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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

Another Reason to Eat Organic – It is Essential for Managing Climate Change

Ever since I started eating organic food in 2001, people have asked me – why do you eat organic?

The most common answer that I give is that I don’t want to consume toxic pesticides or GMOs. That seems to resonate with people and they can easily understand it.

Over the last few years, however, my answer has evolved.

Of course, I mention the pesticides, but I also talk about how the chemicals used in conventional agriculture ruin our water supply (94% of our water now contains Atrazine) and sicken farm workers (residents in the farming community of Central Valley, CA are forced to drink bottled water because the tap water has become so contaminated from pesticides).

But now we have another reason to eat organic – because it is an essential tool in fighting climate change.

In an excellent report called Food & Climate: Connecting the Dots, Choosing the Way Forward just released by my friends at The Center for Food Safety, a convincing case is made that food production must be taken into account when confronting global warming.

A few key facts from the report that we need to know:

* In the aggregate, the global food system is responsible for 44-57% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

* Organic agriculture uses 30-50% less fossil fuel energy than industrial farms.

* Organic systems help build fertile soil while conventional farming destroys it. Healthy soil will be essential for achieving global food and water security and mitigating climate change.

How climate change has and is expected to impact our food supply:

* Already in 2014, California, which produces nearly half of the nation’s fruits and vegetables, is experiencing the worst drought in its 153 year history. Many farmers, particularly organic dairy farmers, face financial disaster.

* The 2014 New England shrimp season was cancelled due to low shrimp populations from warming waters and overfishing.

* In 2013, 20,000 cattle froze to death in an unseasonable October blizzard.

* Heavy rains destroyed 20% of the 2013 pecan harvest.

* Droughts and heat waves in 2012 in the U.S. alone affected approximately 80% of agricultural land, causing an estimated $30 billion in damages.

* In 2011, Vermont farmers were forced to destroy $2 million worth of vegetables contaminated by Hurricane Irene floodwaters.

* Alaska’s red king crab fishery could collapse within decades due to ocean acidity caused by carbon pollution.

* 50% of California’s grape-growing areas could become too hot by 2039.

The two main arguments that you always hear about the need for genetically-modified food to feed the world are….

Fallacy #1 — GMOs have much higher yields and are therefore essential, especially given that the world’s population will be 9.5 billion by 2050.

Fact: In its study Failure to Yield, the Union of Concerned Scientists reported that the biotech industry has been carrying out gene field trials to increase yields for 20 years without significant results.

Fallacy #2  — The root of the problem is that there is currently a shortage of food.

Fact: The world today produces more food per capita than ever before. In fact, enough food is produced to provide 4.3 pounds to every person and yet hunger is widespread. This is not a supply problem. This is a political problem.

I strongly encourage you to read Food & Climate: Connecting the Dots, Choosing the Way Forward because it will give you important knowledge (1) to educate others about the need to eat organic food and; (2) to pressure our politicians to embrace organic and agroecological farming systems as a way to deal with climate change.

To read this very important and comprehensive report (PDF), click HERE.

A message from Tradin Organic

Why Tradin Organic is Prioritizing Regenerative Organic Farming

At Tradin Organic, we believe that regenerative organic farming is key to growing healthy and nutritious food ingredients — for now and for future generations.

And in Sierra Leone, we have grown the world’s first Regenerative Organic Certified cacao.

Learn more.

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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

What You Need to Know About Buying Organic Food in Cans

While I promote organic food as much as I can and want to help the industry prosper, I also feel a need to educate and inform my readers.

Without question, organic food is the healthiest food that exists and is something that I believe can feed the planet. However, sometimes the packaging of organic food products is not always the best.

I have talked a lot in the past about my aversion to plastic bottles. Aside from the fact that they are horrible for the environment, they are also hormone (endocrine) disruptors.

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A message from E3Live

"My Everyday, Must-Have Green Organic Aquabotanical"

The best testimonial that I can give is that I drink this every single day, as it impacts my mood in an incredibly positive way.

E3Live + BrainON is certified organic, fresh-frozen AFA (Aphanizomenon flos-aquae) with a concentrated, aqueous, organic extract of Phenylethylamine and Phycocyanin.

Learn more.

Living Maxwell

Better Choices

5 Questions with Dr. Joel Kahn, Leading Cardiologist and Author of The Plant-Based Solution

Last April, I was in Denver attending the National Organic Standards Board meeting and went to dinner one night at True Food Kitchen.

Sitting at a community table, I struck up a conversation with a woman across from me and she proceeded to tell me that she had recently switched to a vegan diet.

“So, do you know Dr. Joel Kahn? The cardiologist from Detroit,” I asked.

Given that the plant-based world is a tight community and that Dr. Kahn is a social media star, I had a feeling that she might have known him.

“Do I know Dr. Kahn?” she responded with her face completely lit up. “He’s the reason I am a vegan today! Everything he talks about online and in his books convinced me to go plant-based!”

With the release of his excellent new book The Plant-Based Solution, Dr. Joel Kahn is looking to make a similar impact on many more people.

I recently caught up with my friend, and here is what he had to say.

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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

Another Reason to Eat Organic – Conventional Meat Contains Twice as Many Superbugs

Aside from the fact that conventionally-raised animals can be pumped with synthetic growth hormones and can be fed genetically-modified grain that has been sprayed with super-toxic pesticides, there is now another scary reason to avoid conventional meat: superbugs.

In results from a just released study, Consumers Reports found that 18 percent of the ground beef samples from conventionally-raised cows contained dangerous superbugs resistant to three or more classes of antibiotics used to treat illness in humans. This is compared with just 9 percent of ground beef from samples that were sustainably produced.

Consumer Reports purchased 300 packages – 458 pounds – of conventionally and sustainably produced ground beef from grocery, big-box, and natural food stores in 26 cities across the country.

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livingmaxwell: a guide to organic food & drink