God made a farmer

Garbage In, Garbage Out

Dairy and gluten-grain products combine to make up the top six foods we now eat. Yet cow’s milk and wheat are two of the most commonly reported allergens in the world. With individuals genetically predisposed to food allergies and gluten sensitivity, eating these same non-ancestral, genetically incompatible foods in large quantities day in and day out, is it any wonder that so many people suffer from chronic ford sensitivities?

Source: Dangerous Grains, James Braly, M.D. & Ron Hoggan, M.A.

Food, Inc. coming to a theater near you

Make sure you add “Food, Inc.” to your must-see movie list this summer.  Filmmaker, Robert Kenner, reveals the real workings of our nation’s food industry. 

How much do we really know about the food we buy at our local supermarket and serve to our families?  It’s time to find out and be more informed about our food choices.

Watch the trailer: http://www.foodincmovie.com/

Also worth watching is this month’s NOW on PBS Interview with Robert Kenner: http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/523/index.html

Government: Is it for the people?

“During the past two decades, we have acquired substantial evidence that most chronic diseases in America can be partially attributed to bad nutrition. Expert panels have said it, the surgeon general has said it and academic scientists have said it. More people die because of the way they eat than by tobacco use, accidents or any other lifestyle or environment factor. We know that the incidence of diabetes is skyrocketing and that Americans’ health is slipping away, and we know what to blame: diet. So shouldn’t the government be leading us to better nutrition? There is nothing better the government could do that would prevent more pain and suffering in this country than telling Americans unequivocally to eat less animal products, less highly-refined products and more whole, plant-based foods. It is a message soundly based on the breadth and dept of scientific evidence, and the government could make this clear, as it did with cigarettes. Cigarettes kill, and so do these bad foods. But instead of doing this, the government is saying that animal products, dairy and meat, refined sugar and fat in your diet are good for you! The government is turning a blind eye to the evidence as well as to the millions of Americans who suffer from nutrition-related illnesses. The covenant of trust between the U.S. government and the American citizen has been broken. The United States government is not only failing to put out our fires, it is actively fanning the flames.”

Excerpt from The China Study ( a GREAT book and absolute must-read)  by T.Colin Campbell, PhD and Thomas Campbell II.

Chew on this: 70 tons of live or dead food?

As an average American, you will consume five pounds of food today. Over your lifetime, that’s around 70 tons of food that pass through your intestinal tract and are assimilated by your body. This is the equaivalent of about 40 mid-sized cars!

Source: Eat This and Live by Don Colbert MD

Salt of the earth: The monks of Mount Athos

The answer to a life free from cancer may be to live like a monk. Research into one of the world’s most isolated monastic communities has revealed that only a tiny number of brothers have suffered from the disease in the past decade.

The austere existence of the monks of Mount Athos has been notorious in Greece for generations but, until recently, few beyond the peninsula’s monastic walls had considered mimicking their sombre lifestyle.

That may be about to change. Father Epifanios Miloptaminos is sharing his recipes in, “Cooking on Mount Athos” (so far available only in Greek).

“Monks at Mount Athos don’t eat meat,” says Epifanios. “The word butter is never mentioned in the book, and we don’t add flour to thicken sauces. We just let the ingredients boil down.”

Epifanios’ catalog of recipes is divided into seafood – with and without backbones, according to different fasting categories – or vegetables. No desserts at the Holy Mountain.

The main factor in their low uptake of cancers is their diet. The brothers alternate their meals, and ration olive oil, wine and dairy products on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Happy Weekend!

 Source: http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/christian.asp

Video: The Story of Stuff

You have got to see this! It’s good. It’s true. We are a society that is obsessed with stuff. The average Amercian consumes twice as much as we did 50 years ago. We have less than 5% of the world’s poplulation yet we use 30% of the world’s resources. If everyone in the world consumed at US rates we would need five planets to house our goods and trash. How did this happen? Well it wasn’t by accident. Check out the 20-minute video at www.storyofstuff.com.

Mark Bittman: What’s wrong with what we eat

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/263

 

Tomato recall — Is irradiation the solution?

Many types of food can legally be irradiated and sold in the U.S., including beef, poultry, pork, eggs, shellfish, juice and  spices. Yet beef is the only labeled irradiated food currently known to be sold in U.S. grocery stores today, and this in only a few states.

“As stores and restaurants around the country pull tomatoes from shelves and menus in response to the recent salmonella outbreak, American tomato farmers are poised to lose their livelihoods and the food irradiation industry sees dollar signs. So says Wenonah Hauter, Executive director of Food & Water Watch and author of the new book Zapped! Irradiation and the Death of Food.