Posted on 03/23/2008 11:36:40 PM PDT by nw_arizona_granny
Americans finding soaring food prices hard to stomach can battle back by growing their own food. [Click image for a larger version] Dean Fosdick Dean Fosdick
Home vegetable gardens appear to be booming as a result of the twin movements to eat local and pinch pennies.
At the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta this winter, D. Landreth Seed Co. of New Freedom, Pa., sold three to four times more seed packets than last year, says Barb Melera, president. "This is the first time I've ever heard people say, 'I can grow this more cheaply than I can buy it in the supermarket.' That's a 180-degree turn from the norm."
Roger Doiron, a gardener and fresh-food advocate from Scarborough, Maine, said he turned $85 worth of seeds into more than six months of vegetables for his family of five.
A year later, he says, the family still had "several quarts of tomato sauce, bags of mixed vegetables and ice-cube trays of pesto in the freezer; 20 heads of garlic, a five-gallon crock of sauerkraut, more homegrown hot-pepper sauce than one family could comfortably eat in a year and three sorts of squash, which we make into soups, stews and bread."
[snipped]
She compares the current period of market uncertainty with that of the early- to mid-20th century when the concept of victory gardens became popular.
"A lot of companies during the world wars and the Great Depression era encouraged vegetable gardening as a way of addressing layoffs, reduced wages and such," she says. "Some companies, like U.S. Steel, made gardens available at the workplace. Railroads provided easements they'd rent to employees and others for gardening."
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
Thank you GG, we are rejoicing in my household! God is good!!
Self ping cinnamon ornaments make nice year-round displays.
All dark skinned fruits have that quality, good for memory as excellent antioxidants ... Plums, prunes, etc, even red and purple grapes.
Oh, that is good to know! Thanks!
I had heard of this and made it a couple of times early in my therapy, but stopped making it when the temperature outside got to be over 90. Now that it's cool again... yummy! Thanks Granny!
DIOXIN CONTAMINATION, PIG MEAT - IRELAND, EUROPE (02)
*****************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
[1]
Date: Mon 8 Dec 2008
Source: The Irish Times [edited]
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2008/1208/1228571632070_pf.html
EUR 125m [USD 160.3m] of pork to be destroyed in biggest food scare since BSE
The recall followed the discovery of potentially dangerous dioxins in pig
meat. They were initially traced in an unnamed meat plant in the Republic.
The dioxins were contained in feed supplied from a Co Carlow food recycling
plant, it emerged yesterday [7 Dec 2008].
As the Government moved to ease the fears of consumers, investigations
continued at 10 pig farms and 38 beef farms in the Republic. The
contamination is likely to have a severe impact on the EUR 7 billion (about
USD 9 million) Irish food industry.
It emerged yesterday [7 Dec 2008] [that] contaminated feed from the Co
Carlow facility, Millstream Recycling in Clohamon Mills, had also been
supplied to 9 farms in Northern Ireland, which now have been restricted.
The investigation has found contaminated pork with dioxin levels of 80 to
200 times above the safety limits. It is being led by the Departments of
Agriculture and Health, and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
The Garda Siochana [Irish police force] are also involved.
The dramatic food recall was announced on Saturday night [6 Dec 2008] as
the investigation into the source of the contamination, understood to be
oil, was stepped up after tests at a UK laboratory in York confirmed the
presence of dioxins in the pig meat.
The crisis began, however, last month [November 2008] when a routine sample
was taken from the meat plant. Results of further tests from cattle farms
will be known later today [8 Dec 2008]. Other examination of Irish products
in the Netherlands, France, and Belgium prompted the action by the
government in an attempt to protect consumer confidence at home and abroad.
The European Commission has called a meeting of food safety experts from
Ireland and other affected EU states tomorrow to coordinate a Europe-wide
response to the contamination of Irish pork products.
Millstream Recycling has confirmed it has been working with Department of
Agriculture officials to identify the source of PCBs [polychlorinated
biphenyls; related to but not synomymous with dioxins. - Mod.SH] found in
pig meal used in a number of farms in Ireland. Accepting the need for a
recall, Millstream Recycling said it would be carrying out “a full
investigation to establish how the company’s strict health and safety
procedures and the high quality standards could possibly have been breached.”
Last night [7 Dec 2008] the FSAI repeated its advice to consumers not to
eat any pork products. But it said people should not be alarmed or
concerned in relation to the potential risks from short-term exposure to
dioxins found in pork products.
Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer at the Department of Health, said a
number of health studies conducted in Belgium since the dioxin scare in
1999 had not found any negative effects on the population. “From the
experience in Belgium we don’t anticipate any health effects and on that
basis we are reassuring people.”
Prof James Heffron, a specialist on the biochemistry of detoxification at
UCC’s [University College Cork] biochemical toxicology lab, told The Irish
Times, however, the Government in his view needed to do more to reassure
the public. Prof Heffron said information on the amount of dioxin found in
affected meat should be released in addition to further details on the
duration of exposure. “When we have this information we can relate it to
World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on acceptable levels of dioxin,”
he added.
The recall led to almost 2000 calls to the FSAI helpline yesterday [7 Dec
2008]. Queues formed at supermarkets as shoppers returned products for
which the Government said they should receive a refund. The National
Consumer Agency (NCA) said consumers were entitled to be refunded. NCA
chief executive Anne Fitzgerald said: “Under legislation consumers are
entitled to repair, replacement, or refund of a faulty product. In the case
of pork meat or other food products containing pork, consumers are entitled
to a refund as a repair or replacement does not apply in this instance.
The Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association called on the Government
to provide an emergency compensation package so that retailers and
suppliers would not be left out of pocket.
[byline: Sean MacConnel, Alison Healy]
—
communicated by:
ProMED-mail
promed@promedmail.org
******
[2]
Date: Mon 8 Dec 2008
Source: European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) press release [edited]
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/efsa_locale-1178620753812_1211902208283.htm
EFSA to provide scientific assistance on dioxins in Irish pig meat
The Commission’s DG Health and Consumers asked EFSA to provide scientific
assistance on the risks for human health related to the possible presence
of dioxins in pig meat and pig meat products from Ireland and the presence
of possibly contaminated processed pig meat products from Ireland in
composite foods.
EFSA aims to publish its response by Wed 10 Dec 2008.
—
communicated by:
ProMED-mail
promed@promedmail.org
******
[3]
Date: Mon 8 Dec 2008
Source: The Times (UK) [edited]
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/ireland/article5304309.ece
Shops rush to take Irish pork off shelves
Supermarkets and shops were withdrawing all pork products yesterday [7 Dec
2008] that were known to have been made in the Republic or Northern Ireland
since 1 Sep 2008, after dioxins were found in slaughtered pigs thought to
have eaten contaminated feed. Investigations revealed that the suspect feed
had been used in at least 56 farms, including 9 in Northern Ireland.
Just over 8 per cent of Britain’s pig meat imports, 51 700 tonnes in the
first 9 months of the year [2008], comes from the Republic of Ireland.
The Food Standards Agency [FSA] admitted that meat from the affected farms
could have found its way into pork products sold in Britain and marked as
made in Britain or the EU. A spokesman said that it would have been
“disproportionate and unacceptable” to tell consumers not to eat these
products.
It is due to hold an emergency meeting in London today [8 Dec 2008] in an
attempt to identify the products at risk. Retailers sought to reassure
consumers, saying that the vast majority of fresh pork, gammon steaks, and
bacon on sale in Britain is thought to be unaffected.
Tesco has checked the origin of all meats in its supermarkets and sells no
fresh Irish pork. Sainsburys said that it did not use Irish pork. Waitrose
said that as a precaution it had withdrawn 2 lines of sausages sold under
the Northern Irish celebrity chef Paul Rankin’s brand. In Ireland all pork
products have been withdrawn from shops and consumers were urged to destroy
their supplies at home.
The company under investigation for being the source of the contaminated
feed was named last night [7 Dec 2008] as Millstream Power Recycling, of
Fenagh, County Carlow. A spokesman for the company said officials were
testing oil that had been put in a machine used to dry animal feed.
Paddy Rogan, the Republic’s chief veterinary officer, said that
contaminated pig meat may have reached 20 to 25 other countries.
Tests on the slaughtered Irish pigs showed that some pork products
contained up to 200 times more dioxins than the safety limit, although the
food safety expert Professor Hugh Pennington said that the risk to humans
was very low. Dioxins, which are linked to cancer, are a human health risk
only if a person is exposed for 30 to 40 years.
The FSA said: “We do not believe there is significant risk to UK consumers
as adverse health effects from eating the affected products are only likely
if people are exposed to relatively high levels of this contaminant for
long periods.” When pressed on whether Northern Irish meat could be on sale
in Britain marked as made in the UK or EU, a spokesman said: “It would be
disproportionate and unacceptable to tell people they should not eat pork,
bacon or ham labelled as produce of the UK and EU.”
Alan Reilly, the chief executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland,
said that investigations were still under way into how the contamination
got into the animal feed and that culling of animals was likely in order to
remove them from the food chain.
The authority confirmed that a problem pork sample was identified on 19 Nov
2008 during routine testing. It was not until late Saturday [6 Dec 2008]
afternoon that analysis by the Central Science Laboratory in York showed
the precise level of dioxin contamination.
Trevor Sargent, the Irish food minister, said that surplus baking
byproducts were often dried for animal feed. The fuel used should be a
food-grade oil. “We do have our suspicions this time that the oil being
used was not food grade,” he said.
Mr Reilly said that the likeliest source of contamination was “industrial
oil or industrial contaminant.” Rhodri Evans, FSAI chief toxicology
specialist, said that oil was the most probable cause and that it was
possibly diesel.
A spokesman at the Millstream Power Recycling plant said that the company
had always prided itself on strict quality standards. He added: “Accepting
the need for a recall, Millstream will be carrying out a full investigation
to establish how the company’s strict health and safety procedures and the
high quality standards could possibly have been breached.”
[byline: Valerie Elliott, David Sharrock]
—
communicated by:
ProMED-mail
promed@promedmail.org
[see also:
Dioxin contamination, pig meat - Ireland, Europe 20081207.3842
Dioxin, buffalo mozzarella cheese - Italy: (Campania) 20080327.1146
2006
.................arn/mj/sh
Granny can you add me to your ping list for these FDA incidents, if that’s the criteria for choosing these articles? Thanks. I think the FDA is long overdue for reform.<<<
Glad to do so, LOL, I assumed you did what I do and read the thread, post by post, as you are catching them.
I try to not post what can’t be proved about the health news.
There is a fine line and it is hard to not post on the wrong side of it, as I think herbs can heal as much as the other medicines do and get ticked off at how they get excited and remove our herbal healers from the market, but leave on the prescriptions that can bring on almost instant bad results.
About 20 or 30 years ago, there was a good book written on the dangers of non-prescription cures that are sold in stores and after reading it, I keep peroxide, alcohol and herbs, except for one itch cream that is in a tube and does stop itching.
I don’t use insecticide and am allergic to it, so have healthy bugs and do get bit at times.
The FDA, in my opinion is rotten to the core, if one reads on how they really work, but then that should not be a surprise, as with politicians doing the job of appointing the directors, you can wind up with a taxi driver, deciding what is a safe medicine. [Taxi drivers would be more apt to have a good idea of what will cure me, than those sitting at the desk...LOL]
I think you should ping MHGinTN to this post to remind him to eat more blueberry muffins! Tell him I said.<<<
LOL, thanks, I see you did.
If you use animal manure in your garden be sure to smile big as you swallow down that parasite laden lettuce ... Liver Flukes are very good with some greens ...<<<
I don’t know if one is safer with a few Liver Flukes, or the chemicals, or worse yet, grocery store food, that every year has several alerts that it is going to kill you, either unknown sources, or as it was on the Raspberries a few years ago, they discovered that the pickers were urinating on the berries, so they would weigh more, as they were paid by the pound.
Our food is not safe.
If I were able to garden and keep animals, I would use every drop of manure in the garden, as I have done for over 70 years.
LOL, the liver is the only thing that I have left, that has no problems.
Thanks for coming to check out the thread and warn us of the flukes.
The 4 way cookies, are lovely.
Pretty post.
drives me crazy to not be able to bake cookies.
Dig into those free printable links, I all of a sudden had a bunch open in my tabs and had to say ‘enough’.
Once, I would have had the printer going.
I love paper crafts.
Granny, there’s probably a post with this inforamtion, but where do you buy your essential oils? Thanks.<<<
The lady that I bought from, went out of business and I am at a point that I need to order again.
I have gotten the Snowdrift Farm price list for years and think that I will order from them next time, as I am almost out of the important ones.
For a quick bottle of Lavender, the health food stores should have it.
For crafts and even on my pillows at night, I use the soap making E. Oils. A middle class product, as I cannot afford the real fine ones and they do work.
They are at Tucson, should be the first link, LOL, while there, check out their instructions and formula pages, they are good.
They are one of the oldest companies, moved to Tucson about 10 years ago, from Michigan as I recall and I may have the state wrong, LOL, one of those strange facts that got stuck in my memory.
There is another Arizona company and the one in Florida, that have good reports, the Florida would be high on postage, but she is an honest woman,and has good products, the one in Arizona, I can never remember the name of and for some reason, got the impression that they had a cult like following and know that they are not an old company, as I followed their forming, from a garage, to a store front and they selected ‘who’ could join their forum, “No one with Yahoo email addresses”, which left me out.
I was reading a soap list that they were on, is how I followed their moves....
The lady that I got my E. Oils from, had 5 small kids and did special buys, and counted on the help of her husband and even the small kids to help with all the orders she had.
And one morning on the way to work, with his brother, a drunk woman hit their car head on, killing both of them instantly and Debbie, could not deal with all she had to deal with, and needed a man’s help to lift the containers, so she quit.
That is how fast a person’s world can change from, LOL, we mailed the last order on the way to the hospital and the baby is beautiful, to “How do I feed 5 small children and pay the rent?”
From Debbie, I bought the 16 ounce sizes and keep them in the refrigerator. It is best to store in brown glass bottles in the refrigerator, they ruin in sunlight.
anti cancer soup<<<
I figure, that calling it anti-cancer, is not really medicine, looked like a good veg soup to me.
My mother had a herbal book so old that it had no cover, back in the 1940’s, one of the ‘cures’ for cancer sores on the body, was a poultice made of ground raw carrots.
Wish I could remember more of what I read in it.
If you are interested in Herbal Healing, then you must have the Kloss book called “Back to Eden”.
It was first published about 1929, and still is today.
Many of the new herbal books you buy, are just re-written versions of Back to Eden, some will give him credit, others just steal the info.
Check for it on the internet, it will show up in the used book places for very little money, should be under $5.00.
I bought one at Goodwill for 50 cents, to have an extra one.
This is going to start another food crisis. 100K pigs and all pork products! This is a bad time for this to be happening. Terrible!<<<
This worries me, why is it in the feed, pork esp.
Terrorists hate pork.
If the Chinese didn’t poison enough people, someone is helping them.
Post #7926 is an update from ProMed on the Irish Pork recall.
What a sad story about the car crash. Very sad. God bless her.<<<
I have hated not knowing how she got on, she made one last attempt after the accident, as she had no money and after my order came, never another word from her.
LOL, I was enjoying reading Debbie’s posts and not many women can hold off a birth, long enough to go to the post office, the husband sounded so very special in her posts.
I don’t know that I have that much knowledge, only to the point of what I do for myself...which some think is a little weird.
http://www.tjoos.com/Coupon/75982/Snowdrift-Farms
LOL, no they do not have coded coupons for Snowdrift, but might have discount coupons for other types of businesses that you order from.
Sign up for the newsletters from Snowdrift, I still check mine and they have good sales on something each month, plus other specials, at times.
LOL, I couldn’t resist looking at the snowdrift google, once, I would have been clicking and printing like crazy.
tried a search for bulk food coupons, none that I will use, came up, except there are a couple sites that I will check out, herbs.
Do you know any of these companies?
http://www.tjoos.com/Search/bulk%20food/
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