My Organic Dream

"Use Less" - Can we ignore this?

2008-12-17T17:14:00.007+08:00

Do you ever wonder the importance of "Use Less"?

Here is a very interesting video about the importance of sustainable lifestyle and an American's view of a truly American economy. It explains in a simple and lucid manner, the cycle from Extraction - Production - Distribution - Consumption - Disposal...... a thought provoking view... hopefully we will be able to include more organic and bio-degradable stuff in our lifestyle... reducing the pressure on the ecology.

After seeing this video, you would agree that there is a need to adopt more eco-friendly lifestyle - as it depends on each of us, what kind of future we give to our next generations, the world they live in.

There are plenty of ideas all around: organic clothing, organic food, bio-degradable consumables & packaging, cutting down on avoidable energy consumption at home, office, using fuel-efficient vehicles / public transportation, and so on.

While the identity of a drop is lost in the ocean, it turns into a power to reckon when you put all those drops together. Each of us may be like a drop, but can try and make a small contribution towards more organic, eco-friendly lifestyle towards reducing the environmental damage. Let's spread this idea and take small steps in the right direction. For a green future.

To see the video, please click on the link below:

http://www.storyofstuff.com/index.html

Remember to keep aside 21 minutes of your busy schedule for this. But sincerely, it's worth spending those 21 minutes and know why "use less" is so important. Sometimes less can be more (important)... your contribution to our planet and our environment.

Organic Essentials - What makes something Organic

2008-12-11T10:50:00.008+08:00

It’s no secret that some of the things we think are good for us actually harbor some very dangerous additives and chemicals. It’s also common knowledge that when something is ‘organic’ its supposed to be better for us, but why exactly? Is there some kind of miracle method out there for farming fruits, vegetables, livestock, and grain?

The answer: yes and no.

Organic Production
Organic production is a very specialized process: so specialized that products must pass specific requirements to earn the ‘organic’ title. In fact, according to USDA standards, which went into effect Oct. 22, 2002, every step of the organic production process is analyzed individually: from how the product is grown, to how it is processed and distributed, making ‘organic’ a select label.

According to the USDA's National Organic Standards Board, ‘organic’ is a legal, defining term that denotes products manufactured under the authority of the Organic Foods Production Act. The principal guidelines for organic production are that farmers “use materials and practices that enhance the ecological balance of natural systems and that integrate the parts of the farming system into an ecological whole.”

Whether a product is intended for consumption or not, it must pass the exact same inspection requirements in order to be deemed ‘organic.’ For a product to have organic integrity it must be farmed in a way that maintains and replenishes soil fertility without the use of toxic pesticides and/or fertilizers, and it must also be produced without the use of antibiotics, synthetic hormones, irradiation, sewage sludge, or other excluded practices. More specifically, organic foods should be processed with minimal amounts of artificial ingredients and preservatives so they reach the consumer as naturally as possible.

The big question is, though, how does a consumer recognize an organic product?

USDA Standards
Since the term has so many legal implications, the USDA has designed the “USDA Organic” seal to symbolize organic production as well as very specific guidelines for using the seal. Though manufacturers do not have to specify whether a product is organic or not, they usually choose to do so, in which case the following requirements must be followed:
1. "100% Organic" - Products that are completely organic, containing only organically produced ingredients, may specify “100% Organic” on the label and can carry the “USDA Organic” seal.

2. "Organic" - Products that are made from at least 95% organic ingredients and have remaining ingredients allowed for use in organic products may also carry the “USDA Organic” seal.
3. "Made with Organic ingredients" - Products that contain between 70% and 95% organically produced ingredients may NOT bear the “USDA Organic” seal, but they can list which ingredients are organic on the ingredients listing.
4. Food products made with less than 70% organic ingredients may state which ingredients are organic, but they can not claim to be organic food products.

Though guidelines concerning organic production and labeling are very strict, there are some other terms manufacturers apply to products to make them seem healthier or more environmentally-friendly. For example, a product can be considered ‘natural,’ ‘hormone-free,’ ‘free-range,’ or ‘green,’ but none of these terms has anything to do with organic validity. And while all of these qualities are good to look for when comparing similar food or non-food items, they cannot be used interchangeably and shouldn’t be confused.

According to the Organic Trade Association, ‘natural’ typically refers to products that originally came from the earth. For example, cotton comes from plants, and wool comes from sheep; while both can safely be considered ‘natural’ they may or may not be ‘organic’ depending on how they were produced. ‘Green’ apparel or linens, on the other hand, usually refers to fiber that has not been treated with chemical dyes, sizing agents, or other strong chemicals. Labeling a product ‘green,’ however, does not guarantee the crop was grown or produced organically.

There are other agencies which do certification of organic products like SKAL & Demeter. Always look out for certification to be sure about organic products.

(Source: About.com)

Organic Food

2007-09-02T12:44:00.001+08:00

Why Organic Food is getting so much attention these days? Simply because no chemicals / chemical fertilizers are used in the process of growing them or afterwards. So they don't have side effects that some other food products may have, like allergies etc.

Organic food improves your immunity, strengthens your body and don't have any side effects.

For more information on organic food, please refer to this website: http://www.organicfoodinfo.net/.

Natural or Organic

2007-06-12T13:01:00.001+08:00

Is natural and organic same?

The term "Natural" is not regulated and has a broad meaning. It means that an ingredient "has not been significantly altered from its original state, nor has anything been removed from it (with the exception of water), nor have other substances been added to it."

In addition to not being regulated or certified in anyway, some "Natural" products may contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs), be grown with synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. At a product level, the product may also contain many other ingredients which are synthetic or artificial.

"Organic" products are made with ingredients grown without any synthetic chemicals, sewage sludge or genetically modified organisms (GMOs), therefore they do not contain any harmful pesticides or other synthetic chemicals.

Products only labeled "natural" often use synthetic preservatives and other un-natural ingredients, alongside plant ingredients, and get labeled natural with only few ingredients actually being "natural".

So the term Organic products truly signify the range with less human intervention and closer to mother earth.

Why organic

2007-06-12T12:51:00.005+08:00

Why Organic?

Protect Future Generations: Children receive four times the exposure than an adult to at least eight widely used cancer-causing pesticides in food. The food choice you make now will impact your child's health in the future.

Build Soil: The Soil Conservation Service estimates that more than three billion tons of topsoil are eroded from the United States croplands each year. That means soil is eroding seven times faster than it is built up naturally. Soil is the foundation of the food chain in organic farming. But in conventional farming the soil is used more as a medium for holding plants in a vertical position so they can be chemically fertilized. As a result, American farms are suffering from the worst soil erosion in history.

Protect Water Quality: Water makes up two-third of our body mass and covers three-fourths of the planet. Despite its importance, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), estimates pesticides (some cancer causing) contaminate the ground water in 38 states, polluting the primary source of drinking water for more than half the country's population.

Save Energy: American farms have changed drastically in the last three generations, from the family based small businesses dependent on human energy to large scale factory farms highly dependent on fossil fuels. Modern farming uses more petroleum than any other single industry, consuming 12 percent of the country's total energy supply. More energy is now used to produce synthetic fertilizers than to till, cultivate, and harvest all the crops in the United States. Organic farming is still mainly based on labor-intensive practices such as weeding by hand and using green manures and crop covers rather than synthetic inputs. Organic produce also tends to travel a shorter distance from the farm to your plate.

Reduce Health Risk: Many pesticides approved for use by the EPA were registered before extensive research linking these chemicals to cancer and other diseases had been established. Now the EPA considers that 60 percent of all herbicides, 90 percent of all fungicides and 30 percent of all insecticides are carcinogenic. A 1987 National Academy of Sciences report estimated that pesticides might cause an extras 1.4 million cancer cases among Americans over their lifetimes. The bottom line is that pesticides are poisons designed to kill living organisms, and can also be harmful to humans. In addition to cancer, pesticides are implicated in birth defects, nerve damage and genetic mutation.

Protect Farm Workers: A Natural Cancer Institute study found that farmers exposed to herbicides had a greater risk, by a factor of six, than non-farmers of contracting cancer. In California, reported pesticide poisonings among farm workers have risen an average of 14 percent a year since 1973, and doubled between 1975 and 1985. Field workers suffer the highest rates of occupational illness in the state. Farm worker health also is a serious problem in developing nations, where pesticide use can be poorly regulated. An estimated 1 million people are poisoned annually by pesticides. Several of the pesticides banned from use in the United States are still manufactured here for export to other countries.

Help Family Farms: Although more and more large scale farms are making the conversion to organic practices, most organic farms are small independently owned and operated family farms of less than 100 acres. It's estimated that the United States has lost more than 650,000 family farms in the past decade. And with the US Department of Agriculture predicting that half of this country's farm production will come from 1 percent of farms by the year 2000, organic farming could become one of the few hopes left for family farms.

Support a True Economy: Although organic foods might seem more expensive than conventional foods, conventional food prices do not reflect hidden cost borne by taxpayers, including nearly $74 billion in federal subsidies in 1988. Other hidden costs include pesticide regulation and testing, hazardous waste disposal and clean up, and environmental damage.

Promote Biodiversity: Mono cropping is the practice of planting large plots of land with the same crop year after year. While this approach tripled farm production between 1950 and 1970, the lack of natural diversity of plant life has left the soil lacking in natural minerals and nutrients. To replace the nutrients, chemical fertilizers are used, often in increasing amounts.

Great Taste: There's a good reason many chef's use organic foods in their recipes. They taste better. Organic farming starts with the nutrients of the soil which eventually leads to the nourishment of the plant and ultimately our palates.

Soft to skin: When it comes to organic clothing, it feels much softer than conventional clothing. It's great to have our babies bundled up in softest, purest organic clothing.

Welcome everybody

2007-06-05T18:31:00.001+08:00

Hello everybody, Welcome to My Organic Dream.

In today's life when everything is technologically so advanced that we need to really work hard to get natural things that were readily accessible earlier. In old times, we tried our best to get new and innovative things to prove that we are moving ahead.

But in the process of improving our lives, we forgot our basic and simple life that we had. And now we work hard to get those basic things like Organic food, Organic clothing and so on. These were the things we always had before we advanced ourselves to this era.