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Living Maxwell

Company Stories

Recently, I was sent a screener of the documentary BITTER SEEDS, winner of the Green Screen Award at IDFA Amsterdam, winner of the Global Justice Award at OXFAM Novib, and official selection at the Telluride Film Festival.

Despite all of its acclaim, I put off watching the movie because I knew the horror that would be awaiting me. And my fears were completely justified.

Never before have I watched a film where I have had a tear in my eye from beginning to end. Never.

India is suffering a major crisis right now – 250,000 farmers have committed suicide over the past 16 years. But why are they doing this?

Living Maxwell

Better Choices

Now that we are in the midst of summer, many people are going away for weekends or for an extended period of time.

For me and many other individuals, a vacation does not mean a vacation from organic.

I have been working with several clients on this very issue and thought that I would share my tips and strategies for eating organic while traveling.

1) Bring your own food If you are traveling by air, car, bus or train, always take food to eat. This could be nuts, fruit, salad, energy bars. Anything. You never want to be stranded and hungry when the only option available is fast food or junk food.

Living Maxwell

Better Choices

Whether it is with a salad or any other dish that I am making at home, organic fermented foods – usually sauerkraut (above) or kimchee – can almost always be found on my plate. Why is this?

I have come to understand that if we want to have a strong immune system, we must take care of our gut and provide it with beneficial bacteria.

And that is exactly what fermented foods give us – beneficial bacteria.

Dr. Natascha Campbell-McBride, a Russian neurologist and founder of the GAPS Diet, says that:

“about 85% of our immune system is located in the gut wall. This fact has been established by basic physiology research in the 1930s and the 1940s. Your gut, your digestive wall, is the biggest and the most important immune organ in your body. There is a very tight conversation and a relationship going on between the gut flora that lives inside your digestive system and your immune system.

Living Maxwell

Better Choices

While there are many reasons why we should support organic food, we now have yet another one: organic boosts local economies.

In a new study by the Organic Trade Association called U.S Organic Hotspots and their Benefit to Local Economies, it has been found that organic food and crop production – and the business activities accompanying organic agriculture – creates real and long-lasting regional economic opportunities.

Living Maxwell

Company Stories

For the first time in three years, the Fancy Food Show returned to New York City, and as usual, it was a spectacular show.

While walking around the show on the first day, I was getting a bit concerned that I wasn’t going to find some stellar new organic products. But by the end of the show on the third day, I completely changed my mind.

Some of the new organic products that I discovered have the potential to be very large, well-known national brands, and the innovation that I saw was outstanding. Additionally, narrowing this list down to just five products was incredibly challenging. It easily could have been ten.

Here are my Top 5 Organic Products of Fancy Food Show 2022.

Living Maxwell

Company Stories

When people talk about why they eat organic food, the most common answer is that they don’t want to ingest food that has been sprayed with toxic pesticides. The focus is generally on “me” or “we”.

An answer that does not come up nearly as much as it should is “I don’t want to expose farmers to these toxic pesticides.”

The truth is that most of us are completely in the dark about what takes place on farms, in terms of what kind of chemicals farmers are exposed to and also how farm workers are treated.

A brand new documentary called Food Chains sheds light on this very serious problem and what we see is not pretty.

Organic Insider

Company Stories

Whenever you start talking about organic food and political affiliations, many people seem to think that organic food advocates are all Democrats. Yet, the answer is not that simple and is much more complex than one might think.

In “The Politics of Organic Farming: Populists, Evangelicals, and the Agriculture of the Middle” (once on the page, click on the link that says “PDF – 786KB”), the amazing food magazine Gastronomica delves into this question and explores the matter from a historical, geographical and cultural context.

As the article points out, organic food supporters have been incredibly betrayed by President Obama. So, does that mean that Republicans are now the big proponents of organic food? Well, yes and no.