Category Archives: Organic Farming/Organic Food

Alert: KALE superfood – a hyper-accumulator of heavy metals

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Kale is heralded for its ample supplies of calcium, magnesium, potassium, Vitamin K, and various healthful phytochemicals and anti-oxidants. But the superfood is hiding a nasty secret: dangerous levels of heavy metals.

In a recent study, molecular biologist Ernie Hubbard found that kale—along with cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and collard greens—is a hyper-accumulator of heavy metals like thallium and cesium. What’s more, traces of nickel, lead, cadmium, aluminum, and arsenic are also common in greens, and this contamination affected both organic and standard produce samples.

 The source? Its soil. “If it’s left in the ground, the leafy greens are going to take it up,” Hubbard told Craftmanship magazine. READ MORE…

WE ARE ENTERING THE SIXTH EXTINCTION: SOLUTIONS WITH FUNGI

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Paul Stamets, a leading mycologist, has discovered a way to keep insects off crops without the need for chemical-pesticides. Stamets’ “pesticide,” dubbed SMART pesticides, uses “entomopathogenic fungi (fungi that destroys insects).” It is able to control over 200,000 species of pests and he patented it back in 2006.  READ MORE…

 

Feds Shutdown Pennsylvania Seed exchange Library

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Agri-Terrorism? Feds Shut Down Seed Library in Pennsylvania!

In yet another example of the federal government’s war on self-sufficiency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture shut down a seed library in Pennsylvania, claiming that a system whereby residents could borrow heirloom seeds and then replace them at harvest time was a violation of the 2004 Seed Act, while a commissioner warned that such behavior could lead to “agri-terrorism.”

Comment:  “Gosh, this makes me wonder when they are going to crack down on all of those GMO fields, with their grave concerns about cross-pollination,” writes Daisy Luther. “Look out, Monsanto…oh, wait. This only applies to regular people growing vegetables. GMOs aren’t considered an invasive species.  Read More…

VLA comment:  I wonder if Senator Kerry and his wife (Theresa Heinz..Heinz Foundation) who run Pennsylvania in a lot of ways has a comment on this?

GMO VACCINES – APPROVED BY USDA FOR ORGANIC LIVESTOCK

   

At present, the National List identifies all vaccines, as a group, as synthetic substances allowed for use in organic livestock production. Vaccines are not individually listed on the National List, but rather are included on as a group of synthetic substances termed “Biologics Vaccines,” that may be used in organic livestock production (7 CFR §205.603(a)(4)).  READ MORE/SEE CHART

New sustainable agricultural technolgy improves growth by 30%

EIDSGoodby to global warming, GM and pesticides

Read more…

MIRACLE GROW: Treated water results in larger, healthier crops, says Professor Austin Darragh of Limerick University

The technology – radio wave energised water – massively increases the output of vegetables and fruits by up to 30 per cent.

Not only are the plants much bigger but they are largely disease-resistant, meaning huge savings in expensive fertilisers and harmful pesticides.

Extensively tested in Ireland and several other countries, the inexpensive water treatment technology is now being rolled out across the world.

Website to purchase…