have blueberries everyday. When they are not in season, your supermarket always has plenty of frozen berries.
Everything you could possibly EVER want to know about blueberries can be found at the US Highbush Blueberry Council site including innovative recipes.
US Highbush Blueberry Council site link here.
From the Environmental Working Group, here is a list of the fruits and vegetables that are ranked highest and lowest in pesticide content. You can see from the list that generally, it is the produce with the thinner skins that rank high. You should always try to buy organic but it is vital to at least buy the produce that ranks high in organic form especially for women that are pregnant and for young children. At the bottom of this post there is a link to a downloadable wallet guide so that you can have the list readily available when shopping.
Highest in Pesticides
These 12 popular fresh fruits and vegetables are consistently the most contaminated with pesticides — buy these organic.
• Apples
• Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Cherries
• Grapes (imported)
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Potatoes
• Red Raspberries
• Spinach
• Strawberries
Lowest in Pesticides
These 12 popular fresh fruits and vegetables consistently have the lowest levels of pesticides.
• Asparagus
• Avocados
• Bananas
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Corn (sweet)
• Kiwi
• Mangos
• Onions
• Papaya
• Pineapples
• Peas (sweet)
Link to download wallet guide in .pdf format here.
Glucobrassicin is a know anti-cancer agent found in plants like broccoli and kale. Stefania Galetti, from the University of Bologna (English site here), has discovered that the compound has been identified in much larger quantities in a plant called Woad. Woad was used by ancient Brits and Celts to create the blue war paint that Mel Gibson made famous in Braveheart.
Hmmm, blueberries, Woad. It looks like anything blue is good. I like simple!
Ancient blue war paint from plant rich in cancer fighting compound – News-Medical.Net
The blue ‘paint’ that cures – Galveston County Daily News
Nora Ephron does the best sarcasm in print. Read her Farewell to Teflon.
"But this year DuPont, who makes polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) resin, which is what Teflon was called when it first popped up as a laboratory accident back in 1938, reached a $16.5 million settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency; it seems the company knew all along that Teflon was bad for you. It's an American cliché by now: a publicly-traded company holds the patent on a scientific breakthrough, it turns out to cause medical problems, and the company knew all along. You can go to the bank on it."
Here's the most amazing part of our wonderful system. After a $16.5 million dollar settlement, DuPont still maintains a Teflon® Web site that says ... "Please explore our Teflon® Web site to learn more about the wonders of Teflon® and about other Miracles of Science from DuPont. "
Farewell to Teflon – Nora Ephron – Huffington Post [via Environmental Working Group]
Not only are we doing it to ourselves, but we’re passing it on to future generations.
Babies are getting bigger and bigger.
Several trends are behind the increase. More infants are large for their gestational age at birth than a quarter-century ago, in part because more moms are overweight and develop gestational diabetes while pregnant. In addition, more babies are putting on pounds rapidly in the first few months of life.
Number of overweight babies up 74 percent as obesity skyrockets in expectant mothers – NewsTarget.com
New research documents increasing obesity among infants – bellevillenewsdemocrat.com
Number of tubby toddlers expanding – globeandmail.com
I don’t just mean get physically active. I also mean GET INVOLVED. Venice, California high school teacher, Jacqueline Domachas (bio here) has, with her new website NO JUNK FOOD.com. (And if you can’t get active in Venice, California, you can’t get active anywhere!)
The site is full of information about healthy snacks and public policy with a great links page! Check it out at:
www.nojunkfood.com
Are you one of those people who buy tons of fruits and veggies and don’t get to them in time? Even if you are getting more than your recommended servings each day, sometimes it’s a chore to arrange consumption before disintegration (and mold, yuck!). I use a lot of frozen berries and vegetables but there are some additional things you can do.
Two simple ways to add more fruits and vegetables to your diet – achieve-it!
[via lifehacker]
And now, from the scientific journal, “Duh!”, comes the blockbuster health story of the year.
A new report says sugary drinks are piling on pounds – WSTM.com
Review deems soft drinks key in weight gain – Washington Times
Peter Greenberg, self-proclaimed "travel detective", has a new book. "The Traveler's Diet" has tips and tricks for healthy living out of a suitcase. Here are a few:
At The Airport
Eat before you go
Get there early/do laps
Choose healthier fast food
Healthiest Airports
#1 Chicago O'Hare
#2 Detroit Metropolitan
#3 San Francisco
The Flight: Airplane Food
High in fat & calories
Drenched in mystery sauce
Easier to reheat
Makes people tired
At The Hotel
Ask that the mini bar to be locked/removed
Request a small fridge
Stay at hotels with healthy menus
Exercising on The Road
Call ahead and ask for gym/trainer
Meet trainer at check in
Workout right upon arrival
By the way, if you remember what Greenberg used to look like, compare it with his picture on the dust jacket. I think he's earned a lot of credibility!
An Arizona inventor has come up with a sticker, if put on a fruit or vegetable, will tell you whether it is ripe. Riley's RediRipe stickers detect a chemical called ethylene gas and turn from white to blue when the produce ripens.
“And there are still bugs to be worked out: The stickers do not change color to reflect an over-ripe or rotten piece of fruit. Also, not all fruit produces enough ethylene to be detected by the the sticker, said Jim McFerson, manager of the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, a growers' research group that helped sponsor the research.”
Blue sticker says when it's ripe; good news for shoppers, grocers – Arizona Daily Star
If you want to know if the food in jars is fresh the hi-tech way, as well, see previous post:
Timestrips® Let You Know if Food is Fresh - American Feast
[via diet-blog via Healthacker]
This Takeru Kobayashi is a Japanese Phenom. Not only does he seem to win the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest every year but now he’s won the Johnsonville World Brat Eating Championship! And he weighs only 160 pounds! You have to give credit where credit’s due. He’s like the Muhammad Ali of the tube steak!
Kobayashi downs 58 bratwursts – AP via Fox Sports
In case I’ve whetted your competitive eating appetite, here’s more about Competitive Gorging:
Americans eat up making gorging a sport – Ocala.com
[thanks, Jeff!]
From their own "anti-brand" shoes (Blackspot Shoes), to consumer education, Adbusters champions consumer empowerment. As sponsers of "TV Turnoff Week" and "Buy Nothing Day" they bring action as well as enlightenment.
Don't forget to check out the spoof ads and flash videos.
Link.
Richard Berman, know as Dr. Evil, lobbies many unpopular positions to protect industries he represents from regulation. And he’s done it in a way that hasn’t made him too many friends (but has made him a lot of money).
Many of his clients are involved in the food, alcohol and tobacco industries.
“Berman, hired by businesses, fights efforts such as further restricting drinking and driving, mandating healthier foods and raising the minimum wage. The former labor relations lawyer argues that many of the restrictions reduce our ability to make our own choices.”
Gee, he looks like a nice guy.
Got a nasty fight? Here's your man – USA Today
Wikipedia bio here.
[thanks, Doug!]
Why, because it may contain about a thousand different forms of life. Most of which were JUST DISCOVERED if you can believe that.
“In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team reports that marine microbial diversity may be some 10 to 100 times more than expected, and the vast majority are low-abundance organisms, the role of which is poorly understood.”
10 to 100 times! That’s a wide range. I think someone needs to calibrate some instruments!
Meet the millions of secret sea dwellers – Telegraph.co.uk
Scientists report seas contain more microorganisms than thought – USA Today
Oceans Contain More Microorganisms – Forbes
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