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Senin, 23 Agustus 2010

It’s time for civet coffee for Lampung farmers

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung | Thu, 08/12/2010 8:52 AM

Cashing in on the rising popularity of civet coffee is hard for coffee farmers in West Lampung regency, Lampung, to resist.

Farmer Wahyu Anggoro in Lampung district said 1 kilogram of luwak or civet coffee beans could fetch between Rp 250,000 [US$28] and Rp 750,000, while regular dried coffee beans were sold at Rp 15,000 a kilogram. “One kilogram of ground civet coffee could fetch up to Rp 1 million,” said Wahyu.

Civet coffee is made from hard beans eaten by nocturnal animals, which then ferment in their stomachs before they are excreted with their shape intact. After being gathered, washed, sun dried, light roasted and brewed, the coffee is highly prized for its smooth flavor and non-bitter aftertaste, earning it the reputation of the world’s most expensive coffee.

The Indonesian Ulemas Council recently considered declaring the coffee haram but asserted it could be consumed (halal) if farmers cleaned the beans before they are ground.

Droppings used to be eagerly collected by farmers, believing the civet only picked and ate the finest coffee berries. Now the coffee is mostly produced by farmers.

In West Lampung, mainly in Belalau and Balikbukit districts, in recent years the coffee has been marketed locally and overseas, mostly to Korea and Taiwan.

Farmers raise between four to dozens of civets, feeding them with ripe coffee beans freshly picked from the farm. There are 10 luwak coffee trading groups in West Lampung, each able to sell up to more than 7 tons of coffee monthly.

“Traders from Thailand have come especially to buy luwak coffee. Traders usually sell it at higher prices of up to Rp 1 million per kilogram to visitors.,” Wahyu said.

Wahyu said traders should keep updated, such as determining the latest price of civet coffee on the global market, learning how to boost production and improve quality.

“In Lampung, luwak coffee is cheap, but not overseas. That’s why its production is very promising,” Governor Sjachroedin said. A cup of the coffee costs Rp 20,000 in a Bandarlampung hotel and only Rp 10,000 in the city’s cafes.

“We will help coffee farmers to process and package civet coffee, and help its marketing.”

Kamis, 19 Agustus 2010

Are You Allergic to Cow's Milk?

It is commonly known that cow's milk is one of the food allergies that children have issues with. The reason why is probably the first foreign protein they come across. While cow's milk allergies in babies is gradually becoming common, a majority of allergic children outgrow them before their seventh birthday. Unfortunately, lactose intolerance is rarely outgrown and normally becomes worse from time to time. Being caught up in a milk allergy is an allergy to all dairy products which includes cheese, milk and butter. All these milk products will not be tolerated.

Lactose Intolerance

Lactose is the main sugar that is found in all dairy products including all types of milk. When one is lactose intolerant, this simply means that you are not able to digest this type of sugar. This usually happens as there is a shortage of digestive enzyme known as lactase. Lactase is normally produced in the small intestine and is responsible for breaking down milk sugar, making it easier to be absorbed into the blood stream. When there is insufficient lactase to digest lactose gastrointestinal symptoms surface. These symptoms commonly diarrhea, bloating, cramps and nausea.

The severity of these symptoms varies in every individual, depending on how lactose intolerant one is. In other term, how much lactase is produced by each intestine. Also, it depends on how much lactose is being consumed.

No doubt there is an ethnic link to this condition and Westernized Africans and South-east Asians tend to be one of the largest victims with as many as 90 percent suffering. A tiny percentage of babies are actually born without the ability to produce lactase which makes feeding very difficult. There are other causes including digestive disorders, injuries to the small intestine and also repeated courses of antibiotics which will destroy the healthy bacteria and upset the intestine's ability to produce this enzyme. However, this is normally easy to be resolved.

Young children with lactase deficiency should avoid food containing lactose. However adults or growing children can manage with small quantities but acceptable levels varies. Also, it is possible to purchase the lactase enzymes at health food shops or over any pharmacies. These lactase enzymes comes in a variety of forms including the drops and chewable tablets. Drops for example can be added to milk and left for a day after which the lactose content is lessened significantly. Chewable tablets are taken before any meal which contains lactose.

Next, find out more about Remedy rash

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Melissa_Kayden

Rabu, 18 Agustus 2010

Three Excellent Essential Oils For Relieving Stress

Essential oils have been around basically since the beginning of time, and utilized to relieve stress. Over the years, stress is increasingly becoming a problem for many. As technology continues to advance in our society, it seems that anxiety and stress go right along with it.

Regardless of why you or anyone in particular experiences high stress levels, whether it's work, people, events, or just the day to day stuff, essential oils can take the edge off and help you relax.

There are several reasons why essential oils are effective as a form of stress relief and popular among many. First, they provide relief quickly. Second, they come with no side effects as they are completely natural. Finally, they can be used in different forms: as a skin care product additive or in a bath, as well as massaged and diffused.

The following are several essential oils for stress relief:

Jasmine

Jasmine oil is a bit more expensive that some of the others, but there is a reason why. It has therapeutic properties that are very strong that make it very valuable.

An aphrodisiac, Jasmine can provide energy and calm emotions all at the same time. This oil helps fight against other health conditions including menstrual cramps, coughs, and headaches. It also improves the tone of a person's skin.

A wide range of Citrus oils, Sandalwood, Rose, and Bergamot can be blended with Jasmine very effectively.

Rose

Like Jasmine, Rose serves a lot of purposes as well. It's commonly mixed with additional oils such as Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Chamomile, Bergamot, and Patchouli. Rose can be utilized as a anti-depressant to bring about calmness and peace.

It's well recognized as being very helpful in helping one heal emotionally after experiencing a trauma. Conditions like asthma, bronchitis, impotency, and wrinkles are known to be treated by Rose essential oil.

Lavender

Lavender is a favorite essential oil for many. It can be gotten very easily and isn't very expensive. Lavender works well to relax, help one sleep, and treating depression and headaches.

Lavender essential oil can be mixed in with soaps, shower gels, bath salts, and a number of other personal care products. You can directly mix it in to your bath or diffuse it. An often used technique is to place some drops of it on your pillow when trying to fall asleep.

You can create an incredible mix of essential oils that will help you relax after you come home from a stressful day. Any of the oils mentioned above can create a peaceful and relaxing environment.

Read More

How you can benefit from geranium rose essential oil? Why the Bulgarian rose essential oil is special to many.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Holly_Moreland

Minggu, 15 Agustus 2010

Why Biofuels Are A Sustainable Solution

As the name implies, biofuels are fuels derived from organic material. Since they can be made in many ways, they are classified as 1st generation, 2nd generation, and 3rd generation.

First generation bio-fuels are the more common fuels that are produced from food crops and animal fats. Some examples include bio-diesel, vegetable oil, and bio-gas.

Second generation bio-fuels are made from waste biomass, making them a more sustainable solution as compared to their 1st gen counterparts. They include various alcohols (such as ethanol) and diesel derived from wood and even human excrement.

Third generation bio-fuels are generally made from algae that are farmed on a massive scale. By way of photosynthesis and the breaking down of carbon dioxide, the carbohydrates extracted from these micro-organisms is used to make various fuels.

So what separates bio-fuels from fossil fuels?

Bio-fuels differ from fossil fuels in the following ways:

1. Where bio-fuels can be made very quickly, fossil fuels take millions of years to be made.
2. The pollution from fossil fuels is far more severe. Although burning bio-fuels also creates emissions, the carbon dioxide is more environmentally friendly and absorbed easily by crops and organisms.
3. Fossil fuels are non-renewable, whereas bio-fuels tend be more renewable. As long as there is human excrement, there will be bio-fuels. Furthermore, with the help of crop rotation, there can be an endless supply of bio-fuels.

This leads us on to the advantages of bio-fuels:

* As more people use bio-fuels, it lowers the demand on pollution creating fossil-fuels.
* This helps reduce harmful carbon emissions, making bio-fuels more friendly for the environment.
* And since they can be made from almost any organic substance, bio-fuels are a cheap alternative for consumers.

Bio-fuels sound too good to be true. There must be some disadvantages to producing and using them. So, are there any?

Like any new technology, of course there are disadvantages

Although they are environmentally friendly, bio-fuels have been ironically criticized by the environmental community, for the reasons given below:

* It has long been debated on the usefulness on first generation bio-fuels as compared to the shortage of food they could cause. Producing bio-fuels from crops make the food worthless for us to eat. And some people believe that we should rather use those crops to cure world hunger than to power our vehicles and homes.
* The large farmlands necessary to produce first and third generation bio-fuels can result in us encroaching on the natural ecology of plants and animals.

So you can see, biofuels are still a contentious issue. HoweverFree Reprint Articles, we believe that with the correct management - such as crop rotation - and improved technology biofuels can be a sustainable solution that will do more good than harm. But only time will tell.

Article Tags: Sustainable Solution, Generation Bio-fuels Are, Made From, From Fossil, Fossil Fuels

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tim McDonald and his wife have been living off the grid since June 2008. If you want to learn more about DIY Renewable Energy and save thousands on your electricity bills, then be sure to Get the Earth4Energy Sneak Peek, before you go out and start any renewable energy project.

Kamis, 12 Agustus 2010

Why Organic?

Organic Food is More Nutritious

Organic foods, especially raw or non-processed, contain higher levels of beta carotene, vitamins C, D and E, health-promoting polyphenols, cancer-fighting antioxidants, flavonoids that help ward off heart disease, essential fatty acids, and essential minerals.

Organic Food is More Nutritious - On average, organic is 25% more nutritious in terms of vitamins and minerals than products derived from industrial agriculture. Since on the average, organic food's shelf price is only 20% higher than chemical food, this makes it actually cheaper, gram for gram, than chemical food, even ignoring the astronomical hidden costs (damage to health, climate, environment, and government subsidies) of industrial food production.

Levels of antioxidants in milk from organic cattle are between 50% and 80% higher than normal milk. Organic wheat, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, onions and lettuce have between 20% and 40% more nutrients than non-organic foods.

The Principles of Organic Agriculture - IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements)

These Principles are the roots from which organic agriculture grows and develops. They express the contribution that organic agriculture can make to the world, and a vision to improve all agriculture in a global context.

Agriculture is one of humankind's most basic activities because all people need to nourish themselves daily. History, culture and community values are embedded in agriculture. The Principles apply to agriculture in the broadest sense, including the way people tend soils, water, plants and animals in order to produce, prepare and distribute food and other goods. They concern the way people interact with living landscapes, relate to one another and shape the legacy of future generations.

The Principles of Organic Agriculture serve to inspire the organic movement in its full diversity. They guide IFOAM's development of positions, programs and standards. Furthermore, they are presented with a vision of their world-wide adoption.

Organic agriculture is based on:

The principle of health
The principle of ecology
The principle of fairness
The principle of care

Each principle is articulated through a statement followed by an explanation. The principles are to be used as a whole. They are composed as ethical principles to inspire action.

Principle of health

Organic Agriculture should sustain and enhance the health of soil, plant, animal, human and planet as one and indivisible.

This principle points out that the health of individuals and communities cannot be separated from the health of ecosystems - healthy soils produce healthy crops that foster the health of animals and people.
Health is the wholeness and integrity of living systems. It is not simply the absence of illness, but the maintenance of physical, mental, social and ecological well-being. Immunity, resilience and regeneration are key characteristics of health.

The role of organic agriculture, whether in farming, processing, distribution, or consumption, is to sustain and enhance the health of ecosystems and organisms from the smallest in the soil to human beings. In particular, organic agriculture is intended to produce high quality, nutritious food that contributes to preventive health care and well-being. In view of this it should avoid the use of fertilizers, pesticides, animal drugs and food additives that may have adverse health effects.

Principle of ecology

Organic Agriculture should be based on living ecological systems and cycles, work with them, emulate them and help sustain them.

This principle roots organic agriculture within living ecological systems. It states that production is to be based on ecological processes, and recycling. Nourishment and well-being are achieved through the ecology of the specific production environment. For example, in the case of crops this is the living soil; for animals it is the farm ecosystem; for fish and marine organisms, the aquatic environment.

Organic farming, pastoral and wild harvest systems should fit the cycles and ecological balances in nature. These cycles are universal but their operation is site-specific. Organic management must be adapted to local conditions, ecology, culture and scale. Inputs should be reduced by reuse, recycling and efficient management of materials and energy in order to maintain and improve environmental quality and conserve resources.

Organic agriculture should attain ecological balance through the design of farming systems, establishment of habitats and maintenance of genetic and agricultural diversity. Those who produce, process, trade, or consume organic products should protect and benefit the common environment including landscapes, climate, habitats, biodiversity, air and water.

Principle of fairness

Organic Agriculture should build on relationships that ensure fairness with regard to the common environment and life opportunities

Fairness is characterized by equity, respect, justice and stewardship of the shared world, both among people and in their relations to other living beings.

This principle emphasizes that those involved in organic agriculture should conduct human relationships in a manner that ensures fairness at all levels and to all parties - farmers, workers, processors, distributors, traders and consumers. Organic agriculture should provide everyone involved with a good quality of life, and contribute to food sovereignty and reduction of poverty. It aims to produce a sufficient supply of good quality food and other products.

This principle insists that animals should be provided with the conditions and opportunities of life that accord with their physiology, natural behavior and well-being.

Natural and environmental resources that are used for production and consumption should be managed in a way that is socially and ecologically just and should be held in trust for future generations. Fairness requires systems of production, distribution and trade that are open and equitable and account for real environmental and social costs.

Principle of care

Organic Agriculture should be managed in a precautionary and responsible manner to protect the health and well-being of current and future generations and the environment.

Organic agriculture is a living and dynamic system that responds to internal and external demands and conditions. Practitioners of organic agriculture can enhance efficiency and increase productivity, but this should not be at the risk of jeopardizing health and well-being. Consequently, new technologies need to be assessed and existing methods reviewed. Given the incomplete understanding of ecosystems and agriculture, care must be taken.

This principle states that precaution and responsibility are the key concerns in management, development and technology choices in organic agriculture. Science is necessary to ensure that organic agriculture is healthy, safe and ecologically sound. However, scientific knowledge alone is not sufficient. Practical experience, accumulated wisdom and traditional and indigenous knowledge offer valid solutions, tested by time. Organic agriculture should prevent significant risks by adopting appropriate technologies and rejecting unpredictable ones, such as genetic engineering. Decisions should reflect the values and needs of all who might be affected, through transparent and participatory processes.

Are Organic Foods Really About Better Nutrition? Source: The Nature Conservancy

A few weeks ago, word got out that a review being published in September's American Journal of Clinical Nutrition had concluded that organic foods are not healthier or more nutritious than conventional food.

Organic advocates were outraged. Mildly engaged consumers began to wonder if organics were really worth the higher price tag.

Momentarily leaving aside some the review's conclusions, my first thought was: Is higher nutritional quality really what motivates consumers to buy organic food, anyway? Isn't it more about what's not in the food than what is?

Most people I know who make a point of buying organic do so to avoid ingesting antibiotics, pesticides and other toxins. Sure, if my organic tomato had a few more vitamins than a conventionally grown one, that would be a nice bonus, but it's not the reason I'm buying it.

And according to the Organic Trade Association, there are plenty of other good reasons to buy organic food that don't have anything to do with what goes in your body. The association provides information on how organic agriculture can improve soil fertility, prevent chemical fertilizers from polluting waterways and accommodate higher species diversity.

The environmental reach of conventionally grown food is longer than most of us can even imagine. I stopped buying non-organic bananas after a short visit to Costa Rica revealed something about the industry I never would have known about: the use of plastic bags.

During my visit, my colleague and I drove past millions of banana trees, but I never saw a single banana. Instead, I saw big, blue plastic bags covering each banana bunch on every single tree.

My colleague explained that these bags were filled with pesticides and placed over the bananas to protect them from insects that might cause brown spots on the fruit, making them aesthetically unappealing to American consumers.

According to FleetWatch, these bags are used three times before being recycled, but locals will tell you that these blue bags are everywhere, littering the forest floor and choking rivers and streams.

But back to the review.

The review of 55 studies from 1958 to 2008 found that conventionally produced crops had a higher content of nitrogen, while organically produced crops had higher phosphorous and acidity content. No differences were found between the two classes of crops for the other nutrient categories - including vitamin C, zinc, and calcium - that were analyzed.

The review, funded by the U.K. Food Standards Agency, didn't look for differences in pesticide residues between organic and conventional growing methods.

Organic advocates had strong objections to the review for a number of reasons.

Michael Hansen, Ph.D., a senior scientist at Consumers Union, cited the use of older studies as a major flaw. He told WebMD that most studies done before 1980 probably had flawed methodologies, and newer studies show clear differences in nutrient content between the two growing methods.

Secondly, the study doesn't look at differences in polyphenols and certain antioxidants, which chief scientist for The Organic Center Charles Benbrook, Ph.D., says are 25 percent higher in organically grown food.

So, what does this mean for your food purchases?

Benbrook actually has some really sound advice: If you want to maximize the nutrient content of your produce, choose the freshest and most colorful fruits and vegetables. And if you want to minimize pesticide residues and environmental pollution, choose organic.

For now, my habits - choosing organic and local produce when I can - aren't changing.

Written by Margaret Southern Published on September 1st, 2009

Why Eat Organic, Locally Produced Foods?

1. Organic food is grown without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and in the case of animals and dairy produce without the use of routine antibiotics and growth hormones. Many of the chemicals used in conventional farming have been linked with cancer, ADHD, asthma and a variety of other diseases.
2. The majority of nutrients in fruit and vegetables are thought to sit in the stem of the fruit until 48 hours prior to ripening, when the nutrients move from the stem into the fruit or vegetables. Green harvesting (a common practice to allow time for large transportation distances) denies the eater of all the nutrients they need by picking the fruit and vegetables early and allowing it to ripen after picking.
3. Organic farming reduces the dependence on non-renewable resources.
4. Organic farming promotes biodiversity, encouraging full ecosystems on the farm.
5. Organic farming has a long sighted view, by maintaining good quality soil through the use of crop rotation and other traditional methods, combined with the use of modern scientific techniques. Chemical-based farming continues to deplete the soil year after year through the spraying of crops with toxic and often carcinogenic pesticides. As the insects become more resistant to the chemicals, stronger versions are required.
6. Buying local means you are saving the transportation costs and reducing fossil fuel use.
7. Organic foods have consistently been found to contain higher antioxidant levels than their non-organic counterparts.
8. Organic farming uses less water and generally organic crops fare better in years of drought.
9. If insects won't eat chemically sprayed crops, why would you??
10. Last but not least, organic produce tastes so much better!

Excerpted from www.cleanlife.com.au

Source : http://www.indonesiaorganic.com/

Selasa, 10 Agustus 2010

Sustainable agriculture - Introduction


Image Source : www.instructables.com

Wikipedia.com-Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals: environmental stewardship, farm profitability, and prosperous farming communities. These goals have been defined by a variety of disciplines and may be looked at from the vantage point of the farmer or the consumer.

Description

Sustainable agriculture refers to the ability of a farm to produce perpetually. Among other requirements, this means that any outside inputs employed for agriculture must be available indefinitely, so non-renewable resources are avoided. While air and sunlight are generally available in most geographic locations, crops also depend on soil nutrients and the availability of water. When farmers grow and harvest crops, they remove some of these nutrients from the soil. Without replenishment, the land would suffer from nutrient depletion and be unusable for further farming. Sustainable agriculture depends on replenishing the soil without using non-renewable resources, such as oil and natural gas, or deforestation. In some areas, sufficient rainfall is available for crop growth, but many other areas require irrigation. For irrigation systems to be sustainable they must be managed properly and not use more water from their source than is naturally replenished, otherwise the water source becomes, in effect, a non-renewable resource.

Conventional agriculture is often considered unsustainable for two reasons:

1 - Reliance on non-renewable resources

2 - Concern that some practices may cause long-term damage to soil, such as erosion from excessive tillage. Long-term experiments provide some of the best data on how various practices affect soil properties essential to sustainability. Organic farming is a promising alternative, but most organic food production currently uses both fossil fuels (for tractors) and tillage. Hydrogen made by electrolysis, using electricity from solar cells or windmills, may someday replace fossil fuels most farmers use to power tractors and the natural gas used in the manufacture of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer but this will invariably introduce other problems. Reducing erosion and restoring the human-nature relationship are research priorities for both conventional and organic systems.

Improvements in water well drilling technology and the development of submersible pumps have made it possible for large crops to be regularly grown where reliance on rainfall alone previously made this level of success unpredictable. However, this progress has come at a price, in that in many areas where this has occurred, such as the Ogallala Aquifer, the water is being used at a greater rate than its rate of recharge.

To make replenishment of nutrients sustainable, the best though difficult alternative may be to recycle crop waste, use livestock or human manure, and grow plants such as legumes, peanuts, or alfalfa that utilize special nitrogen-fixing bacteria called rhizobia

sustainabletable.org-Sustainable agriculture is a way of raising food that is healthy for consumers and animals, does not harm the environment, is humane for workers, respects animals, provides a fair wage to the farmer, and supports and enhances rural communities.

Characteristics of this type of agriculture include:
* Conservation and preservation. What is taken out of the environment is put back in, so land and resources such as water, soil and air can be replenished and are available to future generations. The waste from sustainable farming stays within the farm’s ecosystem and cannot cause buildup or pollution. In addition, sustainable agriculture seeks to minimize transportation costs and fossil fuel use, and is as locally-based as possible.
* Biodiversity. Farms raise different types of plants and animals, which are rotated around the fields to enrich the soil and help prevent disease and pest outbreaks. Chemical pesticides are used minimally and only when necessary; many sustainable farms do not use any form of chemicals.
* Animal welfare. Animals are treated humanely and with respect, and are well cared for. They are permitted to carry out their natural behaviors, such as grazing, rooting or pecking, and are fed a natural diet appropriate for their species.
* Economically viable. Farmers are paid a fair wage and are not dependent on subsidies from the government. Sustainable farmers help strengthen rural communities.
* Socially just. Workers are treated fairly and paid competitive wages and benefits. They work in a safe environment and are offered proper living conditions and food.

In 1990, the US government defined sustainable agriculture in Public Law 101-624, Title XVI, Subtitle A, Section 1683, as “an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will, over the long term, satisfy human food and fiber needs; enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends; make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls; sustain the economic viability of farm operations; and enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.”

The confusion with sustainable agriculture is that the definition is more a philosophy or way of life than a strict set of rules, and farmers can interpret the meaning differently. In addition, there is no legal obligation to follow any of the criteria for sustainability, so food can be labeled sustainable when in actuality it isn’t. Many terms that describe this type of food, such as natural or cage free, do not have a legal or clear definition (though the USDA is currently working on this). For example, cage-free chickens might not be raised in cages, but they could be raised in overcrowded conditions in indoor barns, which is still inhumane. See our Sustainable Dictionary for an explanation of these confusing labels.

That said, we must stress that the vast majority of sustainable farms are run by family farmers who are hardworking, honest and sincere people. They work all hours of the day and night to bring you the freshest, tastiest, best quality food available. Read on to find out how you can reconnect with your food and eat more sustainably.

If at any point you become confused, please remember that changing to sustainable eating is a process and will take a little time. Sustainable Table has been created to help make this transition as easy as possible and to guide you through any confusion.

Sustainable agriculture is more a way of life than a law or regulation. Each step you take benefits both you and your family, and helps preserve and protect the planet for future generations.

Minggu, 08 Agustus 2010

Top 7 Tips To Go Organic


Image Source :http://thehui.wordpress.com/

In the light of these studies, it is surprising that few studies have compared the health consequences of eating organic and conventionally grown produce. Any fruits and vegetables are better than none. In a study, those who ate the fewest plant foods had the highest cancer rates, and those who ate the most produce had the least cancer. Most pesticides are fat-soluble. If you eat plants that have been treated with them, you ingest a tiny amount of residue that accumulates in your fatty tissues, such as female breast tissue.

But the real problem develops when you eat animal fat. Food animals accumulate pesticides in their fat tissues throughout their lives. By the time people eat them, they have much higher levels than any of the feed plants they ate. When people eat meat, they consume most of the pesticides the animals ate. The higher up the food chain you eat, the more toxic chemicals you ingest. The cleanest produce is organic. Even organically grown fruits, vegetables, grains and beans may pick up some pesticide contamination because of chemicals in groundwater, in the air from neighbouring non-organic farms or from fumigation of trucks and warehouses. But compared with conventionally grown produce, organic fruits and vegetables are significantly cleaner. If you opt for organic fruits and vegetables, the good news is that they are more available than ever. Health food stores, farmer's markets and even some supermarkets now carry items called organic. So what are you waiting for?

1. Support Your Local Farmers

Buy foods in season and encourage your supermarket to stock locally grown items, which are less likely to be waxed and treated with postharvest pesticides during transport and storage.

2. Scrub Up

Wash all the fruits and vegetables with a dilute solution of dishwashing liquid and water. Use a vegetable brush. Chop spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and celery before washing.

3. Grow Your Own

No matter where you live, you can grow at least some of your own fruits and vegetables organically. If you do not buy organic, you can still minimize your exposure to pesticides by heeding the above suggestions.

4. Do Some Research

Contact your state agriculture department or local extension service for referrals to organic growers in your area. Contact the farmers and ask how they grow their produce and where they sell it.

5. Meet Your Greengrocer

Talk with your health food store or supermarket produce manager. Ask for organic produce.

6. Buy Your Produce By Mail

It is easier than you think. Pick those nearest to you for the freshest items and lowest shipping costs. Root vegetables - carrots, turnips and rutabagas - are excellent mail-order choices. They ship well, and when conventionally grown, root vegetables tend to accumulate higher levels of pesticides than other vegetables.

7. Exercise A Little Skepticism

Unless you trust the vendor, do not place too much faith in handwritten signs. Look for certification label. Labels include "Farm-Verified Organics." "Organic Crop Improvement Association," "Organic Growers and Buyers Association" and "California Certified Organic Farmers." Only California has a government-regulated organic certification program. The other certification labels are granted to members of voluntary associations who pledge to uphold certain voluntary standards. But any label is more trustworthy than a handwritten sign.

Raymond Lee Geok Seng is one of the foremost experts in the health and fitness industry and is a writer specializing in body health, muscle development and dieting. He has spent countless of time and efforts conducting research and share his insightful and powerful secrets to benefit men and women all over the world. He is currently the author of the latest edition of "Neck Exercises and Workouts." Visit http://www.bodyfixes.com for more information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Raymond_Geok_Seng_Lee

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