11 Temmuz 2012 Çarşamba
10 Temmuz 2012 Salı
9 Temmuz 2012 Pazartesi
Video: 'Southern Table' from The Perennial Plate
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From the site:
"There have been a lot of Farm to Table dinners over the years, and a lot of videos about those meals. We are here to end all that. This Southern Feast shares the story of the farmers, foragers and chefs that made up an event we were a part of in Georgia. I think it captures the fun, drinking, passion and ideals that go into this interactive dining experience. Please enjoy and share."
The Perennial Plate Episode 91: Southern Table from Daniel Klein on Vimeo.
"There have been a lot of Farm to Table dinners over the years, and a lot of videos about those meals. We are here to end all that. This Southern Feast shares the story of the farmers, foragers and chefs that made up an event we were a part of in Georgia. I think it captures the fun, drinking, passion and ideals that go into this interactive dining experience. Please enjoy and share."
The Perennial Plate Episode 91: Southern Table from Daniel Klein on Vimeo.
Animal Abuse in Factory Farms is the Norm, Not the Exception (Sami Grover for TreeHugger)
To contact us Click HERE
Last year I wrote about research that shows that cows have best friends and suffer when separated. What was surprising about that study was not the results themselves—but the fact that people found this news at all.
We have become so desensitized to animal cruelty and industrial processing of farm animals, that most of us—myself included—need reminding that farm animals are sentient beings little different from our beloved pets at home. As evidenced by the outcry when a TV chef equated eating pork with eating puppies, the majority of us meat and dairy eaters would desperately like to hold on to the notion that farm animals are somehow "different", and hence can be treated as a pure commodity.
Riffing off the book Every Twelve Seconds by Tim Pachirat, Mark Bittman penned an excellent piece last week in the New York Times, explaining the human cost of animal suffering, and demonstrating how it's the system's routine normalization of suffering, not the outlying cases of abuse, that should be the largest cause for concern:
What makes “Every Twelve Seconds” different from (for example) a Mercy for Animals exposé is, says Pachirat, “that the day-in and day-out experience produces invisibility. Industrialized agriculture perpetuates concealment at every level of the process, and rather than focusing on the shocking examples we should be focusing on the system itself.”
At that point we might finally acknowledge that raising, killing and eating animals must be done differently. When omnivores recognize that our way of producing and eating meat reduces not only slaughterhouse workers but all of us to a warped state, we’ll be able to bring about the kind of changes that will reduce both meat consumption and our collective guilt.
Like Bittman, I am in no place to start advocating a vegan diet. Despite my recent epiphany that vegan pizza doesn't suck, like most of the world I continue to eat some meat and dairy—although I am increasingly working to both limit my intake and get ever more selective about supporting humane animal farming and "processing" (aka killing) operations. I suspect there is little point in vegans and meat eaters trading "you should eat this"/"you shouldn't eat that" admonitions back and forth.
As Bittman points out, 80% of Americans believe farm animals are capable of suffering. That's a potentially huge constituency and powerful force for change that reaches far beyond those who have committed to veganism, vegetarianism or even "ethical" meat eating. Mat has already argued we must end dietary fundamentalism if we are to end factory farming—but we must look beyond diets all together.
Yes, making more informed choices will help fix the system—and yes there is a moral inconsistency in folks who recognize animal suffering and yet fail to make changes in their diets—but by-and-large humans are morally inconsistent creatures. Even folks who indulge in a factory farmed steak every night can still raise their voice and demand systemic change from our legislators and our corporations. We should do what we can to make that happen.
SOURCE
Last year I wrote about research that shows that cows have best friends and suffer when separated. What was surprising about that study was not the results themselves—but the fact that people found this news at all.
We have become so desensitized to animal cruelty and industrial processing of farm animals, that most of us—myself included—need reminding that farm animals are sentient beings little different from our beloved pets at home. As evidenced by the outcry when a TV chef equated eating pork with eating puppies, the majority of us meat and dairy eaters would desperately like to hold on to the notion that farm animals are somehow "different", and hence can be treated as a pure commodity.
Riffing off the book Every Twelve Seconds by Tim Pachirat, Mark Bittman penned an excellent piece last week in the New York Times, explaining the human cost of animal suffering, and demonstrating how it's the system's routine normalization of suffering, not the outlying cases of abuse, that should be the largest cause for concern:
What makes “Every Twelve Seconds” different from (for example) a Mercy for Animals exposé is, says Pachirat, “that the day-in and day-out experience produces invisibility. Industrialized agriculture perpetuates concealment at every level of the process, and rather than focusing on the shocking examples we should be focusing on the system itself.”
At that point we might finally acknowledge that raising, killing and eating animals must be done differently. When omnivores recognize that our way of producing and eating meat reduces not only slaughterhouse workers but all of us to a warped state, we’ll be able to bring about the kind of changes that will reduce both meat consumption and our collective guilt.
Like Bittman, I am in no place to start advocating a vegan diet. Despite my recent epiphany that vegan pizza doesn't suck, like most of the world I continue to eat some meat and dairy—although I am increasingly working to both limit my intake and get ever more selective about supporting humane animal farming and "processing" (aka killing) operations. I suspect there is little point in vegans and meat eaters trading "you should eat this"/"you shouldn't eat that" admonitions back and forth.
As Bittman points out, 80% of Americans believe farm animals are capable of suffering. That's a potentially huge constituency and powerful force for change that reaches far beyond those who have committed to veganism, vegetarianism or even "ethical" meat eating. Mat has already argued we must end dietary fundamentalism if we are to end factory farming—but we must look beyond diets all together.
Yes, making more informed choices will help fix the system—and yes there is a moral inconsistency in folks who recognize animal suffering and yet fail to make changes in their diets—but by-and-large humans are morally inconsistent creatures. Even folks who indulge in a factory farmed steak every night can still raise their voice and demand systemic change from our legislators and our corporations. We should do what we can to make that happen.
SOURCE
Scotts Miracle Gro Pleads Guilty to Pesticide Charges (Occupy Monsanto)
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Poisoning bird seed that you sell to bird lovers isn’t the brightest of ideas. Scott’s Miracle Gro, exclusive distributor of Monsanto’s RoundUp, is proposing donating $500,000 to support wildlife conservation and study in addition to paying a $4 million dollar fine for using unapproved insecticides in bird seed sold nationally for two years, the judge will be considering that in their guilty plea as he decides on the repercussions for their actions. The government alleges that beginning in 2005, Scotts produced a line of wild bird food products under names including “Morning Song” and “Country Pride” that contained insecticides.
According to court records, Scotts sold a whopping 73 million packages of bird seed in 2008 that were treated with Storcide II and Actellic 5E, intended to prevent insects from destroying the feed. This was done despite being warned by one of their own chemists and orinthologists that there were toxicity issues. Storcide II is labeled as “Toxic to birds. Toxic to wildlife,” and that “Exposed treated seed may be hazardous to birds.” No such warning exists on the Actellic 5E label. Despite this, Scotts continued to sell their improperly treated seeds for two more years.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s own fact sheet on pirimiphos-mehtyl states that “Ecological risks are not of concern to the Agency.” Yet the same fact sheet also states “Although pirimphos-methyl is highly toxic to birds and fish, these risks are not of concern based on the use pattern of pirimiphos-methyl.”
This would seem to indicate that the EPA did not anticipate this chemical to be used on anything intentionally fed to birds, said the nonprofit American Bird Conservancy.
“EPA needs to amend the use label for Actellic 5E and any other pesticide containing the same active ingredient, pirimiphos-methyl, to agree with their own fact sheet, and ensure that no other birds are poisoned by seed dosed with this toxic chemical,” said American Bird Conservancy President George Fenwick.
“This highlights a key problem that it is the pesticide registrant that writes the labels on pesticides, not EPA,” Fenwick said. “In some cases, it would seem that EPA is not effectively checking that the labels encompass the agency’s responsibilities for birds.”
Scotts has been charged repeatedly by the EPA for inappropriate use of pesticides, lying, and making false claims the EPA refused to sell pesticides.
SOURCE
Poisoning bird seed that you sell to bird lovers isn’t the brightest of ideas. Scott’s Miracle Gro, exclusive distributor of Monsanto’s RoundUp, is proposing donating $500,000 to support wildlife conservation and study in addition to paying a $4 million dollar fine for using unapproved insecticides in bird seed sold nationally for two years, the judge will be considering that in their guilty plea as he decides on the repercussions for their actions. The government alleges that beginning in 2005, Scotts produced a line of wild bird food products under names including “Morning Song” and “Country Pride” that contained insecticides.According to court records, Scotts sold a whopping 73 million packages of bird seed in 2008 that were treated with Storcide II and Actellic 5E, intended to prevent insects from destroying the feed. This was done despite being warned by one of their own chemists and orinthologists that there were toxicity issues. Storcide II is labeled as “Toxic to birds. Toxic to wildlife,” and that “Exposed treated seed may be hazardous to birds.” No such warning exists on the Actellic 5E label. Despite this, Scotts continued to sell their improperly treated seeds for two more years.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s own fact sheet on pirimiphos-mehtyl states that “Ecological risks are not of concern to the Agency.” Yet the same fact sheet also states “Although pirimphos-methyl is highly toxic to birds and fish, these risks are not of concern based on the use pattern of pirimiphos-methyl.”
This would seem to indicate that the EPA did not anticipate this chemical to be used on anything intentionally fed to birds, said the nonprofit American Bird Conservancy.
“EPA needs to amend the use label for Actellic 5E and any other pesticide containing the same active ingredient, pirimiphos-methyl, to agree with their own fact sheet, and ensure that no other birds are poisoned by seed dosed with this toxic chemical,” said American Bird Conservancy President George Fenwick.
“This highlights a key problem that it is the pesticide registrant that writes the labels on pesticides, not EPA,” Fenwick said. “In some cases, it would seem that EPA is not effectively checking that the labels encompass the agency’s responsibilities for birds.”
Scotts has been charged repeatedly by the EPA for inappropriate use of pesticides, lying, and making false claims the EPA refused to sell pesticides.
SOURCE
New Study Pinpoints Monsanto’s GM Crops as the Reason Butterfly Populations Are In Decline (Diane Pham for Inhabitat)
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Much like the bee, our beautiful and beloved friend the monarch butterfly has been in steady decline over the last decade. Numerous studies have attributed the drop to a variety of causes, but new research released by the University of Minnesota and Iowa State University points to the increasing presence of Monsanto’s GMO corn and soybean crops across the United States as the culprit.
Since 1999, GMO crops have become mainstream — touted for their herbicide-resistant qualities and particularly their ability to withstand weed-killing Roundup. Unfortunately, while the GMO crops have thrived in the face of brute force, the monarchs’ preferred nesting and feeding plant, the milkweed, has not. Between 1999 and 2010, the same period GMO crops became the norm for farmers, the number of monarch eggs declined by an estimated 81 percent across the Midwest. Researchers attribute the change to the virtual disappearance of milkweed from hundreds of millions of acres of farms and fields.
“It is one of the clearest examples yet of unintended consequences from the widespread use of genetically modified seeds,” said John Pleasants, a monarch researcher from Iowa State in Ames, Iowa. ”When we put something out there, we don’t know always what the consequences are.”
Researchers have suggested a remedy could be for farmers to grow milkweed in pastures away from their corn, soybean, and other crops. This would provide a safe place for butterflies to lay their eggs, as well as keep the pesky weeds out of the farmers’ crops. But for whatever reason, monarchs are more attracted to milkweed plants in corn and soybean fields and use those milkweeds more heavily than milkweed outside farm fields. The butterflies lay up to nearly four times as many eggs on farm field plants as on those in pastures or on roadsides, the researchers have found. Under these findings the pressure to focus on conservation is a dire one –especially as GMO crops don’t appear to be going anywhere soon.
“The scale of the loss of habitat is so big that unless we compensate for it in some way, the population will decline to the point where it will disappear,” said Chip Taylor, an insect ecologist at the University of Kansas and the director of research at Monarch Watch, a conservation group.
Researchers of the new study are hoping that with their findings they will be able to make the case for increasing monarch habitats along roads in pastures, gardens and on conservation lands. They hope that the issue will be considered a national priority because it is clear that the milkweed will never come back to farm fields.
SOURCE
Much like the bee, our beautiful and beloved friend the monarch butterfly has been in steady decline over the last decade. Numerous studies have attributed the drop to a variety of causes, but new research released by the University of Minnesota and Iowa State University points to the increasing presence of Monsanto’s GMO corn and soybean crops across the United States as the culprit.Since 1999, GMO crops have become mainstream — touted for their herbicide-resistant qualities and particularly their ability to withstand weed-killing Roundup. Unfortunately, while the GMO crops have thrived in the face of brute force, the monarchs’ preferred nesting and feeding plant, the milkweed, has not. Between 1999 and 2010, the same period GMO crops became the norm for farmers, the number of monarch eggs declined by an estimated 81 percent across the Midwest. Researchers attribute the change to the virtual disappearance of milkweed from hundreds of millions of acres of farms and fields.
“It is one of the clearest examples yet of unintended consequences from the widespread use of genetically modified seeds,” said John Pleasants, a monarch researcher from Iowa State in Ames, Iowa. ”When we put something out there, we don’t know always what the consequences are.”
Researchers have suggested a remedy could be for farmers to grow milkweed in pastures away from their corn, soybean, and other crops. This would provide a safe place for butterflies to lay their eggs, as well as keep the pesky weeds out of the farmers’ crops. But for whatever reason, monarchs are more attracted to milkweed plants in corn and soybean fields and use those milkweeds more heavily than milkweed outside farm fields. The butterflies lay up to nearly four times as many eggs on farm field plants as on those in pastures or on roadsides, the researchers have found. Under these findings the pressure to focus on conservation is a dire one –especially as GMO crops don’t appear to be going anywhere soon.
“The scale of the loss of habitat is so big that unless we compensate for it in some way, the population will decline to the point where it will disappear,” said Chip Taylor, an insect ecologist at the University of Kansas and the director of research at Monarch Watch, a conservation group.
Researchers of the new study are hoping that with their findings they will be able to make the case for increasing monarch habitats along roads in pastures, gardens and on conservation lands. They hope that the issue will be considered a national priority because it is clear that the milkweed will never come back to farm fields.
SOURCE
Queen of Hungary's Water Recipe (Mountain Rose Herbs)
To contact us Click HERE
There is something so intriguing about recipes that have been used for centuries and passed down by oral tradition and folktales. Below is one of my favorite herbal recipes with legend deeply rooted in folklore. Not only does it have an interesting history, but the medicinal and cosmetic properties of this formula make it useful in our modern world.
There is much debate over the history of this ancient recipe. Some say that it was created for the aging Queen of Hungary by an alchemist in the 1300’s to restore her youthfulness. According to the legend, it reversed her appearance so much that the 25 year old grand-duke of Lithuania asked for her hand in marriage when she was 70! Others believe that the recipe was formulated and marketed by early Gypsies as a cure-all for a myriad of cosmetic and medical uses.
Although the true origin of this recipe is a mystery, there is no doubt that Queen of Hungary’s Water is a wonderful astringent for all skin types and is especially beneficial for oily or acne prone skin. It gently tones, tightens pores, soothes itchy skin, normalizes the skin’s pH, and is a superb hair rinse. There are numerous variations of the recipe. I based my version on Rosemary Gladstar’s recipe, but please feel free to adjust it as you like to create your own.
• 5 parts fresh or dried organic Lemon Balm
• 5 parts fresh or dried organic Lavender
• 4 parts fresh or dried organic Chamomile
• 4 parts fresh or dried organic Roses
• 4 parts fresh or dried organic Calendula
• 3 parts fresh or dried organic Comfrey leaf
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Lemon Peel
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Rosemary
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Sage
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Peppermint
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Elder flowers
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Helichrysum flowers
• Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
Combine all herbs in a glass mason jar and add vinegar until the liquid rises above the herbs by at least 1 or 2 inches. As the herbs swell, add additional vinegar if needed. Cap the jar tightly and shake once or more per day. After 2-6 weeks, strain out the herbs and reserve the liquid.
The infused vinegar can either be used alone or combined with Rose hydrosol and a few drops of Lavender essential oil for an especially lovely facial toner.
If desired, use vodka instead of Apple Cider Vinegar to create a body splash or perfume rather than a facial toner. Or, you can use Witch Hazel extract in place of the vinegar if you prefer a facial toner without the vinegary scent.
SOURCE
There is something so intriguing about recipes that have been used for centuries and passed down by oral tradition and folktales. Below is one of my favorite herbal recipes with legend deeply rooted in folklore. Not only does it have an interesting history, but the medicinal and cosmetic properties of this formula make it useful in our modern world.There is much debate over the history of this ancient recipe. Some say that it was created for the aging Queen of Hungary by an alchemist in the 1300’s to restore her youthfulness. According to the legend, it reversed her appearance so much that the 25 year old grand-duke of Lithuania asked for her hand in marriage when she was 70! Others believe that the recipe was formulated and marketed by early Gypsies as a cure-all for a myriad of cosmetic and medical uses.
Although the true origin of this recipe is a mystery, there is no doubt that Queen of Hungary’s Water is a wonderful astringent for all skin types and is especially beneficial for oily or acne prone skin. It gently tones, tightens pores, soothes itchy skin, normalizes the skin’s pH, and is a superb hair rinse. There are numerous variations of the recipe. I based my version on Rosemary Gladstar’s recipe, but please feel free to adjust it as you like to create your own.
• 5 parts fresh or dried organic Lemon Balm
• 5 parts fresh or dried organic Lavender
• 4 parts fresh or dried organic Chamomile
• 4 parts fresh or dried organic Roses
• 4 parts fresh or dried organic Calendula
• 3 parts fresh or dried organic Comfrey leaf
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Lemon Peel
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Rosemary
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Sage
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Peppermint
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Elder flowers
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Helichrysum flowers
• Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
Combine all herbs in a glass mason jar and add vinegar until the liquid rises above the herbs by at least 1 or 2 inches. As the herbs swell, add additional vinegar if needed. Cap the jar tightly and shake once or more per day. After 2-6 weeks, strain out the herbs and reserve the liquid.
The infused vinegar can either be used alone or combined with Rose hydrosol and a few drops of Lavender essential oil for an especially lovely facial toner.
If desired, use vodka instead of Apple Cider Vinegar to create a body splash or perfume rather than a facial toner. Or, you can use Witch Hazel extract in place of the vinegar if you prefer a facial toner without the vinegary scent.
SOURCE
8 Temmuz 2012 Pazar
Quotes...
To contact us Click HERE
Advice from a Tree
By Ilan Shamir
Dear Friend,
Stand Tall and Proud
Sink your roots deeply into the Earth
Reflect the light of a greater source
Think long term
Go out on a limb
Remember your place among all living beings
Embrace with joy the changing seasons
For each yields its own abundance
The Energy and Birth of Spring
The Growth and Contentment of Summer
The Wisdom to let go of leaves in the Fall
The Rest and Quiet Renewal of Winter
Feel the wind and the sun
And delight in their presence
Look up at the moon that shines down upon you
And the mystery of the stars at night.
Seek nourishment from the good things in life
Simple pleasures
Earth, fresh air, light
Be content with your natural beauty
Drink plenty of water
Let your limbs sway and dance in the breezes
Be flexible
Remember your roots
Enjoy the view!
Advice from a Tree By Ilan Shamir
Dear Friend,
Stand Tall and Proud
Sink your roots deeply into the Earth
Reflect the light of a greater source
Think long term
Go out on a limb
Remember your place among all living beings
Embrace with joy the changing seasons
For each yields its own abundance
The Energy and Birth of Spring
The Growth and Contentment of Summer
The Wisdom to let go of leaves in the Fall
The Rest and Quiet Renewal of Winter
Feel the wind and the sun
And delight in their presence
Look up at the moon that shines down upon you
And the mystery of the stars at night.
Seek nourishment from the good things in life
Simple pleasures
Earth, fresh air, light
Be content with your natural beauty
Drink plenty of water
Let your limbs sway and dance in the breezes
Be flexible
Remember your roots
Enjoy the view!
Queen of Hungary's Water Recipe (Mountain Rose Herbs)
To contact us Click HERE
There is something so intriguing about recipes that have been used for centuries and passed down by oral tradition and folktales. Below is one of my favorite herbal recipes with legend deeply rooted in folklore. Not only does it have an interesting history, but the medicinal and cosmetic properties of this formula make it useful in our modern world.
There is much debate over the history of this ancient recipe. Some say that it was created for the aging Queen of Hungary by an alchemist in the 1300’s to restore her youthfulness. According to the legend, it reversed her appearance so much that the 25 year old grand-duke of Lithuania asked for her hand in marriage when she was 70! Others believe that the recipe was formulated and marketed by early Gypsies as a cure-all for a myriad of cosmetic and medical uses.
Although the true origin of this recipe is a mystery, there is no doubt that Queen of Hungary’s Water is a wonderful astringent for all skin types and is especially beneficial for oily or acne prone skin. It gently tones, tightens pores, soothes itchy skin, normalizes the skin’s pH, and is a superb hair rinse. There are numerous variations of the recipe. I based my version on Rosemary Gladstar’s recipe, but please feel free to adjust it as you like to create your own.
• 5 parts fresh or dried organic Lemon Balm
• 5 parts fresh or dried organic Lavender
• 4 parts fresh or dried organic Chamomile
• 4 parts fresh or dried organic Roses
• 4 parts fresh or dried organic Calendula
• 3 parts fresh or dried organic Comfrey leaf
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Lemon Peel
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Rosemary
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Sage
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Peppermint
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Elder flowers
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Helichrysum flowers
• Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
Combine all herbs in a glass mason jar and add vinegar until the liquid rises above the herbs by at least 1 or 2 inches. As the herbs swell, add additional vinegar if needed. Cap the jar tightly and shake once or more per day. After 2-6 weeks, strain out the herbs and reserve the liquid.
The infused vinegar can either be used alone or combined with Rose hydrosol and a few drops of Lavender essential oil for an especially lovely facial toner.
If desired, use vodka instead of Apple Cider Vinegar to create a body splash or perfume rather than a facial toner. Or, you can use Witch Hazel extract in place of the vinegar if you prefer a facial toner without the vinegary scent.
SOURCE
There is something so intriguing about recipes that have been used for centuries and passed down by oral tradition and folktales. Below is one of my favorite herbal recipes with legend deeply rooted in folklore. Not only does it have an interesting history, but the medicinal and cosmetic properties of this formula make it useful in our modern world.There is much debate over the history of this ancient recipe. Some say that it was created for the aging Queen of Hungary by an alchemist in the 1300’s to restore her youthfulness. According to the legend, it reversed her appearance so much that the 25 year old grand-duke of Lithuania asked for her hand in marriage when she was 70! Others believe that the recipe was formulated and marketed by early Gypsies as a cure-all for a myriad of cosmetic and medical uses.
Although the true origin of this recipe is a mystery, there is no doubt that Queen of Hungary’s Water is a wonderful astringent for all skin types and is especially beneficial for oily or acne prone skin. It gently tones, tightens pores, soothes itchy skin, normalizes the skin’s pH, and is a superb hair rinse. There are numerous variations of the recipe. I based my version on Rosemary Gladstar’s recipe, but please feel free to adjust it as you like to create your own.
• 5 parts fresh or dried organic Lemon Balm
• 5 parts fresh or dried organic Lavender
• 4 parts fresh or dried organic Chamomile
• 4 parts fresh or dried organic Roses
• 4 parts fresh or dried organic Calendula
• 3 parts fresh or dried organic Comfrey leaf
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Lemon Peel
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Rosemary
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Sage
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Peppermint
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Elder flowers
• 1 part fresh or dried organic Helichrysum flowers
• Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
Combine all herbs in a glass mason jar and add vinegar until the liquid rises above the herbs by at least 1 or 2 inches. As the herbs swell, add additional vinegar if needed. Cap the jar tightly and shake once or more per day. After 2-6 weeks, strain out the herbs and reserve the liquid.
The infused vinegar can either be used alone or combined with Rose hydrosol and a few drops of Lavender essential oil for an especially lovely facial toner.
If desired, use vodka instead of Apple Cider Vinegar to create a body splash or perfume rather than a facial toner. Or, you can use Witch Hazel extract in place of the vinegar if you prefer a facial toner without the vinegary scent.
SOURCE
Americans Eat the Cheapest Food in the World, But What is It Really Costing Us? (Sara Novak for TreeHugger)
To contact us Click HERE
USDA data shows that in 2010 Americans spent 9.4 percent of their disposable income on food, which equals 5.5 percent at home and 3.9 percent eating out. As a nation, we spend far less of a percentage on our food than we ever have before. For example, in 1929 we spent 23.4 percent of our disposable income on food, which equaled 20.3 percent at home and 3.1 percent eating out.
Not only are we spending much less of our money on the foods we eat, we eat out far more than ever before, buying fatty processed and fast foods laden with saturated fats, sodium, and added sugars. When compared to other countries, our food is by far the cheapest.
According to Carpe Diem:
The 5.5% of disposable income that Americans spend on food at home is less than half the amount of income spent by Germans (11.4%), the French (13.6%), the Italians (14.4%), and less than one-third the amount of income spent by consumers in South Africa (20.1%), Mexico (24.1%), and Turkey (24.5%), which is about what Americans spent DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION, and far below what consumers spend in Kenya (45.9%) and Pakistan (45.6%).
But let’s be clear, it’s not like we’re getting a deal overall. The big picture is much more grim because of the ecological ramifications of our industrialized food system. It also means we're spending more than ever on healthcare because we’re so absurdly overweight. If Americans continue to pack on pounds, obesity will cost us about $344 billion in medical-related expenses by 2018, eating up about 21 percent of healthcare spending, according to an article in USA Today. Not to mention the unseen health issues associated with a genetically modified and pesticide-bathed food system.
Before Organic Was Organic
With American industrialization came the changing face of a food system which was once locally driven. While we’ve used pesticides on our crops since the turn of the 20th century, the sheer quantity has risen to epic proportions. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring first shined a light on the ecological ramifications of potent pesticide use. And then Robert Papendick, a USDA soil scientist wrote the Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming in 1980, which is largely thought to be the first official recognition by the USDA that organic farming was viable.
The dangers of overusing pesticides should have motivated a wide spread scaling back of their use. Instead, through the establishment of the National Organic Program in 1992, a small agricultural group was left untainted and conventional crops were left to wreak havoc on our environment and our bodies at a much cheaper price. Today farmers use five times as many pesticides on their crops as they did even 10 years ago.
GMOs Introduced
Genetically modified crops are the largest reason why the use of pesticides, especially Roundup, has gotten out of control to the detriment of our health. It’s only been since the mid-1990's that we saw the first approvals for large-scalecommercial cultivation of genetically modified crops. But the change happened frighteningly fast and today, 94 percent of soybeans and 72 percent of corn is being grown this way.
Conventional foods are largely genetically modified and covered in pesticide residue. But recent findings are showing that Monsanto's Roundup can cause major health problems. A new study shows that even when it's diluted to .02 percent of what is sprayed on crops it can cause DNA damage. While they are much less expensive than their organic and sustainably produced counterparts, they don't do a body good.
Factory Farming, a Relatively Recent Disaster
Cheapening our food supply in such a real way has also caused undue harm to the animals that fall victim to our twisted pricing. Factory farming is another rather new phenomenon that didn’t come long until the 1960’s.
The Guardian wrote in 1964:
Factory farming, whether we like it or not, has come to stay. The tide will not be held back, either by the humanitarian outcry of well meaning but sometimes misguided animal lovers, by the threat implicit to traditional farming methods, or by the sentimental approach to a rural way of life.
And they were right, by 2005, factory farming accounted for 40 percent of the global meat supply. Not only has its growth meant the gross suffering of animals and a huge weight on the planet, it's also meant the onset of superbugs. According to the National Academy of Sciences, roughly 70 percent of the antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs used in the U.S. are fed to farm animals in order to promote growth and prevent rampant disease from striking animals that are kept in filthy, stressful environments. In fact, many common bacteria (such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and E. coli) have developed a resistance to available antibiotics.
In the end, the new corporate structure of our food system has cheapened our diets in a way the world has never seen. While food may cost less in the U.S., it’s costing us more than we know in terms of our health, the health of the planet, and harm to the animals we choose to consume.
SOURCE
USDA data shows that in 2010 Americans spent 9.4 percent of their disposable income on food, which equals 5.5 percent at home and 3.9 percent eating out. As a nation, we spend far less of a percentage on our food than we ever have before. For example, in 1929 we spent 23.4 percent of our disposable income on food, which equaled 20.3 percent at home and 3.1 percent eating out.Not only are we spending much less of our money on the foods we eat, we eat out far more than ever before, buying fatty processed and fast foods laden with saturated fats, sodium, and added sugars. When compared to other countries, our food is by far the cheapest.
According to Carpe Diem:
The 5.5% of disposable income that Americans spend on food at home is less than half the amount of income spent by Germans (11.4%), the French (13.6%), the Italians (14.4%), and less than one-third the amount of income spent by consumers in South Africa (20.1%), Mexico (24.1%), and Turkey (24.5%), which is about what Americans spent DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION, and far below what consumers spend in Kenya (45.9%) and Pakistan (45.6%).
But let’s be clear, it’s not like we’re getting a deal overall. The big picture is much more grim because of the ecological ramifications of our industrialized food system. It also means we're spending more than ever on healthcare because we’re so absurdly overweight. If Americans continue to pack on pounds, obesity will cost us about $344 billion in medical-related expenses by 2018, eating up about 21 percent of healthcare spending, according to an article in USA Today. Not to mention the unseen health issues associated with a genetically modified and pesticide-bathed food system.
Before Organic Was Organic
With American industrialization came the changing face of a food system which was once locally driven. While we’ve used pesticides on our crops since the turn of the 20th century, the sheer quantity has risen to epic proportions. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring first shined a light on the ecological ramifications of potent pesticide use. And then Robert Papendick, a USDA soil scientist wrote the Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming in 1980, which is largely thought to be the first official recognition by the USDA that organic farming was viable.
The dangers of overusing pesticides should have motivated a wide spread scaling back of their use. Instead, through the establishment of the National Organic Program in 1992, a small agricultural group was left untainted and conventional crops were left to wreak havoc on our environment and our bodies at a much cheaper price. Today farmers use five times as many pesticides on their crops as they did even 10 years ago.
GMOs Introduced
Genetically modified crops are the largest reason why the use of pesticides, especially Roundup, has gotten out of control to the detriment of our health. It’s only been since the mid-1990's that we saw the first approvals for large-scalecommercial cultivation of genetically modified crops. But the change happened frighteningly fast and today, 94 percent of soybeans and 72 percent of corn is being grown this way.
Conventional foods are largely genetically modified and covered in pesticide residue. But recent findings are showing that Monsanto's Roundup can cause major health problems. A new study shows that even when it's diluted to .02 percent of what is sprayed on crops it can cause DNA damage. While they are much less expensive than their organic and sustainably produced counterparts, they don't do a body good.
Factory Farming, a Relatively Recent Disaster
Cheapening our food supply in such a real way has also caused undue harm to the animals that fall victim to our twisted pricing. Factory farming is another rather new phenomenon that didn’t come long until the 1960’s.
The Guardian wrote in 1964:
Factory farming, whether we like it or not, has come to stay. The tide will not be held back, either by the humanitarian outcry of well meaning but sometimes misguided animal lovers, by the threat implicit to traditional farming methods, or by the sentimental approach to a rural way of life.
And they were right, by 2005, factory farming accounted for 40 percent of the global meat supply. Not only has its growth meant the gross suffering of animals and a huge weight on the planet, it's also meant the onset of superbugs. According to the National Academy of Sciences, roughly 70 percent of the antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs used in the U.S. are fed to farm animals in order to promote growth and prevent rampant disease from striking animals that are kept in filthy, stressful environments. In fact, many common bacteria (such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and E. coli) have developed a resistance to available antibiotics.
In the end, the new corporate structure of our food system has cheapened our diets in a way the world has never seen. While food may cost less in the U.S., it’s costing us more than we know in terms of our health, the health of the planet, and harm to the animals we choose to consume.
SOURCE
Not Only are Single Cup Coffee Pods A Ridiculous Waste of Materials, They Are A Worse Waste of Money (Lloyd Alter for TreeHugger)
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We never tire of complaining about single serve coffee pods that are claimed to be "recyclable" but are just a waste of aluminum and plastic, and are piling up in landfills across America. That is the environmental cost, but Smart Planet notes that there is a real financial cost too. The price of convenience of the pod coffee is as much as fifty dollars a pound. The New York Times did the math:
For example, the Nespresso Arpeggio costs $5.70 for 10 espresso capsules, while the Folgers Black Silk blend for a K-Cup brewed-coffee machine is $10.69 for 12 pods. But that Nespresso capsule contains 5 grams of coffee, so it costs about $51 a pound. And the Folgers, with 8 grams per capsule, works out to more than $50 a pound. That’s even more expensive than all but the priciest coffees sold by artisanal roasters, the stuff of coffee snobs.
Cheap coffee can be found for about eight bucks a pound; the Fair Trade shade grown stuff I buy is about sixteen bucks. Paying over three times that is just ridiculous. But apparently people under 40 don't notice because they think about coffee pricing differently than their parents; from Oliver Strand's article in the Times:
“Americans under the age of 40 are thinking about coffee pricing in cups,” said Ric Rhinehart, executive director of the Specialty Coffee Association of America. “If you asked my mother how much coffee cost, she would have told you that the red can was $5.25 a pound and the blue can was $4.25. If you ask people in their 20s and 30s, they’ll say coffee is $1.75 to $3.75 a cup.”
Next to Tasmanian ice cubes, coffee pods are about the most wasteful product I can think of, costing four times as much to make lousy coffee. Yet their sales are growing like mad, almost doubling in the last year to 7% of all the coffee made in America. Go figure.
SOURCE
We never tire of complaining about single serve coffee pods that are claimed to be "recyclable" but are just a waste of aluminum and plastic, and are piling up in landfills across America. That is the environmental cost, but Smart Planet notes that there is a real financial cost too. The price of convenience of the pod coffee is as much as fifty dollars a pound. The New York Times did the math:For example, the Nespresso Arpeggio costs $5.70 for 10 espresso capsules, while the Folgers Black Silk blend for a K-Cup brewed-coffee machine is $10.69 for 12 pods. But that Nespresso capsule contains 5 grams of coffee, so it costs about $51 a pound. And the Folgers, with 8 grams per capsule, works out to more than $50 a pound. That’s even more expensive than all but the priciest coffees sold by artisanal roasters, the stuff of coffee snobs.
Cheap coffee can be found for about eight bucks a pound; the Fair Trade shade grown stuff I buy is about sixteen bucks. Paying over three times that is just ridiculous. But apparently people under 40 don't notice because they think about coffee pricing differently than their parents; from Oliver Strand's article in the Times:
“Americans under the age of 40 are thinking about coffee pricing in cups,” said Ric Rhinehart, executive director of the Specialty Coffee Association of America. “If you asked my mother how much coffee cost, she would have told you that the red can was $5.25 a pound and the blue can was $4.25. If you ask people in their 20s and 30s, they’ll say coffee is $1.75 to $3.75 a cup.”
Next to Tasmanian ice cubes, coffee pods are about the most wasteful product I can think of, costing four times as much to make lousy coffee. Yet their sales are growing like mad, almost doubling in the last year to 7% of all the coffee made in America. Go figure.
SOURCE
Mushrooms for Good Health? (Ask Dr. Weil)
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Question
I've been trying to include more mushrooms in my diet because I heard you say that they're really good for you. But now I've been told that certain ones are carcinogenic! Can you give me the straight scoop on this?
Answer (Published 3/27/2012)
Mushrooms are big favorites of mine, but if you're just starting to learn about their medicinal properties, I don't blame you for being confused about which ones are, or aren't, good for you. In general, I advise against eating a lot of the cultivated white or "button" mushrooms found on supermarket shelves throughout the United States (portobello and crimini mushrooms are the same species). They are among a number of foods (including celery, peanuts, peanut products, and salted, pickled, or smoked foods) that contain natural carcinogens. Just how dangerous these natural toxins are is unknown, but we do know that they are not present in other kinds of mushrooms that offer great health benefits. If you do eat these varieties, never eat them raw and cook them thoroughly over high heat; that will break down some of the toxins.
Instead of button mushrooms, I recommend seeking out the more exotic varieties, which are becoming increasingly available in the United States. Some are edible and can make a delicious addition to your diet, but some are strictly medicinal mushrooms available in dried, liquid extract or in capsule form.
Here's a brief guide to my favorites:
Shiitake: These meaty and flavorful mushrooms contain a substance called eritadenine, which encourages body tissues to absorb cholesterol and lower the amount circulating in the blood. Shiitakes also have antiviral and anticancer effects. Dried shiitakes, available at Asian grocery stores, are also effective. Fresh ones are readily available thanks to domestic cultivation. (To prepare, remove stems or slice fresh ones thinly; they are often tough.)
Cordyceps: A Chinese mushroom used as a tonic and restorative. It is also known for improving athletic performance. You can buy whole, dried cordyceps in health food stores and add them to soups and stews, or drink tea made from powdered cordyceps. You can also get cordyceps in liquid or capsule form. To treat general weakness, take cordyceps once or twice a day, following the dosage advice on the product. For health maintenance, take it once or twice a week.
Enoki: Slender white mushrooms that need only brief cooking and have a very mild taste. They are good in soups and salads. Enoki mushrooms have significant anticancer and immune-enhancing effects.
Maitake: This delicious Japanese mushroom is also called "hen of the woods" because it grows in big clusters that resemble the fluffed tail feathers of a nesting hen. You should be able to find it dried or fresh in Japanese markets, gourmet foods stores, or upscale supermarkets. Maitake has anticancer, antiviral, and immune-system enhancing effects and may also help control both high blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
Reishi: Strictly a medicinal mushroom, not a culinary one, reishi is woody, hard, and bitter. Like maitake and other related mushrooms species, reishi can improve immune function and inhibit the growth of some malignant tumors. It also shows significant anti-inflammatory effects, reduces allergic responsiveness, and protects the liver. You can buy dried, ground mushrooms and use them to make tea if you don't mind the bitterness. Otherwise, buy reishi tablets, liquid extracts or capsules, which are available in health food stores and follow the recommended dosage. Take reishi every day for at least two months to see what it can do for you.
Allergies to mushrooms are rare, but some people do find them hard to digest. To learn more about the health-promoting effects of mushrooms, check out www.fungi.com, the web site of Fungi Perfecti, an excellent source for information about medicinal and gourmet edible mushrooms, as well as dried mushrooms and extracts.
Andrew Weil, M.D.SOURCE
QuestionI've been trying to include more mushrooms in my diet because I heard you say that they're really good for you. But now I've been told that certain ones are carcinogenic! Can you give me the straight scoop on this?
Answer (Published 3/27/2012)
Mushrooms are big favorites of mine, but if you're just starting to learn about their medicinal properties, I don't blame you for being confused about which ones are, or aren't, good for you. In general, I advise against eating a lot of the cultivated white or "button" mushrooms found on supermarket shelves throughout the United States (portobello and crimini mushrooms are the same species). They are among a number of foods (including celery, peanuts, peanut products, and salted, pickled, or smoked foods) that contain natural carcinogens. Just how dangerous these natural toxins are is unknown, but we do know that they are not present in other kinds of mushrooms that offer great health benefits. If you do eat these varieties, never eat them raw and cook them thoroughly over high heat; that will break down some of the toxins.
Instead of button mushrooms, I recommend seeking out the more exotic varieties, which are becoming increasingly available in the United States. Some are edible and can make a delicious addition to your diet, but some are strictly medicinal mushrooms available in dried, liquid extract or in capsule form.
Here's a brief guide to my favorites:
Shiitake: These meaty and flavorful mushrooms contain a substance called eritadenine, which encourages body tissues to absorb cholesterol and lower the amount circulating in the blood. Shiitakes also have antiviral and anticancer effects. Dried shiitakes, available at Asian grocery stores, are also effective. Fresh ones are readily available thanks to domestic cultivation. (To prepare, remove stems or slice fresh ones thinly; they are often tough.)
Cordyceps: A Chinese mushroom used as a tonic and restorative. It is also known for improving athletic performance. You can buy whole, dried cordyceps in health food stores and add them to soups and stews, or drink tea made from powdered cordyceps. You can also get cordyceps in liquid or capsule form. To treat general weakness, take cordyceps once or twice a day, following the dosage advice on the product. For health maintenance, take it once or twice a week.
Enoki: Slender white mushrooms that need only brief cooking and have a very mild taste. They are good in soups and salads. Enoki mushrooms have significant anticancer and immune-enhancing effects.
Maitake: This delicious Japanese mushroom is also called "hen of the woods" because it grows in big clusters that resemble the fluffed tail feathers of a nesting hen. You should be able to find it dried or fresh in Japanese markets, gourmet foods stores, or upscale supermarkets. Maitake has anticancer, antiviral, and immune-system enhancing effects and may also help control both high blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
Reishi: Strictly a medicinal mushroom, not a culinary one, reishi is woody, hard, and bitter. Like maitake and other related mushrooms species, reishi can improve immune function and inhibit the growth of some malignant tumors. It also shows significant anti-inflammatory effects, reduces allergic responsiveness, and protects the liver. You can buy dried, ground mushrooms and use them to make tea if you don't mind the bitterness. Otherwise, buy reishi tablets, liquid extracts or capsules, which are available in health food stores and follow the recommended dosage. Take reishi every day for at least two months to see what it can do for you.
Allergies to mushrooms are rare, but some people do find them hard to digest. To learn more about the health-promoting effects of mushrooms, check out www.fungi.com, the web site of Fungi Perfecti, an excellent source for information about medicinal and gourmet edible mushrooms, as well as dried mushrooms and extracts.
Andrew Weil, M.D.SOURCE
7 Temmuz 2012 Cumartesi
Six Degrees
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A day of activism yesterday. First off, a rally for Jim Reed (in the photo above) who is running for Congress. Jim is a homespun Democratic candidate. He has a penchant for big gaffs. A likable fella, his politics is a combination of awe shucks ranch style populism and Berkeley lawyer sophistication. He does listen to his constituents though; when he recommended raising the Shasta Dam as a public works project, he rescinded the proposal after meeting with Chico area Enviros. Then the guy went out and opposed the Keystone pipeline cause he wants to see the pipeline oil be refined in California. A bit more education is in order. However, he had a decent turnout for Chico--around 80 folks.
Then, while the girls and Joni went to see "The Lorax", I wandered around a bit and heard a lecture on climate change at Chico State.
And speaking of climate change, I also read the best book on the subject the other day: "Six Degrees" by Mark Lynas. The book, which came out in 2008, details exactly what is expected to happen at 1 degree Celsius (where we are now), two degrees Celsius and all the way up to six degrees Celsius; a separate chapter for every degree. He also documents what can be expected with a historical flare, going back in time to eras when the Earth was six degrees warmer. Scientists agree that six degrees by 2100 is more than a possibility. The news ain't good with this sort of warming.
So far we've had a pittance of warming (0.8 Celsius) with some rather graphic consequences. As I write this, an early season "swarm" of tornadoes struck the mid-west. Out here in California, we really haven't had much of a winter; our rainfall is 1/3 the normal amount (and the lowest on record) for this rainy season. It will only get worse.
A day of activism yesterday. First off, a rally for Jim Reed (in the photo above) who is running for Congress. Jim is a homespun Democratic candidate. He has a penchant for big gaffs. A likable fella, his politics is a combination of awe shucks ranch style populism and Berkeley lawyer sophistication. He does listen to his constituents though; when he recommended raising the Shasta Dam as a public works project, he rescinded the proposal after meeting with Chico area Enviros. Then the guy went out and opposed the Keystone pipeline cause he wants to see the pipeline oil be refined in California. A bit more education is in order. However, he had a decent turnout for Chico--around 80 folks.
Then, while the girls and Joni went to see "The Lorax", I wandered around a bit and heard a lecture on climate change at Chico State.
And speaking of climate change, I also read the best book on the subject the other day: "Six Degrees" by Mark Lynas. The book, which came out in 2008, details exactly what is expected to happen at 1 degree Celsius (where we are now), two degrees Celsius and all the way up to six degrees Celsius; a separate chapter for every degree. He also documents what can be expected with a historical flare, going back in time to eras when the Earth was six degrees warmer. Scientists agree that six degrees by 2100 is more than a possibility. The news ain't good with this sort of warming.
So far we've had a pittance of warming (0.8 Celsius) with some rather graphic consequences. As I write this, an early season "swarm" of tornadoes struck the mid-west. Out here in California, we really haven't had much of a winter; our rainfall is 1/3 the normal amount (and the lowest on record) for this rainy season. It will only get worse.
Puttering
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A nice day here today. All the dogs got a bath. The generator got an oil change. The car got cleaned out. A few rocks were piled by the garden. A few loads of laundry got done. The kitchen floor got washed. The kitchen table got scraped down in order to refinish it. In short, one of those glorious days where you can just be outside and putter.
Then I got a call from the hospital Supervisor:
"Allan, you were on the schedule for today".
"Really, I can make it there in four hours".
Supervisor: "That's okay, we were just calling as a welfare check. Take the day off".
A nice day here today. All the dogs got a bath. The generator got an oil change. The car got cleaned out. A few rocks were piled by the garden. A few loads of laundry got done. The kitchen floor got washed. The kitchen table got scraped down in order to refinish it. In short, one of those glorious days where you can just be outside and putter.
Then I got a call from the hospital Supervisor:
"Allan, you were on the schedule for today".
"Really, I can make it there in four hours".
Supervisor: "That's okay, we were just calling as a welfare check. Take the day off".
March 7, 1961
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I was born 51 years ago today. Weighing in at around 7 pounds, I weighed about as much as my head weighs now.
In March of 1961 CO2 was at 316 parts per million; in March of this year, CO2 will come in around 395 parts per million.
In March of 1961, the top Federal Income Tax Rate was 91 percent of your income; today it is 35 percent.
I was one of 183 million Americans; today I am one of 310 million Americans.
There were 3 billion people living on the planet in 1961; today there are 7 billion people.
I could expect to live 70 years in 1961. So, on average, I have 19 years left.
In March of 1961 CO2 was at 316 parts per million; in March of this year, CO2 will come in around 395 parts per million.
In March of 1961, the top Federal Income Tax Rate was 91 percent of your income; today it is 35 percent.
I was one of 183 million Americans; today I am one of 310 million Americans.
There were 3 billion people living on the planet in 1961; today there are 7 billion people.
I could expect to live 70 years in 1961. So, on average, I have 19 years left.
Splitting Wood...
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A neighbor brought by his Wood Splitter today so we spent a couple hours putting wood up for the rest of the winter. We heat this house only with wood and this is the fifth pickup full of rounds that we have cut this season. Not bad.
My progeny writes to ask if I can think of any positive things that have been created since my birthday in 1961. Now I am a dyspeptic dysthymic negative bloke of a person and the state of the world certainly leads me to more pessimism than optimism. Yes, life is good on a personal basis. I've got people who love me in my life. This house. A good job. A fairly decently working brain and a body that manages to heft me around. I've got good dogs. All those things that make for having a satisfying personal life.
And I guess we should enjoy that huh? Sure.
So some things that are better now than in 1961:
1. Science. Specifically climate scientists who have let us know precisely what will happen as CO2 and Methane are released into the atmosphere. In 1961 we had no clue.
2. The Wilderness Act of 1963 and the Alaska Wilderness Act of 1980.
3. Solar panels and Wind turbines.
4. The Internet.
5. Environmental Groups, thousands and thousands of them, that just might save the planet.
6. Lap Top computers.
7. Really good hiking shoes.
8. Lightweight sleeping bags and tents. And you have to love how quickly and easily tents can be set up nowadays. And whoever thought of putting those little wires through tent poles so that they never get disconnected, or lost, is a genius.
9. Medicare.
10. Reliable birth control.
11. The Endangered Species Act and the EPA.
12. Dental floss and pain free dentistry.
13. Wheels on suitcases.
That's about all that I can think of. All the rest of progress doesn't really seem to add up to much.
A neighbor brought by his Wood Splitter today so we spent a couple hours putting wood up for the rest of the winter. We heat this house only with wood and this is the fifth pickup full of rounds that we have cut this season. Not bad.
My progeny writes to ask if I can think of any positive things that have been created since my birthday in 1961. Now I am a dyspeptic dysthymic negative bloke of a person and the state of the world certainly leads me to more pessimism than optimism. Yes, life is good on a personal basis. I've got people who love me in my life. This house. A good job. A fairly decently working brain and a body that manages to heft me around. I've got good dogs. All those things that make for having a satisfying personal life.
And I guess we should enjoy that huh? Sure.
So some things that are better now than in 1961:
1. Science. Specifically climate scientists who have let us know precisely what will happen as CO2 and Methane are released into the atmosphere. In 1961 we had no clue.
2. The Wilderness Act of 1963 and the Alaska Wilderness Act of 1980.
3. Solar panels and Wind turbines.
4. The Internet.
5. Environmental Groups, thousands and thousands of them, that just might save the planet.
6. Lap Top computers.
7. Really good hiking shoes.
8. Lightweight sleeping bags and tents. And you have to love how quickly and easily tents can be set up nowadays. And whoever thought of putting those little wires through tent poles so that they never get disconnected, or lost, is a genius.
9. Medicare.
10. Reliable birth control.
11. The Endangered Species Act and the EPA.
12. Dental floss and pain free dentistry.
13. Wheels on suitcases.
That's about all that I can think of. All the rest of progress doesn't really seem to add up to much.
Walking and the Gated Community...
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It has rained much of March. And for much of March, I've had a sore throat. Two series of anti-biotics have kept the thing at bay---but as a number of my co-workers are also experiencing, as soon as the round of Amoxicillin ends, the throat gets sore again. And so I've been just doing my best to stay warm and dry. To not get sick again.
I have bigger hopes for April; that April will dry up eventually. I hope to get outside again.
Taking a walk can be a dangerous endeavor, not only because walking in the cold and the rain can lead to catching a cold. No. Taking a walk can get you killed as the sad case of the poor black kid in Florida points out. What has been neglected thus far in the coverage of Treyvon is that the killing occurred in a Gated Community.
Frankly, I hate Gated Communities. I think they are evil, dangerous places. Castles against having to be exposed to "others". I'm an advocate of the basic human need for the "Right To Roam". Gated Communities are places to hide. Hide the wealth of the occupants. They are anti-social bastions of hiding from the discomfort that most people experience. And they certainly are not egalitarian.
As the US becomes more and more inegalitarian, these pimples of non-citizenship have arisen to calm the consciences of those who live in luxury. And as places of luxury, they should be taxed (I'd say double what others pay) for simply attempting to cut themselves off from the real world.
I have bigger hopes for April; that April will dry up eventually. I hope to get outside again.
Taking a walk can be a dangerous endeavor, not only because walking in the cold and the rain can lead to catching a cold. No. Taking a walk can get you killed as the sad case of the poor black kid in Florida points out. What has been neglected thus far in the coverage of Treyvon is that the killing occurred in a Gated Community.
Frankly, I hate Gated Communities. I think they are evil, dangerous places. Castles against having to be exposed to "others". I'm an advocate of the basic human need for the "Right To Roam". Gated Communities are places to hide. Hide the wealth of the occupants. They are anti-social bastions of hiding from the discomfort that most people experience. And they certainly are not egalitarian.
As the US becomes more and more inegalitarian, these pimples of non-citizenship have arisen to calm the consciences of those who live in luxury. And as places of luxury, they should be taxed (I'd say double what others pay) for simply attempting to cut themselves off from the real world.
4 Temmuz 2012 Çarşamba
Startling New Research Suggests Popcorn is a Powerful Superfood (Melissa Breyer for TreeHugger)
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Although popcorn has taken a beating for its tendency to end up in compromising positions -- like slathered in “golden flavor” at the movie theater or harboring offensive chemicals courtesy of microwave-popping packaging -- new research is showing that it is a super-nutrient powerhouse.
Affordable, easily-attainable popcorn! Take that, you miracle-promising superfoods with your exorbitant price tags and exuberant food miles. (Acai and goji berries, are you listening?)
Joe Vinson, Ph.D., a pioneer in nutritional analyses of common foods, explained at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, that polyphenols are much more concentrated in popcorn which averages only about 4 percent water. Most fresh produce contains around 90 percent of water which dilutes this special class of antioxidants.
The new study found that the amount of polyphenols found in popcorn was as high as 300 mg a serving compared to 114 mg for a serving of sweet corn and 160 mg for a serving of fruit. In addition, one serving of popcorns provide around 13 percent of a daily average intake of polyphenols per person in the U.S.
And aside from the remarkable polyphenol content, popcorn is a whole grain!
Said Vinson of the findings,
Popcorn may be the perfect snack food. It's the only snack that is 100 percent unprocessed whole grain. All other grains are processed and diluted with other ingredients, and although cereals are called "whole grain," this simply means that over 51 percent of the weight of the product is whole grain. One serving of popcorn will provide more than 70 percent of the daily intake of whole grain. The average person only gets about half a serving of whole grains a day, and popcorn could fill that gap in a very pleasant way.
The caveat: Beware of which kind of popcorn you eat. Movie popcorn, kettle corn, microwave popcorn, and the like can become nutritional nightmares when subjected to copious amounts of butter, fake butter, sugar, corn syrup, what-have-you. (A small popcorn at the nation's largest movie chain, Regal, has 670 calories--the same as a Pizza Hut Personal Pepperoni Pan Pizza.)
Microwave popcorn is about 43 percent fat, along with other possibly suspect ingredients. Air-popped popcorn has the lowest amount of calories, and home-popped in oil has the second lowest amount.
Pop Your OwnYou don't need an air-popper or microwave to make your own. Here's the basic procedure for stovetop popping: Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil (or a milder cooking oil if you like a neutral taste) into a large, heavy pot and place on medium-high heat. Put two or three kernels in, and when one has popped, pour in 1/3 cup of popcorn and cover pan. When corn begins to pop, shake constantly, letting steam escape from the pot to prevent sogginess. When popping slows considerably, remove pan from heat and pour into a large bowl. Season to taste. Enjoy.
SOURCE
Although popcorn has taken a beating for its tendency to end up in compromising positions -- like slathered in “golden flavor” at the movie theater or harboring offensive chemicals courtesy of microwave-popping packaging -- new research is showing that it is a super-nutrient powerhouse.Affordable, easily-attainable popcorn! Take that, you miracle-promising superfoods with your exorbitant price tags and exuberant food miles. (Acai and goji berries, are you listening?)
Joe Vinson, Ph.D., a pioneer in nutritional analyses of common foods, explained at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, that polyphenols are much more concentrated in popcorn which averages only about 4 percent water. Most fresh produce contains around 90 percent of water which dilutes this special class of antioxidants.
The new study found that the amount of polyphenols found in popcorn was as high as 300 mg a serving compared to 114 mg for a serving of sweet corn and 160 mg for a serving of fruit. In addition, one serving of popcorns provide around 13 percent of a daily average intake of polyphenols per person in the U.S.
And aside from the remarkable polyphenol content, popcorn is a whole grain!
Said Vinson of the findings,
Popcorn may be the perfect snack food. It's the only snack that is 100 percent unprocessed whole grain. All other grains are processed and diluted with other ingredients, and although cereals are called "whole grain," this simply means that over 51 percent of the weight of the product is whole grain. One serving of popcorn will provide more than 70 percent of the daily intake of whole grain. The average person only gets about half a serving of whole grains a day, and popcorn could fill that gap in a very pleasant way.
The caveat: Beware of which kind of popcorn you eat. Movie popcorn, kettle corn, microwave popcorn, and the like can become nutritional nightmares when subjected to copious amounts of butter, fake butter, sugar, corn syrup, what-have-you. (A small popcorn at the nation's largest movie chain, Regal, has 670 calories--the same as a Pizza Hut Personal Pepperoni Pan Pizza.)
Microwave popcorn is about 43 percent fat, along with other possibly suspect ingredients. Air-popped popcorn has the lowest amount of calories, and home-popped in oil has the second lowest amount.
Pop Your OwnYou don't need an air-popper or microwave to make your own. Here's the basic procedure for stovetop popping: Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil (or a milder cooking oil if you like a neutral taste) into a large, heavy pot and place on medium-high heat. Put two or three kernels in, and when one has popped, pour in 1/3 cup of popcorn and cover pan. When corn begins to pop, shake constantly, letting steam escape from the pot to prevent sogginess. When popping slows considerably, remove pan from heat and pour into a large bowl. Season to taste. Enjoy.
SOURCE
5 Common Household Cleaners Hazardous to Your Health (Melissa Breyer for TreeHugger)
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Though many assume that some government agency oversees the safety of the multi-billion-dollar household cleaning products industry, it is largely unregulated. All those common chemical cleaners that require gloves to use and that we lock up from the kids? They undergo minimal scrutiny; what’s a consumer to do?
Environmental Working Group (EWG) to the rescue. The watchdog organization has cast plenty of research on the toxins in everything from cosmetics to food, and are now taking household cleaners to task. The comprehensive 2012 EWG Cleaners Database project, due for publication this fall, will mark the first comprehensive independent scientific analysis of toxic chemicals in more than 2,000 cleaning products and 200 brands.
In the meantime, EWG has excerpted some of the top offenders in a prequel (of sorts) report, the EWG Cleaners Hall of Shame. The report has uncovered compelling and startling facts showing that common household cleaners, including some marketed as “safe” or “natural,” can be quite hazardous to the health of unwitting users.
“Cleaning your home can come at a high price – cancer-causing chemicals in the air, an asthma attack from fumes or serious skin burns from an accidental spill,” said Jane Houlihan, EWG senior vice president for research and co-author of the EWG Cleaners Hall of Shame. “Almost any ingredient is legal and almost none of them are labeled, leaving families at risk. Our Hall of Shame products don’t belong in the home.”
All in all, it's a nasty group of products, a real bunch of thugs, that really should be avoided. Here are the worst of the worst, worthy of a shout-out from the Cleaners Hall of Shame:
1. Mop & Glo Multi-Surface Floor Cleaner
A dose of methoxydiglycol (DEGME) with your shiny floor? DEGME is "suspected of damaging the unborn child" by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. DEGME levels in this product are up to 15 times higher than allowed in the European Union.
2. Comet Disinfectant Cleanser Powder
EWG found that this scouring powder emitted 146 di fferent chemicals, including some thought to cause cancer, asthma and reproductive disorders. The most toxic chemicals detected – formaldehyde, benzene, chloroform and
toluene – are not listed on the label. Little is known about the health risks of most of the contaminants found.
3. Simple Green Concentrated All-Purpose Cleaner
Marketing claims this to be “non-toxic,” but it contains 2-butoxyethanol, a solvent absorbed through the skin that irritates eyes and may damage red blood cells. A secret blend of alcohol ethoxylate surfactants; some members of this chemical family are banned in the European Union. This concentrated product is sold in a ready-to-use spray bottle despite instructions to dilute, even for heavy cleaning.
4. Scrubbing Bubbles Antibacterial Bathroom Cleaner & Extend-A-Clean Mega Shower Foamer
These products contain up to 10 percent DEGBE, also called brotherliness, a solvent banned in the European Union at concentrations above 3 percent in aerosol cleaners. It can irritate and inflame the lungs.
5. Dynamo and Fab Ultra liquid laundry detergents
These contain formaldehyde, also known as formalin, classi�ed as a known human carcinogen by the U.S. government and World Health Organization. Formaldehyde can cause asthma and allergies. The company divulges the presence of formaldehyde in the product only on technical disclosures for workers.
Sadly, this is just the tip of the iceberg. See the full sneak-peak here: 2012 EWG Cleaners Database Hall of Shame, and check back for the full report in the fall.
SOURCE
Though many assume that some government agency oversees the safety of the multi-billion-dollar household cleaning products industry, it is largely unregulated. All those common chemical cleaners that require gloves to use and that we lock up from the kids? They undergo minimal scrutiny; what’s a consumer to do?Environmental Working Group (EWG) to the rescue. The watchdog organization has cast plenty of research on the toxins in everything from cosmetics to food, and are now taking household cleaners to task. The comprehensive 2012 EWG Cleaners Database project, due for publication this fall, will mark the first comprehensive independent scientific analysis of toxic chemicals in more than 2,000 cleaning products and 200 brands.
In the meantime, EWG has excerpted some of the top offenders in a prequel (of sorts) report, the EWG Cleaners Hall of Shame. The report has uncovered compelling and startling facts showing that common household cleaners, including some marketed as “safe” or “natural,” can be quite hazardous to the health of unwitting users.
“Cleaning your home can come at a high price – cancer-causing chemicals in the air, an asthma attack from fumes or serious skin burns from an accidental spill,” said Jane Houlihan, EWG senior vice president for research and co-author of the EWG Cleaners Hall of Shame. “Almost any ingredient is legal and almost none of them are labeled, leaving families at risk. Our Hall of Shame products don’t belong in the home.”
All in all, it's a nasty group of products, a real bunch of thugs, that really should be avoided. Here are the worst of the worst, worthy of a shout-out from the Cleaners Hall of Shame:
1. Mop & Glo Multi-Surface Floor Cleaner
A dose of methoxydiglycol (DEGME) with your shiny floor? DEGME is "suspected of damaging the unborn child" by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. DEGME levels in this product are up to 15 times higher than allowed in the European Union.
2. Comet Disinfectant Cleanser Powder
EWG found that this scouring powder emitted 146 di fferent chemicals, including some thought to cause cancer, asthma and reproductive disorders. The most toxic chemicals detected – formaldehyde, benzene, chloroform and
toluene – are not listed on the label. Little is known about the health risks of most of the contaminants found.
3. Simple Green Concentrated All-Purpose Cleaner
Marketing claims this to be “non-toxic,” but it contains 2-butoxyethanol, a solvent absorbed through the skin that irritates eyes and may damage red blood cells. A secret blend of alcohol ethoxylate surfactants; some members of this chemical family are banned in the European Union. This concentrated product is sold in a ready-to-use spray bottle despite instructions to dilute, even for heavy cleaning.
4. Scrubbing Bubbles Antibacterial Bathroom Cleaner & Extend-A-Clean Mega Shower Foamer
These products contain up to 10 percent DEGBE, also called brotherliness, a solvent banned in the European Union at concentrations above 3 percent in aerosol cleaners. It can irritate and inflame the lungs.
5. Dynamo and Fab Ultra liquid laundry detergents
These contain formaldehyde, also known as formalin, classi�ed as a known human carcinogen by the U.S. government and World Health Organization. Formaldehyde can cause asthma and allergies. The company divulges the presence of formaldehyde in the product only on technical disclosures for workers.
Sadly, this is just the tip of the iceberg. See the full sneak-peak here: 2012 EWG Cleaners Database Hall of Shame, and check back for the full report in the fall.
SOURCE
Tending the Body’s Microbial Garden (Carl Zimmer for The New York Times)
To contact us Click HERE
For a century, doctors have waged war against bacteria, using antibiotics as their weapons. But that relationship is changing as scientists become more familiar with the 100 trillion microbes that call us home — collectively known as the microbiome.
“I would like to lose the language of warfare,” said Julie Segre, a senior investigator at the National Human Genome Research Institute. “It does a disservice to all the bacteria that have co-evolved with us and are maintaining the health of our bodies.”
This new approach to health is known as medical ecology. Rather than conducting indiscriminate slaughter, Dr. Segre and like-minded scientists want to be microbial wildlife managers.
No one wants to abandon antibiotics outright. But by nurturing the invisible ecosystem in and on our bodies, doctors may be able to find other ways to fight infectious diseases, and with less harmful side effects. Tending the microbiome may also help in the treatment of disorders that may not seem to have anything to do with bacteria, including obesity and diabetes.
“I cannot wait for this to become a big area of science,” saidMichael A. Fischbach, a microbiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, and an author of a medical ecology manifesto published this month in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Judging from a flood of recent findings about our inner ecosystem, that appears to be happening. Last week, Dr. Segre and about 200 other scientists published the most ambitious survey of the human microbiome yet. Known as the Human Microbiome Project, it is based on examinations of 242 healthy people tracked over two years. The scientists sequenced the genetic material of bacteriarecovered from 15 or more sites on their subjects’ bodies, recovering more than five million genes.
The project and other studies like it are revealing some of the ways in which our invisible residents shape our lives, from birth to death.
A number of recent reports shed light on how mothers promote the health of their children by shaping their microbiomes. In a study published last week in the journal PLoS One, Dr. Kjersti Aagaard-Tillery, an obstetrician at Baylor College of Medicine, and her colleagues described the vaginal microbiome in pregnant women. Before she started the study, Dr. Aagaard-Tillery expected this microbiome to be no different from that of women who weren’t pregnant.
“In fact, what we found is the exact opposite,” she said.
Early in the first trimester of pregnancy, she found, the diversity of vaginal bacteria changes significantly. Abundant species become rare, and vice versa.
One of the dominant species in the vagina of a pregnant woman, it turns out, is Lactobacillus johnsonii. It is usually found in the gut, where it produces enzymes that digest milk. It’s an odd species to find proliferating in the vagina, to say the least. Dr. Aagaard-Tillery speculates that changing conditions in the vagina encourage the bacteria to grow. During delivery, a baby will be coated by Lactobacillus johnsonii and ingest some of it. Dr. Aagaard-Tillery suggests that this inoculation prepares the infant to digest breast milk.
The baby’s microbiome continues to grow during breast-feeding. In a study of 16 lactating women published last year, Katherine M. Hunt of the University of Idaho and her colleagues reported that the women’s milk had up to 600 species of bacteria, as well as sugars called oligosaccharides that babies cannot digest. The sugars serve to nourishcertain beneficial gut bacteria in the infants, the scientists said. The more the good bacteria thrive, the harder it is for harmful species to gain a foothold.
As the child grows and the microbiome becomes more ecologically complex, it also tutors the immune system. Ecological disruptions can halt this education. In March, Dr. Richard S. Blumberg of Harvard and his colleagues reported an experiment that demonstrates how important this education is.
The scientists reared mice that lacked any microbiome. In their guts and lungs, the germ-free mice developed abnormally high levels of immune cells called invariant natural killer T cells. Normally, these cells trigger a swift response from the immune system against viruses and other pathogens. In Dr. Blumberg’s microbe-free mice, however, they caused harmful inflammation. As adults, the mice were more likely to suffer from asthma and inflammatory bowel disease.
This experiment parallels studies of children in recent years. Children who take high levels of antibiotics may be at greater risk of developing allergies and asthma later on, many researchers have suggested.
Dr. Blumberg and his colleagues found that they could prevent the mice from becoming ill by giving them bacteria while they were still young. Acquiring a microbiome as an adult did not help the rodents.
The Good With the Bad
The diversity of species that make up the microbiome is hard to fathom. But it is even more difficult to understand how the immune system copes with this onslaught. In any one person’s mouth, for example, the scientists of the Human Microbiome Project found about 75 to 100 species. Some that predominate in one person’s mouth may be rare in another person’s. Still, the rate at which they are being discovered indicates that there may be as many as 5,000 species of bacteria that live in the human mouth.
“The closer you look, the more you find,” said Susan M. Huse of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., a contributor to the microbiome project.
Although the project has focused largely on bacteria, the microbiome’s diversity is wider. For example, our bodies also host viruses.
Many species in the human “virome” specialize in infecting our resident bacteria. But in the DNA samples stored in the Human Microbiome Project’s database, Kristine Wylie of Washington University and her colleagues are finding a wealth of viruses that target human cells. It is normal, it seems, for people to have a variety of viruses busily infecting their human hosts. “It’s really pretty striking that even in these healthy people, there really is a virome,” Dr. Wylie said.
The microbiome also includes fungi. In the June 8 issue of the journal Science, David Underhill, a research scientist at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, and his colleaguesreported on a wealth of fungal species in the guts of humans and other mammals. In mice, for example, they cataloged 100 species of fungi that are new to science, along with 100 already known. This diversity is all the more remarkable when you consider that it is tolerated by an immune system that has evolved to fight off microbes. Scientists have only a dim understanding of how the system decides which to kill and which to tolerate.
Immune cells fight fungal infections, for example, with a protein called dectin-1, which attaches only to fungi. But Dr. Underhill and his colleagues found that dectin-1 is also essential for tolerating harmless fungi. When they engineered mice that couldn’t produce dectin-1, the mice responded to harmless fungi by producing so much inflammation that their own tissues were damaged.
It’s a good thing that the immune system can rein itself in, because the microbiome carries out many services for us. In the gut, microbes synthesize vitamins and break down tough plant compounds into digestible bits.
Skin bacteria are also essential, Dr. Segre said. “One of the most important functions of the skin is to serve as a barrier,” she said. Bacteria feed on the waxy secretions of skin cells, and then produce a moisturizing film that keeps our skin supple and prevents cracks — thus keeping out invading pathogens.
Restoring Order to the System
Antibiotics kill off harmful bacteria, but broad-spectrum forms can kill off many desirable species, too. Dr. Fischbach likens antibiotics to herbicides sprayed on a garden. The herbicide kills the unwanted plants, but also kills off the tomatoes and the roses. The gardener assumes that the tomatoes and roses will grow back on their own.
In fact, there’s no guarantee the microbial ecosystem will automatically return to normal. “It’s one of those assumptions we make today that will seem silly in retrospect,” Dr. Fischbach said. Indeed, some bacteria are adapted for invading and establishing themselves in disrupted ecosystems. A species called Clostridium difficile will sometimes invade a person’s gut after a course of antibiotics. From 2000 to 2009, the number of hospitalized patients in the United States found to have C. difficile more than doubled, to 336,600 from 139,000. Once established, the antibiotic-resistant C. difficile can be hard to eradicate.
Now that scientists are gaining a picture of healthy microbiomes, they are optimistic about restoring devastated ones. “I don’t know that we’re quite on the cusp of being able to do that well at this point. But I think at least the data is starting to argue that these might be possibilities,” said Barbara Methé of the J. Craig Venter Institute, a principal investigator on the microbiome project.
One way to restore microbiomes may be to selectively foster beneficial bacteria. To ward off dangerous skin pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus, for instance, Dr. Segre envisions applying a cream infused with nutrients for harmless skin bacteria to feed on. “It’s promoting the growth of the healthy bacteria that can then overtake the staph,” she said.
Bacterial Transplants
Adding the bacteria directly may also help. Unfortunately, the science of so-called probiotics lags far behind their growth in sales. In 2011, people bought $28 billion of probiotic foods and supplements, according to the research firm EuroMonitor International. But few of them have been tested as rigorously as conventional drugs.
“I think the science has been shoddy and flimsy,” said Dr. Fischbach (who is on the scientific advisory board of Schiff Nutrition International).
Nonetheless, he sees a few promising probiotic treatments. A growing number of doctors are treating C. difficile with fecal transplants: Stool from a healthy donor is delivered like a suppository to an infected patient. The idea is that the good bacteria in the stool establish themselves in the gut and begin to compete with C. difficile. This year, researchers at the University of Alberta reviewed 124 fecal transplants and concluded that the procedure is safe and effective, with 83 percent of patients experiencing immediate improvement as their internal ecosystems were restored.
Dr. Alexander Khoruts of the University of Minnesota and his colleagues want to make fecal transplants standard practice. They can now extract bacteria from stool, “removing the ‘ick’ factor,” as he puts it.
Dr. Khoruts and his colleagues have federal approval to start formal clinical trials on fecal transplants. Eventually, he would like to develop probiotic pills that contain just a few key species required to build the intestinal ecosystem.
“People are starting to take this seriously,” Dr. Fischbach said. “This is a therapy that’s going to help a lot of people.”
Other conditions potentially could be treated by manipulating the microbiome. Scientists have linked obesity, for example, to changes to the gut’s ecosystem. When scientists transfer bacteria from obese mice to lean ones, the lean mice put on weight.
How this happens is still unclear, but some studies suggest that an “obese” microbiome sends signals to the body, changing how cells use sugar for energy and leading the body to store extra fat.
Researchers at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam are running a clinical trial to see if fecal transplants can help treat obesity. They have recruited 45 obese men; some are getting transplants from their own stool, while others get transplants from lean donors. The scientists are finding that the transplants from lean donors are changing how the obese subjects metabolize sugar.
While these initial results are promising, there is no evidence yet that the obese subjects are losing weight. Dr. Fischbach cautions that it may take a while to figure out how to manipulate the microbiome to make people healthy.
And it may take even longer to persuade doctors to think like ecologists.
“The physicians I know really like things that are clear and crisp,” Dr. Fischbach said. “But like any ecosystem, the microbiome is not the kind of place to find simple answers.”
SOURCE
For a century, doctors have waged war against bacteria, using antibiotics as their weapons. But that relationship is changing as scientists become more familiar with the 100 trillion microbes that call us home — collectively known as the microbiome.
“I would like to lose the language of warfare,” said Julie Segre, a senior investigator at the National Human Genome Research Institute. “It does a disservice to all the bacteria that have co-evolved with us and are maintaining the health of our bodies.”
This new approach to health is known as medical ecology. Rather than conducting indiscriminate slaughter, Dr. Segre and like-minded scientists want to be microbial wildlife managers.
No one wants to abandon antibiotics outright. But by nurturing the invisible ecosystem in and on our bodies, doctors may be able to find other ways to fight infectious diseases, and with less harmful side effects. Tending the microbiome may also help in the treatment of disorders that may not seem to have anything to do with bacteria, including obesity and diabetes.
“I cannot wait for this to become a big area of science,” saidMichael A. Fischbach, a microbiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, and an author of a medical ecology manifesto published this month in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Judging from a flood of recent findings about our inner ecosystem, that appears to be happening. Last week, Dr. Segre and about 200 other scientists published the most ambitious survey of the human microbiome yet. Known as the Human Microbiome Project, it is based on examinations of 242 healthy people tracked over two years. The scientists sequenced the genetic material of bacteriarecovered from 15 or more sites on their subjects’ bodies, recovering more than five million genes.
The project and other studies like it are revealing some of the ways in which our invisible residents shape our lives, from birth to death.
A number of recent reports shed light on how mothers promote the health of their children by shaping their microbiomes. In a study published last week in the journal PLoS One, Dr. Kjersti Aagaard-Tillery, an obstetrician at Baylor College of Medicine, and her colleagues described the vaginal microbiome in pregnant women. Before she started the study, Dr. Aagaard-Tillery expected this microbiome to be no different from that of women who weren’t pregnant.
“In fact, what we found is the exact opposite,” she said.
Early in the first trimester of pregnancy, she found, the diversity of vaginal bacteria changes significantly. Abundant species become rare, and vice versa.
One of the dominant species in the vagina of a pregnant woman, it turns out, is Lactobacillus johnsonii. It is usually found in the gut, where it produces enzymes that digest milk. It’s an odd species to find proliferating in the vagina, to say the least. Dr. Aagaard-Tillery speculates that changing conditions in the vagina encourage the bacteria to grow. During delivery, a baby will be coated by Lactobacillus johnsonii and ingest some of it. Dr. Aagaard-Tillery suggests that this inoculation prepares the infant to digest breast milk.
The baby’s microbiome continues to grow during breast-feeding. In a study of 16 lactating women published last year, Katherine M. Hunt of the University of Idaho and her colleagues reported that the women’s milk had up to 600 species of bacteria, as well as sugars called oligosaccharides that babies cannot digest. The sugars serve to nourishcertain beneficial gut bacteria in the infants, the scientists said. The more the good bacteria thrive, the harder it is for harmful species to gain a foothold.
As the child grows and the microbiome becomes more ecologically complex, it also tutors the immune system. Ecological disruptions can halt this education. In March, Dr. Richard S. Blumberg of Harvard and his colleagues reported an experiment that demonstrates how important this education is.
The scientists reared mice that lacked any microbiome. In their guts and lungs, the germ-free mice developed abnormally high levels of immune cells called invariant natural killer T cells. Normally, these cells trigger a swift response from the immune system against viruses and other pathogens. In Dr. Blumberg’s microbe-free mice, however, they caused harmful inflammation. As adults, the mice were more likely to suffer from asthma and inflammatory bowel disease.
This experiment parallels studies of children in recent years. Children who take high levels of antibiotics may be at greater risk of developing allergies and asthma later on, many researchers have suggested.
Dr. Blumberg and his colleagues found that they could prevent the mice from becoming ill by giving them bacteria while they were still young. Acquiring a microbiome as an adult did not help the rodents.
The Good With the Bad
The diversity of species that make up the microbiome is hard to fathom. But it is even more difficult to understand how the immune system copes with this onslaught. In any one person’s mouth, for example, the scientists of the Human Microbiome Project found about 75 to 100 species. Some that predominate in one person’s mouth may be rare in another person’s. Still, the rate at which they are being discovered indicates that there may be as many as 5,000 species of bacteria that live in the human mouth.
“The closer you look, the more you find,” said Susan M. Huse of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., a contributor to the microbiome project.
Although the project has focused largely on bacteria, the microbiome’s diversity is wider. For example, our bodies also host viruses.
Many species in the human “virome” specialize in infecting our resident bacteria. But in the DNA samples stored in the Human Microbiome Project’s database, Kristine Wylie of Washington University and her colleagues are finding a wealth of viruses that target human cells. It is normal, it seems, for people to have a variety of viruses busily infecting their human hosts. “It’s really pretty striking that even in these healthy people, there really is a virome,” Dr. Wylie said.
The microbiome also includes fungi. In the June 8 issue of the journal Science, David Underhill, a research scientist at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, and his colleaguesreported on a wealth of fungal species in the guts of humans and other mammals. In mice, for example, they cataloged 100 species of fungi that are new to science, along with 100 already known. This diversity is all the more remarkable when you consider that it is tolerated by an immune system that has evolved to fight off microbes. Scientists have only a dim understanding of how the system decides which to kill and which to tolerate.
Immune cells fight fungal infections, for example, with a protein called dectin-1, which attaches only to fungi. But Dr. Underhill and his colleagues found that dectin-1 is also essential for tolerating harmless fungi. When they engineered mice that couldn’t produce dectin-1, the mice responded to harmless fungi by producing so much inflammation that their own tissues were damaged.
It’s a good thing that the immune system can rein itself in, because the microbiome carries out many services for us. In the gut, microbes synthesize vitamins and break down tough plant compounds into digestible bits.
Skin bacteria are also essential, Dr. Segre said. “One of the most important functions of the skin is to serve as a barrier,” she said. Bacteria feed on the waxy secretions of skin cells, and then produce a moisturizing film that keeps our skin supple and prevents cracks — thus keeping out invading pathogens.
Restoring Order to the System
Antibiotics kill off harmful bacteria, but broad-spectrum forms can kill off many desirable species, too. Dr. Fischbach likens antibiotics to herbicides sprayed on a garden. The herbicide kills the unwanted plants, but also kills off the tomatoes and the roses. The gardener assumes that the tomatoes and roses will grow back on their own.
In fact, there’s no guarantee the microbial ecosystem will automatically return to normal. “It’s one of those assumptions we make today that will seem silly in retrospect,” Dr. Fischbach said. Indeed, some bacteria are adapted for invading and establishing themselves in disrupted ecosystems. A species called Clostridium difficile will sometimes invade a person’s gut after a course of antibiotics. From 2000 to 2009, the number of hospitalized patients in the United States found to have C. difficile more than doubled, to 336,600 from 139,000. Once established, the antibiotic-resistant C. difficile can be hard to eradicate.
Now that scientists are gaining a picture of healthy microbiomes, they are optimistic about restoring devastated ones. “I don’t know that we’re quite on the cusp of being able to do that well at this point. But I think at least the data is starting to argue that these might be possibilities,” said Barbara Methé of the J. Craig Venter Institute, a principal investigator on the microbiome project.
One way to restore microbiomes may be to selectively foster beneficial bacteria. To ward off dangerous skin pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus, for instance, Dr. Segre envisions applying a cream infused with nutrients for harmless skin bacteria to feed on. “It’s promoting the growth of the healthy bacteria that can then overtake the staph,” she said.
Bacterial Transplants
Adding the bacteria directly may also help. Unfortunately, the science of so-called probiotics lags far behind their growth in sales. In 2011, people bought $28 billion of probiotic foods and supplements, according to the research firm EuroMonitor International. But few of them have been tested as rigorously as conventional drugs.
“I think the science has been shoddy and flimsy,” said Dr. Fischbach (who is on the scientific advisory board of Schiff Nutrition International).
Nonetheless, he sees a few promising probiotic treatments. A growing number of doctors are treating C. difficile with fecal transplants: Stool from a healthy donor is delivered like a suppository to an infected patient. The idea is that the good bacteria in the stool establish themselves in the gut and begin to compete with C. difficile. This year, researchers at the University of Alberta reviewed 124 fecal transplants and concluded that the procedure is safe and effective, with 83 percent of patients experiencing immediate improvement as their internal ecosystems were restored.
Dr. Alexander Khoruts of the University of Minnesota and his colleagues want to make fecal transplants standard practice. They can now extract bacteria from stool, “removing the ‘ick’ factor,” as he puts it.
Dr. Khoruts and his colleagues have federal approval to start formal clinical trials on fecal transplants. Eventually, he would like to develop probiotic pills that contain just a few key species required to build the intestinal ecosystem.
“People are starting to take this seriously,” Dr. Fischbach said. “This is a therapy that’s going to help a lot of people.”
Other conditions potentially could be treated by manipulating the microbiome. Scientists have linked obesity, for example, to changes to the gut’s ecosystem. When scientists transfer bacteria from obese mice to lean ones, the lean mice put on weight.
How this happens is still unclear, but some studies suggest that an “obese” microbiome sends signals to the body, changing how cells use sugar for energy and leading the body to store extra fat.
Researchers at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam are running a clinical trial to see if fecal transplants can help treat obesity. They have recruited 45 obese men; some are getting transplants from their own stool, while others get transplants from lean donors. The scientists are finding that the transplants from lean donors are changing how the obese subjects metabolize sugar.
While these initial results are promising, there is no evidence yet that the obese subjects are losing weight. Dr. Fischbach cautions that it may take a while to figure out how to manipulate the microbiome to make people healthy.
And it may take even longer to persuade doctors to think like ecologists.
“The physicians I know really like things that are clear and crisp,” Dr. Fischbach said. “But like any ecosystem, the microbiome is not the kind of place to find simple answers.”
SOURCE
Join Michael Pollan and Organic Leaders to Urge Congress to Fix Farm Bill (OCA)
To contact us Click HERE
In frustration over the 2012 Farm Bill, Organic Consumers Association director Ronnie Cummins has joined more than 70 of the nation's food and health leaders to send an open letter to Members of Congress this week, criticizing the bill's plan to give billions of taxpayer dollars in subsidies to corporate mega-farms while slashing food stamps and neglecting healthy food programs. The authors of the letter urged lawmakers to redirect crop insurance subsidy dollars into programs that feed the hungry, protect the environment and promote the consumption of local, organic and healthy food.
The signers support the efforts of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) to amend the bill to cut these outrageous crop insurance subsidies, restore cuts to nutrition programs and redirect $500 million to healthy food programs.
“Let's hope that the draft farm bill voted out of the agriculture committee can be improved on the floor,” said signer Michael Pollan, author of Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual. “Though it contains some important provisions in support of local and healthy food programs, it gives billions in unlimited crop insurance subsidies to commodity growers while doing little to support precisely the kind of diversified, sustainable farms we need. This is not - yet - the healthy food bill the American public has made clear it wants and deserves.”
Take Action
SOURCE
The signers support the efforts of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) to amend the bill to cut these outrageous crop insurance subsidies, restore cuts to nutrition programs and redirect $500 million to healthy food programs.
“Let's hope that the draft farm bill voted out of the agriculture committee can be improved on the floor,” said signer Michael Pollan, author of Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual. “Though it contains some important provisions in support of local and healthy food programs, it gives billions in unlimited crop insurance subsidies to commodity growers while doing little to support precisely the kind of diversified, sustainable farms we need. This is not - yet - the healthy food bill the American public has made clear it wants and deserves.”
Take Action
SOURCE
The ‘Busy’ Trap (Tim Kreider for NYTimes)
To contact us Click HERE
If you live in America in the 21st century you’ve probably had to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are. It’s become the default response when you ask anyone how they’re doing: “Busy!” “So busy.” “Crazy busy.” It is, pretty obviously, a boast disguised as a complaint. And the stock response is a kind of congratulation: “That’s a good problem to have,” or “Better than the opposite.”
Notice it isn’t generally people pulling back-to-back shifts in the I.C.U. or commuting by bus to three minimum-wage jobs who tell you how busy they are; what those people are is not busy but tired. Exhausted. Dead on their feet. It’s almost always people whose lamented busyness is purely self-imposed: work and obligations they’ve taken on voluntarily, classes and activities they’ve “encouraged” their kids to participate in. They’re busy because of their own ambition or drive or anxiety, because they’re addicted to busyness and dread what they might have to face in its absence.
Almost everyone I know is busy. They feel anxious and guilty when they aren’t either working or doing something to promote their work. They schedule in time with friends the way students with 4.0 G.P.A.’s make sure to sign up for community service because it looks good on their college applications. I recently wrote a friend to ask if he wanted to do something this week, and he answered that he didn’t have a lot of time but if something was going on to let him know and maybe he could ditch work for a few hours. I wanted to clarify that my question had not been a preliminary heads-up to some future invitation; thiswas the invitation. But his busyness was like some vast churning noise through which he was shouting out at me, and I gave up trying to shout back over it.
Even children are busy now, scheduled down to the half-hour with classes and extracurricular activities. They come home at the end of the day as tired as grown-ups. I was a member of the latchkey generation and had three hours of totally unstructured, largely unsupervised time every afternoon, time I used to do everything from surfing the World Book Encyclopedia to making animated films to getting together with friends in the woods to chuck dirt clods directly into one another’s eyes, all of which provided me with important skills and insights that remain valuable to this day. Those free hours became the model for how I wanted to live the rest of my life.
The present hysteria is not a necessary or inevitable condition of life; it’s something we’ve chosen, if only by our acquiescence to it. Not long ago I Skyped with a friend who was driven out of the city by high rent and now has an artist’s residency in a small town in the south of France. She described herself as happy and relaxed for the first time in years. She still gets her work done, but it doesn’t consume her entire day and brain. She says it feels like college — she has a big circle of friends who all go out to the cafe together every night. She has a boyfriend again. (She once ruefully summarized dating in New York: “Everyone’s too busy and everyone thinks they can do better.”) What she had mistakenly assumed was her personality — driven, cranky, anxious and sad — turned out to be a deformative effect of her environment. It’s not as if any of us wants to live like this, any more than any one person wants to be part of a traffic jam or stadium trampling or the hierarchy of cruelty in high school — it’s something we collectively force one another to do. Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness; obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of the day. I once knew a woman who interned at a magazine where she wasn’t allowed to take lunch hours out, lest she be urgently needed for some reason. This was an entertainment magazine whose raison d’être was obviated when “menu” buttons appeared on remotes, so it’s hard to see this pretense of indispensability as anything other than a form of institutional self-delusion. More and more people in this country no longer make or do anything tangible; if your job wasn’t performed by a cat or a boa constrictor in a Richard Scarry book I’m not sure I believe it’s necessary. I can’t help but wonder whether all this histrionic exhaustion isn’t a way of covering up the fact that most of what we do doesn’t matter.
I am not busy. I am the laziest ambitious person I know. Like most writers, I feel like a reprobate who does not deserve to live on any day that I do not write, but I also feel that four or five hours is enough to earn my stay on the planet for one more day. On the best ordinary days of my life, I write in the morning, go for a long bike ride and run errands in the afternoon, and in the evening I see friends, read or watch a movie. This, it seems to me, is a sane and pleasant pace for a day. And if you call me up and ask whether I won’t maybe blow off work and check out the new American Wing at the Met or ogle girls in Central Park or just drink chilled pink minty cocktails all day long, I will say, what time?
But just in the last few months, I’ve insidiously started, because of professional obligations, to become busy. For the first time I was able to tell people, with a straight face, that I was “too busy” to do this or that thing they wanted me to do. I could see why people enjoy this complaint; it makes you feel important, sought-after and put-upon. Except that I hate actually being busy. Every morning my in-box was full of e-mails asking me to do things I did not want to do or presenting me with problems that I now had to solve. It got more and more intolerable until finally I fled town to the Undisclosed Location from which I’m writing this.
Here I am largely unmolested by obligations. There is no TV. To check e-mail I have to drive to the library. I go a week at a time without seeing anyone I know. I’ve remembered about buttercups, stink bugs and the stars. I read. And I’m finally getting some real writing done for the first time in months. It’s hard to find anything to say about life without immersing yourself in the world, but it’s also just about impossible to figure out what it might be, or how best to say it, without getting the hell out of it again.
Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets. The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration — it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done. “Idle dreaming is often of the essence of what we do,” wrote Thomas Pynchon in his essay on sloth. Archimedes’ “Eureka” in the bath, Newton’s apple, Jekyll & Hyde and the benzene ring: history is full of stories of inspirations that come in idle moments and dreams. It almost makes you wonder whether loafers, goldbricks and no-accounts aren’t responsible for more of the world’s great ideas, inventions and masterpieces than the hardworking.
“The goal of the future is full unemployment, so we can play. That’s why we have to destroy the present politico-economic system.” This may sound like the pronouncement of some bong-smoking anarchist, but it was actually Arthur C. Clarke, who found time between scuba diving and pinball games to write “Childhood’s End” and think up communications satellites. My old colleague Ted Rall recently wrote a column proposing that we divorce income from work and give each citizen a guaranteed paycheck, which sounds like the kind of lunatic notion that’ll be considered a basic human right in about a century, like abolition, universal suffrage and eight-hour workdays. The Puritans turned work into a virtue, evidently forgetting that God invented it as a punishment.
Perhaps the world would soon slide to ruin if everyone behaved as I do. But I would suggest that an ideal human life lies somewhere between my own defiant indolence and the rest of the world’s endless frenetic hustle. My role is just to be a bad influence, the kid standing outside the classroom window making faces at you at your desk, urging you to just this once make some excuse and get out of there, come outside and play. My own resolute idleness has mostly been a luxury rather than a virtue, but I did make a conscious decision, a long time ago, to choose time over money, since I’ve always understood that the best investment of my limited time on earth was to spend it with people I love. I suppose it’s possible I’ll lie on my deathbed regretting that I didn’t work harder and say everything I had to say, but I think what I’ll really wish is that I could have one more beer with Chris, another long talk with Megan, one last good hard laugh with Boyd. Life is too short to be busy.
SOURCE
If you live in America in the 21st century you’ve probably had to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are. It’s become the default response when you ask anyone how they’re doing: “Busy!” “So busy.” “Crazy busy.” It is, pretty obviously, a boast disguised as a complaint. And the stock response is a kind of congratulation: “That’s a good problem to have,” or “Better than the opposite.”Notice it isn’t generally people pulling back-to-back shifts in the I.C.U. or commuting by bus to three minimum-wage jobs who tell you how busy they are; what those people are is not busy but tired. Exhausted. Dead on their feet. It’s almost always people whose lamented busyness is purely self-imposed: work and obligations they’ve taken on voluntarily, classes and activities they’ve “encouraged” their kids to participate in. They’re busy because of their own ambition or drive or anxiety, because they’re addicted to busyness and dread what they might have to face in its absence.
Almost everyone I know is busy. They feel anxious and guilty when they aren’t either working or doing something to promote their work. They schedule in time with friends the way students with 4.0 G.P.A.’s make sure to sign up for community service because it looks good on their college applications. I recently wrote a friend to ask if he wanted to do something this week, and he answered that he didn’t have a lot of time but if something was going on to let him know and maybe he could ditch work for a few hours. I wanted to clarify that my question had not been a preliminary heads-up to some future invitation; thiswas the invitation. But his busyness was like some vast churning noise through which he was shouting out at me, and I gave up trying to shout back over it.
Even children are busy now, scheduled down to the half-hour with classes and extracurricular activities. They come home at the end of the day as tired as grown-ups. I was a member of the latchkey generation and had three hours of totally unstructured, largely unsupervised time every afternoon, time I used to do everything from surfing the World Book Encyclopedia to making animated films to getting together with friends in the woods to chuck dirt clods directly into one another’s eyes, all of which provided me with important skills and insights that remain valuable to this day. Those free hours became the model for how I wanted to live the rest of my life.
The present hysteria is not a necessary or inevitable condition of life; it’s something we’ve chosen, if only by our acquiescence to it. Not long ago I Skyped with a friend who was driven out of the city by high rent and now has an artist’s residency in a small town in the south of France. She described herself as happy and relaxed for the first time in years. She still gets her work done, but it doesn’t consume her entire day and brain. She says it feels like college — she has a big circle of friends who all go out to the cafe together every night. She has a boyfriend again. (She once ruefully summarized dating in New York: “Everyone’s too busy and everyone thinks they can do better.”) What she had mistakenly assumed was her personality — driven, cranky, anxious and sad — turned out to be a deformative effect of her environment. It’s not as if any of us wants to live like this, any more than any one person wants to be part of a traffic jam or stadium trampling or the hierarchy of cruelty in high school — it’s something we collectively force one another to do. Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness; obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of the day. I once knew a woman who interned at a magazine where she wasn’t allowed to take lunch hours out, lest she be urgently needed for some reason. This was an entertainment magazine whose raison d’être was obviated when “menu” buttons appeared on remotes, so it’s hard to see this pretense of indispensability as anything other than a form of institutional self-delusion. More and more people in this country no longer make or do anything tangible; if your job wasn’t performed by a cat or a boa constrictor in a Richard Scarry book I’m not sure I believe it’s necessary. I can’t help but wonder whether all this histrionic exhaustion isn’t a way of covering up the fact that most of what we do doesn’t matter.
I am not busy. I am the laziest ambitious person I know. Like most writers, I feel like a reprobate who does not deserve to live on any day that I do not write, but I also feel that four or five hours is enough to earn my stay on the planet for one more day. On the best ordinary days of my life, I write in the morning, go for a long bike ride and run errands in the afternoon, and in the evening I see friends, read or watch a movie. This, it seems to me, is a sane and pleasant pace for a day. And if you call me up and ask whether I won’t maybe blow off work and check out the new American Wing at the Met or ogle girls in Central Park or just drink chilled pink minty cocktails all day long, I will say, what time?
But just in the last few months, I’ve insidiously started, because of professional obligations, to become busy. For the first time I was able to tell people, with a straight face, that I was “too busy” to do this or that thing they wanted me to do. I could see why people enjoy this complaint; it makes you feel important, sought-after and put-upon. Except that I hate actually being busy. Every morning my in-box was full of e-mails asking me to do things I did not want to do or presenting me with problems that I now had to solve. It got more and more intolerable until finally I fled town to the Undisclosed Location from which I’m writing this.
Here I am largely unmolested by obligations. There is no TV. To check e-mail I have to drive to the library. I go a week at a time without seeing anyone I know. I’ve remembered about buttercups, stink bugs and the stars. I read. And I’m finally getting some real writing done for the first time in months. It’s hard to find anything to say about life without immersing yourself in the world, but it’s also just about impossible to figure out what it might be, or how best to say it, without getting the hell out of it again.
Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets. The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration — it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done. “Idle dreaming is often of the essence of what we do,” wrote Thomas Pynchon in his essay on sloth. Archimedes’ “Eureka” in the bath, Newton’s apple, Jekyll & Hyde and the benzene ring: history is full of stories of inspirations that come in idle moments and dreams. It almost makes you wonder whether loafers, goldbricks and no-accounts aren’t responsible for more of the world’s great ideas, inventions and masterpieces than the hardworking.
“The goal of the future is full unemployment, so we can play. That’s why we have to destroy the present politico-economic system.” This may sound like the pronouncement of some bong-smoking anarchist, but it was actually Arthur C. Clarke, who found time between scuba diving and pinball games to write “Childhood’s End” and think up communications satellites. My old colleague Ted Rall recently wrote a column proposing that we divorce income from work and give each citizen a guaranteed paycheck, which sounds like the kind of lunatic notion that’ll be considered a basic human right in about a century, like abolition, universal suffrage and eight-hour workdays. The Puritans turned work into a virtue, evidently forgetting that God invented it as a punishment.
Perhaps the world would soon slide to ruin if everyone behaved as I do. But I would suggest that an ideal human life lies somewhere between my own defiant indolence and the rest of the world’s endless frenetic hustle. My role is just to be a bad influence, the kid standing outside the classroom window making faces at you at your desk, urging you to just this once make some excuse and get out of there, come outside and play. My own resolute idleness has mostly been a luxury rather than a virtue, but I did make a conscious decision, a long time ago, to choose time over money, since I’ve always understood that the best investment of my limited time on earth was to spend it with people I love. I suppose it’s possible I’ll lie on my deathbed regretting that I didn’t work harder and say everything I had to say, but I think what I’ll really wish is that I could have one more beer with Chris, another long talk with Megan, one last good hard laugh with Boyd. Life is too short to be busy.
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