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Young Workers Heading Back to the Land To Work

by Angela December 21st, 2011 - No Comments »

Photo by Suzette: Flickr

Young workers fed up with the lack of opportunity in cubicles are trading their MacBook Pros for plows. The reasons? On a farm you get to be your own boss, make your own (long) hours and live a more stress-free lifestyle. More people in their twenties and thirties are enrolling in agriculture programs at colleges and universities.

Despite the traditional hard slog of a farmer, agriculture is one industry that has been weathering the recession well. Ever-increasing demand for organic foods is part of the inspiration for younger professionals to get back to the land, even with high startup costs for arable farmland and equipment.

How about you – would you trade in your daily commute and Starbucks for the back of a plow? Weigh in on this in our comments. We’d particularly like to hear from you if you’ve gone back to the land for any reason at all.

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Women’s Hearts are Affected by Bisphenol A: New Study

by Angela December 20th, 2011 - No Comments »

A new study reveals that female hearts are particularly susceptible to the effects of BPA. The compound is pervasive and is used to line cans, in water bottles and in other plastic materials. Since BPA mimics estrogen, its effects on adult females are more pronounced than on adult men. According to the new study, BPA can cause heart cells to start beating on their own, which they shouldn’t do without signals from the brain. The results can even be deadly.

To read more about the science involved, see the article published in (surprisingly) Packaging Digest by its senior editor.

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Organic Consumers Association Takes a Page From Occupy Movement

by Angela December 19th, 2011 - No Comments »

The Organic Consumers Association has taken a page from the book of the Occupy movement in a call to the 99% of consumers to reject the food choices of the 1%. In a call to supporters, the OCA tells supporters that:

“Organic Consumers, like 99 percent of Americans, are sick and tired of large corporations and indentured politicians–the 1 percent–dictating our food and farming choices and undermining our health, as well as the health of the planet.”

The campaign is in support of putting an initiative on the ballot in November 2012 to add a mandatory label to genetically modified foods so Californians could clearly see what is and isn’t genetically modified and make up their own minds about what they are eating rather than relying on the 1% to tell them what is right. That strategy hasn’t worked in the world of finance, and it certainly hasn’t worked in the world of food. Good call, OCA. More calls to action should include this kind of logic.

 

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GoodVibes Gives Green Ratings to its Sex Toys Established With Ecorotic Ratings

by Angela December 18th, 2011 - 1 Comment »

It’s the time of year when our thoughts turn to adult gifts for some post-holiday hedonism after Puritan family turkey feasts. This year San Francisco adult toymakers Good Vibrations has established a green ratings system for its line of environmentally friendly sex toys which it calls its Ecorotic ratings. Incidentally, the company was the first to blow the whistle on the dangers of phthalates in sex toys and it removed these products from its shelves entirely in 2007.

To receive the coveted rating, the products must be body-safe, free from animal products, rechargeable if they require electricity, contain natural ingredients, feature recyclable packaging, and be made in America.

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Panasonic Going for Green Label with Eco-Friendly Appliances

by Angela December 17th, 2011 - No Comments »

Panasonic’s mission statement is to be known as the greenest company in its industry in time for its 100th anniversary in 2018. Some of the products that are supposed to get it there are being launched at Eco-Products 2011, one of Japan’s largest environmental fairs.

The Eco-Navi home appliance product line has been around for a while, but is one of the cornerstones of Panasonic’s green innovations initiative. Fridges in the line have sensors that reduce the amount of energy used during household sleeping times, which it automatically detects with light sensors. The washing machines are designed differently from other washing machines to maximize the energy savings, and air conditioners that automatically shut off when nobody is in the room.

Panasonic will feature new LED products and showcase its recycling-oriented manufacturing process at the Japanese trade show.

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Cotton Processed by Child Labour Used by Victoria’s Secret

by Angela December 16th, 2011 - 1 Comment »

Image by abbeyman2002: Flickr

Victoria’s Secret is claiming ignorance after an investigation found that some of its cotton being purchased from Burkina Faso was processed with the help of child labour. The cotton was sold to factories in India and Sri Lanka as fair trade organic cotton and incorporated into Victoria’s Secret products. When a product is certified as fair-trade, it is supposed to be made not only in conditions that are economically beneficial to the farmer, but in a way that workers are treated fairly and child labour is not used. A 2008 report by Burkina Faso cotton growers under the banner of their trade association pointed out huge flaws in the oversight of such programs that may allow off-base practices to be used in the production of Burkina Faso organic and fair trade cotton.

Victoria’s Secret is disavowing any knowledge of the use of child labour in the cotton purchased for its products and have vowed to get to the bottom of the situation.

So should you never trust the Fair Trade label? It is true that situations like these can paint honest producers with the same brush, but it is fair to ask if a product is actually worth paying more money for with the Fair Trade label on it. The oversight on the program is obviously not as extensive as it should be, or a mistake this size would have been caught. It will be interesting to see how Fair Trade labeling organizations react to this news in the coming weeks, if at all, and if better oversight is a commitment that they make. They will have to make moves to regain the public trust they have lost, and Victoria’s Secret will have to do a lot of damage control to preserve its representation.

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USDA Hammer Falls on Organic Factory Farm in Phoenix

by Angela December 15th, 2011 - No Comments »

Photo by JelleS: Flickr

In an action prompted by a complaint from the Cornucopia Institute (seriously, I LOVE you guys) Shamrock Farms may lose its USDA Organic certification after a thorough investigation.

Organic regulations require that cows labelled as producing organic dairy have to be grazed, or allowed to feed on grass. Shamrock employees told the USDA investigators that some of the confined cows had not been let out for weeks. Similar complaints have been lodged against similar mega-dairies that are claiming to follow organic practices when in reality they are doing anything but.

So why doesn’t the USDA do this policing on its own without spurring from a watchdog organization? With the government debt being what it is, new hires aren’t exactly a priority at the sprawling organization. Another reason that organic consumers need to do their research before laying their money down.

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Organic Diet Sperm Donor Faces FDA Clampdown

by Angela December 14th, 2011 - 1 Comment »

Trent Arsenault, Maverick Sperm Donor via trentdonor.org

The fertility industry charges the baby-challenged billions of dollars a year for drugs, surgery, and treatments to make them fertile. Trent Arsenault aimed to change all that by offering his sperm for free, sperm that comes from a guy who eats an organic diet, has a good brain on his shoulders and, if his website stats are correct, a sperm count that could make other dudes shrivel up just from reading it.

The FDA isn’t having any of this free, unregulated stuff. No, they may be charging Mr. Arsenault with a $100,000 fine, and he may even be eligible for some jail time for being a “manufacturer of human cells”. The FDA is understandably concerned that Trent may start a revolution in free sperm donations that could undermine the fertility industry, but really they’re just looking out for your health. Uh huh.

 

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Top 5 Steps to Healthier Skin

by Jason December 13th, 2011 - No Comments »


Top 5 Steps to Healthier Skin

1) Cleanse – You are shedding millions of skin cells daily, and you don’t even know it. Unfortunately that isn’t enough to rid our largest organ of our daily dose of dirt and oil from the statum corneum. That’s right, I just got all scientific on you. The statum corneum is the top layer of your skin, and it will thank you for cleansing it daily!

2) Hydrate – Did you know your skin is losing water as you read this? The fancy term for that is trans epidermal water loss (TEWL), but we will just think of it as the dry and flaky skin syndrome. Being exposed to the sun, wind, rain, air, and anything else that comes in contact with your dermis causes TEWL. So unless you plan to live in your closet, you better keep your skin hydrated!

3) Replenish – Taking fish oil for essential fatty acids inside the body has become very popular, and it shouldn’t stop there. Applying these efa’s directly to your skin will help restore your lipid barrier. Rather than stripping your skin of its natural oils, and causing it to naturally produce more, just replenish the efa’s and allow your skin to inhibit peroxidative and oxidative damage naturally. The bottom line, replenish and rejoice!

4) Protect-Day – We all know what it is like to be outside on a 100 degree day with the sun blazing down on us. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that using sunscreen to protect our skin is a good idea. Unfortunately, it isn’t common practice to protect our skin when the sun isn’t being so obvious. UVA and UVB are huge skin cancer causes and they don’t take the day off. This means lather up, so you don’t dry up!

5) Protect – Night – Sleeping well is essential to waking up refreshed and ready to go for another day. Just like you need a quality organic mattress to help with replenishing your body and mind, your skin needs the proper tools to restore itself. While you sleep is the perfect time to fight free radicals that are attacking your lipid membranes and causing extreme damage to the structure of your skin cells. So fight at night, and you’ll be alright!

Just as there’s more than one way to skin a cat, there are more than a million different products out there that you can use to accomplish the steps above. Obviously, if you have the choice, the organic and chemical free way makes the most sense. Marie Veronique Organics is an awesome company that has a range of chemical free, organic, and even some vegan products that can help you accomplish everything described above. They even have some cool gift ideas for the holiday season. Check em out, and your skin will thank you.

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Organic Wine Makes a Great Hostess and Holiday Gift

by Angela December 12th, 2011 - No Comments »

Photo by Freshtopia: Flickr

Booze is the perennial gift of adults to other adults. Maybe it has something to do with blowing crazy amounts of cash on items you would never think of buying during the year, maybe it has to do with putting together toys that come with the “some assembly required” fine print that see you staying up until 1AM Christmas Eve fiddling with small plastic pegs and screws, but alcohol makes all the pleasant trials of the holidays just a little smoother. If you are buying for an environmentally-minded person, picking out an organic vino product will make them think you just put a little extra effort into your hostess or holiday gift, even if you didn’t.

Organic Wine Find
To find organic wine, check out organicwinefind.com. They also have an app you can download for your mobile phone. While their database is impressive, it is by no means exhaustive and they may be missing out on a few of the smaller wineries.

EcoVine Wine Club
A great gift for the greenie who has everything, or yourself, you can get a new organic wine every month from this wine club. They ship exclusively organic wines; no eco-friendly namby-pamby stuff here. Sorry Canadians: US only.

Frogpond Farm Winery
I keep on mentioning this place here about once every six months for a reason: it’s awesome. Really, really awesome. There is no artisanal tasting experience when you visit the winery, in fact everything about it is decidedly down-home. Sipping your wine of choice while sitting at a rickety picnic table and watching a turkey trying to climb a fence is way, way more interesting than experiencing an ice wine flight in a sanitized, touristy winery. If you are anywhere near Niagara-on-the-Lake, ever, make it a plan to stop here. It happens to be Ontario’s only certified organic winery and their wine tastes awesome.

To find out more about organic wine, check out this informative article written by a sommelier.

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