Really?!

If true, this would've been news to me, so I checked it out. Sure enough, they elaborate in the first sentence that "there is currently no strong evidence that organics bring nutrition-related health benefits, a new research review finds." I couldn't believe what I was reading until I got to the end and figured it out: the study ignored all the health benefits of avoiding synthetic chemicals.

So let's set aside, for the moment, that "green living" means eating less processed meat (which increases your risk of heart disease) and red meat (which increases your risk of bladder cancer, among other things) and just focus on the term "organic." Strictly speaking, organic food is food that has been grown or raised without the use of synthetic chemicals. Conventional farms use insecticides, herbicides, and fertilizers to grow fruits and vegetables, and inject their animals with antibiotics and growth hormones. Organic farms cut all that stuff out. There are some other parts of the definition, but being chemical-free is the heart of it.

There are lots of reasons to avoid pesticides—as Canada already knows. Pesticides have been linked to ADHD in children. Pesticide sprayers are at risk for blood disorders. Pesticide-free plants are more nutrient-dense and have more polyphenols and antioxidants.

And that's only looking at pesticides! Animal antibiotics and growth hormones pose risks, too.

The bottom line is that you need to pay attention to what you eat and what you read. If you come across a report that disses organic food but doesn't mention any of the dangers of pesticides, growth hormones, or antibiotics, then you're not reading science or journalism—you're reading propaganda.

Image credit: The U.S. Army

Vegetarians of the world need to stop accepting the GVP. It's an insult, both from the kitchen to the diner, and from the kitchen to itself. It's not that hard to cook without meat, and choosing to eat less meat shouldn't result in a form of culinary punishment for diners. We can do better. Change is possible. We are the ones we've been waiting for. So say it with me: "No. The grilled vegetable plate is not acceptable. Do you have pasta? Or pizza? Or salads? Or an employee trained in the art of putting different kinds of foods together on a plate in order to create a satisfying dining experience for customers? Because if not, my party and I will go elsewhere."

Organic Authority supports Klein's campaign for great-tasting vegetarian meals. In this spirit, we offer some of our favorite organic vegetarian recipes below. Enjoy, and fight on!

• Fresh Herb Organic Broccoli Tossed with Pasta, Toasted Pine Nuts & Parmesan Cheese
• Fondue Mac & Cheese Recipe
• Vegetarian Chili
• Fresh Pesto with Basil and Arugula Tossed over Pasta
• Wild Mushroom and Black Truffle Organic Risotto
• Grilled Shiitake Mushrooms
• Easy Garlicky Beet Greens

Jamie partnered with Parliament to institute his "Feed me Better" campaign in 2004, and Oliver, along with other healthy food enthusiasts, have been waiting with bated breath to see if the efforts are paying off. New results show that UK students in Math and Science are performing better — now that they are being fed Mexican bean wraps and creamy coconut fish, rather than the fatty, salty, deep-fried "turkey twizzlers" and "chicken dinosaurs."

Absenteeism is down, too. The number of kids who stayed home sick from school dropped 15% from before Oliver's campaign. Imagine how much more productive adults would be if companies replaced candy bar and soda vending machines with healthier food!

Really, this shouldn't be surprising at all. Our minds are connected with our bodies, and if you nourish your body, you'll make your mind sharper, too. To all the college kids: remember that next time you think of ordering greasy pizza when you're pulling an all-nighter.

This is fantastic news for Britain. Now if only America would try out Jamie's common-sense approach to nutrition in schools, we'd have something to celebrate on this side of the pond.

Before asking where it came from, I think we should ask when did this change? How did we become so disconnected from our food?

Here are three things/events that I think lead us down this path:

The World Wars
It was after the World War I and II, that pesticides and chemicals started to be heavily used on produce. This was supposed to be able to yield higher returns on crops because it keeps those "harmful and pesky" bugs away.

This made traditional farming methods such as crop rotation and animal fertilization obsolete. It led to the mass farming practices that are practiced today amongst conventional farmers. This new way of farming allowed farmers to grow massive amounts of crops and ship them nationally (and globally).

People could now get their (cheaper) produce from a farmer that was hundreds or thousands of miles away and spraying who knows what on it.

The Feminist Movement
Before I get lambasted for this one, please let me explain. I actually got this idea from Barbara Kingsolver in her book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.

She mentions that the Women's Liberation movement was positioned as getting women out of the kitchen and into the workforce, which it did.

You know what else also happened at the same time? Heavily processed foods started to show up in the stores.

Up until that time, women spent time at home preparing meals from scratch for their families. Therefor they had a better connection with their food because they were preparing it.

Suddenly someone else was put in charge with this responsibility.

Advertising
This is a result of the two reasons mentioned above. Advertisers and marketers are smart people. They know how to illicit responses.

In the case of the chemically sprayed produce, it is positioned as being able to feed more people and a cheaper method. It is also given the name "conventional." The method that was around for years was given the new label of "organic."

Why not call it what it is? Chemically sprayed. Why was the method that's been around since the beginning given this new label? Organic is the way that produce has been farmed for thousands of years.

As for the Women's Movement, all of these new processed and packaged foods are advertised as quick and easy because "you don't have time to cook a meal for your family. We can do it for you. Just pop this in the microwave."

Now instead of chicken with mashed potatoes, homemade gravy and broccoli, families are eating high fructose corn syrup, salt, hormone injected chickens and a bunch of unpronounceable additives.

These are all reasons that I started an organic vegetable garden on my fire escape. I've also made a New Year's Resolution to eat more seasonal and locally grown produce.

The purpose of this post isn't to point out a bunch of problems and offer no solutions. There are simple ways that you can eat organic and local on a budget. You can grow your own, join a CSA, join food co-op or go to a local farmers market.

Build a relationship with the people that are growing and making your food. Ask them questions about growing practices and where the food came from. You owe it to yourself.

Mike Lieberman resides in NYC. He is someone who walks their talk as a living, breathing demonstration of how sustainable living is possible anywhere. Lieberman shows others how they can do the same on his own blogs and writes for others around the web. You can find him at CanarsieBK.com.

Calm down. In this clip, Stephen talks with author of Food Politics, Marion Nestle and she insists the “sugar shortage” is a manufactured crisis, claiming food producers just want cheap imported sugar because domestic quotas are so high.

Via The Colbert Report.

Those of us who care about keeping our food safe and healthy are all waiting with baited breath for the Senate to return from summer recess to consider the HR 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act.

As you know from my last blog, I think the best thing about this bill is its title; huge agribusinesses need to make serious changes, and the bill doesn’t support this.

Factory Farming Creates Super Bacteria

When large numbers of animals are raised in confinement, diseases are more prevalent. This translates to a greater reliance on antibiotics. In time, bacteria become resistant to the drugs. In turn, the humans who consume these antibiotic-resistant bacteria find that medications available to us are ineffective.

One study illustrates this point perfectly (and scarily!):  A survey of E. coli bacteria isolated from poultry raised in a state-of-the-art confinement poultry operation at a university found that all the bacteria were resistant to the commonly used antibiotics, Tetracycline, Streptomycin and Sulphonamide (Sulphafurazole).

In contrast, all the strains of bacteria isolated from free-range birds were sensitive to the drugs.¹

Ask Away for Healthier Food!

All of this confirms my theory that an informed eater is a healthier eater!  If you want steak at a restaurant, ask your waiter where the meat comes from – grass-fed from farm to fork is your healthiest choice.  Ask your market’s butcher for organic, free-range poultry…if they don’t carry it, maybe they’ll start!

The more you know about the source and origins of your food, the safer you and your family will be. And in turn, you’ll be supporting the small, local producers and manufacturers that need and deserve your dollars.

Stay tuned here for more on HR 2749 when the senate returns from summer recess.

¹Ojeniyi, A. A. (1989). "Public health aspects of bacterial drug resistance in modern battery and town/village poultry" Acta Vet Scand 30(2): 127-32.lets say it...

Now, normally you’ll find them frozen in the natural foods section of any supermarket. So you’d assume you’re buying a natural, earthy-friendly food, right?

Not always. A new report claims many natural soybeans and soy foods are actually processed with a toxic chemical, but still labeled as natural.

Beyond the Bean: The Heroes and Charlatans of the Natural and Organic Soy Foods Industry, released by the The Cornucopia Institute, found a chemical solvent called hexane is almost always used in conventional soy protein ingredients and oils. Hexane separates soy oil from soy protein and fiber.

Hexane is a neurotoxin and poses serious risk to workers, the environment and anyone consuming foods contaminated with it. Luckily, hexane is not allowed during the processing of organic foods.

Via SustainableBusiness.com.

MGUS is characterized as abnormal levels of plasma protein that can lead to multiple myeloma, a cancer affecting the plasma cells in bone marrow.

Printed in the journal Blood, experts examined 678 men, ages 30 to 94, who apply pesticides, taking blood samples and having them fill out a questionnaire asking about pesticide exposure and application methods.

Researchers compared this data against a similar group from a large MGUS-screening study taken from the general population. The comparison revealed MGUS was 1.9 times more prevalent in pesticide workers older than 50.

Certain chemicals heightened risk more than others. The insecticide dieldrin increased MGUS risk 5.6 fold, while the fungicide chlorothalonil only raised risk 2.4 fold. Either way, scientists insist people should be more aware of the dangers.

Fortunately, most of us aren’t spraying pesticides, but to help safeguard yourself, try buying organic cherries, strawberries and peaches, these fruits are among the most contaminated.

Via ScienceDaily.

Boo to ‘big organic’ dairy companies who break the good organic rules!

According to the Cornucopia Institute, a respected sustainable farm watchdog group …

Since 2005, a handful of giant factory farms, each milking thousands of cows, have been accused of skirting strict federal organic regulations and creating a surplus of cheap "phony" organic milk flooding the market and driving down profit margins for legitimate industry participants. The Cornucopia Institute estimates that as much as 30-40% of organic milk is now coming from giant industrial operations, milking as many as 7000 cows each.

Spoiling organic dairy even further is a class-action law-suit that was recently rejected by a St. Louis judge.

These consumer law suits claimed fraud in the sale of “organic” milk coming from Aurora Dairy, which the suit claims violated 14 different federal organic regulations. Consumers from 40 states sued alleging fraud in store brands in Wal-Mart, Target, Safeway, Costco and other national chains served by Aurora. Lawyers will appeal the judge’s rejection.

Milking the System for the Best Organic Milk

Good news for you: The Cornucopia Institute’s recently updated online scorecoard can help you make smarter consumer choices when buying your organic dairy products.

Check out the report and take advantage of 110 ratings of all organic brands (listed alphabetically) based on their ethical and legal approach to milk production. While ‘big organic’ may be shortcutting the rules, the report shows that 90% of organic milk, cheese, butter and yogurt marketers are subscribing to the "spirit and letter of the organic regulations."

Sneak peak: Organic dairy kudos go to Organic Valley, a farmer-owned cooperative that garners a four-cow rating in the Cornucopia scorecard."

Read More: Organic Food Supermarket Trends: Got Milk?