Tag: Nutrition

What is Organic

It Doesn’t Take a Miracle to Achieve Health and Nutrition on This Changing Planet

Melody Meyer

A perfect Planet
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Believe in Miracles? We live on a blue planet with a perfect atmosphere circling just the right distance around a star with a moon that moves the seas. That’s enough to make me a believer.

Call it the Cinderella complex, but I think things are “just right” here at home. We should be filled with gratitude for our place in the universe.

We live and eat from the sun’s abundant energy and the Earth’s fertile soils. We’ve grown healthy and brainy, strong enough to be the dominant species on the planet.

Yet, evidence now points to a decline in the nutritional quality of modern food, due to poor soil quality and rising carbon dioxide levels. Read conventional farming practices and climate change.

Staying healthy during this time of change requires a strategy to increase the nutrients we consume.

Continue reading “It Doesn’t Take a Miracle to Achieve Health and Nutrition on This Changing Planet” →
Organic Policy and Regulations, What is Organic

Headwinds and Hope : Organic Week in DC

Melody Meyer

Capitol Hill

This not so much a factual account of my week in DC but rather a philosophical musing of the state of organic today.

I knew full well the political atmosphere in DC when I arrived—it is muddled with shear turbulence. So too the organic industry is experiencing a bumpy trajectory even as it streams ahead with over 6% growth.

Organic has been under a barrage of political threats and media scandals that just don’t seem to stop. Continue reading “Headwinds and Hope : Organic Week in DC” →

Organic Policy and Regulations, Social Implications in Agriculture, What is Organic

Everyone Who Eats Should Pay Attention to the Farm Bill

Melody Meyer

Every 5 years or so Congress passes a far-reaching piece of legislation that influences what food is grown, how it’s grown, and who gets access to healthy food. This, in turn, affects the health of our topsoil, the quality of our water, and the prosperity of those who grow our food.

In addition, the Farm Bill addresses hunger, nutrition, and access to healthy local food. It is also the primary funding for most Organic programs in the US.

Congress is working on Farm Bill language now; if you eat and care about Organic, it’s time to get involved. Continue reading “Everyone Who Eats Should Pay Attention to the Farm Bill” →

Environment

Why Getting Dirty Can Help Save the World

Laurie Casagrande

I owe soil an apology.2015 Year of Soil 2

For many years I only considered soil as dirt, mud, insignificant, yuck! If you were like me, the only time you thought about soil was when you were washing it off your boots after a hike in the woods or perhaps you cursed it as you removed weeds from your garden. I have walked all over soil, literally and philosophically. Now I know better, and I want to share why. Continue reading “Why Getting Dirty Can Help Save the World” →

What is Organic

Let’s Celebrate October as National Farm to School Month!

Melody Meyer

Farm To SchoolAs the Executive Director of the UNFI Foundation, I see allot of requests for support of farm to school initiatives. What better way to fight obesity and chronic health issues than by educating our youth on healthy and nutritious eating.

I am constantly amazed at the number of young people who don’t know what broccoli looks like when it is growing- “what are those giant green leaves?”  That beet-root actually comes from beneath the soil and not out of a can! Honoring October as the National Farm to School Month is an admirable way to highlight this deficiency of food knowledge and its relationship to nutrition. Continue reading “Let’s Celebrate October as National Farm to School Month!” →