7 Foods So Unsafe Even Farmers Won’t Eat Them
Posted: January 26, 2010 Filed under: Food and it's Impact on Our Health, Non-Toxic Choices Leave a comment-
Grocery stores may sell them, but experts won’t touch them; what you should know about your food.
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By Laurel House 
Dick Luria/Getty Images
Smoking was proven to be cancer-causing, tanning beds were shown to be on par with arsenic, but what about canned tomatoes, corn-fed beef, conventionally grown potatoes? What would it take to convince you to clean out your pantry and change your eating habits? Scientists, doctors, even simple farmers were asked what foods they refuse to eat. The responses had nothing to do with things like donuts due to fat content, or white bread because of the concentration of empty carbs. We’re talking seemingly healthy things like tomatoes, beef, popcorn, potatoes, salmon, milk, and apples. For them, it’s all about how they are produced and packaged.
7 experts in fields pertaining to both food and the environment answered one simple question: "What foods do you avoid?." Their answers, published in an article entitled "7 Foods the Experts Won’t Eat" on Yahoo! Shine, will make you re-think food. When it comes to food and its affect on your health and the health of this planet, this is what they answered:
1. Canned Tomatoes
The Expert: Fredrick vom Saal, PhD, an endocrinologist at the University of Missouri who studies bisphenol-A.
The Reason: Tin cans are lined with a resin that contains the synthetic estrogen bisphenol-A, which has been linked to a slew of health problems including heart disease, diabetes, reproductive problems, and obesity. But that’s not the biggest problem. The acid in tomatoes breaks down that bisphenol-A, leaching it into the food, and not just in insignificant amounts. According to the article, Saal comments that "you can get 50 mcg of BCA per liter out of a tomato can, and that’s a level that is going to impact people, particularly the young." That’s why he’s not touching the stuff.
The Solution: If you lo0ve the taste of "canned" tomatoes but prefer to skip the bisphenol-A, select glass bottles instead.
2. Corn-Fed Beef
The Expert: Joel Salatin, co-owner of Polyface Farms and author of half a dozen books on sustainable farming.
The Reason: Cattle are naturally grass eaters… not grain eaters. In order to fatten the animals (and profit margins), farmers feed them corn and soybeans. And while the farmers are beefing up their earnings, they are minimizing the nutritional benefits. The article mentions the findings from a recent USDA-conducted study comparing corn-fed beef and grass-fed beef showing that grass-fed beef is "higher in beta-carotene, vitamin E, omega-3s, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), calcium, magnesium, and potassium; lower in inflammatory omega-6s; and lower in saturated fats that have been linked to heart disease."
The Solution: Pretty straight forward: Opt for grass-fed beef instead.
3.Microwave Popcorn
The Expert: Olga Naidenko, PhD, a senior scientist for the Environmental Working Group.
The Reason: It’s not the popcorn itself, but the chemically-saturated lining of the bag including a compound called perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) that, according to a recent study from UCLA, may be linked to infertility. Microwaving vaporizes the chemicals as they move from coating the bag to lining the popcorn. But it’s not like this fact is un-acknowledged. In fact the article points out that DuPont, as well as other manufacturers, have "promised to phase out PFOA by 2015 under a voluntary EPA plan, but millions of bags of popcorn will be sold between now and then."
The Solution: Pop your own popcorn the way they did it in the olden days–in a pot.
4. Nonorganic Potatoes
The expert: Jeffrey Moyer, chair of the National Organic Standards Board
The problem: Root vegetables absorb herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides that wind up in soil. In the case of potatoes—the nation’s most popular vegetable—they’re treated with fungicides during the growing season, then sprayed with herbicides to kill off the fibrous vines before harvesting. After they’re dug up, the potatoes are treated yet again to prevent them from sprouting. "Try this experiment: Buy a conventional potato in a store, and try to get it to sprout. It won’t," says Moyer, who is also farm director of the Rodale Institute (also owned by Rodale Inc., the publisher of Prevention). "I’ve talked with potato growers who say point-blank they would never eat the potatoes they sell. They have separate plots where they grow potatoes for themselves without all the chemicals."
The solution: Another no-brainer— Only buy organic potatoes. Washing isn’t good enough if you’re trying to remove chemicals that have been absorbed into the flesh.
5. Farmed Salmon
The Expert: David Carpenter, MD, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany and publisher of a major study in the journal Science on contamination in fish.
The Reason: When salmon is crammed into pens, fed soy, poultry litter, and hydrolyzed chicken feathers (obviously an unnatural environment for the up-stream swimmers), they’re levels of healthy vitamin D lowers as the contaminants increases. Those contaminants include carcinogens, PCBs, brominated flame retardants, and pesticides (like DDT). The article points out that DDT has been linked to both diabetes and obesity, quoting Carpenter in saying that "You can only safely eat one of these salmon dinners every 5 months without increasing your risk of cancer… It’s that bad."
The Solution: Avoid farmed salmon and instead select wild-caught Alaskan salmon. But make sure the packaging reads "wild." If it just says "fresh Atlantic," according to the article, "it’s farmed."
6. Milk Produced with Artificial Hormones
The Expert: Rick North, project director of the Campaign for Safe Food at the Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility and former CEO of the Oregon division of the American Cancer Society.
The Reason: Unlike in the olden days when fresh milk was some of the purest nutrients you could get, dairy cows today are fed growth hormones like rBGH and rBST to increase milk production. Problem is, while they may be making more milk, they are also increasing their chances of udder infections (which can lead to pus in the milk). More than that, the article points out that high levels of IGF-1 from the rBGH may play a role in the development of breast, prostate, and colon cancers… which is why North says that "it’s banned in most industrialized countries."
The Solution: Read the labels and be sure that your milk doesn’t contain rBGH or rBST and that it is labeled organic or "produced without artificial hormones."
7. Conventional Apples
The Expert: Mark Kastel, former executive for agribusiness and co-director of the Cornucopia Institute, a farm-policy research group that supports organic foods
The Reason: Apples are the recipient of the most pesticides of all Fall fruits. Chemical producers swear that the residue is not harmful for human consumption, but the Yahoo! Article goes on to quote Kastel in saying that "Farm workers have higher rates of many cancers."
The Solution: Buy organic apples where available or at least thoroughly wash and peel apples before eating them.
Frugal Green Living: Save $1000 A YEAR Using These 5 Tips
Posted: January 21, 2010 Filed under: Going Green; How and Why..., Non-Toxic Choices, Skin Care 1 CommentAnother great post from Treehugger
Image credit: thievingjoker @ flickr
Convince your boss to let you work four (slightly longer) days a week
Working four ten-hour days instead of five eight-hour days is not only a great way to have a longer weekend, but it’ll save you some cash, too. You’ll save 20% on whatever you spend for commuting, coffee, lunch, and any other daily expenses you incur by dragging yourself to the office. Let’s say you do it on the cheap, and don’t drive yourself, pay for parking, or spend more than a few bucks on lunch. Even if you spend $2 on the bus or public transit, $2 for a coffee and $6 for lunch, you can easily save several hundred bucks by working four days a week. Get the nitty-gritty in our guide for How to Go Green: Commuting.
Alternately, you can telecommute on the fifth day of the week; it’ll cost a bit more in energy and food expenses, but it’ll still save money in the long haul.
Annual savings: $500+ for a four-day workweek (that’s $10 per day, one day a week, for 50 weeks a year — you get two for vacation, right?); slightly less for telecommuters.
Photo credit: nasv @ flickr
Walk or bike on one trip that’s two miles round-trip per week
40 percent of urban travel in the U.S. is two miles per trip (or less), so hop on your bike (or take a walk) once a week, save some wear and tear (and gas) on your car, get a little fresh air, and save some bucks. Learn more about greening your ride in our guide for How to Go Green: Cars and take the savings to the bank. Ready to really make a change? Take the two mile bicycle challenge.
Annual savings: $56.26 — 104 miles (2 miles x 52 weeks) at 54.1 cents per mile, the average cost of driving per mile, according to AAA
Make your own all-purpose cleaner
Rather than dropping four bucks on individual green cleaning products and five or six bucks for a green toothpaste at the grocery store, you can easily swap out products you (probably) already have at home to do the same job. For cleaners, take 25 cents worth of baking soda, 25 cents worth of white vinegar or lemon juice, maybe a touch of essential oil, and voila! Small variations can yield toilet bowl cleaner, tub scrub, and toothpaste Plus, baking soda can clean most anything, including your hair (and it can strip paint, too!). By substituting baking soda for many of your cleaning needs, and adding a little elbow grease, the savings will add up.
Annual savings: $50 — give or take, depending on how much you clean (we figured six tubes of toothpaste at $4 each and one each of five cleaners — all-purpose, toilet scrub, tub scrub, window cleaner, and floor cleaner — at $5 apiece).
Image credit: katsniffen @ flickr
Hang your laundry out to dry
Your dryer checks in at number two on the list of household energy hogs (right after your fridge), according to the U.S. Department of Energy, and uses more than you might think. By cutting the dryer out of the equation and using the ample solar energy that falls to the earth every day, you can save some bucks, and prolong the life of your clothes, too. Get the full scoop in our guide for How to Go Green: Laundry.
Annual savings: $70 per year in energy costs
Set your thermostat wisely
Properly manipulate your thermostat — hopefully it’s a programmable model — and your savings will mount quickly. Follow Energy Star’s tips — simple things like regulating for when you’re awake and asleep, and modulating the settings for summer and winter — and you can remain comfortably heated or cooled, with a few extra bucks in your pocket. Get more tips in our guide for How to Go Green: Heating.
Annual savings: $180, according to Energy Star, if you maintain your diligence for an entire year.
Below are my tips on how I do laundry and save even more than these tips outline;
My Level of Living Green
I air dry all laundry–had to put a lock on the dryer cord to convince my daughters I was serious–they learned to plan ahead! I wash all laundry in cold water, always wash full loads, and use a drying rack inside if it is raining. It’s good for the earth and great for your skin, a free humidifier in the house. Which also makes it feel a few degrees warmer in winter and cooler in summer. I use soapnuts for laundry. SoapNuts
2) Buy all organic meat, fats, butter, and the few veggies I still buy. Mostly I grow my own. Click HERE to go to my gardening Blog. Click HERE to see how I eat 100% organic and do so on less than $60.00 a week! And that includes grass fed organic meat at all three meals, at 2000 calories a day.
3) Buy all organic non-toxic beauty care products and make-up. I make my own skin care cleanser, exfoliants, and flower hydrosols. Here is a page on my blog showing the beauty products I use. Products I Use and Love!
4) Use baking soda and vinegar for cleaning the bathroom, kitchen sink and counters and general purpose cleaning. I use a loofah for scrubbing dishes (I am growing my own right now so I won’t have to buy them anymore!) My sister is crochets scrubbies for me from old t-shirts.
5) Take cloth bags to store for groceries and all other purchases. Take muslin bags I made to grocery store for produce. (I sell them!)
6) Recycle, re-use, make my own and have stopped buying anything I don’t really need. Don’t use paper towels, never have. I used cloth diapers for all 5 kids. I use a compost toilet, no toilet paper (think cloth baby wash clothes).
7) I compost all paper and food scraps, put all lawn clippings in my compost, use contents from my sawdust toilet to heat up the contents which enables me to do high heat (thermal) composting. The high heat and microbes render the finished product clean of harmful pathogens and pesticides and pharmaceuticals (if there are any; I eat organic, use no pharmaceuticals, no chemical cleaners).
Ideal; 
My economy model; 
Yep, it’s a hose reel, recycled. But a 5 gallon bucket works great. You can use sawdust, but I use wheat bran that I buy from the feed store downtown for 12 bucks for 50 lbs…lasts me about 6 months. And the compost I get is amazing!!!
8) I try to not buy stuff in plastic, I try to buy all glass. Store all food in glass. Re-use glass jars. I mostly buy real food (meat, produce) try to not buy anything that needs a label, so no packaging.
10) Make my own gluten free granola, make my own mayonnaise, salad dressings, spice blends. I do not buy any packages foods, eat all real food (not products), make my own coconut milk yogurt, sauerkraut, kombucha tea.
11) I use a bike for errands close to the house.
12) Use very low flow shower heads. Ace Hardware has a 1.5 GPM with a shut-off valve.
13) Use all CF light bulbs…and use them as little as possible. I have one evening a week that I use no lights..on Shabbat! Dinner by candlelight!
14) Use grey water from shower (I keep a 3 gallon bucket in shower and take it outside to the flower beds.
15) Use water from rinsing dishes to water flower beds.
16) Use a broom on all my wooden floors instead of using vacuum cleaner.
17) Run as few errands as possible, car pool and combine trips. Ride my bike around neighborhood and for errands within a few miles.
18) Use micro-cloths to clean with, even on glass you do not need cleaning products!
19)
I have NEVER bought bottled water. I bought a Kleen Kanteen for each person in the family, we refill and take with us. I’ve had mine over about 2 years.
20) Go paperless or CD-less as much as possible. I provide my clients with emails of my book, but still put cookbook software on CD.
21) Use only a hurricane lamp when we sit outside at night. It gives enough light to read by…but is perfect turned low …for just hanging out. Very romantic, too!
22) I carry my lunch each day to work in a insulated lunch box from Built, available at ReusableBags.com, using a stainless steel thermal jar for soup, glass wide mouth canning jars for other food, a wrap n’ mat for baked goods and a beautiful cloth napkin and real silver to utensils.
22)
I carry my coffee, on the way to work, in a stoneware and stainless steel mug with a silicone lid (NO plastic!). From High Wave. And at only $12.00, it’s a steal!
23) I have an outdoor solar heated shower that I built.
24) I grow most of my food inside under grow light; no pests, very small amount of water use. I am growing cherry and big sweet tomatoes, basil, thyme. I have sweet potatoes growing, beets (mmmm, beet greens), onions, lavender (I use it in the skin care products I make and sell), Swiss chard, purple flowering kale, nasturtiums, cucumbers, peppers, bell peppers, purple basil, cucumbers, tomatoes, beet greens, garlic and lettuce in my sunroom hydroponically. Outside I have lettuce, banana tree, garlic, some tomatoes.
25) I use a non-disposable razor, an old-fashioned stainless steel, very high quality razor that uses double edged blades. It was 24.00 from ClassicShaving.com. The blades are 10 for 5.99, and they are double edged! They give the closest, smoothest shave you can imagine! No disposable blade can compare. I spend about 50 cents a year on blades!
26) Wash dishes with 2 dish pans in the sink, one for hot soapy water, one with warm rinse water. Do glasses first, pause a moment to let the soapy water drip off, then move to rinse water. Stop when rinse water is almost full and rinse quickly. Repeat with silver, plates, then pots and utensils. All with 2 dishpans full of water. Then I pour the soapy water, with all that organic matter, onto my plants in the garden. It helps repel pests and loosens the soil. And good for the biceps when you carry it outdoors.
27) I hand water my garden with buckets from the rain barrels that are under the eaves of my garage. 10 feet from my garden. The front flower garden gets watered entirely from the dish water.
29) I work out at home, no expensive gym memberships that I never used anyway. I save all the expense of membership, and gas and time driving. I have a set of weights, two exercise balls, a weighted hula hoop, a yoga mat and a chin-up bar.
30) 
I hand grind my coffee each morning with my Zassenhaus Model 169 DG Closed Hopper Walnut Zassenhaus coffee mill that I got at Sweet Maria’s.
I make my Turkish coffee in an Ibrik on the stove top.
I use a ceramic filter holder to make pour over coffee, and use a gold coffee filter.
31) I do not “buy” presents, I make them, and wrap them if I have brown paper bags, which I will decorate, I have done water colors on packages and they come out great…I like the affect.
Toxins in Your So-Called "Organic" Health & Beauty Products
Posted: January 17, 2010 Filed under: Non-Toxic Choices, Skin Care 8 CommentsFrom the Organic Consumers Association
Do you use Jason Pure, Natural & Organic, Avalon Organics, Kiss My Face ObsessivelyOrganic, Nature’s Gate Organics, Stella McCartney 100% Organic, Giovanni Organic, Head Organics, Eminence Organic, Physicians Formula Organic Wear, Good Stuff Organics, Desert Essence Organics, or any "organic cosmetic" certified by Ecocert?
Hate to break it to you, but these so-called "organic" personal care products aren’t really organic and actually contain hazardous ingredients that would never be allowed in products certified to USDA organic standards.
Yesterday, the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), along with certified organic personal care brands Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, Intelligent Nutrients, and Organic Essence, filed a complaint with the USDA National Organic Program (NOP), requesting an investigation into the widespread and blatantly deceptive labeling practices of leading so-called "Organic" personal care brands, in violation of USDA NOP regulations.
The complaint, filed on behalf of the estimated 50 million regular consumers of organic products, argues that products such as liquid soaps, body washes, facial cleansers, shampoos, conditioners, moisturizing lotions, lip balms, make-up and other cosmetic products produced by 12 different corporations have been advertised, labeled and marketed as "Organic" or "Organics" when, in fact, the products are not "Organic" as understood by the average health and environmental-minded organic consumer.
In addition to the complaint, Organic Consumers Association’s Coming Clean campaign has launched a boycott of cosmetics that claim to be organic, but aren’t certified to organic standards as required by law.
We’re encouraging our members to switch to USDA certified organic body care and cosmetics products, as part of a New Year’s Resolution to "be more organic" in 2010.
On our body care page, we’ve listed 26 different health and beauty brands where every single item under the brand name is certified to USDA organic standards.
We need your help to get the USDA to take enforcement action based upon our legal complaint. Please write to the USDA today.
We’re also collecting the stories of consumers who have been defrauded by fake organic health and beauty care companies. Do you feel shammed? Please share your story with us.
BOYCOTT THESE FAKE "ORGANIC" BRANDS
Click on the links below to be taken to each brand’s entry in the Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetics Safety Review Database where you’ll find a hazard score for each product and ingredient.
- Avalon "Organics"
- Desert Essence "Organics"
- Earth’s Best "Organic"
- Giovanni "Organic Hair Care"
- Goodstuff "Organics"
- Head "Organics"
- Jason "Pure, Natural & Organic"
- Kiss My Face "ObsessivelyOrganic"
- Nature’s Gate "Organics"
- Physicians Formula "Organic" Wear
- Stella McCartney "100% Organic"
BUY THESE CERTIFIED USDA ORGANIC BRANDS:
- Alteya Organics
- Baby Bear Shop
- Badger
- Brittanie’s Thyme
- Bubble and Bee Organic
- Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps
- Earth Mama Angel Baby
- Indian Meadow Herbals
- Intelligent Nutrients
- Kimberly Parry Organics
- Little Angel
- Mercola
- Miessence Certified Organics
- Nature’s Paradise
- OGmama and OGbaby
- Organicare
- Organic Essence
- Origins Organics– Available at the Avenues Mall here in Jacksonville!
- Purely Shea
- Rainwater Organic Lotion
- Rose Tattoo Aftercare
- SoCal Cleanse
- Sensibility Soaps/Nourish
- Terressentials
- Trillium Organics
- Vermont Soap
Note from me; The following products are not endorsed by this company, but are two of my favorites.
Aubrey Organics– One of my Favorites! Thier silk powder is awesome!
Jane Iredale– Best Mineral Makeup on the planet!
One Light Bulb at a Time
Posted: January 11, 2010 Filed under: Non-Toxic Choices Leave a commentThis is from my friend Florence. Thank you so much!
From i360Photo.com
I haven’t personally checked the accuracy of each statement and have no clue where the nearest Kroger’s is but this seems like a good way to begin the new year. Just a thought.
One Light Bulb at a Time
A physics teacher in high school, once told the students that while one grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn’t slow a train very much, a billion of them would. With that thought in mind, read the following, obviously written by a good American …Good idea .. . . one light bulb at a time . . . .
Check this out . I can verify this because I was in Lowes the other day for
some reason and just for the heck of it I was looking at the hose
attachments .. They were all made in China . The next day I was in Ace
Hardware and just for the heck of it I checked the hose
attachments there. They were made in USA . Start looking ..
In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do affects
someone else – even their job . So, after reading this email, I think this
lady is on the right track . Let’s get behind her
My grandson likes Hershey’s candy . I noticed, though, that it is marked
made in Mexico now. I do not buy it any more.
My favorite toothpaste Colgate is made in Mexico … now I have switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything ..
This past weekend I was at Kroger. I needed 60 W light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets . I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off-brand labeled, "Everyday Value . " I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats – they were the same except for the price .. The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made in – get ready for this – the USA in a company in Cleveland , Ohio .
So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that
are made right here ..
So on to another aisle – Bounce Dryer Sheets . .. . yep, you guessed it,
Bounce cost more money and is made in Canada . The Everyday Value
brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA ! I did laundry yesterday
and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using
for years and at almost half the price!
My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for
everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA – the
job you save may be your own or your neighbors!
If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address book so
we can all start buying American, one light bulb at a time! Stop buying
from overseas companies!
(We should have awakened a decade ago .. . .. . . . )
Let’s get with the program and help our fellow Americans keep their jobs and create more jobs here in the USA.
I passed this on …….. will you ???????
I loved the sentiment here.. I would add to this that there really isn’t any reason to buy dryer sheets, and they are chemical laden…just dry your clothes til they are just dry, or use the clothesline…no cost, and no boxes or disposable stuff to throe away.
Green Yourself: 7 Ways To ReThink Your Grooming Habits
Posted: November 12, 2009 Filed under: Non-Toxic Choices Leave a comment
In our dream life, we’re the kind of person who can be showered, dressed and ready in 15 minutes. Our lifelong enslavement to the blow dryer prevented that dream from coming true. Recently, however, we’ve (pardon the pun) cut the cord on that relationship and it made us wonder if there were other ways we could rethink our grooming habits to make them more eco-friendly…
- Cut out the blow dryer: Rethink your hair style so that air drying’s an option. We splurged on a pricey hair procedure called the Brazilian Blowout. What we paid out in cash we’ve more than made up for in time and energy saved (no more 45 minute blow outs to tax our patience and the power grid).
- Shorten your showers: Do you really need to take a half hour hot shower? Use a timer, take a Navy shower or install a pause button so you can turn off the water while you soap up or lather your hair. You might also consider showering less often, especially in the winter when the water will rinse off the natural oils that keep your skin and hair from drying out.
- Hair removal: Pamper yourself with a real shave; use a real razor and tub soap instead of foam and eliminate the need for disposable razors, have your legs waxed or wax them yourself. I use a old fashioned safety razor, blades have cost me about .75 a year!
- It’s that time: Yes, even the most intimate grooming rituals can been greened.
- Nails: Instead of polish, try having your nails buffed to a high sheen. It’s healthier for you and for the environment.
- Toothpaste: Try a natural toothpaste like Tom’s or go the simplest route and try baking soda.
- Change your grooming products: Instead of chemically laden products, try organic ones, including organic makeup; instead of pricey creams and masques, look into products you can make from the ingredients in your refrigerator or pantry. Look at the ingredients in your shampoo and conditioner.
Here’s a link to my articles on Going Green with cosmetics and beauty care products, and my recommendations.
Also, here is my recipe for skin cleanser; it’s all natural, no chemicals, doesn’t strip your skin of essential oils and leaves it moist (honey is a humectant, it draws moisture to your skin.) The baking soda is both a fruit acid and an exfolient.
Millie’s Skin Cleanser
3 cup water
2 cups baking soda
1/2 teaspoon almond oil
2 drops lavender essential oil
1 ½ cup honey
1 Tbsp. Dr. Bonners Almond liquid soap
1/2 teaspoon vegetable glycerin
1 teaspoon ascorbic acid powder
1 teaspoon Salicylic acid
3 Tablespoons Xantham gum
On low heat, combing all ingredients except honey. Remove from heat and let cool. Add honey. Apply to the skin like a soap and rinse off with tepid water.
[image: Helga’s Lobster Stew‘s Flickr with a Creative Commons License]
How to Use Soapnuts…
Posted: September 23, 2009 Filed under: Non-Toxic Choices 7 CommentsI use soapnuts and love them, they come in a cloth bag (no plastic!) and work really well and are non-toxic.
There are a ton of amazing things about soap nuts.
They are 100%, totally natural. They are organically grown and are free of harsh chemicals, so they are incredibly gentle on clothes AND skin. They are especially great for those with sensitive skin — including babies and those that suffer from allergies, eczema, and psoriasis! They’re totally biodegradable, so they’re better for the environment than regular detergent, and they’re antimicrobial, so they’re even good for septic and greywater systems
From Fake Plastic Fish;
Have you ever done your laundry with soapnuts or been curious to find out how they work? Soapnuts grow on a tree called Sapindus mukorossi (Chinese Soapberry) and contain saponin, a natural surfactant which foams just like soap. I’ve wanted to try soapnuts since I first spotted them in a natural grocery store a couple of years ago but have always been deterred by the plastic in the packaging. Although they are imported, the idea of using a laundry soap that contains only one, minimally-processed natural ingredient (the soapnuts are harvested, de-seeded, and sun-dried) appealed to me.
Soapnuts only release their saponin in warm or hot water. I wash in cold to save energy. But never fear, there is an easy solution. Mix up a batch of Soapnuts Soak by bringing a pot of water to a boil, removing it from the heat, tossing in 6-8 soapnuts, and letting them sit covered over night. In the morning, strain into a couple of glass jars. The used soapnuts can go in the compost. Use 1/4 to 1/2 cup per laundry load.
http://www.lullwaterbrands.com/
By the way, I’ve noticed that another major distributor of soapnuts is now selling a liquid version in plastic bottles. Look how easy it is to make without the plastic. Easy as boiling water. Of course, if you’re like me and forget about pots on the stove, this procedure might not be as easy as it is for most. Still, I can deal. Because one batch of Soapnut Soak will do at least 8 loads of laundry. You can also use it for cleaning, windows, soaking jewelry and then polishing.
So, after adding the Soapnut Soak to my cold water load of light colors, and watching in amazement at the amount of foamy bubbles produced, I felt compelled to sniff every item as it came out of the washing machine. And you know what? They just smelled clean. Fresh. That’s the only way I can describe the scent. It was nothing like the smell of the soapnuts.
Some people prefer to add scent to their laundry, and to that end, you can add a few drops of essential oils. For me, the oils were completely unnecessary. I like my clean to smell like clean.
Easy ways to cut your consumption:
Posted: September 15, 2009 Filed under: Non-Toxic Choices 3 Comments
1. Bring a reusable bag wherever you go. Excess bags just add to the landfill and you don’t need them in the first place. There’s no reason not to do this.
2. Ditch the processed food. It takes unnecessary energy to produce it, as well as tons of packaging.
3. Make your own cleaning products. Cleaning products (even eco-friendly varieties) often come in plastic bottles and they are trucked in from who knows where wasting tons of fossil fuels. I use baking soda and vinegar to clean with, buy Soap Nuts to do laundry with (many health foods stores sell them) and use organic dish soap.
4. 
Calculate your water footprint. How can you know where you need to cut water usage if you don’t know how much you’re using and where you’re using it? Use very low flow shower heads. Hardware stores have a 1.5 GPM with a shut-off valve.
5. Don’t drink milk. Livestock consumes much of the land on the planet, whether for meat or dairy, and creates literally tons and tons of pollution, estimates are in the 1/5th of all greenhouse gases range.
6. Wear less makeup. Using less makeup will save us on resources and money, and you’ll look better too. Or buy all organic, with minimal packaging.
7. 
Drink NO bottled water. The U.S. sends two million tons of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottled water packaging to the landfill each year. Just drink the tap. I have never pchased bottled water, it’s easy to use a Kleen Kanteen or glass bottle.
8. Wash your clothes in cold water. About 90 percent of the energy used for washing clothes is for heating the water. Never use the dryer, there is no reason to waste the energy, indoor drying racks work great…and outdoor clotheslines.
9. Pass up eating lunch out, bring your own grub. Let me count the reasons why. There’s the immense shipping programs emitting harmful gases, the millions of tons of waste generated annually, and not to mention the total lack of nutritional value in fast food restaurant’s most popular menu items.
10) I use a non-disposable razor, an old-fashioned stainless steel, very high quality razor that uses double edged blades. It was 24.00 from ClassicShaving.com. The blades are 10 for 5.99, and they are double edged! They give the closest, smoothest shave you can imagine! No disposable blade can compare.
10. Skip Starbucks (for a LOT of reasons!) and brew your own coffee. Once we factor in the cost of the gourmet coffee and the cost of driving there, each time we brew a cup at home, we save about the equivalent of a gallon of gas.
11. Shut down your PC. If every American worker remembers to turn off their computer at night, the nation’s companies would prevent the release of 39,452 tons of carbon-dioxide emissions, save $4.7 million in utility costs, and reduce energy consumption by 54.3 million kilowatt-hours per day.
12. Skip the store bought cereal and eat organic eggs and turkey bacon for breakfast, it’s way healthier. Cereal usually comes in a plastic bag within a cardboard box that all gets thrown away at least once a week if not more. Better yet, skip all grains entirely, they aren’t healthy, are all empty carbs.
13. Grow some of your own food. This way you don’t have to buy it and it’s about as local as possible.
14. Add insulation to your attic. The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates it will save you 2,142 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions–through the heat your home retains in winter and doesn’t gain in the summer–and hundreds of dollars in lower energy bills.
Take Action!!!!
Posted: September 10, 2009 Filed under: Food and it's Impact on Our Health, Non-Toxic Choices Leave a commentDon’t Let Kellogg’s Buy Scientists: Froot Loops Aren’t a Healthy Breakfast
Send a letter today and tell all four doctors supporting the Smart Choices program to stop shilling for Kellogg’s. They, and the leaders of their respective institutions, need to hear that you think it is wrong for them to support any program that gives sugary cereals and other unhealthy foods a stamp of approval as healthy choices.
Coconut Milk Yogurt
Posted: August 29, 2009 Filed under: Non-Toxic Choices Leave a commentI bought one carton of this and fell in love with it. I haven’t had yogurt in 23 years.. I ate half the container and used the other part for a starter. I’m now on my third batch and it’s the best yet; sweet and tart perfectly balanced.
But if you don’t want to make it, Publix has it and so does Grassroots, in 5 Points.
- Dairy Free / Lactose Free
- Soy Free
- Gluten Free
- Rich in Medium Chain Fatty Acids
- Excellent Source of Vitamin B12 (vegetarian friendly)
- Formulated for Maximum Calcium Absorption
- Contains Pre- and Probiotics for Enhanced Intestinal Health
- Cholesterol Free
- No Trans Fats
- Certified Vegan
Why Vitamin A and D Supplements May Not Be as Useful or Harmless as You Thought
Posted: August 21, 2009 Filed under: Food and it's Impact on Our Health, Non-Toxic Choices Leave a comment
A landmark paper from the Vitamin D Council asserts that a form of vitamin A, retinoic acid, can block the activity of vitamin D by weakly activating the vitamin D response element on genes. Since vitamin D levels are crucial for human health, that means it is essential to have the proper ratio of vitamin D to vitamin A in your body.
This means that vitamin A supplementation is potentially dangerous. Vitamin A production is tightly controlled in your body, the source (substrate) being carotenoids from vegetables in your intestine. Your body uses these carotenoid substrates to make exactly the right amount of retinol. But when you take vitamin A as retinol directly, such as in cod liver oil, you intervene in this closed system and bypass the controls.
The goal is to provide all the vitamin A and vitamin D substrate your body would have obtained in a natural state, so your body can regulate both systems naturally. This is best done by eating grass fed meat, raw butter from grass fed animals, free range chickens, meat stocks, colorful vegetables and by exposing your skin to sun every day. And throw out the sunscreen- it’s toxic!
Meal Delivery Service by Millie Barnes 
