May 27, 2009
· Filed under Environmental Detox, Food and Drink, Natural Cooking · Tagged cooking, eating, food, fruit, Genetically Modified, GM, health, how to, products, safe, shopping, vegetables, vegetarian
I have recently come to realize that a lot of the foods I consume are GM, or genetically modified, foods. These are commonly called biotech foods, too, for the fact that they are engineered in a lab rather than on a farm. The idea kind of makes me sick, to be truthful, but being a vegetarian I have discovered that many grains and vegetable proteins are GM.
I suddenly became aware of this fact when I was on several sites for the companies that make may of the products I have been eating. The veggie burgers and meat substitutes I often enjoy are made of wheat gluten, vegetable protein and textured soy are made from GM soy, veggies, wheat and oil. I was shocked, to say the least. I had been stupidly believing that what I was eating was “natural”. I guess the joke is on me.
But according to many researchers, GM foods may have an impact on our mental and emotional health and this is a measurement that is not evaluated in most traditional food safety assessments. On average, the Government proclaims that GM foods are safe and fine to consume. Do you have any idea how many you are currently consuming? I have heard that there isn’t a single can of corn distributed in America that is not GM. Does that bother you?
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May 19, 2009
· Filed under Environmental Detox, Home and Garden, conservation, diy · Tagged bugs, diy, ecology, gardening, how to, organic, planting, plants, remedies, safe
There is a rising interest in growing organic food here in the USA. There are number of things contributing to this interest, the biggest of which is the recession. People want to save some money and grow their own eats. But there are other concerns that drive the interest, too and these include the food scares we’ve had enough of over the past year, from Ecoli on peppers to salmonella in tomatoes. More people are concerned about the planet and trying to cut down on eating meat, which has been named as a big source of CO2 and methane and so are looking to grow their own, safer and greener, food. I am sure there are other concerns driving this trend, including my own which is simply to have inexpensive, safe, organic food for my vegan diet.
Along with growing organically comes the big concern of how to control pests and diseases. The preponderance of pests that eat up the garden and diseases that fell the best intentions are the sole reason why mankind created tons of chemicals that poison everyone to begin with. If we could just grow a healthy, productive garden by plugging in a seed and letting nature take it’s course, we wouldn’t be in such a quandary. But after years of trying, failing, succeeding and struggling with one garden after another, I can tell you that the bugs will come, the disease will appear and environmental factors will rear their ugly head and put an end to your veggie dreams. So how do you grow vegetables organically? It’s just not as easy as it seems, believe me.
What I am going to try to do in this post is touch the tip of the iceberg with some tips and solutions for common problems you will face when trying to start the organic garden. This will be the first of many posts to come throughout the summer, as the topic is huge and can’t be covered in a single article. But today I will give some basic tips on how to keep those bugs and diseases out of your veggie stash.
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May 13, 2009
· Filed under Environmental Detox, Home and Garden, Personal Care, diy · Tagged chemicals, cleaning, cleanser, green, health, how to, non toxic, products, safe, shopping, toxic, washing
It is always a dilemma for those of us who want our world to be clean and really clean when faced with choices of what to use while considering both our own health and our environment. I have found, over the years, that many cleaning products sold in retail stores are sensitizing at the least, generally toxic and often downright dangerous. As a young woman, I made my living cleaning other people’s houses and made quite a good living at it. It was hard work, of course, but not bad for your health in that regard. Yet I was exposed to some of the most dangerous solutions made by man; germicidal algae destroyers, scum strippers, wax removers, wood stains, aluminum greasers and shiners, as well as the regular old poisons, bleach and ammonia. I remember smoking my cigarette through bleached white fingers. And, over time, I would get dizzy, nauseous, light headed, breathless and downright stupid, just out of the blue and often after scrubbing down a couple of houses. In time, even our customers began to complain. Being clean, I learned over time, did not necessarily mean sandblasting the world with chemicals.
Of course, smoking didn’t help, either. Thank God I was able to quit.. and no longer do it. So no comments about that, please! And look for my future post, coming up shortly, on the toxic chemicals in cigarettes and some natural, non toxic and herbal recipes for your own safer, cheaper, homemade cigarette. But it wasn’t until cleaning chemicals became a real problem for my health that I began to make different choices. It is just too easy to snatch up the bottle of ammonia to clean the windows and the bleach to clean up the countertops. Commerical products are cheap and accessible, ready to use and easy to store. Just push a button or pull a trigger and wipe! Wow. Everything is clean… and possibly dangerous. If you are curious about what I am talking about here, then read my posts on detergents , air fresheners and dangerous chemicals and how they affect you and your family. And when you are ready to consider a simple, easy, inexpensive and non toxic solution that will tackle just about every cleaning problem you have, then read on. I even have a recipe for you to try today.
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May 12, 2009
· Filed under Environmental Detox, Home and Garden, conservation, recycling · Tagged conservation, eco, energy, energy star, home, recycling, saving, shopping
Why Switch to Compact Fluorescents?
Photo courtesy of What’s Toxic
I am sure you have heard of CFLs
, that you should be using them, that you should avoid them, etc… with the argument still raging on both sides. Environmental groups have been encouraging people to switch from their current old fashioned light bulb to the new Compact Fluorescent Bulbs. The country of Australia has mandated that incandescents be phased out completely and, here in the US, California is considering similar legislation.
At the same time, you have been hearing that they are hazardous and require special handing, especially if they break. They have to be recycled in a specific way, not just tossed in the trash, making them seem formidable and problematic. But do their benefits outweigh the risks? And are the risks a genuine concern? Let’s give them a good look today and decide for ourselves.
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