Organic Living

‘Patriot Garden’ Under Attack In Orlando

"Jennifer and Jason Helvenston of Orlando, Fla. built their home with naturally sourced materials, harvest eggs from their backyard chickens and grow vegetables in their front yard. Not only does their garden provide them with their own food, but it has become a community attraction where the couple teaches local youth about homegrown vegetables. But the Orlando City Council—which aspires to be 'the greenest city in America'—claimed that the Helvenstons’ harmless, well-tended front yard garden was in non-compliance with the city code, and threatened to fine the couple $500 a day unless they uprooted it and replaced it with lawn." Continue reading →

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FDA, FBI Raid Tulsa Cancer Clinic

"A U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation shut down a Tulsa cancer clinic Tuesday afternoon. Federal agents showed up at Camelot Cancer Care in south Tulsa around 11 a.m. and served a search warrant. Sam Bass said his father-in-law took $13,000 out of his savings to pay for a 20-day treatment program. But as they left Camelot, FDA and FBI agents showed up. Bass said they asked him to leave his wife's medication behind. Sam said his wife's treatment program did include Laetrile. The chemical, which is found in the pits of some fruits and nuts, is also listed on Camelot's website. But, it's not approved by the FDA." Continue reading →

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Wild and Free: The Libertarian Philosophy of Henry David Thoreau

"Many people seem to have an idea of an isolated, possibly misanthropic hermit who would disapprove of anyone who came near his secluded home. And if they find out that he did not live in the middle of nowhere, which he never claimed to, then he gets branded a big phony. Sometimes a big deal is made of him having meals with his family in Concord, but considering Thoreau’s contributions to the family pencil-making business over his lifetime, his obvious skill at craftsmanship, and the meals that he served visitors at Walden, his alleged mooching appears to actually be a sign of social involvement and reciprocity." Continue reading →

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Researchers find sex cures migraines as well as medication

"Pounding headache? Sex could cure what ails you just as well as medication, a new study from the University of Munster finds. Researchers recruited 800 migraine sufferers and 200 cluster headache sufferers. While findings are preliminary, results showed that more than half of the migraine sufferers said their pain subsided after a bout of passion with their partners. The researchers suggested that sex triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers, which can reduce, or even eliminate, a headache, The Telegraph reported." Continue reading →

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Beekeepers sue EPA over failing to stop harmful pesticides

"The US government is being sued by a coalition of beekeepers, conservation and food campaigners over pesticides linked to serious harm in bees. The lawsuit accuses the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of failing to protect the insects – which pollinate three-quarters of all food crops – from nerve agents that it says should be suspended from use. Neonicotinoids, the world’s most widely used insecticides, are also facing the prospect of suspension in the European Union, after the health commissioner pledged to press on with the proposed ban despite opposition from the UK and Germany." Continue reading →

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Fed’s Big Ag Policy is Anything But “Green”

"Why are high fructose corn syrup and soybean oil in everything? Answer: Corn and soybean subsidies from the period 1995 - 2011 totaled $108 billion. Corn and soy make up almost half of all U.S. farmland. Most of this is GM (genetically modified) foods, allowing the agricultural industry to serve its masters who are the beneficiaries of political-business alliances under the Big Biotech umbrella: Monsanto, Syngenta, Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, and Tyson." Continue reading →

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Former MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan, now organic farmer, thanks marijuana growers for hydroponics

"Former MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan thanked comedian Tommy Chong and marijuana growers for perfecting hydroponic farming technology. 'I’d like to issue a letter of gratitude to Tommy and all the hydroponic marijuana growers in the world,' he said on The Young Turks. 'Much as porn made the Internet, the cutting edge of hydroponic lighting and water flow and nutrient film technique that really has been been perfect as a result of the marijuana industry is the very techniques that we are now benefiting from to yield incredibly nutritious kale, bok choy, swiss chard, basil, bell peppers — you pick it. So, Tommy, thank you.'" Continue reading →

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Kansas couple: Indoor gardening prompted pot raid

"Two former CIA employees whose Kansas home was fruitlessly searched for marijuana during a two-state drug sweep claim they were illegally targeted, possibly because they had bought indoor growing supplies to raise vegetables. April 20 long has been used by marijuana enthusiasts to celebrate the illegal drug and more recently by law enforcement for raids and crackdowns. But the Hartes' attorney, Cheryl Pilate, said she suspects the couple's 1,825-square-foot split level was targeted because they had bought hydroponic equipment to grow a small number of tomatoes and squash plants in their basement." Continue reading →

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Chicago now home to nation’s largest vertical farm

"An formerly abandoned warehouse in Chicago is now home to the nation’s largest hydroponic vertical farm. FarmedHere LLC opened the 90,000-square-foot farm in Bedford Park on Friday. The facility utilizes aquaponics, a sustainable system that combines raising fish with growing soil-free plants. The vertical farm is expected to produce more than 1 million pounds of basil, arugula and mixed greens. Thanks to a partnership with Windy City Harvest, an urban agriculture training program, the unique farm is also expected to create 200 jobs for young adults in Chicago." Continue reading →

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Stop Fooling Ourselves: Americans Can’t Afford the Future

"Simply continuing along the status quo is a vote for digging ourselves deeper as the constraints of the future arrive. Behavior change is necessary in order to improve our chances. At the core of the needed change is redefining prosperity. In modern society, it has largely come to be defined by material possessions, usually assuming that the more (and the more expensive), the better. In the future, we'd do much better to define it by: our health (both physical and emotional), our purpose, our ability to meet our needs sustainably, our relationships, our level of happiness. In sum, all things that were once valued much higher in our culture." Continue reading →

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