September 10, 2012 - Posted by JackieC - 0 Comments
We are all becoming more environmentally conscious these days and wine producers are keen to build a community where good people can enjoy good wines and be informed about the benefits of organic products on their health and the planet we all share. The Organic Wine Company was founded in 1979 and was the first to import organically grown wines into the United States from their Château in the south of France. They have over two hundred years experience bringing unique and excellent tastes to their customers.
The Organic Wine Company is a family owned business that promotes products that only come from 100% certified organically grown grapes in many different flavors. They cater to Organic, Vegan, and Biodynamic wines from the United States and around the world.
Try out the West Cost NSA 3 Pack, or try one of their Vegan Selections.
There is an app for just about everything these days, and now there is even one to help you find all kinds of organic foods (and how to prepare them as well) in your area. The NRDC Eat Local application is free and lets you know where you can find more then 50 different types of fruits and vegetables. Anything from apples and oranges to eggplant and zucchini. You also get information on nutritional details, storage tips and recipes and other fun facts about all of your favorite foods. Did you know that eastern oysters are the most popular in America? I didn’t until I found I installed it!
Another helpful application, Farmers Market Finder helps you to find farmers markets in your area. There are over 2,000 farmer’s markets, open markets, and other fresh food sellers listed across the U.S. from Washington to Florida with easy searching and a map to help you get to your destination. Sadly this application is not free but if you often are having a hard time finding a great place to pick up fresh food this application is for you!
There has been a big debate during the last few years in the United States about the choices that we provide our children when it comes to nutrition. Many times food stamps end up being used to buy unhealthy foods and sweetened beverages and considering that we are in the middle of an obesity epidemic just add to insult to injury a group that already has a higher prevalence of weight-related illnesses. Many people naturally resist the idea of being told what they can, and can not buy at the grocery store (with or without government help) but some don’t like the idea of our tax dollars going towards meals that will just end up burdening the next generation with higher health care costs.
At the same time, many of the arguments being made against this idea are soft drink companies who stand to loose out on millions of dollars of revenue if food stamps were not allowed to be spent on them. While there are many arguments for or against this idea I think that we can all agree that at the very lease expanding the options available to consumers to actually include healthy choices.
There is a company called Wholesome Wave based out of Connecticut that created the “Double Value Coupon” program. Through this program people are invited to get double their money’s worth of food stamps (now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) so long as they use it on participating farmers markets located across the country. In the last three years they have expanded to include over 150 farmers markets across the country. Check out their website at WholesomeWave.org
Stonyfield Organic dairy firm CEO Gary Hirshberg decided to put together a little video as he launched a year long education campaign to spread the word on the problems that we face due to industiral farming. While i dont think that anyone expects that this guy is going to get an invite to the next soul train awards I like his idea.
This promotion is not juts to feed your ears, you can also take part! If you visit the Just Eat Organic website you can submit videos of your own to be mixed into their next creation. So flip on that camera and do your best “Just Eat Organic” rap and maybe you will get featured!
Download the new GlobalMojo web browser. The first web browser to donate 50% of all revenue generated to environmental and charitable causes around the world. All you have to do is download the FREE toolbar. No purchases or money is required, instead
GlobalMojo captures revenue already being generated when you search, browse and shop online and then will give half to charitable organizations like the Oceanic Preservation Society, WWF, Multiple Sclerosis Association of America Inc, and dozens of other well known causes. Upon installation, you can setup your top 4 causes in a customized, easy to navigate interface and then can track in real-time how much $ their efforts have generated to their favorite causes.
The money generated by shopping, booking travel plans, and browsing (Yahoo) on GlobalMojo will help make a positive impact with your select causes. For more information see the two great video on their website. Built on the secure, popular Firefox architecture, but will be compatible with IE as well. Ge the GlobalMojo Browser Now!
The EU is set to put into force a new label that will displayed on products that have certified to be organic by the Agriculture and Rural Development committee. These rules come into effect tomorrow and is required on any pre-packaged foods that have been produced by any of the EU member states. The so called “euro leaf” will stay optional for non packaged and imported organic products. In order to better track the supply chain that brought your food to the store, the code number of the body that had been in control of the certification process should appear on it as well so people can better track that their food came from.
There is a two year transition period to comply with the new rules, and this is the first introduction of EU rules for organic agriculture for the first time.
Be warned, just because its says organic, doesn’t mean that its low in calories and diet friendly. A study shows that people often assume that the health benefits of eating organic somehow translates into a lower calorie intake. 100 participants were shown nutrition information for an Oreo cookie made with organic flour and sugar. These labels clearly showed that a serving of two organic cookies contained 160 calories, but it was were silent on the calorie content of the non organic snacks.
Later these same people were asked which they thought had less calories and 38 percent of the people chose the organic food presumably because they inferred that if organic cookies had 160 calories, then the other cookies, regardless of its calorie content, must be higher.
Another instance of this phenomenon was found with exercise. After finding 200 female college students who were trying to loose weight and asked them to forgo their post-dinner three mile run and eat either an organic dessert, eat a non organic desert, or refrain from desert all together. The results found that the students wouldn’t find it a problem to favor eating the organic dessert or nothing, over the non organic food, despite there being zero caloric benefit to it.
So when your making food decisions, don’t be misled that organic food is better on your waistline, its just good for your health!
Green is the new black! A recent movement within the fashion industry looks to organic clothing to create great styles in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. Vogue magazine doesn’t believe this is a passing fad and is likely a development that could last for many years and has even featured organic clothing on their covers. Consumers are becoming more sensitive to the environmental cost of the things they eat, wear and use in their daily lives. Key players have been making improvements to their design and production processes instead of only focusing on the final product and the profits it carries with it.
Organic Cotton can be produced without the need for Chemicals
Cutting costs through outsourcing has been rampant over the last decades as textile production is often being sent to sweat shops with questionable business practices. Toxic pesticides and other chemicals were often used during production to cut costs quickly and consumers did not react, but much has changed. The organic movement began half a century ago with the production of organically produced food began. These changes slowly made their way to cosmetics and most recently textiles. Organic cotton is in huge demand and despite all cotton having a large carbon footprint, you can feel confidant that the clothes you are wearing are not covered in chemical fertilizers and pesticides ruining the land they grow on.
Tank Tops made with Natural Bamboo
The organic movement is even beginning to include natural fibers like hemp clothing, bamboo clothing and silk which are all highly resistant to bacteria and mould, easy to grow and are even biodegradable to stay out of our landfills. Animal fibers can also be raised from animals without the use of hormones to improve growth. There have even been improvements to the dying industry. With the use of AirDye technology, color can be added to clothing without the use of any water.
There are many places you can find these products these days, even Wal-mart is getting in on the action and selling a wide array of organic clothing. If you check out local stores you might find some as well, especially in rural and local food markets where organic food is sold (you can check our store locator if you need help).
Many online stores are also selling organic clothes and some of it looks great!
Want to grow your own organic food but need a little help? Nature’s Path Organic Foods, the largest producer of organic cereal in North America is sponsoring its Gardens for Good Grant contest to encourage sustainable farming in needy communities. Two entries will be selected in the form of an essay in 500 words or less to respond to the question: “Tell us about your program, who you serve, and how a garden grant will help you to serve more people”.
The two winners will get $10,000 in cash for their project, $5,000 in mentoring and technical design from Organic Gardening magazine, the hosting of a fundraiser for the winners and donate up to $100,000 in its own products to a local food bank in the winners community. Enter quickly, as you only have until June 14th to answer.
You may have heard of a recent organic food study conducted by the German based Stiftung Warentest consumer watchdog group. It found that organic food is not necessarily healthier or even better tasting then good ol’ regular groceries, despite being an average of 30 percent more expensive.
May not be healthier but is safer!
There were 85 different investigations over eight years to come to the results of the organic study and these findings have been heavily promoted in the media, however what I think is more important that is mentioned in the study almost as a footnote. Of the 13 different organic baby food products tested, 75% of them were pesticide free, compared to only 16% of the conventionally grown foods and this is the most important reason to be eating organic. Sure maybe the foods are not as nutritious as some others, but that’s like making a decision between potato chips and french fries. Sure one may be nutritious then the other, but they are both full of hash chemicals that are the ones doing the real damage to your body.
It also was revealed later that in both cases only processed foods were being used rather then raw fruits, vegetables or meats.
There has been a big debate during the last few years in the United States about the choices that we provide our children when it comes to nutrition. Many times food stamps end up being used to buy unhealthy foods and sweetened beverages and considering that we are in the middle of an obesity epidemic just add to insult to injury a group that already has a higher prevalence of weight-related illnesses. Many people naturally resist the idea of being told what they can, and can not buy at the grocery store (with or without government help) but some don’t like the idea of our tax dollars going towards meals that will just end up burdening the next generation with higher health care costs. 
