some facts about organic foods!

 

1. A four-year, $25 million European Union funded study found that with regards to organic food compared to "regular" food:
   • There are 40% more antioxidants in organic food
   • Milk that is taken from organic herds contains 90% more antioxidants
   • There are higher levels of beneficial minerals like zinc (something almost everyone is deficient in) and iron in the organic produce.
2. The Organic Consumers Association (OCA), an advocacy group, recently tested 100 personal care and cleaning products that are advertised as 'natural' or 'organic.' Of those one hundred, 47 of them contained dioxane, a petroleum-based compound that is a byproduct of the processing that is used to soften harsh detergents, which is ‘organic’, but can cause eye and respiratory damage.
3. Organic farming helps our environment by increasing soil fertility, encouraging natural organisms to flourish, and allowing plants and animals to boost their natural resistance to disease instead of relying on antibiotics or fungicides.
4. Research suggests that pesticides have harmful effects on humans, specifically pregnant women and children. One study found that the frequency of leukemia in children was 650% greater in homes where indoor and garden pesticides were used.
5. Studies show that pesticides can adversely affect the nervous system, increase the risk of cancer, and decrease fertility.
6. Synthetic fertilizer drifting downstream is the main culprit for dead zones in delicate ocean environments, such as the Gulf of Mexico, where its dead zone is now larger than 22,000 square kilometers, an area larger than New Jersey.
7. The Stockholm Convention, signed by 176 countries including the United States in 2005, commits the signatories to eliminate the world’s 12 most dangerous Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation.
8. The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), a coalition of 171 countries including the US, allows seven of the 12 agreed upon killer POPs to be used in the production of foods as varied as milk, soy, oils, cotton seed, fruits, eggs, poultry, cereal grains, pineapples, leafy and root vegetables, legumes and others, all of this despite the Stockholm convention agreement.
9. POPs remain intact in the environment for long periods of times, become widely distributed geographically, accumulate in the fatty tissue of living organisms and are highly toxic to humans and wildlife. They increase brain, bladder, lung, breast and other cancers, cause damage to the kidney, liver, adrenals and thyroid, can cause decreased fertility, immune suppression, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, fatal skin lesions especially in children and nursing infants (“pink sore”), headache, dizziness, nausea, general malaise, and vomiting, followed by muscle twitching, and convulsions.
10. According to Organic Farming Research Foundation, as of 2007 there are approximately 13,000 certified organic producers in the U.S. compared to about 2500 as tracked in 1994.
11. Scientists now know what we consumers have known all along: organic food tastes better. It makes sense that strawberries taste yummier when raised in harmony with nature, but researchers at Washington State University just proved in taste tests when the organic berries were consistently judged as sweeter.

Sources:
Mom’s Organic House
Natural Living - Pesticides in Our Food
Farm Fresh Living
http://www.dosomething.org/actnow/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-organic-living


Now I am the type of person that absolutely loves my organics, so this article really caught my attention. some facts i want to point out in this article is that organic foods are not always organic... i know what your thinking, what the heck!! well consumers will just slap a sticker on the food product saying its organic just to be appealing to naturalists and other people trying to eat right. so when going to buy organics really look at what your buying. is it really organic?  I personally think it is ridiculous and selfish for consumers to do that because people are trying to live their lives healthy and they want to buy true organics NOT fake stuff. on top of that some people have health issues and the need to know what they are buying, so they'll read the label thinking its good for them but its really not and it could possibly harm people. Now my favorite things to drink that is organic is fruit smoothies with fresh fruit! they are delicous and my favorite is the mixed berry with strawberry, blackberry, blueberry and raspberry's !! I'm actually drinking one right now!

 

My favorite foods are fish such as salmon, shrimp and crab but really love to eat chicken salads!

meats have alot of protein in them and are good for building strong muscles. especially when you work out you want to make sure you get all the protein you can so while your breaking your muscles down while liftingweights your muscles can build themselves up and get stronger from the protein in food or shakes. well i hope you learned something from all this! and enjoy health foods just as i do!

 

 

The Beach Is My Hobby!

 

         My favorite hobby is going to the beach. it gives me time to relax and not worry about anything. I also love when my boyfriend comes and brings his dog Goose, we throw toys out in the water for Goose and he loves playing! what I love more than just being at the beach and having my boyfriend with me is being at the beach with my boyfriend and best friend Destiny. Destiny, my boyfriend and I will play with Goose, wrestle in the water or throw the Frisbee. its so much and I couldn't imagine a place that makes me happier than the beach does. The beach is also a great place for families to come and spend time together like cooking out, playing on boogie boards or just simply tanning together or walking down the beach collecting cool sea shells! the littlest things seem to matter the most to some people and going to the beach can be simple and very fun and meaningful to many people and especially to me ! (:

Self Defense or Htae Crime ?

This month the world has been watching the case of which a Florida neighborhood watchman shot and killed an unarmed teenager. Being an unarmed black teenager is what has sparked so much protesting. The shooter, George Zimmerman told media that it was an act of self-defense. According to BBC News, Martin's parents and the local community have declared that this was not an act of self-defense, but a hate crime. Martin has not been prosecuted based off of the Florida 'Stand your ground' law stating that you have the right to use deadly force in order to protect your life. The problem with this is that the boy was not armed! If the boy wasn't armed, and Zimmerman really was being attacked with punches, he could have just thrown some punches back. He could have ran away. He could have done many things, but he chose to shoot this boy. And what people are concluding is that Zimmerman chose to shoot because he was black. If there was any conscious or subconscious of racism in Zimmerman, he was probably afraid. Maybe he assumed that just because he was black, he was carrying a weapon. Either way, given the circumstances, Zimmerman is much older and much larger than Martin was. He is an adult, Martin was a teenager. Self-defense is not a fair dismissal, Zimmerman needs to be prosecuted for taking the life of an unarmed teenage boy. You're not defending your life, if your life wasn't in danger in the first place.

Posted by Lauren E. Patterson at 10:09 am

My Opinion is that I agree with the fact that Zimmerman is a grown man and he could have very easily defended himself with out a gun against Martin, who is just a teenage boy. I am not sure if racism plays a part in it because Zimmerman could have just been really scared but it does come off as being a little racism since Zimmerman didn't need to protect himself with a gun, he is grown and much bigger than Martin so there is not reason to feel threatened by Martin especially since Martin did not have a gun and probably did not even threaten Zimmerman but there is so many stories going around know one knows what has really happened that night between Zimmerman and Martin and honestly I do not think Zimmerman will come out with the truth.