Check this out — Aquafarm!

Once again from Fast Co.Exist comes a new great idea for home fish tank ala herb garden! It’s called Aquatank!

A DIY home aquaponics kit dubbed the AquaFarm, should drive home that message, propelling the company from one-hit eco-wonder into a broader ecosystem of offerings. Aquaponics, of course, is the increasingly popular science of sustainable growing that ties fish and vegetable farming together. In most operations planters sit atop fish beds of tilapia; the water and fish waste help hydrate and fertilize the plants, which help filter and clean the tank itself. Eventually, it’s all harvested for consumption. AquaFarm mimics that on a cute desk-top scale. Chic planters grow small batches of wheatgrass, basil and lettuce atop a fishbowl containing a more decorative, for-demonstration-purposes-only beta fish. Read More….

Health Apps giving away your personal data

In perusing the headlines from Fast Company, I came across this article.

Here’s the opening paragraph to get you started:

Ah, the wonderful world of apps. One might help you track your daily exercise routine by logging the calories you burn, the protein-conscious meals you consume, and perhaps your running route. You might share that data with Facebook to brag about all that weight you’re losing, or you might keep it between yourself and your iPhone. But regardless of how private you think you are, your running route could be transmitted over unprotected cyber-space while you’re unaware. And once those details are on the wire, who knows who’s looking at them? Read More

I keep hearing about free email like Google, sharing your information or tracking where you go on the web. Personally, I don’t have a problem with it. If I get more ads targeted toward what I’m interested in, bring it on.

Where can I get off this roller coaster — new study on GMOs

While perusing my iGoogle news headlines this morning, I came across a peculiar (you like my big “p” words?) article about genetically engineered crops needing MORE pesticides!

The article is, “Confusingly, Crops Engineered To Not Need Chemicals End Up Making Us Use More Chemicals” from Fast Company.

The subtitle: Contrary to industry claims, a new report links our dependence on GMO crops to the spread of superweeds. And more herbicides.

Here’s the first two paragraphs: It’s one of the main sells on Monsanto’s website: “[Roundup agricultural herbicides] use on Roundup Ready crops has allowed farmers to conserve fuel, reduce tillage and decrease the overall use of herbicides.”

A new study out from consumer rights NGO Food and Water Watch demonstrates otherwise. Expanding on a Washington State University report put out last year by Dr. Charles Benbrook showing that GMO crops increased herbicide applications by 527 million pounds–and increased pesticide use by 11% overall in the last 16 years–Food and Water Watch’s analysis of USDA and EPA data links increased use of GMO crops to the spread of herbicide-resistant superweeds. Read more…

Pigs getting sick on genetically modified feed–who knew!

Charlotte’s Web (Photo credit: alex.ragone)

Here’s another article from Organic Connections on the effects of genetically modified feed on pigs. Here’s the first paragraph:

“A new, peer-reviewed study has just been released detail­ing adverse effects of genet­i­cally engi­neered (GE) feed on pigs. Center for Food Safety has long advo­cated for more robust safety test­ing prior to intro­duc­ing GE foods into the food sup­ply. Currently, no GE safety test­ing is required in the U.S. The long-term study revealed that pigs fed a GE diet suf­fered higher rates of severe stom­ach inflam­ma­tion and had on aver­age heav­ier uteruses. The find­ings were bio­log­i­cally and sta­tis­ti­cally sig­nif­i­cant and mir­ror what many farm­ers have been report­ing anec­do­tally for years. The study was per­formed over the course of five years by inde­pen­dent researchers in Australia and the U.S.” Read More

Artificial Sweeteners — cause obesity :(

OOps! Can you believe it. All this time those sodas with only 1 calorie are making us FAT!

I have been getting email from Organic Connections and the article last night blew me away. The title of the article is, Could Artificial Sweeteners be Sabotaging Your Diet? by Mark Hyman, MD.

Here is the opening paragraph of the article, “I always thought it was funny to see a very large per­son order a Big Mac, large fries—and top it off with a Diet Coke. I also found it pecu­liar that I rarely saw thin peo­ple drink­ing diet sodas. So I began to won­der if there could be a link between diet bev­er­ages or arti­fi­cial sweet­en­ers and obe­sity. As I began to explore this notion, I dis­cov­ered a num­ber of dif­fer­ent research find­ings that pointed to this very phenomenon.”

Web Site – Gluten Doctor in ATLANTA!

I came across this web site while googling for gluten free mall. I cannot wait to delve into this web site!

It’s Atlanta Gluten Doctor!

Here’s the first paragraph on his web site:

The evils of GLUTEN!

What if your path to a better quality life is avoiding food that is killing you and your family?

Gluten is one of the biggest culprits in causing chronic health issues such as fibromyalgia, thyroid issues, chronic fatigue, and Irritable Bowel that I see in my office.  Therefore, it is EXTREMELY important to be tested properly for gluten sensitivity.  People who have chronic health issues may have already been tested for gluten and the results may have came back negative;  the problem is that most methods of testing for gluten traditionally done from saliva or stool may only test for alpha gliadin and 1 isomer of transglutaminase, but many people can react to any of the 10 other particles of the breakdown of gluten, including wheat germ agglutinin. In our office, we run a food sensitivity test from a lab called Cyrex Labs which tests all components of wheat and gluten as well as 24 other foods that may be cross-reactive.