| This is our industry, and it's important because this is the first industry outside of food that's going to go organic. It needs to go organic in a way that sets a precedent for other industries. This is the precedent we need to set in this industry, but generally, you watch what happens at Body Shop or any of the progressive businesses that sell out, and they just lose social mission. That's what we care about. We're kind of a nonprofit. We don't need to go out and hassle people to give us money. We sell a really cool product; it's part of our mission. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 They have an organic store where they're doing quinoa pasta and making quinoa cookies, so it's really coming around. They're wonderful. We were lucky to find them. It took us two years to establish the contact. It was done through the German certification agency that we used to certify our quinoa as organic. Hans Gotts introduced me to Erpe. He knew of them and what they were doing. I expressed to him my concern. I had tried two other possible sources; the problem being there was no way to set up measurements of whether the money was flowing to the farmer. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Those bars are not organic, and that's a price point decision. I wanted to make the hemp more accessible to people, and they are more accessible at a lower price point; therefore, they're not organic. But the chocolate raspberry bar has organic chocolate, because normal chocolate contains lecithin, which is from soy. Soy is generally GMO, right? I want to avoid that, so I buy the organic chocolate for those, even though it's a non-organic blend, to ensure that there is no genetically modified lecithin used in my bar. So that's one principle. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Heine: We're certified organic by BioGrow New Zealand, which is accredited by IFOAM International.
IFOAM rep: The IFOAM accreditation of BioGrow probably has international recognition or recognition in the States. BioGrow New Zealand is the accrediting body in New Zealand, and it is IFOAM certified. IFOAM is The International Federation of organic Agricultural Movements. It is a third party agreement between the USDA and BioGrow New Zealand.
Mike: Does IFOAM review the documentation or the product? |
The Editors of FC&A
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| Organic fanatics reap more benefits
When it comes to fighting atherosclerosis, vegetables are great - but organic vegetables are even better.
A recent Scottish study found that soup made with organic vegetables has significantly more salicylic acid than soup made with veggies that aren't organic. Salicylic acid, the active ingredient in aspirin, helps fight inflammation and safeguard your arteries. Look for organic fruits, vegetables, and other products in your grocery store. Thanks to new federal guidelines, it's easier than ever to identify them. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 In order to protect Monsanto, the manufacturer of hormones used in the industry, the USDA currently bans organic milk producers from claiming their milk comes from cows that were not treated with synthetic hormones. Even organic milk is now under fire as the organic Consumers Association says Horizon milk products are falsely labeled as organic. See Horizon milk, Wild Oats named in consumer boycott of "false" organic products. (The solution to all this? Drink raw almond milk instead. Make it yourself with a Vitamix, water and a nut milk bag.)
9. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 As such, I fully support the boycott of organic milk products made by Aurora, and I urge all NewsTarget readers to send financial support to the OCA so that it may have the means to defend itself against Aurora's legal onslaught.
It's also worth mentioning that I don't support the consumption of processed dairy products at all (raw milk is a different story), and it is my opinion that homogenized, pasteurized dairy products directly promote heart disease, obesity, diabetes, autoimmune disorders and many other health problems in humans. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Minka: We use all cold-pressed oils whenever possible just like we use organic ingredients whenever possible. Unfortunately, it is not completely possible to get some Chinese herbs organically. They are just not grown that way and produced that way now. I hope that the market will grow to that place or we started growing some of our own herbs so that the ones we are not able to purchase organically we will be able to grow organically ourselves.
Mike: Well thanks for joining me today. The website is www.GoldenPathAlchemy. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| Glass of "organic" milk, anyone? And while you're pondering whether you should be eating animal liquids or flesh as part of your diet, take a look at these horrifying processed meat photos: http://www.newstarget.com/phototour_mystery_meat_1.html
And be sure to read What's In Your Milk by Dr. Sam Epstein. |
| One final question: If Aurora really cared about being organic, why wouldn't they simply agree to meet the standards described by the OCA? Why does Aurora send in the legal team instead of upgrading its operations in a way that would earn the goodwill of the OCA? There is nothing, in my opinion, being asked by the OCA that isn't reasonable. But it appears that Aurora has no intention of changing its ways. Rather, it appears the company would prefer to bully its way around the industry, threatening those who dare to report what they see as really happening at the Aurora dairy feedlots. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Jay's whey protein, for example, comes from cows not treated with rBGH (synthetic hormones), and I learned from talking to Jay this morning that he's working hard on introducing organic protein products in both categories (organic whey and organic egg protein). Once those are available, they will become the obvious choice for consumers seeking organic, natural protein products with no junk and no chemical additives. (We'll report on these products here at NewsTarget as soon as they're announced.)
Jay's products are also known for what they don't contain. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| It's getting away with it because the USDA favors corporate interests over consumer interests and has no real intention to enforce genuine organic standards.
I've philosophically supported the OCA for years, and I trust the judgment of Ronnie Cummins, who I know to be a champion of grassroots consumer protection. Ronnie does not carelessly accuse a $100 million corporation of fraud, and he has worked tirelessly over the years to speak out for the interests of consumers. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 There's the intention of the people involved with producing that apple, the health of the soils, the use of chemicals (or not) on the apple, the impact on the environment, and much more.
An organic, locally-farmed apple from a small family farm tells a very different story: Respect for nature, positive intention, healthful soils, humility in nature, connection with plants and animals, biodiversity, minimal use of fossil fuels, and so on. This is the kind of apple I'd like to eat… how about you? |
| How do you decide what's better: A conventional apple grown locally with chemical pesticides, or an organic apple from another continent?
This is a common conundrum among consumers: How do you decide which grocery products are best for not just your own personal health, but also the health of the planet? It's a more complex decision than it might first seem. For one thing, much of the information necessary to make an informed decision simply isn't available to consumers. |
| So eating an organic, locally-grown, consciously-harvested apple gives you not only nourishment and biochemical nutrition, it also gives you the positive energy of abundance, humility, harmony and happiness. A conventionally-grown apple, on the other hand, is more likely to give you the story of greed, desperation, depletion, fear and disease. Is that the energy you want circulating in your veins?
An apple, you see, is made of much more than its chemical constituents. All fruits and vegetables have water, and water stores emotional energy, passing it on to those who consume the water. |
| Fortunately, that was not ultimately allowed under the "organic" label, but the food companies tried to sneak it in!)
The only way to truly know where your food comes from is to know your local farmers. When you know the people growing your food, and you can meet them face to face, then you know what you're getting. That's why I'm a huge supporter of CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture), farmers' markets, backyard gardening and local food co-ops. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Ronnie: It was called to our attention by a watchdog organization called The Cornucopia Institute, which actually visited some of these factory-style dairy farms that Horizon and Aurora call organic. They witnessed first-hand things like a farm where there are 4,000 animals, but only a few hundred acres of pasture. You cannot possibly pasture animals on that little pasture, especially when they are in semi-arid parts of Idaho, Colorado and West Texas.
Then beyond that, workers on these farms started coming forth as whistleblowers. |
| Lax standards of corporate manufacturers and retailers affect both organic milk and soymilk products
Mike: Now, you mentioned that pasture-fed cows are healthier cows. This gets back to something you mentioned earlier that needs to be emphasized, because most people simply do not believe this is happening. Conventional cows, in fact, are being fed chicken litter and other animals.
Ronnie: Yes, they take it from birth. |
| 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. It is attributed to the fact that a lot of us spent the last 30 years building up an alternative food and farming system in the United States. This alternative system has proved to be much better than industrial agriculture, and so now the latest polls show 75 percent of Americans say they are shopping for healthier food. |
| Traditionally, organic has always meant that you raise crops without chemical pesticides or chemical fertilizers and that you raise animals without drugging them up with hormones or antibiotics. You cannot take sewage sludge and put it on farmlands. You cannot feed animals things like blood, slaughterhouse waste, manure and municipal garbage, and you cannot use untested and hazardous technologies like genetic engineering or fruit irradiation. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 And the last ingredient we have here is organic beet juice powder. This is yet another great ingredient because of the cleansing effect it has on the liver, the blood and various internal organs. Beet juice is also a superfood, and when you have it in a concentrated form like this, you're delivering a healing package to your body. Some food manufacturers use beet juice as coloring, and that's great, because you still get the nutritional benefits as well. But in this case, it's probably not used as a color. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 You reward the organic farmer for treating the cattle in a better way. So, you vote with your dollars; you create demand curves that are then met by supply. Everything you purchase has a ripple effect that goes way beyond your physical, chemical or energetic self and goes into the community and planet at large.
How your buying power influences your community
If you haven't done so already, draw a third circle around yourself; that's the energetic level. Now, draw a fourth, much larger circle; this is the community level. |
| A food that is grown in nature -- that has been born in the soil and grows up under the sun with clean air, clean water, clean soils and under the care of small organic family farmers who used care and honesty -- creates love, health and connection in your body. Just as homeopathic water has a scientifically proven effect in living systems (including humans and animals), the homeopathic quality of foods also has such an effect. This is not something that has been well studied. |
| If you choose small organic family farms, then that's what you create. If you choose mega-corporations who sell food only because it's something that makes money, just the same as drugs make money or cigarettes make money, that's what you choose to support, as well. In fact, Phillip Morris owns Kraft, a food company that makes thousands and thousands of processed food products. A cigarette company owns a food company that sells you all those processed foods, and I think that's bad for the environment. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| Next we have the sprouted organic Quinoa, and again, we have the substantial benefit of these seeds being sprouted. But we also have all the remarkable qualities of Quinoa itself. Quinoa is something that I call a "supergrain." It is one of the few grains that offers a complete protein all by itself. It covers all eight essential amino acids plus many others that are nonessential. The Incas used Quinoa for centuries as one of their main food sources. |
| The next ingredient is organic brown rice protein. Wow! I couldn't have chosen a better ingredient if I were formulating a line of food bars myself. This is my number one recommended source of dietary protein. Brown rice protein doesn't have the stagnating negative effects of whey protein, because whey protein is a dairy product. Brown rice protein also doesn't have the controversy currently surrounding soy protein, even though I personally think soy protein is an outstanding protein source, and I eat it every single day. |
| They have different flavors of the organic Food Bar available, but I like the Active Greens because it combines healthy microalgae, spirulina, wheat grass juice and other wholefood concentrates into a format that's quite tasty. In fact, this is probably the best-tasting way to get these supergreens into your diet. If you've been struggling with getting supergreens into your body because of the taste, this is a great way to get it done. These bars taste absolutely delicious. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| This is one reason to buy organic foods; not just because they don't have pesticides, but also because they are literally happier foods. They're healthier for your mind, your body and your entire energy system.
In contrast to that, most of the foods that are available in grocery stores (and certainly at restaurants) are really unhappy foods. They are foods that have been grown in unnatural environments. They've been bombarded with pesticides or herbicides. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| It's made by a company called organic Food Bar, Inc., and it has a fantastic combination of healing ingredients put together in a tasty, portable format that makes it convenient to get good nutrition into your body even if you're on the run.
You might be saying, "Oh great, not another health food bar. I see all sorts of health food bars at the grocery store or health food store." Sure, there are a lot of them, and most of them, frankly, are garbage. Most of them are loaded with refined sugars, artificial ingredients, additives and fillers. |
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