Sacramento Bee

Conventional vs. organic farming: We're having the wrong debate Sacramento Bee Despite the USDA's enthusiastic support for organic food, the USDA makes no claims of any kind for organics or for any advantages over conventional farming methods. The reason? Absence of clear evidence for superiority on any meaningful aspect.

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Conventional vs. organic farming: We're having the wrong debate - Sacramento Bee

Im not a ramen noodle fan. Empty calories and little taste beyond the MSG. Just my biased gastronomic opinion. But as I pushed my cart down the aisle at Costco, the aroma wafting from the sample table did indeed tempt my olfactories and my growling stomach. To my surprise, the steaming contents of the paper cup offered by the cheerful, grandmotherly matron turned out to be delicious. And the brown rice noodles were organic to boot, certified as such by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Says so prominently, right there on the label.

Not that ramen would be likely to become a staple in our household diet, but it might be handy to have as easy-to-make quick meal during busy times, or a half-meal serving during Lent. So I picked up a six-serving package for $8.99. However, while unpacking the groceries at home, I did what I should have done (but was too hurried to do) at the store: I read the label. In rather small print came the fatal words: Product of China. Big oops! Communist Chinas takeovers of our tool, electronics, clothing, and other consumer markets are alarming enough, but Beijings huge inroads into our food sector over the past two decades is beyond scary.

Nearly a decade ago, in September 2007, The New American published Michael Telzrows New Chinese Take-Out: Tainted, Poisoned Exports, which detailed the frightening extent to which China had already succeeded in penetrating and even dominating our internal consumables: foods, beverages, vitamins, pharmaceuticals. Its gotten markedly worse in the years since, thanks to both Democrats and Republicans in the White House and in Congress who have caved in and/or sold out to the China Lobby. Its not just melamine in pet food, diethylene glycol a highly toxic solvent in cough syrup and toothpaste, and lead paint on childrens toys. After those and other Made In China food scandals made it through a few news cycles, the issue was largely swept under the rug by the establishment press. Instead of heeding these canary-in-the-coalmine warnings, government officials and business leaders opened the floodgates even further so China could accelerate its conquest of the American food market.

In June 2011, Food & Water Watch, a non-profit consumer watchdog group, published an eye-opening report entitled A Decade of Dangerous Food Imports China.Among other things, this important monograph tabulated from U.S. government records the alarming year-by-year increases in Chinas food exports to the United States: apple juice, mushrooms, garlic, cauliflower, asparagus, broccoli, pears, apples, cherries, strawberries, catfish, salmon, tilapia, cod, sardines, shrimp, clams, crab, honey, spices, tea, nuts, onions, vegetable oils, soy sauce, and much more.

In 2010, China was the second-largest source of U.S. processed fruit and vegetable imports, shipping in more than a billion pounds, the Food & Water Watch report noted. China was the third-largest source of imported fresh vegetables. The United States also imported 102 million pounds of sauces, including soy sauce; 81 million pounds of spices; 79 million pounds of dog and cat food; and 41 million pounds of pasta and baked goods from China in 2010.

The study goes on to further report:

China is also the worlds leading seafood producer and leading exporter to the United States, supplying nearly a quarter of all U.S. imports. In 2010, the United States imported more than 1 billion pounds of seafood from China, including 723 million pounds of frozen fish fillets, 33 million pounds of shrimp and 109 million pounds of mollusks, such as scallops. Chinese seafood exports totaled more than $2 billion in 2009, accounting for 19 percent of the seafood Americans eat.

More alarming still is the fact that China has gained a lock-hold on our foodstream by inserting itself into many food products that are made here in the United States. How? By dominating production of widely used ingredients: preservatives, sweeteners, enhancers, and flavorings. The Food & Water Watch study reports:

Chinas largest role in the American diet may come through the myriad ingredients it exports for processed foods that reach U.S. consumers every day. China had supplied up to 90 percent of U.S. imports of citric acid, a flavor enhancer and preservative that is used in soft drinks, cheese, and baked goods, although these imports dropped off in 2009. China is also a leading supplier to the United States of other ingredients like xylitol, used as a sweetener in candy, and sorbic acid, a preservative. China also supplies around 85 percent of U.S. imports of artificial vanilla, as well as many vitamins that are frequently added to food products, like folic acid and thiamine.

This, obviously, is not only a threat to our nations health but also to Americas food independence. Chinese imports have even made that healthy sugar substitute, honey, a very suspect commodity. The Epoch Times reportedin 2011, Millions of pounds of hazardous honey are being smuggled in large quantities from China to the United States, constituting as much as a third or more of the honey on American shelves, a recent investigation found.

On May 8, 2013, China expert and author William C. Triplett testified before U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs on The Threat of Chinas Unsafe Consumables. After making reference to the above-cited Food & Water Watch study, Triplett observed: Two years later, it appears the problem is worse rather than better. Last fall thousands of German children fell ill after eating Chinese strawberries served to them in their school cafeterias. And just last month the FDA revealed that thanks to toxic battery recycling operations, rice imported from China showed lead levels 60 times above the recommended safe levels for children. (Emphasis added.)

One of the particular problems of dealing with toxic food imports from China is illustrated by the honey case, Triplett noted. The FDA and others got onto the Chinese honey issue quite a while ago. The Department of Justice even raided some facilities but the consensus is that through a sophisticated international smuggling network, the Chinese honey producers have pretty well defeated all efforts to control them.

Death by China: Eat, Drink and Be Buried

Horror stories of illness, suffering, and death from Made-in-China food abound (see here,here,and here).How is it possible that this continues? After all, we have a myriad of federal regulatory agencies(virtually all of which are unconstitutional or exercise unconstitutional powers)that harass and destroy American farmers, manufacturers, and marketers in the name of protecting the American consumer.

As with most bullies, these bureaucracies prefer pick on easier targets, rather than go after the real threats. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has done little to address the growing tide of food imports from China, despite a well-documented pattern of chemical adulteration and unsafe drug residues, the 2011 Food & Water Watch study stated. The FDA inspects less than 2 percent of imported food and barely visits Chinese food manufacturers. The FDA conducted only 13 food inspections in China between June 2009 and June 2010.

The FDA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is infamous for sending in armed SWAT units to harass and arrest farmers for selling raw milk, raiding natural food stores for selling apricot seeds or other food supplements, and persecuting physicianswho try to help their patients byutilizing alternative treatments for cancer other than those approved by the FDA bureaucrats.

Why are these agencies not exercising similar zeal concerning genuine threats to American health and safety from a foreign power that regards us as Enemy No. 1 and whose toxic food supply chain has already left a swath of death and carnage across the globe? This crucial food security issue should be a top national priority. Although defenders of the FDA and USDA might argue that these agencies have some sort of constitutional remit under the interstate commerce clause, clearly, the real legitimate functions that they serve are those that attend to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), inspecting materials coming into this country from foreign sources. The primary functions of the FDA and USDA should be exercised under (or alongside) the CPB, while most of their domestic functions should devolve to the states, as the Constitution and the 10th Amendment of the Bill of Rights mandate.

Does the certified USDA Organic label on food from China mean nothing, then? It appears so. (See here,here,here,and here.)So, yes, I returned the organic brown rice ramen noodles to Costco for a refund, and I informed the customer service department that I do not consume and do not buy food from the communist regime. And I will be following up with a note to Costcos corporate management to let them know that I do not appreciate companies that will jeopardize their customers health and safety by flooding our markets with toxic Made-In-China foodstuffs. Now we must prod the new Trump administration and Congress to address this issue posthaste.

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Organic Foods From China? Buyer Beware! - The New American

I look at myself and at others and I see some common realities. I believe we have divided hearts. That is we are pulled in multiple directions at the same time. And the consequences of this pulling and our many forced choices, most of which made from this sense of division leads to hurt for ourselves and for those whom we love.

I believe the call of the spiritual life is a call to something hard, and to something necessary. It is about the healing of these wounds, it is about the reconciliation of our lives and the life of this planet, it is in fact about the reconciliation of heaven and earth. It is, at least for me, the most important thing.

And so, when I think of the spiritual life, I think about that word hero in ways it hasnt been used much of late. According to the online version of Merriam-Webster, a hero is, in its first definition, a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities. The dictionary throws in as secondary definitions someone who is greatly admired and the chief male character in a play or story. The historic part references the older use of divine or semi divine figures in Greek and Roman mythology.

Running through all the usages over time is a focus on personal traits, those fine or noble qualities. And it is that which captures my imagination. Particularly, as I consider how the word athlete was used by early Christian ascetics to describe practitioners of their spiritual discipline. Ive always liked that usage, coming as it does somehow slightly from left field.

And then theres the way of the spiritual life. It turns on various disciplines of presence, both to our environment and within our beings. I have come to summarize these practices as sitting down, shutting up, and paying attention. This is not an easy thing to do. I believe anyone who tries this turning the light inward as one sage put it, for any sustained time knows that sustaining it can be extremely difficult.

Also, we find many obstacles along the way, we encounter such things as the noontime devil, and we may tumble into a dark night of the soul. There are traps and snares for the unwary every step of the way, and even keeping on our toes, the path can be hard, and it lasts a lifetime.

Heres where heroic comes in. An authentic spiritual life takes discipline and perseverance. It is definitely counter-cultural. In fact the spiritual life is about as counter-cultural as can be. It demands a constant presence, to finding the deepest currents of our lives within a culture that is pretty much all about distraction.

A genuine spiritual life is heroic in the sense of those qualities of nobility and perseverance that move us out of the ordinary. And yet, at the very same time, the spiritual life is something accessible to all of us. Sort of an ordinary heroism. Finding the extraordinary within the ordinary. This is our call as people on the way of heart and authenticity.

The spiritual life, as I understand it, is concerned with the salvation of the ordinary, of the saving grace of presence, of the transformative power of the here and now. Nothing less.

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What is the Spiritual Life? A Brief Meditation - Patheos (blog)

Headspace, the company behind a popular meditation app, has a new chief executive who is also its old chief executive.

Headspace co-founder Rich Pierson took over the top slot at the startup last week, replacing Sean Brecker, who had the job for the last two years. Brecker is staying on at Headspace as its chief financial officer.

Both Pierson and Brecker say they made the move in consultation with Andy Puddicombe, the companys other co-founder, as well their board and investors.

Were constantly looking at the org and trying to optimize, Brecker said.

Headspace offers free meditation classes through its app, and tries to sell its users a premium subscription service. Pierson said the company, which has 170 employees, got 13.5 million people to try the service at least once in the last year.

Pierson said when Headspace started out as a 15-person operation in 2010, no one had any titles, but he ended up becoming its formal CEO within a year.

After bringing in Brecker to run the company in 2014, Pierson focused on product and marketing; he says it now makes sense to have him overseeing everything.

Headspace has raised more than $30 million, most of which came from a 2015 round led by The Chernin Group.

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Headspace, the meditation app, is putting its old CEO in charge of the company again - Recode

QUEEN CREEK - Students at Gateway Polytechnic Academy in the Queen Creek School District are practicing mindfulness and meditation in a new club.

"We take three deep breaths and on the last breath, we breathe out for five seconds," said fifth-grader Elyssa Land.

Fifth-grade teacher Melissa Smith said she noticed a lot of her students had anxiety -- and the girls responded well to the new lessons.

The club meets once a week on Monday mornings during the lunch hour. The girls create a circle around Smith and the practice breathing exercises.

The girls even made "worry dolls." They tell the dolls all the things that are stressing them out and sleep with it underneath their pillow.

Many of the students said they use the calming techniques in class and at home.

"I like to find a quiet place and just sit down and realize I'm in control and I'm good," said fifth-grader Shannon Barlow.

It may be a unique approach in the classroom but Smith said it's important for her students to feel comfortable and safe.

"Life skills are one of the number one things we need to do as teachers and we don't have a curriculumfor that and we don't have a standard for that," said Smith. "We have to just know we are teaching kids and we are not teaching subjects."

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Queen Creek students practicing mindfulness, meditation - ABC15 ... - ABC15 Arizona

BRISTOL, Va. Lenten Organ Meditations at Noon will be held at Central Presbyterian Church, Euclid Avenue, Bristol, Virginia.

The Wednesday programs begin at 12:05 p.m. and continue for five weeks beginning March 8. Performing first is Joy A. Smith-Briggs, organist of Central Presbyterian.

The schedule continues:

March 15: Dana Fleming, organist at Colonial Heights United Methodist Church in Kingsport.

March 22: Bryan Underwood, music director, State Street United Methodist Church, Bristol, Virginia.

March 29: Robert J. Greene Jr., organist/composer/instructor in the Tri-Cities area.

April 5: Craig Campbell, organist, Wesley United Methodist Church, Johnson City.

The music programs are offered to provide time for reflection and meditation on the meaning of Lent and how it affects the lives of Christians.

Each program is open to the community and free to attend. However, donations are accepted for the music ministry.

For more information, contact Smith-Briggs at 423-878-2919 or email gvbjoyb@btes.tv.

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Lenten meditation music programs set - Bristol Herald Courier (press release) (blog)

Lenten season underway in the Borderland

LAS CRUCES, N.M - The Lenten season is underway and Catholics are preparing for 40 days of abstaining and fasting.

Deacon David McNeill with the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces says lent is a time to reflect.

"During lent, we use the time to take stock of ourselves, how we're living our lives and do things that will help us to become more spiritual," Deacon McNeill said.

Deacon McNeill says during lent, which begins Ash Wednesday, Catholics model the way several incidents in the Bible happened. Mainly when Christ prepared for his public light when he fasted in the desert. The Bible states Jesus Christ spent 40 days and fasting in the desert before his public ministry. Catholics essentially spend the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday imitating Christ.

A large way Catholics model Christ and the Bible is by fasting and abstaining. Deacon McNeill says fasting is when Catholics eat only the equivalent of two meals. The only two days of fasting during lent are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Abstaining from meat on Fridays is another way Catholics observe lent. Deacon McNeill says on Fridays during lent season, Catholics should not eat the meat of warm-blooded animals including lamb and cattle. They are allowed to eat fish, which is a symbol of Jesus Christ.

According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, meat was associated with celebrations and feasts and was considered a luxury in some cultures. They add, "while fish, lobster and other shellfish are not considered meat and can be consumed on days of abstinence, indulging in the lavish buffet at your favorite seafood place sort of misses the point. Abstaining from meat and other indulgences during lent is a penitential practice."

"The idea of doing that is that self-denial that's the sacrifice that helps us to improve our spiritual life," Deacon McNeill said.

Deacon says there are fine lines and exceptions to fasting and abstaining.

"Abstaining from meat means that you don't eat the meat but you can cook in things like lard or chicken soup, is the juices but not the meat, so you could eat that."

There are also times when people have special needs and are excused.

"If they have an illness and they eat meat everyday obviously that would take precedence over the abstinence rules."

Deacon McNeill also says young children and adults over 59 are excluded because children need the sustenance in order to grow and those older than 59 need to keep their health on track.

He adds giving something up for lent isn't necessarily good. He says the sacrifice should be used to do good.

"The idea of lent is internal spirituality, looking at how we live our lives and staying asking ourselves what can I do to live better the way Christ would want me to live? So for a long time it wasall about, "well I'm giving up something," which really doesn't work because most of the things are things that "make us fat" or things that we know we shouldn't be drinking so much, and that's not spiritual, that's cosmetic. So rather than worry about what I'm giving up, the question should be what am I doing to make myself better."

Deacon McNeill says one example would be giving up cigarettes.

"It's not a spiritual excercise. If you take the money that you would've used to buy cigarettes and give it to the poor, that changes that aspect. So we tend to look more at the positive side of what we do to help others to change ourselves so we're more Christian."

The Lenten season ends Easter Sunday.

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Catholics change diet, practice fasting during lenten season - KVIA El Paso

Remastered from tapes distributed only within her ashram community, some of Alice Coltranes rarest material will soon be available for the first time ever. In 1983, Coltrane founded the 48-acre Sai Anantam Ashram just outside of Los Angeles, where she would continue to write, record and release songs with(in) the community until her death in 2007.

David Byrnes Luaka Bop label is readying the first release of those recordings dating from 1982-1995 remastered by jazz giant engineer Baker Bigsby (Sun Ra, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman and others) for the first installment of the labels new series on spirituals from around the world. According to a press release, the compilation features some Coltranes first vocal work.

Hear the first offering from the Luaka Bops forthcoming Alice Coltrane compilation along with the fulltrack list below. Pre-order your copy ofWorld Spirituality Classics, Volume 1: The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitanandaon iTunes today ahead of its official May 5th release.

Track List: 01 Om Rama 02 Om Shanti 03 Rama Rama 04 Rama Guru 05 Hari Narayan 06 Journey to Satchidananda 07 Er Ra 08 Keshnava Murahara 09 Krisha Japaye * 10 Rama Katha *

* vinyl only

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Alice Coltrane's First Vocal Work Featured on Forthcoming Luaka Bop Compilation of Ashram Recordings - Okayplayer (blog)

The Delhi government has raised questions over the ownership of the land where Aurobindo Ashram, Mirambika School and Mothers International schools are built. They have also found that the society has encroached upon the government land.

Following this, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who is also Delhis education minister, has asked the district magistrate to conduct a survey of the land owned by Shri Aurobindo Education Society (SAES) by March 8.

The society is in possession of 30 acres of land at Aurobindo Marg in South Delhi.

In the inspection report submitted by the Delhi Development Authority, it has come to our notice that the society has not submitted ownership documents of the land. Also, instead of having separate boundary for the ashram, Mothers International and Mirambika School as per the government rule, the three institutions have just one boundary. There are portions of land within this boundary that belong to the government. This is encroachment, said a government official.

Sisodia has written a letter on this issue to the divisional commissioner and secretary education. HT is in possession of the letter, which states, The DDA has stated that it has no record of how much land has been in possession of the society. Give a detailed report on how and when the possession of government-owned land got transferred to Aurobindo Ashram.

The official said that these irregularities came to light after parents moved court against Mirambika School in 2015. The parents had opposed the school managements decision in April 2015 to shift children from the original school premises, for which recognition was given in 1988.

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The 36-year-old Mirambika Free Progress School is at present running from a building above a kitchen and adjacent to a grocery store within the Aurobindo shram area. It was in July 2015 the school was first shifted to this space, after first shifting the children inside the Ashram in April 2015.

The SAES had shifted the school saying that the land was allotted to build an engineering college and not a school. But the government said that the Delhi Development Authority was aware that instead of a college a free progress school was started.

If the society does not have ownership papers, it is clear that the entire construction is unauthorised, because the MCD does not give sanction for building plans which has been captured, said the official.

The chairman of the SAES and the head of the two schools did not respond to phone calls, text messages and email sent by HT.

Earlier, the government has asked for a CBI investigation in this case after it found several discrepancies in the affidavit submitted to the Delhi High Court, which was also withdrawn.

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Mirambika row: Government questions land ownership of schools ... - Hindustan Times

So far, 2017 has been a big year for the Impossible Burger, also known as the burger that bleeds. Earlier this year, the meat-free patty had meat-eaters, vegans, and vegetarians lining up outside of Momofuku Nishi in hopes of getting a taste of its hyper-realistic goodness. The popularity of the burger led to it being added to three additional New York locations. Since the burgers debut in 2016, it has also been featured on the menus of several California-based restaurants. This was great news for foodies in New York in California (and for anyone willing to travel for food), but for anyone not in the surrounding area, there was no easy way to satisfy their burger-curiosity until now.

According to Mic, the Impossible Burger is soon going to make its debut at several locations across the United States in the organic burger joint, Bareburger. The Impossible Burger will be served on a brioche bun with stout onions, dill pickles, cheese, and the chains special sauce, but if you are avoiding dairy, the chain allows you to customize your toppings.

Oh, and did we mention that the burger will be served medium-rare? If youve never heard of the Impossible Burger until now, there is a reason that people are calling it the burger that bleeds. Developed by plant-based food company Impossible Foods, the Impossible Burger patty is made from textured wheat protein, potato protein, coconut oil, and heme, an iron-rich compound that gives the burger its realistic, meaty flavor. These ingredients create a burger that sears like a beef patty, right down to the crispy, browned exterior and juicy pink interior.

While the burger is on the menu of several high-end restaurants, this will be the first time ever that it is available ina chain.The burger will first be making its debut at the downtown NYC Bareburger location March 2nd, 2017, followed by other New York locations. After this, the burger will be available at other Bareburger restaurants.

Given the burgers meat-like texture and flavor, its no wonder its been called the future of food. With more people choosing to leave meat off the menu due to health and environmental concerns, innovative plant-based options are swooping in to fill that demand. This is great news considering global demands for protein are at an all-time high and only stand to grow with the population sadly, this is coming largely at great cost tothe environment and animals. Providing hearty and healthy plant-based protein alternatives in a chain venue, like Bareburger means that more people can have access to options that are better for them and the planet as well. It certainly seems like thetimes are changing and the future of food is, no doubt, vegan.

Lead image source: Bareburger

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The Vegan Impossible Burger is Hitting a US Burger Chain For the First Time Ever - One Green Planet