Transition Island Blog

Organically grown foods generally hold more nutrition value than conventionally grown foods, according to a study co-authored by three researchers at Washington State University.

According to the study, organic plant-based foods contain higher levels of eight of 11 nutrients studied, including significantly greater concentrations of the health-promoting polyphenols and antioxidants.

The study, co-authored by professor Neal Davies of the WSU College of Pharmacy, horticulture professor Preston Andrews and Jaime Yanez, Davies’ graduate student, is the first in-depth review of the published scientific literature on the nutritional benefits of organic food completed since 2003, Andrews said.

“Where there were overall combined results, there was a bigger difference more frequently in favor of organic foods,” Andrews said.

The study concluded that organically grown plant-based foods are on average 25 percent more nutrient dense, thus delivering more essential nutrients per serving or calorie consumed.

Read more at Organic Agriculture …

California Plans to Use Citizens as Guinea Pigs: Why Every U.S. Resident Should Care

Taken from an American Blog

Beginning this summer, airplanes will fly 500-800 feet over California, spraying hundreds of thousands of California residents with untested pesticide called CheckMate.

The State’s Department of Food and Agriculture is initiating the largest aerial pesticide spray in the history of the United States because it’s afraid the light brown apple moth will take over our plants.

• Never mind that the evidence suggests that this moth has been with us for decades causing no harm whatsoever (and has, in fact, been controlled by natural predators).
• Never mind that scientists across the globe have dealt with this moth before, and advised California that widespread spraying will do no good.
• Never mind that the State’s previous spraying last year resulted in well over 600 reported ill health effects.
• Never mind that a man named Stewart Resnick, an agribusiness man whose farming company happens to own the manufacturer of CheckMate (the pesticide to be sprayed on us) has made generous political contributions to our State’s officials.
• And never, ever mind that 19,000 citizens and counting have said out loud that they do not want to be sprayed.

And why should anyone who lives outside of California care? One simple reason: we are the nation’s guinea pigs. The USDA recently announced plans to survey all 50 U.S. states to see if the light brown apple moth can be found anywhere else. If they do…

Read more…

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opinion:
I don’t know the facts of this case.
I do know this sort of protest is an expression of outrage from ordinary people about politics and big business behaving in scandalous ways. And I’m sure Californians are not the only Guinea Pigs in the world!

The Irish and Polish Governments have both decided to prohibit the use of GMOs across the entire country.

Ireland won’t go so far as to ban GM animal feed, it is advising farmers to reject it “voluntarily”. Poland has gone the further step, by banning the whole lot, feed included.

GMO distrust

At a time when public demand for organic food has never been higher, there is still deep distrust of GM - reflected by the fact that M&S now guarantees all its eggs, milk and meat is produced without GM feeds, as do Sainsbury’s and Morrison’s on their frozen chickens and turkeys.

It’s still confusing though. A free-range label does not mean GM free and most imported meat and dairy products will contain it by default unless they are organic.

Greenpeace petition

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A new scientific study in the British Nutrition journal shows that children benefit from organic milk.

Those who eat organic dairy products are 36% less likely to suffer from eczema than children who are fed conventional dairy products.

But, it is not yet clear how it works against eczema.

 beneficial nutrients

While experts now agree that organic food contains higher levels of beneficial nutrients than non-organic foods Organic dairy food has increased levels of the beneficial (anti carcinogenic, anti diabetic and good for the immune system); “conjugated linoleic acid isomers”.

Another study has shown higher levels are also found in the breast milk of women who drink organic milk.

(more…)

One day, we may need toy models to remind us of what farm animals looked like.

It’s not just wild animals that are disappearing. Domesticated farm animals are also being lost according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

More than 20 per cent of the 7,600 breeds of farm animal and poultry breeds are at risk of extinction.

We’re losing around one breed a month.

The animals that developing countries rely on are fading away the fastest. Often these are the hardier breeds most suited to the poorer conditions that are being replaced by less suitable breeds from Europe and the US.

(more…)

Environmental concerns can be triggers to technical improvements.

In 1957, the first aluminium cans were used for drinks. Originally, they were punctured at the top to create an opening to pour the drink out.

Then in 1962, the pull-ring tab first marketed by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company. This was a great innovation that helped canned drinks take over from bottled, and massively increased the market in America and then throughout the world.

Pull-tabs became a common form of litter.

They wound up on beaches, where children cut their feet on them. They littered roadsides and damaged garbage disposals.

Douglas Adams put a picture of the ring-pull on the front of “Life, the Universe and Everything” to show (his opinion) of the worst pollutant in the Universe.

They also caused injuries to lips, cheeks, noses and throats (when accidentally swallowed).

Pets and wildlife died from swallowing them.

And gossip has it that “more than a few people” also died, having dropped them into a can of beer and then accidentally choked on them.

The stay-on tab invented in 1974 and all these problems went away.

opinion
            We CAN do it!

Pesticides continue to be linked to serious illness.

The Pesticide Action Network points out:

‘They are the only manufactured chemicals specifically designed to be toxic.’

‘They are also the only group of toxic chemicals routinely intentionally dispersed in the environment.’

So why are we encouraging our children to eat more?

(more…)

Last year was the 20th anniversary of The Great Storm, on the 15/16 October 1987.

Overnight, 15 million trees were lost and streets, hedgerows, woods, public parks, private gardens and historic landscapes changed.

Many people woke up to radically different views out of their windows - and also to new recognition of the real value of trees in their patch.

The even more widespread storms of 1990 reinforced the message.

Conker-tree disease

This year, we have the discovery of a virulent new disease sweeping through Britain’s much-loved conker trees.

(more…)

HRH Prince Charles meet senior hospital managers to discuss hospital food.

Examining links between environmental issues, including climate change, and human health were his concerns.

Climate change is likely to place increasing demand on the NHS.

The National Audit Office estimated in 2003 that obesity costs the NHS at least £500m a year - and the wider economy more than £2bn a year in lost productivity. In fact, we may be following the USA in the weight obesity places - it may threaten the future of NHS.

About £500m is spent on hospital food in England each year - about 60p for each meal. But poor-quality food in hospitals means that 13million meals are thrown away every year, at a cost of £2.65 each.

 go organic

(more…)

Two teaspoons of cod liver oil a day can cut the number of powerful painkillers needed to ease the pain of arthritis.

Patients who were given the supplements were able to reduce their daily dose of anti-inflammatory drugs.

These findings are important because the long-term use of anti-inflammatory drugs can double the threat of heart attack and raise the risk of strokes and heart disease.

Dr Bernat Galarraga and colleagues from the Ninewells Hospital and Medical School in Dundee; the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, and the University of Dundee, carried out this research.

This was proper science: a double-blind randomised controlled trial, although the patient nmbers were small. Funded by a small business, this shows the problems of field trials for drugs.

More people in the cod liver oil group (39%) were able to reduce their NSAID intake by more than 30% compared with the placebo group (10%). This reduction was significant.

[more]

Meanwhile…

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