Even Prince Charles says You Should Grow an Organic Garden!

Prince Charles of England has recently revealed that he encourages people to grow an organic garden. Whether the garden be large or small, one can be self-reliant for food as well as reduce carbon and feed local birds and insects.
Prince Charles has an estate in Gloucestershire, England where he has acres worth of organic crops including strawberries, leeks, carrots, and Brussels sprouts in addition to endangered plants.

Prince Charles has admitted in the past that he even talks to his plants. O.o

So everybody should really go and plant some sort of organic garden! You can start out small and slowly increase your yield of fruits and vegetables (:

-Larissa


Image courtesy of Victoria Johnson

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Animal, Vegetable, Miracle Chapters 16-20

I found the last couple of chapters in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle to be very enlightening. She spends some time analyzing the issue of childhood obesity and how nowadays with all the junk in the food industry, we must raise our kids to be knowledgeable of all of the things they are putting into their bodies. I also loved how the author had a pet turkey who had such a funny personality and would even blow air kisses to her mate! Just like Mrs. Collier and Barbara Kingsolver, I want to have some sort of animal I can rely on to provide some food because I think that being more aware of what America is eating as a whole could ultimately lead to change in the food industry as a whole.
Lastly, I loved all of the little recipes that were sporadically spread throughout the book. It provided diverse ways of eating both healthy and organically. (:

Larissa

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Organic: Myth or Fact

Myth: Organic food is too expensive.
Fact: Yes, typically organic foods are pricier than conventional foods. This is due to the more laborious efforts behind the smaller farmers. But, there are websites like this which provide people with tips on how to buy organic within a budget. There are things to consider about:

• Unlike conventional farmers, organic farmers do not receive federal subsidies. This means that organic food is priced at the actual cost needed to grow and manufacture.
• Organic farming is more time, labor, and management sensitive.
• Conventional food prices do not account for natural disasters which are covered by tax payments for conventional food.

Myth: Organic food is the same as natural food.
Fact: For food item to be considered natural means that the item does not have additives or preservatives. However, the natural food can contain GMO's or were grown with pesticides. Therefore, natural foods are somewhat more economical than organic foods. This still places organic food as the best decision a person can make for their body.

Myth: Organic food tastes like cardboard.
Fact: At the beginning of the boom in the organic food industry, there may have been merit to this statement. Nowadays, organic distributors have mastered foods to taste just as good, if not better than their conventional counterparts. Try an experiment at home: make two batches of cookies; one with organic ingredients and one with conventional and see the difference (: (we may do this as a little experiment in class).

Try Organic!

-Larissa

Photo courtesy of Skycladd

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Air Fresheners: Havens for Chemicals

Does your son's bedroom have a stench of sweat? Want to clear it out? Well, before you reach for the air freshener, think again.
From sprays to plugins to odor neutralizers to even aromatherapy candles, these call contain chemicals.
These chemicals such as formaldehyde, fragrance, benzyl alcohol, camphor, ethanol, and naphthalene. These can ultimately lead to asthma, allergies. Even worse, these chemicals can attack the nervous system, causing diseases like Alzheimers, Parkinson's, Multiple Sclerosis, or even SIDs.
We have taught our bodies that these scents mean clean when really, they only cause problems. Spraying them in small areas can produce toxins in the air.
I know that when I read this up, the part that shocked me the most was that aromatherapy candles are toxic as well. Most candles are made with paraffin wax. This wax is a petrochemical which, when burned, produces unhealthy byproducts into the air. The American Lung Association states that "scented, paraffin candles cause lead poisoning and using slow burning paraffin candles cause poor indoor air quality, and a serious health concern." On top of the wax, the wicks of these candles tend to contain unsafe lead concentrations which, when in haled, go straight to the bloodstream. 
So how to fix the problem and still get a clean house?
- Use nontoxic cleaners! For example, I know we use Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day products at my house
- Add potted plants to a room to keep oxygen flowing and reduce toxins naturally
- Cook a delicious meal or simmer some dried spices in a pan on the stove
- Use organic potpourris
- Burn 100% pure unscented beeswax candles with cotton wicks
- Open the windows to get some fresh air flowing

-Larissa

Photo Courtesy of Candie_N

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Burger Craving?

Near Decatur? Check out this joint. Farm Burger is not just the typical Burger spot. It's the healthiest and most delicious burger you can find in Atlanta. They use local farmers to provide a delicious meal that connects soil, animal, plant, rancher, butcher, and chef back to the consumer. Not only does the restaurant function more organically than most burger joints, but you can get a delicious meal for less than seven dollars.

YUM! Check out their website by clicking here.
-Larissa

Photo courtesy of Farm Burger

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