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.

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The Soil Association’s definitive annual Organic Market Report in 2007 showed continued strong growth and increasing public support for organic food, drink, textiles and health and beauty products.

beyond food

Organic textiles and the booming organic health and beauty sector are experiencing particularly strong growth. In 2006, they had already increased by 30 per cent in the number licensed with the Soil Association.

beyond supermarkets

Retail sales of organic products through organic box and mail order schemes and other direct routes increased from £95 million in 2005 to £146 million in 2006 - a staggering 53 per cent growth, more than double that experienced by the major supermarkets.

One reason may be that organic farmers are three times as likely to market their products locally or directly as non-organic farmers in the UK. People like local. People buy from people they like. Local growers are easier to like than supermarkets, even though many of us are gripped by the habit of the once-weekly supermarket-dash.

organic fakes?

But we’ve heard a rumour that not all supermarket food labelled ‘organic’ actually comes from organic sources. It has been said that while the room that does the packaging may be certified organic, the food can come from anywhere. And because the ‘assembly room’ is organic, the packaged food can legally be labelled ‘organic’.

Can this be true?

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

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An Open Food Co-op is a partnership of people who like locally-sourced, high quality food and deliberately build a sustainable supply-and-communications network.

It builds on what is there now: existing producer’s co-ops, farms and farmers’ markets, processors (bakers, cheesemakers, etc), distributors, shops, box schemes, regional support groups.

It adds new local food clubs.

It adds food-related social events.

It links them with an innovative communication & information management system.

This idea comes from Gary Alexander, author of eGaia, Growing a peaceful, sustainable Earth through communications.

(more…)

Two Isle of Wight schools may show a lead to others across the South East.

Gurnard and Cowes Primary schools introducing more local produce and are making their meals healthier. They also encourage pupils and the community to engage in cooking activities.

This is harder than it seems, as modern timetabling prevents most practical cooking by ringing the bell just as it’s getting interesting. There just isn’t time to finish within a period.

The Soil Association promotes organic food growing in the UK. Their ‘Food for Life Campaign’ helps pupils learn about seasonal foods and understand the ‘food miles’ issue.

A team from the Soil Association visited the schools on 25 February where they sampled the food, met teachers and students including the school cooks and othos involved in the project.

The schools hope to be recognised as one of the nine Flagship Schools by the end of March.

Opinion:
We are really pleased at this project -
it will help parents as much as children.

Growing your own will help families become more independent when food prices start to spiral. This will be due to the cost of oil increasing as we hit Peak Oil, and causing fertiliser, pesticide, and transport costs to rise. 

This exchange scheme is the best holiday-and-learning-experience in organics that you can get! 

Learn about growing, farming, rural issues, farm life, and more… and have fun for the cheapest ‘hotel’ you could find.

In return for your help on organic farm, gardens and smallholdings, you receive meals (usually organic!), accommodation and learning opportunities.

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I missed National Potato Day - 3/2/08.

Laugh not, we can’t afford to take the humble spud for granted.

The world’s population is expected to rise by more than 100 million a year over the next two decades.

The UN is looking to the potato to provide nutritious food for the poor and hungry. It declared 2008 the Year of the Potato.

Anton Rosenfeld of Garden Organic’s R&D said that the potato is easy to grow, flexible to a range of conditions, undemanding of labour, and will often far out-yield any cereal crop.

But we must remember the Great Irish Potato Famine, which reduced the Irish population by 20 to 25 percent between 1845 and 1852.

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