Support the land that feeds you

In the last century modern agriculture has steadily been subsumed into the world of corporate business. Americans experienced a disconnect from the cultivation and growth of their food in relation to both the grower and the land on which it is grown. Farming has become less about planting, land quality, and seasonal change and more about meeting the demands of our consumer culture. Even large organic companies, the healthier option, use up literally tons of fossil fuels to truck their produce thousands of miles across the country to provide us as the consumers with a year-round variety of vegetables and fruits. However, growing in popularity is a food production model that is based on relationship. The relationship that is between producer, consumer, and the land on which the food that nourishes and sustains us is grown. Community Supported Agriculture is a model of farming where the consumer directly supports the farmer who works the land and produces the food. This model is based on the philosophy where “what you consume locally is produced locally” (1). Support can come through pledging a certain amount of money each year to maintain a predetermined budget, or through purchasing a box of produce each month or week, the contents of which are determined by what is in season and available. Support can also manifest itself in good old fashioned working for what you eat, i.e. active participation on the land.
The formalized concept of CSA existed in both Japan and Germany before it was established in the US in the 1980’s. The beginning of such communities called Teikei in Japan was motivated by a concern for the source and growth of their fresh produce, similar to the concerns of present day Americans. The true inspiration for the first CSA farms, however, was from Swiss anthroposophical writings introduced to the Indian Line Farm in Massachusetts in 1986. The Indian Line Farm was primarily influenced by the ideas of philosopher Rudolph Steiner (1861-1925), which were concerned with the bond between producer and consumer created by their mutual interest and needs. He sought to develop a system that benefited the producer, consumer, and the land. As time went on more CSA farms began to form. There were variations in the organization and design, however they were all inspired by the desire to create a community experience of food production, cultivation, distribution, and utilization. The Indian Line Farm in Massachusetts was able to act as model for other CSA’s looking for more stability through available and affordable land for their farmers. Consumers of the Indian Line Farm were even able to partner with a community land trust and nature conservation and purchase secure land for their farmers (2).
The joint purchase of land by consumers for the sake of the farmers is a perfect example of the philosophy of Community Supported Agriculture in action. It represents how the cultivation and success of the land affects the farmers as well as the consumers. Today's standard methods of farming, purchasing, and consuming distance the consumer from the producer and the land that produces, making it easy to forget or ignore how our lifestyles and culture effect our food production. In the name of progress we have turned a blind eye to valuable farmland being zoned for development as well as farming practices that subject the soil to erosion and cause contamination that has long term effects on the soil and the surrounding eco-systems. In a CSA farm land treatment and production have direct effects on the consumers, who have invested money, time and/or physical labor. If there is a poor harvest, both the farmers and the consumers experience the loss, as opposed to popular agriculture where the farmers solely bear the burden. This aspect of shared risk creates the foundation of community in CSA farms. In fact the most successful CSA’s are the ones with a strong sense of core community, as opposed to ones with a more independent farmer base. They are driven by creative methods and a strong commitment to their community, which some CSA communities manifest through food donations or providing agriculture education opportunities.
CSAs are experiencing a new wave of growth and evolution. Some are creating co-ops with multiple farms to provide their subscribers with fresh cheese, jams, eggs and a greater variety of fruits and vegetables. This growth is being contributed to by the need for alternative agriculture during a time when the US Congress is pulling support for organic farmers. The House of Representatives was recently introduced a bill that “would eliminate funding for a cost-sharing program that helps farmers defray the costs for organic certification.” (3).

Even though sales of organic foods are higher than non organic, Congress still spent $2 million in 2009 alone on subsidies on commodity crops such as corn, cotton, soy and wheat, in comparison to the average of $300 per farm for organic agriculture. (3) One appeal of Community Supported Agriculture is that is completely independent of any government support or funding. All it needs is good land, farmers, and a strong community willing to support them. There is also private support available such as the Equity Trust, Inc whose non profit “help communities to gain ownership interests in land and other local resources, and we work with people to make economic changes that balance the needs of individuals with the needs of the community, the earth, and future generations.” (4).

CSA’s are an excellent example of the alternative methods that are available for us to live sustainable lifestyles. The main page of Equity Trust Inc commits to “changing the spirit and character of our material relationships”. In a culture where consumerism is driven by individual needs and satisfactions, it becomes easy to forget that what we view as needs are often conveniences or wants that can negatively effect those around us even in very minor ways. Any community, whether it be a CSA, a neighborhood, a city, religious or global, is only successful when it respects the symbiotic relationship of its participants. We rely on each other to support and sustain, just like we rely on the land to produce and it often needs us to properly cultivate to maximize long term and sustaining production. Our relationship with the land is like our relationships with one another. It cannot work if it is based primarily on what we take from it. Success will only be derived when we recognize and respect our reliance on and interactions with one another.

1. http://newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org/features/0204/csa2/part2.shtml
2. http://newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org/features/0104/csa-history/part1.shtml
3. http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/20110126_new-congress-shows-hostility-to-organic-farming
4. http://www.equitytrust.org/index.htm

Find a local CSA near you!!!!
http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

Other resources:
http://unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu24ee/uu24ee00.htm#Contents
http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csa.shtml
http://www.sandiegoroots.org/csa.html

Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins

This is my favorite recipe for Oatmeal Blueberry muffins!

I took a few different recipes and tweaked them to maximize both its nutrition and deliciousness.

1 ¼ cup spelt flour (or whole wheat if you can’t find spelt)

1 cup cooking oats

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

¾ cup of raw honey

1/4 cup apple sauce

¾ cup of almond milk

1 cup of blueberries

Topping:

Mixture of cinnamon and nutmeg

In a bowl, combine dry ingredients. In another bowl, beat egg, honey, almond milk and applesauce. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in blueberries.

Fill paper-lined muffin cups or muffin cups coated lightly with oil or butter three-fourths full. Combine nutmeg and cinnamon; sprinkle over muffins.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Eating too many sugary foods is obviously not healthy, however there are ways to make baked goods healthier. Here are a few tips to make muffins a part of a balanced diet:

Replace any fatty oils with an equal ratio of applesauce. Apples are rich in vitamins and minerals and help lower bad cholesterol.

Use whole wheat or spelt flour instead of white flour. Not only does white flour contain chlorine, but also the bleaching process compromises its nutritional value.

Replace refined sugar with raw honey, which contains minerals and vitamins and is slower to raise your blood sugar. It also leaves your desserts moist longer. Up to one cup, honey can be substituted for sugar in equal amounts. Over one cup, use about 2/3-3/4 cup of honey for every cup of sugar.

Don’t be afraid to add organic (which are free of dangerous pesticides and chemicals) oats for texture and fiber!

Remember, a muffin a day will not keep the doctor away, even if it is a healthy muffin. Eat everything in moderation, coupled with exercise, plenty of water, and a healthy dose of laughter.

When Allium Sativum saves the world

Allium Sativum, also known as garlic, is one of the best selling herbal supplements in America and has been the subject of thousands of medical, pharmacological, and chemical studies. A variant of the lily family, it has a rich history of medicinal use. Its popularity as a healer is recorded as far back as the Egyptians, who fed it to the pyramid builders to keep them healthy. In 1550 B.C. in the Ebers Codex there are 22 Egyptian medicinal recipes involving garlic. Hippocrates (460 B.C.) prescribed garlic to treat pneumonia, digestive disorders, and to regulate menstrual flow. In 1858, Biologist Louis Pastuer, chemist and microbiologist known for his medical breakthroughs, tested garlic by putting it into a petri dish filled with bacteria only to discover that the garlic could kill harmful microorganisms. During both world wars, when antibiotics were often unavailable, garlic was used on the battlefield to prevent gangrene and treat battle wounds. Most recently garlic is proven to be toxic to some tumor cells and is being researched by the National Cancer Institute for its cancer inhibiting properties.

Garlic cloves contain the amino acid alliin, which reacts with a naturally occuring enzyme allinase. When a clove is crushed or damaged, Allinase then acts as a catalyst and allicin is formed. Allicin is the major medicinal compound rich in antifungal, antiviral, and antibiotic properties. This means garlic strengthens your immune system, helps fight infections, and even treats athletes foot! Garlic lowers blood pressure by relaxing vein and artery walls and increases blood flow, therefore reducing the risks of stroke and heart attack, and it is good for your cholesterol by lowering low-density lipoproteins (bad cholesterol) and increasing high-density lipoproteins (good cholesterol). Garlic’s versatile resume also includes metabolic stimulant, a digestive aid and gas relief, and having a historical reputation for maintaining a healthy respiratory system, as well as a relief for phlegm.

To maintain health and use garlic as a preventative measure, it is recommended to consume 1-3 cloves a day. Obviously fresh is best, but 500 to 900 milligrams of dried garlic powder is also effective. You can also find it in capsule form or as an extract though it is recommended that if you take it as an extract you follow it with peppermint extract, for reasons that are more social than medicinal. You can also put a few drops of garlic oil in the ear to aid in an earache.

Excess of any good thing can cause it to be harmful, and as much as I know you are all dying to rush out and eat as many raw garlic cloves as you can lay your fingers on, eating ten or more raw cloves can be toxic and trigger allergic reaction. So try to limit it to 1-3. Also garlic should not be consumed by women breast-feeding because it can pass into the breast milk and cause colic in infants.

Cure Athlete’s foot with Garlic!

• Soak a few cloves of chopped garlic in rubbing alcohol overnight. Strain the garlic cloves. Fill a basin with warm water and add the rubbing alcohol. Soak your feet for 30 minutes or so.

• It if also said to be effective if you dust your feet with garlic powder twice a day.

• A Chinese remedy is to soak cloves of chopped garlic in olive oil for a couple days and then strain out the garlic pieces. You can then apply the oil topically.

Cold Concoction

• 1 cup of unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar

• 1 cup of unpasteurized honey

• 8 garlic cloves

Mix ingredients in blender on high for 60 seconds

Add 2 tsp. to pineapple or orange juice daily during cold and a few days after symptoms disappear.

Store in sealed container in fridge for up to 4 weeks

It is best to ingest garlic raw! My favorite method is to make vinaigrette to toss in a salad, or sauté vegetables in olive oil and then drizzle with the garlic vinaigrette.

Honey Garlic Vinaigrette

• 1 cup of vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 cloves of chopped garlic

Mix vinegar, honey, and garlic. Whisk as you slowly pour in oil. Set aside for 45 minutes to allow flavors to blend

Garlic Basil Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Combine the basil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and Parmesan cheese in a blender. Blend until ingredients form a paste. Slowly pour olive oil into the mixture and continue to blend until smooth.

Add pepper to taste

Kick the cold!

Given the season upon us, when noses runneth over and scratchy throats are in abundance, the most appropriate herbal remedies to share are those that can help relieve colds and sinus infections. It should be noted that each of us are built differently and some remedies are more effective for certain types of constitutions than others. One aspect of natural health is being aware of what is happening in your body and becoming familiar with what energizes, soothes, and heals you.

When you start to feel a cold sneaking up on you it is best to start pumping up your immune system. Vitamin C, and Echinacea are the most popular cold combatants and are most effective when taken within 24 hours of your first symptoms. Echinacea can be found in the natural living section of your pharmacy or at any health food store. It comes either in a capsule or as an extract. To take as an extract mix 15 drops with water four times a day. Sometimes it is easier to take in extract form because capsules often require taking with food. To boost your vitamin C, an effective preventative food is grapefruit. Grapefruit helps detoxify the liver, therefore building your immune system. Even though other citrus fruits, such as oranges, are also good sources of vitamin C, they are too sweet to promote proper liver damage.

Zinc is also often suggested, but some studies show that while it can shorten your length of illness when taken at the first sign of symptoms, it has little to no effect once your cold in underway. I find that natural honey lozenges enforced with Zinc and Echinacea are very helpful to soothe that scratchy throat, as well as help suppress coughing. In fact according to the Mayo Clinic, studies show that honey appeared to be as effective as the cough suppressant dextromethorphan in typical over-the-counter doses.

For the duration of your cold in addition to lozenges, drink as much peppermint tea or lemon tea sweetened with honey as you have time for and access to. Peppermint tea can help relieve congestion and a lemon tea sweetened with honey will soothe your throat and ease coughing.

Also effective as a tea and high in vitamin C is Cayenne pepper. Capsaicin, the compound that gives the spice its kick is an anti-inflammatory and Cayenne helps break up congestion. It is also effective in capsule form, found in any health section or at a health food store. I knew someone who, whenever he got a cold, would take 2 cayenne pepper capsules with lots of water every couple hours throughout the day, take a hot shower, wrap himself in as many blankets as he could find, and then allow himself a good 8 hours of sleep wrapped like a burrito on the couch. Then top it off with one more hot shower in the morning. It made him sweaty and smelly with quite a bit of laundry, but it would relieve congestion, help build his immune system, and break his cold every time.

According to New Choices for Natural Living, pure pineapple juice is also said to be effective. Drink 4-6 ounces of juice diluted with the same amount of water four times a day. It is less acidic in the stomach than citrus, it is higher in vitamin C, and it helps break down mucus better.

A lot can be said about herbs and other remedies, but the best treatments for any infection are lots of water and plenty of rest. We all have busy schedules that can wear down our bodies’ natural defenses. When you start to feel yourself getting sick try to go to bed an extra hour or two, and set a bit of time aside during the day to nap or just relax to allow your body to recharge. Also when you are utilizing any of these natural remedies continue with the care a couple days following the decline of your symptoms. You may feel better but the illness could be lingering.

Of course the best care is preventative care. While we are all prone to illness, you can minimize the amount and duration of your sick time when you exercise regularly, have a healthy diet, and minimize the amount of stress in your life, or find positive outlets to ease stress.

At the threshold

Every person has the desire to be healthy. No one enjoys a runny nose, headaches or chronic pains. However, so often we do not take the time to truly examine what healthy living means. The methods with which we use to pursue good health affect not only our bodies, but also affects the lives of those around us and the world in which we live. Even decisions as simple as from whom we buy our groceries, or the type of food we choose to ingest have long-term repercussions that we are often not even aware of.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes holistic as “relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts. “Holistic health treats the individual as an integrated system and assesses as well as treats physical, psychological, and mental conditions. Every choice we make affects all aspects of our life. Our personal lifestyle choices affect our communities and our environment. For myself, holistic living means eating and living in such a way that demonstrates the respect I have for myself. It also is a reflection of the value I have for all life on this planet and the respect of that which nourishes and sustains life.

The purpose of this blog is to share with family and friends my passion for healthy living. I intend not only to record my own journey through holistic health, but also to inform and encourage others. Hopefully you will be inspired to pursue your own research. I believe we are all connected and for myself, holistic means my acknowledgement and participation in the reality that my decisions and actions can cause change. Whether that change is massive or slight, I want that change to be for the better.