Lets say you care about reducing animal suffering, and that you believe one of the most important things we can do about that is to stop farming animals. Now, imagine you have to choose between pressing one of two buttons. The yellow button converts one typical meat eating teenager to lifelong veganisma way of living that eliminates all forms of animal consumption. The blue button converts 10 typical meat-eating teens to lifelong reducetarianspeople who cut down the amount of animal products they eat. Even though none of the teenagers give up animal products completely, together those reducetarians actions would add up to a greater decrease in animal consumption than the veganism of one person. As someone who cares about reducing animal suffering, which button do you press?

Its an easy choice for me. I am less concerned with the amount of individual personal consumption than with reducing animal suffering on the whole, and so I would press the blue button. Yet not all animal advocates think that outcomes are all that matter. Those who believe morality is about being as virtuous as possible would see moral progress being made in the vegan conversion, and none in the reducetarian conversions. If it is immoral to cause suffering to animals, theyd say, then it is also immoral to cause them suffering less frequently. Yet the reducetarians appear to believe there is value in causing suffering less frequently. If we are perfect anti-speciesists, there may indeed be something morally suspect about this.

But the personal integrity objection to reducetarianism has its limits. Imagine the yellow button converts one person to veganism, and the blue converts 100 to reducetarianism, amounting to a decrease in animal consumption that is the equivalent of 50 lifelong vegans. Does personal integrity still merit voting yellow? If so, we could keep widening the gap until the yellow button converts one person to veganism, and the blue button converts three quarters of the entire human population to a mostly plant-based diet that involves the consumption of animal products only exactly once per year.

At this point, picking the yellow button should, I hope, look absurd. Pressing it has probably no discernable impact on industrial animal agriculture, while pressing the blue button utterly decimates it. To think that creating a single extra vegan is a better thing to do than drastically reducing worldwide animal product consumption without veganism puts all the emphasis on how animal product reductions are distributed amongst the population, and basically none on the overall amount of reduction. Assuming anyone could seriously adopt this stance, they would seem to be missing the bigger picture.

Of course, these buttons do not exist, and the extreme version of the hypothetical looks nothing like any real choice we will ever have to make. But the point of this thought experiment is to show that reductions in animal farming are ethically significant even if we achieve them without going completely vegan. For those who accept that basic idea, an important question is how we achieve the greater overall reductions.

It might still seem like promoting veganism alone is the only answer. How could we think that lowering but not eliminating our animal product consumption would have a greater impact than giving up animal products altogether? On a purely individual level, it is clearly true that anyone makes a bigger impact through their own consumption if they give up animal products completely. Yet what this line of thinking ignores is that there are many people who would indeed be willing to reduce the amount of animal products they eat, but would never seriously consider going to zero. If we reach out to them with a veganism-or-bust message, many of them will balk at making such a seemingly radical change, and will pick bust.

This matter of making impact through reduction hits close to home for me, as my dad eats 275 pounds of meat per year (as does the average American). Getting him to reduce, even by as little as 10%, would do quantitatively more for animals than getting a flexitarian who eats five pounds of meat per year to go vegetarian. To reduce animal product consumption as much as possible, we need to tell the potential reducetarians of the world that reduction without total elimination still counts. Small acts among many people have a greater impact than large acts among a few, and we can inspire far more of these small acts if they are treated as meaningful. This is not to say that the vegan message will not resonate with some people; rather, we need to make room for both approaches.

Not everyone agrees, of course. Advocates of vegan-only activism might say the reducetarian message is confused and even self-contradictory. The strict ethical vegan message goes something like this: Being a consistent vegan is a moral imperative, and so eating any amount of animal products is unjustifiable. Reducetarianism is suggesting that its understandable if you fail to live up to that requirementregardless, reducing your consumption of animal products is a morally good thing to do. This offers more of a positive reinforcement for avoiding animal products, which might work better for some people than the strict vegan prohibition. However, the question this raises for reducetarians is as follows: How we can call factory farming wrong, and then in the next breath say that reducing but not eliminating our animal product consumption is a morally acceptable response to that wrong?

The simple answer is, Because thats the message that often works where the vegan message does not. The more complicated answer is that rationality, logic, and altruistic ideals are not the only influences on human behavior. Life is difficult enough as it isfor some people, the thought of being an ideologically perfect eater all the time is too exhausting to even attempt. When vegans tell us to stop supporting factory farms, the framing of their message often comes across as: You must immediately stop this morally horrendous thing you do every day. Sometimes this worksin fact, I suspect some vegans use an approach like this because it may have inspired their own veganismbut many people will hear this as an accusation that they and almost everyone they care about are moral monsters. Unfortunately, that often makes it easier to ignore than to confront. Ive found the more upbeat framing of, Heres something good to do: You can reduce the amount of meat you eat can work better. It helps create especially positive associations with vegan meals, and avoids some of the more sobering implications of the negative messaging.

Of course, if everyone in the world did go vegan today, that would end factory farming. And to be clear, thats what I want. But that possibility looks pretty remote for the time being. What we see now are some very morally committed people going vegan, and almost everyone else ignoring or teasing the vegans and going on with the diets they grew up with. Veganism is the optimum, and I encourage everyone to be as plant-based as they possibly can. But I support non-vegan reducetarianism too, because it avoids many of the hurdles to maintaining unwavering life-long veganism while still getting us much closer to a vegan world.

Imagine if a lot of these people who were reluctant to embrace total veganism committed to avoiding animal products whenever it was not too inconvenient, awkward, or otherwise unpleasant for them to do so. Many of them would see that opportunities to choose plant-based meals abound, and they could quickly find themselves eating largely vegetarian diets. This would create a feedback loop in which vegan and vegetarian meals became more available, and eating these meals would be just as normal and convenient as eating meat is now. A lot of the concerns that currently make it more difficult to go vegan would start to disappear. The demand for animal farming would significantly decreaseas would animal suffering along with it.

Follow Brian on Twitter. Learn how to write for Quartz Ideas. We welcome your comments at ideas@qz.com.

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Last week a mixed martial artist took on a Tai Chi master in a crowded gym in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. But for the modern rash guard and the preponderance of smart phones that ringed the jigsawed mat room, you might have mistaken the contest for a Gracie Challenge or Vale Tudo bout; much like what signaled the dawning of mixed martial arts and eventually the UFC.

The competitors in this duel, which began as an online quarrel, were Xu Xiaodong and Wei Lei. Gilaine Ng of The Straits Times described Xu, who is director of the Beijing MMA Association, as a free-combat sportsman who taught himself MMA. Wei Lei was labeled a Tai Chi master and founder of Thunder-style Tai Chi by ejinsight (an offshoot of the Hong Kong Economical Journal).

As the fight began, Xu adopted a familiar MMA striking posture, whereas Wei raised both arms in a form akin to a praying mantis with feet so close together that they almost touched. After a second of surveying Weis pose, Xu went forward throwing bare-knuckle punches at the Tai Chi masters dome. As Wei back-peddled, Xu landed a thudding left to his jaw, dropping him instantly. With Wei dazed and on the ground, Xu stood over him and landed heavy strikes to the sides of the masters head until someone intervened and begged for mercy.

After brutally dispatching Wei, Xu told the onlookers that the fight wasnt competitive and that Tai Chi was a sham. According to ejinisght this prompted a number of Tai Chi masters to circle Xu and challenge him to a rematch. Reportedly, Xu ended up calling police after the Tai Chi proponents continued to argue with him for around half an hour. Later Xu turned to Chinese social media platform Weibo to double-down on his criticism of Tai Chi, stating that traditional martial arts styles were a lie and that they had no use in actual combat or self defense.

The Straits Times states that Xu also posted an open challenge to martial artists to prove him wrong. On Weibo, Xu stated that he would take on any and all traditional martial artists in a no rules contest (including kicks to the groin and eye pokes). Xu also said he would pay 1.2 million yuan ($174,000) to anyone who beats him.

In his social media storm Xu, also challenged two-time Olympic champion boxer Zou Shiming. Zous agents told the Straits Times that the 35-year-old flyweight would not be responding to the challenge, given that Zou and Xu are not on the same level. On Weibo, Xu also challenged one of the bodyguards of Jack Ma, the billionaire owner of e-commerce site Alibaba. Ma responded to Xus challenge on Weibo stating - according to ejinsight - that, Martial arts should be seen as something fun and that debate on various styles is pointless.

Also according to ejinsight, Xus comments on traditional martial arts has enraged Chinese wulin (a collective term for the Chinese martial arts community). The wulin is reported to be angered by Xus arrogance and his debasing of the revered practice of Tai Chi.

Wei also made comments after fight, stating that the only reason he lost to Xu was because he was showing mercy and refraining from using his internal strength. Wei reportedly said he feared Xu would be killed, had he used his full array of skills.

The Chinese Wushu Association, which promotes many martial arts in China and beyond, has condemned the fight between Xu and Wei, claiming it went against the principles of martial arts. Despite their condemnation, a number of traditional martial artists are eager to accept Xus challenge.

Straits Times reports that He Xi Rui, head of the Wudang Tai Chi sect, was one of the first to respond to Xus challenge. Using Weibo Xu wrote, You are welcome to visit the Wudang Mountains to witness real martial arts.

Lu Xing, another Tai Chi master - this time from the Pushing Hands school in Sichuan Province - also accepted the challenge. Lu told Chengdu Business News that hell likely beat Xu thanks to his iron fist which took more than twenty years to develop.

Yi Long, who has been marketed as Chinas strongest Shaolin monk also took to Weibo to accept Xus challenge. A fight with Xu would be familiar territory for Yi, who has previously tested his Kung Fu style boxing against western and Thai-style fighters.

Despite being billed as a Shaolin monk, a spokesperson from the Shaolin Temple stated in 2010 that Yi was not a monk from their order.

South China Morning Post reports that Li Shangxian, another Shaolin-style boxing practitioner, and Wang Zhanhai, a Tai Chi master, have also accepted Xus challenge. SCMP also reported that Chen Sheng, an entrepreneur who founded the drinks company Tiandi No. 1, was also getting in on the action by offering 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) to anyone who can defeat Xu.

With interest in Xus challenge to traditional martial artists gaining mainstream attention in China, it seems just a matter of time before more fights that pit MMA versus Tai Chi (and maybe kung fu) will make it to the internet. This, along with the most talked about fight on the planet being between a UFC champion and an undefeated boxer, could mean the era of style-versus-style match-making (aka freakshow fights) might not be dead after all.

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Les Carnets D'Emeraude Returns Radio World Les Carnets D'Emeraude (The Emerald Book) began airing on RTBF's Radio 21 in 1987 on Sunday afternoons, offering an hour of relaxing music in between the up-tempo format programs of Radio 21. In 1995 presenter/producer Patrick Bauwens decided ...

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Shaelynn Miller FamilyShare If you find yourself feeling groggy in the morning, its time to change your sleeping habits. Recent studies show the things you do before bed could be costing you precious sleep.

Adults ages 18 and up need at least seven hours of sleep, according to the National Sleep Foundation. If you arent getting enough shut-eye, change these six habits so you can have a good nights rest:

1. Watching television in bed

Tip: use your bed for sleep and intimacy only

One of the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to their sleep schedule is using their bed for too many things, Gary Zammit, Ph.D., said. Some people use their bed as an office or entertainment room until its time to fall asleep; then they expect their body to be ready for sleep at the flip of their light switch. But the brain doesnt work that way, Zammit points out.

If you cant resist turning on the television or reaching for your phone while in bed, remove the temptation. Set up the television in your living room, keep your laptop on a desk or bookshelf and use a real alarm clock instead of relying on your phone. Use your bed only for sleep and intimacy so your brain doesn't confuse bedtime with answering emails and social media scrolling.

2. Grabbing a late afternoon pick-me-up

Tip: avoid caffeine after lunch

Sometimes your afternoon pick-me-up could be interfering with your sleep. Caffeine stays in your body for three to five hours, and could stay as long as 12. Grab a caffeinated soda or a coffee a little earlier in the day, but try to avoid it after lunch. A good nights sleep could should give you enough energy to get through the afternoon without a caffeine break.

3. Sleeping in on the weekend

Tip: set your alarms every day

As annoying as it might be to wake up early on your days off, it will pay off when Monday morning rolls around. Consistency is the key to a good nights sleep, according to Travis Bradberry, Ph.D.

Have you ever noticed you sometimes wake up right before your alarm rings? Thats because your body has prepared itself by increasing your hormone levels and blood pressure, Bradberry said. A consistent sleep schedule helps your body know when to prepare for waking up, but an inconsistent schedule confuses that natural rhythm.

4. Thinking about tomorrows to-do list

Tip: set a routine

Anxiety and stress are common culprits that keep you from falling asleep. Help your body wind down by setting a routine. Try reading a book or listening to relaxing music each night before tucking in.

5. Feeling uncomfortable

Tip: use a night-light

It goes without saying that you need to be comfortable to fall asleep. To do just that, find a mattress you like, wear something soft, set your thermostat to a comfortable temperature and turn on a night-light or music if needed.

6. Waking up in the middle of the night

Tip: talk to a therapist

If youre having consistent trouble falling and staying asleep, talk to your doctor or therapist for help. Sleep disorders can be caused by anxiety, depression and big life changes. A therapist can help you determine the root of the problem and offer solutions so you can get a good nights rest.

Find what works best for you as you try out different bedtime routines and sleeping habits. Get the amount of sleep you need so you can feel well-rested and conquer the day ahead of you.

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These 6 things are why you're tired all the time, according to science - Connectstatesboro

For Aimee Stewart, founder of the Chandler Childrens Choir, music has always been a major part of her life.

I come from a very musical family and a lot of solo performers, the Chandler resident says.

Growing up, she studied both violin and voice. In addition to solo work, she also sang in a number of choirs around the country, including the Phoenix Symphony Chorus.

Shes such a fan of choirs, in fact, that when people approached her about private voice lessons for their kids, she would suggest they join a local childrens choir. After moving to Chandler 10 years ago, however, that advice fell through.

People said, There isnt one nearby, she recalls. But then they would ask, Why dont you start one?

So, in 2008, with just 27 singers, Stewart and her husband founded the Chandler Childrens Choir.

I love teaching groups and love teaching children. And I love choral music too, she says. Directing a childrens choir was a combination of all the passions I had.

Nine years later, the Chandler Childrens Choir boasts more than 140 auditioned singers who range in age from 7 to 18. Participants come from Chandler, Mesa, Gilbert, Ahwatukee, Tempe, and a few as far away as Maricopa and Phoenix.

That number also includes three of Stewarts four children, all of whom unsurprisingly sing and play instruments. This is actually the first concert for her youngest, and she admits he has a little stage fright. Asked what her kids think of being in a choir conducted by their mom,

she responds jokingly, I think theyre proud their mom is the one in charge bossing everyone around.

The choir performs four major concerts during its August-May season, as well as special events, festivals, honor choirs and other opportunities. There are also regular tours around the state and country.

The choirs final concert of its ninth season takes place at Chandler Center for the Arts on Saturday, May 13. The theme is Fields of Gold and focuses heavily on Americana, spirituals and spring. Expect to hear familiar works like Simple Gifts, America the Beautiful, Here Comes the Sun, and Homeland, along with lesser-known works like Stand Upon the Rock, and the titular Fields of Gold.

Accompanying the choir on several pieces and performing a few solo works will be classical guitarist Erik Sloyka.

It doesnt get more Americana than an acoustic guitar, Stewart observes.

I think its really going to be a beautiful concert and something different, she says. I think its going to lower [the audiences] blood pressure and give them a relaxing night of music.

After the concert, Stewarts plate only gets fuller. In addition to planning the choirs milestone 10th season, she was recently elected president of the Arizona chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. According to its website, the ACDA represents more than 1 million singers across the country.

Stewarts goal as president will be to grow our successful programs, support and expand our membership, and reach out to underserved areas. In that mission, she feels like Arizona is a good place to be.

People take their choral arts seriously here, she says, and I love it!

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Chandler Children's Choir founder looks beyond the East Valley - East Valley Tribune

Sam Smith Published 11:29 a.m. CT May 8, 2017 | Updated 6 hours ago

Grayson Capps and Corky Hughes play during the 2016 Music Under the Stars series.(Photo: Special to The Bacon)

Southern gothic tales will be told by singer-songwriter Grayson Capps, Friday at 7 p.m. with guests Corky Hughes and Molly Thomas.

With another talented lineup in their Music Under the Stars series, From The Ground Up Community Garden, and its host The HiveInnisfree Hotels Corporate Social Responsibility Program, invites music lovers to experience skillful storytelling that features country, blues, and rock influences.

Capps and Hughes performed together in last years series and played music together the last 6-7 years. Thomas and Hughes had been performing together about 17 years now, and despite leaving the music community for some time, violinist Thomaswas thankful for Capps and Hughes helping her make her way back into the scene in 2012.

Grayson Capps and Corky Hughes play during the 2016 Music Under the Stars series.(Photo: Special to The Bacon)

I really love playing music with those guys. The talent is immense, and Graysons song can get intense, which I love, said Thomas.

As always with these events proceeds benefit the garden and Dixon School of the Arts. It is recommended to bring a chair and cooler with drinks. Tickets are $15 and delicious food will be available for purchase from Spyros Gyros and dessert treats available from Bluejays Bakery. Tickets may be purchased at the event, but keep in mind the garden fills up quickly so advance tickets may be purchased at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/music-under-the-stars-in-from-the-ground-up-garden-with-grayson-capps-tickets-32363166101.

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For the best underground info in one spot the best bars, best food, best concertsand best experiences only the locals know download our free entertainment app. The Bacon is in the Apple and Google Play stores and ready to bedownloaded today.

Hughes, a man of many talents, expressed his excitement to play under the interstate again, admitting he enjoyed the cool atmosphere and having the opportunity to play music somewhere different than usual venues. Guitar being his primary instrument, Hughes is currently studying the upright bass and said he might play his lap steel guitar, and with Thomas joining them this go around, he may bring his bass also.

Capps brings the sounds and influences from his roots in southern Alabama and a decade spent in New Orleans. With five studio albums under his belt, American gem, Grayson Capps, had two songs featured in the Golden Globe Award-nominated film A Love Song for Bobby Long and two more featured in the thriller, Straw Dogs. Unique to other events in the area, come enjoy a relaxing night under the stars and overpass with this blissful and talented trio in the garden.

Read or Share this story: http://on.pnj.com/2pX3Yhv

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Grayson Capps and guests perform in Music Under the Stars series - Pensacola News Journal

Perhaps by now youre already best friends with Google Home. We wont judge you if you tried dressing it up but frankly, we are more interested in your daily activities with the smart speaker. We know the device is being improved with more features and commands since it was first launched and a lot of users have been sharing their discoveries.

One of the many things Google Home can do is play music from different streaming services. Of course, one of the top sources is YouTube aside from Google Play Music and Spotify. Google Home has a collection of ambient sounds that it can play when you ask it to. Such sounds and white noises can help a person relax and focus so theyre a necessary collection.

If you want some help in concentrating to study, you can ask Google to play you forest sounds, crickets chirping, waterfalls, rain or any relaxing sound as your background. They can help you focus on work, fall asleep, or even calm the baby down.

You dont have to launch your music app, just say Ok Google, play____ and it will played in an instant.

Here are some commands and audio that will play on your Google Home: Help me relax Play ambient noise Play an ambient noise for 2 hours Play fireplace sounds Play river sounds Play forest sounds Play white noise Play fireplace sounds for 2 hours Play river sounds for 2 hours Play forest sounds for 2 hours Play white noise for 2 hours What other ambient sounds do you know?

And here is a list of the ambient sound options:

Babbling brook sounds Country night sounds Fireplace sounds Forest sounds Nature sounds Ocean sounds Oscillating fan sounds Outdoor sounds Rain sounds Relaxing sounds River sounds Running water sounds Thunderstorm sounds Water sounds White noise

The collection is only available in the United States but some users report that they can also try the commands.

SOURCE: Google

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Google Home offers ambient sound options to help you relax or focus - Android Community

The High Plains dairy complex reflects the new scale of the U.S. organic industry: it is big.

Stretching across miles of pastures and feedlots north of Greeley, Colo., the complex is home to more than 15,000 cows, making it more than a hundred times the size of a typical organic herd. It is the main facility of Aurora Organic Dairy, a company that produces enough milk to supply the house brands of Wal-Mart, Costco and other major retailers.

"We take great pride in our commitment to organic, and in our ability to meet the rigorous criteria of the USDA organic regulations," Aurora advertises.

But a closer look at Aurora and other large operations highlights critical weaknesses in the unorthodox inspection system that the USDA uses to ensure that "organic" food is really organic.

The U.S. organic market now counts more than $40 billion in annual sales, and includes products imported from about 100 countries. To enforce the organic rules across this vast industry, the USDA allows farmers to hire and pay their own inspectors to certify them as "USDA Organic." Industry defenders say enforcement is robust.

But the problems at an entity like Aurora suggests that even large, prominent players can fall short of standards without detection.

With milk, the critical issue is grazing. Organic dairies are required to allow the cows to graze daily throughout the growing season that is, the cows are supposed to be grass-fed, not confined to barns and feed lots. This method is considered more natural and alters the constituents of the cows milk in ways consumers deem beneficial.

But during visits by The Washington Post to Aurora's High Plains complex across nine days last year, signs of grazing were sparse, at best. Aurora said their animals were out on pasture day and night but during most Post visits the number of cows seen on pasture numbered in the hundreds.

A high-resolution satellite photo taken in mid-July by Digital Globe, a space imagery vendor, shows a typical situation only a few hundred on pasture. At no point were there any more than 10 percent of the herd out.

In response, Aurora spokesperson Sonja Tuitele dismissed the Post visits as anomalies and "drive-bys."

The milk produced also provides evidence that Aurora cows do not graze as required by organic rules. Testing conducted for the Post by Virginia Tech scientists shows that on a key indicator of grass-feeding, the Aurora milk matched conventional milk, not organic.

Finally, the Post contacted the inspectors who visited Aurora's High Plains dairy and certified it as "USDA Organic." Did their inspectors have evidence that the Aurora cows met the grazing requirement?

It turns out that they were poorly positioned to know.

The inspectors conducted the annual audit well after grazing season in November. That means that during the annual audit, inspectors would not have seen whether the cows were grazing as required, a breach of USDA inspection policy.

"We would expect that inspectors are out there during the grazing season," said Miles McEvoy, chief of the National Organic Program at USDA. He said that the grazing requirement is "a critical compliance component of an organic livestock operation."

If organic farms violate organic rules, consumers are being misled and overcharged.

In the case of milk, consumers pay extra often double when the carton says "USDA Organic" in the belief they are getting something different. Organic dairy sales amounted to $6 billion last year in the U.S.

The failure to comply with organic standards also harms other farms, many of them small. Following the rules costs extra because grazing requires more land and because cows that dine on grass typically produce less milk.

Whether an organic dairy is grazing its herd is relatively easy to see, especially if roads criss-cross their pastures. It is more difficult, however, for outsiders to judge whether a dairy is following other organic rules such as those regarding hormones and organic feed.

Ten years ago, after a complaint from a consumer group, Aurora faced USDA allegations that it breached organic rules regarding grazing and other issues. The USDA charged that Aurora was in "willful violation" of organic standards, but a settlement agreement allowed them to continue to operate.

There have been no charges since then.

But some small organic dairy farmers say that the new, large organic dairies that have popped up in the Southwest are violating standards.

On one-day visits to several large organic operations in Texas and New Mexico, a Post reporter saw similarly empty pastures. It was difficult to determine where their milk winds up on retail shelves, however, and so no chemical tests were pursued.

"About half of the organic milk sold in the U.S. is coming from very large factory farms that have no intention of living up to organic principles," said Mark Kastel of the Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin nonprofit group representing thousand of organic farmers.

"Thousands of small organic farmers across the United States depend on the USDA organic system working. Unfortunately, right now, it's not working for small farmers, or for consumers."

Integrity of 'USDA Organic' seal

The "USDA Organic" seal that appears on food packaging essentially a USDA guarantee of quality was created by federal rules in 2000.

Until then, convincing customers that a product was "organic" could be a murky proposition everyone relied on informal definitions of organic and informal measures of trust.

The "USDA Organic" seal changed that, standardizing concepts and setting rules. It has proven a boon: Organic food sales rose from about $6 billion annually in 2000 to $40 billion in 2015, according to the Organic Trade Association.

The integrity of the new label, however, rested on an unusual system of inspections.

Under organic rules, the USDA typically doesn't inspect farms. Instead, farmers hire their own inspectors from lists of private companies and other organizations licensed by the USDA. An inspector makes an annual visit and it is arranged days or weeks in advance. Only 5 percent of inspections are expected to be done unannounced.

To keep the inspectors honest, the USDA reviews the records of each inspection outfit about every 2 1/2 years.

This inspection system saves the USDA money because it doesn't have to hire many inspectors. The compliance and enforcement team at the USDA National Organic Program has nine people one for every $4 billion in sales.

McEvoy acknowledged that having farmers choose their inspection companies is "fairly unique" within the USDA, but he noted that rising sales show that consumers "trust the organic label."

Others have doubts. Cornucopia publishes its own scorecard of organic dairies because, its officials say, the USDA has failed to weed out the bad.

"Consumers look at that cartoon label on organic milk with a happy cow on green pasture with a red barn, but that's not always the reality," said Katherine Paul of the Organic Consumers Association. "What we've said all along is that organic milks are not created equal, and your results show that."

Impact on small dairies

At the other end of the scale from Aurora are many small dairies who have come to rely on the USDA Organic label, investing in the opportunity it represents, believing in its promise.

Several years ago, for example, Bobby Prigel, a fourth-generation dairyman with a 300-acre spread of rolling pastures and white plank fences in northern Maryland, made the switch.

With milk prices declining and feed costs rising, Prigel figured he had to try something different. The herd had been in the barn area for decades, munching feed. One day he shooed them out to pasture.

Here's the funny thing, he said: his cows seemed confused. Though cows are natural grazers like the wild aurochs they descended from the grazing instincts of his cows had been dulled.

"They didn't really know how to graze at first they didn't know how to bend down and get grass with their tongues," Prigel said one day during a break on his farm. Nor were they accustomed to walking much.

Prigel, meanwhile, had to make economic adjustments.

Producing milk according to the "USDA Organic" standard costs more.

To begin with, organic cows cannot be given hormones to stimulate milk production. And any feed or pasture for the cows must be organic that is, grown without most synthetic pesticides.

Second, to be considered organic, cows must obtain a certain percentage of their diet from grazing. Prigel is a purist and feeds his herd entirely from the pasture, but most organic dairies supplement the pasture with corn, soybeans or other grains, even during the grazing season.

The grazing requirement makes milk more costly to produce because it requires a certain amount of pasture land and because a grazing cow produces less milk than one eating a grain diet optimized for milk production.

With grass-fed cows, "there's just not nearly as much milk," Prigel said.

On the upside, a farmer can sell certified organic milk for almost double the price of conventional, and there are other benefits, too: The milk is measurably different, and according to the USDA, it improves cow health and reduces the environmental impacts of agriculture. Moreover, because grazing is natural cow behavior, some believe it is more humane.

"Cows aren't supposed to stay inside and eat corn," Prigel said.

Conducting tests of milk

The grazing season typically runs from spring until the first frost. To evaluate the Aurora operation, the Post visited the High Plains dairy complex nine days during that period three in August, three in September and three in October. Roads criss-cross the farm allowing a view of their fields. In addition, in July, a satellite for Digital Globe snapped a high-resolution photo of the area.

Each of those ten days, only a very small portion of the 15,000 cow herd was seen on pastures. Many more were seen in feed lots.

In response, Aurora officials said that during the grazing season the cows are on pasture both day and night. Maybe, they said, on those days, the cows were elsewhere, being milked or otherwise tended.

However, the Post visited at different times of the day, sometimes twice in a day. Because the cows are milked in shifts, thousands of them should be out at any given time, farmers said.

Aurora did say that they stopped their grazing season on Sept. 30, so it's not surprising no cows were seen on the three days in October. It's unclear why Aurora decided to end their grazing season then, though, because the first frost was not until Oct. 20 in that area, according to weather records.

To see whether a lack of grazing was apparent in the milk, the Post turned to Virginia Tech dairy science professor Benjamin Corl, who analyzed eight different milks, some organic, some not, and all bottled during grazing season. He performed the tests without knowing the brand names of the samples.

Grass-fed cows tend to produce milk with elevated levels of two types of fat. One of the distinguishing fats is conjugated linoleic acid or CLA, which some regard as the clearest indicator of grass-feeding. The other is an "Omega-3" fat known as alpha-linolenic acid. Both have been associated with health benefits in humans, although the amounts found in milk are relatively small.

Another type of fat linoleic acid, an Omega-6 fat tends to be sparser in milks that are pasture fed.

The results: Prigel's milk stood out for its grassy origins. It ranked at the top for CLA and was a distant last for linoleic acid.

The milk from Snowville Creamery, another brand that boasts of pasture-grazing, ranked second for CLA.

"Those two milks stood out like sore thumbs," said Corl, who "You can tell those animals have been on grass."

At the other extreme were the conventional milks from 365 and Lucerne. They ranked, as expected, at the bottom for the fats associated with grass feeding and at the top for the fat associated with conventional feeding.

Large organic brands Horizon and Organic Valley ranked roughly in between the extremes for two of the three measures.

As for Aurora's milk, despite its "USDA Organic" label, it was very close to conventional milk. On two of the three measures, CLA and linoleic acid, they were pretty much the same as conventional milk. On the third measure, alpha-linolenic acid, Aurora ranked slightly better than the conventional milks, but below the other USDA organic samples.

The milk tested by the Post had been processed at Aurora's Colorado processing plant, according to the number stamped on the bottle. More than 80 percent of the milk that Aurora sells is produced at its own farms; it also purchases milk from other dairies, according to the company.

It wasn't the first time that Aurora milk has tested poorly for signs of grass feeding. In 2008, The Milkweed, a dairy economics report, compared Aurora's milk to other organic milks. Of 10 organic milks ranked for the fats associated with grass feeding, Aurora's was last.

"There has been an obvious failure by USDA to enforce the organic pasture standard," Pete Hardin, editor and publisher of The Milkweed, said in a recent interview.

Investigation 10 years ago

Tuitele, the Aurora spokesperson, dismissed the milk tests and declined to comment in depth on them because they were "isolated" and because there are "so many variables that are unknown."

She suggested that Aurora milk may have tested differently, not because of a lack of grazing, but because Colorado pastures may have different plants. But milks from the Rocky Mountain region and those from the Mid-Atlantic vary a little, according to a 2013 study of organic milks published in PlosOne not enough to explain the gap in the results.

Aurora's inspectors also stood by Aurora's milk.

While most inspectors are private organizations, Aurora hired staff from the Colorado Department of Agriculture, which it pays about $13,000 annually.

When asked about the Aurora inspection being done after grazing season, an official for the Colorado Department of Agriculture initially suggested that other audits may have been conducted at High Plains last year. But Tuitele later wrote that the November visit was the only audit of its High Plains complex last year.

Aurora and their inspectors have been under scrutiny before.

About 10 years ago, the USDA launched an investigation into Aurora's organic practices.

By April 2007, USDA said it identified "willful violations" of organic rules by the dairy. Aurora had, among other things, for three years "failed to provide a total feed ration that included pasture."

The USDA proposed to revoke Aurora's organic status.

It also also proposed to suspend the Colorado Department of Agriculture from certifying organic livestock "due to the nature and extent of these violations."

Four months later, though, the case was resolved.

Aurora pledged to make improvements and was allowed to continue operating. It issued a press release saying that the USDA had "dismissed the complaints ... following an extensive review" a finding contrary to the view at USDA, which issued a press release saying "the complaint was not dismissed." It noted that the consent agreement called for Aurora to "make major changes."

For its part, the Colorado Department of Agriculture agreed "to make several changes in its operation," including hiring more personnel and staff training, according to a USDA press release.

Aurora also settled a related class action lawsuit for $7.5 million in 2012, and said it did not admit wrongdoing.

Since then, Aurora, already gargantuan, has continued to grow. In recent months it has been considering an expansion in Columbia, Mo., that may rely on milk from as many as 30,000 cows, according to local media coverage.

The growth of mega-dairies that skimp on grazing and produce cheap milk appears to be crushing many small dairies, some analysts said.

"The mom and pop the smaller traditional family dairies who are following the pasture rules are seeing their prices erode," said Hardin, The Milkweed editor. "It is creating a heck of a mess."

Will Costello contributed to this report.

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Why your milk may not be truly organic - Allentown Morning Call

Good Advice

by Alison Feller, May 8, 2017

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Duringthe final few moments of the 2017 Super Bowl nail-biter between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons, most fans in the stands or at home were stressing in anticipation over the outcomeand were probably continuing to reach for boozy beverages or cheesy nachos to calm their nerves.

But not wife-to-the-QB Gisele Bndchen. As the clock ticked and it looked like the Falcons had clinched the win, Bndchen knew the gamewasnt over. After calling her family and asking everyone to pray for husband Tom Brady and his Patriots, she turned to meditation.

I channeled some great energy, and I feel a little responsible [for the win].

I channeled some great energy, and I feel a little responsible [for the win], she joked to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. I brought love and peace and clarity and calmness into the game. It shifted after that, I must tell you. It worked.

Bndchen has been practicing since her early 20sandsays its particularly helpful when she starts feeling anxious or finds herself in stressful situations (like when your husband is on the field at the Super Bowl, about to lose the biggest game of his life).It was the only thing that could calm me down, because it was kind of crazy, she says. Its the most amazing tool.

Herpreferred form of meditation is Transcendental Meditationa popular choice among celebrities and CEOswhich is the practice of sitting for 20 minutes, twice a day, repeating a personal mantra. Bndchen says she has spent up to three days at a time in intense meditation. Before kids, I had time for that, she says.

But, she says, TM isnt just for Katy Perry and women who walk red carpets and runways for a living. Its beneficial to everyone, she insisted to Fallon. For people who feel that life sometimes is overwhelmingits a wonderful tool. Its unbelievable.You really should do it.Well, if it can win Super Bowls

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Your March energy horoscope: It's time to spring clean your spiritual house - Well+Good

India is known to be the land of ascetics and meditative dispositions. The art of mediation has been proven, time and again, to offer benefits that go much beyond just improvements in mental health. To the wonder of many, a 2011 study by Harvard had shown how only an 8-week meditation was enough to make changes in the brain's physics. Meditation is often vouched as the cure-all for each and every malfunction that our body has seen or may see. Want to start your own meditation transformation? You may want to try Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), on which the Harvard study was based.

THE STUDY The group of participants who were involved in the study reported spending an average of 27 minutes each day for MBSR. When, after eight weeks, their MR images were tested, it was found that their gray-matter density in the hippocampus had increased. It is a factor that boosts one's learning abilities, memory, self-awareness, compassion and introspection.

The other aspect of brain changes was noticed through the reporting of decreased stress levels in the participants. This was correlated to decreased gray-matter density in the amygdale, a factor that can reduce one's stress levels and anxiety.

However, the eight week period was not sufficient to witness any changes in the self-awareness associated structure called insula. The researchers suggested that a longer period of meditative practice is needed to produce changes in the insula.

THE TECHNIQUE A meditation practice that is based on mindfulness is essentially about two things: focusing and awareness. To establish both, you must do the following exercises.

Clubbing focusing and awareness Focusing is basically an inward process. With your eyes closed, keep your eye balls straight as if they are looking on a road ahead. Try to anchor the process by focusing on your breath. This will help you ward off thoughts.

On the contrary, awareness is an outward process that involves observing yourself from an outward perspective. This will help you know yourself better and notice aspects that you didn't know existed in you. Do this by distancing yourself from your mental traffic and watching it from the eyes of an outsider. Let your thoughts flow and make a conscious effort to break it down dispassionately and distance from your stream of consciousness.

Focusing and awareness will overlap at the point when you are at the risk of getting drowned in your stream of thoughts. That's when you need to focus.

FOCUS

Focusing on the moment that's right here is essential but we are hardly doing that in our lives. By practicing the following focus exercises, you can make a conscious effort to break down and relish every second that passes by.

Breathing: Take deep breaths that go down to your belly. Once you are settled and thoughts start flowing in, pick a thought like you pluck it from a stream. Analyze it and when you want to switch to another thought, let that one flow away in the stream.

Body scanning: Lie down with your eyes closed and imagine that you are scanning your body for any kind of discomfort or soreness. If you feel that any spot is particularly tight or sore, breathe into it like you are healing it.

Mindful walking: While you walk, make a conscious effort to focus on your body movement. Relax your movement, look around and try to notice everything around you. Pay heed to your speed and how every part of your body moves when you are moving. This will help you release any kinds of tensions in your body.

Mindful eating: Try to avoid eating while you are focusing on other things, like while watching television. Instead, focus on what you are eating, its taste, and texture.

Mindful stretching: Perform stretches, like hatha yoga, while being conscious of your breath and movements.

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This meditation technique changes your brain structure in 8 weeks - Times of India