You are what you eat

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Posted by Chia (All posts by Chia) | Posted in General, Recipes | Posted on 29-10-2009

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I admit it. I am a consumer…not of junk n’ stuff but of high quality, organic, and all natural food products. I always read the ingredients label. I am also a food snob who spends top dollars on natural foods, snacks, eco-friendly, and organic things. Check out these new-on-the-market products I recently got to try. You will likely find them at your health food markets.

volcano-riceLotus Foods brand of heirloom and organic rice varietals are seriously the best rice I’ve ever eaten. They are superior to all rice that I had eaten prior to discovering this brand. I could smell the difference just as the rice was still cooking in the rice cooker as my house smelled of an incredible awesome fragrance. Butanese red rice, Indonesian Volcano rice, bamboo infused brown rice, jasmine rice, to name a few. They are expensive but worth it. Ideal for when you want to cook a gourmet meal at home. Vegan and gluten free. lotusfoods.com

coconut-oilNavitas Naturals offers a wide variety foods including nuts, dried fruits, virgin coconut oil, raw cacao, and natural sweetners like green stevia and yacon syrup. I really like the virgin coconut oil and adds it by the spoonful to warm soups just before serving. The quality of their products are pure and very good in quality. navitasnaturals.com

very_berryGranola Gourmet makes energy bars from combining oats, and various natural ingredients like dried fruits, nuts, chocolate, honey (not vegan) and making them into bars. Currently they available at Whole Foods Markets in the Los Angeles area. Bar varieties include chocolate espresso, orange spice, very berry, and brownie. Low in sugar and satisfying. granolagourmet.com

goji_agave_smGrandyOats makes organic granola and trail mixes. I got a tub of the goji agave granola and my husband gobbled them all up before I could help myself to a second serving. It was good. Has vegan varieties made with oats, seeds, and berries. grandyoats.com

vega

Vega produces complete wholefood meal powder packets, protein supplements, energy bars, and oils. I like their EFA antioxidant oil blend and one of their chocolate energy bars. My husband uses several of their products, including a hemp protein powder that he adds to fruit smoothies. myvega.com

Carrots in Concert

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Posted by Chia (All posts by Chia) | Posted in General | Posted on 13-06-2008

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As reported in May 2008 issue of Ode Magazine:
The bright melodies, crunchy beats, and spastic squeals sound like they’re pumping from a dark, subterranean nightclub packaged with sweaty dancers. But actually, it’s the sound of vegetables. Since 1998, the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra’s 11 musicians have been scouring outdoor markets for the freshest produce to drill, cut, peel, and scrape into colorful instruments.
Carrots are hollowed out and made into recorders that sound strikingly similar to the plastic kind; onions are pulled apart and skins rubbed together to make a subtle crunch; big pumpkins become bongos. There’s even a cucumberophone made from what appears to be a bell pepper, a carrot and (of course) a cucumber stuck together. Inspired by the belief that music lives in everything, and infused with the idea of vegetables as a tasty, fragrant, and vibrant medium for sound, the orchestra records tunes and even tours, cooking up a batch of veggie soup for audiences after every show.
Orchestra co-founder Ernst Reitermaier describes performing with the group as “being part of a bigger instrument. I like it that the audience is amazed by what we do.” And though its second album, Automate, was inspired by electronica, he insists the band is equally influenced by classical and other genres and prefers to define its sound simply as “vegetable style.” Parents beware: The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra makes it cool to play with your food.

KFC Canada pledges better animal welfare to end protest, puts vegan ‘chicken’ on menu

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Posted by Chia (All posts by Chia) | Posted in Animal Rights | Posted on 03-06-2008

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As reported by The Canadian Press, May 2008

TORONTO – Following a five-year roasting by animal-rights activists, KFC Canada is promising improved welfare for the chickens it buys for its fast-food outlets in exchange for an end to a boycott campaign that will continue in the U.S. and elsewhere.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has agreed to call off its Canadian “Kentucky Fried Cruelty” campaign, which featured high-profile actress Pamela Anderson among others, following a signed agreement with the company. Among other things, the deal obliges KFC Canada to begin buying from suppliers who use gas to kill their chickens painlessly, considered to be the least cruel method of slaughter. The company is also promising to insist on other “animal-welfare friendly” measures relating to how the birds are kept, including a maximum on crowding and phasing out non-essential growth-hormones and other drugs.

Customers of the restaurant chain will also be able to order a vegan “chicken” item, according to the deal that followed almost seven months of at-times “sticky” closed-door negotiations.

“It’s going to drastically reduce the suffering of chickens in slaughterhouses and also . . . improve the living conditions for animals while they’re on the farm,” Matt Prescott, PETA’s assistant director of corporate affairs, said from Norfolk, VA.

KFC Canada President Steve Langford said he was delighted with the agreement. “It will be nice to put this behind us,” Langford said. “Our preference is to have nothing negative attached to our brand.” Langford said the Canadian operations, which are independent of those in the U.S., had chosen to take the situation into its own hands and talk to PETA about animal welfare.

PETA’s campaign, which garnered international attention, has included more than 12,000 protests at KFC restaurants and outside the homes of company senior executives.

The company is owned by Priszm Income Fund, based in Vaughan, Ont., which operates 465 outlets across the country. The fund has been struggling to stem a flow of red ink and shore up falling share values. Most of the 300 independent franchisees have agreed to abide by the agreement with PETA.

“It appears as though our campaign affected the bottom line to the point where the company finally had enough,” Prescott said.

While the anti-KFC campaign will now end in this country, PETA said it would continue in the U.S., the U.K. and other countries. However, it is hoping to persuade Yum Brands, which owns KFC outlets in the United States, to follow the Canadian lead.

“With KFC Canada now doing exactly what we want KFC in the U.S. to do, our members and activists will be even more energetic and invigorated about going after KFC in other countries,” Prescott said. “All we want is for KFC worldwide to do what KFC Canada has done.”

The Real New Economy

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Posted by Chia (All posts by Chia) | Posted in Economy, Politics | Posted on 12-05-2008

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I found the following article to be quite interesting and relevant to what’s happening today – not only in the U.S. but also around the world with the so-called food crisis.
 
Title:  The real “new” economy by Jurriaan Kamp, editor-in-chief, Ode Magazine, May 08
 
Since my days as the chief economics editor at a leading daily newspaper in the Netherlands, I’ve always believed recessions are substantially made by people’s fears.  Yes, certain economic cycles of supply and demand may cause recessions.  But at some point, we talk ourselves into it.
 
It starts with a few companies reporting disappointing results.  The media begin seeing a trend and raise the question of a looming recession.  Meanwhile, they start looking for other companies with problems, which they usually find easily.  Consumers take note and start withdrawing.  Then the government reports disappointing consumer statistics, etc…  A cycle of fear sets in and suddenly a recession is unavoidable.
 
Can we stop an upcoming recession by dropping our fears?  It would be a great experiment.  However it would require a different leadership than the dismal-minded bankers and economists who make the headlines in challenging economic times.
 
I was thinking about this recently when I visit he Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, California.  Over the past two decades, it has grown into the leading international show for new organic, healthy, and sustainable products.  I’ve visited the show many times and I’ve become impressed with the strength and resilience of this sector.  If you’re looking for proof of positive change, there are few better places to visit.
 
One morning as I walked the floor – big as a couple of football fields with some 3,500 exhibitors – I realized there was a disconnect between the sad news about banks in trouble that I’d read in the morning paper and the inspiring, booming atmosphere in the exhibition hall.  There was no recession in Anaheim.  Nor will there be, I think, in the foreseeable future.  Too many  new companies are exploring the many, many options to make our planet a better, cleaner and more just place.  They have to succeed and that’s what they’re doing.  Never mind the other news.
 
Are we witnessing a new split in the economy?  On the one hand, we see the companies that continue to do business as usual; on the other, we see an emerging force of new companies addressing the challenges the planet faces.  That’s the force we need more than anything to fight global warming and the divide between the rich and poor.  That force may face a different cycle of supply and demand than old-fashioned, money-oriented businesses.  Maybe North America is on its way to the first ever “partial” recession that won’t hit the much-needed forces of sustainability.  And maybe then we’ll prove we can avoid recession by keeping our faith in positive change.