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		<p>Welcome!  This website is intended to be a help for you in finding out more about 
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															<div class="post" id="post-1776">
							<h4><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1776" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Eating as an Environmental Act: Part III – So What Do We Eat?">Eating as an Environmental Act: Part III – So What Do We Eat?</a></h4>
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								<p class="details"><span class="user"><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?author=1" title="Posts by Sharon New" rel="author">Sharon New</a></span> <span class="date">February 14th, 2012</span> </p>	
								<div style="float:right;margin:10px 0px 0px 8px;"><a href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1776&title=Eating as an Environmental Act: Part III – So What Do We Eat? &srcTitle=Local Food Beat&srcURL=http://localfoodbeat.com"target="_blank" rel=""><img border="0" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-google-buzz/icon/5.png" style="opacity:1;filter:alpha(opacity=100)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=0.8;this.filters.alpha.opacity=80" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100"/> </a></div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 8px; margin-top:10px;"><iframe height="69" width="53" src="http://widgets.fbshare.me/files/fbshare.php?url=http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1776&title=Eating as an Environmental Act: Part III – So What Do We Eat? &size=large" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></div><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 8px; margin-top:10px;"><iframe src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Flocalfoodbeat.com%2F%3Fp%3D1776&amp;source=LocalFoodBeat&amp;style=normal&amp;service=bit.ly" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div>
<p><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/BFBL.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1777" title="BFBL" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/BFBL-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>So far we’ve discussed how the way we eat represents our most profound engagement with the natural world. We talked about how the “food system” is everything required to produce, process, move, sell and consume food. The things used to grow food include land, fertilizers, pesticides, seeds and water – and our current industrial food growing system has resulted in pollution and animal waste. In addition, excessive amounts of energy and fossil fuels are used to process, package, advertise and transport this food.</p>
<p>We also took into consideration how in 2008 Americans spent, on average, less than 10% of their disposable income on food – that’s only half of what we spent on food in the early 1960s. That’s a direct effect of our continuing quest to spend less for more. Our demand for, out-of-season foods come with a huge cost – both nutritional and environmental – because of our insatiable demand for cheap food. Our insistence for cut-rate food is so huge that it has betrayed us.</p>
<p>You may be left wondering…well, then what do I eat? When I began eating locally nearly five years ago, I could barely locate grass-fed beef in the State of Maryland.  Now my butcher – less than a mile away &#8211; carries grass-fed beef from a local (as in less than 50 miles away) sustainable producer.</p>
<p>Cheap foods come with hidden costs; thankfully locally grown foods come with hidden benefits.  There are many farmers who farm without fertilizers and pesticides and the numbers are growing. Like old timers they utilize crop rotation and other good soil management practices. Buying your food from local producers reduces the need for unnecessary food packaging. As a result less fossil fuel is used resulting in a lower carbon footprint.</p>
<p>Critics of the local food movement argue that the higher cost of organic and/or locally grown food is unattainable to the average consumer. But we’ve already discussed why better costs more. The food industry talks a great game, but it’s hard to deny the health issues their fake foods have created.  Further, if organic farming were subsidized as much as corn and soy, the cost would decrease significantly.</p>
<p>It all comes down to a personal decision about what kind of world we want and what kind of food we are going to put into our bodies.  It should never be okay to eat meat or drink milk from a cow whose biology has been manipulated for profits.  For me, personally, I would rather have a little bit more of my money go to a local farmer – and my local economy. My personal experience has been that the more I spend on good food, the less I pay for prescriptions and doctors.  It’s that simple.  The father of medicine, Hippocrates, said let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.  I wish doctors would start by asking: “What are you eating?”</p>
<p>The other big argument one hears about a local food system is you cannot possibly feed the world &#8211; thus laying the foundation for the use of genetically modified foods.  So can we feed people?  The answer is a big Yes!  A wonderful example is Havana, Cuba. When the Soviet Bloc collapsed in 1989, Cuba lost its food and agricultural support, compounded with the US Embargo led to a serious food shortage affecting the entire country, but most of all Havana.  “Havana residents responded en masse, planting food crops on porches, balconies, backyards and empty city lots.” By 1995 there were approximately 26,000 state owned gardens ranging from a few square yards up to three acres growing food on vacant or abandoned properties.  These gardens continue to flourish even today and provide food security and nourishment to the citizens of Havana.  <a href="http://sustainablecities.dk/en/city-projects/cases/havana-feeding-the-city-on-urban-agriculture" target="_blank">To read more click here</a>. </p>
<p>However, Havana is not a new idea or a communist idea.  In 1943, Eleanor Roosevelt began the Victory Garden movement which helped to feed a lot of families during WWII.  By the way, she did this over the objections of the USDA who feared that home gardening would hurt the American food industry &#8211; sound familiar? It’s hard to believe that if our system of food fails, we are all going to Havana for lunch.</p>
<p>In conclusion to this three part series, eating local “real” food has immeasurable benefits.  I urge all of you to join a CSA<a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/CSA.jpg"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-1778" title="CSA" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/CSA-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a> (Community Supported Agriculture) and buy your food directly from a local farmer and enjoy an increased sense of community at the same time. You can find a CSA in your area by going to <a href="http://www.localharvest.org/">http://www.localharvest.org/</a>. It is very satisfying to have a relationship with the person who is growing the food you use to feed your family.  It is very personal.   So this Saturday morning head down to your farmers market and get to know the farmers who labor to grow your food. Reduce your ecological footprint and at the same time cultivate a healthy, sustainable way of life.</p>
<p>This blog was originally written for <a href="http://www.solarandwindliving.com/">Solar and Wind Living.</a></p>
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																						<div class="post" id="post-1768">
							<h4><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1768" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Eating as an Environmental Act:  Part II &#8211; The High Cost of Industrial Animal Food Production">Eating as an Environmental Act:  Part II &#8211; The High Cost of Industrial Animal Food Production</a></h4>
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								<p class="details"><span class="user"><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?author=1" title="Posts by Sharon New" rel="author">Sharon New</a></span> <span class="date">February 8th, 2012</span> </p>	
								<div style="float:right;margin:10px 0px 0px 8px;"><a href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1768&title=Eating as an Environmental Act:  Part II - The High Cost of Industrial Animal Food Production&srcTitle=Local Food Beat&srcURL=http://localfoodbeat.com"target="_blank" rel=""><img border="0" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-google-buzz/icon/5.png" style="opacity:1;filter:alpha(opacity=100)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=0.8;this.filters.alpha.opacity=80" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100"/> </a></div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 8px; margin-top:10px;"><iframe height="69" width="53" src="http://widgets.fbshare.me/files/fbshare.php?url=http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1768&title=Eating as an Environmental Act:  Part II - The High Cost of Industrial Animal Food Production&size=large" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></div><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 8px; margin-top:10px;"><iframe src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Flocalfoodbeat.com%2F%3Fp%3D1768&amp;source=LocalFoodBeat&amp;style=normal&amp;service=bit.ly" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div>
<p>Last time we discussed how the way we eat represents our most profound engagement with the natural world. I discussed how the “food system” consists of everything required to produce, process, move, sell and consume food. The things used to grow food include land, fertilizers, pesticides, seeds and water – and our current industrial food growing system – has resulted in pollution and animal waste. In addition, excessive amounts of energy and fossil fuels are used to process, package, advertise and transport this food.</p>
<p>In this installment we take into consideration how in 2008 Americans spent, on average, less than 10% of their disposable income on food – that’s only half of what we spent on food in the early 1960s. That’s a direct effect of our continuing quest to spend less for more. As we learned in <a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1762">Part I,</a> our demand for, out-of-season foods comes with a huge cost – both nutritional and environmental – because of our insatiable demand for cheap food. Our insistence for cut-rate food is so huge that it has betrayed us.</p>
<p>For example, to satisfy this desire, the food industry has created a diabolically efficient way to “grow” cheap meat. Concentrated area feeding operations, or CAFOs, house thousands of animals (cattle, dairy, hogs and chickens) in pens or cages with as little space as possible. This is done to keep animals from burning calories so they can gain more valuable weight.</p>
<p>Another problem with this system arises from the food source used as feed. Remember this is only an example of the reality that cuts across all types of animal farming. We have to ask ourselves: What is my food eating? For confined cows, it’s grain.</p>
<p>From <a href="http://nationalfork.com/?p=1207">The National Fork</a>: “The digestive systems of ruminants are not designed to process large amounts of grain, and the grain-based diet causes abnormal changes in the acidity of one of the animal’s stomachs, called the rumin. This abnormal acidity allows for the proliferation of harmful bacteria like <em>E. coli</em> in the animal’s digestive system, and during the butchering process this harmful bacteria often finds its way into the meat.”</p>
<p>This is why more than 80% of antibiotics (used prophylactically) in this country are sold to CAFOs. The overuse of antibiotics is causing growth of antibiotic resistant bacteria strains. The animals are fed a steady diet of hormones and antibiotics and grains. Meat produced like this requires an intense amount of energy…more than 40 calories of energy to produce 1 calorie of grain-fed beef (more on this in the next issue).</p>
<p>The following <a href="http://www.factoryfarmmap.org/">map</a> illustrates where the CAFOs are located around the country – the darker areas represent concentrations of these farms. Americans eat 8.7 billion broiler chickens per year, 100 million hogs and 100 million cattle <em>per year</em>. CAFOs is where that food comes from, unless you buy grass fed beef and sustainably grown foods (more on this on the next issue).</p>
<p><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/CAFO-map.bmp"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1771" title="CAFO map" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/CAFO-map.bmp" alt="" /></a></p>
<p>But the damage doesn’t stop there. It is currently estimated that 173,000 miles of national waterways are impacted by runoff from the CAFOs. Confined animal farming is also responsible for 55% of soil and sediment erosion across the country, 37% of nationwide pesticide usage, and for more than 30% of the total nitrogen and phosphorus that ends up in our national drinking water because of this reckless activity. In no time in our past have we faced such detriment to our way of life. It is yours and my duty to stop this thoughtless behavior. Tune in next week when I will present possible solutions.</p>
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							<h4><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1762" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Eating as an Environmental Act:  Just How Much is that Grape?">Eating as an Environmental Act:  Just How Much is that Grape?</a></h4>
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								<p class="details"><span class="user"><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?author=1" title="Posts by Sharon New" rel="author">Sharon New</a></span> <span class="date">February 3rd, 2012</span> </p>	
								<div style="float:right;margin:10px 0px 0px 8px;"><a href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1762&title=Eating as an Environmental Act:  Just How Much is that Grape?&srcTitle=Local Food Beat&srcURL=http://localfoodbeat.com"target="_blank" rel=""><img border="0" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-google-buzz/icon/5.png" style="opacity:1;filter:alpha(opacity=100)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=0.8;this.filters.alpha.opacity=80" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100"/> </a></div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 8px; margin-top:10px;"><iframe height="69" width="53" src="http://widgets.fbshare.me/files/fbshare.php?url=http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1762&title=Eating as an Environmental Act:  Just How Much is that Grape?&size=large" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></div><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 8px; margin-top:10px;"><iframe src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Flocalfoodbeat.com%2F%3Fp%3D1762&amp;source=LocalFoodBeat&amp;style=normal&amp;service=bit.ly" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div>
<p><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Buyng-Local-Pic.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-1763 alignleft" title="Supreme Court Reviews Rights Of Guantanamo Detainees" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Buyng-Local-Pic-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>Michael Pollan says that the way we eat represents our most profound engagement with the natural world. Unfortunately, our food system has less and less to do with the natural world than ever before.</p>
<p>So what do I mean by the term “food system?” The food system is everything required to produce, process, move, sell and consume food. The things used to grow food include land, fertilizers, pesticides, seeds and water – and our current industrial food growing system has resulted in pollution and animal waste. In addition, excessive amounts of energy and fossil fuels are used to process, package, advertise and transport this food.</p>
<p>The average food item travels more than 1500 miles to get to your plate. In 2004, agriculture was responsible for 13.5% of greenhouse gas emissions – more than transportation! So next time you want to buy those grapes from Chile or blueberries in December think about the true cost of how it got to you.</p>
<p>Agriculture accounts for two-thirds of water use worldwide – far above industrial or municipal use. It also accounts for 8% of river and stream pollution and 41% of lake pollution due to current farming practices. Case in point: Forty percent of the Chesapeake Bay was declared a dead zone for part of the summer of 2003. Dead zones, where there is insufficient oxygen for living things to&#8230;..well live&#8230;.are caused by too many nutrients reaching the water. These “nutrients” include fertilizers and animal waste. They feed algae which decompose, and in the process use up the oxygen all the other critters need to live.</p>
<p>How did this current system evolve? In the 1940s, crop yields increased dramatically due to application of petrochemical fertilizers and pesticides and the development of mechanized farm equipment and automation. In fact, we became so efficient that fewer and fewer people are needed. In 1920, agricultural work made up 27% of the U.S. labor force. Today, only 2% of Americans work in agriculture. In our “efficiency,” we have made our food system unsustainable and in the process, we have also harmed our environment, health and communities.</p>
<p>We have to ask ourselves what’s the true price of the food on our plate? And the answer is depletion of fossil fuels and healthy top soil, loss of biodiversity, polluted air and water, increased health care costs (obesity and new inflammatory diseases) – and we haven’t even begun to discuss the economic and social costs to communities (unemployment, reduced land value to name just a few).</p>
<p>But in my opinion, maybe the biggest loss from the rise of “Big Ag,” is the loss of our nations’ farms and farmers. In 1952, 47 cents of every dollar went to a farmer; in 2006, only 10 cents did. I have a baseball hat that says “No Farms, No Food.” Maybe I’ll see you wearing that same hat soon.</p>
<p>Coming next week Part II: The Real Price of Animal Food Production</p>
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																						<div class="post" id="post-1733">
							<h4><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1733" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to A Fork in the Road&#8230;guest blog.">A Fork in the Road&#8230;guest blog.</a></h4>
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								<p class="details"><span class="user"><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?author=1" title="Posts by Sharon New" rel="author">Sharon New</a></span> <span class="date">January 19th, 2012</span> </p>	
								<div style="float:right;margin:10px 0px 0px 8px;"><a href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1733&title=A Fork in the Road...guest blog.&srcTitle=Local Food Beat&srcURL=http://localfoodbeat.com"target="_blank" rel=""><img border="0" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-google-buzz/icon/5.png" style="opacity:1;filter:alpha(opacity=100)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=0.8;this.filters.alpha.opacity=80" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100"/> </a></div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 8px; margin-top:10px;"><iframe height="69" width="53" src="http://widgets.fbshare.me/files/fbshare.php?url=http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1733&title=A Fork in the Road...guest blog.&size=large" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></div><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 8px; margin-top:10px;"><iframe src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Flocalfoodbeat.com%2F%3Fp%3D1733&amp;source=LocalFoodBeat&amp;style=normal&amp;service=bit.ly" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div>
<p>Please read George Lopez&#8217;s review of Michael Pollan&#8217;s lecture last night which I had the privilege of attending.  George Lopez is the Executive Director of <a href="http://www.solarandwindliving.com/">Solar and Wind Living </a>- home of the Solar  and Wind Expo. I know this is a food blog, but food and energy intersect more than we realize and that is something I hope to be expounding upon in the coming year.</p>
<p><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/fork.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1737" title="fork" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/fork-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>Last night Elvia Thompson of <a href="http://www.annapolisgreen.com/">Annapolis Green</a>, Sharon New of Local Food Beat and I had the pleasure of attending the Baltimore Speakers Series hear Michael Pollan, the renowned and extremely popular food expert. He spent over an hour describing what is wrong with our food choices at the market in a way that only Pollan can. Afterward he answered questions from the audience. What a great speaker.</p>
<p>After being introduced, Mr. Pollan came out of the side entrance with about eight plastic bags full of (you guessed it) groceries; it was great showmanship. He had earlier in the day visited a local supermarket (I think he said it was Safeway &#8212; not that it matters since they are all mostly the same). He reached in the bags and proceeded to bring out boxes of processed this and processed that. He described in detail why each one of these products was sold and packaged as it was. He explained that the food industry has taken the wholesome goodness that Grandma used to make and transformed it into some unrecognizable thing while telling you that it’s good for you. When the food industry claims it has removed something conspicuously dubbed harmful for you (like sodium or saturated fat), it neglects to mention what it put in to replace it – often even worse for your health.</p>
<p>Now I realize that this is not a food website and we are mostly here for energy news, but something about the food industry resembles the energy industry so bear with me while I make this point.</p>
<p>Vegetables, fruit and animals are out there just going through life not bothering anyone, not telling you how much or what to eat. Grandma used to be the one in charge of this duty. But times have changed.</p>
<p>Now the food industry with its money, lobbyists and studies they commission, is attacking the food that Grandma used to give you. It makes claims that new processed food is better, cheaper and oh so convenient. The average shopper sees this and is sucked in. Plain and simple, the cards are stacked against the food consumer.</p>
<p>Along comes Uncle Sam, and he is wearing some bling-bling that he just got from the industry. So Uncle Sam, in his infinite wisdom, says that to feed more people we must subsidize many of the products the industry uses to make processed foods. This includes the ubiquitous corn and soy. Now the good foods (plain old meats, fruit and vegetables) are more expensive than the bad, processed foods on the shelves so the less fortunate are more prone to buying bad foods. One great example was a package of instant mashed potatoes that claimed that is was made with real potaoes. What could possibly be in that package? A little bit of potato and 37, yes 37, other, unpronounceable, ingredients. Buying a couple of good old russets from Idaho would be a lot cheaper. And your tax dollars go to this harmful cycle. Sound familiar? Oil and coal.</p>
<p>Now our government feels it needs to tax the bad foods to help curb their consumption because they are making us fat and unhealthy. An example is taxing sodas – which are made mainly of high fructose corn syrup. This to me sounds like insanity. Why would you tax something that you are already subsidizing? Why not just take away those subsidies? This way you take away money that can be used elsewhere, you curb consumption and you punish the offender.</p>
<p>Mr. Pollan made this great point last night and is the reason that I am writing about this. We have come to the fork in the road – in the food road and in the energy road. One road goes off a cliff and the other begins to restore order. If we do not repair and begin to reverse the effects of greed by industries such as food, coal, oil (and banks too, as long as we are on this) we’ll go off that cliff. Some might say we’re already dangling on the edge.</p>
<p>These industries need to be regulated by the people who consume the stuff: us. Political leaders are not doing the job and it’s up to us to make the changes necessary to restore sanity to our food system. The argument that we should be educated enough to make the right choice is no longer valid when industry marketing makes really difficult to stick to plain old good food at the market anymore.</p>
<p>So here’s the energy connection. Subsidizing dirty energy is as harmful as subsidizing food used to make unhealthy products. We should not be dealing with the environmental issues of the Keystone pipeline or the Gulf oil spill. We should instead be focusing on renewable energy. All of us, regardless of our political affiliation, should make our displeasure known in Washington.</p>
<p>Your political party or tendency to swing left or right has nothing to do with good healthy foods, clean and renewable energy. Politicians, fueled by wealthy supporters, have hijacked the discourse by making everything political.</p>
<p>If we take that fork in the road we are going to end up with something that we just may not recognize. Our grandparents had it right. Home cooked meals and electric cars! Now that’s freedom.</p>
<p>George Lopez</p>
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																						<div class="post" id="post-1728">
							<h4><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1728" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to More on Fluoride&#8230;and Magnesium vs Deodorant?">More on Fluoride&#8230;and Magnesium vs Deodorant?</a></h4>
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								<p class="details"><span class="user"><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?author=1" title="Posts by Sharon New" rel="author">Sharon New</a></span> <span class="date">January 7th, 2012</span> </p>	
								<div style="float:right;margin:10px 0px 0px 8px;"><a href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1728&title=More on Fluoride...and Magnesium vs Deodorant?&srcTitle=Local Food Beat&srcURL=http://localfoodbeat.com"target="_blank" rel=""><img border="0" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-google-buzz/icon/5.png" style="opacity:1;filter:alpha(opacity=100)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=0.8;this.filters.alpha.opacity=80" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100"/> </a></div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 8px; margin-top:10px;"><iframe height="69" width="53" src="http://widgets.fbshare.me/files/fbshare.php?url=http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1728&title=More on Fluoride...and Magnesium vs Deodorant?&size=large" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></div><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 8px; margin-top:10px;"><iframe src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Flocalfoodbeat.com%2F%3Fp%3D1728&amp;source=LocalFoodBeat&amp;style=normal&amp;service=bit.ly" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div>
<p><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Sign-of-the-Times-2-300x225.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1729" title="Sign-of-the-Times-2-300x225" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Sign-of-the-Times-2-300x225-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a> I read two things this past week that I thought were important enough to pass on.  First,  something I failed to write about in my post regarding fluoride  was why &#8211; if research confirms the dangers of fluoride &#8211; why do most American cities still have it in their water?  Well, my friend at <a href="http://nationalfork.com/">National Fork </a>also wrote a thorough article on flouride and I thought answered this question beautifully.  &#8221;<em>Unfortunately, while there are healthier ways to strengthen teeth, there may not be more profitable ways, at least not from the perspective of the chemical industry.  Fluoride chemicals are well-known bi-products of various industrial processes, including the manufacture of synthetic fertilizers.  The fertilizer industry is an outgrowth of the WWII chemical industry of the 1940′s, and disposal of fluoride waste chemicals has been a problem for these industries from the beginning.  Disposing of them in the drinking water, and convincing the population that the chemicals are “good for you,” may be less expensive than treating them to make them safe.  Don’t expect the media to alert people to the dangers of fluoride.  Large industry draws large profits from the disposal of fluoride chemicals via the drinking water.</em>&#8220;  To read the full post, please go <a href="http://nationalfork.com/">here</a>.</p>
<p>The second item that really caught my attention this week was <a href="http://www.cheeseslave.com/">Cheeseslave&#8217;s</a> post on the benefits of magnesium and now that she has been supplementing with adequate amounts of magnesium, she has found that she doesn&#8217;t need deodorant.  Please read her <a href="http://www.cheeseslave.com/how-i-quit-using-deodorant-with-magnesium/">How I Quit Using Deodorant and What&#8217;s Wrong with Deodorant</a>.  Further, post on <a href="http://www.cheeseslave.com/are-you-suffering-from-magnesium-deficiency/">Are You Suffering from Magnesium Deficiency</a> really got me to thinking about minerals in general  in which I may be deficient.  I know, add it to the list for things to do in 2012!</p>
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																						<div class="post" id="post-1724">
							<h4><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1724" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Why You Should Avoid Fluoride">Why You Should Avoid Fluoride</a></h4>
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								<p class="details"><span class="user"><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?author=1" title="Posts by Sharon New" rel="author">Sharon New</a></span> <span class="date">December 28th, 2011</span> </p>	
								<div style="float:right;margin:10px 0px 0px 8px;"><a href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1724&title=Why You Should Avoid Fluoride&srcTitle=Local Food Beat&srcURL=http://localfoodbeat.com"target="_blank" rel=""><img border="0" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-google-buzz/icon/5.png" style="opacity:1;filter:alpha(opacity=100)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=0.8;this.filters.alpha.opacity=80" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100"/> </a></div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 8px; margin-top:10px;"><iframe height="69" width="53" src="http://widgets.fbshare.me/files/fbshare.php?url=http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1724&title=Why You Should Avoid Fluoride&size=large" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></div><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 8px; margin-top:10px;"><iframe src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Flocalfoodbeat.com%2F%3Fp%3D1724&amp;source=LocalFoodBeat&amp;style=normal&amp;service=bit.ly" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div>
<p><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/fluoride-pic.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1725" title="fluoride pic" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/fluoride-pic-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>Did you know that most of the developed world including China, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Hungary, Japan and 97% of Western Europe has chosen fluoride-free water?  I personally use a fluoride-free toothpaste and at my  recent dental cleaning I received a very patronizing and disapproving look from my dental hygienist when I told her I didn&#8217;t believe in fluoride and I wanted a fluoride-free rinse.  She didn&#8217;t say a word when she informed me that not only did I not have any cavities, I didn&#8217;t even have any &#8220;watch-spots&#8221; and had barely any plaque.  And I had not had a professional cleaning in nearly eight months!  I did have an opportunity at that point to talk to my dentist about the benefits of a nutrient-dense/real food diet on teeth and gum health.  CDC studies show that 41% of teens may be experiencing fluoride overdose which can lead to permament health effects&#8230;most notably thyroid disease.  Those of you who have taken my Thyroid/Adrenal Education Class will already know the role that fluoride (and chlorine/chloride- also in the water) play in displacing iodine.  We need adequate amounts of iodine for proper thyroid health.  In fact, it has been estimated that total fluoride exposure in fluoridated communities may range from 1.6 to 6.6 mg/day.  To put this in proper perspective, a 1958 clinical study (yes, the evidence has been around that long) showed that with just 2.3 &#8211; 4.5 mg/day of fluoride, thyroid function was decreased (hypothyroid).  Is it no wonder then that Synthroid (a synthetic thyroid hormone) is the second most prescribed drug in America? </p>
<p>To read more about all the possible sources of fluoride in your environment and diet, please read Cheeseslave&#8217;s <a href="http://www.cheeseslave.com/top-10-dangers-of-fluoride/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Cheeseslave+%28CHEESESLAVE%29">Top Ten Dangers of Fluoride</a>.  You can also print out the following <a href="http://livingfood.us/fluoride/F%20HEALTH%20ALERT%20final.pdf">flyer</a> to take to your dentist and/or hand out to friends and families on the dangers of fluoride.</p>
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																						<div class="post" id="post-1708">
							<h4><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1708" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Congress Declares Pizza a Vegetable">Congress Declares Pizza a Vegetable</a></h4>
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								<p class="details"><span class="user"><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?author=1" title="Posts by Sharon New" rel="author">Sharon New</a></span> <span class="date">November 17th, 2011</span> </p>	
								<div style="float:right;margin:10px 0px 0px 8px;"><a href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1708&title=Congress Declares Pizza a Vegetable&srcTitle=Local Food Beat&srcURL=http://localfoodbeat.com"target="_blank" rel=""><img border="0" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-google-buzz/icon/5.png" style="opacity:1;filter:alpha(opacity=100)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=0.8;this.filters.alpha.opacity=80" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100"/> </a></div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 8px; margin-top:10px;"><iframe height="69" width="53" src="http://widgets.fbshare.me/files/fbshare.php?url=http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1708&title=Congress Declares Pizza a Vegetable&size=large" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></div><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 8px; margin-top:10px;"><iframe src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Flocalfoodbeat.com%2F%3Fp%3D1708&amp;source=LocalFoodBeat&amp;style=normal&amp;service=bit.ly" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div>
<p><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/pizza-picture.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1709" title="pizza picture" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/pizza-picture-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>Yesterday, Tuesday, November 15, 2011, the final version of  <a href="http://www.rules.house.gov/Media/file/PDF_112_1/Committee%20Jurisdiction%20Reports/CR2112%201114s.pdf">The Spending Bill </a>was released and contained almost a complete reversal of what the USDA proposed earlier this year for new nutritional guidelines for school lunches.  Which means pizza is now a vegetable (think tomato paste). </p>
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<p>Now I could care less what the USDA new &#8220;standards&#8221; for school lunches are because no matter what they propose, they are still going to be nutritionally deficient for growing children and continue to contribute to the increase of Type II diabetes in children.  In fact,  the primary mandate for USDA is to increase demand for US commodity agricultural products &#8211; it&#8217;s as simple as that.  The new &#8220;Dietary Guidelines&#8221; are a promotional tool and the new Choose My Plate &#8220;food pyramid&#8221; is nothing more than the results of congressional lobbying by the cheap grain and cereal-based food companies.  Case in point:   American Frozen Food Institute spent over $5 million convincing Congress to protect their $11 billion annual school lunch profits &#8211; and why frozen pizza is now a veggie.  As you know, this is the kind of corporate crony influence that thousands of Americans are protesting.  And so am I.  &#8220;Agribusiness is concentrated to a point that would make a Wall Street master of the universe blush,&#8221; Tom Philpott wrote in a <a href="http://motherjones.com/environment/2011/10/food-industry-monopoly-occupy-wall-street?page=1">recent article</a>.</p>
<p> The USDA doesn’t’ really want us to “eat less and move more.” They want us to “eat more and buy more.”</p>
<p>So chances are if you are a reader of this blog, you know that no amount of new guidelines the USDA puts forth will ever begin to address the real nutritional needs of our school children.   But I for one think it&#8217;s time to let Congress know that undo influence by corporate lobbying MUST END &#8211; no matter what the arena.</p>
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																						<div class="post" id="post-1702">
							<h4><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1702" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Why you Need Fat and Cholesterol!">Why you Need Fat and Cholesterol!</a></h4>
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								<p class="details"><span class="user"><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?author=1" title="Posts by Sharon New" rel="author">Sharon New</a></span> <span class="date">November 5th, 2011</span> </p>	
								<div style="float:right;margin:10px 0px 0px 8px;"><a href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1702&title=Why you Need Fat and Cholesterol!&srcTitle=Local Food Beat&srcURL=http://localfoodbeat.com"target="_blank" rel=""><img border="0" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-google-buzz/icon/5.png" style="opacity:1;filter:alpha(opacity=100)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=0.8;this.filters.alpha.opacity=80" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100"/> </a></div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 8px; margin-top:10px;"><iframe height="69" width="53" src="http://widgets.fbshare.me/files/fbshare.php?url=http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1702&title=Why you Need Fat and Cholesterol!&size=large" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></div><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 8px; margin-top:10px;"><iframe src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Flocalfoodbeat.com%2F%3Fp%3D1702&amp;source=LocalFoodBeat&amp;style=normal&amp;service=bit.ly" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div>
<p><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Food-Pyramid.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1704" title="Food-Pyramid" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Food-Pyramid-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>Because I do advocate eating animal fats (and lots of them), I am often asked what I think about a plant-based diet alone.  I am not an advocate of a solely plant-based diet because I think we were made to consume meat.  The one caveat to that is I want the animal I eat to be allowed to be in its biological distinctiveness; i.e., a cow on a grass, a chicken grazing outdoors, a pig in oak trees.  My personal conviction is that I don’t eat meat from an animal whose biolology has been manipulated for profits. For example:  A confined chicken kept in light 24/7 so they continue to lay eggs or a dairy cow that is fed hormones so it can be milked 600 days straight and then die.  I want no part of that. But there are (now) hundreds of farmers who are committed to raising animals on pasture (grass fed), feeding them a diet that is appropriate to their kind, and killed humanely – and that is the kind of meat and dairy products I consume and purchase.</p>
<p>I am often asked a lot about the book The China Study in which the author, T. Colin Campbell, states: ”Eating foods that contain any cholesterol above 0 mg is unhealthy.”  If you know anything about brains and neurons, you should find that statement downright frightening.   Our brains are 25% cholesterol and 60% fat and our nervous system depends upon fat and cholesterol.  In fact, we can’t even make Vitamin D (which is a steroid hormone as well as a vitamin) nor can we make our sex hormones unless we have cholesterol.  (To read more about how cholesterol and your hormones and adrenal system all work together, read <a href="(http://www.naturalnews.com/022553_medical_myths_cholesterol.html).">this </a>.) </p>
<p>In fact, researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology looked at 52,087 individuals between the ages of 20 and 74. After adjusting for factors like age, smoking and blood pressure, researchers found women with high cholesterol (more than 270 mg/dl) had a 28 percent lower mortality risk than women with low cholesterol (under 193 mg/dl). Risk for heart disease, cardiac arrest and stroke also declined as cholesterol levels rose.</p>
<p>Further, Researchers at Louisiana State University found that eating eggs for breakfast resulted in greater weight loss and better energy levels than eating two bagels, even though the number of calories was about the same.  And one more:  A prospective study from Australia, which looked at adults over a period of fifteen years, found that people who ate the most full-fat dairy products had a 69 percent lower risk of cardiovascular death than those who ate the least . </p>
<p>So eat your butter. It will make you happy!</p>
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							<h4><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=963" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Top 10 Foods to Enhance Fertility">Top 10 Foods to Enhance Fertility</a></h4>
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								<p class="details"><span class="user"><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?author=1" title="Posts by Sharon New" rel="author">Sharon New</a></span> <span class="date">October 7th, 2011</span> </p>	
								<div style="float:right;margin:10px 0px 0px 8px;"><a href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=963&title=Top 10 Foods to Enhance Fertility&srcTitle=Local Food Beat&srcURL=http://localfoodbeat.com"target="_blank" rel=""><img border="0" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-google-buzz/icon/5.png" style="opacity:1;filter:alpha(opacity=100)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=0.8;this.filters.alpha.opacity=80" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100"/> </a></div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 8px; margin-top:10px;"><iframe height="69" width="53" src="http://widgets.fbshare.me/files/fbshare.php?url=http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=963&title=Top 10 Foods to Enhance Fertility&size=large" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></div><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 8px; margin-top:10px;"><iframe src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Flocalfoodbeat.com%2F%3Fp%3D963&amp;source=LocalFoodBeat&amp;style=normal&amp;service=bit.ly" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div>
<p><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/fertility.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1673" title="fertility" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/fertility-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>One of the more discouraging results of  &#8220;nutritionists&#8221; misguided emphasis on eating low-fat and cholesterol free foods is infertility&#8230;now happening in younger and younger women.  Cara Bergman is the founder and owner of <a href="http://www.stillwaterfertilityclinic.com/" target="_blank">Stillwater Fertility Clinic </a>, Maryland&#8217;s Natural Fertility and Women&#8217;s Care Clinic in Severna Park, Maryland.  Cara has given numerous talks about the importance of nutrient dense foods especially for pre-conception and for growing children.    Here are Cara&#8217;s top ten foods to eat to enhance fertility and the top foods to avoid.</p>
<h2><span style="color: #008080;"> Top 10 Foods to Enhance Fertility</span></h2>
<h2><span style="color: #008080;"> </span></h2>
<p>1. <span style="color: #008080;">Bone Broth</span> &#8211; old fashioned chicken soup made with the bones.  Add a splash of vinegar to the water so that the nutrients come out of the bones and into the broth. </p>
<p>2. <span style="color: #008080;">Liver </span>- especially from grass-fed animals.  Eating liver once a month provides nearly the same nutrients as eating red meat every day of the month.  </p>
<p>3. <span style="color: #008080;">Lacto-fermented Vegetables</span> - if you haven&#8217;t tried these, <a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102916597140&amp;s=696&amp;e=0019HYmYzy_9KxHpv8ZfUjzULT7RSE66ivFU8w2f0Zkl3ryx_q7hRAjKj5cKV7dn6kHUCB7NyTg39V9BpYkGqOe9cx6uCwmY19P9o-4Joth0rTkU6vbTQuO_hZUxgVQLDmJoGNyL1ggYuM=" target="_blank">read more </a>about my favorite brand Fab Ferments</p>
<p>4. <span style="color: #008080;">Fermented Cod liver Oil</span> &#8211; If you only take ONE supplement ever, it should be fermented cod liver oil in my opinion.  It is an excellent source of Vitamin D among other things.</p>
<p>5. <span style="color: #008080;">Wild-caught Salmon</span> high in Omega 3&#8242;s -</p>
<p>6. <span style="color: #008080;">Red Raspberry Leaf Tea</span> &#8211; Great uterine tonic.  Good to drink throughout pregnancy.</p>
<p>7. <span style="color: #008080;">Greens </span>- especially wild greens like dandelion.</p>
<p>8. <span style="color: #008080;">Kefir - </span>both yogurt and kefir have beneficial bacteria.  The difference is that the bacteria in yogurt is transient &#8211; it will do good things and then leave your system where as the bacteria in kefir colonizes and continues to fight off pathogens in the gut.</p>
<p>9. <span style="color: #008080;">Nettles tea</span> &#8211; look for this in health food stores.  It supports the adrenals and helps your body build blood.</p>
<p>10. <span style="color: #339966;">Grass-fed meat  &#8211; </span>Animals need to be outside eating a natural diet to be healthy. </p>
<h2><span style="color: #ff0000;">Top 10 Food to Avoid</span></h2>
<h2><span style="color: #ff0000;"> </span></h2>
<p>1. <span style="color: #ff0000;">Trans-fat </span>- it will say &#8220;partially hydrogenated oil&#8221; on the label</p>
<p>2. <span style="color: #ff0000;">Margarine </span>- is usually made from rancid oils and is full of chemicals.  Butter (especially from grass-fed animals) is a much better choice.</p>
<p>3. <span style="color: #ff0000;">Soy</span> &#8211; the only soy I recommend is fermented soy and only in small amounts.  However, if you have any thyroid problems or if you are trying to conceive, it is best to avoid all soy.  Most is genetically modified and the estrogen-like compounds may disrupt the endocrine system.</p>
<p>4. <span style="color: #ff0000;">Fat free or low fat dairy</span> &#8211; most low fat milk has powdered milk added to it which has oxidized cholesterol. </p>
<p>5. <span style="color: #ff0000;">Enriched Flour</span> = White flour + synthetic vitamins.  Whole grains that are soaked or sprouted are better.</p>
<p>6. <span style="color: #ff0000;">Sugar</span> - one of the most harmful (and addictive) substances in our diets </p>
<p>7. <span style="color: #ff0000;">Sodas </span>- especially diet sodas &#8211; some fertility clinics will not even work with people until they go off of artificial sweeteners.</p>
<p>8. <span style="color: #ff0000;">Coffee </span>- depleting to the adrenals.  In Chinese medicine, the kidneys are responsible for reproduction. </p>
<p>9. <span style="color: #ff0000;">Vegetable oils</span> &#8211; including canola oil &#8211; most are genetically modified and rancid.  They are also usually too high in Omega 6&#8242;s which creates an Omega 3 / Omega 6 imbalance.</p>
<p>10. <span style="color: #ff0000;">MSG </span>- it is given to rats to induce obesity.  Will show up as &#8220;hydrolyzed yeast extract&#8221; or &#8220;autolyzed yeast extract&#8221; or many other pseudo names.</p>
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							<h4><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1661" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to The Time is Now&#8230;More Than Ever">The Time is Now&#8230;More Than Ever</a></h4>
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								<p class="details"><span class="user"><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/?author=1" title="Posts by Sharon New" rel="author">Sharon New</a></span> <span class="date">September 19th, 2011</span> </p>	
								<div style="float:right;margin:10px 0px 0px 8px;"><a href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1661&title=The Time is Now...More Than Ever&srcTitle=Local Food Beat&srcURL=http://localfoodbeat.com"target="_blank" rel=""><img border="0" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-google-buzz/icon/5.png" style="opacity:1;filter:alpha(opacity=100)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=0.8;this.filters.alpha.opacity=80" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100"/> </a></div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 8px; margin-top:10px;"><iframe height="69" width="53" src="http://widgets.fbshare.me/files/fbshare.php?url=http://localfoodbeat.com/?p=1661&title=The Time is Now...More Than Ever&size=large" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></div><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 8px; margin-top:10px;"><iframe src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Flocalfoodbeat.com%2F%3Fp%3D1661&amp;source=LocalFoodBeat&amp;style=normal&amp;service=bit.ly" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div>
<p><a href="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/George.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1662" title="George" src="http://localfoodbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/George-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a></p>
<p><em>George Lopez, the Executive Director of the <a href="http://thesolarandwindexpo.com/Massachusetts.html">Solar &amp; Wind Expo </a>blogged <a href="http://thesolarandwindexpo.blogspot.com/2011/09/time-is-now-more-than-ever.html">today</a> regarding the interchange of energy and food.  He also mentioned Local Food Beat and I thought I would share his blog with my readers.</em></p>
<p>This was an interesting weekend because instead of focusing on energy I spent the weekend learning about food. Sharon New, a good friend of mine who runs the website Local Food Beat and is extremely knowledgeable about food, was kind enough to give me an enlightening lesson regarding healthy foods which was then followed by a hands-on tour of Whole Foods in Annapolis. The experience was an eye opener.</p>
<p>Part of the lesson included excerpts from Kevin Brown’s book <a href="http://liberationdiet.com/">The Liberation Diet</a>. It was interesting to learn that Crisco was once a waste product of the cotton industry originally meant for use in the fabrication of candles by Procter &amp; Gamble, but was then repackaged for the food industry when electricity and the light bulb became the norm. In his book,  Brown writes &#8220;You have to take an industrial waste product, or by-product or trash, something very worthless or inexpensive, call it a health food, put it in a nice package, and then attack the competition relentlessly. That’s the formula.&#8221;</p>
<p>I also had a chance to view these two documentaries, “<a href="http://www.kingcorn.net/">King Corn</a>” and “<a href="http://thefutureoffood.com/">The Future of Food</a>.” These fine productions demonstrate the stuff that is going on in the food industry. See these films and you will think twice about the foods that you put in your mouth.  (Local Food Beat:  View  a 24 minute video on Confined Area Feeding Operations of CAFO&#8217;s <a href="http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_18485.cfm">here</a>.  It is also a link this homepage.)</p>
<p>This got me thinking about the energy industry. The packaging of by-products such as Crisco and other hydrogenated vegetable oils, or should we say corn oil, are very similar to what has been happening in the energy industry. How many by-products come from the oil and coal industry? Styrofoam comes to mind and plastics are a menace to our world; we all know that, but it is continuously packaged as a life enhancing product. Fleece for example is what happens to recycled water bottles after you discard them and I say discard instead of recycle because when we are done wearing fleece we throw it away and the cycle ends. Remember glass bottles, they were recycled forever. The list of oil by-products is long.</p>
<p>We as a society must take the necessary steps to reverse the course we have allowed our industries and government to take. Their strategy has been not to worry about the human cost, but to maximize profits. This has put all of us in a bad place &#8211;  we have become obese and unhealthy.  And if things get worse as they’ve been trending, where will we be in twenty years?</p>
<p>Every day we get closer to the point where we will have to grow our own food again and, fortunately, thanks to some forward looking job creators, we can now make our own energy. If we act together <em>now </em>we can make a better and healthier future.</p>
<p><em><a href="http://thesolarandwindexpo.com/">The Solar &amp; Wind Expo </a>exists to make green a reality by matching home and business owners with producers, financiers, and top experts in the field of green and renewable technologies.  The next Expo is in Massachusetts November 4 &#8211; 6 at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel and Trade Center located just west of Boston.</em></p>
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<li><a href="http://home.homewebs.com/hmnannapolismd/" title="Organization with interest in natural health and mindful parenting.">Holistic Moms Network &#8211; Annapolis</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.lizzielovesfood.blogspot.com/" title="Organic and local cakes for any occasion">Lizzie Loves Food &#8211; Homemade Cakes</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.localharvest.org" title="Online help for sourcing local food ">Local Harvest</a></li>
<li><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SustainableAgricultureCoalition" title="The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is a national alliance of farm, rural development, and conservation groups that organized in 1988 to affect federal agriculture policy. ">National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/documentFiles/144.pdf" title="How to avoid foods made with a genetically modified organism.">Non-GMO Shopping Guide</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.organicconsumers.org/">Organic Consumer&#039;s Association</a></li>
<li><a href="http://thesolarandwindexpo.blogspot.com/2011/08/sustainable-energy-masters-degree.html" title="A blog about green technology">Solar Wind and Expo Blog</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.StillwaterFertilityClinic.com">Stillwater Fertility Clinic</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sun-and-Earth-Annapolis-Md/344629737359" title="Health food store in Annapolis on West Street">Sun and Earth</a></li>
<li><a href="http://tamezcreative.com/" title="I am often asked about who designed my website &#8211; Robin Tamez of Tamez Creative ">Tamez Creative</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.thecompletepatient.com">The Complete Patient</a></li>
<li><a href="http://blog.cholesterol-and-health.com/">The Daily Lipid</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.drmowrycares.com/" title="The Healing and Wellness Center of Kent Island is an alternative, holistic health practice offering natural approaches to health.">The Healing and Wellness Center of Kent Island</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nationalfork.com/" title="A forum for discussing nutrition and the politics of food.">The National Fork</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.thenaturalhealthcopywriter.com/" title="You won&#8217;t find a more passionate advocate for supplements and alternative medicine. ">The Natural Health Copywrighter</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.varunasalonspa.com/" title="Premier Green Salon services using environmentally friendly Aveda products.">Varuna Salon and Spa</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.westonaprice.org">Weston A. Price Foundation</a></li>
<li><a href="http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/">Whole Health Source</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.willowoakherbs.com" title="Herb Farm with teas, gifts, tours, ponds, walking trails&#8230;a real oasis in the middle of Anne Arundel County.">Willow Oak Flower &amp; Herb Farm</a></li>

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