October 2010

Where’s the Photo?

by Steve on October 29, 2010

in Blog

When I began this blog ( actually, it’s predecessor at wordpress.com) my goal was to always have a related picture to go along with each entry.   I didn’t want a photo blog in the normal sense, but pictures add so much to a blog post in my humble opinion.

I think I have met this goal fairly well, but I recently noticed that many times it has held me back from adding some content, simply because I either didn’t have a camera with me, or didn’t get any meaningful related photo to go along with the post.  Shame on me!

I still intend to have one or more photos to go along with each post I make, but I no longer want to keep it as a hard and fast rule.  There is too much going on out there I want to comment on to not post simply because I don’t have a good picture of the subject of the day.

In the past, I have had to hold onto my notes until I can record my weekly podcast, but sometimes the information is too interesting or important.

What for example, did I learn this week?

  1. The Cosmetic Industry is misleading consumers with Organic Labels
     ”On cosmetics labels, words like ‘herbal,’ ‘natural,’ even ‘organic’, have no legal definition. That means that anybody can put anything in a bottle and call it ‘natural’  http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/index.cfm
  2. Researchers Concludes that HFCS IS more dangerous than Sugar, partially due to the difference between sucrose and fructose
    http://www.grist.org/article/researchers-yes.-hfcs-is-much-worse-than-table-sugar

This is just a small sample of the Clean Food Related items I have seen this week.   How do I take a photo of that?  A Soda Can?  I can of Hair Spray?

In my weekly podcast this coming weekend I’ll cover these in more detail along with some others like Monsanto created “Super Weeds” now becoming an issue.

Meanwhile, I hope you will continue reading, even if the photos are not always included with my posts.

What interesting Food discoveries have you made this week?

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Organic Role Models

by Steve on October 26, 2010

in Blog

When I started growing my own food, it was mainly because of the quality and type of food & produce I was finding locally.  At first, that was all I thought about.

But like most things I start, I became interested in the subject of food, and why the quality was so poor. Even visually, it was pretty abysmal.  I began my research.

In the process, I learned about the Rodale institute, I read several books Michale Pollan, The Organic Manifesto by Maria Rodale, and learned that the “Father” of modern organic gardening principles had the same name as my grandfather, Albert Howard.  ( Same name, but that’s about all)

And then I saw the movie “Food, Inc” where I saw in more detail than I imagined what some of the problems were.    Herbivores ( Cattle) being fed grain, Chickens injected with hormones that made them grow so quickly they could barely stand. And all with the support of our government through cheap subsidies.

Then, through watching the Food, Inc video I met Joel Salatin.   Joel and his family run a farm in Swope Virginia on methods he calls “Beyond Organic”.  I have to agree with him after seeing how he runs his operation.

Not only is Joel “Walking the Walk”, but he is very knowledgeable and entertaining spokesman for what our food industry needs.  Judge for yourself in this piece from USA Today.

Joel Salatin is a farmer I want to be like. He treats his animals fairly, just as he does his customers. His language is colorful in a positive way. For example when talking about his pigs, he speaks of them being allowed to show and live their “pigness”.

The Clean (Organic if you wish) Food Movement is gaining momentum partially due to spokespeople like Joel. Milk can now be found clearly marked “No BGH”, and I have now seen grocery items like Ketchup marked No “HFCS”. I firnly believe moist of this would be unlikely without the help of people like Joel out shere speaking whenever given a chance. H also has several books on how he runs the operation and they are equally entertaining, but that I’ll save for another time.

If it were not for people like Joel Salatin and Michal Pollan, we would still be forced to buy only what the big stores determined we should buy.

Thank you Joel – we all owe you a debt of gratitude.

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GYG-002 – Container Gardening, Fall Prep, and Extending the Season

October 24, 2010

This weeks episode  we’ll be talking about container gardening, Fall Garden Preparation, Cold Frames and Row Covers, and 5 tips for extending your growing season. Found a very interesting and information filled Gardening Website and Podcast at The Self Sufficient Gardener Jason provides a lot of detailed organic information, including plant by plant descriptions in [...]

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Why I am Moving to the Country

October 18, 2010

After I posted my last podcast on “How to Find Your Place in the Country”, I realized that I didn’t really give many details of why I want to get back to the country.  Oh, I touched briefly on a few of the reasons, but not really much “meat”. While I have several reasons that [...]

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PACL-001 How to find your own Country Homestead

October 17, 2010

First a little background on myself and my wife, and our reasons for wanting to move away from the city and to the country. Although I grew up technically in the suburbs, I spent every spare moment thinking of a way I could stay with my grandparents on their farm.  I loved the country as [...]

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Why Does Good Food Cost So Much?

October 12, 2010

One of the claims I hear a lot lately is why does sustainably grown or organic food cost so much?  While there is some element of truth to that statement, I don’t feel it shows the whole picture. But when it costs more for a head of lettuce and a tomato than a giant meat [...]

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GYG-001 – Starting a Garden & Why, HoneyBees, & Fall Garden Prep

October 11, 2010

Let’s talk about why everyone should have a kitchen garden.   Why growing your own food is a great idea  !   Food Safety – Salmonella, E.Coli, etc  Healthier – Preservatives, poisons, flavor Reliable – Power Outages, Strikes Petroleum Costs – Fertilizer, packaging, shipping, storage Fresher – Picked a week ago or same day?  You be the [...]

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Food Rules!

October 5, 2010

I recently read a small guide to food by Michael Pollan called “Food Rules.  An Eaters Guide” From Mr Pollan’s Website:   “It’s an easy-to-use guide that draws from a variety of traditions, suggesting how different cultures through the ages have arrived at the same enduring wisdom about food. Whether at the supermarket or an all-you-can-eat [...]

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