Foods that contain the most pesticides are smart place to spend bucks on organic
February 24, 2011
Which is More Dangerous: The Medical System or Raw Milk?
July 5, 2010
Every year in the US there are:
12,000 deaths from unnecessary surgeries;
7,000 deaths from medication errors in hospitals;
20,000 deaths from other errors in hospitals;
80,000 deaths from infections acquired in hospitals;
106,000 deaths from FDA-approved correctly prescribed medicines.
The total of medically-caused deaths in the US every year is 225,000.
This makes the medical system the third leading cause of death in the
US, behind heart disease and cancer.
Here is the whole article:
http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=623777
“Meet Real Free-Range Eggs” from Mother Earth News
March 20, 2009
A neighbor of ours just brought us a copy of the Oct/Nov. 2007 Mother Earth News article about free-range eggs. Mother Earth News set up a testing project: how do eggs from hens raised on pasture compare to the official U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient data for commercial eggs?
Their result? “. . . eggs from hens allowed to peck on pasture are a heck of a lot better than those from chickens raised in cages!”
The pastured eggs may contain:
1/3 less cholesterol
¼ less saturated fat
2/3 more vitamin A
2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
3 times more vitamin E
7 times more beta carotene
These amazing results come from 14 flocks around the country that range freely on pasture or are housed in moveable pens that are rotated frequently.
Pastured chickens eat a chicken’s natural diet – seeds, green plants, insects and worms (usually along with laying mash).
Factory farm birds never even see the outdoors. “Allowed access to the outside” is how the USDA defines the “free-range”. This inadequate definition means that producers can, and do, label their eggs as “free-range” even if all they do is leave little doors open on their giants sheds, regardless of whether the birds ever learn to go outside, and regardless of whether there is good pasture or just bare dirt or concrete outside of those doors.
Know what you are buying. Insist on eggs from organically fed hens that are pastured for a nutrient dense food that is simply amazing.
Meet Real Free Range Eggs
January 22, 2008
from Mother Earth News. For the complete study, go to motherearthnews.com/eggs.
There is mounting evidence that hens raised in natural (outside) environments produce eggs that are nutritionall superior to those of their caged peers. Beware however, that cage free does NOT mean pasture? According to the USDA labeling glossary, as long as hens are “allowed access to the outside”, producers can call their eggs free-range. Oftentimes though, that only means a small opening where hens could go outside, regardless of whether or not they ever would go. Terms such as pastured and farm raised aren’t defined at all.
So, eggs from hens raised on pasture (versus confinement) may contain as much as:
1/3 less cholesterol
1/4 less saturated fat
2/3 more vitamin A
2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
3 times more vitamin E
7 times more beta carotene
Think of THAT next time you buy a dozen eggs.
Get the E. Coli Off the Menu
January 20, 2008
from The Chicago Sun-times, November 14, 2007, pg 43, by Richard Laurnet – Special to the Sun Times
“The federal government wants us to swallow yet another load of crap. But don’t worry, it’s cooked, so it’s considered safe.
Meat contaminated with the E. coli bacteria is OK to sell if – get this – it is cooked first. The federal government has allowed American meat companies to feed the nation tainted meat with this caveat.”
“Now federal meat inspectors have disclosed a little-known fact: A U.S. Agriculture Department regulation allows processing plants to sell meat that tests positive for E. coli. The only stipulation is such meat carry a “cook only” label, a practice that allows companies to profit from millions of pounds of bad meat. The USDA defended the rule, saying commercial cooking kills the bacteria and renders it safe to eat. This type of meat is usually sold as precooked hamburger, meatloaf and taco filling.”
“Consumers may never again look at such pre-cooked “convenience” products the same way. After all, where’s the convenience in gagging, retching and diarrhea? If this loophole isn’t closed soon consumers will consider anything the government says about food safety just a load of, well, you know.”
Just Say Hay: Feed Cows Grass, Not Corn, to Avoid E. Coli
January 20, 2008
From The Chicago Sun-times, November 8, 2007, “Letters to the Editor”
The followin are just bits and pieces of the whole article. I’ve tried not to take anything out of context.
“For nearly 10 years, we’ve known how to prevent E. coli contamination of our food supply. And yet we continue to wait for an illnuess, and then reall any meat that might be contaminated.”
“The E. coli problem lies in what happens inside the cow’s stomach. When corn replaces grass as the primary diet, it changes the bacteria inside the rumen, the “final filter” of digestion. With a grass diet, most of the microbes never make it past the stomach acid. But inside the corn-based bacteria lurks a man-made cuprit. It was discovered in 1980: a new strain of a common intestinal bacterium, E. coli 0157:H7. It causes diarrhea, abdominal cramps and even death.”
“In 1998, scientists from Cornell University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that grain-based cattle diets promote the growth of this acid-resistant strain of E. coli. They observed that changing the diet from grain to hay – the natural, dried-grass diet of cattle – for only five days before slaughter could reduce E. coli bacteria by 80%.”
“What are we to think? Headlines about meat recalls seem commonplace. Solutions range from irradiating meat to cooking at high temperatures. But the easiest and least expensivbe is changing the diet from grain to hay for the final five days before a feedlot harvest. Andy yet it is not among the options being considered by the beef industry.”
Defining free-range, cage free, etc.
August 21, 2007
A customer brought us in a article from the New York Times written on August 12 entitled “Suddenly, the Hunt Is On for Cage-Free Eggs.” The article described cage free versus caged chickens, in rather a neutral light (not good/not bad). What really caught my eye was the picture though. It showed hundreds of chickens, packed cheek to jowl in a building. Yes, cage free, but appauling none the less.
In an effort to feel good about their food, customers are starting to demand some rights for their chicken. Unfortunately, I think there is some breakdown in communication between what the customer thinks, and what is really happening.
Let’s start with the typical caged chicken. Packed 6 plus chickens to a cage, they live their short life on wire, not even being able to stretch a wing.
The next “improvement” is the cage free bird. Packed together by the hundreds in a building, they now can stretch a bit, but conditions are similiar to a person who just got up from their seat and is trying to leave Lambo Field after a Packer game. Not pleasant.
Now here comes the free-range chicken. Ah, finally some freedom (that’s what you are supposed to think). After being broodered in a building (raised from day old chicken to about 3 weeks old), they are allowed a small open door and a small patch of outside ground. Assuming they find their way outside, the small patch of ground is quickly turned into a dust/mud area by the natural scratching activity of the birds.
Finally, we come to pastured. This is the only word that tells you that the animal is allowed on pasture, the green stuff. They may be behind an electric mesh or truly allowed to free range, but they are able to eat grass and bugs to their hearts content. A true pasture system means some movement of animals, since chickens are notorious scratchers, and will destroy a pasture in a very short time if not moved.
Don’t be fooled by the marketers you want to feel good about something that really isn’t that good. Buy local. Ask questions. Talk to the farmer. Vote with your dollars.
“Drinking Farm Milk Reduces Childhood Asthma & Allergies”
June 9, 2007
The above titled article was pulled from Science Daily on May 11, 2007.
“Researchers from Europe and the USA Studied 14,893 children aged between five and 13 in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.”
“Drinking farm milk can protect children against asthma and hayfever, according to a study of nearly 15,000 children published in the May issue of Clinical and Experimental Allergy”.
“Lower levels of diagnosed asthma were also observed for all farm-produced dairy products and eating farm eggs also provided protection against hayfever. However, these foods only provided increased protection when the children also drank unpasteurized farm milk – not in isolation.”
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