Disclaimer: FRB does not necessarily endorse anything written therein either all or in part, but posts links to issues of potential interest, albeit mainly those that tend not to be well covered in the mainstream media providers. For example, there are quite a few links from Natural News, a site with many ads for supplements along the margin; personally I generally don't take supplements - apart from occasional Vitamin D drops or when I am under the weather and need a boost. I believe - and that's all it is, a personal, individually-held belief - that good food and sane living are the best medicines and I make no claim, either to myself or others, that I have any particular handle on what they are, and also, of course, it's different for each individual and within various different cultural contexts. In terms of food, I think fresh, local, non-chemically altered food is best, but since I am buying wheat harvested in Quebec and New Brunswick (mainly), albeit certified organic, obviously I don't hold to this in any rigid, ideological fashion. Similarly, with all the other links, I don't necessarily agree with everything said; however I do think the issues raised are worthy of contemplation.

In no particular order, some links of interest to do with bread, sourdough, diets, food coops, geopolitics and suchlike.

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche: Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness.

“THIS CIVILISATION IS THE WORK OF MAN, WHO, HIGH-HANDEDLY AND IGNORANT OF THE TRUE WORKINGS OF NATURE, HAS CREATED A WORLD WITHOUT MEANING OR FOUNDATION, WHICH NOW THREATENS TO DESTROY HIM, FOR THROUGH HIS BEHAVIOUR AND HIS ACTIVITIES, HE, WHO SHOULD BE HER MASTER, HAS DISTURBED NATURE'S INHERENT UNITY."

"Pastor Niemöller spoke for thousands and thousands of men like me when he spoke (too modestly of himself) and said that, when the Nazis attacked the Communists, he was a little uneasy, but, after all, he was not a Communist, and so he did nothing; and then they attacked the Socialists, and he was a little uneasier, but, still, he was not a Socialist, and he did nothing; and then the schools, the press, the Jews, and so on, and he was always uneasier, but still he did nothing. And then they attacked the Church, and he was a Churchman, and he did something--but then it was too late."

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Edmund Burke.

"When the social contract is broken, the people must revolt." John Locke 1690.

NOTE: In the first 'Ongoing Updated Links' Section below, the latest links are added to the top line whilst also being pasted into its respective Section,

I wrote software for large portfolios a few years back but have not (yet) managed to market it: www.cclsys.frenchroadbakery.tk

April 17: This page will soon be left as is with specifically bread and nutrition-related content. To keep this site uncluttered, new posts of interest will be added into a blog at: http://frenchroadbakery.wordpress.com/ , and a second blog with the more political-economic type stuff at: http://comingdarkage.wordpress.com/

SOURDOUGH

http://www.wildyeastblog.com/ - a good blog site about sourdough for home bakers (i.e. if you like, make your own instead of buying from FRB!)

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/ - another fantastic baker forum, again mainly for the home baker but quite a few artisan bakers are on this site too.

http://www.natures-health-foods.com/sourdough.html - article describing scientific study above which found - to its surprise - that those eating white sourdough did better than those eating whole grain breads. However, these latter were not sourdough. My suspicion is that white sourdough is better than non-sourdough anything, but that whole grain sourdough - properly made - is better than white sourdough because there is so much more nutritional content in the whole grains. Also, some 'whole wheat' loaves (and flours in supermarkets) are not the real thing, i.e. they are made of previously separated white flours and bran which are then mixed together. My flours are stone ground whole grains (or fresh ground at FRB with my grain mill) which grind down the whole grain all together, i.e. a veritable 'whole' grain whole grain versus a simulated one. So 'whole wheat' and 'whole grain' are not the same. These things make a difference because the original synergy of the original grain and all its ingredients/components therein characteristic of a natural, living organism is thereby maintained, whereas the industrialized version has first had all its ingredients 'killed', i.e. no longer active in any synergistic/organismic sense, and then re-combined these 'dead' ingredients together in typical pseudo-scientific fashion.

The other surprise from Graham’s study was that sourdough bread came out on top, because it was the best at regulating blood sugar levels, an essential trait for diabetics and a health benefit for most consumers.

“You want to see the smallest rise in blood sugars…. With the sourdough bread, we saw the best responses in blood sugar.”

Steve Ciu, an Agriculture Canada research scientist who worked with Graham on the study, explained that sourdough provides a different form of carbohydrate than other breads.

The fermentation process to make sourdough produces oligosaccharides, a carbohydrate found in legumes, onions and asparagus, which has three to 10 simple sugar molecules linked in a chain.

“This material (oligosaccharides) cannot be digested by our enzymes … they will stay in the body and cannot be digested (in the stomach or small intestine),” said Ciu.

Instead the carbohydrate slips into the large intestine where it ferments to produce beneficial fatty acids.

Because this type of carbohydrate is digested much more slowly, blood sugar levels do not spike immediately after eating sourdough bread.

Following this study, Graham began looking at subjects’ blood sugars after they ate whole grain bread for breakfast.

“(Whole wheat) is very different from whole grain,” he said. “(With whole grain) you’re going to have more of the important nutrients beyond starch. You’re going to have all of the bran and all of the wheat germ. So you’re getting fibre and a number of vitamins.”

Although the study is not yet published, Graham said it showed that whole grain breads are indeed better at controlling blood sugar than whole wheat, but the results varied from bread to bread.

“I’d love to be able to tell your readers that all the whole grain breads are really good. But you could see different responses depending on which of the products (was consumed),” he said.

Asked what type of bread he eats, Graham said he prefers sourdough whole grain breads.

http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/497-be-kind-to-your-grains.html - about benefits of whole grains. As of October 2010 FRB offers a 100% Whole Grain Sourdough. As of November 2010 FRB is offering a Vollkornbrot comprising 90% fresh-ground Whole Grain wheat and 10% organic Rye (sometimes fresh-ground, but usually basic stone-ground organic) along with some seeds (usually flax, pumpkin and sunflower). This is about as healthy as you can get and although decidedly more brick-like in look and texture, has a relatively light crumb on the palate and, more importantly, in the stomach. Personally, I am very pleased and proud of this offering and hope that most of my customers will increasingly turn to it as a regular weekly item.

Grains require careful preparation because they contain a number of antinutrients that can cause serious health problems. Phytic acid, for example, is an organic acid in which phosphorus is bound. It is mostly found in the bran or outer hull of seeds. Untreated phytic acid can combine with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc in the intestinal tract and block their absorption. This is why a diet high in improperly prepared whole grains may lead to serious mineral deficiencies and bone loss. The modern misguided practice of consuming large amounts of unprocessed bran often improves colon transit time at first but may lead to irritable bowel syndrome and, in the long term, many other adverse effects.

Other antinutrients in whole grains include enzyme inhibitors which can inhibit digestion and put stress on the pancreas; irritating tannins; complex sugars which the body cannot break down; and gluten and related hard-to-digest proteins which may cause allergies, digestive disorders and even mental illness.

Most of these antinutrients are part of the seed's system of preservation—they prevent sprouting until the conditions are right. Plants need moisture, warmth, time and slight acidity in order to sprout. Proper preparation of grains is a kind and gentle process that imitates the process that occurs in nature. It involves soaking for a period in warm, acidulated water in the preparation of porridge, or long, slow sour dough fermentation in the making of bread. Such processes neutralize phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors. Vitamin content increases, particularly B vitamins. Tannins, complex sugars, gluten and other difficult-to-digest substances are partially broken down into simpler components that are more readily available for absorption.

Animals that nourish themselves on primarily on grain and other plant matter have as many as four stomachs. Their intestines are longer, as is the entire digestion transit time. Man, on the other hand, has but one stomach and a much shorter intestine compared to herbivorous animals. These features of his anatomy allow him to pass animal products before they putrefy in the gut but make him less well adapted to a diet high in grains—unless, of course, he prepares them properly. When grains are properly prepared through soaking, sprouting or sour leavening, the friendly bacteria of the microscopic world do some of our digesting for us in a container, just as these same lactobacilli do their work in the first and second stomachs of the herbivores.

So the well-meaning advice of many nutritionists, to consume whole grains as our ancestors did and not refined flours and polished rice, can be misleading and harmful in its consequences; for while our ancestors ate whole grains, they did not consume them as presented in our modern cookbooks in the form of quick-rise breads, granolas, bran preparations and other hastily prepared casseroles and concoctions. Our ancestors, and virtually all pre-industrialized peoples, soaked or fermented their grains before making them into porridge, breads, cakes and casseroles. A quick review of grain recipes from around the world will prove our point: In India, rice and lentils are fermented for at least two days before they are prepared as idli and dosas; in Africa the natives soak coarsely ground corn overnight before adding it to soups and stews and they ferment corn or millet for several days to produce a sour porridge called ogi; a similar dish made from oats was traditional among the Welsh; in some Oriental and Latin American countries rice receives a long fermentation before it is prepared; Ethiopians make their distinctive injera bread by fermenting a grain called teff for several days; Mexican corn cakes, called pozol, are fermented for several days and for as long as two weeks in banana leaves; before the introduction of commercial brewers yeast, Europeans made slow-rise breads from fermented starters; in America the pioneers were famous for their sourdough breads, pancakes and biscuits; and throughout Europe grains were soaked overnight, and for as long as several days, in water or soured milk before they were cooked and served as porridge or gruel. (Many of our senior citizens may remember that in earlier times the instructions on the oatmeal box called for an overnight soaking.)

Bread can be the staff of life, but modern technology has turned our bread—even our whole grain bread—into a poison. Grains are laced with pesticides during the growing season and in storage; they are milled at high temperatures so that their fatty acids turn rancid. Rancidity increases when milled flours are stored for long periods of time, particularly in open bins. The bran and germ are often removed and sold separately, when Mother Nature intended that they be eaten together with the carbohydrate portion; they're baked as quick rise breads so that antinutrients remain; synthetic vitamins and an unabsorbable form of iron added to white flour can cause numerous imbalances; dough conditioners, stabilizers, preservatives and other additives add insult to injury.

Cruelty to grains in the making of breakfast cereals is intense. Slurries of grain are forced through tiny holes at high temperatures and pressures in giant extruders, a process that destroys nutrients and turns the proteins in grains into veritable poisons. Westerners pay a lot for expensive breakfast cereals that snap, crackle and pop, including the rising toll of poor health.

The final indignity to grains is that we treat them as loners, largely ignorant of other dietary factors needed for the nutrients they provide. Fat-soluble vitamins A and D found in animal fats like butter, lard and cream help us absorb calcium, phosphorus, iron, B vitamins and the many other vitamins that grains provide. Porridge eaten with cream will do us a thousand times more good than cold breakfast cereal consumed with skim milk; sourdough whole grain bread with butter or whole cheese is a combination that contributes to optimal health.

Be kind to your grains. . . and your grains will deliver their promise as the staff of life. Buy only organic whole grains and soak them overnight to make porridge or casseroles; or grind them into flour with a home grinder and make your own sour dough bread and baked goods. For those who lack the time for breadmaking, kindly-made whole grain breads are now available. Look for organic, stone ground, sprouted or sour dough whole grain breads and enjoy them with butter or cheese.

Copyright: From: Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats by Sally Fallon with Mary G. Enig, PhD. © 1999. All Rights Reserved. To order Nourishing Traditions, go to www.newtrendspublishing.com.

May 25: http://www.danreid.org/health-alerts-sour-dough-health.asp About the cancer-curing benefits of authentic sourdough bread. Excerpt: Poorly-prepared and poorly-digested wheat is the chief contributor to the current plague of “gluten-intolerance,” obesity, diabetes, Candida diseases and many allergenic conditions all of which contribute to the conditions that cause cancer. Only when wheat gluten is properly fermented is it healthy for human consumption. When not it is potentially one of the most highly allergenic foods we eat. It is similar to the controversy with soy which also can only be considered a health food if it is fermented long enough. Correctly fermented wheat contains 18 amino acids (proteins), complex carbohydrate (a super efficient source of energy), B vitamins, iron, zinc, selenium and magnesium, and maltase. Excerpt 2: "There are several advantages to stone-ground wheat flour. The endosperm, bran, and germ remain in their natural, original proportions. Because the stones grind slowly, the wheat germ is not exposed to excessive temperatures. Heat causes the fat from the germ portion to oxidize and become rancid and much of the vitamins to be destroyed (Aubert, 1989). The nutritional importance of using fresh stone-ground grains for bread-making was revealed in the results of feeding studies in Germany (Bernasek, 1970). Rats were fed diets consisting of 50% flour or bread. Group 1 consumed fresh stone-ground flour. Group 2 was fed bread made with this flour. Group 3 consumed the same flour as group 1 but after 15 days of storage. Group 4 was fed bread made with the flour fed to group 3. A fifth group consumed white flour. After four generations, only the rats fed fresh stone-ground flour and those fed the bread made with it maintained their fertility. The rats in groups 3 to 5 had become infertile. Four generations for rats is believed to be equivalent to one hundred years in humans."

July 11: revisiting an old link already on the page (immediately preceding this one!) about the potential benefits of sourdough breads: Quote: " Most of us do not know that before the 1950’s most bakeries ran 2 shifts of workers because the dough was fermented throughout the night with a long and slow natural fermentation process. The very first things corporate bakers did to increase profits was to introduce the fast loaf (3 hours from start to finish), effectively eliminating the need for this second shift of workers. This seemingly innocuous cost-cutting decision would prove to have an incredible impact on our health as have a host of commercial processes in the food and agricultural areas. The catastrophic changes in bakery procedures were a disaster that went largely unnoticed and today some bakeries produce some bread in just 40 minutes from start of dough to baked finish. The general public has become conditioned to commercial bread products and is uninformed about the effects of the commercial processing that regular bread undergoes. Free of commercial yeast, sourdough breads have an aroma and distinctive flavors all of their own and are naturally leavened by a fermented starter. Very basic sourdough bread that had once been fermented for a healthy 8 hours or more is not to be found anywhere except in ones own kitchen today." Well, at least at FRB I can proudly state that all breads have at least 16 hours fermentation, most between 18 and 22, and that doesn't count the important soaking phase beforehand which is between eight and twelve hours, meaning that some doughs get over thirty hours processing. The original article/link: May 25: http://www.danreid.org/health-alerts-sour-dough-health.asp About the cancer-curing benefits of authentic sourdough bread.

Oct 24: http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/sourdough.htm Something I hadn't read or noticed before: authentic sourdough fermentation creates proteins making sourdough bread a high protein item. I don't know if this is true or not, but this is what it says: " Sourdough turns Carbohydrates into Proteins? by Chef Cookie Soles I would like to share a bit of research I came across recently concerning "Sourdough". What originally caught my eye was an analysis of laboratory tests. They say that Sourdough contains the greatest amount of protein for it's weight and size of any comparable food. "Hmm" I thought "just how does that come about when it's ingredients are all carbohydrates?" Apparently a wild yeast forms in the fermentation process of the starter. At that stage, a starch food is turned into a protein dynamo food." Whether or not this is completely accurate - and I suspect it is - it brings to the fore one of the principal dynamics involved in authentic fermentation cookery, namely the highly transformative nature of the process wherein time, temperature and naturally living and feeding microorganisms all work together to change one or two things (grain and water) into something entirely different. A seed changes into a tree, grains into delicious, nourishing bread that ends up being something quite different than how it began with the help of many other life forms in the process.

Oct 24: http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/ Interesting little site, this page about various food history stories... I put it in Sourdough section, not sure why.

WATER

I use a water rejuvinator from this company: http://www.alivewater.net/index.htm. I have long been interested in structured or 'living' water and am happy to finally have more than just a personal reason to justify the expense of this improvement.

Biophoton Light Emission Microscope Pictures of Revitalized Tap Water
(1,200 X magnification)

(Please mention me if you decide to order one since that way I'll get a small commission!)

Dr. Ludwig: "What few humans know is the following fact: detrimental/poisonously charged/burdened water, as we have today in our wells and municipal water supplies, rivers, lakes, underground water, etc., is often polluted with substances such as lead, cadmium, nitrate and an impressive variety of other detrimental substances from households, agriculture and industry. All of this water can be chemically treated with the purpose of purifying the water and eliminating bacteria etc., but after the water treatment has "purified" the water as far as the "science of yesterday" is concerned, the water still carries certain electrical frequencies, oscillations in specific frequency bands (wavelengths). By further analyses, these can be tracked precisely to those detrimental substances which were detected in the water before treatment."

Even after treatment and purification of water, it still contains certain unwanted signals from these poisonous substances which depending upon their wavelength can be destructive and/or injurious to our health.

The Connection Between Cancer and Negative Water

Interviewer: That was a very serious statement! It indicates that our fresh water is possibly to a great extent injurious to our health in spite of all the efforts to cleanse, and purify it, both with official water treatment and in our own homes (reverse osmosis, chlorine filters, etc.), because of the stored data/information from these substances which still remains in the water. Well, does this mean that heavy-metal polluted water, after a thorough water treatment, will still transfer the heavy metal's poisonous information to the human organism?

Dr. Ludwig: "This is exactly what it means. Certain electromagnetic frequencies of heavy-metal polluted water have been found in cancer tissue as well. Let us take the frequency 1.8 hertz, which is a very low frequency. We have been able to confirm that fresh water in a certain major German city carries this 1.8 hertz frequency. Mind you, that water was distilled twice before this measurement!

From this we can draw the following conclusion: After any cleansing -purification -chemical -treatment -filtration or even after distillation, the pollutants' harmful information - the electromagnetic frequencies/oscillations can be transferred to the human organism. They are there, measurably present in the water molecules both before and after any of the conventional treatments. So even when our fresh water is chemically purified it is still physically pollutant-information-charged both before and after any conventional treatment.

It is not the chemical substance which affects the human organism when you drink this water, it is the undesirable frequencies."

http://www.phdrinkingwater.com/movies.php Movies showing various different colons before and after patients changed their diets and started drinking ionized water (promotional page offering high-priced Japanese ionizer system).

May 30: http://www.waterpollutionfilters.com/resources.htm As soon as I can afford it, I will be upgrading my filter system to a new model which can be backflushed periodically and doesn't need replacement filters, so over the long run it is far more economical; it is also a very high quality filter. But this link is for various articles about water on their web site.

Nov 14 2011: http://www.foodforthoughtstore.com/extraordinary-nature-of-water/ The Extraordinary Nature of Water. A documentary film about Viktor Shauberger's theories of water. This is a good alternative website, by the way, based in St. John's Newfoundland.

SALT

2010-11 source of FRB sea salt: http://www.eco-natural.com/algarve_sea_salt/analysis.html . That said, would prefer to make it locally. Though I haven't checked, would be surprised that's not yet another illegal activity, but also suspect it's quite a bit of work to make the quantities I would need for a small commercial operation. Given that salt is one of the two main purchased ingredients (along with flour or wheat berries), and considering that we are talking a difference of about only five cents in cost per loaf, I am willing to get the best salt possible for our bread.

From Google searches (i.e. I know nothing about the following people so take with grain of salt!):

Video by Dr. Bob about benefits of using Celtic Sea Salt versus refined (aka de-mineralized ) salt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyZftXfseq0 (This is NOT why I am getting it; I just want third party certified high quality salt for our bread, and also know that commercial salt is really not all that good for you whereas original, authentic salt is necessary for life - which is why deer and other animals go for salt licks, for example. They know.

http://www.alkalizeforhealth.net/Lsalt.htm - differences between refined and unrefined salts, also mention about white flour problems (again, see the study above which refutes some of this, albeit clearly there is a significant difference between yeast-risen white bread and sourdough white bread which is often not explored by authors, dieticians or scientific researchers).

I don't necessarily agree with everything said above (true of any link on this page), but do suspect they are basically correct in that real salt has a dramatically different biochemical effect than the de-mineralized industrial product ( Table Salt) they have been pushing for decades now or put another way: real salt is somewhat 'alive', or an organic composite, whereas Table Salt is de-natured, or 'dead' chemical substance which really shouldn't be called 'salt' at all. Sort of how most processed food isn't really food because the nutrients have been killed by industrial processes. There is a move afoot to pasteurize eggs, for example, which means basically making real fresh living eggs a thing of the past. Amazing.

March 22 2011: http://healthwyze.org/index.php/table-salt-vs-sea-salt.html The Truth about Table Salt and the Chemical Industry. Final paragraph: " The biggest surprise from our research was that small quantities of natural sea salt will actually lower the blood pressure of most people, because it provides some of the minerals necessary for blood pressure regulation. This is something you are not likely to learn from the regular media, the F.D.A., or the medical journals."

June 12: http://www.flor-de-sal.com/chemical-composition.html Marisol Sea Salt test results, which are done regularly, to insure there is no pollution in the salt. FRB is temporarily out of this excellent salt and using Bob's Mill sea salt - which is adequate - but an order will be going in soon for more. I am very pleased with the taste and quality of this salt even though it is very expensive.

Bread and Wheat etc.

Will be posting more on Spelt, a grain I intend to be featuring more and more despite the additional cost. Briefly put: it's worth it.

Before the term "agribusiness" had been coined, and before huge refineries began scraping the nutrients off of wheat, there were flour mills located by streams and rivers in most towns and villages. Farmers from the surrounding area would bring wagon loads of grain to the miller who would adjust the grindstones so that they rubbed off the outside hull, or husk. Once done, the miller would store the whole grain kernels until he needed them for flour. This flour, once ground, was then used for baking bread, cake, and muffins. In parts of Europe, this grain was also used to make pasta.

When asked to identify this grain, most people would, without hesitation, say that it was wheat. Right?

Until about 1920, most of the grain used to produce flour was an older, hardier cousin of wheat, which today goes by the name of Spelt. It is estimated that in 1910 there were 600,000 acres of Spelt harvested annually in this country alone. Today there are about 4000 acres, a big increase from the almost "0" acre figure that was true in the 1970's.

The last decade has witnessed a resurgence in the popularity of Spelt, not only because it has a much richer, more flavorful taste, but because it is far more nutritious than its less robust, overhybridized cousin, wheat. Even whole wheat, which has not yet been stripped of its fiber and nutrients, cannot stand up to Spelt in either the flavor department or the nutrient department.

Why then, one might ask, has wheat flour filled the shelves of almost all grocery stores, while Spelt is available almost exclusively at health and nutrition stores?

The answer is simple. Spelt does not lend itself well to agribusiness. While wheat loses its husk during the harvesting, or threshing process, Spelt does not. It retains its husk, requiring two separate grindings compared to just one for wheat. In the vast sweep of economics, agribusiness and technology, it was easy to let Spelt fall by the wayside. This in spite of the fact that the husk, though inefficient for purposes of grinding, did have some advantages. Spelt's tough outer husk helps to protect the kernel from pesticides and insects at the same time that it helps to retain valuable nutrients and fiber.

In the flavor department, there is no comparison. Anyone who has tried Spelt will tell you it has a richer, fuller flavor than its relatively flat and lifeless cousin, wheat. Some people describe it as "nutty", and most think it is delicious. It works well as a pasta with all of the same sauces used on ordinary wheat-based pastas. As bread, muffins and pancakes, Spelt is far more flavorful and enjoyable.

In the nutrition department, Spelt rules - especially when compared to wheat. A plate full of whole grain spelt pasta can provide as much as half of the USDA recommended guidelines for protein. In fact, 2 ounces of Spelt contains 10 grams of protein. The same portion of all purpose white wheat flour contains 2.74 grams of protein.

Impressed? Try this: A 2 ounce portion of whole grain Spelt flour contains a whopping 5.27 grams of fiber, while the same portion of all purpose white wheat flour contains less than 1.8 grams.

The numbers become more significant when you run them up the flagpole. Not only is Spelt rich in protein, but these proteins, in turn, contain all of the eight essential amino acids needed by the human body. These amino acids are called "essential" because the body cannot manufacture them. If you don't eat them, you don't get them.

June 20: http://grindstonebakery.com/spelt.htm A nice article about spelt. http://germanfood.about.com/od/introtogermanfood/a/Hildegard_von_Bingen.htm Dietary guidelines from Hildegard von Bingen, a medieval saint an promoter of the virtues of spelt over other grains. Some 800 years ago Hildegard von Bingen wrote about spelt: “The spelt is the best of grains. It is rich and nourishing and milder than other grain. It produces a strong body and healthy blood to those who eat it and it makes the spirit of man light and cheerful. If someone is ill boil some spelt, mix it with egg and this will heal him like a fine ointment.”

June 20: http://grindstonebakery.com/index.html A very nice looking organic spelt sourdough bakery in Sonoma, California. Have to admit: have been considering something like this myself. Excerpt from page 'About Us': "True to our Italian roots we revere tradition and the old ways of baking. For us, a truly nourishing food with the richest flavors is prepared in small quantities, following traditional methods and using organic, whole and truly natural ingredients. We say NO to genetically modified foods and also to foodst have been altered in substantial and harmful ways in order to adapt them for the industrial production of food. Modern Wheat is a good example of the later, it has been highly hybridized to increase the gluten content so bread can be industrially produced. Whole Grains store a variety of nutrients to feed the future germinating seed and myriad phytochemicals for the protection of that seed. By stone grinding Whole Grains at the bakery we preserve every nutrient and health protective substance. But we also include some compounds that decrease the nutritional value of food by making a nutrient unavailable or indigestible. They are known as antinutrients and they have to be neutralized. The phytochemicals, that function helping plants resist pathogens, are extremely beneficial in protecting humans from cancer and other modern disease, we know them as antioxidants. Whole Grains have antioxidant levels as high as the richest vegetables or fruits but they are tied up in the bran layer and in the germ. They have to be freed to become bio-available to protect our health.
Antinutrients and Gluten in the Whole Grains can be detrimental to our health. Enzyme inhibitors interfere with our digestion, Phytic acid combines with iron, copper, calcium, magnesium and zinc blocking their absorption in the intestinal tract. Gluten intolerance is on the rise worldwide because modern wheat has become so prevalent in the Western diet that humans are actually overdosing on it (scientific research has linked Gluten to a variety of modern autoimmune diseases (our immune system attacking our own cells). Making the antioxidants bio-available and neutralizing the potentially harmful substances is accomplished by the action of our fermentation cultures. They in effect predigest the Whole Grains for us. The Lactic Acid Bacteria in our cultures generate the molecular building blocks to feed their growth by breaking down complex substances through enzymatic action. The important cosequence for us is that the protective antioxidants are released, the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors are neutralized, and the gluten content is reduced. Like traditional societies have done for milennia, the doughs for our breads are naturally fermented for a period of more than 24 hours by the microorganisms in our Sonoma Cultures. For our Cookies (Wheat Free and Gluten Free) we use the simple traditional practice of soaking the grains for 12 hours. Soaking allows enzymes and microorganisms to neutralize antinutrients and free antioxidants, but Gluten is not as affected as with the long fermentation with the special cultures we use for the breads (the same is true for sprouting).

A serious scientific report which includes using sourdough, though I have not yet read through it to find out if natural or commercial yeast type sourdough.

Jan 18 2011: http://www.csaceliacs.org/GlutenFree_Flour_Guide.php Guide to Gluten-free flours etc. (again, have yet to find good research on difference between fermented and unfermented flours and their relative effect on those with celiac disease.

Jan 18th: From Celiac. com an article about sourdoughs being tolerated by some Celiacs: http://www.celiac.com/articles/752/1/Study-Finds-Wheat-based-Sourdough-Bread-Started-with-Selected-Lactobacilli-is-Tolerated-by-Celiac-Disease-Patients/Page1.html Excerpt: " A double blind test was then conducted in which 17 celiac disease patients were given 2 grams of gluten-containing bread started with bakers yeast or lactobacilli. Thirteen of them showed distinct, negative changes in their intestinal permeability after eating the bread, and 4 of them did not show any negative effects. The specially prepared sourdough bread was then given to all 17 patients and none of them had intestinal permeability reactions that differed from their normal baseline values. The researchers conclude: "These results showed that a bread biotechnology that uses selected lactobacilli, nontoxic flours, and a long fermentation time is a novel tool for decreasing the level of gluten intolerance in humans." "

Jan 18th: Forum page discussing why sourdough fermentation (which features bacteria such as lactobacillus) is different from single-strain commercial yeast fermentation (what most commercial and home bakers use via packaged yeasts):

"For example, Lactobacilus are able to break down the gliadin in the gluten protein. This is the part of gluten that gluten sensitive individuals react to. The lactobacillus break most of this down within about 4 hours. So celiac people can eat sourdough bread. Yeast cannot do this. Even with long fermentation. There are other benefits to the sourdough as mentioned before, regarding the glycemic index and control of blood sugar."

Jan 18th: http://www.gofrolic.org/gofrolic/food_blog/Entries/2008/11/28_Sourdough_and_Gluten_II.html A very good (and short) one. Clearly slow fermentation - such as that used by myself at FRB - significantly breaks down the protein structure. I suspect this is much more the case with my fresh-ground breads which are fermented more than than the hearth loaves and sometimes I have definitely over-fermented these loaves to the point where, if they were hearth loaves, they would no longer have been able to rise at all. The high moisture content, however, creates 'steam bubbles' in the crumb so the texture is always good even after such over-fermentation. Furthermore, the more I eat the fresh-ground breads, the more I like them.

Jan 18th : Full report with text and pictures. Limited number of test 'patients' but very clear results; note how traditional slow fermentation again is recommended (and again what is being done at FRB). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC348803/

March 27: http://www.curetoothdecay.com/Tooth_Decay/whole_grains_cause_tooth_decay.htm How whole grains, improperly fermented, can cause tooth decay. This article, originally from the Weston Price site which is one of the earliest links provided here, contains very important information about both whole grains and nutrition in general, specifically a clear, thorough description of the role of phytic acid both in seeds/grains/nuts etc. and in the human digestive process. My opinion is that a seed (which is what a wheat berry is of course) has various elements therein which bind the ingredients together so that the seed does not begin to germinate/sprout/grow and remains dormant. Scientists have identified a key role in this dormancy process as that of phytic acid, but whatever the precise compound or combination of factors, it seems clear that proper soaking, which begins the relaxation process via which a dormant seed becomes a sprouting, i.e. living and growing plant, along with proper fermentation, using naturally present yeasts and bacterias which comprise a natural 'sourdough starter' not only helps release the nutrients in the grain but also eliminate the dormancy dynamics which also, as it happens, make grains so hard to digest. In other words, the same processes which inhibit growth and living-as-plant-ness in a seed also prevent grain's being assimilated via the digestive process. Once the dormancy energy is relaxed via soaking and fermentation, the grain can become available as healthy nutrition. This is interesting not only for dentists (and their patients) and bakers (and their clients) but in a more general way in terms of learning more about how food, nutrition, preparation and digestion all play a part together. Some things are much better off eaten raw, others not. Some things which are unhealthy when improperly prepared (such as whole grains) become very healthy/nutritious when properly prepared (yeast versus sourdough-fermented whole grains). Extract: "Phytates represent just one of many anti-nutrients in grains, nuts, tubers, seeds and beans. These include oxalates, tannins, trypsin inhibitors, enzyme inhibitors, lectins (hemagglutinins), protease inhibitors, gluten, alpha-amylase inhibitors and alkylresorcinols. Anti-nutrients exist in these plant foods because they are part of the process of life. The natural world requires them in order to perform many important tasks, including protection against insects, maintaining freshness of seeds for germination, and protection against mold and fungus. In order to consume these foods on a regular basis we must remove the phytates and other anti-nutrients through processing in harmonious ways. Many people in the health field assure us that if something is from nature, then it doesn't require processing. Phytates act as the seed's system of preservatives, like the impossible-to-open plastic packaging of many consumer goods. To get to the item we need-namely, phosphorus-we need to unwrap the phytate-phosphorus package." http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/04/new-way-to-soak-brown-rice.html

April 5: Series of links from Dr. Michael Milburn of Sydney Cape Breton on celiac-sourdough related issues. Mike has a background in Science before becoming fully trained from Daoist practitioner in Ontario many years ago and settling back in Cape Breton in 2000. His main website is:www.OptimumHealthCB.ca .

1. "Sourdough Fermentation improves Nutritional Properties of Starch in Healthy Humans". Sourdough-Nutrition2.

3. " Highly Efficient Gluten Degradation by Lactobacilli and Fungal Proteases during Food Processing: New Perspectives for Celiac Disease." http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/full/73/14/4499 Excerpt: "Presently, the only effective treatment for celiac disease isa life-long gluten-free diet. In this work, we used a new mixtureof selected sourdough lactobacilli and fungal proteases to eliminatethe toxicity of wheat flour during long-time fermentation."

4. "Sourdough Bread Made from Wheat and Nontoxic Flours and Started with Selected Lactobacilli Is Tolerated in Celiac Sprue Patients." http://aem.asm.org/cgi/reprint/70/2/1088

5. Sourdough in gluten-free bread-making: an ancient technology to solve a novel issue? Link not yet available

In addition so it is together with this set, even if linked elsewhere (not sure):

May 10: http://www.artisanbread-abo.com/info/Baker%27s+Yeast+Free+Bread.html Interesting (promotional) article about the use of backferment (german word = 'baking ferment') that is an organic equivalent to sourdough cultures. I intend to experiment with these at some point, possibly developing a gluten free line, but only if the results are truly delicious. Excerpt:

May 13: Brief description of celiac disease from point of view of Chinese Medical practitioner. Makes some good points. http://www.drshen.com/foodallergy.htm

May 21: Intriguing, unsubstantiated quote in an advanced sourdough forum: "there was one senior researcher in the CSIRO in Australia,who had observed what i had suggested to him, that diabetics virtually "recover" by eating sourdough bread as a large part of their diet. Instead of just glibly attributing it to low GI, he realised there was a lot more to it, particularly in the production of hormones, yet he couldnt do any research on it because it wasnt industry-oriented and linked to making money..." http://sourdough.com/blog/enzyme-bread-tech#comment-17333

May 12: The Modern Baker by John Kirkland. Exhaustive book on baking grounded in the 19th century, i.e. well into the modern era but with roots in pre-industrialised society. This man knows baking and so many other culinary aspects beside. http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=%22The%20Modern%20Baker%22 Volume 2 seems to be the first one and 2,3,4 & 5 are available.

June 20: http://www.westonaprice.org/journal/1540-journal-summer-2006 Weston Price Celiac page From that page: http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-diseases/29/621 ('Against the Grain' - background on celiac disease in modern times. Excerpt: "The story of how a class of food long revered as "the staff of life" should suddenly become a toxic substance to large numbers of people worldwide is complex and controversial, yet also provides revealing insights into modern agriculture, world trade and industrialized methods of food production."); http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-diseases/29/620 ('Going with the Grain' a healing protocol for those with celiac disease )

June 27: http://discoverysedge.mayo.edu/celiac-disease/ Mayo clinic article about the rise of celiac disease since the 1950's not being due to improved diagnosis alone and not being able to definitively explain this rise.

June 27: excerpt of email from President of Meunerie La Milanaise, my primary supplier for white flours (very best quality in Canada) and 100% stone ground whole wheat, stone ground rye. I do not use them exclusively for the kernels mainly because of distributor / supply issues but also because I like ordering from Maritime-sourced Speerville. I had asked Milanaise to consider offering a Red Fife whole wheat flour so as to have a less hybridized alternative. " For clarification, the issue you are mentioning is quite documented: gluten is not the issue as such. It is one of the two proteins that constitutes gluten (gliadin) that can develop immune response from the digestive system. Of the different forms of gliadin α, β, and γ gliadins are the ones that can have an immune response (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliadin). You will find these types of gliadins in all wheat strains of the triticum eastivum family. Red Fife is in this group and is simply a heritage variety that is still around. This is not an issue of hybridization of hard wheat! Iyou are looking to lessen the immune response, you will need to go with other species within the wheat family such as spelt (triticum spelta) -a diploid- or kamut (triticum khorosan)- a tetraploid- versus common spring wheat (an hexaploid); all hexaploids such as hard spring wheats and Red Fife contain α, β, and γ gliadins that can sponsor digestive reactions. Usually a very long fermentation such as levain will greatly modify and reduce the gliadin reaction if the fermentation is at a pH of 3 and less." As you can see, these chaps know their stuff! But that doesn't mean they are right, either! The science is in a constant state of flux as new things are uncovered. In other words, science really isn't scientific (because there are always limitless known and unknown variables making any conclusion inconclusive as has been so often proved down the road) and it's about time they all admitted it!

Sep 9: http://www.grainfieldsaustralia.com/US/literature.shtml This manufacturer of probiotic drinks and supplements, Grainfields in Australia, has an excellent section here linked on their website about many aspects involving bacteria, digestion and suchlike. I just purchased their Grain drink to improve digestion since have been having problems since taking antibiotics prior to a root canal earlier this year. Am putting this in the bread section since it is about fermentation as much as bacteria and yeast per se, in that the former is what is most interesting (for us and our digestive process) in terms of what the latter do.

Nov 3: http://www.organicsproutedflour.net/whySproutedFlour.html Why sprouted grains from a company (unfortunately in the US) selling sprouted grain flour ($5.50 a kilo!). I hope to spend more time working with sprouted grain recipes this winter, along with also possibly some gluten free, although my personal feeling is that if the grains are properly fermented, and sprouting-then-fermenting is the ultimate method in this regard, then most people with digestive issues around grains will do just fine. In other words, it's not so much the particular grain or the gluten, per se, but rather it's not having been properly prepared as 99% of most bread offered today baked with industrially manufactured yeast using industrial baking processes.

April 2: http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/hibernation-diet.html I am going to make shortbread once again but use honey instead of sugar, also organic butter. So it will be quite a bit more expensive but it also all organic and possibly even good for you! I will gradually work with spelt, wheat and oat shortbreads. In any case, here is a very basic honey site, and this page is about a 'hibernation diet' which claims to help the liver metabolize fats so you can lose weight whilst you sleep by having 1-2 Tbs honey before retiring. I have sometimes done that with lemon and/or milk (in the days when I still drank milk), and always found it very relaxing. Will try it again just to see. We have really good honey available at the Farmer's Market in both Sydney and Baddeck. No more sugar for me! If I could afford it, I would also make honey wine, but without my own bees, it just ain't practical.

Nutrition & Health Related:

http://foundation.westonaprice.org/healthtopics.html - Classic guidelines far from the fad diet mainstream. Promotes things like real milk, fresh eggs, wild meat, properly fermented breads and vegetables and so forth.

Related recommended book (available in Sydney library): Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. If I had to have only one cookbook, this would be it.

These authors don't like white flour, but in this commentary they don't mention sourdough whites which seem, somehow, to be a little different in terms of being friendly to the human gastro-intestinal tract, though normal white bread is not: http://www.westonaprice.org/news/15/261 . Above is link ( http://www.natures-health-foods.com/sourdough.html ) to an article mentioning a study on this, which study and more articles about it are in the section above.

From that blog: a simple, basic thing it is illegal for most Canadians (depending on Province, but in our case including Cape Bretoners) to make from scratch (i.e. from fresh, unpasteurized milk) at home, something our forebears would find completely incomprehensible - but then they didn't live in an age where business people had taken over control of their governments and, by extension, their lives: http://thenourishingcook.com/2009/12/1-whey-cool/ . Simple, but very delicious and healthy things can be done with whey, principally making pickled vegetables but also greatly improving sourdough breads. But again, such a simple thing is strictly verboten in the Province of Nova Scotia. If I am wrong about this, please let me know!! That said, you can make your own butter from store-bought cream, and even though it isn't as good as the real thing, it's much better than the commercially available butter (and also more expensive). Here's a couple of snaps of home-made butter taken minutes after it was made (takes about 10 mins to 'churn' in a blender, then you have to separate butter from the buttermilk, then chill for a while):

I also make cultured butter by adding 3 tsb of organic plain yoghurt, leaving in a crock or glass jar for 12-24 hours until bubbly and thickening a little, then treating the same is with fresh butter from cream, only in this case seems to work better if the cultured cream is first chilled a little before churning otherwise it doesn't separate into butter and buttermilk as easily. Apart from having a distinctive (and delicious) flavour, this also lets the butter last longer which for those who like their butter unsalted (such as myself) is the main purpose of making a cultured versus uncultured butter.

Then I take the remaining yoghurt, place it on top of cheesecloth in a fine strainer above a bowl, cover for 3-8 hours and then have whey (for pickling) and an instant cream cheese as per the link above. So if you buy whipping cream and organic yoghurt you end up with 3 nice things - or 4: cultured butter, whey, cream cheese (and some yoghurt if you don't use it all for the cream cheese/whey part). Delicious. And very easy.

To make your own butter: a) watch some videos on You Tube b) mix in a blender until the solids and liquids are clearly separated, then put in freezer until solid enough so you can squeeze out any remaining liquid (which is called buttermilk by the way and is sweet and delicious) because that goes stale much faster than the butter. Voila. You have fresh butter.

Master Cleanse Detoxifying Fast ('Diet'). Old, well-tried technique for cleaning out accumulated toxins in the gut, but by extension throughout the body. It works and is extremely simple. Also easy to research on the web. Pdf of the original book: http://www.cookingwithsean.net/images/TheMasterCleanse.pdf . Has recently become a fad with Hollywood starlets, but I tried it years ago and it is a very pleasant way to fast and detoxify. Use organic lemons to avoid the pesticides on the skin of non-organics; when you fast, the body becomes highly sensitive to such stuff.

(Commercial) article about vitamins which rightly points out how most supplements use synthetics which are either useless or harmful, something worth researching beyond the limited content in the article: http://products.mercola.com/multivitamin-vital-minerals/?source=nl

Nov 9th: http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/terrain/lost_history_of_medicine.htm About early disagreements between Pasteur and Bechamps on the emerging modern theory of disease. Pasteur is reported to have admitted on his deathbed that his germ theory was wrong, saying: "It’s the terrain, not the germ."

Related: http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/editorial/modern_medicine.htm About how much of modern medicine is more a religion (faith-based belief system) than a science. I didn’t read it all but have noticed this phenomenon already myself. Doesn’t mean it’s all bad, of course, but there is a lot of erroneous thinking, diagnosis and treatment based on coming at the entire issue with a deeply fallacious view which is mainly supported by beliefs which are often more harmful than helpful when all is said and done. It is very hard to change beliefs, though, so most of us prefer to trust the experts even when the facts and figures don’t support what they are doing. Easier to believe.

http://www.greenalive.com/bioxy.html BioxyCleanse, available at Charlene's Health Food store in Sydney. Doesn't require lifestyle changes but does help clean out intestines. Take with lemon juice.

Dec 11: from Gilbert Schmidt, Sydney resident: Part 1
http://cid-bd3df715f6ee1268.photos.live.com/self.aspx/food/Foods1.wmv
Part 2 - The video is in 2 parts and this is part 2
http://cid-bd3df715f6ee1268.photos.live.com/self.aspx/food/Foods2.wmv From Gilbert: "I would consider this video to be one of the most important videos on the internet. (part 1 of 2). It is a 49mb file and I would recommend first saving it on your computer for easier viewing and for referring back and replaying. IT MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE on this site for much longer, so please save a copy on your computer."

Dec 17: http://www.cocoonnutrition.org/OneWorldWheyReport.pdf Report (connected with One World Whey, so it's promotional) about benefits of Whey. I would like to get some high quality source to add into some breads. If we were allowed raw (real) milk, I could easily make my own high quality whey. I occasionally make it from organic yoghurts but a) it's not the same as from fresh milk and cream and b) not in enough quantities for baking. Whey is also good for old-style pickling versus vinegar and sugar.

Jan 2 2011: http://fora.tv/2010/01/23/Michael_Pollan_on_Food_Rules_An_Eaters_Manual#fullprogram Video on 'Getting past looking at food as the sum of its nutritional parts'. Not sure about whole thing but his main points are very much worth considering. Personally, I don't pay any attention to labels such as 'fat' 'carbohydrate' 'saturated fat' 'Omega 3' 'protein' 'vitamin' etc. etc. I look at food as something I eat, as part of daily life, general culture, as 'breakfast', 'lunch' or 'dinner' not as some sort of agglomeration of scientific-sounding 'nutrients'. Food is not about 'nutrients': it's about FOOD!

Jan 5th: http://www.grasslandbeef.com/Categories.bok?category=Grassland+Beef Pasture-fed beef, chicken, lamb, bison and (the object of my search), high quality vitamin rich pasture-fed butters and cheeses. Prices high due to both niche market and shipping-from-US factors. Hope to find local equivalent in Cape Breton but not aware of availability of butters and cheeses, though good meats are available at the Cape Breton Farmer's Market (yes, the one that didn't let me in on weekly basis!).

Jan 5th: http://www.greenpasture.org/retail/?t=products&a=display&i=1100 Green Pastures combination high vitamin butter and fermented cod oil supplement. Excellent for improving teeth (rebuilding enamel, reducing cavities) and solving chronic digestive disorders.

Jan 29: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_22449.cfm How Organic-Friendly corporations like Whole Foods have bent over for Monsanto and their ilk betraying those whom they pretend to advocate for. Yet another example of why the only way to go for those who care is: 'grow local buy local live local'. Factoid: Roundup-Ready GM crops destroy the underlying soil structure. Just as true baking involves the care and feeding of micro organisms (the starter culture) to properly pre-digest the grains for human consumption, so also farming involves care and feeding of the soil in order to properly produce nourishing crops. Modern techniques import additives whilst depleting, if not actually destroying the soil whose health depends upon a living culture of micro organisms to ensure continual movement and re-invigoration of the mineral and other content which in turn nourishes the plants grown therein which in turn nourish us. Under the guise of providing 'efficient' food production the modern corporate model is essentially destroying the soil and with it our means of growing healthy nourishment, in other words is actually destroying good food rather than providing it. Just another lie with which modern society is seemingly comfortable. We live in an age of increasingly darkening superstition and deception which bodes ill for the future.

March 1: http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=42652E035A1B1BAAAE1F340B54694975 The Fluoride Deception movie. From Natural News; showing how fluoride is a toxic chemical byproduct of the fertilizer industry which has been falsely marketed to municipal and other water providers as a beneficial chemical which prevents dental caries.

March 6: http://www.naturalnews.com/031589_modern_medicine_scientism.html Another article discussing the 'faith-based' aspects of modern 'science-based' medicine. This topic, actually, points the way into some of the deeply flawed foundations of modern society which is much more based on superstition and taboo than we care to admit - like most societies based on such things.

March 16: http://www.naturalnews.com/026079_radiation_exposure_rosemary.html Rosemary is one of the best things against radiation. This is good since my Rosemary, Garlic and Olive Oil focaccios are the fastest selling item at the Sydney Downtown Farmer's Market.

March 22: http://healthwyze.org/magazine/ Now defunct, but three free issues still available online with good, basic information about healthy eating/living. (Health & Nutrition Section.)

March 27: http://www.gaps.me/?page_id=20 Article about intestinal flora. (Health/Nutrition Section) Excerpt: "Apart from taking a direct part in nourishing the body, beneficial bacteria in the gut act as the housekeepers for the digestive tract. They coat the entire surface of the gut protecting it from invaders and toxins by providing a natural barrier and producing a lot of anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal substances. At the same time they provide the gut lining with nourishment. It is estimated that 60 – 70% of energy, the gut lining derives, is from the activity of bacteria, which live on it. So, it is no surprise that when the gut flora is abnormal the digestive tract itself cannot be healthy. Indeed most children and adults with learning disabilities, psychiatric disorders and allergies present with digestive problems."

April 1: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12928485 How unusual: a Western nation, UK to boot, with regions therein eliminating fees for prescription medicines. Now if only Canada had a real Health Service like that instead of the one we have now which provides free doctor visits and surgery, but you have to pay for eyes, dental and all medicines. What sort of medical service doesn't include medicine? And yet many here are so proud of their National Health Service....

April 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHfnarU3Ha4 Robert Young Ph Miracle for Diabetes video clip. (As with all articles here I do not necessarily endorse the person or ideas; however the core notion that nasty-sounding diseases like 'diabetes' can be cured/eliminated with diet is on the money.)

April 6: Enteric Brain: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/04/12/beware--bacteria-growing-in-your-gut-can-influence-your-behavior.aspx About enteric brain / gut functions. I believe this is an important topic in general. Also an old NYT article linked from the above: http://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/23/science/complex-and-hidden-brain-in-gut-makes-stomachaches-and-butterflies.html?src=pm . Generally, the modern theory is that the body is a physical machine, not unlike a car, and the mind is seated in the brain in the head which drives the car body via signals transmitted from brain via nerves to all the lower functions. Conversely, in Asia for centuries, the 'hara' (in Japanese) has been regarded as the central seat of human intelligence, along with the heart (in buddhist/daoist circles) which is said to rule all such functions, including those in the brain which is more of a sensory switchboard. The senses are those things which process out-in information such as sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste, but also mental activities such as thinking and, to a certain extent, communicating with others. However, it is not the seat of will power, compassion, feeling, those core drives which make us truly human and living beings; such things are based in the visceral zones, and indeed most likely in what we are now loosely referring to as the 'enteric brain', which has more synaptic and hormonal activity than the head brain.

April 6: Related to the above: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/01/03/fermented-foods-part-two.aspx 'The incredible health benefits of traditionally fermented foods' by Nancy Lee Bentley. Excerpt: "As fermented foods expert Sally Fallon asks in Nourishing Traditions, with the proliferation of all these new mysterious viruses, intestinal parasites and chronic health problems, despite ubiquitous sanitation, "Could it be that by abandoning the ancient practice of lacto-fermentation, and insisting on a diet in which everything has been pasteurized, we have compromised the health of our intestinal flora and made ourselves vulnerable to legions of pathogenic microorganisims?" Like the $2.97 gallon jars of dill pickles Vlasic sells at a loss at Walmart, are we undermining our health and even economic well-being by our insistence on "more, faster and cheaper?"

April 6: Last, another in this set about the gut and probiotics, this one with more information like: " There are about 100 trillion microorganisms -- bacteria, fungi and more -- living on and in your body. The bacterial cells also outnumber human cells by 10 to 1Even after you wash, there are still 1 million bacteria living on every square centimeter of your skin. There are also 70 known tribes of commensal -- or beneficial -- bacteria that could be living on your body right now. The word commensal comes from the Latin term "com mensa," which means "sharing a table."In other words, the bacteria living on your skin are involved in a symbiotic relationship with you.. The bacteria on your inner elbow, for instance, process the raw fats it produces and in turn moisturize your skin. The bacteria in the human microbiome collectively possess at least 100 times as many genes as the 20,000 or so in the human genome, and t. So it's easy to see how the bacteria on your skin can have such a profound influence on your health.Your body is its own living ecosystem, teeming with beneficial bacteria that play a large role in keeping you alive. Some microbiologists have even stated that a person should really be considered a "superorganism."" http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/11/11/probiotics-send-signals-from-your-gut-to-your-skin.aspx

May 18: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/food-matters/ 'Let they food be thy medicine.' This is basically my approach as far as possible, even though it is increasingly hard to get good, properly grown food from well nurtured soils. I believe this DVD is in the Cape Breton Library for rent. Very good.

June 6: http://www.anahatabalance.com/teakombucha2.html Article about the benefits of Kombucha (fermented tea drink) which gives lots of interesting information about the gut, bacteria, digestion, immune system etc.

June 6: http://probiotics.mercola.com/probiotics.html Mercola article about probiotics, also giving information about gut, immune system etc. 60 trillion bacteria are in our intestine etc.

June 9: http://www.naturalnews.com/RR-25_Amazing_Facts_About_Food.html 25 Amazing facts about food. Excerpt: "If you read the ingredients label on a loaf of bread, you will usually find an ingredient named L-cysteine. It is a non-essential amino acid added to many baked goods as a dough conditioner in order to speed industrial processing. It’s usually not added directly to flour intended for home use. While some L-cysteine is directly synthesized in laboratories, most of it is extracted from a cheap and abundant natural protein source: human hair. The hair is dissolved in acid and L-cysteine is isolated through a chemical process. Other sources of L-cysteine include chicken feathers, duck feathers, cow horns and petroleum byproducts."

is why I tend to avoid health food stores -because most of them don't have fresh food, just differently put together packaged/dead foods and supplements.

June 14: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/06/14/why-are-there-so-many-food-allergies-now.aspx 'Why are there so many Food Allergies Now?'Basic article about effects of certain industrial processes on our health, gut along with guidelines for eliminating various components of a diet (meat, dairy, bread, pasta, ice cream etc.) to determine which, if any, are causing problems. Personally, I don't think it's so simple - a) there is a big difference in quality between, say, authentic grass-fed free range meat and factory-produced meat, between GMO grains and organic and so forth; secondly, a system chronically 'out of whack' might need more than simple elimination for a few days to return to normal.

June 25: a couple of 'wellness' sites, in this case dealing with simple, natural ways of healing (vs. looking for a quick fix 'cure'): First, a site with deep roots in the early part of last century: http://www.naturalhygienesociety.org/ ; excerpt: Definition: (NATURAL) HYGIENE is that branch of biology that relates to the preservation and restoration of health. --- "There are no cures - Nature returns to normal when enervating habits are given up." Read more In Natural Hygiene we want to teach a simple health care solution that everyone can afford. Second, 'natural hygienist' Dr. Stanley Bass, 92 years old: http://www.drbass.com/, he has a page with quite a few pdf's: http://www.drbass.com/freedownload/index.html Excerpt: "TRUE RECOVERY IN TWO+ YEARS If we understand the nature of the phenomena with which we are dealing and its causes and if we realize that time is required for the causes that are operating to impair the organism in which to evolve their effects, we can both understand the urgent need to remove the causes of the suffering of the sick man and the need for time for him to evolve into a state of health. The average chronic sufferer cannot expect to evolve into full health in less than two years and many will require more time than this. A few will require less time. Knowing this, we can, with patience and determination, launch ourselves into a way of life out of which good health evolves - and stick to it until we have achieved the desired results - and then stick to it to the end, that we may maintain our gains. Herbert M. Shelton"

July 3: http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/50-u-s-health-care-statistics-that-will-absolutely-astonish-you This is the US, not Canada, but since our health care model is medically very similar to the US's even though the financial underpinnings are somewhat different, it behoves us to pay attention to what's happening South of the Border - and in any case, it's not as if there isn't massive systemic error and waste in Canada.

July4: http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/ A cholesterol site (debunks anti-cholesterol agendas). I have not read it and have no opinion of the content.

July 5: http://bodyecology.com/whole-grain-biotic.html This is a promotional piece about a product called 'whole grain biotic' about a fermented drink whose cultures derive from whole grains and whose benefits, therefore, are that of populating the digestive system with grain-digesting flora. The author of the book and overall dietary/lifestyle approach, Donna Gates, author of 'The Body Ecology Diet', used to be gluten intolerant.

July 15: http://www.rawfoodsdiets.com/faw-foods-diet/fermentation-faq-can-i-get-botulism-from-fermented-veggies I have started making 'cultured vegetables', which is basically old-fashioned sauerkraut, not using any starter cultures or vinegar, simply water and time (and sometimes some sea salt to help draw the juices out of the veggies faster). A neighbour is worried that I might get or give botulism so I did a Google search and this is the simplest answer that came up. And basically it is 'no'. Botulism is a bacteria that is hard to kill off with heat so if you get into canning or preserving using high heat to kill off all the bacteria and yeasts, botulism is the one that might survive and it's a nasty one. But when submerging raw vegetables in water without high heat, botulism never happens, rather acid-producing bacteria and yeasts naturally increase in numbers; this both preserves the vegetables for many months without refrigeration and also ups the vitamin (and other goodies) content considerably, some articles saying the Vitamin C, for example, can increase by up to 50 times. This is similar in principle to how sourdough culturing makes a much healthier bread. It is not just that the culture breaks down the grain, but also, in the process, other things are being built up, just as with the vegetables. And also just as in our gut, I suspect. Our gut mainly digests what yeasts and bacteria in our gut have pre-digested for us and in that process no doubt many vitamins and other goodies are the by-product of their consumption activities. In any case, I have no need to worry about botulism it seems!

July 15: http://www.foodrenegade.com/why-im-not-vegan/ A fun article about how all life comes from the soil which feeds on death. " Feed the soil, not the plant,” was the first commandment of organic growing. I had to feed the soil because it was alive."

July 29: http://www.gokombucha.com/health_benefits.html A nice, clean, sharp Kombucha article. I recently started brewing this and although cannot notice any particular effects, it has immediately become a daily item. I like it. But didn't yet try with green tea and next time will do so. Also with ginger added after the main brewing phase over. Am also eating cultured vegetables every day and they too have become an instant part of the staple diet. Delicious. And much better for you than just the original raw vegetable AND they last for weeks and months. Clearly, this is the right way to prepare and eat vegetables, far superior to canning, freezing, hydrating and so forth. Another one: http://www.gaiaresearch.co.za/kombucha.html

July 29: http://www.naturalnews.com/033008_copper_antimicrobial.html In case you didn't know. Also this earlier one: http://www.naturalnews.com/027718_copper_MRSA.html Excerpt: " Modern medicine, sadly, has thrown out all knowledge it didn't discover itself, and that includes these simple truths about the antibacterial properties of certain metals. To this day, the FDA continues its attacks against colloidal silver, and the EPA has even joined the fray to try to outlaw colloidal silver as a "pollutant." The same tactics will, in time, be used to try to outlaw copper used for medicinal purposes. Why? Because natural metal-based antibacterial substances compete head-on with high-profit antibiotics and anti-bacterial soaps. The drug companies and chemical companies that manufacture such products would much prefer patients and medical staff consume soaps and pills that have to be repeatedly purchased rather than rely on solid-state technology like copper doorknobs that never need to be replaced. Copper doorknobs, it seems, work so well they're bad for business.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/027718_copper_MRSA.html#ixzz1TXMbEQNk

Aug2: http://www.amazon.com/Forbidden-Medicine-Effective-Non-toxic-Suppressed/dp/0979560837/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312295238&sr=1-1 From Ellen Hodson Brown (above), a book on a cure for cancer.

Aug 4: http://premium.naturalnews.tv/CANCER_is_curable_NOW__NN.htm Film about how cancer is curable.

Aug 14: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/08/14/beautiful-truth-about-outlawed-cancer-treatment.aspx?e_cid=20110814_SNL_Art_1 Another film demonstrating how the current political-corporate leadership suppresses valuable information, such as diets which help cure cancer, this one from the 1920's."If one pulls on a single thread of Nature, one will find it connected to everything else."

Sep 6: http://www.naturalnews.com/033505_soil_bacteria_cancer_tumors.html Natural cure for cancer tumors via soil bacteria.

Oct 30: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/2011/10/activist-michael-schmidts-video-message-to-supporters/ Health Home Economist Blog - Sarah Pope - A Weston Price Chapter leader. The following link is about grains and also done by her. This page is about Michael Schmidt who today is on day 25 of a hunger strike following his loss in the Canada Supreme Court to the right to either consume or sell raw milk. It is surprisingly hard to find out stories about this doing internet searches for some reason. What is it about simple milk that seems so scary?! Nutrition & Health

Oct 30: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX3RcU5Hhqg&feature=player_embedded Short video on grain preparation, including explanation about sourdough benefits from Weston A Price foundation folks. Nutrition & Health

Oct 30: More from Sarah Pope, this on cholesterol and animal fats: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9A-30Twp1k&feature=player_embedded I have good friends who feel that all animal products etc. are very bad; they cite the widely respected China Study and others. These are my friends. But I respectfully disagree. Personally I try not to eat mass-produced foods, although I cannot avoid them. If I could I would have raw milk including unpasteurized butters and cheeses, pasture-fed meats only, and of course organic vegetables and grains. Not to mention organically brewed wines, beers and spirits. But this is almost impossible here in Cape Breton so I don't. Given that most animal products these days are either pasteurized or drugged or non organic or all, it probably is best to be a vegan. But then you have to ensure that what you are eating comes from vibrant, not depleted soils, and also there are unmeasured elements involving time, place, spirit and so forth; or put another way: the closer to home something is made and grown, and the better the way in which it is made and grown, the better it is for you. Something like that. Anyway.

Nov 3: http://www.naturalnews.com/033998_influenza_vaccines_effectiveness.html A great little article, not only about the relative uselessness (scam) of the flu (and most other) vaccines, but also about statistics, namely: "

So where does the media get "60% effective?" This is called "massaging the numbers," and it's an old statistical trick that the vaccine industry (and the pharmaceutical industry) uses over and over again to trick people into thinking their useless drugs actually work. First, you take the 2.73% in the control group who got the flu, and you divide that into the 1.18% in the treatment group who got the flu. This gives you 0.43. You can then say that 0.43 is "43% of 2.73," and claim that the vaccine therefore results in a "57% decrease" in influenza infections. This then becomes a "57% effectiveness rate" claim.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/033998_influenza_vaccines_effectiveness.html#ixzz1chVU9sHC Extract of Lancet Study: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099%2811%2970295-X/abstract

Nov 7: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/seriescarnivals/soaking-grains-an-exploration/ A series of articles which investigate a range of issues involved with soaking and fermenting grains. Nice to see someone working very hard to get at various views on a topic, especially trying to thoroughly verify various ideas, with Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions work being challenged empirically though, it seems, usually holding up pretty well.

Nov 12: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/12/jeff-green-on-fluoride-part-1.aspx?e_cid=20111112_DNL_art_1 About the history, provenance and toxic properties of industrial by-product fluoride.

Nov 14: http://nourishedmagazine.com.au/ Yet another Weston Price influenced site with many articles about all and sundry food related.

Nov 20: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/19/mark-kastel-cornucopia-good-food-movement.aspx?e_cid=20111119_DNL_art_1 Much of the specifics regard the US, but the general dynamic described - which is how corporations have muscled into and corrupted the word and products labelled as 'organic' - holds just as true in Canada, though of course we have far less organic products to choose from, such as, for example, real milks and cheeses, because of the tyranny of fundamentally unlawful statutes prohibiting their use.

Nov 20: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/13/could-a-cup-or-more-of-this-a-day-keep-the-flu-away.aspx?e_cid=20111113_SNL_Art_1 Decent article about colds and flu. Timely too.

Nov 22nd: http://store.xylitolcanada.com/categories/Bulk-Xylitol/ Have ordered small amount of xylitol which is a natural birch-derived sweetener that neither feeds candida or other yeasts and also is supposed to help prevent tooth decay and cavities - the opposite of refined sugar. If it tastes good and functions well, I will start experimenting with more sweet offerings other than shortbread alone which I have only rarely been making because of my concerns for its deleterious health effects. According to the Body Ecology site: "Xylitol does not feed candida and has these benefits: It has been clinically proven to fight dental cavities, and to facilitate the remineralization of dental enamel. It tastes similar to sugar, with 40% fewer calories. It helps stabilize blood sugar." For those interested in Stevia, a highly recommended sugar substitute which I will also be researching: http://www.steviacanada.com/about.html Extract from this site on the Research Page: "Dr. Daniel Mowrey reported: "More elaborate safety tests were performed by the Japanese during their evaluation of stevia as a possible sweetening agent. Few substances have ever yielded such consistently negative results in toxicity trial as have stevia. Almost every toxicity test imaginable has been performed on stevia extract (concentrate) or stevioside at one time or another. The results are always negative. No abnormalities in weight change, food intake, cell or membrane characteristics, enzyme and substrate utilization, or chromosome characteristics. No cancer, no birth defects, no acute and no chronic untoward effects. Nothing." Numerous studies have been done worldwide on the safety of Stevia rebaudiana, all with positive results. It has been shown to regulate blood glucose levels, be diabetic safe, non-carcinogenic (not cancer producing), aid in the suffering of hypertension, along with Hiroshima University School of Dentistry and the Purdue University Dental Research team, stevia has been found to retard plaque on teeth and suppress antibacterial growth. Dr. Rebaudi started his studies of stevia in 1900, more studies by Kober in 1915, Pomaret & Lavielle in 1935 and the list continues. Please view some of the link below to view only a portion of the studies completed so far on the safety of stevia, or read the quotes given by many regarding the safety of stevia. Yet, the American and Canadian governments still will not approve stevia as a food additive, only as a dietary supplement. It is this author’s personal opinion that I would be very curious to see the toxicology reports on aspartame and sugar if put through the extensive testing done so far on stevia.

Nov 29th: http://www.ladycomputer.com/ladycomp_babycomp.htm Scientific computer device which accurately gauges state of female cycle displaying which of the 6 out of 28 days pregnancy is possible, i.e. it is a non-chemical contraceptive or an aid to getting pregnant. Costly, but the right way to go. And if you can keep track of your cycles properly, you don't need such a device of course, just common sense.

Nov 30th: http://www.shambhalasun.com/sunspace/?p=23964 Mainstream - ABC News - video article about the benefits of 'compassion meditation'. It's a slightly silly piece but the message is correct. Monster vegetable grower: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BXGqJbFZzCo from this page: http://www.organicwinejournal.com/index.php/2008/07/alan-york-the-concept/

Dec 1st: http://www.soilfoodweb.com/resources.html Soil biology, compost teas etc.

Dec 2nd: http://www.neverlandfarm.org/about.php Ecuadorian Utopia - and also new cheap place to get Biodynamic Certification..

Dec 14th: http://www.reuniting.info/wisdom/free_online_text_karezza_male_continence_stockham_lloyd_noyes Different approach to sex (Karezza), links to many pdf's. Also this site: http://www.karezza.org/about-us/ "Only a very miniscule part of humanity understands the immense power of sex energy and these few people are at the top of human pyramid, occupying top positions in governments, corporations, sports, everything. So this subject becomes one of paramount importance. Basically the first step consists of ridding oneself of porn and the practice of masturbation. This is the first step, the basic step. "

Jan 29: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2012/01/stop_eating_tofu_start_eating_wheat_gluten_.html An article in praise of gluten. Unbelievable!

Jan 31: a good cooking/food site, in the Weston Price, fermented food, pro-quality fat and meat camp (like me). http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/ebooks-at-kitchen-stewardship/welcome/ If you sign up you get an 85 page cooking guide for free. Here's one on making good stock: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2011/11/15/how-to-make-bone-broth-with-serious-gel-guest-post/ Also an article about the pros and cons of soaking grains: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/seriescarnivals/soaking-grains-an-exploration/

Feb 8: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/dining/mindful-eating-as-food-for-thought.html Articles like this warm the cockles of my Buddhist heart. Amongst other things, makes the excellent points that a) it might not matter nearly so much what you eat as how you eat and b) too many of us these days have an 'adversarial' relationship with our food (negative attitudes to grains, to meat, to pesticides, to the shapes of our bodies, to expense etc. etc. etc. etc. ).

Mar1: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/02/18/dangers-of-root-canaled-teeth.aspx?e_cid=20120218_DNL_art_1 Another article warning about root canals.

Mar 6: http://www.laleva.org/eng/2012/03/world_renown_heart_surgeon_speaks_out_on_what_really_causes_heart_disease.html Yet another story, supposedly by an accomplished heart surgeon, about how mainstream medicine causes more disease than it cures, this about various wrong assumptions involving diet, cholesterol and heart disease. Bottom line: eat as much fresh, whole food as possible and minimize prepared/packaged foods (all you really need to know about diet on some level). A good site about food/science/health news... http://www.laleva.org/eng/

Mar 19: http://thehealthcoach1.com/?p=40 http://thehealthcoach1.com/?p=40 Another critique of root canals...

Mar 27: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/26/forging-social-connections-for-longer-life/ You always know the science is good when its conclusions agree with your own beliefs, suspicions, opinions or vague intuitions, as is the case with this excellent article in which is (wisely) written: "In another study, which was called the Beta Blocker Heart Attack Trial and involved 2,300 men who had survived a heart attack, those with strong social connections faced only one-quarter the risk of death of those not socially connected, even when factors like smoking, diet, alcohol, exercise and weight were taken into account. In fact, social connectedness had a greater influence on survival than the heart drug being tested."

Mar 27: http://www.diseasefreezone.com/ A book on how to cure cancer naturally.

Mar 38: http://news.yahoo.com/too-much-sitting-kill-study-suggests-200408243.html Bad news for Buddhists!

April 7: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7403942n&tag=mg;mostpopvideo Is sugar a toxin? I am beginning to suspect so and no longer use it, either personally or in baking, preferring organic Cape Breton honey or maple syrup instead.

April 7: http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2012/03/11793/meditation-improves-emotional-behaviors-teachers-study-finds

April 9: http://www.naturalnews.com/022385_honey_bees_food.html Pros and cons about eating honey. One person's point of view. And another: http://www.naturalnews.com/022541_bees_honey_crops.html

Cooperatives and Suchlike:

http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/health/grainery/products.htm - the Grainery Food Co-Operative. Personally, rather than so-called 'health food', I would love to see a Cooperative of sorts around here which featured fresh meat, milk, eggs, cheese, preserves, fish and produce. But most of this is nowadays illegal (to keep us spending money with international corporations of course, not for safety reasons as we are told), so it is probably impossible. But again, if anyone knows more about this sort of thing in Cape Breton / Nova Scotia, please enlighten me, for I would love to be wrong on this, in which case maybe we could start some sort of informal cooperative in the local community.

Or put it this way: I'll trade my bread for anything people are willing to trade me for it (provided I also want it!).

Nov 7: http://www.localharvest.org/ An American site, but a very good one, advocating for the family farm as well as being an online store for many of their product lines. Wish there was more like this in our neck of the woods, but of course we have a far lesser, and more dispersed, population profile.

Food Supply Issues

Aug 18 2010: Genetically Modified Food article, latest news: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=20675 . I have the author's book which goes through dozens of official studies on GMO, and the results are disturbing, to say the least. And now it is getting increasingly hard to buy (and in many cases now even grow) food that is not GMO.

Feb 15: http://www.naturalnews.com/031344_plastic_rice.html Chinese now making 'fake rice' containing potato starch and plastic. Quote: "Fake stimulus, fake money printing, fake GDP growth, fake goods and services being produced, is ... forcing us to consume fake food because we can't afford real food, because we have no real growth, we have no real economy, we have no real industry, we only have fake stuff," bemoaned talk show co-host Stacy Herbert from Russia Today. "So it makes sense that we're only eating fake food."

Feb 24: http://cryptogon.com/?p=20748 Dangerous pathogens found in soy and corn used in animal feed. Excerpt: "A team of senior plant and animal scientists have recently brought to my attention the discovery of an electron microscopic pathogen that appears to significantly impact the health of plants, animals, and probably human beings. Based on a review of the data, it is widespread, very serious, and is in much higher concentrations in Roundup Ready (RR) soybeans and corn-suggesting a link with the RR gene or more likely the presence of Roundup. This organism appears NEW to science!"

"Dr. Philip Bereano is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington and an actively engaged activist against genetically modified (GM) foods. His academic work is within Technology and Public Policy, and over the past 30 years, Dr. Bereano's work has focused on genetically engineered organisms (GMOs) in foods, crops and animals, as well as human genetic engineering issues." He does an excellent job of de-demonizing groups like Monsanto and explaining that the real problem is an overall paradigm, one which genuinely believes that technology is a true fix for all ills, does not perceive itself as 'evil', rather dedicated to promulgating that which it believes in (like any religion) and which must be countered by a much stronger civil society given that current so-called 'democracies' seem to have devolved into de facto fascist states without admitting it and possibly without having intended it. In other words, Monsanto's problem is that it is vigorously following a flawed world view, a belief system, and like most adherents, is unable to see itself as doing such. And so on.

April 11: from Natural News TV, a documentary entitled 'Mad Cowboy' about meat and farming: http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=3BF0840B21A40DE3E8BAA6BD31C399AE . Excerpt: HOW TO TELL THE TRUTH AND GET IN TROUBLE :“I am a fourth-generation dairy farmer and cattle rancher. I grew up on a dairy farm in Montana, and I ran a feedlot operation there for twenty years. I know firsthand how cattle are raised and how meat is produced in this country. Today I am president of Earth Save International, an organization promoting organic farming and the vegetarian diet. Sure, I used to enjoy my steaks as much as the next guy. But if you knew what I know about what goes into them and what they can to do you, you’d probably be a vegetarian like me. And, believe it or not, as a pure vegetarian now who consumes no animal products at all, I can tell you these days I enjoy eating more than ever. If you’re a meat-eater in America, you have a right to know that you have something in common with most of the cows you’ve eaten. They’ve eaten meat, too. When a cow is slaughtered, about half of it by weight is not eaten by humans: the intestines and their contents, the head, hooves, and horns, as well as bones and blood. These are dumped into giant grinders at rendering plants, as are the entire bodies of cows and other farm animals known to be diseased. Rendering is a $2.4 billion-a-year industry, processing forty billion pounds of dead animals a year. There is simply no such thing in America as an animal too ravaged by disease, too cancerous, or too putrid to be welcomed by the all-embracing arms of the renderer. Another staple of the renderer’s diet, in addition to farm animals, is euthanized pets - the six or seven million dogs and cats that are killed in animal shelters every year. The city of Los Angeles alone, for example, sends some two hundred tons of euthanized cats and dogs to a rendering plant every month. Added to the blend are the euthanized catch of animal control agencies, and road kill. (Road kill is not collected daily, and in the summer, the better road kill collection crews can generally smell it before they can see it.)

April 11: from Asahi wire service via Zero Hedge (excellent if irreverent) financial blog: http://www.zerohedge.com/article/radiation-4-times-higher-chernobyl-evac-zone-found-soil-30-km-away-fukushima-rice-harvest-qu Excerpt: "[Scholars] collected soil samples from five locations in the village at depths of five centimeters. All the locations were outside the 30-km radius and were by roadways in various hamlets. The study found cesium-137 at levels between about 590,000 and 2.19 million becquerels per cubic meter." Comparing this to Chernobyl: "After the Chernobyl nuclear accident in the former Soviet Union in 1986, residents who lived in areas where cesium-137 levels exceeded 555,000 becquerels were forced to move elsewhere. The amounts of cesium-137 found in Iitate were at most four times the figure from Chernobyl." Which begs the questions: just who will be allowed to plant rice, who will have faith that the rice they are eating is not contaminated, and how soon before rice prices surge? And how long before the fully impaired disaster zone, which could possibly spread as far as 50 km away from Fukushima, be told about the inherent risks to their lives?"

April 16: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/nearly_half_study_suggests_meat_q8zGMf5DW83MxBaOai6M7K Excerpt: " A study Friday by the Translational Genomics Research Institute, found that Staphylococcus aureus -- bacteria that causes most staph infections including skin infections, pneumonia and blood poisoning -- was present in meat and poultry from US grocery stores at "unexpectedly high rates." Researchers found nearly half of the meat and poultry samples, 47 percent, were contaminated with S. aureus, and more than half of those bacteria, 52 percent, were resistant to at least three classes of antibiotics. For the study, researchers looked at 136 samples involving 80 brands of beef, chicken, pork and turkey from 26 grocery stores in five cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Flagstaff, Ariz., and Washington, D.C. "For the first time, we know how much of our meat and poultry is contaminated with antibiotic-resistant Staph, and it is substantial," Dr. Lance B. Price, senior author of the study, said in a statement. "The fact that drug-resistant S. aureus was so prevalent, and likely came from the food animals themselves, is troubling, and demands attention to how antibiotics are used in food-animal production today.""

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/nearly_half_study_suggests_meat_q8zGMf5DW83MxBaOai6M7K#ixzz1Jh3rpYRA Excerpt: " According to the findings published in the journal Clinical Infectious Disease, industrial farms, where food animals are steadily fed low doses of antibiotics, "are ideal breeding grounds for drug-resistant bacteria that move from animals to humans.""

April 25: http://www.naturalnews.com/032173_strawberries_pesticides.html Why you might not want to buy California Strawberries from our supermarkets...

April 25: http://lucaswhitefieldhixson.com/ A good Fukishima blog. It is looking increasingly likely that this is a very serious ecological disaster which will almost certainly increase mortal cancer rates world wide, which is not being accurately reported in the mainstream media nor being dealt with by government health agencies. And if the situation deteriorates, which it well might from aftershocks or worse earthquakes to come later this year which some seismologists are predicting, it could be far, far worse. This blog will keep you abreast of it.

May 1: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/ A group examining many issues pertaining to food and water globally. Connected with the film Blue Gold, which is worth watching.

May 1: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/apr/28/feds-sting-amish-farmer-selling-raw-milk-locally/ Don't think this doesn't happen in Canada, country of milk hero Michael Schmidt.

May 2: http://wideeyecinema.com/?p=9175 Entertaining 'Jimmy's Food Factory' shows how many standard foods like corn flakes, white sugar and instant coffee (!) are made.

May 7: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/05/04/has-your-meat-been-glued-together--why-you-need-to-know-and-avoid-this-dangerous-process.aspx Interesting video showing how industrial meat processes can literally glue pieces of scrap and low grade meats, inject water and other substances, and turn it all into a seamless log of prime filet. One significant downside for those who like to eat expensive steaks cooked 'rare' is that the bacteria count on the outside of meat far exceeds that on the inside, but with this technique, the inside used to be outside, so cooking such meats rare might be a real health hazard. And of course, as is the norm these days, there are no rules in effect requiring the suppliers to inform their clients, let alone the end users (us) that the meat being purchased has been doctored using this technique.

May 19: http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/sign/dr_hubers_warning/#who && http://www.bnet.com/blog/food-industry/mystery-science-more-details-on-the-strange-organism-that-could-destroy-monsanto/3052 This is potentially EXTREMELY IMPORTANT news in terms of the entire world's current food supply. With the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and Fukishima meltdown - finally admitted in the past two days as having begun within 16 hours of the earthquake and involving MOX fuel which is the most toxic substance on the planet and which is now going into the Pacific ocean food chain - the modern, so-called 'scientific' and commercial approach to running everything is clearly reaching a tipping point wherein a) the systems gradually begin to fail due to over toxicity and b) more and more people begin (finally) to wake up to this. Simply put for now: genetically modified organisms should be banned; synthetic or unnatural chemical pesticides and fertilizers should be banned as substances that damage soil health and therefore the health of all land organisms.That would be a start, anyway. Hundreds of millions of people could go back to farming for a living and we would all be better off for it, people, animals, plants and micro organisms. Related: why organic milk prices might be rising - alfalfa contamination by newly approved GM alfalfa: http://www.bnet.com/blog/food-industry/the-usda-says-yes-to-monsanto-and-now-organic-milk-may-cost-even-more/2384

May 20: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/05/20/most-evil-company-on-planet-soon-allowed-to-police-itself.aspx GM food article.

June 5: http://www.naturalnews.com/032600_RFID_food.html Strange but true: microchips going into our food to help monitor and even cook our diets....

June 7: http://www.naturalnews.com/032622_ecoli_bioengineering.html Evidence latest e-coli outbreak was bio-engeneered.

June 9: http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/13231-peru-approves-10-year-ban-on-gm-crops Peru bans GM for 10 years, Brazil fast tracks them. GM watch site.Ten Reasons we don't need GM food: http://gmwatch.org/10-reasons-why-we-dont-need-gm-foods

June 21: http://www.naturalnews.com/032659_arsenic_chicken.html Arsenic in most commercial chicken feed which you/we then eat. Personally, I never buy meat from the supermarket unless feeling reckless (except New Zealand lamb!). Excerpt: "But even as its arsenic-containing product is pulled off the shelves, the FDA continues its campaign of denial, claiming arsenic in chickens is at such a low level that it's still safe to eat. This is even as the FDA says arsenic is a carcinogen, meaning it increases the risk of cancer.The National Chicken Council agrees with the FDA. In a statement issued in response to the news that Roxarsone would be pulled from feed store shelves, it stated, "Chicken is safe to eat" even while admitting arsenic was used in many flocks grown and sold as chicken meat in the United States.What's astonishing about all this is that the FDA tells consumers it's safe to eat cancer-causing arsenic but it's dangerous to drink elderberry juice! The FDA recently conducted an armed raid in an elderberry juice manufacturer, accusing it of the "crime" of selling "unapproved drugs." (http://www.naturalnews.com/032631_e...) Which drugs would those be? The elderberry juice, explains the FDA. You see, the elderberry juice magically becomes a "drug" if you tell people how it can help support good health....Oh, by the way, here's another sweet little disturbing fact you probably didn't know about hamburgers and conventional beef: Chicken litter containing arsenic is fed to cows in factory beef operations. So the arsenic that's pooped out by the chickens gets consumed and concentrated in the tissues of cows, which is then ground into hamburger to be consumed by the clueless masses who don't even know they're eating second-hand chicken sh*t. (http://www.naturalnews.com/027414_c...) "

June 24: http://www.foodrenegade.com/vandana-shiva-on-the-dangers-of-gmos/ One of the most brilliant and brave 'warrior bodhisattva' people in the public sphere internationally, Vandana Shiva, a truly marvellous woman.

June 24: http://www.foodrenegade.com/whole-foods-includes-gmos-in-all-natural-foods/ Article about how one company basically serves up GMO foods without telling its customers. Yes, Whole Foods is in the US but the same sort of thing is going on everywhere. Also the story of Whole Foods is a little sad: having led the charge nationwide in providing full service high quality organic and almost-organic supermarkets, it appears to have been bought out by 'the enemy' so to speak and is slowly and steadily undermining the very reasons which made it popular in the first place. 'They' own it now and are ruining it. As they have done and continue to do in so many spheres of society these days.

June 27: http://www.organiccommonsense.com/organic/lawsuit-seeks-to-invalidate-monsanto%E2%80%99s-gmo-patents/ Potentially good news on the legal front. More importantly, it is always good to see people fighting back, in this case a lawsuit "on behalf of 270,000 people from sixty organic and sustainable businesses and trade associations, including thousands of certified-organic farmers. In Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association, et al. v. Monsanto, et al. (U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, Case No. 11 CIV 2163), PUBPAT details the invalidity of any patent that poisons people and the environment, and that is not useful to society, two hallmarks of US patent law." Also of note: "Among the plaintiffs in the PUBPAT suit is Navdanya International, headed by Dr. Vandana Shiva who has long fought biopiracy. Genetic patents “have unleashed an epidemic of the piracy of nature’s creativity and millennia of indigenous innovation,” Shiva wrote at Navdanya." She was recently linked on this page (June 24).

June 27: http://www.naturalnews.com/032826_Monsanto_seed_supply.html Monsanto trying to take over the world's seed supply? Maybe not, but it's very bad no matter how far they are trying to take it.... But then according to the first paragraph in this 2010 article, that really is their goal. And why not? That is a laudable corporate aspiration. http://www.naturalnews.com/029325_Monsanto_deception.html

July 6: http://www.rancheracres.com/ On searching for Weston Price Local Chapters - people who help each other get authentic fermented foods, RancherAcres came up, someone whose link I have long had in my bookmarks. They supply a full range of dairy products, also free range eggs, kefir cultures, and so on. Unfortunately, they are quite far from us but, who knows, maybe I can start supplying some of their products at my FM table? Linked on their page, an article (from the US) about a study by Whole Earth comparing free range to supermarket eggs : http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/2007-10-01/Tests-Reveal-Healthier-Eggs.aspx

Excerpt: free range eggs can supply: • 1/3 less cholesterol • 1/4 less saturated fat • 2/3 more vitamin A • 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids • 3 times more vitamin E • 7 times more beta carotene

Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/2007-10-01/Tests-Reveal-Healthier-Eggs.aspx#ixzz1RVpP4v1a Chicken resource page including tips for raising your own free-range birds: http://www.motherearthnews.com/eggs.aspx

July 29: http://www.foodrenegade.com/secret-ingredient-your-orange-juice/ I have no idea if this is true in general and true for Canadian OJ in particular, but it sounds like par for the course with these large corporations we have running everything these days and squeezing out the little (local) guy. The best and simplest way to 'fight back' is to support local businesses, especially local food producers by shopping at farmer's markets. It seems like such a small thing, but if more people did it, very quickly more producers would try to make a go of it, and then succeed, and then more people could shop there and so forth. Actually, this is a very important issue. Which is why you will never see it discussed thoroughly in the mainstream media!

Aug 3: http://www.naturalnews.com/033216_GMO_contamination_lawsuits.html GOOD NEWS! Court rules farmers can sue Monsanto for contamination of normal crops by GMO crops. Excerpt: "

For too long, Monsanto has been getting away with suing farmers whose crops have become contaminated by Monsanto's patented genetic traits and chemical materials, and winning. Thankfully, the justice system seems to now recognize the severe error in this, and is now beginning to rightfully hold polluters and trespassers responsible. Monsanto, your days are numbered. Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/033216_GMO_contamination_lawsuits.html#ixzz1TxnFN2I9

Aug 5: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/08/05/how-did-weedkiller-wind-up-in-most-us-rain-samples.aspx?e_cid=20110805_DNL_art_1 Toxicity in soil and rain from Monsanto's RoundUp ready, the use of which has greatly raised the amount of chemical toxicity in our environment generally and the food supply in particular.

Aug 11: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_InolSrjCk Sepp Holzer, the Permaculture 'Agro Rebel'. Great stuff. Also; http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=25928

Growing Your Own Food: Permaculture, Integrative Organic Farming and Gardening by Rady Ananda; Also: http://metrofarm.com/?p=529 The Metro Farm book on its own website. Sepp Holzer movie, growing lemons in the Alps!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O59TzGPHM_g&feature=related Sepp and Veronika Holzer's Website: http://www.krameterhof.at/en/

Aug 19: http://www.foodrenegade.com/did-know-walnuts-illegal-drugs/ Walnuts are illegal 'drugs' and Honey Nut Cheerios are 'heart healthy'; more evidence of contemporary insanity.

Aug 21: http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=26017 Article about facts and fiction viz. raw milk, US data.

Aug 25: http://www.infowars.com/fda-wages-secret-war-on-raw-milk-farmers-using-kgb-style-spying-and-infiltration-techniques/ A disturbing article about government agencies versus raw milk farms in the U.S. Excerpt: "NaturalNews is actively gathering and distributing intelligence on this situation, publicizing the truth that the FDA wants to keep secret — that it is waging a clandestine, illegal war against America’s farmers, using Stasi-style, or KGB-inspired secret police tactics combined with the threat of violence to crush resistance. This is a campaign of terrorism being waged against innocent farmers in America, and it is a sign of a government out of control… a government which, in many ways, has become an enemy of the People and an enemy of freedom."

Sep 6: http://lewrockwell.com/decoster/decoster185.html Article on the recent Rawesome Raid in the US. Perhaps we won't do SWAT raids in Canada, but we do make it basically impossible for small farm operators in this country and this in itself is a form of tyranny. All in the name of 'safety' of course, which is sincere-sounding enough for most (complacent and overly obedient and polite) Canadians to accept at face value. After all, the government is our friend, no? The author of this article runs what looks like a truly unusual and worthy local market: http://www.detroiteasternmarket.com/ I wish we had the same in Cape Breton...Related article with some perspective on this particular success story: http://www.detroiteasternmarket.com/news_page.php?id=131

Sep 7: http://www.democracydefined.org/EIS23_RADIOACTIVITY_IN_FOOD.pdf Report from Democracy/Justice activist on how radioactivity is in most modern food crops. From page: http://www.democracydefined.org/democracydefinedmaterial.htm

Oct 9: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/10/07/are-you-being-kept-in-the-dark-about-birth-defects-from-weed-killers.aspx?e_cid=20111007_DNL_art_1 GMO article.

Oct 21: http://farmwars.info/?p=7073 Monsanto tightens its death grip on food - patent on broccoli not revoked (yet).

Dec 30th: http://www.startribune.com/nation/136326778.html Bugs may be resistant to GM corn. One of the main selling points is bug resistance. If they don't have that AND they are toxic AND more expensive then WHY do farmers keep buying them? Can people please WAKE UP!!!

Dec 30th: http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2011/12/29/government-to-government-plan-to-seize-control-of-all-foods/ US and Canadian govt. working in lockstep to surrender basic freedoms, in this case concerning the growing and marketing of food, to global authorities attuned to corporate, not regional (let alone decent) agendas.I did not read the bills so cannot vouch for the commentary but it does not look good.

Jan 3rd: http://www.marketskeptics.com/2011/07/fish-fraud-fabricated-steak-and-other-esf-schemes-behind-cheap-food.html Ostensibly about food fraud, this article references many sources concerning decline in world farming outputs due to over-reliance on fertilization inputs versus maintaining vibrant soil cultures and in so doing sounds many alarms.

Jan 31: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/01/31/monsanto-worst-company-of-2011.aspx?e_cid=20120131_DNL_art_1 Another Mercola article, this one about Monsanto and GM foods. I think he is much more of a salesman than he believes himself to be, but he does come up with some good articles which cover a lot of ground very quickly and this is one of them.

Feb 20: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9091628/Test-tube-hamburgers-to-be-served-this-year.html Frankenfood Watch. Test Tube meat on the menu???

Feb 24th: http://www.organicconsumers.org/whole_foods_unfi.cfm Yet another story about how bad everything is, this mainly a look at problems with so-called 'organic' foods and supermarkets in the US. Where we are in Canada (NS, Cape Breton specifically) there is such a miniscule selection of organic that it really doesn't matter. They just sell enough of the main items to ensure that nobody else can get into the business. Or maybe that's all they can find. I have no idea. In any case, my philosophy now is first to support local producers even if they aren't organic, then organic, and also always favouring simple, real, fresh foods over packaged products that last forever, unless its stuff like spices, oils etc. which we don't grow around here. This link was supplied to me by Sada Nam of http://www.eco-natural.com who also sent in this one about a US organic seed supply operation/initiative/enterprise: http://www.osgata.org/seed-news

Feb 27: http://tv.globalresearch.ca/2012/02/open-seeds-biopiracy-and-patenting-life

Feb 27: http://www.permaculture-media-download.com/2011/08/permaculture-organic-farming.html Online video library about permaculture farming.

Feb 27: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/02/26/fresh-video-documentary.aspx?e_cid=20120226_SNL_Art_1 Free preview of new documentary "Fresh".

Mar 1: http://farmwars.info/ A site about the systemic attack (seemingly) against the bedrock traditional family farm.

Mar 18: http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29828 New toxic form of bacteria which grows on GM corn-fed pigs' excrement part of the reason why GM corn has just been banned in France. This stuff should be totally banned. Excerpt: "Likely linked to GM feed served to most livestock in the US, methane-filled “foam” growing on pig manure has resulted in several pig farm explosions since 2001, killing thousands of animals.“And there’s no stopping it,” reports the Daily Mail, “the foam has now started growing on one in four farms across the Midwest.” Scientists believe a new type of bacteria may have developed. This comports with plant pathologist Don Huber’s discovery last year of a new pathogen associated with spontaneous abortions in livestock, which has been linked to the use of glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide. Modified with a Bt protein to kill insects, MON810 is losing its efficacy in the US. The Western rootworm beetle – one of the most serious threats to corn – has developed resistance to the bacterial toxin in eleven states. In early March, a group of pro-biotech corn entomologists sent a letter to the US Environmental Protection Agency warning that insect resistance to genetically modified corn can be halted by planting non-GMO seed. The warning will likely go unheeded as the US Dept. of Agriculture announced plans to speed up the process of GM approval by 18 months. Over the past eight months, the European Commission has approved 11 new transgenic crops. However, EU nations can independently restrict or prohibit the sales of products under certain conditions."

reason why GM corn has just been banned in France. This stuff should be totally banned. Food Supply

Mar 18: Consumers Ingesting Mystery Meat Treated with Poisonous Gas As a method of passing off decayed meat as fresh, meat industries in many countries are treating meat with highly toxic gas. In fact, 70 percent of all beef and chicken within the United States and Canada are subject to the treatment of the poisonous gas known as carbon monoxide. Add this knowledge to the recently exposed ammonia-tainted ‘pink slime’ used in meat being served to millions of people and schoolchildren, and you may be reluctant to ever eat meat again. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a toxic colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas which essentially replaces oxygen in the blood. When individuals are exposed to higher levels of CO, it begins to cause detrimental effects after binding to a molecule in the blood that normally carries oxygen, known as hemoglobin. Lower levels of exposure results in headaches, confusion, fatigue, and nausea, while higher levels of exposure could result in unconsciousness, death, or long-term negative neurological effects. In order for meat to stay fresh, it must be below a certain temperature before being consumed. Even a few degrees above the recommended temperature can result in bacterial growth and hastened spoilage. In addition, grocery retailers face a challenge in knowing the actual temperature of the meat since UV radiation from the display case penetrates the packaging. As a solution, the meat industry decided to use utilize carbon monoxide for atmospheric packaging to extend shelf life. It is also for this reason that meat exhibits a bright red color, even when it has spoiled. http://naturalsociety.com/consumers-ingesting-mystery-meat-treated-with-poisonous-gas/#ixzz1pIlgnJr2 Related, pink slime in beef: http://naturalsociety.com/ammonia-tainted-%E2%80%98pink-slime%E2%80%99-ravaging-us-meat-products/

Mar 18: http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2012-11-18/real-cause-global-obesity-epidemic Global epidemic - chemical toxicity from 'obesogens'

Mar 25: Documentary "Good Food Bad Food", around 29 minutes an Indian (?) farmer explains huge productivity increases when he abandoned chemical farming (at which he was a frequent prize winner) and went back to traditional methods. On 4 acres of land, he feeds 15 people and :

he has 480 trees. Plants dozens more each year; " I am not a rich man. My farm has only 1.8 hectares (about 4 acres). We produce food for 15 people year round. Also we sell 15 tons of fruit, 10,000 coconuts, 2 metric tons of fruit and 4 metric tons of grain each year. We make our own seeds and fertilizer. We depend on nobody and waste nothing." They have a large pond which holds rainwater, also collected from roofs, in which are 400 fish. Planted many trees: more roots, better the underground irrigation; more leaves fall, more fertile the soil. The whole village thinks I am insane not to sell this (very large) tree for 10,000 rupees. But it gives fruits five times a year which enrich the soil without costing a cent, so we have 10,000 metric tons of fertilizer a year - and we still have the tree there. They just do farming, but we have the forest plus farming., which we call 'agro forestry'." They have the best milk in the area from cows grazing throughout the property, goats too. "Once the farmer is autonomous, farming becomes really easy." "Seed is the killing factor. They are controlling the entire population with the ruse of providing seeds. I believe it is a cold war against the people, the seed business. I am confident that within 5-6 years half our farmers will change into this system (his system I think). " The catch? Obviously he is living in an equatorial climate. But I have read articles and seen You Tube clips about people growing year-round in greenhouses, including in Vermont, Quebec etc., often with the animals inside to raise the temperature. I also doubt that forest ag works in pine forests! But in any case, it's a good film. Also of interest: part of the reason agri-chemical business got going was that they had huge stockpiles of toxic chemicals after WWII they needed to find a way to market. Also, out of the 150 'agronomists' who graduate each year in France, none of them study soil biology. A man interviewed in this film was the only one left in his fourth year class back in the 80's, and in 1986 that subject matter was no longer offered. So an entire country has no official tradition of studying soil despite being famous the world over for good food. For how much longer, I wonder?

April 2: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/04/01/gmo-infant-formula.aspx?e_cid=20120401_SNL_Art_1 More outrageous corruption - Genetically modified stuff goes into 'organic' milk formulas. These sheisters never stop twisting, cheating, lying, deceiving, and once again govt. agencies are enabling all this. Granted this is a US story, but there is increasingly less difference between the two countries when it comes to things like this.

April 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-_ePPMcPsQ You Tube of Dennis Laffan of North River Organics, the Chairperson of the Cape Breton Organic Beekeeper's Cooperative and also the supplier of organic garlic used in my very popular Rosemary Garlic Focaccio.

April 6: Recommended on Netflix: "Beer Wars". Shows how legislation is used to prevent small operators from having access to the controlled distribution market. Another good example of how our accumulated social systems are increasingly corrupt and dysfunction unless you are on the right side of the power equation. French Road Bakery would have no problem selling hundreds of loaves a week, for example, if it weren't that the very limited number of Supermarket Corporations rarely, if ever, accept product from local producers and even if/when they do, often only on their own terms.

April 8: http://naturalsociety.com/monsantos-roundup-biopesticide-is-killing-human-kidney-cells/ Title says it all.

April 9: http://www.naturalnews.com/035511_insecticide_bees_collapse.html "(NaturalNews) Early last year, leaked documents obtained by a Colorado beekeeper exposed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) illegitimate approval of clothianidin, a highly-toxic pesticide manufactured by Bayer CropScience that the regulatory agency knew was capable of killing off bees (http://www.naturalnews.com/030921_EPA_pesticides.html). Now, a new study out of Purdue University in Indiana has not only confirmed, once again, that clothianidin is killing off bees, but also that clothianidin's toxicity is systemic throughout the entire food chain, which could one day lead to the catastrophic destruction of the food supply."

April 12: http://www.alternet.org/food/154855/monsanto_threatens_to_sue_vermont_if_legislators_pass_a_bill_requiring_gmo_food_to_be_labeled Interesting... both people and legislators agree on a policy requiring GM foods to be labelled as such, but now the legislators are seemingly backing down following threats of a lawsuit by Monsanto. Of course, with an honest judicial branch the suit would have no legs since clearly the legislature has the right to mandate certain types of labelling. But according to this article: "When Vermont became the first state in the nation in 1994 to require mandatory labels on milk and dairy products derived from cows injected with the controversial genetically engineered Bovine Growth Hormone, Monsanto’s minions sued in Federal Court and won on a judge’s decision that dairy corporations have the first amendment “right” to remain silent on whether or not they are injecting their cows with rBGH - even though rBGH has been linked to severe health damage in cows and increased cancer risk for humans, and is banned in much of the industrialized world, including Europe and Canada." So Vermont has reason to hesitate given the obvious corruption of their Courts. I doubt the situation is very different in Canada...

April 15: http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=767&Itemid=74&jumival=8191 Global North vs. South on the financialisation of food - video and transcript. A good example of how food supply and global finance issues are intertwined, so included in both sections on this page.

Links of Interest

SOURDOUGH

WATER

Biophoton Light Emission Microscope Pictures of Revitalized Tap Water (1,200 X magnification)

The Connection Between Cancer and Negative Water

SALT

Bread and Wheat etc.

Nutrition & Health Related:

Cooperatives and Suchlike:

Food Supply Issues

Biophoton Light Emission Microscope Pictures of Revitalized Tap Water
(1,200 X magnification)