Sometime in the life of a cattle rancher I think it was known that the natural diet of cattle is grass, but somewhere along the way it must have been forgotten. What other reason could there be for a cattle rancher to be feeding corn instead of grass to their cattle? Could the fact that the cattle become ready for slaughter faster and cheaper have anything to do with it? I would venture to say yes.
Unfortunately, there are usually consequences when you go against Mother Nature.
Think about how you feel when you eat something that just doesn't agree with you. Does your stomach feel queasy? Do you sometimes get diarrhea? Eating things that we shouldn't can sometimes even kill us.
Does that make you wonder how cows feel when they're fed corn? According to Michael Pollan, author of many books including "Food Rules" and "The Omnivore's Dilemma", "A corn diet wreaks havoc on their digestive system, making it necessary to feed them antibiotics to stave off illness and infection". Acidosis is another side effect, which can also be a painful or life threatening condition. Acidosis can lead to bloat, diarrhea, ulcers, liver disease and a general weakening of the immune system.
I remember going to a farm when I was a little girl. There were cows in the pasture grazing on grass and there were "cow pies" all over the ground. I didn't see anything that even remotely looked like diarrhea. A few months ago I caught the tail end of a news broadcast. During the news coverage they showed an extremely huge concrete pit filled with cattle diarrhea. One of the sides had broken and the diarrhea was pouring out into the near-by water; the same water which irrigated the nearby produce farms.
According to an article I read at www.eatwild.com, "Grass-fed beef is better for human health than grain-fed beef in ten different ways, according to the most comprehensive analysis to date. The 2009 study was a joint effort between the USDA and researchers at Clemson University in South Carolina. Compared with grain-fed beef, grass-fed beef was:
Lower in total fat
Higher in beta-carotene
Higher in vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)
Higher in the B-vitamins thiamine and riboflavin
Higher in the minerals calcium, magnesium, and potassium
Higher in total omega-3s
A healthier ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (1.65 vs 4.84)
Higher in CLA (cis-9 trans-11), a potential cancer fighter
Higher in vaccenic acid (which can be transformed into CLA)
Lower in the saturated fats linked with heart disease"
http://www.eatwild.com/healthbenefits.htm
Since learning about all of this I have made drastic changes in my food choices. I admit I don't always eat like I should, but when I eat out, I do not ever order beef.
The Eat Wild website has a link that shows where you can buy grass-fed beef, as well as restaurants that serve it, anywhere in the country. I am excited to start this part of my journey of living a chemical free life.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
Now they are telling us to use those cute little curly compact fluorescent light bulbs because they will save energy, but I decided to check into them first. I found out that they, along with linear, U-tube and circline fluorescent tubes, bug zappers, tanning bulbs, blacklights, germicidal bulbs, high output bulbs, and cold-cathode fluorescent bulbs, high intensity discharge bulbs, and neon bulbs, all contain a "little bit of mercury".
A little bit doesn't sound too bad, but if everyone is using them that "little bit" is going to add up to be a lot of mercury in the landfills. If you read my "Free Enterprise and Purchase Power" blog about how we are getting blamed for killing the environment for using plastic shopping bags and plastic water bottles I'm pretty sure we will get blamed for this also sometime in the future.
Then there's the mercury risk to consider if you break one of them. The EPA has actually has a "tip" sheet about how to safely clean up a broken CFL. I would have posted it here but it's almost two pages long. If you copy and paste this into your browser it will take you there. I strongly suggest you read it if you are using CFL's.
http://www.epa.gov/cfl/cflcleanup.html
After I read it, I decided just to stick with the light bulb that's been around for 100 years or so.
A little bit doesn't sound too bad, but if everyone is using them that "little bit" is going to add up to be a lot of mercury in the landfills. If you read my "Free Enterprise and Purchase Power" blog about how we are getting blamed for killing the environment for using plastic shopping bags and plastic water bottles I'm pretty sure we will get blamed for this also sometime in the future.
Then there's the mercury risk to consider if you break one of them. The EPA has actually has a "tip" sheet about how to safely clean up a broken CFL. I would have posted it here but it's almost two pages long. If you copy and paste this into your browser it will take you there. I strongly suggest you read it if you are using CFL's.
http://www.epa.gov/cfl/cflcleanup.html
After I read it, I decided just to stick with the light bulb that's been around for 100 years or so.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Free Enterprise and Purchase Power
I remember when plastic grocery bags first came out. The promotion told us to use these bags and "save a tree". So we did. Now we hear on the news and read in magazines that it's our fault, that by using the plastic bags we were told would save the environment, we are the ones that are destroying it and killing animals and fish.
We were told that tap water has so many toxins it might not be safe. All of a sudden there was an abundance of companies selling bottled water. We bought them, believing the hype about bottled water being safer to drink than tap water. Once again we became the culprits killing the environment with these environmentally unfriendly water bottles.
Funny how I don't remember being the one who invented, manufactured, or marketed these environment killers. If these bags and water bottles are so dangerous to the environment, why doesn't the government stop them from being manufactured? The answer is frighteningly simple.
It's called free enterprise. Businessdictionary.com defines free enterprise as "Business governed by the market forces of demand and supply, un-restrained by undue government interference through excessive controls and regulations". So, I guess it's all up to us. It really is about supply and demand. If we stop using them they'll stop making them.
We were told that tap water has so many toxins it might not be safe. All of a sudden there was an abundance of companies selling bottled water. We bought them, believing the hype about bottled water being safer to drink than tap water. Once again we became the culprits killing the environment with these environmentally unfriendly water bottles.
Funny how I don't remember being the one who invented, manufactured, or marketed these environment killers. If these bags and water bottles are so dangerous to the environment, why doesn't the government stop them from being manufactured? The answer is frighteningly simple.
It's called free enterprise. Businessdictionary.com defines free enterprise as "Business governed by the market forces of demand and supply, un-restrained by undue government interference through excessive controls and regulations". So, I guess it's all up to us. It really is about supply and demand. If we stop using them they'll stop making them.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Natural Mineral Detox
While we are searching for more natural ways to live we still have to deal with the toxins we are exposed to every time we eat (pesticides, chemical preservatives, etc), drink (fluoridated water, etc), and breathe (manufacturing and combustion by-products such as formaldehyde and benzene, etc), as well as all the chemicals that are in the personal care products we use.
Since April of 2007 I have been taking a mineral called Clinoptilolite Zeolite. It works like a magic sieve, going through the environment of the body at the cellular level, removing the heavy metals and other toxins that have accumulated.
Our bodies are designed to heal themselves, but with so much in the way they are overwhelmed and cannot function properly. It is called the body burden, also known as chemical load, and is the amount of harmful chemicals present in a person's body. By helping the body remove excessive toxins it can begin to function better and it's ability to heal itself is enhanced.
This blog is about finding ways to live a life free of chemicals, and this mineral is a gift from the Earth. Mother Nature is all about balance, like fire and water, predator and prey, good and bad. One of the most toxic things on the planet is a volcano. When it erupts it spews toxins, gases, and heavy metals into the air. When the volcanic ash meets salt water, over thousands of years, a chemical reaction created the zeolite minerals.
It only makes sense that Mother Nature would give this mineral the ability to capture, and trap within itself, toxins, gases, and heavy metals to remove them from the environment so nature’s balance can be maintained. Clinoptilolite Zeolite captures and removes heavy metals and toxins from your body's environment, restoring it's natural balance so it can do the work it is designed to do.
Since April of 2007 I have been taking a mineral called Clinoptilolite Zeolite. It works like a magic sieve, going through the environment of the body at the cellular level, removing the heavy metals and other toxins that have accumulated.
Our bodies are designed to heal themselves, but with so much in the way they are overwhelmed and cannot function properly. It is called the body burden, also known as chemical load, and is the amount of harmful chemicals present in a person's body. By helping the body remove excessive toxins it can begin to function better and it's ability to heal itself is enhanced.
This blog is about finding ways to live a life free of chemicals, and this mineral is a gift from the Earth. Mother Nature is all about balance, like fire and water, predator and prey, good and bad. One of the most toxic things on the planet is a volcano. When it erupts it spews toxins, gases, and heavy metals into the air. When the volcanic ash meets salt water, over thousands of years, a chemical reaction created the zeolite minerals.
It only makes sense that Mother Nature would give this mineral the ability to capture, and trap within itself, toxins, gases, and heavy metals to remove them from the environment so nature’s balance can be maintained. Clinoptilolite Zeolite captures and removes heavy metals and toxins from your body's environment, restoring it's natural balance so it can do the work it is designed to do.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
The X Factor
Some of you who know me personally know that math and I don't play well together, so I asked a friend at work to help me with an equation. I wanted to show that the quality of the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink determines our quality of life. She came up with this:
(X)quality of (air+food+water)=(X)quality of life.
But what is the X factor? The X factor, I believe, is something that is determined by the amount of toxins in the environment. Unfortunately, this "something" is not always in our direct control.
For example, we cannot control the amount of toxic emissions caused by some manufacturing plants. We cannot control the pesticides sprayed on our produce or the hormones fed to the animals we consume. We cannot control what is being dumped into our water supply. I am not saying that we are not trying. We have been talking for decades about the pollution of our world, and there are a lot of anti-this and anti-that groups, so why isn't it getting any better?
Mother Teresa said: "I will never attend an anti-war rally; if you have a peace rally, invite me." Maybe we need to change to a more positive method to effect a positive change.
As consumers, we actually have the power to change the world. That power is Purchasing Power. We can use our purchasing power to have more control over the toxins in our personal environments simply by changing the kinds of purchases we make. Nothing will make manufacturers change their products or production methods faster than the bottom line.
Using our purchasing power, we can take control of our X Factor. We can take control of the air we breath, the food we eat, and the water we drink. We can control the quality of our life.
(X)quality of (air+food+water)=(X)quality of life.
But what is the X factor? The X factor, I believe, is something that is determined by the amount of toxins in the environment. Unfortunately, this "something" is not always in our direct control.
For example, we cannot control the amount of toxic emissions caused by some manufacturing plants. We cannot control the pesticides sprayed on our produce or the hormones fed to the animals we consume. We cannot control what is being dumped into our water supply. I am not saying that we are not trying. We have been talking for decades about the pollution of our world, and there are a lot of anti-this and anti-that groups, so why isn't it getting any better?
Mother Teresa said: "I will never attend an anti-war rally; if you have a peace rally, invite me." Maybe we need to change to a more positive method to effect a positive change.
As consumers, we actually have the power to change the world. That power is Purchasing Power. We can use our purchasing power to have more control over the toxins in our personal environments simply by changing the kinds of purchases we make. Nothing will make manufacturers change their products or production methods faster than the bottom line.
Using our purchasing power, we can take control of our X Factor. We can take control of the air we breath, the food we eat, and the water we drink. We can control the quality of our life.
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