March 2012
112 posts
Illinois Has No Room for Toxic Shark Fins
Joining California, Hawaii, Washington and Oregon, Illinois could become the next state to make it illegal to sell, trade or distribute shark fins if a proposed bill that was approved by the House makes it past Illinois’ Senate. http://dlvr.it/1Kb5pB
Welcome Organic Valley’s ‘Grassmilk’ from...
While the regulations over what counts as legitimate when companies tout ‘free-range’, ‘cage-free’ and ‘grass-fed’ continue to confuse ethical meat, egg and dairy customers, hopes to change some of that with its newest product, “Grassmilk.” http://dlvr.it/1KV2Y7
Heat Up Your Kitchen with Chipotle Peppers
When you see the word “chipotle,” the chain restaurant may come to mind before the actual ingredient does. While the popular restaurant has made the “chipotle” iconic, the real deal—the actual chipotle peppers—have been gaining some increased culinary attention of their own.
Across the country, chipotle peppers have been popping up on menus in everything from chicken dishes to soups to...
What's Up With Artificial Flavors?
It seems counter-intuitive to use chemicals to make something smell or taste like strawberries when you could use—_duh_—actual strawberries. But artificial flavors and colorings are used by food producers because breaking down a flavor into its chemical parts can be much cheaper than using the real thing.
Read more… http://dlvr.it/1KP1xg
SproutRobot Makes Growing A Garden Easy, Like...
You’re really, truly, honestly going to grow a garden this year. Growing herbs and vegetables sounds easy enough, and the prospect of cutting your grocery costs sounds wonderful… You seem confident, so, perhaps it’s time for the “are you ready to grow a garden” pop quiz: Do you know when you’re supposed to plant seed starts? When you’re supposed to take tomatoes outside if...
Studies Find Half The Pesticides Yields… Pretty...
Promising new research coming out of France shows that a dramatic reduction in pesticide use can be achieved without a negative impact on crop yields, according to the Pesticide Action Network of North America. http://dlvr.it/1KGLSW
Guess Who's On Monsanto's Board of Directors
It’s a big kick in the gut to reckon with corporate bullies most adept at leading us to believe that we are truly free to choose, that they don’t actually use every resource to benefit their bottom line, and that they really are concerned with our best interests. But, multinational seed and chemical corporation, Monsanto, doesn’t mind if you have no choice. They believe...
Lasagna Gardening: A Way to Grow Your Own for the...
Imagine a garden with beautiful, rich, crumbly soil you didn’t have to pay for or dig up. Imagine a bountiful, fertile plot that hardly ever needed weeding. Now imagine you could create this perfect garden for almost no money.
If that sounds too good to be true, you probably haven’t heard of Lasagna Gardening. Named for its technique of layering different materials in the garden...
In Paris? Organic Street Markets Aplenty
Paris’ outdoor markets are generally local affairs, with farmers bringing their own produce to the big city once or twice a week. Every market has their own version of a “supermarket stall,” but you can tell from the perfectly shiny, out of season produce — sometimes with stickers on it — which one is the culprit to avoid. That being said, you can even do one...
A Huge Incentive to Eat Your Broccoli
Yet another reason to eat your broccoli, and it’s a big one. Researchers at Oregon State University have found that the compound sulforaphane found in many cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and kale, is believed to help restore proper enzyme balance in the body to allow our genes to suppress the development of tumors.
Read more… http://dlvr.it/1K9DD6
LSD May Give Addicts the Insightful Trip They Need
Norwegian University of Science and Technology researchers have discovered new benefits of the psychedelic drug LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) in addiction treatment, specifically alcoholism. http://dlvr.it/1K2sYz
A Cup of Coffee with DiCaprio, Anyone? Well… Sort...
Not shy about his position on environmental and humanitarian causes, award-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio has shown his support for various projects including: the film “The 11th Hour,” which he narrated and produced; working with two dozen displaced children in an orphanage in Maputo, Mozambique; sending $1,000,000 in relief funds to aid victims of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti;...
How Much Does Diet Affect Your Sex Life, Really?
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) recently stirred up a long-standing debate over whether or not diet actually does play a role in our sex life with their controversial (as if they’d do anything but) _BWVAKTBOOM_ ad. The absurdly long anagram stands for “Boyfriend Went Vegan and Knocked the Bottom Out of Me,” which is meant to describe a fictitious syndrome...
The Next Urban Garden Trend: On Your Bike?
Bikes adorned with personal flair are common. A well-placed streamer or perfectly situated nameplate turns a bike into, well, a friend. Some green-thumbed bicyclists have taken bike personalization a step further and have turned their bikes into small mobile gardens. Bikes with everything from fitted wooden plant boxes and garden baskets to “wearable bike planters” can safely contain flowers,...
Coca-Cola Narrowly Avoids ‘May Cause Cancer’...
Cancer has been linked to countless triggers from pesticides to cigarettes to ingredients found in soda. The artificial sweetener aspartame’s controversial connection to cancer has long been debated since Coca-Cola first added it to Diet Coke in 1983. And recent issues with 4-MI (also 4-MEI), found in the artificial color added to Coca-Cola and other popular brands of soda products, have...
What’s the Deal with Inhalable Caffeine?
If you enjoy the performance-enhancing effects of the stimulant caffeine but hate the taste and hassle of making coffee, then inhalable caffeine may be for you. AeroShot is a new product sold in a small container the size of a lipstick tube that delivers a blast of caffeine straight to your lungs, no cream and sugar needed.
Read more… http://dlvr.it/1JjjjJ
The 5 Best Culinary Herbs You’ve Never Heard Of
It’s just about garden season, and whether you’re growing basil on your windowsill or religiously buying parsley at the farmers market, you’ve committed to having fresh herbs in the kitchen at all times. But, just like other vegetables in our lives, we’ve gotten used to the same ol’ modern varieties—basil, parsley, cilantro, rosemary, thyme—and have maybe forgotten about other traditional...
3 Radical Ways to Grow Veggies Indoors
There’s no getting around it, fellow urban dwellers. It’s straight up difficult for us to grow our own food. Lack of space, soil, sunlight and fresh air make it a pure challenge to successfully garden—these are the very elements that plants need to thrive! But thanks to the ingenuity of today’s green engineers, we’re getting new technologies every day that help us get one step closer to...
Keep It Flowin': How Much Water a Day Is the...
There’s a little debate about how much water a person should drink each day – you’ve probably come across different recommendations yourself. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, six to eight, 8-ounce glasses of water is the general recommended amount for a healthy person to drink each day, but it depends a bit on the individual.
Read more… http://dlvr.it/1JjjhJ
Get Your Container Garden Growing, Now!
The sweet smell of spring is in the air. Spring’s the time when the faint smell of humidity elicits joy rather than annoyance. Everything’s green, starting to bud, and — oh, wait. A local meteorologist just said a mild freeze is going to hit next Thursday morning. Lovely. Just lovely.
Spring comes with inherent temperature spikes and plunges that can make spring seedlings,...
