Is Organic & Raw Cow's milk better than conventional milk?

I was looking through OfftheGridNews.com, and of course they have many articles on gardening, so I commented on many articles to promote this blog. When I was reading the article on Organic v. Conventional cows milk, I attempted to leave three comments disagreeing on the consumption of any milk.

Unlike my gardening comments that were published at the end of the articles, this particular article would not publish my comments. I'm SURE this is not because of the disagreement, rather the article was not responding to any comments at all. All the same, it created a little tension in me which prompted me to write about this topic. Here are my thoughts:

First, please read my post on the "Protein Myth" here, which will contain excerpts from "The China Study" that contend high protein diets create higher risk of cancers and disease.

There's a reason why cows make milk (for their babies) because they were pregnant. Animals (humans) quit producing milk when their babies do not need it anymore. So, if our mothers quit producing milk, then you do not need to drink Mother's milk (cows included) anymore.

Actually the reason babies drink milk is in order to grow much larger, and triple their size. If you continue to consume milk or animal flesh/secretions, you will become obese, or become susceptible to disease and cancer due to their high fat and high protein content. 

An ironic fact about consuming cow's milk: wouldn't you assume you would get the necessary amount of calcium, protein, and vitamin D from eating a similar diet of cows, elephants, giraffes, oxes, etc?

Animal foods contain much higher levels of acid in the body, which alters the pH of your blood. When there is acidity in the body, calcium is pulled from the bones in order to restore neutral or low pH of the blood. Adding to this, Cows milk (organic, raw or not) still contains millions of pus cells.

With this in mind, it is funny how media advertisements push dairy and meat products. It's almost as if they want you to eat a diet that will cause disease.

I will also mention that it is not only animal flesh and their secretions that harm the body, but also protein rich foods like beans, nuts, seeds, and grains (rice, bread, oats, quinoa) as well as acid foods like vinegar, tea, coffee, and soda-- all of which are 'vegan' foods.   

It is a myth that we do not get 'enough' protein, due to the fact that no one has died of a protein deficiency (unless if they're anorexic). Also, all essential amino acids are found in BANANAS alone. It is also a myth that protein is only found in animal products. I calculated a typical day for me, and I exceed the required grams of protein a day, just by consuming raw fruits and greens. Sometimes (every other day or twice a week) I have rice, potatoes, beans or nuts which contain higher levels of protein-- but I obviously do not need those foods if I eat raw fruits and greens. 

But lets put health aside for a second, and consider the feelings of other animals. You are an animal; so what makes you, dogs or cats any less superior than killing pigs, chickens, cows and the like for food? We live and die all the same. We and other animals cry and scream when being tortured the same. Why do YOU the consumer and farmers get to decide what dies? 

Mother nature does a good job all on her own. 

Carl Sagan from the Cosmic Connection talks about the intelligence of whales and dolphins, saying "...if we can so easily rationalize the slaughter of others of our own species, how much more difficult will it be to have reverence for intelligent individuals of different species?"

Plans for up-coming garden: permaculture, compost, & recycled materials

I am not sure if I will get to garden this year. My life is a little up-in-the-air. I am may relocate to another state or I am may take a walk across America with my partner. We still want to purchase land, grow food, live sustainably and such. Yet I think that may come in time.

Nevertheless, I wanted to create this post in order to organize my thoughts and plans for our up-coming garden (if I garden this year).
My idea is to plant greens and cold weather crops as early as January (I live in a cold climate). Also, I intend to plant tomato starters indoors during February, as well melons. Also, I want to begin creating small, heat trapping structures for small beds of greens, and starter plants.

My vision for our garden is building greenhouses, starting our garden earlier and earlier and incorporating permaculture techniques by using compost, leafs and brush from the woods, and other recycled materials to build raised beds. 

Faces of Modern (Current) Slavery

The holidays (November thru December) does not bring me happiness, especially since I do not believe in celebrating these holidays. Yet during this time I am with my family, which I am thankful for having. I am especially grateful that I am not these people in the photos that portray modern slavery. Slavery takes all forms, and I have compiled a stream of photos that I believe are obvious forms of slavery and the concepts that may not be questioned as slavery but what I would consider a modern form of slavery.

The images are not in order from better or worse because the concept is subjective.

A soldier ignorantly fighting for something he does not understand

Women shaving their arms to be 'attractive' or 'clean'

I have much to say on this subject. Women are considered unsanitary if they do not shave and use products to wash their hair and body. Another pet-peeve of mine is the use of disposable tampons and pads. Women who are still bleeding during their time-of-the-month should switch to reusable DivaCups or cloth pads.

Where does your chocolate, textiles, and gold come from?

 We usually do not consider slavery as a modern phenomenon, rather we consider the 1700s-1800s as a time when Africans were brought over to the South of the United States. Slavery is as prevalent today in other countries; yet we mask modern slavery with incentive (money). Chocolate, gold, and other goods are usually harvested by small children that do not get paid, instead their parents or other authority figure takes the profit.

Foraging for Wild Edibles (Fall & Winter)

Foraging is an option for a vegan that tends to live nomadic or freely. Living on the land by growing your own food may not be an option for you, so the next best way to consume free, organic food is by exploring the world around you for fruits, nuts, greens, herbs, or seeds. It is no wonder that raw foodists believe their diet is ideal because wild herbivores live day-by-day foraging for their own food.

However, foraging may be ideal for those who live in warmer climates. For example, Wild herbivore animals may not have access to fruits, greens, beans or nuts during the winter, which may lead to consuming road kill, insects or small critters (Which makes us different from animals because we have the industry to provide year-round fruits and veggies so we do not have to resort to eating animals). Of course, our forests have been destroyed of the plentiful fruit and nut trees in order to log for money, so it is also no wonder we could hardly live or thrive off the foods found in the woods in this modern day.

Constructing our own home: cob building, homesteading, & free materials

Birds, squirrels, ants, and other species construct their own shelters out of readily available materials, like sticks, rope fiber, straw, mud, and other debris. Us, on the other hand, hire a team of workers to build our homes using drywall, wood panels, laminate flooring, paint, insulation, and other toxic and refined materials.
If you're fortunate you can build your own home; but like most of us we have to search for a vacant home at an affordable price. My mother bought home in the 90's for around $10K, and the house was built in the 1930s! It was always falling in and everything is always breaking, or pipes are freezing and breaking. 
Unfortunately, even the simplest and decent of homes can cost up to $100,000. This could take ten or 20 years to pay off.
I don't want to spend my entire life going to school for training, then working over 20 years at an unfulfilling job...


We could learn from the animals, for example building our homes for free or little cost by constructing it ourselves using the same materials other animals use.

I believe we can and should build our homes out of non-toxic, free available materials, such as the wild animals do. 'cob', 'strawbale', 'earthbag', and earthship homes are examples of how we can use readily available materials efficiently and adapt to our needs.
 

I prefer the cob (straw, sand, and clay) method because I have these materials in abundance. The ground is clay, dried grass is straw and the creeks are full of sand. I intend to create a similar construction as this couple has done in the picture below. It requires no wood for frames; and instead the walls are built up with slabs of mud, straw, and sand until you have reached the desired height. Although this method seems unsteady, it is not-- because the materials mixed creates the consistency of concrete.

The couple that built the home (in the picture), took approximately 9 months to construct and several months to dry out.
For the step-by-step process (with pictures), go to their photo album here: "Year of Mud" The couple has several photo albums of their cob, and all natural building workshops as well as gardening photos on their Flikr page too.

 

For other references on building with cob, read "The Hand-sculpted house book" by Mike Smith, Ianto Evans, and Linda Smiley. Refer to Ianto Evan's and Leslie Jackson's book on heating your cob home: Rocket mass heaters.

 

My vision for a cob home would be somewhat of a nook. Perhaps as small as a normal sized kitchen! First the area will require leveling the ground, then digging a ditch in the outline of the shape of the home. It will be as small as a large shed, with one room to house dried herbs, books, some food, and a bed. I want a small frame that will allow us to save time on constructing the house while encouraging us to be outside instead of cooped up inside.

 

For those with no money or property, can experiment with building a debris shelter in the woods. In this case, you want to live absolutely free or temporarily in the woods, read a more recent post of mine "Semi-Permanent Debris Shelters (Minimal Living or living in the woods)" where I discuss how to build a shelter out of sticks and leaves. These debris shelters remind me of bird nests with more coverage.







bed made by monkeys







I want to live in a world where everyone views their life simply: We get our basic needs met through Homesteading (food, water, shelter) which involves gardening, collecting free energy (sun and water), and building an all natural home. Live self reliant, independent, sustainable, and free as the animal you are.

 

 

Smoothies v. Juices v. Whole Food (Fruit, Greens, & Veggies)

Anyone that has been a raw foodists or vegan for long-term, begins to accumulate all sorts of food prep equipment throughout the years (juicers, blenders, food processors, and the like).

The holidays are approaching, and if you celebrate Christmas with your family, these devices are some things you could ask for as gifts, if you also want to avoid buying food prep equipment for yourself. Or even better, you could buy someone a blender or juicer in order to encourage them to eat healthier.

I remember my Dad bought me a blender back in 2005 when I went vegan, and have bought several since then. My partner bought me a juicer in 2009 or '10 --which I am still using-- he got it from Walmart for $30 (GM brand). I think the 'Ninja bullet' food processors are $15 (good for blended small portions).

I am currently using a blender that I bought from Goodwill for $2.50. I am not ashamed to use a second-hand blender instead of the Vitamix! Usually thrift stores have well-priced junk to repurpose.

 

Fall & Winter Garden Maintanence

1. Pull up remaining vegetable plants to compost.

2. Pull up remaining weeds to use in a fire on your garden.

3. Collect sticks, wood, recycled paper/cardboard (and other burnable materials) for fires on your garden. The potassium and nitrogen in wood ash helps plant growth, for example the wood ash from the fires acts as a fertilize. Having fires on your garden also breaks up the top soil, making it easier to till and loosen the soil for your Spring garden.

Gardening Mistakes 2013 & Tips + Photos

Gardening is a continuous learning experience, from understanding your climate to the location of certain plants. Last year I wrote a piece on the mistakes I made and how I needed to improve for this year (you can read that entry here "4 Mistakes I've Made as a First-year Gardener").

I have compiled a whole different list of the mistakes I made as a second-year gardener below. In the list I highlight the methods I intend to use next year and other practices...

Time to start saving seeds (& dehydrating/storing garden harvests for winter)

The past two months have kept me busy, replanting lettuce (for Fall) and harvesting, storing and dehydrating excess food. My tomato garden produced over 200 pounds of fruit this year so my partner and I have been feasting on large quantities of tomatoes. Yet, we couldn't eat them all, some went to the compost and some tomatoes ended up getting canned and dehydrated.

dehydrating tomatoes with basil from the garden

tomatoes ready to be eaten fresh or dehydrated

Garden Harvest & Grocery Hauls (Raw Vegan budget)

**The photos are produce hauls from my garden harvests including fruit from the grocery store**

The Snicker's tag line You're not you when you're hungry speaks volumes to those who tend to be short-tempered or irritable. Another saying I often use an angry man is a hungry man suggests that a starved individual is a starving brain (i.e. irrational thinker, temperamental, binges on junk food).

peaches, peppers, and tomatoes from my garden;
plus mangoes, bananas, watermelon, and Asian pears