Organic // Current TV

Funeral For a Friend on the Environment

UK band Funeral For a Friend talk about how much their awareness and activity has... more

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Organic Food Really Is Better So Stock Up On The Top 5 Essentials

by Nicole
A $25 million study, funded by the European Union, has found that organic food really is better for you. Lead by Newcastle Universitys ecological agriculture professor Carlo Leifert (who has also spoken out against genetically modified or GM food), researches grew fruit and vegetables, and reared cows using both organic and non-organic methods on adjacent sites over a four-year period. They found that the organic produce contained more antioxidants and less fatty acids that their non-organic counterparts.

Levels of antioxidants in organic milk were between 50% and 80 % higher, with levels reaching a peak during the summer months when the organic cattle stock grazed on fresh grass. Levels of vitamin E were also found to be higher in organic milk, which produced cheese with twice a many nutrients. Organic vegetables such as wheat, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, onions and lettuce had between 20% and 40% more nutrients.

For those taking their first step towards a healthier organic lifestyle, Organic Rx's Dr. Geene lists the top five organic food essentials in an interview published by the New York Times. He lists organic foods in order of priority, based on nutritional value, pesticide contamination, and environmental considerations, as well as the average intake of a specific food, since it makes sense to go organic on the foods we eat the most of to maximize their impact.

Milk According to the New York Times, one recent United States Department of Agriculture survey found certain pesticides in about 30 percent of conventional milk samples and low levels in only one organic sample.

Potatoes They make up 30% of our overall vegetable intake, and are one of the most contaminated foods. A 2006 U.S.D.A. test found 81 percent of potatoes tested still contained pesticides after being washed and peeled, and the potato has one of the highest pesticide contents of 43 fruits and vegetables tested, according to the Environmental Working Group.

Peanut Butter More acres are devoted to growing peanuts than any other fruits, vegetable or nut, according to the U.S.D.A. More than 99 percent of peanut farms use conventional farming practices, including the use of fungicide to treat mold, a common problem in peanut crops.

Ketchup About 75 percent of tomato consumption is in the form of processed tomatoesRecent research has shown organic ketchup has about double the antioxidants of conventional ketchup.

Apples Apples are the second most commonly eaten fresh fruit and are also one of the most pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables.

http://www.dailymantra.com
http://www.myspace.com/thedailymantraby Nicole A $25 million study, funded by the European Union, has found that organic... more

AndreaKnoll
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Frankenfoods

About 70% of the food we eat contains genetically modified ingredients and is not... more

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Defining Organic Food

The Soil Association announced today that following a public consultation, it wants to... more

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Get Blissed Out On Caffeine And Perhaps Prevent Cellulite And Cancer Too

by Nicole New research has found that a low to moderate intake of caffeine... more

AndreaKnoll
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HRH The Prince Of Wales: The Elements Of Organic Gardening

by Nicole

I had begun to feel that this gigantic experiment with the whole of Nature, which increasingly seemed to me to be at risk of testing everything to destruction while at the same time extracting a cumulatively unsustainable harvest by artificial and progressively more toxic means, was both dangerous and short-sighted. I felt in my bones that if you abuse Nature unnecessarily and fail to maintain a balance, then She will probably abuse you in return. HRH The Prince Of Wales, The Elements Of Organic Gardening

A quarter of a century ago, when Prince Charles first spoke publicly about his belief in organic gardening and farming principles, he was dismissed as a tree-hugging eccentric that walked around talking to his plants. Twenty-five years on, hes considered an ecological visionary. His personal life may be somewhat controversial, but the garden is one place he gets it right (if only he could relate to people as well as he relates to his plants). In The Elements of Organic Gardening, published in the U.S. today by Kales Press, The Prince of Wales shares the sustainable growing methods hes used in his own gardens at Highgrove, Birkhall and Clarence House.

Soil is primeval, and a living organism we must treasure it. At Highgrove I have always practiced the art of feeding the soil rather than the plant.

The book covers the time-honored principles of composting, crop rotation and water conservation that weve ignored for too long at our own peril. In a modest, personable style, Charles talks about his use of ducks and birds to naturally control pests such a slugs and snails, and the use of natural insecticides made from garlic extract to control bugs. He shares his ideas on the virtues of seasonal planting to work with natures calendar rather then against it (Do we really need strawberries all year round?), and extols the traditional values of husbandry the care and cultivation of resources as well as crops since you cant have one without the other.

All is interconnected and interwoven; but we seem to have lost sight of this essential truth, and have become ever more separated from the inherent rhythms that lie at the heart of Nature. We have been dancing out of time with the music

As you travel through the pages, the heir to the English throne gives an intimate tour of each individual area of his extensive Highgrove gardens; The Productive Gardens, where rare heirloom varieties of fruit and veg provide vivid flavors, and The Ornamental Gardens, where planting provides food for the soul. We stroll with Charles on his dont-call-it-a-lawn, flat, strictly non-monoculture, mossy green lawn-type areas, which are made up of a myriad green plants and what some might term weeds (what is a weed but something different that dares to stick its head above the uniform?). Precisely manicured and mown, with stripes that would make any Englishman proud, these areas perhaps illustrate best that fact that you dont have to compromise to go organic. Dont mistake this for a dry gardening tome, whether youre a royalist or a republican, whether you have an acre or a plant pot to play with, this holistic approach to gardening and ultimately life makes for an invigorating philosophical read.

If you consider that our own bodies are entirely organic and that when we finally die they revert to organic matter, or soil, then you begin to realize that what we do to ourselves whether with an excess of antibiotic substances in our food or in our treatment can be mirrored in what we do to the wider Nature from which we spring.

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http://www.myspace.com/thedailymantraby Nicole I had begun to feel that this gigantic experiment with the whole of... more

AndreaKnoll
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Genetic Engineering

Ever eat major brands of bread, crackers or cereal? Canned soups or frozen dinners? If... more

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Eat Food, Not Much, Mostly Plants.

That's the advice from Michael Pollan in this intereview he granted to Alternet.... more

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A Lesson In Commerce With A Conscience

A Lesson In Commerce With A Conscience by Nicole You may know the Urth Caffe as... more

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Devita Offers Beauty From The Inside Out

by Nicole

Devitas amazingly effective line of botanical skin care products has become a firm favorite with the Daily Mantra. For those that need regular exfoliation, their Acne Solution Pads are quite simply transformational. With both salicylic and glycolic acids to slough off dead cells, witch hazel to tone and aloe vera to soothe and moisturize, the pads pack quite a punch without being drying. Other favorites in the range are the 2-Step Home Alpha Beta Peel Kit, the Tomato Leaf Mud Masque and their Daytime Solar Moisture Protection 30, which contains vegan hyaluronic acid (a molecule that can hold 1,000 times its weight in water and is normally harvested from animals) to keep skin super hydrated, and micronized zinc oxide to protect without giving you that ghostly white sheen that other less refined SPF products do.
We use organic ingredients when we can get them, says Devita founder Cherylanne DeVita. When an organic ingredient cant be found, Cherylanne works hard to find the most natural alternatives. Take our glycolic acids for instance, she says, instead of using Glypure which is a sold through DuPont, we use a blend that comes from Italy thats sourced from molasses, apples, and sugar cane. Certified by PETA on two levels, Devita offers guilt-free beauty. Not only have we not tested any product on animals, explains Cherylanne, we have the sources of our ingredients certify that their ingredients have not been tested on animals.

This morally and environmentally sound ethos is followed through in Devitas corporate culture. I believe corporate America is really in a better position than any one else to make a difference. One voice can change the world but one company can do a lot to inspire other companies to follow suit, says Cherylanne. Here at Devita we have our carbon footprint traced, and were working on a program right now to help to replant trees to offset what is non-recyclable in our boxing.

We provide a womens work week here for employees that have children. I think its very important for moms to be home when their children get home from school, adds Cherylanne. Her Phoenix based company also contributes to local after school programs for teens who dont have parents working for such an enlightened corporation, and for each product sold a portion of profit is donated to Planet Hope which provides support to homeless adults and their children.

http://www.dailymantra.com
http://www.myspace.com/thedailymantraby Nicole Devitas amazingly effective line of botanical skin care products has... more