Slow Food Movement

The Slow Food movement is a global grassroots movement that began in 1989 in Rome as a protest against the opening of McDonald's. The idea of slow food quite simple and really self-explanatory..its food selected with care, cooked with love and savored with good company. The concept of slow food is related to chemicals because.. when you choose your food with care and have a relationship with your food you grow to respect food and the process of growing even if it does cost you an extra dollar.

Check out the slow movement web-site for some more great information  http://www.slowfood.com/

I was even excited to learn that there is a slow movement group here in Nova Scotia! http://slowfoodns.blogspot.com/

Here is a great video by the famous chef Jamie Oliver talking about the importance of a healthy diet

Plastic Planet

We are consuming plastic at an alarming rate..just think how often you use plastic everyday...grocery bags, food packaging, plastic water bottles, bread bags....the list is endless!

So its not the first time you heard that plastic is bad for the environment, but did you know it was bad for your health? Plastics leach into our food and water and can cause hormone havoc and toxic buildup, which can eventually lead to an array of health problems.

Most of us have heard of BPA in baby bottles and water bottles, this chemical can act as estrogen in your body. Dr. Frederick vom Saal at the University of Missouri-Columbia reports "studies of laboratory animals, BPA changes play behaviour, weakens gender differences, decreases sperm count, stimulates prostate cancer, and causes symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder" (pg. 61).  BPA is not the only chemical in plastic that has health affects..so your best bet is to reduce your exposure to plastics as much as possible. Here is a cute cartoon video that gives you another perspective on plastics






Here are some tips to reduce your exposure to chemicals in plastics
1. Use a stainless steel water bottle
2. Use glass to store foods (you can replace plastic food containers with glass ones or if your on a budget like me just recycle glass containers to store food (e.g use an glass salsa container to store left over chili etc.)
3. Buy glass options when available ( foods, pop etc.)
4. If you use plastic never use it in the microwave- the heat breaks the plastic down and you end up eating it.
5. Use recyclable bags at grocery stores
6. Try and select produce with no or minimal packaging
7. Learn the numbers on plastic and what each means
8. Try and buy can food options that don't use plastics to line the cans (did you know can e.g. soup use plastic to line the cans?) This can leech into your food..tomatoes are the worst because the acidic tomatoes break down the plastic..who knew?
9. Recycle the plastics you use

Check out this web-site for information on what  each of the plastic numbers mean : http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/recycling-symbols-plastics-460321


Here's another great 5min video that outlines some great facts, resources and what you can do to make a difference! P.S It has some great tunes!





Check out "No Impact Mans" Blog

http://noimpactman.typepad.com/

I can't wait to read this book and watch the documentary!

Remember.... "the power is yours!" ha ha Remember Captain Planet? Favorite show as a kid..no surprises there.

Eat your Veggies...and pesticides!

We have all heard about pesticides sprayed on our veggies but its no biggie.. right? Just buy some of that veggie wash or stick your cucumber under some water. I mean how could a few pesticides really hurt us?

Currently in Canada over a thousand chemicals are available for use on countless food products. So over the course of a day all these pesticides can really begin to add up.

Adria Vasil from the book Ecoholic is right to say that pesticides are "Kind of scary when you consider the hormone-mimicking neurotoxin, reproduction-impairing properties..According to a parliamentary report, about 60% of pesticides currently being used are hormone disruptor's".

Additionally, the David Suzuki Foundation points out that 58 of the pesticides used in Canada today are banned in other countries because of ties to cancers, reproductive disorders and acute toxicity.

So its not rocket science that pesticides are not one of mankind's greatest inventions but what does this all mean?

• Approximately 2000,000 people die every year from pesticide poisoning
• 90-100% of Canadians have pesticides in our tissues
• Chemicals indirectly kill animals (grasshoppers+pesticides =dead birds)
• Pesticides pollute our environment (air, water)

"For the health of our children, our wildlife and ourselves, synthetic pesticides should be abandoned. Period."

                                                                       -The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment

So now what?

Knowing the truth about pesticides allows us to discover what kinds of foods we want on our plates as well as the importance of preserving our health and the environment for future generations.

Here is a quick video clip developed by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) it shares some info and tips on reducing pesticides exposure on the foods that you eat.



 You can check out some more great information and get a free downloadable PDF from the web-site http://www.foodnews.org/

So I want to end this blog on a positive note with a creative little video I stumbled across call "Grocery Store Wars"...I hope you enjoy :)

The White Lotus

I just wanted to share a Nova Scotia gem with you all, the White Lotus. This is my favorite shop and it is located in downtown New Glasgow. This past weekend my mother, grandmother and I swung by the White Lotus and we all walked away with a bag full of goodies.

This is the store owner Cindy and myself

 As soon as you walk though the door you instantly feel calm as you hear the soft music playing in the background and you smell the faint aroma of herbs and oils. Cindy, the store owner is knowledgeable about all the merchandise she carries and she is more than happy to help you select the perfect product.

This shelf is an example of some of the products that you can find at the White Lotus, and most importantly they are all chemical free!

 In talking with Cindy I quickly learned that she shares the same passion that I do, educating people about the harmful chemicals in products. Not only was I excited about all the options I had to choose from but I was excited to see that there were new product lines including Bezan, which in made right here in Nova Scotia! Check out their web-site  http://www.bezan.ca/ they even have a web-store for people who aren't living close by.

This is the Bezan Shampoo and Body Lotion that I bought and they are both made from Green Seaweed as it is extremely nourishing and replenishing

I also bought a Bezan Coconut Cream soap, which is like dessert for your skin  (vegetable oils, purified water, coconut fragrance oil, coconut milk and milk proteins, beeswax, titanium dioxide natural mineral. Another goodie I bought is called "Natural Edge" deodorant cream, also made locally and it is made from baking soda, glycerin and oils. I use this cream to supplement the deodorant stone I use. Lastly, I bought "Skin Food" which is made with wheat germ, jojoba, sweet almond, apricot and vitamin E. As you can tell from the ingredients they are quite different then what you will find on the label of most products, as well most of the products are in glass containers instead of the typical plastic bottle. The reason for this is that plastics are full of bad chemicals that can leach into products and contaminate them.  So overall it was a successful day filled with natural goodness and I just can't wait to go back to the White Lotus again!

Did you get your daily dose of...chemicals?

From the minute we wake up in the morning we start piling on the chemicals to our skin. In the beginning I thought  "whats the big deal?".."It's not like I'm eating it". Boy was I wrong! Our skin is our biggest organ and it is more permeable then I once thought. Just think about it, when you put alot of cream on..where does it go? It doesn't evaporate it goes into your body. When you first hear this it can be a tad overwhelming as you realize that you put cream on, make-up, sunscreen...even shampoo's, hair gels, dyes and nail polish all get absorbed into your body.

The great news is that for the first time EVER people are becoming educated on this issue and as a consumer focused society..what the people want- they get. As more people are choosing natural and organic options more are being created. However, you do need to become familiar with "greenwashing" this means that not all companies are honest in their claims. You need to become a little bit of a chemist- don't worry nothing to intense.

I often tell friends to avoid:

•  Parabens (methyl,ethyl, butyl, and the estranged cousin propyl) These are the nasty chemicals that act like bad estrogen and are linked to many diseases such as breast cancers
• Phthalates (dibutyl phalate (DBP), fragrance) These chemicals make plastics soft = bad for your health
• Parfum aka a nice word that allows companies to sneak in more hidden chemicals

So the key message is there are sooo many chemicals I can't keep track of them all. I just remember the three  I listed and consult the David Suzuki web-site which has a dirty dozen list. A great rule of thumb is if you can't pronounce the word in one breath- chances are its not good for you.

Here is a great video " The Story of Cosmetics" developed by the Story of Stuff and the Campaign for safe Cosmetics. I recommend you pass the video along to your friends and family so everyone can begin to shop safely.