“Everything we create, everything we build, and everything we send out into the world has an impact on people and the planet. We take that responsibility seriously. We operate ethically and strive constantly to increase our operational standards to deliver high quality food.”
Learn more about Aerofarms and their project by visiting: “AeroFarms.com“
Tucked away around the north side of his Ocean Park home, Conrad Clark has a very productive garden.
Cilantro, parsley, kale, arugula, lettuce and spinach plants produce enough vegetables for fresh soups and salads every week from the four-by-ten-foot raised bed. A nearby Tsasuma tree is heavy with fruit.
It’s an impressive set-up for a 13-month-old amateur, who keeps his mom busy as he pulls out sticks and taste the soil for himself.
“It’s foolproof,” said his mom, Sharon, as she took a stick back from his dirty fingers and placed it where it belonged near the parsley. “It’s the easiest thing for a working mom.”
Admittedly, Sharon and Conrad have little to do with their garden’s success. They are just two of Farmcape’s many Santa Monica clients who have discovered the secret to a successful garden is hiring an expert to toil in the soil. The company built bed, installed a drip irrigation system and presented the working mother with a menu of seeds to choose from. Her personal famer, Nick Barner, shows up once a week to tend the garden and gather vegetables he leaves by Sharon’s back door.
Read the REST OF THE STORY, at: “SMDP.com“
“For cancer survivors, three seasons of home vegetable gardening may increase physical activity, fruits and vegetables in the diet and also enhance feelings of self-worth, researchers say.
Possibly as a result of these healthy behaviors, gardeners in the small study also tended to gain less weight around their waists compared to their counterparts on a waiting list for the gardening intervention, the study team reports.
It’s estimated there are more than 15 million cancer survivors in the U.S., over two thirds of whom are over age 60, they note in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
“For cancer survivors, especially those who are older, we look for lifestyle changes that can help them get healthier but are also holistic and have meaning,” said lead author Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, chair of nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Comprehensive Cancer Center.”
Read the FULL STORY, here: “VOA.News.com“
“There are no fresh food markets or commercial grocery stores in the Third Ward, making it one of the many neighborhoods in Houston and the United States classified as a food desert. When neighborhoods, usually low-income and ethnic ones, lack access to affordable, nutritious and fresh foods, they fall under that classification.
To alleviate the severe lack of fresh foods in the Third Ward, the community garden on Ennis St. help to supply food sources. Thirteen other community gardens are spread out throughout the city in a variety of neighborhoods.
Food security plansMost people do not think of the fourth largest city in the United States being the greatest hub for agricultural development. That’s where the expertise of Joe Icet, a public health educator who runs the community gardens, comes in handy. Icet is an urban farmer who has been managing numerous garden and agriculture projects over the course of 18 years in the Third and Fifth Wards.
“I’ve been collaborating with some innovators and local agriculture farmers building what I call ‘food security plans’ for urban neighborhoods,” Icet said.”
Read the FULL STORY, at: “TheDailyCougar.com“
“In the past two decades, China has experienced several food scandals. Between 2001 and 2006, toxic mushrooms killed 148 people and poisoned over 500 others in Yunnan. In 2010, Hunan police shut down a large operation that produced “green beans” from dyed soybeans.
As a result, a growing number of Chinese residents are turning to organic produce, which is considered safer since its production is more regulated, according to The Guardian.
A Jeff Bezos-backed indoor farming company called Plenty will soon harvest some of this organic produce. But unlike traditional farms, it will grow crops on LED-lit 20-foot-tall towers, which do not require soil, pesticides, or even natural sunlight. The technique is called vertical farming.
Plenty says it will build 300 vertical farms in or near major Chinese cities, where it will capitalize on the country’s growing middle-class demand for organic produce. The first farm will open next year, Bloomberg reports. In Beijing and Shanghai, the company will also build centers where customers can taste produce.”
Read the FULL STORY at: “BusinessInsider.com“
“The planet is growing more food than ever, and yet millions of people continue to starve worldwide. People are hungry everywhere — in the country, in the suburbs. But increasingly, one of the front lines in the war against hunger is in cities. As urban populations grow, more people find themselves in food deserts, areas with “[l]imited access to supermarkets, supercenters, grocery stores, or other sources of healthy and affordable food,” according to a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
New technologies are changing the equation, allowing people to grow food in places where it was previously difficult or impossible, and in quantities akin to traditional farms.”
Read the FULL STORY, at: “Futurism.com“
I am all about sharing recipes with a twist. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner I couldn’t think of anything better to share with you then these super easy Chinese Five Spice Chocolate Truffles. Before you think I am crazy for adding Chinese Five Spice to chocolate I encourage you to give it a try.
The inspiration for this combination came from a chocolate tour and tasting my husband and I did in Hawaii. We went on a three-hour adventure and learned all about the cacao tree and how to make chocolate from the cacao fruit. At the end of the tour we sat down to an extensive chocolate tasting.
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We tasted twenty different types of chocolate that were all grown and made in Hawaii. The experience was as amazing as it sounds! We tried chocolate with ginger, pineapple, bacon, coconut, and nuts.
With all of the different types we tried, my favorite bite of chocolate during that three hours and twenty different tastings was the one with Chinese Five Spice! I was just as surprised as you probably are right about now. You may even be wondering, “What the heck is this spice?!”
If you aren’t familiar with Chinese Five Spice, it typically contains spices like cloves, star anise, cinnamon, fennel, and pepper. It has a bit of a black licorice flavor that works so well with dark chocolate.
If you would have told me fifteen years ago that I would love dark chocolate I might not have believed you. I was “Team Milk Chocolate” all the way. But then I learned about all of the health benefits contained within dark chocolate. It is important to know that not all chocolate is created equal.
Dark chocolate is full of antioxidants and the higher percentage of cacao, the more nutrients. Over time my taste buds have adjusted and now I can’t get enough of the dark stuff!
The post Chinese Five Spice Chocolate Truffles appeared first on The Organic Dietitian.
Coming just before Christmas, when truffles are used to flavour such seasonal foods as foie gras and chestnut soup, it raises the hope of an undreamt-of windfall for the new wave of urban gardeners colonising city roofs.”
Read the FULL STORY at: “TheLocal.fr.com“
“Designed by Danish firm Husum & Lindholm Architects, Growmore structures can be assembled using six plywood components. The system is designed for people living in cities to utilise unused urban space for local food production.
The components include planting and shelving units, which are connected by pivotal joints. This enables users to move and rotate assembled structures, so they can fit in a wide range of different spaces.”
Read the FULL STORY at: “DEZEEN.com“
“Vegetables and flowers are not something you’d expect to see growing anywhere in Northeast Ohio right now – let alone inside an old tire plant in Akron.
But that’s exactly what an Akron-based agricultural company is doing.
Jacob Craine, Vincent Peterson and Mark Preston are the founders of Vigeo Gardens, which sits on the third floor of Akron’s former B.F. Goodrich tire plant. The business can be easily spotted as it’s custom-mad blue and red LED lights transform its space into a magenta-like color.”
Read the FULL STORY at: “WKYC.com“
“In a story that’s become well-known, the college turned its football field into a 2-acre organic farm in 2010. Still demarcated by the goalposts, the farm donates some produce, as well as selling to restaurants and grocery stores.” via “DallasNews.com”
“When Michael Sorrell took over as president of Paul Quinn College in 2007, the place was nearly broke and faced a possible loss of accreditation. Sorrell wasn’t interested in following the usual playbook for running a college, so he took unusual steps right from the start. He cut the football program, for instance, and turned the playing field into an urban farm.
Just to put that move in perspective, this college is in Dallas, a city that has been called the football capital of the world. But Sorrel was focused on building a new model for higher education, one that mixes work-readiness with expanding minds, and at a price that more students could afford.
EdSurge recently talked with Sorrell about how his model of an “urban work college,” and he shared the roundabout way that this college got into farming. The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. You can listen to a complete version below, or on your favorite podcast app (like iTunes or Stitcher).” via “EdSurge.com”
With “everything from Alice Waters to Cesar Chavez,” to learn about local agricultural history, a new Oakland exhibition at the Oakland Museum of California that explores the rich topic of local farming is “only going to be a tasting menu,” says Sarah Seiter, the museum’s associate curator of natural sciences. That means Take Root: Oakland Grows Food , a new, year-long exhibition a the OCMA, will provide a broad overview of the current state of Oaklanders growing food for themselves and their community, answering basic questions like “what grows in Oakland?” and connecting visitors to information about local farms including City Slicker, Acta Non Verba, and New Roots. Take Root runs from December 16th through January 2019.
“It’s not a secret that the Oakland Museum is moving towards progressive, social justice issues” says Seiter. Recent exhibitions have covered cannabis to capitalism. “This exhibition is a way to do that in the natural sciences gallery. We wanted to focus more on ecosystems that are managed and experienced by humans — fisheries, working water fronts, landscapes where humans are deeply enmeshed.”
Read the FULL STORY at: “SFEater.com“
I celebrated Christmas by being sick with a head cold. Sore throat, sinus pressure, runny nose, and feeling overall yucky. Being sick is never fun. Luckily, I usually only catch a cold once per year. When symptoms start I ramp up supporting my immune system in a few different ways. I’m often asked by my clients what my favorite natural remedies are, so let me share exactly what I did this past week.
Before I dive in I want to mention that if you frequently have colds or the flu, it may be a sign of HPA axis dysfunction or adrenal fatigue. Being under long-term stress can weaken your immune system. Chronic stress increases a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol’s job it to help your body deal with stress in a number of ways, one of which is to reduce inflammation. When cortisol is always high due to long-term stress, it can actually suppress the immune system and leave you more vulnerable to infections. If you get sick on a regular basis, before trying these natural remedies, you might want to start with a comprehensive hormone panel to check your cortisol levels.
In general, you want support your immune system by living a healthy lifestyle. This means eating healthy foods, avoiding food allergens and sensitivities, getting adequate sleep, having just the right amount of movement, limiting stress, reducing sugar, and supplying your body with needed nutrients. All of these things together help support your body when you’re exposed to a bug.
On mornings when I don’t feel so hot, I’ll have a cup of Echinacea tea with extra lemon. Echinacea is a popular herb that helps support the immune system. Being sick is a stress for the body and when under stress, our body uses vitamin C more rapidly. The added vitamin C from lemon helps replenish the body’s supply. Add some raw honey for its antibacterial, antiviral, and antimicrobial activity (1). Much of this is due to the natural vitamins, enzymes, antioxidants, and other important nutrients found in raw honey.
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My natural remedy daily routine also includes one shot of Fire Cider, a couple spoonful’s of I-Boost Herbal Sauerkraut by Pickled Planet (for a good dose of probiotics too), and a dose of oregano (3). The Fire Cider and Herbal Sauerkraut contain ingredients like horseradish, ginger, garlic and cayenne that support the immune system and break up congestion. Oregano contains antioxidants for immune system support and certain phytochemicals that act as powerful antimicrobials. This powerful herb can be purchased in pill form like with the OregaMax and is also an ingredient in the Pickled Planet sauerkraut.
A few other things to consider:
Sleep! Your body uses a lot of energy and resources to fight off illness, which is why we get so tired when we are sick. Listen to the clues your body is trying to give you and rest. Out of all the advice I can give, sleep is probably the best natural remedy I can recommend.
Hydrate! An important thing to do when you have a cold is to replenish fluids lost from sweat, urine, and decreased food intake. My favorite fluids include filtered water, hot tea, and bone broth. You could also try my Immune Boosting Elderberry Lavender Latte.
There are many things that you can do when you get sick, but these are my personal go-to remedies. How do you usually battle illness? Let me know in the comment!
The post My Favorite Natural Remedies for Cold and Flu Season appeared first on The Organic Dietitian.
“Jenny Quiner pulls back giant tarps to check the fragile lettuces growing in her high tunnel greenhouse. Rows of perky green lettuces sprout from the ground. She recovers them, then steps outside into the frigid winter to check on the cover crops in the fields that protect and enrich the soil.
The scene looks like most any other vegetable farm you would see across Iowa. But there’s one significant difference: It’s in the middle of a residential neighborhood.
Dogpatch Urban Gardens is the only for-profit farm in Des Moines city limits — the realization of one of Quiner’s dreams.”
Read the FULL STORY at: “DesMoinesRegister.com“
Follow Dogpatch Urban Gardens on FACEBOOK or INSTAGRAM!
“The North 40 Urban Farm will be a unique fully integrated food, beverage, and floral production, processing, distribution, and sales location set in a 43 acre farm in Carlsbad California adjacent to I-5. The unique blend of farm environment and urban convenience will provide an opportunity in more than 110,000 square feet of facilities accommodating the Wholesale Floral Trade Center, North 40 Marketplace, Culinary Center, Craft Microbreweries and Wineries for a select group of vendors, processors, and farmers. Tenant opportunities are available for Phase 1 with opening scheduled for 2019.”
“A farmstay is a unique lodging concept found at farms, ranches, and vineyards all over the world. In general they are characterized as single story bungalow style units clustered and integrated with an ongoing commercial farming operation. They provide a unique experience with the 24 hour life of a farm, a tie with the products of the farm, and an opportunity to educate visitors about the value of the farm and its products. By taking advantage of the special experience created by the farm, particularly in an urbanizing area, the farmstay also provides economic support for creating and maintaining the environment.”
Read more about this project by visiting: “CarlsbadNorth40.com“
