Have you got 1 thing that you'd love to change and want support to do it

I signed up for this program...you should check it out today!


Have you got 1 thing that you'd love to change and want support to do it

7 Foods So Unsafe Even Farmers Won't Eat Them - Planet Green

If you are at all interested in your health and the health of your family,
please read this article that we found posted by Julian Lennon through Yahoo! Shine:

7 Foods So Unsafe Even Farmers Won't Eat Them - Planet Green

Also of interest of genetically modified and engineered food in the USA,
is the movie The Future of Food, written, directed and produced by Deborah Koons Garcia

View the trailer here: The Future of Food

I wish you all a food-safe and happy holiday season!

Monthly Raw Food Un-Cooking Classes Starting in March 2011!

Hey Y'all! How are ya? It's been a while since I've last posted for reasons not unfamiliar to most of you. Life takes over, schedules change, careers call and other things get put on hold. Well, I am happy to announce something I've been developing for a while but haven't had the opportunity to put in place.

I am holding a Raw Food Un-Cooking Class on Saturday, March 5 from Noon until 2pm.
It will encompass a short lecture on the whats, whys and hows of raw foods, overcoming cravings, an overview of the recipes we will make and sample, with time for Q & A in between. We will prepare a menu of smoothies, breakfast items, lunch and dessert, so come hungry! Participants will receive lecture notes and recipes to take home. Cost is $15.00 per person and seating is limited. Reservations are necessary.

Please call me at (401) 568-7508 anytime or email me at raindrop6lf@yahoo.com.Thanks!

I hope to see you there!
Peace, Raindrop

END CORPORATE CONTROL OF YOUR FOOD!!

Reprinted from an e-mail I received 3/22/2010 from FOOD DEMOCRACY NOW!

End corporate control of your food!

The evidence is in: America’s food system is broken. Every week we read about record-breaking food safety recalls, a spiraling childhood obesity epidemic, and the continued loss of independent family farmers. All of these problems can be traced back to one thing: excessive consolidation by Big, Corporate Food. But change may be on the way.

Recently, the Departments of Justice and Agriculture held their first joint workshop here in Iowa to gather evidence of antitrust violations in food and agriculture.¹ We were encouraged by the workshop, the first of five to be held this year,² but also concerned that the same companies that have caused these problems were well represented on the panels, while the family farmers most negatively impacted by corporate food monopolies were only given the opportunity to speak after public officials had left the building.

Even though these workshops are an important first step, real family farmers must have a seat at the table. It will take all our voices to ensure that the Justice department holds giant agribusiness accountable. Please join us and tell the Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack that it’s time to break up America's corporate food monopolies before they do more harm.
http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/bust_up_big_food/124?akid=112.1503.l1fnze&t=7

The aisles of most American grocery stores give an overwhelming illusion of choice when it comes to our food. A closer look, however, quickly reveals that most of the meat, grain, milk — and even the grocery stores themselves — are all owned and controlled by just a few corporations.

The figures are startling:

• A single company (Monsanto) controls the seeds of 93% of soybeans and 80% of the corn grown in the U.S.³
• 4 companies (Tyson, Cargill, Swift & National Beef Packing Co.) control 83% of the beef packing industry⁴
• 4 companies (Smithfield, Tyson, Swift & Cargill) control 66% of the pork packing industry

For too long now, food and agricultural production has been consolidated into the hands of a few agribusiness giants. These companies dictate to us how our food is produced, how much farmers are paid for their crops and livestock and how much consumers pay for food.

Food Democracy Now! participated in last week's workshop. We heard Attorney General Eric Holder talk about the “reckless deregulation that has restricted competition in agriculture” and promise that the Dept. of Justice, under his watch, was committed to “vigorous enforcement” of U.S. antitrust laws. But given the power of the companies on the other side, we know that the change we need will not come easily. We must stand together and make our voices heard in favor of a fair and democratic food system!

Please support Secretary Vilsack and Attorney General Holder as they move forward. Join them today in pushing for real enforcement of U.S. antitrust laws and an end to America’s food monopolies. It only takes a moment. And after you've signed the petition, please ask your friends and family to do the same.
http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/bust_up_big_food/124?akid=112.1503.l1fnze&t=9

Thank you for participating in food democracy –
Dave, Lisa and The Food Democracy Now Team

We need to keep the pressure on! Please donate to Food Democracy Now today – whether it’s $5 or $50. We rely on folks like you to keep us going. Thank you!

P.S. The next hearing will be in Normal, Alabama on May 21st 2010, and will focus on the poultry industry, followed by a hearing on the notoriously concentrated dairy industry in Madison, Wisconsin on June 7th. We’ll be sure to keep you informed.

Sources: 

1. US pledges to probe, bust agribusiness monopolies, Reuters, March 12, 2010
http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/125?akid=112.1503.l1fnze&t=12

2. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, Public Workshops, Agriculture and Antitrust Enforcement Issues in Our 21st Century Economy http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/94?akid=112.1503.l1fnze&t=14

3. Monsanto’s dominance draws antitrust inquiry, Patented seeds are go-to for farmers, who decry their fast-growing price, The Washington Post, November 29, 2009 http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/95?akid=112.1503.l1fnze&t=16

4. 2007 Concentration of Agricultural Markets report, compiled by Mary Hendrickson and William Heffernan of University of Missouri Department of Rural Sociology.

CONFUSED ABOUT YOUR DIET, RAW OR OTHERWISE?

As alot of you know, I have been following a 75% raw diet for the last two years. I started slowly and increased it over time. My goal is to become 100% raw, but I have no deadline at this point to accomplish 100% and I'm OK with that right now.  Living a raw food lifestyle is a choice and a commitment which can sometimes be difficult, but not impossible. It just takes planning. Too many of us are constantly on the go from the moment we awake until we drop like a stone in bed at the very latest hours. We eat on the go, we talk to our children on the go, we even work on the go. We need to take some time to slow down and literally smell the roses!

Lots of us make choices everyday with our homes, our cars, our jobs; we rarely do that with our bodies and our diets. We make choices everyday to eat what we eat, but don't think about it. It's mindless and "easy". But think of your doctor bills and dentist bills, health insurance and co-pays. Those are not easy to digest especially if you are one with ongoing health issues.

What I'd like you to do is really think about what you eat for a day, even write it down. Then, make a choice and a commitment to change just ONE thing you eat that is not healthy for you, either eliminating it or replacing it with something healthy. Choose something you actually like, such as a piece of fruit, some nuts or seeds or even a carrot and back it up with a reason why: Because it takes good, it's good for me, it's pure, it's simple and easy. Do that for one month and you won't go back to eating that "other" food again, whatever it WAS. Then do it again the next month, and again the month after that.

I'd like to introduce you to Nomi Shannon. She is THE RAW FOOD GOURMET and one of my heroes. She has practiced living and teaching the Raw Food Lifestyle for over 22 years, has won many awards and has helped thousands of people. She puts into perspective in an easy, loving, honest format the information you will need to change the way you think about food. Please join Nomi for a four month coaching program LIVE! You can ask questions, read her newsletter, join a fourm with other like-minded people and get started right away. Check out her website through this link for more information and how to sign up for this program.




Think positive and change will come!
Peace, love and light,
Raindrop

A Toke a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

This article was posted by Ann Pietrangelo 2/1/2010 and reprinted from the website http://www.care2.com/greenliving/a-toke-a-day-keeps-the-doctor-away.html
   Alone in her Birmingham, England home, a woman stirs a half teaspoon of cannabis into her hot tea. By seeking relief from pain and spasms caused by multiple sclerosis in this way she is, in the eyes of the law, a criminal.
    She doesn’t take this action lightly and is not out for a recreational high. She simply wants a reprieve from the relentless pain that plagues her and, after sipping her tea, generally experiences about three hours of relief. Only those who live in chronic pain can fully understand her anguish.
    Speaking of her predicament she says, “I want politicians to be nice to me… I’m sick.” One cannot put it more simply than that. (You can read the rest of her story and view the heartbreaking video on BBC News.)
Medical marijuana enjoys legal status in many parts of the world, where it is recognized as an effective treatment for chronic pain or nausea caused by conditions like multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, arthritis, and cancer. Canada, Chile, and the Netherlands have decriminalized or legalized it, and Australia and Belgium are conducting trials on its benefits.
    Patients report that use of medical marijuana provides relief from spasticity, nerve pain, tremors, sleeping disorders, nausea, and depression, greatly improving quality of life.
    In the United States and some other countries, social stigma and stereotypes twist the issue into a moral argument rather than a purely medical one.
Ironically, if you watch television for a few hours, you’ll be bombarded with ads for powerful prescription medications with lengthy lists of potential side-effects up to and including death, but they are perfectly legal… and encouraged.
    The side-effects associated with cannabis are mild in comparison. Long-term smoking of marijuana has some of the same negative effects as smoking tobacco (a legal substance) and is associated with some short-term cognitive problems. For those living life in chronic pain, it is a fair trade for improved quality of life. It is a very personal decision, one that should not be criminal.
    In the U.S., 14 states allow some use of medical marijuana with a doctor’s approval (Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington), and legislation was recently introduced in Maryland.
    The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration insists that legal medical marijuana already exists: “A pharmaceutical product, Marinol, is widely available through prescription. It comes in the form of a pill and is also being studied by researchers for suitability via other delivery methods, such as an inhaler or patch. The active ingredient of Marinol is synthetic THC, which has been found to relieve the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy for cancer patients and to assist with loss of appetite with AIDS patients.”
According to some patients who have tried Marinol, it is much more expensive than traditional marijuana and does not effectively relieve their symptoms. “If I smoke a joint, the tremors go away most times before the joint is gone,” says one man with multiple sclerosis. “It makes my life a little easier.” Marinol, by contrast, “didn’t really do much of anything for me,” he said.
    It is time for the United States let go of antiquated notions of marijuana and recognize its legitimate medical use. Stop penalizing the ill… please sign the petition asking the U.S. Congress to recognize the benefits of medicinal cannabis.

Writer Ann Pietrangelo embraces the concept of personal responsibility for health and wellness. As a person living with multiple sclerosis, she combines a healthy lifestyle and education with modern medicine, and seeks to provide information and support to others. She is a regular contributor to Care2.com’s Reform Health Policy blog in Causes. Follow on Twitter @AnnPietrangelo.

PISTACHIOS, The Smart Snack

This article was reprinted from the Pistachio Health website

Hungry? Choose pistachios. Among nuts, pistachios are one of the most nutritious varieties. A one-ounce serving of pistachios, with 49 kernels and 160 calories, gives you more than 30 different vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial nutrients.

Mmmmm, Minerals
Pistachios are a great source of copper, manganese, and phosphorus, which help build strong, healthy bones. They also contain significant amounts of potassium and magnesium, which help regulate heart rate and blood pressure.

A Victory for Vitamins!
An especially rich source of vitamin B6 and the other B vitamins, pistachios can help you fight infections, build muscles, and give you a boost of energy.

Preventative Measures
Pistachios are full of antioxidants, which are great for helping to prevent cell damage. In a USDA study, pistachios were placed in the group with the highest antioxidant capacity, as compared to over 100 different foods. 1

Eye Gotcha!
Lutein and zeaxanthin may sound like mystery words, but they’re great for your eyes. Pistachios are the only nuts to contain a significant amount of these powerful antioxidants, which help reduce your risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of blindness in adults over 65.

Fabulous Fiber
Most Americans aren’t getting enough fiber.2 Luckily, a snack of crunchy pistachios can provide three grams of dietary fiber, or about 12% of the recommended daily value. That’s about the same amount as in a serving of oatmeal!

References
1. Wu, X., Beecher, G. R., Holden, J. M., Haytowitz, D. B., Gebhardt, S. E., & Prior, R. L. (2004). Lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidant capacities of common foods in the United States. J Agric Food Chem, 52(12), 4026-4037.↑
2. US Department of Health and Human Services, and US Department of Agriculture. (2005). Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. Washington DC: US Government Printing Office.↑