That organic food in your freezer or refrigerator is probably owned by Kraft, Cargill, Kellogg, Pepsi, Hershey, M&M, Coca Cola and others. Click here fora link to research done by Phil Howard, Assistant Professor at Michigan University.
It’s obvious that ‘big food’ wants to cash in on the recent rise in demand for organics. Private labels go from Wal-Mart, Costco, Sam’s Club, Kroger, Target and down to more ‘organic’ companies like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.
Ah, but things get dicey when the so-called ‘organics’ get caught with their pants down like Aurora Dairy did in 2007. Co-mingling non-organic milk with organic, stepping outside the organic standards for feed and bedding, moving cows from organic facilities to non-organic and continuing to claim milk was organic, and failure to process milk according to the National Organic Program (NOP), and along with a host of other violations. These ‘greenwashed’ products often contain pesticides, antibiotics, growth hormones from cross contamination.
Wal-Mart too, has been involved in investigations which allege ‘greenwashing‘ of its products.
What IS Organic? Watch this short video and see if you are making a difference with your purchases.
Organic certification is under attack.Go to these sites to read more about….
Beauty and Cosmetics: http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/index.cfm
Food: http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/oca/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=4756
To HELP PRESERVE ORGANICS, visit the Organic Consumer’s page and use their links to fight back FOR ORGANICS!
Are you for the Earth? What about buying & eating locally produced food?
Are you REALLY for these things or do you just have bumper stickers on your vehicle that say so?
Step up to the plate, America. Don’t just SAY you’re ‘for’ the environment:
DO for the environment, BE FOR the environment, get out in the trenches FOR the environment.
What about food? Do you SAY you’re for good food…, do you SAY you’re for the small farmer? Do you DO anything FOR the small farmers?
….. or do you do all your shopping at Wal-Mart because it’s cheaper?
….. or do you come home from work and feed microwaveable crap to your kids because its quicker?
….. or do you pack their lunches full of fruit juices with HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), food laden with chemicals, artificial ingredients and salt?
….. or do you go out to eat at fast food establishments like McDonald’s who serve ‘food’ that really isn’t food but nothing more than artificial ingredients, flavorings? The meat comes from animals who’ve been raised in factory farms and pumped full of hormones, steroids and antibiotics? You’re ‘lovin it’ all the same, right?
It’s lonely out here in the vast food fight arena. Mainstream America is still too brainwashed by commercials that says Mickey D’s really serves good food; that the Healthy Choice meal you’ve nuked is good for you (READ the ingredients - if you can’t identify it, it CAN’T be good for you!)
Visit your local farmer’s market. Ask questions. Ask to come for a farm tour. Fellow VICFA member, Joel Salatin in Swope, Virginia WILL let you tour his farm. Read Michael Pollan’s “Omnivore’s Dilema” for a lot more info on Joel and the food industry.
Bumper stickers make us feel good - like we’re doing something. For far too many of us, though, we’re just not into doing, but are into just being.
We’re not going to get anywhere unless everyone who has read this - and more of you - actually get out there and voice your opposition to the food industry. Monsanto has been getting away with murder (literally) between poisoning the Earth with Round-Up, getting PATENTS on SEEDS - that’s right - which force farmers to use perticides and herbicides. The U.S. government has been bought by the food industry and now wants to pass a sweeping food ’safety’ bill and NAIS that will just about be the end of many, many small farmers, organic farms and farmer’s markets all across the country!
Times are tough today. We’re all looking to save a buck and get the best deal. However, shopping at your local mega discount store isn’t always the best choice.
Large corporations such as Wal-Mart, Target, Lowe’s and others are not in the business of fair trade. They want to make money - lots of it. Their goal is to sell cheaply manufactured goods, which hopefully will wear out fast and you’ll come back for more. Buyers for these companies go to the cheapest source: China, Thailand, Indonesia - wherever they can make the best deal for their company…, where their bottom line will show the most profit.
There is absolutely no concern for the workers who make these products, either. A blind eye is turned toward any situations where workers are subjected to dangerous and toxic conditions, long hours or menial wages. Human rights abuses, too, are not a concern for the buyers of Wal-Mart and others. They just want their goods and they’re on the way.
Fair trade products, however, lift people out of the mire of subservience, disrespect and hopelessness. Fair trade also preserves ancient crafts which are fast disappearing in this modern world. It promotes respect for the crafts person because of what they know and the artistry of their craft. They are treated as human beings, as business people, not as a slave.
You can make a difference in the world by choosing Fair Trade products whenever possible. Many companies carry both fair trade and organic products. That means you are helping twice: promoting and strengthening fair trade and choosing organic, which helps the environment. By shopping this way - YOU - make a statement to the big box retailers. YOU are taking a stand.
This is such a simple way to help those far less fortunate than yourself. Whether your purchase is fair trade quilts or crafts, fair trade organic body care, fair trade coffee or any of the hundreds of goods, fair trade is good for everybody and the planet, too!
Until a few years ago, only the most savvy spa worshiper had probably even heard of detoxing with salts. Now, however, bath salts, aromatic bath salts, along with Epsom salts have become well known.
Salt has long been used as a purifier. Salt was, and still is in some cultures, used as a preservative. Now, however, it is used for detoxification and cleansing.
Containing many different minerals depending on its origin, salt’s healing properties have been extolled for centuries. Its exfoliating action not only strips dead skin cells but actually draws out toxins upon contact with the skin. When mixed with organic oils, which also have their own healing properties, salt promotes rejuvenation of the skin through many layers.
Bathing in itself is relaxing and healing, perhaps taking us back to our time in the womb…, who knows?
Tis the season for colds and flu which makes taking a hot detox bath even more important for overall health. Add some aromatic bath salts and organic oils to your next bath and see if you don’t instantly feel better!
Detox is an important facet of modern life. Our bodies cannot rid themselves of the modern compounds we are surrounded with.
Thousands of times a day we are exposed to toxins in the form of pollution, pesticides, chemicals in our food and personal care products. Additives in processed food, plastics (phthalates) leaching from containers into the food we eat, water bottles, from microwaving food in plastic containers. 80 % of coffee is decaffeinated with chemical solvents ( methylene chloride or ethyl acetate). Water processed organic coffee is the best bet for decaf. The clothes you’ve gotten back from the dry cleaners are laced with the chemical perchloroethylene. Nice, Huh?
An ancient remedy used in Ayurvedic medicine in India, turmeric, contains a wealth of healing properties. In recent publications by oncologists, turmeric has been touted as one of the best detoxifying agents available. Studies have shown that people in countries that consume it daily, cancer rates are extremely low.
In addition to adding beneficial herbs to your diet, a good detox regimen will help you cleanse your body of chemicals. The idea is to SWEAT - either in a hot bath or sauna but only if your doctor has advised it is safe for you. Mustard baths, long a remedy for amazing and effective cleansing are another method.
Relaxing in a hot detox bath is good for your mood as well as what ails you. It also helps to ward off those yucky winter bugs that are going around.
Composting doesn’t have to be a stinky unsightly mess! You can compost pest-free with a Sun-Mar composter.
If you have a problem with neighborhood dogs or other critters, the Sun-Mar composter is pest free! It’s easy to unload, too. No heavy lifting: the finished compost comes out the bottom.
Compost strengthens the plants by providing essential nutrients - instead of CHEMICALS. What you put on your veggie garden, goes into your food that you eat. If you use pesticides and chemicals - GUESS what you are eating!
Now is the perfect time to get started on compost for the spring planting!
When most people think of ‘Fair Trade’ they usually think of Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa. The Canaan Fair Trade Association benefits rural Palestinian communities. This is an empowering chance for Palestinian farmers in a war torn region.
Dr. Nasser Abufarha, of the Canaan Fair Trade Association, says that the empowerment of these rural areas caught in the conflict is enabling them to sustain themselves with respect and dignity. There is a direct working relationship with these communities using fair trade concepts.
The crop they produce is olive oil. There is no current Fair Trade Labeling Organization certification (FLO) for olive oil, so they have developed their own using those guidelines. After adoption by the Palestinian Fair Trade Association, their co-ops, processors and exporters, they have been certified Fair Trade by the institute of Marketology in Switzerland.
This provides access to a fair trade product that is produced across the largest sector of Palestinian society (Rural Palestine). The farmers receive sustainable prices for their products and fair wages for all the workers along the supply chain. Fair trade Palestinian farmers receive a 10% fair trade premium above the market price and another 10% organic premium, again above the market price.
What does this accomplish? It provides a place for Palestinians in the Fair Trade market and benefits rural Palestinian farmers. It promotes cross-cultural, multi-faith and multi-ethnic connections for all sectors of the fair trade process. From farmers to workers, processors, traders, exporters, importers, distributors and consumers - one community is created based on fair exchange.
The Canaan Fair Trade Associaton hopes to establish traditional sustainable farming and to build an alternate cultural expression with connections to the outside world.
These fair trade Palestinian products are available in the US: sun-dried tomotoes, couscous, olive oil, organic tahini, honey, almonds are available at: http://www.canaanfairtrade.com