Antioxidants

According to research done by Allison Byrum of the American Chemical Society, organic produce shows significantly higher levels of antioxidants than conventional. Studies have shown that fruits and vegetables grown without pesticides and herbicides contain 50% to 60% more antioxidants than their sprayed counterparts. The same antioxidants that fight diseases and pests in the plant leaf work similar magic in the human body, protecting us not so much against hornworms as against various diseases, cell aging, and tumor growth. Spending extra money on organic produce buys these extra nturients, with added environmental benefits for the well-being of future generations. A win-win.
Excerpt by Camille Kingsolver from Animal, Vegetable Miracle www.animalvegetablemiracle.com

Farm Fresh Atlas Now Available

Farmers are recognizing the social and environmental advantages of sustainable agriculture. Many consumers are coming to appreciate the benefits of fresh and sustainably produced food. Such producers and consumers are being linked through such innovative arrangments as community supported agriculture and farmers' markets, community gardens and through publications such as the Farm Fresh Atlas.


Visit http://www.farmfresheastwi.org/ to access the Eastern Wisconsin Farm Fresh Atlas. All farms listed in the Atlas pledge that their farm is:

• family or cooperative owned


• committed to reducing the application of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers


• operate in a way that protests and sustains the region's land and water resources


• treat animals with care and respect


• provide safe and fair working conditions for employees


• sell Wisconsin products that they grow or help produce on the farm.

Check out this guide to find farms near you raising and selling natural meats, fruits, vegetables, etc. Yum!

The Nutrition Transition

Consider this counter-intuitive statistic...something is wrong with our priorities:

Globally speaking, people consume more soft drinks and packaged foods as they grow more affluent; home-cooked meals of fresh ingredients are the mainstay of rural, less affluent people. This link between economic success and nutritional failure has become so wide-spread, it has a name: the nutrition transition. --Barbara Kingsolver, "Animal, Vegetable Miracle"

Oily Food

Excerpt from Barbara Kingsolver's: 'Animal, Vegetable, Miracle'

Americans put almost as much fossil fuel into our refrigerators as our cars. We're consuming about 400 gallons of oil a year per citizen -- about 17% of our nation's energy use -- for agriculture, a close second to our vehicular use. Tractors, combines, harvesters, irrigation, sprayers, tillers, balers, and other equipment alluse petroleum. Even bigger gas guzzlers on the farm are not the machines, but so-called inputs. Synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides use oil and natural gas as their starting materials, and in their manufacturing. More than a quarter of all farming energy goes into synthetic fertilizers.

But getting the crop from seed to harvest takes only 1/5 of the total oil used for our food. The lion's share is consumed during the trip from the farm to your plate. Each food item in a typical U.S. meal has traveled an average of 1,500 miles. In addition to direct ransport, other fuel-thirsty steps included processing (drying, milling, cutting, sorting, baking), packaging, warehousing, and refrieration. Energy calories consumed by prodution, packaging, and shipping far outweigh the energy calories we receive from the food.

A quick way to improve food-related fuel economy would be to buy a quart of motor oil and drink it (not recommended!). More palatable options are available. If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country's oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. That's not gallons, but barrels. Small changes in buying habits can make big differences. Becoming a less energy-dependent nation may just need to start with a good breakfast.

Thanks to Barbara Kingsolver for articulating this issue. If you have not yet read "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle", it's certainly worth it. www.kingsolver.com