--> In Hershey's factory, his Cuban sugar was ground into a snow-white powder, and the milk from his farms was reduced to a creamy paste; these were then put together with chocolate liquor into the melangeurs for mixing. The mass was then conveyed to the refiners, where it was ground between water-cooled steel rollers, then passed to the conches; it finally ended up in the molding department, where it was cast into such items as Kisses and chocolate bars. | | The first was supplied from 8000 acres of dairy farms in the surrounding countryside, all, of course, Hershey-owned. According to a 1926 company pamphlet,21 every morning 60,000 gallons of "fresh, creamy milk from grass-fed Holsteins" were delivered to the factory, where they wete pumped into condensers before combining with powdered sugar.
This was not the only Hershey on the map. The inspiration for Hershey, Cuba, the chocolate magnate's sugar-mill operation and tropical-style model town, came duting a trip that he made in 1915 to the beautiful and fertile north coast of that island nation. |  Americans are eating more soy products than ever before, thanks largely to the ingenuity of an industry eager to process and sell the vast amounts of subsidized soy coming off American and South American farms. | | With the rise of industrial agriculture, vast monocultures of a tiny group of plants, most of them cereal grains, have replaced the diversified farms that used to feed us. A century ago, the typical Iowa farm raised more than a dozen different plant and animal species: cattle, chickens, corn, hogs, apples, hay, oats, potatoes, cherries, wheat, plums, grapes, and pears. Now it raises only two: corn and soybeans. This simplification of the agricultural landscape leads directly to the simplification of the diet, which is now to a remarkable extent dominated by—big surprise—corn and soybeans. | | Because plants living on organic farms aren't sprayed with synthetic pesticides, they're forced to defend themselves, with the result that they tend to produce between 10 percent and 50 percent more of these valuable secondary compounds than conventionally grown plants.
Some combination of these environmental factors probably accounts for at least part of the decline in the nutritional quality of conventional crops, but genetics likely plays just as important a role. |  Those synthetic chemicals wash right off the farms and into the aquatic ecosystems (rivers, wetlands, oceans) where they are creating "dead zones" that can't even support aquatic life.
It's all being done for the sake of the almighty dollar. Corporations (and the governments they control) are sacrificing the very future of human civilization in order to boost next quarter's profits. | | Doing so benefits not only your health (by, among other things, reducing your exposure to pesticides and pharmaceuticals), but also the health of the people who grow the food as well as the people who live downstream and downwind of the farms where it is grown.
Another important benefit of paying more for better-quality food is that you're apt to eat less of it.
"Eat less" is the most unwelcome advice of all, but in fact the scientific case for eating a lot less than we presently do is compelling, whether or not you are overweight. |  But I personally believe there is reason to be optimistic about possible alternatives, including large-scale solar, solar / Stirling engine hybrid generators, Concentrated Solar Power farms (CSP), and even possible breakthroughs in alternative science that could lead to new energy sources that are nothing less than miraculous (zero point energy harvesters, for example). |  In 1991,1,700 farms raised sugarcane and 13,700 raised sugar beets in the United States, but 42 percent of the sugar subsidies went to just 1 percent of these growers. The owners of these few farms give generously to both political parties. The Fanjul family, for example, controls about one-third of Florida's sugarcane production and collects at least $60 million annually in subsidies. The Fanjuls contributed more than $350,000 to the two political parties - more to Democrats than to Republicans — through their Flo-Sun companies in 1997-1998. | | Meat isn't unhealthy, in my opinion, if it comes from small farms where cows can roam free, eat raw grass, and aren't doped up with a chemical cocktail or fed chicken litter.
Action Item:
If you choose to eat animal products, buy exclusively from organic farms and ranches.
Organic beef makes a difference in your health
To make this long story short, then, if you're going to eat beef, pork or poultry, eat organic. It's worth it. Here's a brief look at what an organic ranch looks like:
Dale Lasater stands in a corral full of huge bulls, feeding them treats from his hand. |  Raiding farms at gunpoint, burning their hemp fields, spraying poisons on their crops via helicopter, imprisoning the farmers, and much worse. It's clearly a terrorist operation designed to achieve a political goal (the destruction of the hemp industry in order to protect the powerful cotton interests in this country). There is absolutely no logical rationale behind the suppression of the hemp industry. It is purely a political ploy. | | How about the use of force by the DEA to destroy industrial hemp farms in the United States? This lucrative crop is grown legally in Canada and used to make hemp clothes, hemp rope, hemp seeds (which are rich in omega-3 oils) and all sorts of goods that we import from Canada, but here in the U.S., the growing of this industrial crop is condemned, disrupted and aggressively attacked by a government group that, at times, acts like a group of terrorists: The Drug Enforcement Agency.
What are they doing that qualifies them as terrorists? |  We go inspect the facilities and the farms once a year, and we go to a lot of places where the maca, which is our flagship product, grows. Our maca powder is grown up at about 14,000 feet, but you have to go up over an 18,000-foot pass to get there. It's quite an adventure. Not many people actually do this trip, and they're beautiful people up there. They could have excellent farms and excellent conditions for growing the product on surprisingly barren land with very harsh conditions. It's one of the hardiest plants in the world.
Mike: Oh, wow. |  For example, presently over 85 open net cage fish farms operate in the coastal waters of British Columbia, producing waste that is equivalent in volume to the raw sewage released from a city of 500,000 inhabitants. This excessively "wasteful" usage of precious water resources for few or no health benefits is yet another example of how misinformation and vested interest groups control the eating and living habits of the masses today.
A Note on the Blood Type Diet
Eat Right for Your Type by Peter J. D'Adamo has become widely known as the blood type diet. |  Cheese:
Organic Valley, Aha Dena, Horizon, Cascadian farms,
Natural by Nature (cream cheese).
Flour:
Shiloh farms, Arrowhead Mills.
Seaweeds:
Maine Coast Seaweeds, bulk seaweed from Ryan Drum (see
Resources).
Tempeh:
Brands vary locally; look for organic. Tempeh Works is good.
Tom:
Nasoya.
Oils:
Flora, Spectrum, Barlean's.
Bread:
Alvarado, Shiloh farms, Breads for Life, Garden of Eatin',
Food for Life (Ezekiel bread), French Meadow.
Tomatoes Muir Glen, Millina's Finest, Green Valley, Tree of Life,
(canned): GardenValley.
Vegetables Cascadian farms, Walnut Acres. | | And while it's true that the organic label guarantees that no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers have been used to produce the food, many, if not most, of the small farms that supply farmers' markets are organic in everything but name.To survive in the farmers' market or CSA economy, a farm will need to be highly diversified, and a diversified farm usually has little need for pesticides; it's the big monocultures that can't survive without them. |  Corporate farms did not want to cut profits for the sake of safety, and smaller family farmers have been brainwashed into believing in the safety of these noxious chemicals.
One telling fact is that, of cancer cases, especially lymphomas and leukemias, the highest incidence in the population occurs in people who work on farms. The same is true for Parkinson's disease. Lured into believing these powerful chemicals were safe, farmers drenched everything in pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides—including themselves and their families. |  It is coming from the factory-style dairy farms where the animals are kept in intensive confinement and have been imported from conventional farms as calves. They simply label it organic, and the USDA lets them get away with it.
Mike: Let us get into more detail on that, because I want people to understand how they do an end run around this organic label. First, do you agree that there is some degree of success in the fact that consumer demand for organic products is now so strong? Is that not a success by itself?
Ronnie: It is a tremendous success. |  On the best family-owned farms, the oil is produced in ways similar to those of the ancient Greeks and Romans: Organic olives are picked by hand so as not to damage the skin or pulp; the oil is separated without the use of heat, hot water, or solvents; and it is left unfiltered. The first pressing produces the best stuff, known as "extra virgin" olive oil.
And that's the stuff you want. That's the oil that makes the list of the world's healthiest foods. |  At this point, you may not be all that surprised at what I'm about to tell you—favism genes and fava bean farms? Same places, same people. Favism is most commonand most deadly—in North Africa and Southern Europe, all around the Mediterranean. Which happen to be exactly the places where fava beans are historically cultivated and consumed.
Here we go again—somehow millions of humans have evolved with a genetic mutation that is only likely to cause problems when they eat something that is most common to the diet in their part ofthe world? |  This less healthy form of fat is also likely to contain hormones, antibiotics, and pesticide residues from animals raised on factory farms. You can reduce your exposure to these chemicals—some of which are known causes of cancer—by shopping for organic meats from grass-fed cattle. (Organic, grass-fed meat is also less likely to carry mad cow disease.) Eat the leanest cuts possible. Skinless chicken and turkey are better sources of protein as they contain little saturated fat.
Eliminate trans-fatty acids from your diet. |  Lundberg Family farms Organic Long Grain Brown Rice
¦ Lundberg Family farms Organic Short Grain Brown Rice
• Lundberg Family farms Organic Wild Rice Blend www.lundberg.com
¦ Tumaro's Gourmet Tortillas Honey Wheat—uses organic flour www.tumaros.com
¦ Lightlife Smart Dogs
1-800-769-3279 www.lightlife.com
¦ Health Valley Low Fat Granola—Tropical Fruit
¦ Health Valley Low Fat Granola—Date Almond Flavor
¦ Health Valley Low Fat Granola—Raisin Cinnamon
¦ Kashi Go Lean Crunch
¦ Texmati Long Grain American Basmati Brown Rice
1-800-232-RICE www.riceselect. |  High-quality deli brands include Applegate farms, Boar's Head, and Diestel. Avoid presliced meats and cheeses at the deli counter— the clerks preslice them for convenience, but the foods quickly start to turn stale. Ask questions about deli salads. For example, cole slaw often contains sugars.
Bakery. Avoid this department because of the low-nutrient density of the products and because nearly every store-baked product contains sugars and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. |  Habitat: Occurs mainly in West-Central Africa in thickets, usually associated with mounds of the termite Macrotermes on plains, in forests, in secondary vegetation, and on old farms. It is evergreen, vigorous, and has wide adaptability.
Production: Wild crafted. 5-HTP is commercially produced by extraction from the seeds. actions and pharmacology
COMPOUNDS
Griffonia contains several indole derivatives including 5-Hydroxy-L-tryptophan, indole-3-acetylaspartic acid and 5-hyrdroxy indole-3-acetic acid (5-HIAA). |  Sweet Cactus farms agave nectar www.SweetCactusFarms.com online and health stores
310-733-4343
Sweet n' Natural Super Stevia Extract www.CVC4Health.com online or by phone
800-421-6175
The Meatrix II www.TheMeatrix2.com online or by phone
212-991-1930
The Natural Dentist www.1heNaturalDentist.com online and health stores
800-615-6895
TheraNeem www.OrganixSouth.com online and health stores
888-989-6336
Company or Product
More information at:
Purchase at:
Best way to contact them:
TKO Orange www.TKOorange.com online or by phone
800-995-2463
Trace Minerals Research www. | | WORTH KNOWING
Raw, unfiltered honey is worth seeking out, and many local farms may sell it. You can also find it in natural foods supermarkets and on the Internet. Two companies I'm particularly fond of that market a superb product are the aforementioned Really Raw Honey (www.reallyrawhoney.com) and one of my favorite companies, Tropical Traditions (www.tropicaltraditions.com), which also happens to make a terrific high-quality coconut oil (see page 300).
6. Salmon: Superb source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are great for your skin and protective against heart disease and cancer. |  Emerging toxins are not limited to factories or farms. In 1992, for example, reports began to emerge of a chemical pneumonia caused by use of Wilson's Leather Protector, an over-the-counter aerosol leather spray. The outbreak was linked to a newly marketed fluorocarbon contained in a revised formulation of the sptay. The producr was recalled. Less than a year later, a second outbreak occurred in the United States from the use of Magic Guard, another reformulated leather spray. | | At salmon farms, thousands of salmon are crowded into small, roped-off areas called "net pens" with serious health repercussions for both the fish and the surrounding waters. The fish are packed in like sardines. Disease can spread rapidly in these conditions, so farmed fish receive tons of antibiotics, both in their feed and through injections. Salmon are naturally carnivores—they eat mackerel, sardines, krill, and other fish. But to raise them in pens, salmon farmers do the same thing that factory farmers do with cattle—they feed them grain. |  An even larger study in 2006 looked at 286 projects to introduce sustainable techniques "on more than 12 million farms in 57 countries, mostiy in Africa." According to a report on SciDev.net, the research evaluated yield effects when farmers used "approaches such as less tilling to conserve soil, integrated pest management—which favors ecological pest control over pesticide spraying—and improved management of soil nutrients. According to the study, adopting such approaches meant yields increased by an average of 79% and harvests of some crops such as maize, potatoes and beans doubled. | | Samples from about 15 farms with animal reproductive problems all came up positive for the mold, says Rosman, but the technicians could not identify an associated toxin. Researchers were unsure if the mold was the cause of the problem or a marker for another cause.
Research at Baylor College of Medicine offers another possible explanation. Scientists reported, "Rats in our animal facility neither breed nor exhibit reproductive behavior when housed on corncob bedding. | |
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