Dear Organic Consumer,
People in other countries are dumbfounded when they learn that here in the U.S., for more than 15 years, we've allowed the biotech industry and the FDA to feed us a line about the safety of genetically modified foods - and worse yet, deny us the basic right to know which foods we buy contain GMOs and which don't.
If you live in this country, you should be more than dumbfounded. You should be outraged.
You can help pass this country's first GMO labeling law, Prop 37 The California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, by making a donation today.
Last week French scientists published the results of the first ever long-term study on the health effects on lab rats of Monsanto's GMO corn and its best-selling herbicide, Roundup. According to the study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, rats fed a lifetime diet of GMO corn and the herbicide-tolerant GM corn, or given water containing Roundup in amounts considered safe in drinking water and GM crops in the US, suffered tumors, multiple organ damage and premature death.
The study drew some criticism for its methodology. But it highlighted the fact that we know very little about the long-term health consequences of a GMO-laden diet. It also raised this critical question: Why are GMOs allowed in our food, without our knowledge, when it's clear that they have not been proven safe?
Here are 8 reasons you want Prop 37 to pass, and why we're asking for your support.
1. GMOs have never been proven safe. The FDA conducts no independent testing of GMOs, but instead claims that they are "not substantially different" from non-GMO foods.
2. The biotech industry is not required to conduct long-term safety studies on GMOs, and it keeps researchers from conducting those tests by claiming the right to protect its patented seeds and technologies.
3. GMOs are everywhere. Today, most non-organic US corn, soy, cotton and sugar beets - which are used in most of the sweeteners and additives used by food processors - are genetically engineered. So is the feed fed to the animals you eat. In fact, 75 - 85% of the processed food in your grocery store contains unlabeled GMOs.
4. The companies who want you to believe GMOs are safe are the same ones who lied to you about Agent Orange and DDT.
5. GE crops are responsible for super weeds and super bugs, soil degradation, and lack of diversity - which makes crops and humans more susceptible to disease.
6. The only folks who don't want you to know what's in your food are huge corporations like Monsanto, Dow AgriScience, BASF and food conglomerates like Pepsi and Coca-Cola - who along with other biotech, pesticide and processed food manufacturers have donated nearly $33 million to defeat Prop 37.
7. This is our best - and perhaps only - shot at labeling GMOs and ending Monsanto's monopoly of our food supply and destruction of our health and environment. Nineteen other states have tried - and failed - to get a GMO labeling law through the state legislative process. Prop 37 takes GMO labeling direct to the voters so Monsanto's lobbyists can't kill it.
8. If this law passes in California, food manufacturers have admitted that it may as well be a national law. They won't want to put 'this product contains GMOs" on their labels, so they will reformulate their products. And if they reformulate for California, they may as well do it for all of their products.
Early voting on Prop 37 begins on October 9. By November 6, this historic initiative will have passed or failed.
Please help OCA, OCF, and our allies raise $1 million by Sept. 30 to pass this country's first mandatory GMO labeling law. You can donate online, by phone, or by mail.
This is a David versus Goliath fight that we must win. Let's join the nearly 50 other countries in the world who already require mandatory labeling of GMOs.
For an Organic Future,
Ronnie Cummins
Director, Organic Consumers Association and Organic Consumers Fund
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Monday, September 24, 2012
Practice Compassion and Kindness
One of the more unfortunate aspects of our society has to deal with the large amounts of disrespect and poor treatment of others that takes place so often. It doesn’t seem to be immune to any age groups, either. It seems like bullying exists even amongst little children that are just barely learning to speak. It also seems like bullying in general is getting more common and intense, especially now that we have things like social media and smart phones. Even people that are more aligned with being good can fall in the trap of judging and hating on others. Even some of the nicest people I’ve known have judged and hated on people behind their backs at one point or another.
So what is causing all of this hate and disrespect in not only just our society, but the world as a whole? I’m afraid there aren’t any simple answers. And I’m not going to pretend that I know all of the science and sociological reasoning’s behind it. But I do have some very simple and easy to follow advice on how to stop experiencing those attitudes and actions, if you have them, and how to hopefully inspire others to stop them, if you don’t.
I think that the most important step is to gain at least a little bit of spirituality as you walk through this life. Most people are already affiliated with some type of religion and that’s a start, because I’d say that the majority of religions contain parts of their holy scripts that teach people to be kind and loving towards one another. And any church or temple that you attend will most likely have religious officials and leaders promoting those concepts as well. So if you align yourself with any religion and take it seriously, you should feel motivated to follow those parts of the teachings.
When you develop a strong sense of spirituality, you’ll learn that the best advice is to love everyone and to respect everything. Try to never judge anyone, no matter how different they are from you. I know there‘s millions of things that make people different from each other and separate us into different groups, but instead of focusing on differences, try to see everyone else as eternal spiritual beings who are also connected to God. Everyone deserves love and respect.
There will always be mean people out there unfortunately, and when confronted by them, the best bet is to ignore them and avoid them in the future. Once you are brought down to their level and become mean as well, it only leads to bad karma. So always try to take the high road.
For all the atheists out there, well, just try to find it in your hearts to do the right thing and treat people right at all times. You can use science to look at this issue as well. For example; the brain is such a complex and intricate thing with billions of cells, synapses and all kinds of things doing a trillion things every second. When you say or do bad things to a person, you’re causing a great deal of disharmony to that whole system and it results in pain that can degrade the brain, at least temporarily, but could do long-lasting permanent harm if done enough times. And the resulting hurt feelings could greatly degrade a person’s life if intense enough.
So the question becomes; do you really want to do that kind of harm to someone else? I hope that the answer is no. Otherwise, just try to remember the golden rule. Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Would you want anyone yelling at you, insulting you, spreading rumors about you or doing any other kinds of mean and disrespectful actions towards you? I’d be willing to bet that the answer is no. It would probably cause you hurt and pain. So keep that in mind before ever doing anything bad to anyone and let it motivate you to treat people with kindness and compassion.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
A Quick Post About the Importance of Daily Exercise
In addition to things like good nutrition and proper hygiene practices, one of the most important aspects to a healthy lifestyle is daily exercise. Fitness is a very broad topic and there are endless sources to look into, but I’ll try to keep things simple for this post.
The ideal exercise schedule should include 6 days a week, with each session lasting anywhere between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on what your goals are. But never anything less than 30 minutes. In my opinion, the most important kind of exercise is intense cardio, which I believe should be done with every work out session. Spending 30 minutes doing cardio is ideal for maintaining a healthy weight. 45-60 minutes of cardio a day is good for a weight-loss routine.
In some cases, cardio is all a person needs or wants to do, and that’s perfectly fine. If you choose to add further activities into your workout session, you could look into things like weightlifting to build either strength or muscle, and perhaps find a suitable abs routine as well. If money is an issue, you don’t need to join a gym. All you’ll need is some running shoes (these are the ones I recommend: http://www.patagonia.com/us/
In conclusion, Daily exercise is an extremely important part of healthy living. Here’s a link that goes over some of the best benefits that you can expect from incorporating that into your life:
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Prop. 37 Letter from the Organic Consumers Association
Dear Organic Consumer,
We are entering the home stretch of the most important food policy fight in your lifetime. Prop 37, the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, is a November 6 grassroots-powered, citizens’ ballot initiative that has huge implications for the future of food in this country.
This is a battle that pits the people – you, me, moms, dads, rich, poor, young, old - against fat-cat pesticide, biotech, and junk-food corporations who for years have shamelessly manipulated science, the political system, and the truth in order to rack up obscene profits at the expense of your health and safety.
This is a battle that has nothing to do with partisan politics. National polls show that 91% of Americans – republicans, democrats, independents, libertarians - want GMOs labeled.
This is a battle that began on the ground in California and has caught fire, garnering national and international media attention, drawing donors and volunteers from all 50 states.
This is a battle that we must win . . . if we are ever going to have what citizens in nearly 50 other countries already have: the basic right to know if our food contains pesticide-injected, bacteria and virus-laced genetically modified ingredients. Ingredients that, according to a growing number of scientists, are making us sick with everything from allergies and obesity, to cancer and organ failure.
In a few short weeks, early voting begins in California. By Nov. 6, this battle will have been won or lost.
If you eat food, this is your fight. If you haven’t joined in, now is the time.
You take the risks, Monsanto gets the benefits
Would you knowingly feed your family foods that are linked to cancer and organ failure? Absolutely not. Monsanto knows this. Monsanto knows that the FDA has given it a free ride for more than 15 years, allowing its bioengineers to concoct laboratory experiments using you as their lab rat. Between 75% - 80% of all non-organic processed foods contain GMOs. Unless those foods are labeled, you are most likely a human lab rat in a vast genetic experiment.
You take all the risks, Monsanto gets all the benefits.
Scientists point to a growing body of evidence to support claims that GMOs are linked to a host of health concerns. Why didn’t we know this 15 years ago? Because without labels, it’s impossible to trace specific health concerns to their food origins. The FDA conducts no pre-market safety testing on GMO foods, instead relying on Monsanto, DuPont, and Dow chemical to vouch for their safety.
Yes, believe it or not, the FDA allows the same companies that lied to us about the safety of DDT, Agent Orange, PCBs and bovine growth hormone to conduct their own dubious safety testing on GMOs, and then use those tests as ‘proof’ that GMOs are safe.
If genetically modified foods are so safe, why is Big Ag afraid to label them? If genetically engineered foods are safe, why are biotech companies, food manufacturers, and supermarket chains spending millions of dollars to deny you your right to know?
Prop 37 is our best hope – maybe our only chance
It’s not a stretch to say that if we lose the GMO labeling battle in California, we may never get another chance to force Big Biotech and Big Food to come clean about what they are doing to the food that you and I feed to our families. While some argue that we should be focused on a national GMO labeling law, those in the know understand that without this win in California, we don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of passing a nationwide GMO labeling law.
In the past two years alone, more than 19 states have attempted to pass GMO labeling legislation. Yet despite overwhelming bipartisan public support, every one of those efforts has failed. Why? Because powerful agribusiness lobbyists have corrupted the political process.
A federal bill? Forget it. More than a million people signed a petition to the FDA demanding it act on GMO labeling – more than any other FDA petition in history – yet your guys and gals in Washington have failed to act. As long as former Monsanto guns like Tom Vilsack and Michael Taylor hold key government positions and powerful influence, there will be no federal GMO labeling law.
As California goes, so goes the nation
Major food companies have already conceded that if we pass Prop 37 in California, we may as well pass a national GMO labeling law. If this law passes, food manufacturers will take GMOs out of their products, rather than risk losing sales by slapping a label proclaiming “This product contains GMOs” on every package. They admit that from a production standpoint, it makes no sense to reformulate only the products they sell in California, the eighth largest economy in the world – they’ll be forced to reformulate all of their products for all US markets.
If this law passes, we’ll finally see GMOs disappear from products in all 50 states, just as they’ve disappeared from foods in nearly 50 other countries that already have mandatory GMO labeling laws.
The opposition knows what’s at stake. That’s why they’ve amassed a war chest of more than $32 million – so far - to kill this initiative. Monsanto alone has kicked in $7.2 million. DuPont and its subsidiaries have dumped in $4.2 million, Dow and Bayer CropScience $2 million each, and the Kings of Junk Food, Pepsi and Coca-Cola, have contributed a combined $2.8 million. The biotech and junk food processing industries are running scared because, finally, GMO labeling is going to be decided by the people – not politicians or industry lobbyists.
The battle for GMO labeling relies on you
The Organic Consumers Association and our allied lobbying organization, the Organic Consumers Fund, have been a key player in Prop 37 from the very beginning, spending countless hours, serving on the campaign’s steering committee, and raising funds. OCF has pledged $1 million – money we’ve raised from people like you who are outraged that our elected officials have ignored pleas from the overwhelming majority of their constituents to require mandatory labeling of GMOs.
Today, I ask for your continued support in this monumental David-versus-Goliath fight for what ought to be a guaranteed, basic right – a right we’ve been denied for far too long. The more money the opposition throws at this fight, the more obvious it is that for the first time ever, they believe their science experiments and huge profits – at your expense - may be at risk.
The polls show us leading in California, despite being behind in terms of raising money. But money alone won’t win this battle. It will take a herculean effort by tens of thousands of volunteers to overcome the opposition’s massive advertising campaign, a campaign of lies meant to frighten and intimidate voters into thinking a few extra words on a label will somehow be more dangerous than being a lab rat for Monsanto.
If you haven’t already, please pitch in today using our secure online donation system, by sending a check, or by calling our office to help with the ongoing mobilization of volunteers, printing of leaflets and signs, and outreach to the media to keep this issue at the forefront of voters’ minds.
If you have already donated all you can, please reach out to your friends. Forward this letter. Share it on Facebook and Twitter.
If we win this battle in California, we win it for all of us. If we lose? Monsanto will grow larger, more powerful, more arrogant, more dangerous. And the quality of your food – and most likely your health – will deteriorate.
This is your fight. And time is running out. Thank you!
Organically yours,
For an Organic Future,
Ronnie Cummins
Director, Organic Consumers Association and
Organic Consumers Fund
We are entering the home stretch of the most important food policy fight in your lifetime. Prop 37, the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, is a November 6 grassroots-powered, citizens’ ballot initiative that has huge implications for the future of food in this country.
This is a battle that pits the people – you, me, moms, dads, rich, poor, young, old - against fat-cat pesticide, biotech, and junk-food corporations who for years have shamelessly manipulated science, the political system, and the truth in order to rack up obscene profits at the expense of your health and safety.
This is a battle that has nothing to do with partisan politics. National polls show that 91% of Americans – republicans, democrats, independents, libertarians - want GMOs labeled.
This is a battle that began on the ground in California and has caught fire, garnering national and international media attention, drawing donors and volunteers from all 50 states.
This is a battle that we must win . . . if we are ever going to have what citizens in nearly 50 other countries already have: the basic right to know if our food contains pesticide-injected, bacteria and virus-laced genetically modified ingredients. Ingredients that, according to a growing number of scientists, are making us sick with everything from allergies and obesity, to cancer and organ failure.
In a few short weeks, early voting begins in California. By Nov. 6, this battle will have been won or lost.
If you eat food, this is your fight. If you haven’t joined in, now is the time.
You take the risks, Monsanto gets the benefits
Would you knowingly feed your family foods that are linked to cancer and organ failure? Absolutely not. Monsanto knows this. Monsanto knows that the FDA has given it a free ride for more than 15 years, allowing its bioengineers to concoct laboratory experiments using you as their lab rat. Between 75% - 80% of all non-organic processed foods contain GMOs. Unless those foods are labeled, you are most likely a human lab rat in a vast genetic experiment.
You take all the risks, Monsanto gets all the benefits.
Scientists point to a growing body of evidence to support claims that GMOs are linked to a host of health concerns. Why didn’t we know this 15 years ago? Because without labels, it’s impossible to trace specific health concerns to their food origins. The FDA conducts no pre-market safety testing on GMO foods, instead relying on Monsanto, DuPont, and Dow chemical to vouch for their safety.
Yes, believe it or not, the FDA allows the same companies that lied to us about the safety of DDT, Agent Orange, PCBs and bovine growth hormone to conduct their own dubious safety testing on GMOs, and then use those tests as ‘proof’ that GMOs are safe.
If genetically modified foods are so safe, why is Big Ag afraid to label them? If genetically engineered foods are safe, why are biotech companies, food manufacturers, and supermarket chains spending millions of dollars to deny you your right to know?
Prop 37 is our best hope – maybe our only chance
It’s not a stretch to say that if we lose the GMO labeling battle in California, we may never get another chance to force Big Biotech and Big Food to come clean about what they are doing to the food that you and I feed to our families. While some argue that we should be focused on a national GMO labeling law, those in the know understand that without this win in California, we don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of passing a nationwide GMO labeling law.
In the past two years alone, more than 19 states have attempted to pass GMO labeling legislation. Yet despite overwhelming bipartisan public support, every one of those efforts has failed. Why? Because powerful agribusiness lobbyists have corrupted the political process.
A federal bill? Forget it. More than a million people signed a petition to the FDA demanding it act on GMO labeling – more than any other FDA petition in history – yet your guys and gals in Washington have failed to act. As long as former Monsanto guns like Tom Vilsack and Michael Taylor hold key government positions and powerful influence, there will be no federal GMO labeling law.
As California goes, so goes the nation
Major food companies have already conceded that if we pass Prop 37 in California, we may as well pass a national GMO labeling law. If this law passes, food manufacturers will take GMOs out of their products, rather than risk losing sales by slapping a label proclaiming “This product contains GMOs” on every package. They admit that from a production standpoint, it makes no sense to reformulate only the products they sell in California, the eighth largest economy in the world – they’ll be forced to reformulate all of their products for all US markets.
If this law passes, we’ll finally see GMOs disappear from products in all 50 states, just as they’ve disappeared from foods in nearly 50 other countries that already have mandatory GMO labeling laws.
The opposition knows what’s at stake. That’s why they’ve amassed a war chest of more than $32 million – so far - to kill this initiative. Monsanto alone has kicked in $7.2 million. DuPont and its subsidiaries have dumped in $4.2 million, Dow and Bayer CropScience $2 million each, and the Kings of Junk Food, Pepsi and Coca-Cola, have contributed a combined $2.8 million. The biotech and junk food processing industries are running scared because, finally, GMO labeling is going to be decided by the people – not politicians or industry lobbyists.
The battle for GMO labeling relies on you
The Organic Consumers Association and our allied lobbying organization, the Organic Consumers Fund, have been a key player in Prop 37 from the very beginning, spending countless hours, serving on the campaign’s steering committee, and raising funds. OCF has pledged $1 million – money we’ve raised from people like you who are outraged that our elected officials have ignored pleas from the overwhelming majority of their constituents to require mandatory labeling of GMOs.
Today, I ask for your continued support in this monumental David-versus-Goliath fight for what ought to be a guaranteed, basic right – a right we’ve been denied for far too long. The more money the opposition throws at this fight, the more obvious it is that for the first time ever, they believe their science experiments and huge profits – at your expense - may be at risk.
The polls show us leading in California, despite being behind in terms of raising money. But money alone won’t win this battle. It will take a herculean effort by tens of thousands of volunteers to overcome the opposition’s massive advertising campaign, a campaign of lies meant to frighten and intimidate voters into thinking a few extra words on a label will somehow be more dangerous than being a lab rat for Monsanto.
If you haven’t already, please pitch in today using our secure online donation system, by sending a check, or by calling our office to help with the ongoing mobilization of volunteers, printing of leaflets and signs, and outreach to the media to keep this issue at the forefront of voters’ minds.
If you have already donated all you can, please reach out to your friends. Forward this letter. Share it on Facebook and Twitter.
If we win this battle in California, we win it for all of us. If we lose? Monsanto will grow larger, more powerful, more arrogant, more dangerous. And the quality of your food – and most likely your health – will deteriorate.
This is your fight. And time is running out. Thank you!
Organically yours,
For an Organic Future,
Ronnie Cummins
Director, Organic Consumers Association and
Organic Consumers Fund
Monday, September 17, 2012
Healthy Energy/Meal Bars
In today’s fast-paced world, it can be common to miss a meal every day. Or at least miss one every couple days. I myself can never wake up with enough time for breakfast during the work week. Although the perfect breakfast would be made up of things like several organic fruits, organic orange juice, and perhaps some cage-free organic eggs and organic cereal, luckily there are some alternatives out there for those of us on the go that don’t have time to put together such a meal before heading out for the day. They come in the form of meal (or sometimes“energy”) bars. This has been a fast growing field with immeasurable countless options available, most of which are not nearly as healthy and beneficial as they claim. A lot of these bars are probably more harmful if anything. So I just wanted to make this quick post to share with you some of the ones I’ve found to be more on the healthy and beneficial side:
Organic food bar – http://www.organicfoodbar.com/
Easily the best and healthiest one in my opinion. And my personal favorite.
ProBar – http://theprobar.com/
Very healthy, and the best tasting brand in my opinion.
Pure Bar – http://thepurebar.com/
Another really good one. Just be sure to get the flavors that are certified organic, as some of them aren’t.
Raw Revolution – http://rawrev.com/
Most of the products that come from those companies are organic, vegan, gluten free, and made with raw ingredients. I’m sure there are other healthy and beneficial meal bar companies out there, but these are the ones in my personal top-choice list. When looking at other brands to consider, make sure that they’re organic (the most important thing), not too high in calories, and perhaps certified as vegan, gluten free, and using raw ingredients.
Beware of the brands that label themselves as “All-Natural” and that don’t have any kind of organic certification. These will contain GMO’s and other harmful ingredients, and will overall be more harmful than beneficial.
Organic food bar – http://www.organicfoodbar.com/
Easily the best and healthiest one in my opinion. And my personal favorite.
ProBar – http://theprobar.com/
Very healthy, and the best tasting brand in my opinion.
Pure Bar – http://thepurebar.com/
Another really good one. Just be sure to get the flavors that are certified organic, as some of them aren’t.
Raw Revolution – http://rawrev.com/
Most of the products that come from those companies are organic, vegan, gluten free, and made with raw ingredients. I’m sure there are other healthy and beneficial meal bar companies out there, but these are the ones in my personal top-choice list. When looking at other brands to consider, make sure that they’re organic (the most important thing), not too high in calories, and perhaps certified as vegan, gluten free, and using raw ingredients.
Beware of the brands that label themselves as “All-Natural” and that don’t have any kind of organic certification. These will contain GMO’s and other harmful ingredients, and will overall be more harmful than beneficial.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
The Importance of a Substance-Free Lifestyle Part 2
Part 2 of this post will focus on the heavier drugs aspect of substances. These aren’t as prevalent as cigarettes and alcohol, but they are out there, and it’s just as important to know to stay away from these things as well. The main problem is that, even though smoking and drinking cause health problems, using drugs will also cause a ton of health problems, but at a much faster rate. With smoking and drinking, it might take years or even a decade to develop serious health problems, but with drugs it’s a lot quicker. In some cases it only takes a few months for massive damages to be done.
I wouldn’t consider marijuana to be a huge risk, as long as it’s not laced with anything, because it’s a natural plant. But I wouldn’t suggest doing it a lot because it’s been shown to decrease motivation and can also impact the brain in negative ways. It has also been linked to lung cancer if done frequently enough.
When it comes to all of the other drugs though, it’s important to stay away from them at all costs. Avoid them like the plague; drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, meth, heroin, etc, etc. There’s a long list of all kinds of other pills and substances that fall under this same category. Do yourself a favor and stay away from all of them. These things will not only ruin your health quickly, but they’ll also ruin your life and possibly end it (drug overdoses).
Sometimes, it can seem like drugs are the cool thing to do, because celebrities are doing them, and they’re available at parties and their made out to be this fun and pleasurable experience. You might feel peer pressure to do them, but anyone who would negatively judge you for not using is someone who isn’t worth being friends with anyways. It’s really important to keep your guard up and not let these things tempt you to use. It’s also important to mention that, unlike cigarettes and alcohol, these things are very illegal and can get you sent to jail and possibly get put on your permanent record, making it hard to get a job. They can also get you fired if your place of work participates in drug testing.
It would take a long time to go over the huge amounts of health consequences that drugs can do to your brain and body, but you can learn more about them from these links: http://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/medical-consequences-drug-abuse, http://alcoholism.about.com/od/sa/a/drug_effects.htm. And for more motivation to stay away, check out http://planetoddity.com/faces-of-meth-addicts/. Not only will drugs ruin the inside of your body and mind, but they will take a horrendous toll on your physical appearance as well. With most drugs, you can expect them to cause such effects as hair loss, teeth loss, scabs, increased aging and wrinkles, just to name a few.
In conclusion, there’s really no reason to be using any of these substances, and every reason not to be. Don’t let the media or other people think for you. The truth is, we’re born with only one body. We need to treat it with the utmost care and respect, because if any intense harm is done to it, it can be extremely difficult, or sometimes even impossible, to reverse such damage. And our bodies do so much for us, trillions of things per second, every single cell. The least we can do is show our respect to them by treating them with the care and nurture that they deserve so that they can keep functioning optimally.
I wouldn’t consider marijuana to be a huge risk, as long as it’s not laced with anything, because it’s a natural plant. But I wouldn’t suggest doing it a lot because it’s been shown to decrease motivation and can also impact the brain in negative ways. It has also been linked to lung cancer if done frequently enough.
When it comes to all of the other drugs though, it’s important to stay away from them at all costs. Avoid them like the plague; drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, meth, heroin, etc, etc. There’s a long list of all kinds of other pills and substances that fall under this same category. Do yourself a favor and stay away from all of them. These things will not only ruin your health quickly, but they’ll also ruin your life and possibly end it (drug overdoses).
Sometimes, it can seem like drugs are the cool thing to do, because celebrities are doing them, and they’re available at parties and their made out to be this fun and pleasurable experience. You might feel peer pressure to do them, but anyone who would negatively judge you for not using is someone who isn’t worth being friends with anyways. It’s really important to keep your guard up and not let these things tempt you to use. It’s also important to mention that, unlike cigarettes and alcohol, these things are very illegal and can get you sent to jail and possibly get put on your permanent record, making it hard to get a job. They can also get you fired if your place of work participates in drug testing.
It would take a long time to go over the huge amounts of health consequences that drugs can do to your brain and body, but you can learn more about them from these links: http://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/medical-consequences-drug-abuse, http://alcoholism.about.com/od/sa/a/drug_effects.htm. And for more motivation to stay away, check out http://planetoddity.com/faces-of-meth-addicts/. Not only will drugs ruin the inside of your body and mind, but they will take a horrendous toll on your physical appearance as well. With most drugs, you can expect them to cause such effects as hair loss, teeth loss, scabs, increased aging and wrinkles, just to name a few.
In conclusion, there’s really no reason to be using any of these substances, and every reason not to be. Don’t let the media or other people think for you. The truth is, we’re born with only one body. We need to treat it with the utmost care and respect, because if any intense harm is done to it, it can be extremely difficult, or sometimes even impossible, to reverse such damage. And our bodies do so much for us, trillions of things per second, every single cell. The least we can do is show our respect to them by treating them with the care and nurture that they deserve so that they can keep functioning optimally.
The Importance of a Substance-Free Lifestyle Part 1
In some of my earlier posts, I talked about using certain nutritional and hygienic practices to maintain quality levels of health. In this post, I’m going to address another strategy of equal importance; living a substance-free life. The term “substance-free” means to live a lifestyle abstaining from alcohol, smoking, drugs, and any other harmful and unethical substances.
I’ll start off with addressing cigarettes and alcohol. The problem with these two things are that not only are they perfectly legal and easy to gain access to, they’re also heavily advertised to people of all ages and walks of life. Also, a big percentage of people smoke,and almost everybody drinks alcohol, so this sends a message that might as wellsound like “The media is always advertising these things, and tons of people use them, so they must be perfectly alright. I might as well fit in and join the crowd.” However, parts of the media have been addressing how unhealthy cigarettes are and the damage that they cause, so that’s a step in the right direction.
Some people will just start out smoking one or two cigarettes here and there if they’re with friends who smoke. But even that’s a problem because the tobacco companies purposely fill cigarettes with nicotine and other extremely addictive chemicals. So even if you just start out small, it won’t take much time until you’re craving cigarettes more and more to the point where it becomes a full on addiction. Here’s a website that offers a quick summary of the health consequences of smoking: http://doingyoudamage.com/. Also, long-term smoking will cause permanent harm to your voice making it sound very raspy and unhealthy and will increase the rate at which you age. Overall, the tobacco industry is filled with greedy corrupt murderers. Think really carefully before making the choice to support them while harming your body and health in the process.
Next we have alcohol, which is even more highly advertised than cigarettes. I believe that advertising, as well as how it’s displayed in the media, have caused it to be almost a mandatory part of life and part of the general culture. People are usually in shock and disbelief when I reveal that I don’t drink, because it’s so rare to find people this day and age who don’t. I’ll start out by saying that light social drinking every now and then is alright, perhaps some organic wine at a special event. But in my opinion, things like liquor and beer should never be used. I know it’s a way for a lot of people to have fun and feel good. But it’s not worth the potential risks and the health consequences. The biggest risks for drinking include drunk-driving car accidents, which rank high on the list of leading causes of death in this country. And also, the risk of sexual assault, which is also a very common occurrence, especially amongst college-aged people. The media will sometimes talk about those risks, but it often fails to list the health consequences. To learn more about the health consequences of alcohol, check out these links: http://www.greenfacts.org/en/alcohol/l-2/04-health-effects-alcohol.htm,http://alcoholism.about.com/od/health/Effects_of_Alcohol_Health_Effects_of_Alcohol.htm,and http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000281.htm. And also, don’t forget all of the empty calories. Drinking frequently, especially beer, is a quick way to gain excess weight.
I know that it can seem tempting to drink because of all the media advertisements and the fact that almost everyone else is doing it, but you don’t have to listen to that. And it pays off a lot if you don’t.
I’ll start off with addressing cigarettes and alcohol. The problem with these two things are that not only are they perfectly legal and easy to gain access to, they’re also heavily advertised to people of all ages and walks of life. Also, a big percentage of people smoke,and almost everybody drinks alcohol, so this sends a message that might as wellsound like “The media is always advertising these things, and tons of people use them, so they must be perfectly alright. I might as well fit in and join the crowd.” However, parts of the media have been addressing how unhealthy cigarettes are and the damage that they cause, so that’s a step in the right direction.
Some people will just start out smoking one or two cigarettes here and there if they’re with friends who smoke. But even that’s a problem because the tobacco companies purposely fill cigarettes with nicotine and other extremely addictive chemicals. So even if you just start out small, it won’t take much time until you’re craving cigarettes more and more to the point where it becomes a full on addiction. Here’s a website that offers a quick summary of the health consequences of smoking: http://doingyoudamage.com/. Also, long-term smoking will cause permanent harm to your voice making it sound very raspy and unhealthy and will increase the rate at which you age. Overall, the tobacco industry is filled with greedy corrupt murderers. Think really carefully before making the choice to support them while harming your body and health in the process.
Next we have alcohol, which is even more highly advertised than cigarettes. I believe that advertising, as well as how it’s displayed in the media, have caused it to be almost a mandatory part of life and part of the general culture. People are usually in shock and disbelief when I reveal that I don’t drink, because it’s so rare to find people this day and age who don’t. I’ll start out by saying that light social drinking every now and then is alright, perhaps some organic wine at a special event. But in my opinion, things like liquor and beer should never be used. I know it’s a way for a lot of people to have fun and feel good. But it’s not worth the potential risks and the health consequences. The biggest risks for drinking include drunk-driving car accidents, which rank high on the list of leading causes of death in this country. And also, the risk of sexual assault, which is also a very common occurrence, especially amongst college-aged people. The media will sometimes talk about those risks, but it often fails to list the health consequences. To learn more about the health consequences of alcohol, check out these links: http://www.greenfacts.org/en/alcohol/l-2/04-health-effects-alcohol.htm,http://alcoholism.about.com/od/health/Effects_of_Alcohol_Health_Effects_of_Alcohol.htm,and http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000281.htm. And also, don’t forget all of the empty calories. Drinking frequently, especially beer, is a quick way to gain excess weight.
I know that it can seem tempting to drink because of all the media advertisements and the fact that almost everyone else is doing it, but you don’t have to listen to that. And it pays off a lot if you don’t.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Sweatshop-free Clothing
Clothing is a basic need and necesseity for everyone. Unfortunately, there's a dark side that the clothing industry hides from it's customers, and it's something that you'll hardly see the media cover or hear most people even talk about for that matter. This is the issue of sweatshops and the exploitation of poverty-stricken workers in under-developed countries. A lot of the time, these factory sweatshops provide extremely sub-par work environments, and adhere to unethical practices such as employing young children and providing extremely low pay. In a lot of cases, workers at these sweatshops can expect to make a couple of dollars per day, or sometimes even less, for ten or twelve hours of work each day while being horribly mistreated. This is why the majority of the clothing companies have moved their factories outside of the U.S. because they know that they can exploit the people of these other countries by hardly paying them while adding huge percentages of increased profit to their own pockets as a result. A lot of the retail stores are set up so nicely and fancy looking and provide very inviting atmospheres for people to come in and spend their money, but I believe that if most people realized the ugly origins of these clothes and the companies that produce them, they would not want to be supporting such brands. Unfortunately, most brands participate in using sweatshops and exploited workers. Whether it's cheap clothes at a retail store or high end brands at an outlet mall, chances are there's a lot of corruption behind the company and the practices they partake in. It would seem logical to believe that the more expensive brands would have better and safer working environments with properly paid workers, because those companies could easily afford that set-up, after all, but that's never the case. Here are a few resources to learn more about sweatshops from:
http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-sweatshops
http://www.ourfuture.org/progressive-opinion/2009104319/stunning-facts-sweatshop-conditions
http://www.waronwant.org/overseas-work/sweatshops-and-plantations/china-sweatshops
And just in case you thought celebrity brands were any different... http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2011/12/kardashian-products-made-sweatshops-child-labor-investigation-underway
Fortunately, there are good brands out there that don't get involved with such practices. These brands usually go the extra mile to make sure that they're as polarly opposite as their sweatshop counterparts as possible. A lot of the time they use organic cotton (cotton that hasn't been exposed to harmful chemicals during preperations), and donate a percentage of their profits to environmental orginazations. Here is a list of some of the companies I've found that choose to use ethical practices and are sweatshop free:
http://www.patagonia.com/us/home
http://www.rawganique.com/
http://www.gaiam.com/category/apparel.do
http://maggiesorganics.com/
http://www.americanapparel.net/
And a ton of other ones listed here... http://www.greenpages.org/listing/guide/clothing
As well as all of the cruelty-free links I posted in my previous post.
If enough people stop spending money on sweatshop-using companies, and instead, choose to support ethical companies like these, we could put an end to the practice of sweatshops because the corrupt companies would eventually go out of business, or at the very least, be forced to make all of the necessary ethical changes after losing their customers to ethics-based companies.
http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-sweatshops
http://www.ourfuture.org/progressive-opinion/2009104319/stunning-facts-sweatshop-conditions
http://www.waronwant.org/overseas-work/sweatshops-and-plantations/china-sweatshops
And just in case you thought celebrity brands were any different... http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2011/12/kardashian-products-made-sweatshops-child-labor-investigation-underway
Fortunately, there are good brands out there that don't get involved with such practices. These brands usually go the extra mile to make sure that they're as polarly opposite as their sweatshop counterparts as possible. A lot of the time they use organic cotton (cotton that hasn't been exposed to harmful chemicals during preperations), and donate a percentage of their profits to environmental orginazations. Here is a list of some of the companies I've found that choose to use ethical practices and are sweatshop free:
http://www.patagonia.com/us/home
http://www.rawganique.com/
http://www.gaiam.com/category/apparel.do
http://maggiesorganics.com/
http://www.americanapparel.net/
And a ton of other ones listed here... http://www.greenpages.org/listing/guide/clothing
As well as all of the cruelty-free links I posted in my previous post.
If enough people stop spending money on sweatshop-using companies, and instead, choose to support ethical companies like these, we could put an end to the practice of sweatshops because the corrupt companies would eventually go out of business, or at the very least, be forced to make all of the necessary ethical changes after losing their customers to ethics-based companies.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
A Quick Post on Leather (And Other Animal-Product Fashion)
This will just be a quick continuation of my last post. Whereas my previous post dealt with the problems of killing animals for food, this post will deal with the problems of killing animals for leather, fur, etc. In my last post, we learned about the horrors of the factory-farming slughterhouse industy and all of the torture, brutal conditions, and killing that take place at those factories. That's something that needs to be remembered for this post. The animals that are killed for their skins to make clothes/accessories out of are treated just as bad and have to go through all of those same experiences.
Luckily, there are tons of alternatives out there for everything that's made from animals that you can buy instead, so that you won't be supporting the companies that represent the cruelty and killing of animals. Here are just a few of the many examples:
http://www.peta.org/living/fashion/cruelty-free-clothing-guide.aspx
PETA lists a bunch of companies and products that are free of animal skins.
http://www.alternativeoutfitters.com/index.aspx
This is a really great leather-alternative company.
Those links alone provide animal free-alternatives for everything you can think of that are usually made from leather/animal skins. And more good news is that if you don't like any of their options, you can go to any search engine or amazon and type in vegan belts, vegan wallets, vegan shoes, vegan purses, or vegan anything and there's tons of other options that come up. Also, when searching, you can use other keywords such as "cruetly-free", "animal-free", "fake leather", etc.
If enough people out there choose this type of consumerism, we can end the concept of killing animals for fashion and apparel. The companies that kill animals to use real leather will either run out of business, or be forced to switch to animal-free products. Because, after all, it's we that have the power to control the markets.
Luckily, there are tons of alternatives out there for everything that's made from animals that you can buy instead, so that you won't be supporting the companies that represent the cruelty and killing of animals. Here are just a few of the many examples:
http://www.peta.org/living/fashion/cruelty-free-clothing-guide.aspx
PETA lists a bunch of companies and products that are free of animal skins.
http://www.alternativeoutfitters.com/index.aspx
This is a really great leather-alternative company.
Those links alone provide animal free-alternatives for everything you can think of that are usually made from leather/animal skins. And more good news is that if you don't like any of their options, you can go to any search engine or amazon and type in vegan belts, vegan wallets, vegan shoes, vegan purses, or vegan anything and there's tons of other options that come up. Also, when searching, you can use other keywords such as "cruetly-free", "animal-free", "fake leather", etc.
If enough people out there choose this type of consumerism, we can end the concept of killing animals for fashion and apparel. The companies that kill animals to use real leather will either run out of business, or be forced to switch to animal-free products. Because, after all, it's we that have the power to control the markets.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
The Issue of Eating Meat/Finding an Ethical and Healthy Way
If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.
-Paul McCartney
"Thou shalt not kill" does not apply to murder of one's own kind only, but to all living beings.
-Leo Tolstoy
"Nothing will benefit human health or increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."
-Albert Einstein
In a perfect world, there'd be no such thing as eating meat. Or at the very least, we'd be able to fully go without it while remaining in optimal conditions of health. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world. I myself have experimented with veganism and vegetarianism with negative outcomes. At worst, I was getting really sick every couple of weeks. At best, I'd feel completely fatigued every day. I understand that it's possible to live that lifestyle healthily if you're a genius about supplementation, or have the proper genetics for it, but I'm not quite there yet.
There's several problems I have with eating meat. Mostly, I've always been highly against the idea of factory farm slaughterhouses and all of the torture, killing, horrible living conditions, and overall brutality that take place at those factories. What we're doing to these animals is nothing short of being equal to genocide and like a neverending holocaust. Watch this video to get just an idea of the atrocities that go on behind the scenes of where our meat comes from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeJfY5CXTM0
And keep in mind that these arn't just animals for us to do with as we please. But instead, try to see them for what they really are; conscious, living, breathing beings that experience emotions and feel pain, exactly like us. Just because they lack the ability to communicate and build things, that doesn't mean we should view them as lesser than us.
And then there's the issue of how unhealthy conventional processed meat is. Keep in mind that most of these animals have been pumped so full of growth hormones, antibiotics and fed with GMO feed and other poisonous food. A lot of these animals have become genetically modified themselves. By the time any of it is ready to eat, it's extremely unhealthy.
Most meats lead to extreme health problems such as clogged arteries, high cholesterol, heart-attacks and even cancer: http://www.organicconsumers.org/foodsafety/processedmeat050305.cfm
So what are the solutions? Fortunately there's a lot of them that are easy to figure out and add to your life. For starters, you could decide to try out veganism or vegetarianism and see if you're able to live that lifestyle healthily.
For everyone else, you can remember this tip: The ONLY meats I've found to be healthy and beneficial are free-range organic chicken, cage-free organic eggs, and natural wild caught fish. Those are the only ones that I've found to be low in fat, high in nutrients, and overall, safe and healthy to eat. The brand I recommend for fish is http://www.wildplanetfoods.com/. This way, you can fully avoid supporting slaughterhouses and unnecessarily harsh treatment of animals.
Although it's true that meat in general will always have high protein, when you're dealing with conventional meat, especially meats that come from cows or pigs, there's always going to be much more harm than good.
In conclusion, try to look out for not only the animals and the planet, but your health as well. If you're going to eat meat, please try to make sure that it's free-range and organic.
-Paul McCartney
"Thou shalt not kill" does not apply to murder of one's own kind only, but to all living beings.
-Leo Tolstoy
"Nothing will benefit human health or increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."
-Albert Einstein
In a perfect world, there'd be no such thing as eating meat. Or at the very least, we'd be able to fully go without it while remaining in optimal conditions of health. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world. I myself have experimented with veganism and vegetarianism with negative outcomes. At worst, I was getting really sick every couple of weeks. At best, I'd feel completely fatigued every day. I understand that it's possible to live that lifestyle healthily if you're a genius about supplementation, or have the proper genetics for it, but I'm not quite there yet.
There's several problems I have with eating meat. Mostly, I've always been highly against the idea of factory farm slaughterhouses and all of the torture, killing, horrible living conditions, and overall brutality that take place at those factories. What we're doing to these animals is nothing short of being equal to genocide and like a neverending holocaust. Watch this video to get just an idea of the atrocities that go on behind the scenes of where our meat comes from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeJfY5CXTM0
And keep in mind that these arn't just animals for us to do with as we please. But instead, try to see them for what they really are; conscious, living, breathing beings that experience emotions and feel pain, exactly like us. Just because they lack the ability to communicate and build things, that doesn't mean we should view them as lesser than us.
And then there's the issue of how unhealthy conventional processed meat is. Keep in mind that most of these animals have been pumped so full of growth hormones, antibiotics and fed with GMO feed and other poisonous food. A lot of these animals have become genetically modified themselves. By the time any of it is ready to eat, it's extremely unhealthy.
Most meats lead to extreme health problems such as clogged arteries, high cholesterol, heart-attacks and even cancer: http://www.organicconsumers.org/foodsafety/processedmeat050305.cfm
So what are the solutions? Fortunately there's a lot of them that are easy to figure out and add to your life. For starters, you could decide to try out veganism or vegetarianism and see if you're able to live that lifestyle healthily.
For everyone else, you can remember this tip: The ONLY meats I've found to be healthy and beneficial are free-range organic chicken, cage-free organic eggs, and natural wild caught fish. Those are the only ones that I've found to be low in fat, high in nutrients, and overall, safe and healthy to eat. The brand I recommend for fish is http://www.wildplanetfoods.com/. This way, you can fully avoid supporting slaughterhouses and unnecessarily harsh treatment of animals.
Although it's true that meat in general will always have high protein, when you're dealing with conventional meat, especially meats that come from cows or pigs, there's always going to be much more harm than good.
In conclusion, try to look out for not only the animals and the planet, but your health as well. If you're going to eat meat, please try to make sure that it's free-range and organic.
Monday, September 3, 2012
The Importance of Raw Nutrition
One thing that's easy to overlook is the importance of food to be consumed in its raw, or uncooked, state. I'd go so far as to say that atleast 80% of the diet should consist of raw foods, specifically organic fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Fruits are usually served in raw form anyways, so that parts easy. A mistake that a lot of people make is cooking and/or steaming their vegetables, and it's important not to do that, but to eat them raw instead. And lastly, a lot of nuts are sold in "roasted" form, so when buying any nuts or trailmix, make sure that they're in raw and organic form.
The reason why Raw is important is because when you're cooking/roasting/steaming foods, especially vegetables and nuts, it kills the majority of the vitamins and nutrients that were originally contained within those foods.
David Wolfe, one of the world leading nutritionists, has this to say about Raw Foods:
"A 100% Raw-Food Diet is the greatest secret in the world today. What we eat deeply and radically affects the way we think, feel, and behave. It radically affects the entire life process of planet Earth. 90% of the Earth's abundance is being burned up in the kitchen fire. Ann Wigmore did a study which demonstrated that 83% of the food's nutritional value is lost in the process of cooking. That means that 83% of the TIME, LABOR, and RESOURCES which went into creating that food are also destroyed by cooking. This idea affects everything! It affects all agriculture, all politics, all business, all economics, all over the world! The global impact of humanity's eating habits prompted me to dedicate myself to this message of physical and planetary rejuvenation. A 100% raw plant food diet IS the greatest discovery in the history of the world. It is THE path which will lead humanity out of the present chaos into a bountiful future.
I have always been health conscious, being the son of two medical doctors. I saw ill people my whole life and naturally wanted to avoid going down the same path. So, I stopped taking medicine at 10 years old against my parents' wishes, and stopped dairy products at 19. Then I gradually cut out the dead animal muscle (meat) and was a vegan for a time, until exposed to the raw-food idea by reading Bircher-Benner's Nutritional Diseases which we had in my home. After which, I became a raw-foodist overnight"
This article goes into good detail as well... http://www.naturalnews.com/037037_raw_food_diet_chemical_agriculture_antioxidants.html
The reason why Raw is important is because when you're cooking/roasting/steaming foods, especially vegetables and nuts, it kills the majority of the vitamins and nutrients that were originally contained within those foods.
David Wolfe, one of the world leading nutritionists, has this to say about Raw Foods:
"A 100% Raw-Food Diet is the greatest secret in the world today. What we eat deeply and radically affects the way we think, feel, and behave. It radically affects the entire life process of planet Earth. 90% of the Earth's abundance is being burned up in the kitchen fire. Ann Wigmore did a study which demonstrated that 83% of the food's nutritional value is lost in the process of cooking. That means that 83% of the TIME, LABOR, and RESOURCES which went into creating that food are also destroyed by cooking. This idea affects everything! It affects all agriculture, all politics, all business, all economics, all over the world! The global impact of humanity's eating habits prompted me to dedicate myself to this message of physical and planetary rejuvenation. A 100% raw plant food diet IS the greatest discovery in the history of the world. It is THE path which will lead humanity out of the present chaos into a bountiful future.
I have always been health conscious, being the son of two medical doctors. I saw ill people my whole life and naturally wanted to avoid going down the same path. So, I stopped taking medicine at 10 years old against my parents' wishes, and stopped dairy products at 19. Then I gradually cut out the dead animal muscle (meat) and was a vegan for a time, until exposed to the raw-food idea by reading Bircher-Benner's Nutritional Diseases which we had in my home. After which, I became a raw-foodist overnight"
This article goes into good detail as well... http://www.naturalnews.com/037037_raw_food_diet_chemical_agriculture_antioxidants.html
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