Gluten intolerance is no longer a fringe medical concept. Researchers are fully aware there is a very big problem with modern wheat cultivation. Wheat is far from being a health food. It makes you fat, causes gas and makes your intestinal tract your enemy, or rather vice-versa. High-yielding and now genetically modified varieties of wheat are making this one cereal grain you’ll … [Read more...]
Shopping to make a difference
Viva to the Capetownians who consider where their food comes from, who shop local, organic and seasonal, who support community empowering farming initiatives and who benefit themselves and the planet in the process. Watch this video made by UCT students and see some bright young faces who think, care and act … [Read more...]
Schools enter food gardens competition
Climate change is a serious risk to vulnerable communities. Six of the eight threats recently highlighted by a team of scientists that gathered in Japan are being addressed by South Africa’s EduPlant programme. Severe weather events, such as those experienced in late summer this year, can destroy crops and lead to hunger and famine. Schools that apply Permaculture … [Read more...]
Living Hope Centre helps develop skills and build food security
From the outside, the Living Hope Farm tunnels in Masipumelele, Cape Town, look just like any large vegetable tunnel filled with lush growth. Look inside and you will see texts from the Bible hanging between the tall rows of tomatoes. Joey, the farm operations manager from Tennessee, explained that during the difficult early days spent mastering farming skills, he was … [Read more...]
Popular herbicide linked to cause of Gluten Intolerance
Have you ever wondered why lately so many people are "gluten intolerant?" I have long held and expressed the opinion that it is not the wheat that's at fault. Something else must be slipping into the wheat. Now a compelling new peer-reviewed report from two U.S. scientists argues that increased use of Monsanto’s glyphosate herbicide (trade name Roundup) could be the cause of … [Read more...]
Arctic’s drastic transformation a powerful example of climate change effects
The dazzling icescape at the top of our planet is mutating into a place that is barely recognizable to those who have studied it for years. The Arctic is home to some of the world's most dramatic climate change, scientists say, with warming oceans and air melting ice at a rate experts never imagined possible. The warming there has drastic implications for the rest of the … [Read more...]
Management posts at the Green Road, Stellenbosch
So organic, so healthy, that your fingers will go green! Based in picturesque Stellenbosch, well-established Green Road is a community-based, non-profit organisation that runs a rapidly growing organic/biodynamic food supply chain with three critical objectives in mind: To create a close relationship between farmer and consumer and to empower people through job … [Read more...]
A guerilla gardener in South Central LA
Ron Finley grows a nourishing food culture in South Central L.A.’s food desert by planting the seeds and tools for healthy eating. An Artist and designer, he couldn’t help but notice what was going on in his backyard. “South Central Los Angeles,” he quips, “home of the drive-thru and the drive-by.” And it's the drive-thru fast-food stands that contribute more to the area’s … [Read more...]
Stop GM Maize plans for SA
Now is the time to speak up if you want to stop the introduction of more GM maize into our food chain. Du Pont Pioneer published an application in the Beeld newspaper for the intentional introduction/trial release of TC1507 x NK603 and TC1507 x MON810 and TC1507 x MON810 x NK603. These maize lines express insecticidal proteins, including Cry proteins in different … [Read more...]
UN Climate Experts: new food crisis looming due to chemical farming
The so-called "green revolution" (read chemical farming) is leaving agriculture vulnerable to climate change. New approaches are urgently needed to enable food systems to adapt, said the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Japan. Speaking during the release of the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) in Yokohama, a panel of the world's most … [Read more...]
IPCC report: Climate change will be ‘severe, pervasive and irreversible’
Climate change is already affecting lives and will have catastrophic impacts if carbon emissions are not lowered now, warns the UN's climate body. In this story from Mail & Guardian, a new report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has painted a world where human civilisation will struggle to survive unless carbon emissions are cut urgently. … [Read more...]
Ed’s voice … The missing link is organic essence
We have some great victories to celebrate this week: Princesvlei is saved! This treasured ecosystem, important to folk of various faiths, will not be turned into yet another shopping mall. Thanks to all of us who helped prevent this plan from the 1999 council from becoming a reality, not forgetting the late Father John Oliver. This is a true reflection of what can happen if we … [Read more...]
New conservation agriculture manual to launch in Kenya
The first manual in conservation agriculture specifically designed for Muslim farmers in Africa will be launched in Nairobi, Kenya, on Thursday March 27 - providing a tool to introduce millions of Muslim farmers to sustainable farming practices for the first time. Islamic Farming: A Manual for Conservation Agriculture is a brand new curriculum that integrates Qur’anic … [Read more...]
