The high cost of a coffee roaster in 2005 was the mother of the invention of the Solar Roast coffee business.

Two brothers in Pueblo, CO are the proprietors of the very first carbon neutral coffee company that roasts their beans using the power of the sun. Their story proves that not all brilliant ideas birthed over beer fizzle in the light of day. They fashioned their first roaster out of an old satellite dish – you know, one of those huge ones from the olden days:-) that they covered with plastic mirrors.

Using a few other gadgets, (recycling at its best!) they were able to get the roasting chamber up to “several hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Not sure how their first batch came out, but these days they seem to have it down.

Check out their story and website here: www.SolarRoast.com

From the order page it looks like just some if the beans are organic coffee, and they do have to organic logo on their home page. Please comment it you’ve tried this coffee, and know whether it’s all organic (and fair trade?) or not.

OFM

I just read an article about sales figures for organic foods in the US and UK. Even though sales predictions were “gloomy” the slump the “experts” thought they would see has not come about.

The executive Director of the Organic Trade Association said in part that “Organic products represent value to consumers…”

I stick with mostly organic products out of a commitment to providing non-toxic foods for my family and most importantly, my children. That is a value of course, in the sense that I value our good health and want to keep it that way.

I guess I’m posting this because the explanation as to why organic food sales are still growing seemed weak and so…corporate. For me it’s all about health and love and doing the right thing. That and one of my favorite quotes:

“Man’s mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimension.” Oliver Wendell Holmes

You just can’t suddenly un-know what you know about toxic food additives, hydrogenated fats and preservatives being bad for the human body. That is what drives my food buying choices. To me the word value alone, though apropos, is insufficient to explain why I choose to spend more for organic foods.

See the full article here if you like, and below it are some snips. Please post your reasons for buying organics in the comments:\

US Organics Buck Recessionary Trend

“During 2008, sales were up 15.8 percent on the year before, according to a survey carried out by the Lieberman Research Group on behalf of the Organic Trade Association (OTA).

Predictions for organic product sales have been gloomy, with market researchers foreseeing a slump in more pricy goods, including organic food. But this has not been the case, the OTA said.

OTA’s executive director Christine Bushway said: “Organic products represent value to consumers, who have shown continued resilience in seeking out these products. This marks another milestone for the organic food market.”

OFM

In the past I would forgo using any coupons because I typically forgot them at home anyway. Besides, it’s mostly the additive -laden big brand food companies that offer coupons, which I do my darndest to avoid (imagine!).

These days I’m making more of an effort to seek-out organic food coupons, remember to bring them shopping with me and then actually remember to use them (maybe you, too?).

With that in mind, I got excited when I read yesterday about a new project that will feature coupon books for branded organic and natural food, nutritional supplements and personal care products for distribution in October, which is Child Health Month. The proceeds go to charity called Vitamin Angels.

The project is called “Unconventional Angels,” and it’s the brainchild of Vitamin Angels, The Organic Center, and The Organic Trade Association.

Vitamin Angels works to reduce child mortality by increasing availability, access and use of essential micronutrients, including vitamin A, to expectant mothers, infants and young children in over 30 countries including the US. They are a private charitable organization and take no money from the government to fund their work. You can visit their website at www.VitaminAngels.org.

October (2009) is a bit of a wait, to be sure, but you heard it here first:-) I’ll post more, like possibly how to get our hands on these, as it becomes available. The link will be here after this post once I have more on this.

OFM

Are you worried about catching swine flu? If you’re watching the news or listening to the radio, you probably have given it some thought. Here’s an article with a viewpoint that differs from the mainstream news. Reprinted with permission.

Politics, Profits & Pandemic Fear Mongering

by Barbara Loe Fisher

Are you grabbing your face mask, stocking up on food and Tamiflu, locking your doors and keeping your TV tuned to the news to find out just how bad the “swine flu pandemic” really is going to get? While Americans are being scared to death, few are noticing how much of their tax money politicians are giving to drug companies and government health officials to grease the skids to create more experimental flu vaccines and drugs and more effective ways to quarantine or force their mass use whenever a “public health emergency” is declared in the future.

Call me cynical but not clueless. The bird’s eye view I have had for the past 27 years at the National Vaccine Information Center has taught me one thing: the global alliance between Big Pharma and Big Public Health is a prescription for disaster that could extend far beyond a bout with the flu.

Read the rest of the article here:

Certified organic food and personal care products are just about the only things sold in grocery stores these days that can be accurately described as healthy, nutritious, safe and good for the environment. (Beyond organic you can vote for economic justice with your consumer ollars by choosing items that are labeled as Fair Trade or Union-Made.)

But constant vigilance is required to prevent unscrupulous companies from driving down organic standards, or exploiting their workers. Family-scale organic dairy farmers are being undermined by factory farm feedlots masquerading as organic, as well as Wal-Mart and other national retail chains driving down farm gate prices.

Multi-ingredient organic food processors are cutting costs by using the same supply chain as bottom-of-the-barrel conventional brands, with unfortunate results such as the recent peanut butter food poisoning scandal. And, fake organic imports threaten to flood the domestic organic marketplace.

Under the Bush Administration, the USDA National Organic Program contributed to these problems by being slow to address National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) recommendations, issue definitive regulations and enforce existing ones. Under the new Obama Administration, with Kathleen Merrigan as second-in-command at the USDA, we have an opportunity to prevent corporate greed from corrupting organic standards.

Please send a letter to the USDA

And, help the OCA develop our comments for the NOSB’s next meeting May 4-6, 2009.

Courtesy of the Organic  Consumers Association.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Natural Help  for Insomnia and other Sleep Disorders