Saturday, December 17, 2005

tropical flowers Hawaiian flowers from Hana flowersWarm up any room for the holidays with a tropical bouquet of Hawaiian flowers. Hana Flowers, of Maui Hawaii, grows pesticide-free flowers which are hand-picked, hand-washed in bio-degradeable soap, and hand-packed in damp paper, then shipped directly to you from Hawaii.

Considering that flowers are usually grown in third world countries, where they - and the workers - are coated in dangerous pesticides, shopping for your holiday flowers from Hana flowers makes sense for your health, the health of floral workers, and the health of the environment. Please vote with your dollars by purchasing these high-quality, earth-friendly tropical flowers for your holiday bouquet.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

If anyone would like to post here on a regular basis, contact me at ssupak at yahoo dot com. Here's an e-mail I got the other day.
Hi, I wanted to let you know about this news story for your organic blog, and how factory farming affects all of us: Fruits, Veggies Now Linked to Most Major Salmonella Cases.

And more generally I wanted to introduce The NewStandard--a national, independent, newspaper with hard news from a progressive standpoint five days a week. They're in an uphill battle for another 380 members and financial stability, so if you like it and you or anyone you know would want to become members, I'd greatly appreciate the help in keeping this important project alive.

Great sites! And happy Thanksgiving!

benjamin melançon
human being
ben at melanconent dot com

Founding Member
People Who Give a Damn

Webworker, beMWeb web site design & digital photography

Interim Co-ordinator, The Fund for Authentic Journalism , Supporting the work of the Narco News Bulletin, And its companion projects, the School of Authentic Journalism and the NarcoSphere

Friday, July 22, 2005

I often get mail from kids looking for organic farms on which they'd like to work, in order to learn more about organic agriculture. Now they can go to college, because as today's AP headline says, Students Flock to Campus Organic Farms.
Over the past few years, about 200 schools have signed up with farm-to-college programs, which match up local farmers with area universities, according to the Venice, Calif.-based Community Food Security Coalition.
It's not just fruits and vegetables, either. The University of Montana in Missoula spends $425,000 on local meat, dairy and wheat products, about 17 percent of the school's overall food budget. Some of the students are even looking into bio-diesel programs to run their tractors.

I have such hope for the next generation. At my local grocery store the other day, the stock boy, about 18 years old, was putting glass bottles of milk on the shelf. I said I was amazed that they still put milk in glass, and he said he wished they put organic milk in glass, because that's all he'll drink. Wow. I remember the days when I was explaining to everyone why they should eat, and drink, organic. Now, they're bragging about it.

For anyone who still doesn't understand why eating organic is better for you, read today's LA Times story, Dozens of Chemicals Found in Most Americans' Bodies. While your health is certainly a good reason to go organic, you should know that organic agriculture is much better for the planet's health too.

Thursday, May 26, 2005

Pesticides linked to Parkinsons

As I read this story about a link between common garden pesticides and Parkinsons, I wondered why anyone would still use this crap, when organic gardening is so much easier for lazy gardeners like me, and so much better for you and the planet. Odd that the scientests who made this connection simply say to wear protective equipment when you apply pesticides (no mention of going organice), and they story doesn't mention exactly which pesticides they made the connection for.

So, I did a little digging and found the New Scientist Magazine article, where the researches admit that exactly which pesticide or pesticides were causing the Parkinsons had slipped through their regulatory net.
It would be more helpful, he adds, for studies to monitor exposure to individual pesticides as and when they are used, rather than relying on people's memories of their usage.
Just stop using the poisons!

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Friends of the Earth: Press Releases: 2003: New Tax Could Cut Pesticide Use

What are the odds that the Bush Assministration will let anything like this, which would cost the billionaire executives of Monsanto and DuPont some pocket change (assuming people actually start using less of their toxic stuff), anywhere near the Governator's Pen? I can hear the phone conversaton now.
Bush: Arnold?
Gov: W?
Bush: Hey, if you want any chance to become president, you gotta stop this pesticide tax.
Gov: No problem. I promised no new taxes, and all of these kinds of things.
The proposed tax hike on pesticides would fund classes for California farmers on how to reduce the amount of toxic runoff in the state's water supply. This would be a temporary tax paid by urban buyers of all sorts of chemicals, including chlorine for pools. The current 2.1% tax would go to 10% for three years, and then revert to the 2.1%. During this time, farmers who enroll in the classes would recieve rebates, and could actually make money from the program.

You know why this won't happen? Because it makes sense. In the mean time, I encourage everyone to learn what you can online about using less, or no, synthetic chemicals on your yards and gardens. Organic gardeners have no runoff problems.

Also in organic news today (busy day):

Organic greens strengthen the immune system: Danish study. Good eatin'!

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Great southern Maine restaurant serves organic food

Joshua Mather's Restaurant in Wells, southern Maine, known simply as Joshua's, offers organic food whenever possible. His priority is always freshness first, organic or natural second, and local or from Maine third. Much of the organic produce, when in season, comes from Johua's father, Mort Mather. His organic farm near Wells produces a large protion of the fresh, organic vegetables used in the restaurant.

Mort is an author and former President of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. His organic gardening web site is full of his articles on organic gardening.