flyingrose/organic

Hemp is a remarkable plant and there are many potential reasons why hemp was banned in the U.S. and I have not taken the time to track down the truth just yet.

That cotton was once one of the most major crops is bound to be involved. If anyone reading this has information they wish to share and/or links please send them my way directly in a message here.

I rarely have the time to look at the links sent to me via the Stumble mechanism - I have 202 backlogged in there right now. So if you want me to see something in a timely manner send it in a message here instead of that way.

From the page: "I went to an estate sale & purchased a bunch of handspun cloth nightgowns from the 1820s/30s era. The woman at the sale was telling me about the process of how the woman made the cloth from hemp & showing me the beautiful tiny details of their work.

There was not a hole in ANY of the fifteen I purchased. They were thick & sturdy. I brought them home & gently washed them with some oxyclean & put a little fabric softner in with them. They came out white & beautiful.

I was awe-struck. I have always known, intectually, that hemp was suppossed to make great clothing & it has a million & one other uses as well. But, it wasn't until I put my hands on these nearly 200 YEAR OLD pieces of fabric that I realized why industry would want to fight this plant. It lasts, if not forever, then for a couple of life-times or more. How on earth would they be able to generate profit, if we weren't wearing holes in our Chinese factory made clothing every two weeks? And, of course, this is a plant that anyone could grow, it is a WEED. If it was used as fuel source (as I was told it would be a excellent use for...), how would they ever profiteer once the average person figured out how to make hemp oil, or each local community had a grower who would supply the fuel. Where would the oil billionaires be?

It is absolutely CRIMINAl that this plant is illegal."

From the page: "As a species, we must look pretty silly in a number of ways. Here are fifteen weird things we do from a squirrel's point of view, along with some daily ways that we can be a little more like the other animals.

15. We spend as much effort packaging our food as finding and eating it. So much of our food these days comes pre-packaged that we don't think twice about it. In order to package food in plastic, we spend billions of dollars and lots of time locating and drilling oil around the world; we then extract a chemical feedstock from the oil; we refine the chemical feedstock into plastic and mould the plastic into packaging; we take the shells off of things like peanuts and then put the peanuts in plastic packaging."

10. We spend most of our time working for currency, not food. This currency verifies that we have contributed to our species' wellbeing and success. We trade the currency for food. By contrast, most animals bypass this complex social system and simply go and find food when they are hungry.

Squirrel says: "You mean to tell me that if I were a hungry human, I couldn't just go forage food to eat? I'd have to build other humans burrows (or whatever you call them) or do some other labor first and then ask for food? Hm... it seems like a hard lifestyle. I usually find food and then have lots of time to play with my family. Well, when you're through working and asking for food, I still highly recommend playing and spending time with family. That's my favorite part of the day. You might also want to control your species' population so it's not so much work to support it."

9. We make and hoard things we don't need. With the currency left over from buying food, we purchase things. We do this so well that people are now often referred to as "consumers." Many of the things we buy and keep have little or no utility, like electronic singing plastic Santa Clause figurines. One of the only other species that hoards shiny things it doesn't really need is the magpie.

Squirrel says: "Why hoard anything you wouldn't want to eat later? I don't see the attraction to big collections of plastic toys or closets full of clothes unless you can put the clothes in a pile and make a nest out of them. I hoard nuts and it's all I can do to remember where I put those when I want to eat them, so I don't think I'd be very good at hording all the things humans do. My motto is, if it's not edible, you probably don't need it.""

This is a StumbleUpon (SU) group useful for finding information for the environmentally conscious. Like many subjects, there is so much disinformation and so many jumping on the green bandwagon for the money that it can be challenging to know where the truth lies.

Visiting the SU blogs found using this group could speed up that process. The fastest, easiest way to get information on any subject is to identify those who are subject matter experts and read their opinions. They are far more likely to know the truth from the lies.

From the page: "Welcome! This Group is for those who appreciate the fine art of Green Stumbling. We only list the Stumble pages of people who are finding, discovering, and giving thumbs up to the web's best environmental sites. PM me if you would to help moderate."

From the page: "Root Concepts is committed to promoting sustainable ways of life"

From the page: "potent immune system supporting properties make Om Organics Tulsi Ginger Tea an ideal tea for times of cold and flu, although its warm and rich flavor makes it a delicious Ayurvedic beverage tea any time of year.

Experience the Traditional Health Benefits of the Ayurvedic Herb Tulsi (Holy Basil):
* Reduces stress
* Promotes calmness and clarity
* Is a good preventive and effective during cold season
* Improves metabolism
* Strengthens immunity
* Boosts stamina
* Is rich in natural antioxidants
* Is a powerful Adaptogen
* Is a natural immuno-modulator"

This is awesome stuff. Splurge just a hair and buy yourself some right away. Read the other reviews for other ideas on what to do with it. Here are some of mine:

1) You can use it to wash clothes - it makes them smell awesome.

2) Dilute it with healthy water and put it in the little pump bottles next to your sink. (If you use it full strength it will clog and squirt out at you.)

3) Lather your hair and body liberally and leave it on for a while. I like the almond oil for this. It will pull toxins out of your body. (It will dry your hair out, so don't use it as shampoo regularly or wash again after you're done.)

While I am not specifically suggesting that food only be purchased from this site I am recommending this information on the difference between natural foods and genetically modified foods.

From the page: "Why Buy Organic? - Food the way Mother Nature made it is clean and wholesome. Your body knows just what to do with it. After all, it has had an awfully long time to figure that out.

Organic food doesnâ€t contain toxins like pesticides, heavy metals, dangerous industrial chemicals (for example, artificial flavors, colors or preservatives). And everything in it is natural: itâ€s real food, not "Frankenfood" created in a laboratory for profit regardless of the fact that genetically modified, synthetic foods have massive, well-known health hazards.

Every item on this site is free of the dangers inherent in the industrial food supply."

It is up to individuals to change what the corruption has wrought. Vote with your purchases to change the world. Plant a garden. Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. Buy locally. Support your local CSA (Consumer Supported Agriculture).

From the page: "looming biofuels disaster

Biofuel production is pushing huge amounts of land out of food production. One sixth of the grain grown in the US this year will be "industrial corn" for ethanol. One third of US maize is now used for biofuel and there was last year a 48% increase in the amount of farmland devoted to biofuels. During that time hardly any new land was brought under the plough to replace the lost food production.

There is only a difference in scale in China, Indonesia and Brazil where primary forests are being cleared to plant energy crops. Yet, after fossil fuel use, deforestation is the largest single source of CO2.

The competition for water is likely to favour the biofuel producers as their crop, being subsidised, commands higher prices than corn or soya. Ethanol has roughly 70% the energy content of gasoline while costing 40% more to produce.

In Australia, if all our wheat and sugar output was diverted to ethanol it would supply less than 30% of our fuel needs. As these crops now feed 80 million people, what will they eat instead?"