As you’ve already known, GMO foods are extremely unsafe because of the countless health risks and life-threatening diseases that they can cause in the long run. Even if consumers are now more aware about the negative effects of GMOs, greedy manufacturers still continue to produce and sell them to this day. They certainly won’t be stopping anytime soon, therefore it’s up to us to be more meticulous when it comes to buying safer foods.
Several studies have found that sugar beets, soy, canola, cotton, and corn are the top 5 crops that are often genetically-modified. These popular crops are severely altered and contain traces of pesticide that can cause major health problems like blood cancer, liver toxicity, kidney failure, gut inflammation, or even death.
What’s really scary is that these GMO crops are listed as innocent ingredients on many commercial products. They’re disguised in the form of brown sugar, fructose, glucose, modified starch, vegetable oil, and the like. So you really need to read the labels carefully to evade these creepy GMO products.
Get more facts about GMOs and how you can successfully avoid them in this special infographic below. Remember to share this online so you can help spread the word about GMO foods!
Bee populations have been dying at a rate which the US government says is economically unsustainable. Honey bees pollinate plants that produce about a quarter of US consumer foods. In fact, some recent articles have said the rate of honey bee losses in the US are ‘economically unsustainable'; according to a report by the US Department of Agriculture, losses of managed honey bee colonies in the US totaled 23.2% last winter.
The report, produced with industry group the Bee Informed Partnership, showed that the death rate for October 2013 to April of this year was better than the 30.5% losses for 2012 to 2013, but worse than the 21.9% in 2011 to 2012. Prior surveys found colony losses averaged 29.6% over the last eight-year span.
So what do we as consumers do? There really hasn't been a very good eco-friendly option for honey-like products out there in the market....until now. Enter Bee Free Honee - a local family-owned, green company based in Minnesota leading the movement to create a "honey" free of bees. Bee Free Honee is made in Minnesota and using strictly US grown, organic apples.
According to the company's website:
Bee Free Honee is the brain-child of Katie Sanchez. Katie’s love of cooking started when she was young. Growing up in Mound, MN, her family had an apple orchard in their front yard and her father (ironically) was a bee keeper. For her tenth birthday gift, she asked to be able to cook dinner for her family, on the stove and by herself. Cooking has been her passion for as long as she can remember.
Pastries were her preference, but at the time pastry schools were far less common and much more expensive. So she decided to go to cooking school in Louisiana. She worked on a line while looking to get her foot in the door of a pastry department. That opportunity came at D’Amico Cucina, in Minneapolis. There she had the privilege of working as the assistant to Pastry Chef Leah Henderson and under Chef Jay Sparks. After three years, she left to go to work at an all natural bakehouse in St. Paul. There she worked with vegan products and learned about the all natural foods world. On more than one occasion she wished she could use honey in some of the vegan items. The vegan sweeteners were so strong they would often mask subtle flavors such as vanilla or hints of lemon.
One day in 1999, while trying to make a less sweet version of apple jelly and being a novice with jelly, Katie accidentally created something that was definitely not jelly. Not wanting to be wasteful, she ‘canned’ it only to discover in the morning, that what she had was honee!
Years later when she heard about the decline of the bee population, she asked herself two questions, could she reproduce her honee and was there a market for it? She went back to the kitchen and after much trial and error she was able to say that she had a solid recipe. Four years later, when she entered the market she did so with a website, a distributor, and three stores that carried her product. We are excited to see what is to come and we are thrilled that you are along for the ride.
Bee Free Honee is taking the right steps to become a cost effective solution to the continued pollinator crisis that ties into an agriculture crisis. However, they (and we) don't want to just stop there...read more about What We Know About The Bees...And Other Pollinators on their website and tell your family and friends about the ongoing crisis, get sweet on BFH by following them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and of course find a retailer near you to try out some Bee Free Honee for yourself!
Organic gardening is the method of gardening that utilizes only materials derived from living things, ie. all natural plant foods and pesticides. Once you know the basic tenets of this practice, organic vegetable gardening is simple. And the payoff is enormous: no toxic chemicals, no waste, better for the environment as a whole, and not to mention a crop full of natural, delicious vegetables. Remember these 10 steps and you'll have a successful crop in no time!
Soil. It all begins here. Amending your soil with organic material such as composted manure or yard and kitchen scrap compost will get your dirt off to a good start. The inclusion of organic material provides a solid basis of nutrients for your plants which helps to cut down on the need for commercially made fertilizers and improves soil structure making it easier for your plant to absorb the important minerals they need. Sandy soil will not hold its moisture well. Heavy clay soil may prove too dense for healthy root development.
Fertilizer. In addition to compost, your plants will enjoy a healthy dose of other organic foodstuffs like worm poop and pee (we call this worm tea), eggshells, Epsom salts, bone meal, blood meal...the list goes on, but the key word is all-natural. Mother Nature knows what she's doing and these sources provide essential vitamins and minerals for your plants.
Beneficial insects. When planning your garden, educate yourself on which plants repel insects, which plants invite them, and what each bug eats. For instance, ladybugs eat aphids, which is a good thing because aphids will suck the life from just about any plant! By inviting ladybugs into your garden you are employing a natural form of pest control and not toxic chemicals.
Layout. When designing your garden, it's important to adhere to spacing guidelines for your plants. By keeping them close, their leaves will shade the ground beneath them. This not only cuts down on weed growth, but also helps the soil retain water, cutting down on water usage. Organic gardeners are excellent custodians of the environment. Too close, and you'll invite the growth of fungus and disease.
Companion planting. Including a wide variety of plants in your garden and planting them according to their relationship with others helps in many ways. For instance, bean plants fix nitrogen into the soil, which corn plants use to produce healthy cobs. Corn provides support for the climbing vines of the bean family. Add squash to the base and you have instant weed control!
Crop rotation. This is the practice of rotating a plant's location from season to season. Relocating your plants cuts down on soil depletion and disease infestation. In addition, plants like beans will actually put nutrients into the soil that can be used by the next crop, ie. corn. Disease will be reduced because the organisms that infect one plant pose no harm to the next, so rotating eliminates the likelihood a disease will spread.
Water. Conserving water is a key component of organic gardening. Good watering practices include the capturing and storing of rain, the use of drips hoses, and plenty of mulch. With a sprinkler system, a large amount of water can be lost to evaporation. If sprinklers must be used, it's best to water in the early morning or early evening hours. Using mulch around your plants is another way to conserve water because it keeps the soil moist longer, requiring less water to be used.
Weeds. Weed removal is best done by hand, without the use of chemicals. While tedious, this duty can be cut down tremendously by the use of smart planting. Remember, keeping plants close helps prevent weed growth. Natural mulch is another great method. Not only does it help prevent weeds, it has the added benefit of providing nutrients into the soil as it breaks down.
Cover crops. These are the plants you grow in between seasons. They help to replenish the soil with vital nutrients and prevent soil erosion. They can also be used to feed the beneficial insects in the absence of your vegetable crop and keep weeds at bay.
Seeds. Organic gardening is all about using sustainable methods and what better way to be self-sustaining than to use your own seeds! The practice of saving seeds has been around for centuries and ensures you "know what you grow." But to ensure purity and avoid cross-pollination, you must keep some distance between the same plants of different varieties. You don't want to be disappointed when you plant those tomato seeds next year and discover the result is a hybrid--and not the decadent beefsteak tomato you were looking forward to. Only heirlooms can produce the original fruit, not hybrids.
Organic vegetable gardening is all about sustainable practices. It's conservation at its best, because you are using what you have and what you can find in nature. From fall leaves to leftover food, you waste nothing in an organic garden. Plants help each other, insects play a role...why even Mother Nature helps by delivering an extra shot of nitrogen in every rain drop!
But more than being a good steward of the environment, organic gardening makes for a healthier you.
There has been a lot of debate in recent years about the effect that GMOs and pesticide-laden foods have on human health, but what is rarely discussed is the environmental impact of the use of these chemicals and the harm they cause to animals.
It’s clear that food manufacturers are going through great lengths to prevent these chemicals from being labelled on foods. What’s most concerning, from an environmental point of view, is that the vast majority of chemical pesticides sprayed on crops actually gets washed off before foods end up in the supermarkets. When the pesticides run off into top soil and waterways, it is entering a vast network of ecosystems, and these delicate systems are not equipped to deal with hazardous toxic chemicals.
To avoid these types of destruction and to help ensure ecosystems are healthy, it is best to opt for organically-grown foods. The following are just four ways going organic can save the lives of animals and subsequently save our environment.
Organic Crops Offer Bees Perfect Pollinating Grounds
There is a growing honey bee crisis across the globe as huge numbers of bee colonies are dying off each year, a problem which could ultimately cause catastrophe for all our food supplies. Scientists have linked “colony collapse disorder” with the chemicals used in non-organic food production and have warned that, if we continue the widespread use of chemicals on our crops, there will be almost no bees left to pollinate them in a decade. Although the chemicals are used in levels which are not considered deadly to the individual bees, hoards of pollen are collected and taken back to the hives, where the overall toxicity is enough to cause damage to the entire colony. Organic food crops are beneficial for the bees and support their existence by providing safe plants to collect pollen from.
Organic Crops Provide Bird-Friendly Seeds
While the plight of the honey bee is widely known, there are plenty more animals who suffer the effects of consuming and transporting chemical containing plants. Birds love to eat seeds, and they are unknowingly eating GMO and pesticide covered seeds that are causing illness and death. The American Bird Conservancy conducted a thorough investigation on the issue in 2013 and discovered that a single non-organic seed kernel can be very dangerous to birds, killing small ones, and making larger ones ill. Many seeds that are sown do not get covered properly and seed spillage is also commonplace, meaning birds are accessing these toxic seeds all the time.
Organic Crops Nearly Eliminate Chemical Run Off
One of the largest problems caused by chemical use in the agriculture industry is the toxic run off which occurs after rainfall. Chemical pesticides are sprayed indiscriminately over huge areas of cropland, much of which lands directly onto the ground. When rain falls, this is washed off into the topsoil and soaks down into the subsoil, making it very dangerous for any animals who inhabit the soils. Insects and small mammals are particularly at risk from the soil contamination as their habitat is turned into a highly potent toxic layer. In many cases, this is the desired effect of the pesticide, as it is these insects which are the intended targets of the chemical poisoning.
Organic Crops Help Prevent Water Contamination
Once the chemical run off has made it through the top and subsoil layers, it finds its way into the water system. Arguably, this is where the chemicals do the most widespread damage to the environment and the delicate ecosystems which the planet relies on. Streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes in the areas surrounding non-organic monocultures are becoming increasingly toxic, to the detriment of the aquatic species that live there. The problem is becoming so bad that the chemical run off is creating ‘dead zones’ in which barely any animals are able to survive as the water has become too polluted. The chemical fertilizers used on farms also create huge algae blooms in the water, and this kills off other species trying to survive in the same water.
These four issues are enough reason alone to support eating organic. The world’s ecosystems have taken millions of years to form and they work on a very precise and delicate balance. Although large corporations may want to make us believe that their chemicals are perfectly safe for us to use, the signs are clear for us to see, and they’re certainly not safe for the animals coming into contact with them.
