A Green Earth

Earth Postive and Its Importance [or how I discovered I like dirt under my nails}

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 07:39:00 +0000

Being Earth Positive is so good. I have always loved being in my garden but never understood why I craved this connection with the earth.

It is easy to understand the joy of a new flower or the pleasure of finding tomatoes that have sprouted from the compost scraps I dig into the earth.

But why can my mood be so low and then so exhilarated after an hour or more being at one with my soil.

It has not been an easy journey creating my organic, sustainable garden. The house next door exploded in a ball of fire and my own plants were shocked and the soil impacted.

Many hours have been spent relocating plants and adding layer after layer of straw and compost onto the damaged earth.

But even that was an activity I cherished.

The blossom below is especially exciting to me as it is the first on the mandarin tree that was full of blossom before the fire but has taken five years of careful nurture to blossom once more.

You can just see the first little mandarins emerging, and I really thought this tree would never recover from its fire trauma.

But why did I crave dirt, time in my garden, time constructing a regenerative food garden and the hope of a food forest?

Even the fire did not destroy this urge. It was a strong need and something that seemed to drive me as I recovered from a third breast cancer experience.

After each of my cancer treatments ended I craved a connection with dirt, real earth, a deep longing I couldn't explain. I had no idea how to make this connection but gradually began a new sustainable lifestyle.

During my first gardening efforts the soil clung to my fingers, they were perpetually stained black.

This does not seem to happen now, a quick flick of the nail brush creates clean, pink fingers, same dirt, but my body appears stronger.

I am only now starting to realize that my craving for dirt was part of my instinctive understanding that I felt more alive and healthier when closely connected to real, living earth.

And now I understand my need for this connection had a basis.

Scientists are exploring the relationships between the microbes and bacteria in our soil and how they impact our immune system and feeling of well being.

Working close to good earth allows you to breath and absorb a wide range of healthy microbes and bacteria which are coming to be seen as having unexpected benefits.

Further beneficial bacteria come from ingesting food directly from your garden. Healthy microbes present in all living things are more likely to still be present in food eaten directly from your own garden.

We all require a range of beneficial bacteria in our gut for optimal health and fresh living foods give us more of these.

These studies are all very new and exciting but do support my own experience that working in and eating from my own sustainable garden has assisted my return to feeling healthy after the rigors of ongoing cancer treatments.

I do love just being in my garden. Creating something that has not only added to my own well being but also feels part of building a healthier planet.

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Becoming a Planet Saver [or how I brought my soil back to life]

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 07:39:00 +0000
I did not know I was about to become a planet saver

When I brought my house with land and decided to live simply I really had no idea what I was doing.

I aspired to grow rich organic food to nurture my body back to health after three separate breast cancers but I had never gardened and there was a lot of land.

Nothing grew at first. The soil was hard and barren. Even the hedge I planted the first year died. It just withered before my eyes as I attempted to rescue it from the summer's heat. My soil would not even retain water.

But then two wonderful things happened.

My local community garden gave a series of workshops on rejuvenating soil with rock dust and worm juice.

I added rock dust to my soil to provide essential minerals for the soil bacteria to begin their journey.

Then I had the soil sprayed with worm juice which provided rich bacteria to feed on the rock dust.

Finally this dead clay soil was beginning its journey back to life.

The second wonderful thing to happen was that a local Permaculture group started in my town and gave weekly lectures on ways to create healthy ecosystems.

These Permaculture lectures enabled me to understand the living nature of our earth and how honoring this could renew its vitality.

Each week I attended the lectures and discovered the excitement of learning ways to heal our soil and create healthy ecosystems.

Working with and not against nature was such an innovative and exciting concept.

I also came to love the other people I met at these weekly events as we were all on the same journey of healing this broken planet.

But back to my own garden.

Now I had a framework on which to bring my soil back to life, and so many exciting concepts to come to understand.

I am not pretending it happened overnight as that would not be true but gradually as I added compost, manure, organic sugar cane bales, every possible bit of pruning or food scraps to my soil I saw it coming back to life.

Along with the rock dust and worm juice a rich mix was beginning to emerge which not only allowed things to grow but to flourish.

As I continued to feed my soil with living, sustainable food it became alive.

It has been such a labor of love and it is still very in process, but how can you describe the special feeling from looking at mango blossom on a tree you have grown from seed in soil you have created using organic and sustainable methods.

Or to know how strong your broad beans are because they have grown from last years seeds and are adapted to the rich soil you have created.

My aim was to find healthy and healing food for myself but in this journey I have discovered so much more.

I learned Permaculture has so much to offer our planet as a means of bringing our wounded ecosystems back to life and how empowering it is to be EARTH POSITIVE

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Why Eco-friendly Products

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 02:32:00 +0000
My journey after a third concurrent breast cancer introduced me to eco-friendly products.

After finishing surgery and radiation I started on a mission to eliminate chemicals which disrupted hormone systems and/or impacted the bodies immune system from my life. I had enough and wanted so much to be strong and well again.

That was sixteen years ago and so much of what I discovered for my own good health is now being seen as part of healing the health of our ailing planet.

It is clear to me from my own experience that the health of our planet and that of the individuals on it are very much intertwined.

If we can heal our planet we will also heal ourselves. The air we breath, the food we eat, the water we drink all are important to both human survival and that of our planet.

The soil itself is a living organism and the plants, trees on it all connect through underground mycorrhizal networks.

Beginning to understand this interconnectedness of all living creatures was something I found powerful.

We are all one and we need to work together.

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

A Survival Journey {or Discovering Sustainability}

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Tue, 15 Aug 2023 07:51:00 +0000

Those who follow this blog will know my own journey has been one of personal survival. Fifteen years ago when I completed treatment for a third breast cancer I decided it was time to change my life to one of sustainability. I purchased an old government house and proceeded to make it and its garden my healing place.

The process has been healing on so many levels. Sustainability is something that does give renewal and working with nature to create a sustainable home and create a food forest, my own journey in healing, is why I do believe with individuals working together we can achieve the same for our planet.

Our leaders seem reluctant to take the bold steps necessary to change quickly enough for our planet to survive but we as individuals can create the change we feel is necessary for a new and livable planet.

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Why Breastscreening Is Really Worth the Effort

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Thu, 18 Apr 2019 22:58:00 +0000

This is a post I wrote the week after my yearly breast cancer checkup. I have decided to share it in the hope it will be of help to someone out there dealing with this all too common issue.

I tried to write this blog post last week but couldn't. It was the week before my yearly checkup for breast cancer and I had writer's block..

That day still brings up so many emotional memories and I look back and wonder how I did what I had to do.

One of the staff at the medical center said to me as she completed her testing not many people hear good stories like yours they just hear bad breast cancer experiences.

So today I am trying again to give a brief summary of my journey.

In short I have had three separate or concurrent breast cancers the first now twenty seven years ago, the second nineteen years ago and the third eleven years ago., yes finally I am considered stable but not stable enough to skip my yearly checkup.

Each of these cancers was caught early due to vigilant testing.

It really is tough fronting up to those regular checkups as you will have gathered from the beginning of this post but I know without them I would not be healthy and well today, in fact I have never felt better.

I am as nervous as anyone when going to be tested and each time I have had a positive diagnosis I have been a teary mess but then the let's get well energy has kicked in and I have got on with what I considered the best medical advise.

For me this consisted of three partial mastectomies followed each time by six weeks of radiation treatment and hormone treatments. I reacted to both the first two hormone treatments after approximately two years and came off them but the third treatment really suited my body and I still take it today.

Today with the amazing new technologies and wide choices of drugs for individual breast cancers the diagnosis for cancer is quite a different experience to what it has been in the past.

But even last week as I waited for my results after being called back for extra testing, a technical point, I was surprised at the emotions I experienced and remembered some of the wide variety of feelings and vulnerabilities being a patient can make you feel.

Anyway I got good news and a renewed passion for the sustainable lifestyle I share here on this blog and which along with excellent medical advances has created for me twenty seven years after my first diagnosis a healthy body and a passion for life.

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Is Glyphosate Affecting Your Health?

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Sun, 31 Mar 2019 22:39:00 +0000

Jurors have just given a $289 million settlement to a man they say got cancer from Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller, and many more cases are to come.

But how you are asking does that affect me?

Well it does affect you, it affects us all and yes you can do something about it.

The man in the $289 settlement Dewayne Johnson had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma which could be directly linked to glyphosate found in Roundup and many other weedkillers.

Glyphosate is not only linked to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma but is an endocrine disruptor which disrupts our hormonal systems and creates many health issues including testosterone processing, early menopause, cholesterol, obesity, onset of puberty, immune function, bone health and cardiac function and mental states.

If you would like to understand more on the role of Roundup, and/or glyphosate and endocrine disruptors I would like to recommend the independent scientific studies of gmoseralini.org/en

The specific role of Endocrine Disruptors was something I felt was involved in my developing three separate breast cancer. Where I lived every public place and most designer gardens were obsessively sprayed with Roundup.

BUT WHAT CAN YOU DO???

1. STOP USING GLYPHOSATE

The first and most obvious thing is stop thinking you need Roundup or one of the other glyphosate infiltrated weedkillers to make your garden weed free.

Do not respond to the marketing hype. You don't need these weedkillers.

If you do need to spray something white vinegar or one of the many other natural homemade recipes on Google will do the job just as well.

Anything you use at your home adds to the glyphosate in our ground water and in the air we breath. With glyphosate now found in the urine of 93% of Americans tested the first step to stop this cancer causing build up in our bodies is to stop our personal use of products that include glyphosate.

2. EAT ORGANIC

Every time you buy organic you are supporting a farmer who is does not use glyphosate based products in the production of their crops. Sometimes this makes their food more expensive but there are always farmer's markets where you can buy directly from the farmer.

Once you have eaten organic food other food will taste weak. There is nothing more special than the taste of a freshly picked organic tomato.

My local health food shop does not add profit on their organic vegetables. It makes their fresh produce on a par with the local supermarkets and supports these farmers and their efforts to create a healthier food system.

If it is difficult to source organic food you can always grow your own.

3. GROW YOUR OWN FOOD

Growing your own food may seem overwhelming at first but it can be done anywhere. There is an amazing collection of great articles on Google which show you how to grow food in even the smallest and darkest of apartments, and then there are community gardens. For city dwellers these are inspiring places where food growing ideas and new concepts on food are shared. I was lucky enough to have one starting nearby when I moved to my sustainable house. What a lot I have discovered about food growing at this garden.

4. SAY NO TO GMO

High levels of glyphosate can be ingested when you eat GMO food. Over eighty per cent of Genetically Modified Crops are engineered specifically so they can be sprayed with glyphosate based herbicides and these crops use amazing amounts of glyphosate. These foods are saturated with Roundup Residues.

In America more than ninety per cent of all soybean, and corn acreage is genetically modified. Canola is another common GMO crop.

Personally I don't eat soy, or corn and definitely do not use Canola Oil, but I would suggest you check that foods are labelled GMO free before you purchase. Restaurants of course are difficult because you do not know what you are getting, although I have a selection of eat out venues where I live that do not use GMO food and I stick with these.

5. AVOID WHEAT

You don't need to be gluten intolerant to avoid wheat. It is now a common practice for nonorganic farmers to spray their wheat with glyphosate just days before harvest to dry off the crop for processing. The use of these pesticides so close to harvesting makes their presence in your wheat products stronger. Wheat products today are not the foods that were eaten by our parents or grandparents.

6, CREATE HEALTHY SOIL

Learning about healthy soil was one of the first lessons taught at my community garden. When the soil is strong and healthy the brix index in the plants is high and they are able to withstand predators.

Building healthy soil is a sustainable solution to eradicating weed killers such as Roundup. With strong food grown in healthy soils you do not need to use the quick fix spray and strong food builds strong bodies.

7. BE PROACTIVE

The more individuals stand up against the use of unnecessary and life threatening chemicals such as glyphosate the sooner they will be eliminated.

Petition your local school or council against the use of glyphosate. We now know it is not safe in our environment.

No one wants someone to have to fight a tough court battle while they are dying but what a courageous man to fight for a ruling that will alleviate the suffering of so many.

As I said before where I live the council is contracted to spray all public spaces with Roundup. Someone is making money from the suffering of others. Young men are still out there spraying without protection, people are still wondering why they are suffering from cancer.

This special court ruling is raising voices against this situation. I hope it will end soon.

8. BECOME FURTHER INFORMED

I hope the concepts mentioned here are starting points for you gaining further knowledge on how to eliminate glyphosate from your life and the lives of those around you.

This product has already caused pain and suffering for too many people around the world. It is now time to look at new ways to farm living, healthy food.

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Why Organic Gardening Is Really Worth the Effort

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 05:29:00 +0000

Once you have tasted something freshly picked from your own organic garden lesser vegetables will seem tasteless and weak.

Your food may not look perfect but that will be irrelevant once you taste the difference between this food and that grown using commercial criteria.

My own food gardening journey started after I decided it was up to me to change my immune system after a third concurrent breast cancer and believe me if I can garden anyone can.

After my last cancer treatment I required regular colonoscopies but after the last one the specialist merely said keep doing what you are doing. The state of my gut had changed so greatly.

I do think changing to growing and eating my own organic food played a large part in these changes in my body.

You can buy great organic food as well but let's be honest most of us cannot afford to do this all the time but we can put a pot on the balcony, a planter box in the yard or as I did buy an old house and begin the journey of creating a vegetable garden from resistant clay soil.

I went to lectures with local permaculturalists and also joined the local organic growers association and gradually built up my knowledge on how to add strength and good health to my soil.

I had watched my sisters in New Zealand always adding every food scrap to their gardens and feeding their children on strong, gutsy vegetables from small garden plots, so I knew soil could be nutured and feed families in simple, inexpensive ways.

I remembered my father bringing boot loads of kelp from New Zealand beaches and digging it into the soil where he planted our yearly crop of potatoes.

Now seaweed emulsion can be brought from good gardening stores and it really adds natural strength to your food.

It is a journey learning how to grow food especially through the heat, drought and cyclones that are part of our new climate but creating rich and life giving soil not only heals your body but it is part of creating a healthier planet.

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Things Your Doctor Didn't Tell You About Breast Cancer

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 22:51:00 +0000

When you are diagnosed with breast cancer it is all about getting rid of the cancer.

This is good but it does not deal with the bigger picture. How do you make your body strong enough to stop the cancer returning.

This of course can be a hard ask as we all have lifestyles to maintain even with a cancer diagnosis and income and other practicalities do not change just because we are ill.

This morning I have just come in from watering the beautiful collection of organic fruit trees above I have planted myself, bananas, Indian guava, feijoa, mango, sandpaper creek fig, custard apple and pigeon peas.

Twenty seven years ago when I was first diagnosed with breast cancer I would never have imagined I would be doing anything like that. At that time I was a busy high school teacher with a new mortgage.

The realities of my lifestyle were difficult to deal with as I coped with treatment and the fear breast cancer aroused in others at that time.

It really took me two more breast cancers to begin to see the big picture which was my lifestyle, and to be fair to myself it was just not my lifestyle but the mindset in which I was living.

It is difficult to maintain one's health in an unhealthy world, so I decided I needed to change my ways.

This was eleven years ago and I am pleased to say, fingers crossed I am still cancer free.

So what did I do.

I began to remove as many chemicals from my life as I was able. This is a complex issue as our consumer world is so full of toxic chemicals and our body can deal with many. For some however we reach overload and this impacts our immune system.

I saw myself as one of those on overload so I checked out all the chemicals in my life and eliminated all I could.

I brought an old government house and made sure all surfaces were from `healthy' products which did not offgas.

I created a garden to give myself organic food.

The best thing about my new neighborhood which was so different from the trendy inner city suburb where I had lived is that people did live simply and compared with where I was before chemical free. They understood where I was coming from.

It was all a very different lifestyle and aspiration from my earlier years but it has renewed my body and brought a peace of mind I never had before.

I have made every effort to live in harmony with the natural world and to renew the soil on my land.

It has been rewarding and uplifting and definitely something my doctors never told me.

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Getting Smart With the Planet

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 01:42:00 +0000

Remembering Joy

We only have one planet and we all share it so my new year's resolution is to get smart with the planet.

I have just returned from twelve special days in the South of New Zealand that small unspoiled country at the bottom of the world. At least it was.

Yes there are still areas of wilderness but the water in Christchurch where I was staying is no longer pure water from the ground.

Farmers around the city have gone for the quick money and turned what were mixed farms into cow factories. The cow poo has got into the rivers and contaminated the water sources.

My memories are of drives in the country where my father who brought and sold crops from the mixed farms would comment on which grain was ready to harvest.

There was such a diversity of crops, we could swim in every river and water was drunk from anything that was running. nature felt balanced.

Joy

Now for the first time ever Christchurch water has had to be chlorinated.

Enough chlorine to give me skin rashes, and it is recommended not to swim in what were three beautiful free flowing rivers surrounding the city.

The joy of a hot summer day in Christchurch was going to swim in the local river now you do so at your own risk as it is contaminated with bacteria found only in cow's intestinal tracts.

As we drove over one of these river beds I saw families were still camping there for their summer break and children were paddling in the water.

But now innocent enjoyable childhood treats come clouded with risks that would not be happening if farmers had not gone for the quick buck rather than honoring the land.

Yet this is what is happening everywhere, so we all need to get smart with our planet.

Living Water

Do we need that extra car, do we need houses full of stuff or do we need a planet where people can run free and trust the land to provide good water and a fair living.

I want a new mindset where we put away the flash and start working together to heal our planet before it is too late.

Our governments do not seem to be doing this but together as individuals we can create change.

I want for everyone in the world to know what I experienced growing up, fresh, pure water you can drink with safety .

Yes it is a dream but it is possible if we wake up in time.

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Is Glyphosate Affecting Your Health?

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 21:18:00 +0000

Jurors have just given a $289 million settlement to a man they say got cancer from Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller, and many more cases are to come.

But how you are asking does that affect me?

Well it does affect you, it affects us all and yes you can do something about it.

The man in the $289 settlement Dewayne Johnson had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma which could be directly linked to glyphosate found in Roundup and many other weedkillers.

Glyphosate is not only linked to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma but is an endocrine disruptor which disrupts our hormonal systems and creates many health issues including testosterone processing, early menopause, cholesterol, obesity, onset of puberty, immune function, bone health and cardiac function and mental states.

If you would like to understand more on the role of Roundup, and/or glyphosate and endocrine disruptors I would like to recommend the independent scientific studies of gmoseralini.org/en

The specific role of Endocrine Disruptors was something I felt was involved in my developing three separate breast cancer. Where I lived every public place and most designer gardens were obsessively sprayed with Roundup.

BUT WHAT CAN YOU DO???

1. STOP USING GLYPHOSATE

The first and most obvious thing is stop thinking you need Roundup or one of the other glyphosate infiltrated weedkillers to make your garden weed free.

Do not respond to the marketing hype. You don't need these weedkillers.

If you do need to spray something white vinegar or one of the many other natural homemade recipes on Google will do the job just as well.

Anything you use at your home adds to the glyphosate in our ground water and in the air we breath. With glyphosate now found in the urine of 93% of Americans tested the first step to stop this cancer causing build up in our bodies is to stop our personal use of products that include glyphosate.

2. EAT ORGANIC

Every time you buy organic you are supporting a farmer who is does not use glyphosate based products in the production of their crops. Sometimes this makes their food more expensive but there are always farmer's markets where you can buy directly from the farmer.

Once you have eaten organic food other food will taste weak. There is nothing more special than the taste of a freshly picked organic tomato.

My local health food shop does not add profit on their organic vegetables. It makes their fresh produce on a par with the local supermarkets and supports these farmers and their efforts to create a healthier food system.

If it is difficult to source organic food you can always grow your own.

3. GROW YOUR OWN FOOD

Growing your own food may seem overwhelming at first but it can be done anywhere. There is an amazing collection of great articles on Google which show you how to grow food in even the smallest and darkest of apartments, and then there are community gardens. For city dwellers these are inspiring places where food growing ideas and new concepts on food are shared. I was lucky enough to have one starting nearby when I moved to my sustainable house. What a lot I have discovered about food growing at this garden.

4. SAY NO TO GMO

High levels of glyphosate can be ingested when you eat GMO food. Over eighty per cent of Genetically Modified Crops are engineered specifically so they can be sprayed with glyphosate based herbicides and these crops use amazing amounts of glyphosate. These foods are saturated with Roundup Residues.

In America more than ninety per cent of all soybean, and corn acreage is genetically modified. Canola is another common GMO crop.

Personally I don't eat soy, or corn and definitely do not use Canola Oil, but I would suggest you check that foods are labelled GMO free before you purchase. Restaurants of course are difficult because you do not know what you are getting, although I have a selection of eat out venues where I live that do not use GMO food and I stick with these.

5. AVOID WHEAT

You don't need to be gluten intolerant to avoid wheat. It is now a common practice for nonorganic farmers to spray their wheat with glyphosate just days before harvest to dry off the crop for processing. The use of these pesticides so close to harvesting makes their presence in your wheat products stronger. Wheat products today are not the foods that were eaten by our parents or grandparents.

6, CREATE HEALTHY SOIL

Learning about healthy soil was one of the first lessons taught at my community garden. When the soil is strong and healthy the brix index in the plants is high and they are able to withstand predators.

Building healthy soil is a sustainable solution to eradicating weed killers such as Roundup. With strong food grown in healthy soils you do not need to use the quick fix spray and strong food builds strong bodies.

7. BE PROACTIVE

The more individuals stand up against the use of unnecessary and life threatening chemicals such as glyphosate the sooner they will be eliminated.

Petition your local school or council against the use of glyphosate. We now know it is not safe in our environment.

No one wants someone to have to fight a tough court battle while they are dying but what a courageous man to fight for a ruling that will alleviate the suffering of so many.

As I said before where I live the council is contracted to spray all public spaces with Roundup. Someone is making money from the suffering of others. Young men are still out there spraying without protection, people are still wondering why they are suffering from cancer.

This special court ruling is raising voices against this situation. I hope it will end soon.

8. BECOME FURTHER INFORMED

I hope the concepts mentioned here are starting points for you gaining further knowledge on how to eliminate glyphosate from your life and the lives of those around you.

This product has already caused pain and suffering for too many people around the world. It is now time to look at new ways to farm living, healthy food.

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Creating Viable Urban Food Systems

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 05:08:00 +0000

Creating viable urban food systems is part of creating a healthy planet.

By using sustainable organic methods to renew soil and grow healthy food we can all be part of healing our planet.

One way to do this is at a community garden where people work together to grow healthy food.

There are so many levels individuals people can contribute to such a garden and each garden will have its own structure.

But in short community gardens which now exist in most cities introduce the joy of growing food.

Knowledge of gardening is shared with members often from many different cultures and this diversity creates friendships as well as a wealth of food and production methods.

I was a founding member of my local community garden and all the photos in this post are from this garden.

In this garden members can have their own plots or help out in other capacities. Some more time strapped just bring in their food scraps to add to the compost.

Members at this garden have a range of gardening styles from the more traditional to permaculture methods, but individuality is encouraged as long as members follow strictly organic methods and consider the needs of their neighbours.

We are all working together to create food and we are learning from others round us as we develop our own gardening style.

Knowledge and seeds are shared and each of us becomes enriched in the process.

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Climate Change and My Organic Food Garden

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Tue, 23 Oct 2018 07:46:00 +0000

`We have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe, warns UN'

`Urgent changes needed to cut risk of extreme heat, drought, floods and poverty, says IPCC'

With headlines like the above in my head I head out to my block of land and put my heart and soul into creating good soil and an abundance of food plants.

We all have to do our bit and I see this as a way I can contribute.

My journey towards living sustainably began to become healthy after a third breast cancer but now I see what I had to do to heal myself from a way of life my body could not sustain has also shown me what can contribute to a healthier planet.

I moved away from a designer apartment to find a simple home on land and then proceeded to create healthy organic soil and plant, plant, plant.

And when I look back I can't
believe how ignorant I was of what was required.

I had no idea of what soil was about or how to get plants to grow.

But doors opened as I find they do when you are following a true path.

When I brought my land a community garden started at exactly the same time and had ongoing talks on how to enrich and create organic soil.

From the community garden I met permaculture followers and they started a new center in my town and had weekly information sessions.

I met exciting and passionate people who understood the world needed to change and who were all doing their bit to create healthy soil and grow healthy food.

It was an exciting time and I learned so much from all these special people.

The physicality of putting this knowledge into action was another story but plant by plant, wheel barrow by wheel barrow I was able to achieve change and as I went about creating my garden my own body grew stronger.

All gardening takes time and this year many of my trees are fruiting for the first time. That is exciting.

But the biggest joy of all is being able to share what you are creating with others and knowing you are being part of making this world a better place.

The Soil Will Save Us: How Scientists, Farmers, and Foodies Are Healing the Soil to Save the Planet

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Stopping Global Warming: Finding Global Warming Solutions

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Fri, 12 Oct 2018 06:06:00 +0000

A UN panel of scientists says every bit of warming matters, and we’re almost out of time to keep it in check.

This panel of informed experts have given us twelve years to turn around what we are now all aware is happening.

You really would have to be blind not to have noticed our weather is getting wilder and more unpredictable, the fires more fierce, the storms more frightening and yet we continue to spew out carbon dioxide, the main human-produced greenhouse gas, at a rate of 2.4 million pounds per second.

While sea levels rise, Arctic permafrost melts, temperature rises globally and corals reefs die off on mass our leaders keep their heads in the sand. They don't seem to get the urgency the vulnerable , the wise and the everyday person who just does not feel safe anymore are feeling.

An official group of 47 at the United Nations of the most vulnerable countries have made the valid point they are the ones who will suffer the most yet have done the least to contribute to this problem.

While our leaders ignore the real and urgent petitions of these vulnerable people and continue to fight among themselves about power, control and greed the rest of us can individually find ways to create change in our own lives before it is too late for us all.

Even if there is only a .5°C rise the impact will be devastating with increased famine, disease, economic tolls, and refugee crises, I think that is motivation enough for all of us to do our bit.

Drawdown In the face of widespread fear and apathy, an international coalition of researchers, professionals, and activists have come together to offer a set of realistic and bold solutions to climate change

There are answers out there. Drawdown by Paul Hawken is a New York Times best seller giving a comprehensive range of solutions being implemented round the word.

This book shows ways we are and can use to avert this crisis and create a better world for all.

We can all be participants in creating the solutions to Global Warming.

Kiss the Ground by Josh Tickell is about how we can heal the planet through regenerating the soil and creating healthy food.

As someone who has done this to heal myself after three separate cancers I am excited to see these ideas presented by one of Americas most celebrated documentatry filmmakers.

Kiss the Ground: How the Food You Eat Can Reverse Climate Change, Heal Your Body

Two reviews of Kiss the Ground one by Wolfgang Puck and a second by Deepak Chopra are below.

From Josh Tickell, one of America’s most celebrated documentary filmmakers, comes a “fascinating, easy-to-follow blueprint for how eating in ways that nourish and regenerate the soil can not only help reverse global warming, but also bring greater vitality to our lives” (Wolfgang Puck).

“A must read for anyone committed to healing our bodies and our Earth” (Deepak Chopra), Kiss the Ground explains an incredible truth: by changing our diets to a soil-nourishing, regenerative agriculture diet, we can reverse global warming, harvest healthy, abundant food, and eliminate the poisonous substances that are harming our children, pets, bodies, and ultimately our planet.

Seeing books with such positive solutions gives hope and for myself further inspiration to work my soil and continue growing the healthy food I feel has renewed my own body.

While supporting our regenerative farmers and working ourselves to compost our waste we can further assist the renewal of our planet by working to eliminate the amount of meat we have in our diet.

Having eliminated both meat and dairy from my own diet after the three separate breast cancer experiences all I can say is I have never felt healthier and in a new energetic way.

Getting our protein from plants is one of the best ways we can save our planet and if you still do crave meat why not just have it less or try to buy sustainably produced meat.

Every bit we do helps

OMD: The Simple, Plant-based Program to Save Your Health, Save Your Waistline, and Save the Planet

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Fair Trade The Human Journey

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 06:26:00 +0000

Why Fairtrade

Fairtrade is about Sustainable Development, it supports workers in developing countries to produce products at internationally agreed Fairtrade social, economic and environmental standards.

Fair Trade A Human Journey by Eric St.pierre Author,‎ Emerson da Silva Contributor,‎ Mathieu Lamarre Contributor,‎ Barbara Sandilands

The standards include protection of workers’ rights and the protection of children, the preservation of the environment, payment of the Fairtrade Miminum Price and an additional Fairtrade Premium to invest in initiatives to support local communities or business development.

Every time you choose a product carrying the Fairtrade Mark you are making the choice to give a fair go to farmers, workers and their communities in some of the world's poorest countries.

By purchasing Fairtrade Products you are being part of creating a more equal world.

The Fairtrade Mark

The Fairtrade Mark shows you that the Fairtrade ingredients in the product have been produced by small-scale farmer organisations or plantations that meet internationally agreed Fairtrade social, economic and environmental standards.

Some products, such as coffee, cocoa, and cotton, can only be certified by Fairtrade if they come from small-scale farmer organizations.

By working through democratic organizations of small-scale farmers, Fairtrade offers rural communities the stability of income which enables them to plan for the future and invest in developing their organisation.

For some products such as bananas, and tea, Fairtrade can certify plantations (companies that employ large numbers of workers on large areas of land called estates). Standards for large-scale production differ from those for small-scale farmer organizations by focusing on the protection of workers’ basic rights; keeping them safe and healthy, allowing them freedom of association and collective bargaining, preventing discrimination and ensuring no bonded or illegal child labor is present.

Fairtrade Standards also require employers to pay wages that progress towards living wage benchmarks.

Advocating for fair working conditions and worker rights is integral to Fairtrade’s mission.

The Fairtrade Minimum Price

Well Made, Fair Trade My Chocolate Paperback – Illustrated,by Helen Greathead

For most Fairtrade goods there is a Fairtrade minimum price which is set to cover the cost of sustainable production for that product in that region.

If the market price for that product is higher that our minimum price, then producers should receive the market price.

Payment of the minimum price is regularly audited and checked by FLO-Cert.

This acts as a vital safety net for farmers and workers and protects them from fluctuations in the market prices of the products they grow for a living.

This protection ensures they can have an assured and stable income and plan for their future. Fairtrade is the only certification scheme that offers this unique minimum price protection for farmer

The Fairtrade Premium

Over and above the Fairtrade minimum price, the Fairtrade Premium is an additional sum of money which goes into a communal fund for workers and farmers to use – as they see fit - to improve their social, economic and environmental conditions
.
Producers determine what is most important to them; whether this is education or healthcare for their children, improving their businesses or building vital infrastructure such as roads and bridges for their community.

What makes Fairtrade different?

Chocolate - WEI RADIANT Super Dark Chocolate. Vegan, Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Soy-free, Paleo-friendly, No GMOs, Organic, Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa fair-trade. 180g box.

Fairtrade supports farmers and workers in gaining more from trade and through this they are empowered to control their lives. It is an alternative approach that is based on partnership; one between those who grow our food and those that consume it.

Fairtrade is 50 percent owned by producers

Fairtrade works with a range of stakeholders but the global system is 50 percent owned by producers representing farmer and worker organizations. With an equal voice, producers have a say in decision-making within the General Assembly and Fairtrade International Board of Directors. Through the Board and its committees, they are involved in decisions on overall strategy, use of resources and setting prices, premiums and standards.

Fairtrade works for gender equality

Women working in agriculture in developing countries produce 60-80 percent of the world's food, but make up only 10-20 percent of land owners. Women can be excluded from decision making, and traditional and cultural gender inequality can reduce their access to property, money and other resources they need to earn living. Fairtrade incorporates gender equality and women's rights into its programming, to make sure we're working together towards a better future for all.

As well as enabling stable prices that cover the costs of sustainable production and fair working conditions Fairtrade creates market access that enables buyers to trade with producers who would otherwise be excluded from the market.

Fairtrade creates a fair and sustainable marketing model that alleviates exploitive practices and poverty and allows people to feel empowered to create positive changes in their lives and those of their community.

Where Am I Eating An Adventure Through the Global Food Economy by Kelsey Timmerman.This book shows how what we eat affects the lives of the people who produce our food. Through compelling stories, explores the global food economy including workers rights, the global food crisis, fair trade, and immigration.

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Simple Ideas for Zero Waste Living

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 03:30:00 +0000

The World is at a tipping point in regards to waste. In short we are running out of resources and ways to dispose of rubbish. We all need a good rethink of how we live our lives.

Add to that there is already many with far too much and others too little. Something has to give.

All seem a bit much. Yes it does to me as well but we can start with the everyday and look for simple ways we can be part of the solution and not the problem.

There will always be the resilient few who don't want to change but as more and more of us wake up to this problem a new consciousness is arising.

The solutions are starting to be available for us all to select new alternatives to our old careless ways.

Take plastic drinking straws. How many of these have you used and where do you think they are now?

That's right clogging up the ocean or sitting around in landfill because they simply don't break down.

But there is an inexpensive alternative way to still enjoy your classy drink, Stainless Steel Drinking Straws . They even look good.

Next time you have your special drink moment you can help the planet and you can even get your own Straw Carrying Case for if this moment happens when you are out.

Say a strong no if you are offered a plastic straw and produce your own. Carry a few extra straws to share with your friends. Nothing like direct action to begin the seeds of change.

Another simple idea is your own Water Bottle.

I always carry mine with me whether to the gym or the movies and it certainly has saved me from buying a throwaway bottle when in the throes of thirst.

A great plus with metal water bottles is they are BPA free.

Why does that matter you may ask? Well it matters a lot because BPA in any plastic container can leach chemicals that attach to your estrogen receptors and these estrogen mimics have been implicated in the development of estrogen sensitive breast cancers among other health issues.

As a breast cancer survivor I stay well away from any plastic drinking utensil but this has also enabled me to help our planet at the same time.

The oceans, our earth are just too polluted with these crazy plastic bottles.

And finally to help you walk closer to that Zero Waste life why not your own Steel Spill Proof Coffee Mug

Many progressive coffee bars will reduce the cost of your take away latte if you bring your own cup. They too are trying to stop the use of the many throw away plastic lined paper cups.

If your current coffee outlet is not onto this why not suggest they begin a zero waste walk.

Three simple ideas, reusable straws, reusable water bottles and reusable coffee cups. Think how much better our planet could be if these became the norm not easy throw away options.

The old throw away head space has to change if this planet is to become a healthy, happy, shared earth.

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

The Simple Joys of Sustainable Living

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 05:25:00 +0000

Sustainable living has reconnected me with so many simple joys.

Above is the garden I have created by sustainable methods.

There was a shed here when I first brought my home but it began to develop a steep backyards lean under the bulk of a heavy cactus vine.

One day to the relief of the neighbors on either side I realized it was no longer safe and had the shed removed.

I retained broken pieces of the cactus vine, piled then up then topped them with cardboard sheets. The cardboard sheets were finally covered with layers of compost, mulch and earth.

Now a few years later with the addition of further mulch, compost and all my food scraps everything has combined to create a nutrient rich soil in which I grow both fruit trees and other strong rich foods.

I get such joy from looking at the plants growing in soil I have restored to health through my own efforts. It just feels good.

The small African Pigeon Pea plant pictured above is one of the many food plants providing a continuous source of protein rich peas on the soil I have created.

Nasturtiums and Marigolds add to the garden mix and always bring a smile with their cheerful flowers.

Great to add to a salad as well. I especially love the strong bite of nasturtium leaves. They will gives even the blandest piece of lettuce that extra lift.

Having these flowers in a garden is also an extra treat for the pollinators.

All organic gardens help to save our bees and having a rich variety of flowering plants keeps the bees happy and healthy.

Digging my food scraps into the soil means I have always have a surprise growing in some corner of the garden.

Tomatoes and pumpkins are among these surprise plants and who wouldn't mind finding a stray pumpkin or some ripe red tomatoes among the garden mix.

After a home grown tomato the supermarket varieties taste so bland and flat.

The sweet fresh bite of a home grown cherry tomato is more a favorite with the children I know than any sweet.

Nutrient rich soil creates nutrient rich food and these foods are always tasty and delicious.

Another joy of my sustainable garden is my fledgling relationship with Snappy the Butcher Bird.

I call this a fledgling relationship because Snappy's father definitely did not like me during previous mating seasons.

The house next door exploded and burned down and I do feel this made my birds unsettled and especially reactive.

So bad was the relationship I needed to get in and out of my car under the protection of an umbrella. Snappy One's favorite activity was to dive bomb me the moment I exited the door of my home or car.

It is very hard gardening with an umbrella in one hand so things got a bit rough around my home for several months each spring.

This year I decided to develop a trusting relationship based on Snappy Two's favorite food early in the year so that by the time it was mating season we could be good friends.

So far all has gone well as I hope you can see from the photos.

But now I am aware of the intelligence and habits of these beautiful little birds I am working hard to maintain our good relationship.

I really have grown to love the Snappy who is pictured here.

In my previous busy life I would never have had the time to listen to the wildlife around me and realize they were wanting to be honored as well as the earth.

A further joy of sustainable living is the joy of growing your own medicine chest.

The Aloe pictured is the very best thing for healing burns and sunburn, and here it is in my own garden.

During radiation for breast cancer it was Aloe Vera that was recommended to stop redness and burning.

Now in my simple, sustainable garden it is there fresh and waiting for any needed healing moment.

Not everyone will have the opportunity or motivation to create a totally new life as I have done but we can all incorporate simple and sustainable ideas into our lifestyles to be part of the healing our wounded planet needs.
https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Organic and Sustainable Ideas for Healthy Living

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Tue, 04 Sep 2018 05:28:00 +0000

When we think organic we usually think food yet there are many other ways in which we can introduce organic products into our daily lives.

Not only does using more organic product help us but it also helps support those producing organic product including our wonderful organic farmers who are farming without using harmful chemicals.

Organic farming is creating the healthier nutrient rich earth which is part of our planet's healing.

Organic soil enables diversity to return to our ecosystems and healing to begin on our damaged planet.

Healthy soil sequesters carbon and lessens agriculture's environmental damage to our planet

A study on chemicals impacting the development of cancer showed that the combination of chemicals residues from many sources to be as dangerous as limited strong exposures.

As a breast cancer survivor my personal conclusion from this was to try and stay chemical free in as many areas of my life as possible.

Introducing organic product into our lives is a win/win situation for everyone and allows each of us to be part of the paradigm shift towards a healthier planet.
It has taken time and some thought to find organic and sustainable alternatives to use in my own home. My motive at first was to stay well after my breast cancer journey but as I walked down the path of sustainable living I met so many wonderful people with an inspired vision of how our planet could be and how that could be achieved.

Not only were my ideas on life challenged but my own home and way of living began to change in both large and small ways.

Small ways included replacing many plastic items with sustainable alternatives such as these Organic Bamboo Cooking Utensils . It felt good using honest and sustainable products when making my food and also limited my exposures to the endocrine changing chemicals given off by plastic options.

I began trying to incorporate sustainable and organic materials in as many aspects of my daily life as I was able.

What was a great surprise was that there were so many innovative and well priced options that fitted my sustainable and organic health giving criteria.

There was even an Organic Nut Milk Bag I could use to make my own delicious organic nut milks.

Life for me was changing gradually and it was an ongoing learning curve.

So many of the foods and everyday items I had been using in my life I now saw as not helping to sustain a healthy home or planet.

My bedding was the next item under the microscope and again I was pleased to find well priced organic options for the many hours I spent getting a good nights sleep.

This   100% Organic Cotton Pillowcases is a great example of products I hadn't known were available and within my somewhat limited budget.

I had also just started to understand how cotton is such an intensively sprayed crop.

Ten per cent of the worlds pesticide use and an even larger percentage of insecticides are used on cotton crops worldwide.

The health of workers producing these crops is impacted especially in developing countries and of course such intensive use of chemicals impact local ecosystems including our very vulnerable bees.

When you add to that the very many chemicals used to produce finished textiles cotton is very much not a healthy or sustainable crop causing not only damage to local land and water but to the many people involved in its production.

I have made my own pledge to use organic cotton items wherever I am able.

Organic Cotton Yoga Bolster

What started for me as a means to regain my own health after breast cancer has lead to a much wider understanding of the need to incorporate organic and sustainable items in everyday life not just to be healthier but to create a healthier and more sustainable planet.

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Overcoming and Preventing Cancer, Two Good Books

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 22:53:00 +0000

No one thinks it will be them that gets cancer and I certainly never thought it would be me.

I was young when I was first diagnosed and having breast cancer came as a real shock.

There was no family history, I ate well and I exercised, but I was a high school teacher and my doctors at the time felt the stress of my work was a factor.

But who doesn't face stress at some time in their life. I did leave teaching and lived as a professional artist for some years before a second breast cancer occurred. This time I knew the drill but felt frustrated.

At the hospital I discovered the first of the books that started me thinking about what I could do to prevent this happening again. YOUR LIFE IN YOUR HANDS by PROFESSOR JANE PLANT was the first book that allowed me to face my cancer journey in a different way.

As a scientist Jane Plant's book gives comprehensive information on many factors involved in both getting and overcoming breast cancer. She shares her own cancer journey and her break through healing moment which involved stopping using milk in her diet.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WESTERN AND TRADITIONAL ORIENTAL LIFESTYLES

With only five to ten percent of cancers being related to inherited genes she looks at the difference in cancer figures between people living a Western Life Style and the Traditional Oriental Lifestyle. As Westernization happens to Oriental Cultures she observes the rate of breast cancer rises. This she concludes is due to the absence of dairy products in the Traditional Oriental Diets.

ENDOCRINE CHANGING CHEMICALS

The book also gives comprehensive information on the increases in endocrine changing chemicals since World War Two and how they are impacting both our diets and lifestyles.

ORGANIC WHERE POSSIBLE

She recommends eating organic where possible.

She further recommend increasing whole foods and vegetables in the diet as protective factors.

Discussion is also given on her frustration as to how few doctors help patients understand these issues when they are diagnosed.

DIET OR STRESS

Another point she made that hit home with me was that although many Chinese women lead very stressful lives their traditional diet appears protective. She concludes the theory of the cancer prone personality that creates so much guilt in many cancer patients is disproved by this difference between cancer rates in Western and Traditional Oriental Cultures.

In my boutique apartment I began to instigate Jane Plant's ideas into my life as much as I was able, with the exception of soy products. My doctor at the time told me how quickly estrogen levels rise with eating soy and recommended I leave soy out of my diet. I gave up milk products and went diligently to the organic markets each week.

My apartment was on the ground floor in a block of six in an affluent area. Its maintenance was the product of a continual onslaught of chemicals.The lady in the apartment adjacent to mine developed a large ovarian cyst and the man above her prostrate cancer.

I also developed a large ovarian cyst which was removed along with my ovaries. The man in the adjacent department then died of cancer and the lady in the apartment above me developed breast cancer. Yes mine came back too, a lucky pickup they called it at my regular checkup.

All I wanted to do was to move out of that building. My apartment took ages to sell and meanwhile I discovered DAVID SERVAN_SCHREIBER'S book ANTICANCER: A NEW WAY OF LIFE.

YOUR LIFE IN YOUR HANDS by JANE PLANT is a book with strong conclusions but ANTI CANCER A NEW WAY OF LIFE by DAVID SERVAN SCHREIBER although it also emphasizes the need for organic food, the weaknesses of the Western Diet and the elimination of endocrine disrupting chemicals is very real about the complexity of these issues and the human psyche.

It was just the book I personally needed to read at this time as I grappled with the reality of a third cancer treatment.

David Servan Schreiber writes as both a physician and a neuroscientist who is confronting his own brain cancer as he discusses an inner and outer search for balance. Who doesn't strive for this one.

INCREASE CANCER FIGHTING FOODS

One of the things I really love about his writings is the diversity of the studies he called on to illustrate his points, for example a study that shows the body is more protected against carcinogens by increasing the number of known cancer fighting food substances.

STAY EMPOWERED

His interior study showing how a feeling of empowerment strengthens the immune system was another study which impacted me.

Both YOUR LIFE IN YOUR HANDS and ANTICANCER: A NEW WAY OF LIFE are books that enabled me to find ways to feel more empowered as I was undergoing the experience of concurrent or reoccurring breast cancer.

Eventually I moved from that apartment and began living in the new sustainable way shown in this blog.

An adjunct to this post. The man who brought my apartment developed and died of cancer shortly after moving there.

No studies have or will be done on that piece of prime real estate but my own feelings on the use of glyphosate and other endocrine disrupting chemicals developed from this experience and now I am writing about these issues on this blog.

I thoroughly recommend both of these book.. Both show new ways to approach life which enhance both our world and our ability to prevent or overcome cancer. Although my own journey did not take a straight path reading these books when they presented in my life empowered my ability to recover and reclaim the full joy of health.

Anticancer: a new way of life Kindle Edition by David Servan-Schreiber (Author)

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Simple Ideas for a Healthier Home

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 06:22:00 +0000

WHAT IS A HEALTHY HOME

A healthy home is one which nurtures the health of those within. It is not defined by size, position or style but by aspects which enable its residents to remain healthy and well.

There are simple ideas we can all add to our homes that will make them more life giving and nurturing

These ideas are not costly but they do add to the riches of good health in your special place.

CREATING HEALTHY INDOOR AIR

The accumulated impact of items within the home can make indoor air quality ten times more toxic than that outdoors.

How many times did your parents tell you to go outside and get some fresh air. But nowadays that is not always possible.

A simple idea to keep your indoor air healthier is the use of plants. Having a variety of indoor plants is a great way to remove common air pollutants.

Much contemporary architecture uses this concept in amazing and exciting ways but in the everyday home the simple placement of plants clears the air of contaminants from items such as computers, televisions and all the other inevitable paraphernalia of contemporary life.

My home finds plants all over the place even on the floor and in the bathroom.

To illustrate the paraphernalia of contemporary life let me tell you about the new vacuum cleaner I recently brought at a discount outlet. The first time I used it I felt quite ill from the off gassing chemicals it released.

I took it apart and left it under the house to air. But it took some time to get that new item smell out of my living area. I had no idea a simple item like that could give off so many toxic fumes. Still not sure if I will ever use it. Keep thinking I should put it back together but it is still sitting there where the breezes blow through and I am still not ready to try it again.

RECYCLED ITEMS

Which brings me to another simple idea, buy recycled. Not only is it good for the planet but it enables you to avoid all the toxic off gassing from the multitude of contemporary components in new items.

Jane Plant in her book Your Life in Your Hands Understanding, Preventing and Overcoming Breast Cancer speaks about her relationship with cars and the many chemicals present inside a new car. In short she avoids cars, but not many of us are able to live with that option.

Household items are of course not cars but the same concepts apply and although I will suggest further methods to keep your interior air fresh and free of endocrine disrupting chemicals why does our society value new and shiny over tested and true.

If an item still works I stick with it not just because I can't afford something new but because I work hard to keep endocrine disrupting chemicals out of my home and new items such as the vacuum cleaner mentioned above do take time before they stop off gassing and impacting the quality of life of those in the home.

USING NATURAL MATERIALS

The more natural the materials are in your home the less VOC's or Volatile Organic Compounds fill the air.

I recently had to paint my ceiling and was lucky enough to find a wonderful paint made of chalk, titan dioxide, talcum, bees wax-soap and soya oil . Having sat for so long wondering how I was going to paint this ceiling which was desperately needing some love and care it was just wonderful to find such a healthy paint.

Healthy options are out there and all it requires is a quick google to discover these alternatives to VOC laden options. The paint I used was easy to apply, it fact if you can call painting a ceiling such `it was a joy to use' and no more expensive than conventional paint. The same company also had a great range of eco friendly natural products including cleaning items.

So a quick google search for eco friendly options can lead to alternatives that add healing to your home instead of Volatile Organic Compounds which can impact the health of those living within your walls.

I also did a quick google when I needed a wood finish for my floor and knew I just couldn't live with the lengthy off gassing of polyurethane.

Again I found a wonderful water based wood finish which had no fumes and gave a very special finish. Everyone who came to my home commented how much they liked my floor and yes these comments were unsolicited. The floor just looked so rich, natural and to my mind beautiful.

FURTHER SIMPLE WAYS FOR CLEAN INDOOR AIR

There are other simple ways we can keep the inside of our homes healthy.

A wise old man told me this one and it is so simple, just make sure you open your windows and let new air come in each day. Spring and pollen and other outdoor irritants may make this an unattractive option to some but my trick with this is to open the windows first thing each morning before the flowers open and the winds are up.

Fans are a further great way to get the new air circulating in your home. I couldn't live without my fans in winter or summer.

One room had a tendency to mold but keeping the air moving has put an end to that along with a light wipe with white vinegar and water.

My other very favorite is louver windows. I had these installed at the front of my house when I moved in and they enable such a great flow of air from outside. My little house was a heat bomb before they were added and they are so great because they can be so easily left open when you go out.

IN CONCLUSION

The simple ideas mentioned here are just touching on the many ways we can create healthy homes. I do hope they have started you thinking about the ways you can be impacted by the chemicals present in your home and how you can find healthier solutions to your everyday choices.

Car Air Purifier Ionizer with Home/Office 12V Electricity Adapter. Removes Cigarette Smoke bacteria unbearable odor removes bad smells (silver)

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Roundup, Glyphosate, Cancer and You

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Thu, 16 Aug 2018 22:15:00 +0000

Jurors have just given a $289 million settlement to a man they say got cancer from Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller, and many more cases are to come.

But how you are asking does that affect me?

Well it does affect you, it affects us all and yes you can do something about it.

First some further information on glyphosate. The man in the $289 settlement Dewayne Johnson had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma which could be directly linked to glyphosate but glyphosate is an endocrine disruptor which disrupts our hormonal systems and creates many health issues including testosterone processing, early menopause, cholesterol, obesity, onset of puberty, immune function, bone health and cardiac function and mental states.

If you would like to understand more on the role of Roundup, and/or glyphosate and endocrine disruptors I would like to recommend the independent scientific studies of gmoseralini.org/en

The specific role of Endocrine Disruptors was something I felt was involved in my developing three separate breast cancer. Where I lived every public place and most designer gardens were obsessively sprayed with Roundup.

BUT WHAT CAN YOU DO???

1. STOP USING GLYPHOSATE

The first and most obvious thing is stop thinking you need Roundup or one of the other glyphosate infiltrated weedkillers to make your garden weed free.

Do not respond to the marketing hype. You don't need these weedkillers.

If you do need to spray something white vinegar or one of the many other natural homemade recipes on Google will do the job just as well.

Anything you use at your home adds to the glyphosate in our ground water and in the air we breath. With glyphosate now found in the urine of 93% of Americans tested the first step to stop this cancer causing build up in our bodies is to stop our personal use of products that include glyphosate.

2. EAT ORGANIC

Every time you buy organic you are supporting a farmer who is does not use glyphosate based products in the production of their crops. Sometimes this makes their food more expensive but there are always farmer's markets where you can buy directly from the farmer.

Once you have eaten organic food other food will taste weak. There is nothing more special than the taste of a freshly picked organic tomato.

My local health food shop does not add profit on their organic vegetables. It makes their fresh produce on a par with the local supermarkets and supports these farmers and their efforts to create a healthier food system.

If it is difficult to source organic food you can always grow your own.

3. GROW YOUR OWN FOOD

Growing your own food may seem overwhelming at first but it can be done anywhere. There is an amazing collection of great articles on Google which show you how to grow food in even the smallest and darkest of apartments, and then there are community gardens. For city dwellers these are inspiring places where food growing ideas and new concepts on food are shared. I was lucky enough to have one starting nearby when I moved to my sustainable house. What a lot I have discovered about food growing at this garden.

4. SAY NO TO GMO

High levels of glyphosate can be ingested when you eat GMO food. Over eighty per cent of Genetically Modified Crops are engineered specifically so they can be sprayed with glyphosate based herbicides and these crops use amazing amounts of glyphosate. These foods are saturated with Roundup Residues.

In America more than ninety per cent of all soybean, and corn acreage is genetically modified. Canola is another common GMO crop.

Personally I don't eat soy, or corn and definitely do not use Canola Oil, but I would suggest you check that foods are labelled GMO free before you purchase. Restaurants of course are difficult because you do not know what you are getting, although I have a selection of eat out venues where I live that do not use GMO food and I stick with these.

5. AVOID WHEAT

You don't need to be gluten intolerant to avoid wheat. It is now a common practice for nonorganic farmers to spray their wheat with glyphosate just days before harvest to dry off the crop for processing. The use of these pesticides so close to harvesting makes their presence in your wheat products stronger. Wheat products today are not the foods that were eaten by our parents or grandparents.

6, CREATE HEALTHY SOIL

Learning about healthy soil was one of the first lessons taught at my community garden. When the soil is strong and healthy the brix index in the plants is high and they are able to withstand predators.

Building healthy soil is a sustainable solution to eradicating weed killers such as Roundup. With strong food grown in healthy soils you do not need to use the quick fix spray and strong food builds strong bodies.

7. BE PROACTIVE

The more individuals stand up against the use of unnecessary and life threatening chemicals such as glyphosate the sooner they will be eliminated.

Petition your local school or council against the use of glyphosate. We now know it is not safe in our environment.

No one wants someone to have to fight a tough court battle while they are dying but what a courageous man to fight for a ruling that will alleviate the suffering of so many.

As I said before where I live the council is contracted to spray all public spaces with Roundup. Someone is making money from the suffering of others. Young men are still out there spraying without protection, people are still wondering why they are suffering from cancer.

This special court ruling is raising voices against this situation. I hope it will end soon.

8. BECOME FURTHER INFORMED

I hope the concepts mentioned here are starting points for you gaining further knowledge on how to eliminate glyphosate from your life and the lives of those around you.

This product has already caused pain and suffering for too many people around the world. It is now time to look at new ways to farm living, healthy food.

Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science

Long-time Reuters journalist Carey Gillam’s new book about Monsanto’s deception about the safety of its Roundup weedkiller, Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science, goes to the heart of the debate over the use of toxic chemicals in our foods.

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Plastic Bag Ban and Other Ways to Stop Plastic Pollution

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Sun, 12 Aug 2018 00:11:00 +0000

We live in a world of plastic pollution, overflowing plastic that can take over six hundred years to break down. Finally we are beginning to realize our world is polluted with plastic waste. It is everywhere and dramatic images are emerging of its impact on our oceans and aquatic creatures.

The endocrine disrupting BPA or bisphenol A is found in the plastics we use each day and leaches from these items at room temperatures and above. BPA enters our soil and groundwater through landfill and the more plastic breaks down the more BPA is released.

One issue with BPA is it does not leave our body easily and as an Endocrine Disruptor it mimics hormones and binds to hormone receptors. This binding to estrogen receptors is related to the development of estrogen sensitive breast cancer.

My personal interest in eliminating plastics started ten years ago after a third breast cancer when in my quest to eliminate endocrine disrupting chemicals from my life I began eliminating plastics.

The disruption of our hormonal systems by Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals is also linked to other health issues including testosterone processing, early menopause, cholesterol, obesity, onset of puberty, immune function, bone health and cardiac function and mental states.

Clearly an excess of plastic in our daily lives and environment is not good and unless each of us does our part the problem will only get worse.

Here are some ways I personally use to avoid plastics in my daily life. I hope these ways will also be useful to you.

1. PLASTIC BAG BAN

Love what is happening with taking your own bags to supermarkets. Yes they are banning the plastic shopping bags at my local supermarkets.

I personally find it a an exciting challenge and keep my own shopping bag in the boot of my car. Even if I forget to take it into the store I can bring things back in the trolley provided and put them into my bag when I get back to the car.

What a blessing for our planet without all those endless throwaway bags.

2. GLASS CONTAINERS

Wherever possible I use glass. I refuse to buy items unless they come in glass. I search out glass containers in supermarkets. If everyone did this supermarkets would soon have to reduce items they sell which come in plastic containers.

I find items packaged in glass are not more expensive but do tend to be made from companies with ethical concerns and these I do want to support. How can you produce a theoretically healthy food product and then package it in cheap plastic that leaches BPA. The two concepts are not compatible.

I always recycle my glass containers or use them for storage. I remember as a child searching the sand hills near my home to find glass bottles. We were paid for returns and this money was much valued.

3. BROWN PAPER BAGS

Fresh food items in supermarkets are an unending source of plastic wraps and containers. The logic of buying fresh healthy produce tightly packaged in BPA excreting plastics is far beyond me. However my personal motivation to avoid endocrine disrupting chemicals needed a solution and I found it beside the loose white mushrooms, the pile of brown paper bags for mushroom packaging. Armed with a small collection of these I only buy loose produce and put them into these brown paper bags, problem solved.

The brown paper bags can be recycled and used for a multitude of purposes including packing lunches. Who needs a plastic lunchbox when you have a brown paper bag. Which brings me to wax paper.

4. WAX PAPER

When I was a school girl we did not have cling wrap but we did have rolls of wax paper. This useful product was used to wrap our lunches and seal food items. It is even more useful than cling wrap as it can also line baking trays. Safe, clean and functional it really is a great, easy use product.

5. CLAY

I needed a rice cooker but did not fancy the idea of BPA wih the steamed rice. Then I discovered clay rice cookers.

Not expensive they do all the things a plastic rice cooker can do except add endocrine disrupting chemicals.

6. REFILLABLE WATER BOTTLES

Plastic water bottles are one of the worst polluters of our oceans but refillable water bottles are available in all good health food stores. You can find them in glass and metal but whichever you use you will be are saving the planet from pollution and yourself from yet another BPA source.

7. NO PLASTIC KITCHEN UTENSILS

I don't know about you but when I watch a cooking show and see someone using a plastic spoon I feel like screaming wooden spoon, wooden spoon. How do people in such public roles not know the advantage of wooden or metal utensils over plastic. This plastic issue is everywhere. Recently I needed to purchase a steamer, an indignant store attendant told me they only stocked plastic steamers and said she was unaware of any others. I gave her a short explanation of why I would not use such a steamer. I do hope she is now stocking other options.

Heat, cooking and plastic do not mix. Sometimes it feels almost impossible to avoid food and BPA exposures in our current environment. But let's change that, it has to change, we can create a healthier world.

8. METAL OR GLASS JUGS

So obvious but somehow so easy to overlook. Boiling water in plastic is just not good. Heat plus plastic creates BPA seepage. There is a rang of glass and metal jugs out there but do check the insides as even many of these jugs have cheap plastic parts that will be immersed in your boiling water.

It can be hard work to find the right jug or kettle but they are out there and the more people demand them the more the manufacturers will need to change their products.

9. A PERSONAL MUG

A new trend emerging in inner city coffee bars is the buyer bringing their own personal mug.

What a great concept to avoid those take away plastic lined takeaway cups, another landfill curse.

I was recently at an event where ceramic cups were available but rather than load the dishwasher takeaway cups were being used. Yes I did have my say and my cuppa was served in a ceramic cup. It really takes effort to get this planet to change.

10. PAPER STRAWS

Yes another goodie. Plastic straws are being fazed out and paper straws are back. So pleased about this one. Too many marine species have been damaged and hurt by these straws polluting our waterways. So good to be using straws that break down to compost.

IN CONCLUSION

I do hope these ten ideas are a starting point for you to stop the use of plastic and endocrine chemical in your life.

I know there are a lot of other creative ideas out there to help save our planet and eliminate plastic usage.

If you have any of these ideas please share them in the comments. Lets work together to start creating a renewed and healthy planet.

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Permaculture Perennials Tough Foods for Climate Change

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 07:58:00 +0000

The soft leaves of the Moringa Trees are so beautiful and graceful it seems wrong to eat them but their nutritional content is exceptional and they are seen by many as a new superfood

Sometimes the Moringa tree is called the “miracle” tree because of its exceptional vitamin and mineral content. and just a few leaves or a tablespoon of moringa powder each day adds a nutritional boost to any diet.

They are also one of plants that will help us through climate change as they are so easy to grow in the toughest of conditions and give so much return.

This tree at the bottom of my garden provides a continuous supply of leaves which I eat raw in salads or with my evening vegetables, and it is also a delicious addition to cooked dishes.

What is more it is the tree that keeps on giving as it is so easy to grow from the seed pods.

My friends and myself now have trees from my original mother plant.

Another tough permacultue plant that flourishes under all conditions is the Pigeon Pea.

I always have a few Pigeon Pea plants in my garden which is easy as they self seed.

The peas are nutritious and in the African Pigeon Pea which I prefer large.

With a few of these bushes in your garden you will never lack for protein.

Green Pigeon Peas steamed or raw are delicious and nutritious.

Aa well as their protein they are also a good fiber source and contain vitamin C, several members of the B vitamin family including folate and thiamin and essential minerals including iron, manganese, potassium, and phosphorus.

In many cultures these peas are dried and used to make exciting dahl dishes but I am so busy eating them green I don't get round to that.

For future climate conditions this hardy food can provide a great protein source in its many formats.

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Healthy Plants Healthy Soil

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 23:28:00 +0000

Healthy plants abound in healthy soil at my friend Rebecca's garden.

Her branches bend with bountiful fruit all year round and her open garden provides inspiration for all who pass by or visit.

She is always renewing her soil whether it be with bales of organic sugar cane mulch, horse manure or her amazing compost created from everything compost able from her home or garden. Nothing is ever wasted.

This concept of ongoing renewal is reflected in the strength and vigor of her food.

As we walked around her garden we were both surprised to fine a small bounty of early guava fruit.

The Bush lemon tree on the left below and and the conventional lemon tree are also full of tasty fruits.

Yet Rebecca does not water. She relies on a deep layer of mulch to keep her strong soil moist.

She really has inspired me to work further on my own soil and she was even generous enough to send me home with two bales of organic sugar cane mulch which I will put on my soil to conserve water and enrich the soil.

Walking around her garden and absorbing the many innovations she has added is one of the treats of visiting this special friend.

Mint is grown in a raised bed to stop it spreading.

Small chrysanthemums provide nurture for bees and pest management.

A recycled play pool provides a generous and delight bounty of nasturtiums.

All flowers grown are great additions to a nutritious meal.

Thank you Rebecca for being a trail blazer who is showing us all we can live in a way that both honors and renews our earth.

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Trees Bring Life and Healing

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 07:24:00 +0000

My trees give life. They produce oxygen, store carbon and protect my soil and wildlife.

I love to sit in my living area with my louver windows open absorbing their peace and beauty.

No matter my mood a few moments alone with my trees makes me feel restored and ready to face the world again.

I did not realize when I went on my planting frenzy when I first got my land I was in fact creating a space that would be so healing.

Many of the trees like the mango above I have grown myself from seed. It is exciting to see this year it has its first blossoms.

At first I lost trees because I put them where I wanted them to go. Gradually I learned to watch how they responded in different settings and many were replanted to met their needs..

Learning their water needs was also so important in how they grew.

One of my biggest surprises was how the fruit trees thrived under the larger trees at the bottom of my garden. It felt like they were all working together to grow.

My research has now shown me that trees do communicate with each other through fungi in the soil and will even give out sugars to help smaller trees grow beneath them.

However this all works planting so closely together seems to have created stronger not weaker trees in this garden.

And Snappy, my Butcher Bird the unofficial king of the garden will agree with that. He loves his territory and will defend it fiercely.

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Abundance Flows in Organic Community Garden

noreply@blogger.com (agreenearth) — Tue, 31 Jul 2018 07:18:00 +0000

Abundance flows for all in the Organic Community Garden to which I belong.

I felt overwhelmed today with news of weather events all around the world and needed to walk around this shared garden to remind myself we can all work together to heal our world.

What was once a mowed piece of park is now a thriving garden feeding so many, not just with food but with community and ideas.

Learning how to honor the earth does produce abundance.

The Okinawa Spinach above grows so easily through the harshest of weather conditions and is such a nutritious and strong food.

So many examples of abundance all around, along with nurture and care of upcoming crops.

Individual creativity is also part of the shared abundance and I especially the love the garden below which is always full of creativity and life. In a process of renewal at present it overflows in summer with flowers and color that bring a smile to all who pass by.

Food can be healing but sharing the concept of abundance on our earth can heal us all on so many levels.

101 Organic Gardening Hacks: Eco-friendly Solutions to Improve Any Garden

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

A Green Earth

Earth Postive and Its Importance [or how I discovered I like dirt under my nails}

Becoming a Planet Saver [or how I brought my soil back to life]

My local community garden gave a series of workshops on rejuvenating soil with rock dust and worm juice.

These Permaculture lectures enabled me to understand the living nature of our earth and how honoring this could renew its vitality.

Working with and not against nature was such an innovative and exciting concept.

As I continued to feed my soil with living, sustainable food it became alive.

My aim was to find healthy and healing food for myself but in this journey I have discovered so much more.

I learned Permaculture has so much to offer our planet as a means of bringing our wounded ecosystems back to life and how empowering it is to be EARTH POSITIVE https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

Why Eco-friendly Products

A Survival Journey {or Discovering Sustainability}

Why Breastscreening Is Really Worth the Effort

This is a post I wrote the week after my yearly breast cancer checkup. I have decided to share it in the hope it will be of help to someone out there dealing with this all too common issue.

That day still brings up so many emotional memories and I look back and wonder how I did what I had to do.

Each of these cancers was caught early due to vigilant testing.

Today with the amazing new technologies and wide choices of drugs for individual breast cancers the diagnosis for cancer is quite a different experience to what it has been in the past.

Is Glyphosate Affecting Your Health?

Why Organic Gardening Is Really Worth the Effort

Once you have tasted something freshly picked from your own organic garden lesser vegetables will seem tasteless and weak.

I do think changing to growing and eating my own organic food played a large part in these changes in my body.

I had watched my sisters in New Zealand always adding every food scrap to their gardens and feeding their children on strong, gutsy vegetables from small garden plots, so I knew soil could be nutured and feed families in simple, inexpensive ways.

Now seaweed emulsion can be brought from good gardening stores and it really adds natural strength to your food.

Things Your Doctor Didn't Tell You About Breast Cancer

This is good but it does not deal with the bigger picture. How do you make your body strong enough to stop the cancer returning.

This morning I have just come in from watering the beautiful collection of organic fruit trees above I have planted myself, bananas, Indian guava, feijoa, mango, sandpaper creek fig, custard apple and pigeon peas.

It is difficult to maintain one's health in an unhealthy world, so I decided I needed to change my ways.

I saw myself as one of those on overload so I checked out all the chemicals in my life and eliminated all I could.

I have made every effort to live in harmony with the natural world and to renew the soil on my land.

Getting Smart With the Planet

Remembering Joy

There was such a diversity of crops, we could swim in every river and water was drunk from anything that was running. nature felt balanced.

Joy

But now innocent enjoyable childhood treats come clouded with risks that would not be happening if farmers had not gone for the quick buck rather than honoring the land.

Living Water

Do we need that extra car, do we need houses full of stuff or do we need a planet where people can run free and trust the land to provide good water and a fair living.

I want for everyone in the world to know what I experienced growing up, fresh, pure water you can drink with safety .

Is Glyphosate Affecting Your Health?

Creating Viable Urban Food Systems

By using sustainable organic methods to renew soil and grow healthy food we can all be part of healing our planet.

Knowledge of gardening is shared with members often from many different cultures and this diversity creates friendships as well as a wealth of food and production methods.

We are all working together to create food and we are learning from others round us as we develop our own gardening style.

Climate Change and My Organic Food Garden

`Urgent changes needed to cut risk of extreme heat, drought, floods and poverty, says IPCC'

My journey towards living sustainably began to become healthy after a third breast cancer but now I see what I had to do to heal myself from a way of life my body could not sustain has also shown me what can contribute to a healthier planet.

I had no idea of what soil was about or how to get plants to grow.

The physicality of putting this knowledge into action was another story but plant by plant, wheel barrow by wheel barrow I was able to achieve change and as I went about creating my garden my own body grew stronger.

Stopping Global Warming: Finding Global Warming Solutions

A UN panel of scientists says every bit of warming matters, and we’re almost out of time to keep it in check.

An official group of 47 at the United Nations of the most vulnerable countries have made the valid point they are the ones who will suffer the most yet have done the least to contribute to this problem.

This book shows ways we are and can use to avert this crisis and create a better world for all.

We can all be participants in creating the solutions to Global Warming.

While supporting our regenerative farmers and working ourselves to compost our waste we can further assist the renewal of our planet by working to eliminate the amount of meat we have in our diet.

Fair Trade The Human Journey

Why Fairtrade

Fairtrade is about Sustainable Development, it supports workers in developing countries to produce products at internationally agreed Fairtrade social, economic and environmental standards.

The Fairtrade Mark

Advocating for fair working conditions and worker rights is integral to Fairtrade’s mission.

The Fairtrade Minimum Price

The Fairtrade Premium

What makes Fairtrade different? Chocolate - WEI RADIANT Super Dark Chocolate. Vegan, Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Soy-free, Paleo-friendly, No GMOs, Organic, Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa fair-trade. 180g box.

Fairtrade supports farmers and workers in gaining more from trade and through this they are empowered to control their lives. It is an alternative approach that is based on partnership; one between those who grow our food and those that consume it.

Simple Ideas for Zero Waste Living

There will always be the resilient few who don't want to change but as more and more of us wake up to this problem a new consciousness is arising.

Say a strong no if you are offered a plastic straw and produce your own. Carry a few extra straws to share with your friends. Nothing like direct action to begin the seeds of change.

Why does that matter you may ask? Well it matters a lot because BPA in any plastic container can leach chemicals that attach to your estrogen receptors and these estrogen mimics have been implicated in the development of estrogen sensitive breast cancers among other health issues.

Many progressive coffee bars will reduce the cost of your take away latte if you bring your own cup. They too are trying to stop the use of the many throw away plastic lined paper cups.

The old throw away head space has to change if this planet is to become a healthy, happy, shared earth.

The Simple Joys of Sustainable Living

I get such joy from looking at the plants growing in soil I have restored to health through my own efforts. It just feels good.

All organic gardens help to save our bees and having a rich variety of flowering plants keeps the bees happy and healthy.

Digging my food scraps into the soil means I have always have a surprise growing in some corner of the garden.

Nutrient rich soil creates nutrient rich food and these foods are always tasty and delicious.

In my previous busy life I would never have had the time to listen to the wildlife around me and realize they were wanting to be honored as well as the earth.

Organic and Sustainable Ideas for Healthy Living

Organic farming is creating the healthier nutrient rich earth which is part of our planet's healing.

Healthy soil sequesters carbon and lessens agriculture's environmental damage to our planet

Introducing organic product into our lives is a win/win situation for everyone and allows each of us to be part of the paradigm shift towards a healthier planet.

What was a great surprise was that there were so many innovative and well priced options that fitted my sustainable and organic health giving criteria.

So many of the foods and everyday items I had been using in my life I now saw as not helping to sustain a healthy home or planet.

Ten per cent of the worlds pesticide use and an even larger percentage of insecticides are used on cotton crops worldwide.

I learned Permaculture has so much to offer our planet as a means of bringing our wounded ecosystems back to life and how empowering it is to be EARTH POSITIVE

https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/QijN

What makes Fairtrade different?

Chocolate - WEI RADIANT Super Dark Chocolate. Vegan, Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Soy-free, Paleo-friendly, No GMOs, Organic, Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa fair-trade. 180g box.