I’d like to introduce you to Jon Bansen. Jon was a regular dairy farmer who changed over to organic and says it’s the best thing he’s over done and he’s now 10 times a better farmer than before. He says we got so caught up with increasing production we lost focus on biology.
In this short (3:40 minute) video Jon talks from personal experience about cows from regular (non-organic) dairy farms being more stressed due to:
cows standing on concrete rather than grazing on the land
eating a highly acidic diet of grain rather than grass
higher levels of bacteria due to grain
fertilisers
hormone treatments
After watching this, does it change the way you feel about non-organic milk? Which milk would you rather your kids drank?
One of the biggest controversies in the Organic industry is “How do I know it’s really organic?” And it’s a fair question given that by consuming organic foods we often have substantially higher monthly grocery costs. In 1998 average costs of organic foods were 57% higher than conventional foods.
New US labelling government regulations say that it will be a lot easier for consumers to have confidence that they are buying organic but industry groups say it’s not enough.
Organic food sales have shot up from $180 million in 1980 to over $6.5 billion last year. Grocery stores sales now made up 56% of organic food sales in the past year. Although organic food sales only make up 2% of national food sales, the organic market has definitely begun soaring, especially on Wall Street. Experts expect the figure to more than double by the year 2010.
The USDA has finally released an official definition of what qualifies as organic food in response to the great increase in sales. It is also developing labeling standards which should be in effect by this summer. Up until the past couple of months, a definition of what actually qualifies as organic foods did not even exist. Throughout the past decade farmers and conventional farming organizations have been debating the need for federal organic labeling.
Fear that the organic labels would create an unfair bias against conventional products kept conventional farmers from encouraging labeling. In December 2006, the Grocery Manufactures of America actually complained about the new organic standards, [warning - laughter alert] claiming that the new labels will mislead consumers into believing that organic products are safer and more nutritious.
Ummm, yeah… just in case you are completely new to organic, let’s list why organic products could possibly be better for you:
Organic foods are safer, since they contain fewer pesticides,
more nutritious because they contain more trace minerals and nutrients, and
better for the environment because organic growing practices are kinder to the soil, sky, and water.
And if that wasn’t enough, more and more doctors believe that organic foods are safe and are well worth the additional cost. Those doctors who support organic eating believe that the cumulative effects of toxins in our food, water, and air can be extremely harmful to our health. They also believe that anything we can do to reduce the toxins is well worth it.
The agricultural secretary must have a great sense of humour denying the accusation of bias stating that although the organic seal will give more validity to organic products, the seal will not imply that organic foods are safer or more nutritious.
The new USDA standards mean you will get better organic food for your buck due to an official and national standard for what foods can be called organic. At last, you will now know with certainty that the organic foods you purchase contain no synthetic pesticides and no added chemicals. Organic farmers will also use no genetic engineering, no irradiation and no sewage fertilization. Additionally, live-stock raised under these standards will be given 100% organic feed and will not be treated with antibiotics. Before the standardization, consumers often had to trust misleading labeling claims on organic products.
Consumer and environmental groups criticized the new regulations, saying they don’t go far enough, particularly in terms of labeling GM foods.
The FDA says it will not allow labels like “GM-free,” “GMO-Free” or “biotech-free.” The agency says guaranteeing a product to be free of GM material is virtually impossible. Instead the labels will have to say the food was not produced through bioengineering. The FDA said it may take legal action against companies that violate these guidelines.
Keep in mind, these regulations are for food only. Toiletries and cleaning products aren’t regulated so take a quick look at the ingredients on that shampoo and body wash claiming it’s Organic and you’ll soon see for yourself.
Monday night I had the pleasure of hearing Dr Udo Erasmus present live.
When you meet Udo, you’ll soon realize he looks great for his age. He was born during WWII which makes him in his 60s but he definitely doesn’t look it or act it. He looks like he’s in his 50s and I wasn’t the only one struggling to keep up during his presentation.
Why is Dr Udo an Expert I Should Listen To?
The short answer to this is - the man is an expert on biology and nutrition. He cured himself of pesticide poisoning with Essential Fatty Acids.
In his book, “Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill” Udo Erasmus argues that proper use of fats can even reverse cancer, diabetes, PMS, asthma, addictions, and more. His book takes an in-depth look at the oil industry and the politics of health.
“Essential fats are the most abundant in seed oils but the problem with the majority of oils found on grocery store shelves is that they have been damaged during processing. We should avoid such oils and choose EFA rich oils made with health in mind. Healthful oils come from organically grown seeds and are low temperature pressed under protection from heat, light and oxygen.”
He’s created his own blend of Omega 3, 6 and 9 that is available at good health stores. His brand new product is a Vegetarian DHA (fish oil) version. If you want to know how you have a vegetarian fish oil, it’s a great question and click here for the answer.
You’ve probably heard that there are oils that are essential to the body, especially the brain. Udo relates how pregnant women often become forgetful and says that it’s because the body is creating a new brain for the growing baby the body then has to support 2 brains and the oils get drawn from the mother causing the mental lapses. Add the right oils to your diet and this problem goes away. This is also great news for people with alzheimers. Forget Sudoko Dr Udo says.
Udo goes on to say that heating fats to boiling temperature changes the chemistry and turning them toxic.We’ve all heard how most oils become dangerous Trans Fatty Acids when heated. Trans fats have been all over the news the last couple of years because the government has recognised how they are directly related to poor health and now trans fats are required to be shown on product labelling.
What surprised me though was how he described the process of getting toxins out of non organic oils, particularly fish oils. He said the process oils are put through to remove pesticides, mercury and other nasties counteracts the goodness from the oils and can even make them toxic to your body!
“Supermarket oils are treated with Drano window-washing acid bleach in order to give them a long shelf life. They’re treated with a corrosive base, corrosive acid, then bleached to clean up the rancidity.”
YUCK! Draino and bleach used in my oil?! Ok, that’s enough to make sure that I only buy organic extra virgin olive oil and use either butter or coconut oil when I do heat fat (for instance the butter on my beloved popcorn).
Tony Robbins raves about Udos oil and while I was doing the week-long cleanse we were given Udos oil every day. I continued taking Udos oil and people would often comment on how soft my skin is. I stopped taking the oil about a year ago because it didn’t seem important and I’ve noticed that my skin has definitely changed, it is drier and is starting to look older. That alone should have kicked me into action.
What really caught my attention when he said the oils help detoxify the body, drawing toxins out of the tissues and eliminating them. This finally got me to start taking Udos oil again because I want to help get mercury and pesticides out of my body.
Why is Udo against Fish Oil?
Udo is against fish oils because of damage done to the oil during processing. “In addition, there are concerns about fish oil contamination by pesticides, mercury, dioxins, and chlorinated pesticides. The removal of these toxins requires more processing with further destruction of fish oil molecules. Finally, even the cleanest fish oils are not free of contaminants.”
Udo shared how Inuit (Eskimo) children consume whale fat as part of their diet which is normally quite high in essential fatty acids but because of the processing, the children have actually been showing symptoms of being deficient in Essential Fatty Acids.
So how do you use Oil to Lose Weight?
When losing weight most of us focus on cutting fats and oils out of our diet. I know I definitely focussed on this. The problem is that we cut out the good fats as well as the bad fats.
On his website, Dr Udo says “Flax oil, which contains the omega-3s, should be considered a “must have” supplement for bodybuilders. If bodybuilders want to lose subcutaneous fat, then I’d highly recommend additional flax oil. The muscles will look shredded! Some of the bodybuilders that I’ve worked with have taken up to 14 tablespoons of the blend with amazing results. Flax oil alone may not be enough, though.”
My conclusion… I didn’t like drinking oil and I thought by eating organic avocados and salmon I was getting the essential fatty acids I needed but just looking at the results in my body - my skin and the advancing health symptoms I’ve had this year, I am now going back to making sure I get the optimal blend of EFAs.
