'Ecokosher' is finding a place at the table
New dietary standards commit to treating workers, animals, and Earth with care.
By Dianna Marder
215-854-4211 or dmarder@phillynews.com
Inquirer Staff Writer
Sun, Sep. 27, 2009 Link to full article below (this is an excerpt)
For centuries, rabbis have taught that the kitchen table is an altar.
By this they mean that drawing food from the Earth, preparing it for the table, and eating it is part of a covenant with God - an understanding that we must not defile the Earth or ourselves.
But a growing number of Jews are questioning whether the traditional Jewish dietary laws go far enough and are spawning a national, distinctly Jewish, food movement, with roots in Philadelphia, known as ecokosher.
"The kosher laws actually have nothing to do with sustainable agriculture, treating workers fairly, protecting the air and the water - any of that," says Robin Rifkin, a member of Kol Ami Congregation in Elkins Park. "And that's what we're concerned about."
A small but increasing number of Jews across the usual denominational lines of Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform are feeling an obligation to confront these ethical issues in a variety of ways.
And, in a revolutionary effort, like-minded Jews nationwide are launching a new uber-kosher symbol that could appear on food products as early as next year - a symbol of ethical responsibility demonstrating a manufacturer's commitment to treating workers, animals, and the Earth with care.
To read the full article: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/health_science/daily/20090927__Ecokosher__is_finding_a_place_at_the_table.html
Showing posts with label solution: ethical eating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label solution: ethical eating. Show all posts
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Monday, December 29, 2008
7 Things you can do to save the rainforest
7 things you can do to save the rainforest
http://www.certisource.co.uk/Press_Articles/Article_Archive/articles/7%20things%20you%20can%20do%20to%20save%20the%20rainforest%20by%20the%20rainforest%20action%20network.htm
1) reduce your paper and wood consumption.
Logging companies are cutting down some of the most endangered forests on the planet to make wood and paper products such as office paper, phone books, toilet paper, window trim, lawn furniture, and 2 x 4's. Over seventy-eight percent of the Earth's original old growth forests have already been logged or degraded.
You can help reduce the pressure on our remaining forests by taking simple steps to reduce your own wood and paper use. For example, use both sides of each piece of paper, use your own cloth bags at the grocery store, use cloth napkins and towels, and avoid disposable paper plates and cups.
When purchasing paper products, choose products with the highest percentage of recycled content —post-consumer recycled content is the best. Choose tree-free paper alternatives if possible. Tree-free paper is made from agricultural products like waste straw, kenaf, and hemp, so not a single tree is cut down for its production!
If you are building a house or adding on to your home, utilize wood efficient building techniques and avoid old growth wood products. Learn about alternatives such as reclaimed or recycled lumber, composite lumber, and independently certified wood. See our website for more information on old growth wood alternatives.
2) reduce your oil consumption.
The burning of oil, gas, and coal is the primary cause of climate change, a trend that is threatening the stability of the global climate. Scientists have predicted that if we stay on our current path, global temperatures will rise between 2° and 9° Fahrenheit in the next century —a warming rate faster than any occurring in the last ten thousand years. In addition, oil exploration projects lead to toxic pollution and massive deforestation, posing a threat to pristine ecosystems and indigenous cultures worldwide.
You can help alleviate oil's impact on the environment by reducing your own oil and gas consumption. The next time you purchase a car, choose one that gets good gas mileage and avoid gas guzzling sports utility vehicles. If you drive somewhere regularly, start a carpool. Whenever possible, leave your car at home and instead walk, ride your bike, or take local mass transportation. Support funding for mass transportation and bike lanes —options that will serve our transportation needs and our planet much better in the long run than an ever-expanding maze of roads and highways!
3) reduce your beef consumption.
Rainforest beef is typically found in fast food hamburgers or processed beef products. In both 1993 and 1994 the U. S. imported over 200 million pounds of fresh and frozen beef from Central American countries. Two-thirds of these countries' rainforests have been cleared, in part to raise cattle whose meat is exported to profit the U. S. food industry. When it enters the U. S. the beef is not labeled with its country of origin, so there is no way to trace it to its source. Reducing your consumption of beef will reduce demand for it, cutting back on pressure to clear more forests for cattle. For more information on the connection between beef and the environment, contact Earthsave International, 1509 Seabright Avenue, Suite B1, Santa Cruz, CA 95062; 1-800-362-3648; http://www.earthsave.org/.
4) hold businesses accountable.
Corporations need to know that the public will hold them accountable for business practices that are socially or environmentally destructive. If you feel that a company's business practices are environmentally irresponsible, send the company a letter expressing your concern, or organize a boycott of the company. Below you'll find information about two companies that you can write to today to help protect the Earth's forests. To learn more about these companies, please visit our website at http://www.ran.org/.
a. Boise sells wood products from the world's most endangered forests, including the tropical rainforests of the Amazon and Southeast Asia and the temperate rainforests of Chile. Boise is also the country's largest logger of U. S. public lands. Please ask Boise to phase out its logging and distribution of old growth wood. Write to George Harad, Chairman &CEO, Boise Corporation, 1111 West Jefferson Street, PO Box 50, Boise, ID 83728.
b. Citigroup is a key financial player in many of the world's most destructive projects, including construction of the Chad/Cameroon oil pipeline in Africa, the replacement of orangutan habitat with palm plantations in Indonesia, and the logging of California's Headwaters Forest. If you have a Citibank credit card, cut it up! Mail the cut up card back to Citibank in your next bill statement, and let them know why you no longer want to be a customer. If you are not a Citigroup customer, let them know that you will never be a customer unless they change their business practices. Call Citigroup at 1-800-456-4277 or write to Mr. Sandy Weill, Chairman and CEO, Citigroup, 153 East 53rd Street, New York, New York 10043.
5) invest in rainforest communities.
RAN's Protect-an-Acre Program was created to protect the world's rainforests and to support the rights of rainforest communities. The Protect-an-Acre Program is an alternative to "buy-an-acre" programs, which tend to ignore the fact that there are often people who depend on the forest and have lived in the forest sustainably for centuries. Protect-an-Acre provides funding to help forest peoples gain legal recognition of their territories, develop locally-based alternative economic initiatives, and resist destructive practices such as logging and fossil fuel development. For information about how you can support the Protect-an-Acre program, visit the Protect-an-Acre section of our website.
6) Support the grassroots.
In 1999, Home Depot, the single largest retailer of lumber in the world, agreed to phase out its sales of old growth wood. This victory was a direct result of the hard work of grassroots activists, who staged more than six hundred demonstrations at Home Depot stores across the U. S. and Canada. You can play a critical role in future victories by joining or starting a Grassroots Action Group in your area! Contact RAN's Grassroots Coordinator at 415-398-4404 or organize@ran.org for help in finding a local group or advice on starting your own group. Equally important, help protect the forests in your region by getting involved with a local forest preservation group.
7) support Rainforest Action Network.
Rainforest Action Network is an effective, hard-hitting organization. In 1985, RAN launched a nationwide boycott of Burger King, which was importing cheap beef from tropical rainforest countries. Two years later, Burger King canceled thirty-five million dollars worth of beef contracts and agreed to stop importing beef from the rainforest. RAN then led a global consumer boycott against Mitsubishi, which resulted in Mitsubishi Motor Sales America and Mitsubishi Electric America committing to unprecedented environmental reviews of their business activities. Most recently, as a result of a two year campaign led by RAN, the nation's top home improvement etailers and largest home builders agreed to phase out the sale and use of wood from the Earth's endangered forests. None of these victories would have been possible without the support of our members. To join RAN, please call us at (415) 398-4404 or join online!
Resources for more information
Breeden, Stanley. Visions of a Rainforest: A Year in Australia’s Tropical Rainforest. Ten Speed Press, 1993.
Brown, Lester R. State of the World: A Worldwatch Institute Report on Progress Toward a Sustainable Society. W. W. Norton & Company, published yearly.
Caufield, Catherine. In the Rainforest. University of Chicago Press, 1984.
Forsyth, Adrian and Ken Miyata. Tropical Nature: Life and Death in the Rain Forests of Central and South America. MacMillan Publishing Co., 1987.
Hawken, Paul. The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability. HarperBusiness, 1993.
Korten, David C. When Corporations Rule the World. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1996.
Rifkin, Jeremy. Beyond Beef: The Rise and Fall of Cattle Culture. Dutton/Penguin, 1992.
Schoonmaker, Peter K., Bettina Von Hagen and Edward C. Wolf, eds. The Rain Forests of Home: Profile of a North American Bioregion. Island Press, 1997.
Rainforestweb.org: http://www.rainforestweb.org/
Rainforest Action Network: http://www.ran.org/
World Resources Institute: http://www.wri.org/
Worldwatch Institute: http://www.worldwatch.org
Gaia Forest Conservation Archives: http://forests.org/
http://www.certisource.co.uk/
1) reduce your paper and wood consumption.
Logging companies are cutting down some of the most endangered forests on the planet to make wood and paper products such as office paper, phone books, toilet paper, window trim, lawn furniture, and 2 x 4's. Over seventy-eight percent of the Earth's original old growth forests have already been logged or degraded.
You can help reduce the pressure on our remaining forests by taking simple steps to reduce your own wood and paper use. For example, use both sides of each piece of paper, use your own cloth bags at the grocery store, use cloth napkins and towels, and avoid disposable paper plates and cups.
When purchasing paper products, choose products with the highest percentage of recycled content —post-consumer recycled content is the best. Choose tree-free paper alternatives if possible. Tree-free paper is made from agricultural products like waste straw, kenaf, and hemp, so not a single tree is cut down for its production!
If you are building a house or adding on to your home, utilize wood efficient building techniques and avoid old growth wood products. Learn about alternatives such as reclaimed or recycled lumber, composite lumber, and independently certified wood. See our website for more information on old growth wood alternatives.
2) reduce your oil consumption.
The burning of oil, gas, and coal is the primary cause of climate change, a trend that is threatening the stability of the global climate. Scientists have predicted that if we stay on our current path, global temperatures will rise between 2° and 9° Fahrenheit in the next century —a warming rate faster than any occurring in the last ten thousand years. In addition, oil exploration projects lead to toxic pollution and massive deforestation, posing a threat to pristine ecosystems and indigenous cultures worldwide.
You can help alleviate oil's impact on the environment by reducing your own oil and gas consumption. The next time you purchase a car, choose one that gets good gas mileage and avoid gas guzzling sports utility vehicles. If you drive somewhere regularly, start a carpool. Whenever possible, leave your car at home and instead walk, ride your bike, or take local mass transportation. Support funding for mass transportation and bike lanes —options that will serve our transportation needs and our planet much better in the long run than an ever-expanding maze of roads and highways!
3) reduce your beef consumption.
Rainforest beef is typically found in fast food hamburgers or processed beef products. In both 1993 and 1994 the U. S. imported over 200 million pounds of fresh and frozen beef from Central American countries. Two-thirds of these countries' rainforests have been cleared, in part to raise cattle whose meat is exported to profit the U. S. food industry. When it enters the U. S. the beef is not labeled with its country of origin, so there is no way to trace it to its source. Reducing your consumption of beef will reduce demand for it, cutting back on pressure to clear more forests for cattle. For more information on the connection between beef and the environment, contact Earthsave International, 1509 Seabright Avenue, Suite B1, Santa Cruz, CA 95062; 1-800-362-3648; http://www.earthsave.org/.
4) hold businesses accountable.
Corporations need to know that the public will hold them accountable for business practices that are socially or environmentally destructive. If you feel that a company's business practices are environmentally irresponsible, send the company a letter expressing your concern, or organize a boycott of the company. Below you'll find information about two companies that you can write to today to help protect the Earth's forests. To learn more about these companies, please visit our website at http://www.ran.org/.
a. Boise sells wood products from the world's most endangered forests, including the tropical rainforests of the Amazon and Southeast Asia and the temperate rainforests of Chile. Boise is also the country's largest logger of U. S. public lands. Please ask Boise to phase out its logging and distribution of old growth wood. Write to George Harad, Chairman &CEO, Boise Corporation, 1111 West Jefferson Street, PO Box 50, Boise, ID 83728.
b. Citigroup is a key financial player in many of the world's most destructive projects, including construction of the Chad/Cameroon oil pipeline in Africa, the replacement of orangutan habitat with palm plantations in Indonesia, and the logging of California's Headwaters Forest. If you have a Citibank credit card, cut it up! Mail the cut up card back to Citibank in your next bill statement, and let them know why you no longer want to be a customer. If you are not a Citigroup customer, let them know that you will never be a customer unless they change their business practices. Call Citigroup at 1-800-456-4277 or write to Mr. Sandy Weill, Chairman and CEO, Citigroup, 153 East 53rd Street, New York, New York 10043.
5) invest in rainforest communities.
RAN's Protect-an-Acre Program was created to protect the world's rainforests and to support the rights of rainforest communities. The Protect-an-Acre Program is an alternative to "buy-an-acre" programs, which tend to ignore the fact that there are often people who depend on the forest and have lived in the forest sustainably for centuries. Protect-an-Acre provides funding to help forest peoples gain legal recognition of their territories, develop locally-based alternative economic initiatives, and resist destructive practices such as logging and fossil fuel development. For information about how you can support the Protect-an-Acre program, visit the Protect-an-Acre section of our website.
6) Support the grassroots.
In 1999, Home Depot, the single largest retailer of lumber in the world, agreed to phase out its sales of old growth wood. This victory was a direct result of the hard work of grassroots activists, who staged more than six hundred demonstrations at Home Depot stores across the U. S. and Canada. You can play a critical role in future victories by joining or starting a Grassroots Action Group in your area! Contact RAN's Grassroots Coordinator at 415-398-4404 or organize@ran.org for help in finding a local group or advice on starting your own group. Equally important, help protect the forests in your region by getting involved with a local forest preservation group.
7) support Rainforest Action Network.
Rainforest Action Network is an effective, hard-hitting organization. In 1985, RAN launched a nationwide boycott of Burger King, which was importing cheap beef from tropical rainforest countries. Two years later, Burger King canceled thirty-five million dollars worth of beef contracts and agreed to stop importing beef from the rainforest. RAN then led a global consumer boycott against Mitsubishi, which resulted in Mitsubishi Motor Sales America and Mitsubishi Electric America committing to unprecedented environmental reviews of their business activities. Most recently, as a result of a two year campaign led by RAN, the nation's top home improvement etailers and largest home builders agreed to phase out the sale and use of wood from the Earth's endangered forests. None of these victories would have been possible without the support of our members. To join RAN, please call us at (415) 398-4404 or join online!
Resources for more information
Breeden, Stanley. Visions of a Rainforest: A Year in Australia’s Tropical Rainforest. Ten Speed Press, 1993.
Brown, Lester R. State of the World: A Worldwatch Institute Report on Progress Toward a Sustainable Society. W. W. Norton & Company, published yearly.
Caufield, Catherine. In the Rainforest. University of Chicago Press, 1984.
Forsyth, Adrian and Ken Miyata. Tropical Nature: Life and Death in the Rain Forests of Central and South America. MacMillan Publishing Co., 1987.
Hawken, Paul. The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability. HarperBusiness, 1993.
Korten, David C. When Corporations Rule the World. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1996.
Rifkin, Jeremy. Beyond Beef: The Rise and Fall of Cattle Culture. Dutton/Penguin, 1992.
Schoonmaker, Peter K., Bettina Von Hagen and Edward C. Wolf, eds. The Rain Forests of Home: Profile of a North American Bioregion. Island Press, 1997.
Rainforestweb.org: http://www.rainforestweb.org/
Rainforest Action Network: http://www.ran.org/
World Resources Institute: http://www.wri.org/
Worldwatch Institute: http://www.worldwatch.org
Gaia Forest Conservation Archives: http://forests.org/
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Fruits are Loaded with Nutrients
Fruits are Loaded with Nutrients
by Dr. Phil Domenico
Source: Natural News -
Fruits are Loaded with Nutrients
(NaturalNews) It's hard to beat fruits. They provide an abundance of nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, essential oils, antioxidants, fiber, and anti-inflammatory substances. Many are alkaline-forming, so they help counteract the strongly acidic Western diet that eats away at our bones. High levels of potassium in fruit balance high salt diets to help prevent high blood pressure. They also help manage blood sugar, regulate bowel function, and strengthen blood vessels, bones, nails, teeth, skin and hair. Humans could not survive long without healthy fruit.
Antioxidant content may be the most compelling reason for loading up on these wonderful foods. Oxidative stress from eating, illness or injury, produces excess free radicals that damage cells and tissues. Skipping antioxidants, over time, may ultimately lead to heart disease, cancer, allergies, and other inflammatory diseases. However, not all fruits are created equal. Fruits like blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, grapefruit and fresh cranberry have the best antioxidant content, followed by apples, peaches, pears, plums, oranges and dates. The exotic juices of pomegranate, mangosteen, ac�i and goji berry are also unbeatable for antioxidant protection. Whole fruit is best, but juices are acceptable, especially if not concentrated and no sugar is added. Unfortunately, people are attracted to the super sweet juices and fruits like bananas, grapes and orange juice. Yet, even these are superior to most of the sweetened junk that we feed our kids.
Choosing organic fruit is another important consideration, especially for children, who are more susceptible to the dangers of pesticides and other toxins. Organic fruit has also been shown to contain more antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals than conventional fruits. It may cost more, but the cost to health from eating inferior fruit is much greater.
Fruits are best eaten on an empty stomach. Indigestion is on the rise in the U.S., and one reason is from eating fruits with other foods. Fruits pass quickly though the stomach and are rapidly digested in the intestines. If fruit is eaten with other foods, it is kept waiting in the stomach, where it may ferment and produce gases and harmful compounds. Digestive processes are also disrupted and the fruit's nutritive value is compromised. Therefore, it is best to eat fruit as a snack in between meals, especially about 30 minutes before a meal to get the best antioxidant boost. Scientists at the Agricultural Research Service, investigating the effects of antioxidants on after-meal oxidative stress, found that grapes, kiwi and wild blueberries were high performers when it came to raising blood levels of important antioxidants. As a general rule, fruit should not be eaten at the end of a meal. However, most people do not have digestive problems with berries after eating. So, if you insist on dessert after a meal, go with berries.
Our early ancestors would not recognize the fruits available in today's supermarkets. Scientists in the last century have selectively bred fruits to have a long shelf life, few seeds, less fiber and a powerfully sweet taste. Wild fruits are typically less sweet, and much richer in micronutrients than cultivated fruits, particularly in minerals (e.g., copper, iron, calcium) and the vitamins C, E, K, beta-carotene and folic acid. The vitamin C intake of our fruit-eating ape cousins is estimated to be 2-6 grams, compared about 60 mg for humans (one hundred times less!). Wild fruits are also much richer in the millions of "background" nutrients essential to good human health, such as bioflavonoids, terpenes, phenols, carotenes, and many more. For much more information regarding the good foods our ancestors ate, pick up the book "Deadly Harvest" by Dr. Geoff Bond.
The biggest problem with modern fruits has as much to do with what is present in them as what is absent. Starchy and processed fruits are loaded with sugar. Fruits rich in sugar can aggravate pre-existing ailments, such as diabetes, allergies, cancer, and other inflammatory conditions. Dried fruits are nearly as bad, since the sugar is concentrated, and the drying process destroys many of the micronutrients. Frozen fruit retains much of its antioxidant content, but canned fruit should be (garbage) canned.
Vitamins, minerals and antioxidants can also be obtained through dietary supplements. Obviously, fruits and vegetables provide a greater wealth of nutrients than do supplements, but getting these nutrients in the diet somehow is the most important consideration. Even gummy bear antioxidants are better for kids than no fruit at all. Plus, antioxidant supplements can provide higher quantities of vitamins C, E, zinc, selenium, vitamin A and many plant flavonoids than fruits and vegetables. The content of these nutrients in fruits varies from farm to farm and year to year. And, with the deterioration of our soil, less and less of these nutrients are found in food. Fortunately, many essential antioxidants can be found in a high quality multivitamin, which every man, woman and child should be taking daily.
If you're not interested in the chemistry of all the wonderful things found in fruits and vegetables, just shop for color. The colorful pigments in blueberries, raspberries oranges, pomegranate, purple tomatoes, etc., are chemicals that protect them from the sun. These pigments are antioxidant rich and protect people in the same way they do plants.
So, if you have a little boy or girl at home with a diarrhea problem, or an inflamed bun, the last thing you want to do is stop all fruits (as an ignorant physician recently recommended to a friend). Certainly stop the sugary juices, but not the whole fruit, especially organic, non-starchy varieties. Switch to water, perhaps with a little pomegranate juice for flavor and antioxidant punch. Make your own fresh fruit sauces or smoothies, or find a good organic brand of baby food that contains these antioxidants. Good food means good health. So, when it comes to food, we must take health into our own hands.
Reference: Bond G. Deadly Harvest. 2007. Square One Publishers, Garden City Park, NY.
by Dr. Phil Domenico
Source: Natural News -
Fruits are Loaded with Nutrients
(NaturalNews) It's hard to beat fruits. They provide an abundance of nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, essential oils, antioxidants, fiber, and anti-inflammatory substances. Many are alkaline-forming, so they help counteract the strongly acidic Western diet that eats away at our bones. High levels of potassium in fruit balance high salt diets to help prevent high blood pressure. They also help manage blood sugar, regulate bowel function, and strengthen blood vessels, bones, nails, teeth, skin and hair. Humans could not survive long without healthy fruit.
Antioxidant content may be the most compelling reason for loading up on these wonderful foods. Oxidative stress from eating, illness or injury, produces excess free radicals that damage cells and tissues. Skipping antioxidants, over time, may ultimately lead to heart disease, cancer, allergies, and other inflammatory diseases. However, not all fruits are created equal. Fruits like blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, grapefruit and fresh cranberry have the best antioxidant content, followed by apples, peaches, pears, plums, oranges and dates. The exotic juices of pomegranate, mangosteen, ac�i and goji berry are also unbeatable for antioxidant protection. Whole fruit is best, but juices are acceptable, especially if not concentrated and no sugar is added. Unfortunately, people are attracted to the super sweet juices and fruits like bananas, grapes and orange juice. Yet, even these are superior to most of the sweetened junk that we feed our kids.
Choosing organic fruit is another important consideration, especially for children, who are more susceptible to the dangers of pesticides and other toxins. Organic fruit has also been shown to contain more antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals than conventional fruits. It may cost more, but the cost to health from eating inferior fruit is much greater.
Fruits are best eaten on an empty stomach. Indigestion is on the rise in the U.S., and one reason is from eating fruits with other foods. Fruits pass quickly though the stomach and are rapidly digested in the intestines. If fruit is eaten with other foods, it is kept waiting in the stomach, where it may ferment and produce gases and harmful compounds. Digestive processes are also disrupted and the fruit's nutritive value is compromised. Therefore, it is best to eat fruit as a snack in between meals, especially about 30 minutes before a meal to get the best antioxidant boost. Scientists at the Agricultural Research Service, investigating the effects of antioxidants on after-meal oxidative stress, found that grapes, kiwi and wild blueberries were high performers when it came to raising blood levels of important antioxidants. As a general rule, fruit should not be eaten at the end of a meal. However, most people do not have digestive problems with berries after eating. So, if you insist on dessert after a meal, go with berries.
Our early ancestors would not recognize the fruits available in today's supermarkets. Scientists in the last century have selectively bred fruits to have a long shelf life, few seeds, less fiber and a powerfully sweet taste. Wild fruits are typically less sweet, and much richer in micronutrients than cultivated fruits, particularly in minerals (e.g., copper, iron, calcium) and the vitamins C, E, K, beta-carotene and folic acid. The vitamin C intake of our fruit-eating ape cousins is estimated to be 2-6 grams, compared about 60 mg for humans (one hundred times less!). Wild fruits are also much richer in the millions of "background" nutrients essential to good human health, such as bioflavonoids, terpenes, phenols, carotenes, and many more. For much more information regarding the good foods our ancestors ate, pick up the book "Deadly Harvest" by Dr. Geoff Bond.
The biggest problem with modern fruits has as much to do with what is present in them as what is absent. Starchy and processed fruits are loaded with sugar. Fruits rich in sugar can aggravate pre-existing ailments, such as diabetes, allergies, cancer, and other inflammatory conditions. Dried fruits are nearly as bad, since the sugar is concentrated, and the drying process destroys many of the micronutrients. Frozen fruit retains much of its antioxidant content, but canned fruit should be (garbage) canned.
Vitamins, minerals and antioxidants can also be obtained through dietary supplements. Obviously, fruits and vegetables provide a greater wealth of nutrients than do supplements, but getting these nutrients in the diet somehow is the most important consideration. Even gummy bear antioxidants are better for kids than no fruit at all. Plus, antioxidant supplements can provide higher quantities of vitamins C, E, zinc, selenium, vitamin A and many plant flavonoids than fruits and vegetables. The content of these nutrients in fruits varies from farm to farm and year to year. And, with the deterioration of our soil, less and less of these nutrients are found in food. Fortunately, many essential antioxidants can be found in a high quality multivitamin, which every man, woman and child should be taking daily.
If you're not interested in the chemistry of all the wonderful things found in fruits and vegetables, just shop for color. The colorful pigments in blueberries, raspberries oranges, pomegranate, purple tomatoes, etc., are chemicals that protect them from the sun. These pigments are antioxidant rich and protect people in the same way they do plants.
So, if you have a little boy or girl at home with a diarrhea problem, or an inflamed bun, the last thing you want to do is stop all fruits (as an ignorant physician recently recommended to a friend). Certainly stop the sugary juices, but not the whole fruit, especially organic, non-starchy varieties. Switch to water, perhaps with a little pomegranate juice for flavor and antioxidant punch. Make your own fresh fruit sauces or smoothies, or find a good organic brand of baby food that contains these antioxidants. Good food means good health. So, when it comes to food, we must take health into our own hands.
Reference: Bond G. Deadly Harvest. 2007. Square One Publishers, Garden City Park, NY.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Choosing a more ethical way to eat
Choosing a more ethical way to eat
September 10, 2008
http://www.smh.com.au/cgi-bin/common/popupPrintArticle.pl?path=/articles/2008/09/09/1220857547549.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/09/09/1220857547549.html
At 16 Angela Crocombe chose to stop eating red meat because she was an animal lover. It was not the most informed decision, but one that felt right for a teenager who had always preferred fresh fruit to fish and chips.
Two decades later, with years of environmental research behind her, the Melbourne author has a much better argument for cutting meat out of her diet.
And she has laid it out in her latest book, Ethical Eating, which seeks to teach Australians "how to make food choices that won't cost the earth".
As far as Crocombe knows, it is the first publication to take a comprehensive look at ethical eating from an Australian point of view. It investigates where and how our food is produced, packaged and sold, attempts to untangle the complex debates about farming methods, food miles and product certification, and carries a list of Australian suppliers of organic produce.
It rides the wave of concern about climate change and the effects food choices have on the environment, but not in a way that preaches to the reader.
Seven months of research went into Ethical Eating and it has 175 footnotes referring to scientific studies, academic and government reports, meat industry fact sheets, Crocombe's interviews with industry representatives and newspaper articles to back up its matter-of-fact approach.
Crocombe's message is simple: individuals can have a local and global impact by scrutinising what is on their plates.
"It's all about increasing your awareness, making people think a little more about what you put in your mouth and the journey it has been on to get there, rather than mindlessly stuffing our faces with whatever we find," she says.
Among the more startling research on the impact of our food choices is a New Scientist study that says becoming a vegan would save more greenhouse gas emissions a year than switching to a hybrid car.
Crocombe also cites a study of food miles by the Melbourne environmental organisation CERES, which found a typical weekly basket of fruit and vegetables travelled 8730 kilometres from the point of production to consumption. The study, which has since been updated, found the journey taken by the bananas, tomatoes and other produce generated greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to driving 1173 cars for a year.
Crocombe says doing the right thing by the planet usually means doing the right thing by your health. It can also be beneficial to the wallet, because the higher cost of organic produce is offset by the savings from spending less on meat and processed food.
But she acknowledges that making the ethical choice is not always easy or even possible. For instance, have you ever found yourself torn between a mass-produced product that has been made locally or the organic version that has been flown from overseas?
"It's very difficult to weigh up," she says. "My stance, I guess, is if you can buy a product that's organic and Australian, that's great. But if you have to choose between a locally produced one that's conventional or an imported one that's organic, then you are probably better off choosing local."
The Sydney-born Crocombe spent part of her childhood on a property in Glenorie, in the Hills district, as well as in Singapore and Florida. She moved to Melbourne in 1989 to study economics ("so boring"), then political theory and publishing. Now aged 37 and pregnant with her first child, she is a vegequarian - eating fish,dairy and eggs - after experimenting with vegetarian and vegan diets.
She recalls the reaction of her father when she first gave up meat- "Ignore her; it's just a phase" - and she is pleased that vegetarianism and concepts such as food miles and fair trade are commonly recognised now. But it was not until she researched her previous book, a handbook on reducing one's personal ecological impact, called A Lighter Footprint, that she deeply considered how food choices affected the environment.
Crocombe's main job is writing educational books for children, and her latest project is a book on climate change.
"I really feel that kids are some of the most important ones to educate," she says. "They aren't set in their ways; they don't have all these bad habits that we as adults do. If we can convince a kid of the worth of doing some of these things, you can really have a big impact."
Watch your mouth
How to eat more ethically:
- Reduce or eliminate red meat and chicken - mass production of meat to keep up with the Western world's insatiable appetite is harmful to the environment and animal welfare.
- Choose organic meat and produce wherever possible - the food will be fresher, tastier and more nutritious and the use of harmful pesticides, herbicides and fertiliser will be diminished.
- If eating fish, choose sustainable seafood species.
- When it comes to drinks, tap water is the cheapest and best choice. Look for fair-trade tea, coffee and cocoa, organic wine and beer and, where possible, choose a locally made product.
- Buy seasonal produce or, even better, grow your own.
- Look for logos of certifying bodies on organic and free-range products to ensure they meet strict standards.
September 10, 2008
http://www.smh.com.au/cgi-bin/
http://www.smh.com.au/
At 16 Angela Crocombe chose to stop eating red meat because she was an animal lover. It was not the most informed decision, but one that felt right for a teenager who had always preferred fresh fruit to fish and chips.
Two decades later, with years of environmental research behind her, the Melbourne author has a much better argument for cutting meat out of her diet.
And she has laid it out in her latest book, Ethical Eating, which seeks to teach Australians "how to make food choices that won't cost the earth".
As far as Crocombe knows, it is the first publication to take a comprehensive look at ethical eating from an Australian point of view. It investigates where and how our food is produced, packaged and sold, attempts to untangle the complex debates about farming methods, food miles and product certification, and carries a list of Australian suppliers of organic produce.
It rides the wave of concern about climate change and the effects food choices have on the environment, but not in a way that preaches to the reader.
Seven months of research went into Ethical Eating and it has 175 footnotes referring to scientific studies, academic and government reports, meat industry fact sheets, Crocombe's interviews with industry representatives and newspaper articles to back up its matter-of-fact approach.
Crocombe's message is simple: individuals can have a local and global impact by scrutinising what is on their plates.
"It's all about increasing your awareness, making people think a little more about what you put in your mouth and the journey it has been on to get there, rather than mindlessly stuffing our faces with whatever we find," she says.
Among the more startling research on the impact of our food choices is a New Scientist study that says becoming a vegan would save more greenhouse gas emissions a year than switching to a hybrid car.
Crocombe also cites a study of food miles by the Melbourne environmental organisation CERES, which found a typical weekly basket of fruit and vegetables travelled 8730 kilometres from the point of production to consumption. The study, which has since been updated, found the journey taken by the bananas, tomatoes and other produce generated greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to driving 1173 cars for a year.
Crocombe says doing the right thing by the planet usually means doing the right thing by your health. It can also be beneficial to the wallet, because the higher cost of organic produce is offset by the savings from spending less on meat and processed food.
But she acknowledges that making the ethical choice is not always easy or even possible. For instance, have you ever found yourself torn between a mass-produced product that has been made locally or the organic version that has been flown from overseas?
"It's very difficult to weigh up," she says. "My stance, I guess, is if you can buy a product that's organic and Australian, that's great. But if you have to choose between a locally produced one that's conventional or an imported one that's organic, then you are probably better off choosing local."
The Sydney-born Crocombe spent part of her childhood on a property in Glenorie, in the Hills district, as well as in Singapore and Florida. She moved to Melbourne in 1989 to study economics ("so boring"), then political theory and publishing. Now aged 37 and pregnant with her first child, she is a vegequarian - eating fish,dairy and eggs - after experimenting with vegetarian and vegan diets.
She recalls the reaction of her father when she first gave up meat- "Ignore her; it's just a phase" - and she is pleased that vegetarianism and concepts such as food miles and fair trade are commonly recognised now. But it was not until she researched her previous book, a handbook on reducing one's personal ecological impact, called A Lighter Footprint, that she deeply considered how food choices affected the environment.
Crocombe's main job is writing educational books for children, and her latest project is a book on climate change.
"I really feel that kids are some of the most important ones to educate," she says. "They aren't set in their ways; they don't have all these bad habits that we as adults do. If we can convince a kid of the worth of doing some of these things, you can really have a big impact."
Watch your mouth
How to eat more ethically:
- Reduce or eliminate red meat and chicken - mass production of meat to keep up with the Western world's insatiable appetite is harmful to the environment and animal welfare.
- Choose organic meat and produce wherever possible - the food will be fresher, tastier and more nutritious and the use of harmful pesticides, herbicides and fertiliser will be diminished.
- If eating fish, choose sustainable seafood species.
- When it comes to drinks, tap water is the cheapest and best choice. Look for fair-trade tea, coffee and cocoa, organic wine and beer and, where possible, choose a locally made product.
- Buy seasonal produce or, even better, grow your own.
- Look for logos of certifying bodies on organic and free-range products to ensure they meet strict standards.
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