organic

Organic Farms Beat Industrial Farms

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

Researchers in California pitted industrial strawberry farming against organic strawberry farming and the winner was organic. Organic farms were better for the environment and produced noticeably better produce.

Another reason to buy organic and something that the movie Fresh predicted.

Among their findings:
-The organic strawberries had significantly higher antioxidant activity and concentrations of ascorbic acid and phenolic compounds.
-The organic strawberries had longer shelf life.
-The organic strawberries had more dry matter, or, “more strawberry in the strawberry.”
-Anonymous testers, working at times under red light so the fruit color would not bias them, found one variety of organic strawberries was sweeter, had better flavor, and once a white light was turned on, appearance. The testers judged the other two varieties to be similar.
-The researchers also found the organic soils excelled in a variety of key chemical and biological properties, including carbon sequestration, nitrogen, microbial biomass, enzyme activities, and micronutrients.

Read more at Science Daily.

Organic Farmers can be Innovators

- Adam Clare

Here’s a neat piece of writing that argues that organic farmers can be a positive movement for than just food and why we should eat organic foods as a result.

“When people give up, money fills the void. When people hold the politicians accountable, they trump the power of money,” he said. “When we send people to Washington to represent us, we need to remind them who sent them there.”

“We can create a new wave of change in America,” said Hassebrook. “Organic farming is a big part of this change, but it won’t be automatic. We have to work for it.”

“Let our inspiration be the pioneers who first settled America. Those who succeeded were courageous. They made sacrifices to achieve their dreams. They were builders and entrepreneurs. They cared about their communities, which were comprised of a diversity of people with different languages and customs. They were farmers, carpenters, teachers, politicians and planners. They were visionaries who worked hard to achieve progress. They remained optimistic and were open to new ideas. Our challenge is to go forth and do good.”

Read the entire piece.

Organic Farming Uses Less Water

- Adam Clare

In case you needed yet another reason to buy organic food it has come to light that organic farming uses less water than factory/industrial farming.

A study released by Cornell University Professor David Pimentel in 2005 reported that organic farming produces the same corn and soybean yields as conventional farming and uses 30 percent less energy and less water. Moreover, because organic farming systems do not use pesticides, they also yield healthier produce and do not contribute to groundwater pollution.

In addition to its conservation of water, organic farming has also been praised for the economic opportunities it creates for farmers in developing countries. Those farmers have not only found an international market for their organic products, but in draught-ridden India, organic rice farmers have found that using less water is not only a necessity, but is also financially practical. Indian rice farmers cited in a 2007 World Wildlife Foundation study claimed that the system of rice intensification (SRI) helped them yield more crop with less water.

Spitting the Cure

- Adam Clare

Human saliva contains a natural painkiller according to new research. The chemical is named opiorphin may soon be able to provide a new gamut of painkillers and maybe even anti-depressent drugs.

I guess this means that YOU really are the cure.

“Its pain-suppressive effect is like that of morphine,” says Catherine Rougeot at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France, who led the research. “But we have to test its side effects as it is not a pure painkiller,” she says. “It may also be an anti-depressive molecule.”

Pig Poo + Distillation = Pigoline

- Adam Clare 2 Comments

Since it is Friday and we try to cover more ridiculous news, here is a gasoline made from pig poo.

A NASCAR feul specialists has found a way to take run of the mill pig waste and turn it into a high-octane adventure! Dean Gokel says he can produce 110 octane “pigoline” that is indistinguishable on a molecular level from petroleum-based additives.

“Here’s how it is supposed to work: First, he prepares the waste, turning it “into the consistency of a milkshake,” and then pumps it into the reactor. The hogs, kindly, do much of the hard work, breaking food into the big carbon-based molecules found in manure. Gokel’s process fractures long carbon chains and ring structures into chemicals closer to gasoline, such as C10 or better yet, C8 (basically, octane). Those smaller molecules are distilled off as a vapor, which is collected and eventually used as a fuel additive. The amines–nitrogen products–left behind can then be packed off and sold as commercial chemicals. Gokel is only running five-gallon batches, but there is no significant waste from it. The process takes about three hours.”

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