5 Simple Ways to Reduce Food Waste

By EARTHEASY.COM Posted MAY 28, 2012

Would you care if the cost of food went up 30 percent? Well, you’re paying that premium right now if you fall within the Department of Agriculture’s average of wasting over a quarter of your food.

Wasted food is the second-largest component of municipal solid waste in the U.S. In 2010, over 34 million tons of food waste was produced, accounting for almost 14 percent of the total waste stream. Only a fraction of this waste was recovered through composting programs, leaving 33 million tons to go into landfills where the decomposing food produces methane, a greenhouse gas more than 20 times as damaging as carbon dioxide.

Food waste also results in huge energy and water losses associated with producing the wasted food. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that people in the U.S. waste about 27 percent of their food. Government scientists today are realizing that finding ways to reduce food waste represents a largely unrecognized opportunity to conserve energy and help control global warming.

Their analysis of wasted food and the energy needed to produce it, reported in the journalEnvironmental Science & Technology, concluded that the U.S. wasted about 2030 trillion BTU of energy in 2007, or the equivalent of about 350 million barrels of oil. That represents about 2 percent of annual energy consumption in the U.S.

3 Superfoods You Should Know (But Probably Don’t)

Mind Body Green

By Angelina Helene
June 4, 2013 7:35 AM EDT

Superfoods — the word just conjures up those wonderful health foods that seem to have mystical powers. Well, if they don’t, they SHOULD!

Supefoods are just that – they’re SUPER! They typically pack a big punch in a somewhat small dose; think goji berries, cacao, bee pollen and spirulina. These are things you definitely don’t want to consume by the cupful!

While health food stores are filled with various “new” superfoods, don’t think for a minute this is some sort of fad. Superfoods have been around for many years, and while there seems to be an endless rotation of what’s coined the newest and best superfood around, try not to let the other tried and true items fall by the wayside. I’d like to introduce you to three “old-school” superfoods. Each of these had gained popularity as far back as the 60s and definitely should earn a place among your superfood collection.

1. Brewer’s Yeast

While every raw foodist touts the taste and benefits of nutritional yeast, there’s another yeast that once held the crown as the most nutrient-rich and beneficial. While brewer’s yeast is typically thought of as a byproduct of beer brewing, there are brands presently that are grown on sugar beets. 

Why you need to try it: This healthy yeast strain — Saccharomyces cerevisiae — is commonly recommended by holistic practitioners to fight against candida overgrowth. Rich in protein, fiber, B vitamins and minerals, it can cure skin conditions, promote hair growth, increase energy, balance blood sugar and provide good bacteria to keep your gut healthy!

Use Yogic Breathing To Calm Down In 6 Seconds

Mind Body Green

By Melissa Mak
June 6, 2013 7:17 AM EDT

I was trained by the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta in India, where my teachers told me that the secret in pranayama was in the exhalation, not the inhalation. To calm down when we’re flustered or angry, most therapists teach us to use our breathing. Everyone thinks that the secret is in the inhalation. The more I can inhale and fill my lung, the more calm I am, right?

Wrong.

Scientists led by Heather Mason of University of Roehampton (UK) have suggested that equal periods of inhalation and exhalation be used by yoga newbies to gain maximum stimulation of the vagus nerve.

The vagus nerve, located in our brain, is in charge of our parasympathetic nervous system — it decreases our heart rate and blood pressure by deactivating the human’s “fight or flight” mechanisms, including anxiety.

When you stimulate your vagus nerve through breathing, you gain control over your raging heart rate and rising blood pressure. As they decrease, so does your activation in the anger and anxiety departments. 

Food industry front groups exposed in new report: Monsanto, Coke, Pepsi and more

Wednesday, June 05, 2013 by: J. D. Heyes

(NaturalNews) Some say it’s the best public relations that money can buy, because when you can’t refute the truth about an issue, the next-best thing to do is stack the deck in your favor.

The third edition of a report released last month by the International Food Information Council Foundation is anything but the “reasonable and helpful document” it may outwardly appear to be, writes Michele Simon, JD, MPH, of the Center for Food Safety, in a recent blog post.

Rather, she says, it “is in fact the product of a well-oiled PR machine whose board of trustees includes executives from such food giants such as Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, and Mars.”

Phony front groups pushing bad biotechnology

The report, “Food Biotechnology: A Communicator’s Guide to Improving Understanding,” was written and reviewed by lots of folks with great credentials, but they clearly are pushing a “biotechnology” answer to today’s food issues. From the “Dear Colleagues” intro:

As farmers and other food producers discover the opportunities provided by food biotechnology, there is a growing interest in the safety and sustainability of these foods. Although foods produced through biotechnology have been safely consumed for more than 15 years, they remain a controversial topic around the world, with some individuals raising questions about their safety, environmental impact, and regulation.