* Chlorophenoxy compounds are often mixed into commercial fertilizers to control the growth of broad leaf weeds.
* Several hundred commercial products contain chlorophenoxy herbicides in various forms and at various concentrations.
* Chlorophenoxy herbicides are heavily used in wheat production.
* An infant born in a rural, wheat-producing county in the United States has about twice the chance of suffering birth defects as one born in a rural place that doesn’t produce wheat.
* Sci... Read Full Story
* Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, just converted from one form to another, such as from sunlight to plant matter, and during this process energy is lost which is impractical to recover.
* Each day, the sun provides a finite amount of energy to the earth which creates our weather, causes the winds to blow, rains to fall, the plants to grow and shapes the face of our planet.
* All animals eat plants or eat animals that eat plants.
* Plants use photosynthesis to turn sunlight int... Read Full Story
* Breakfast cereals are made of grains and are recommended by he Canada food guide and the USDA as part of a balanced diet.
* The problem for society is that the grinding, milling, wetting, drying, and baking of a breakfast cereal requires about four calories of energy for every calorie of food energy it produces.
* The manufacture of a two-pound bag of breakfast cereal requires the energy equivalent of a half-gallon of gasoline.
* In general, processed food in North America and Europ... Read Full Story
* The mass consumption of sugar began with the industrialization of Victorian England.
The British Empire has significant quantities of sugar available from plantations in the colonies.
The cities of Britain will filled with factory workers who needed to be fed cheaply.
* In the factories of Victorian Britain the “afternoon tea break” was born. The tea was primarily warm water and sugar to keep the workers “alive”. Some workers who were “well off&#... Read Full Story
* Each day, the sun provides a finite amount of energy to the earth which creates our weather, causes the winds to blow, rains to fall, the plants to grow and shapes the face of our planet.
* Humans engage in many different industries each day yet more than two thirds of humanity’s primary productivity results from agriculture, yet our farmers have been marginalized and their important position in society usurped by companies providing farmers with energy, fertilizers, and seeds wh... Read Full Story
* All human activities consume resources including energy and materials.
* All human activities produce waste byproducts.
* If we consume energy and resources within what the sun and earth can provide in each year and we reuse and recycle our waste products, we can create a sustainable society.
* In 2007, the U.S. spent $2.26 trillion on health care, $7,439 per person, which represents approximately 15% of the Gross domestic product of the country.
* In the United States in 2007, 31% of medic... Read Full Story
A BTU or British thermal unit is defined as the energy required to raise the temperature of one pound of water degree Fahrenheit.
A quad is 1,000,000,000,000,000 BTU (1015 BTU)
In 2002, the total energy used in the world was 446 quads.
In 2002 the total energy used in the United States of America was 97 quads.
In 2002 the population of the United States of America was approximately 289 million.
In 2002 the population of the world was 6.2 billion.
In 2002 the population of the Unites States wa... Read Full Story
* Research has shown that some methods of cooking muscle meats such as beef, pork, chicken, and fish can form carcinogens (chemicals which may cause cancer) such as heterocyclic amines (HCAs).
* HCAs form when amino acids in proteins chemically react combine with creatine in muscles at high cooking temperatures.
* Studies have shown that an increased risk of developing colorectal, pancreatic, and breast cancer is associated with high intakes of well-done, fried, or barbequed meats and ... Read Full Story
* The average water use per person in North America for personal hygiene and cooking is about 100 gallons per day.
* The most significant water use by each person each day is the water used to grow their food!!
* One pound of Potatoes uses 60 gallons to grow and provides 422 calories;
* One pound of Wheat uses 108 gallons of water to grow and provides 518 calories;
* One pound of Corn uses 168 gallons of water to grow and provides 428 calories;
* One pound Rice uses 229 gallons of water to gr... Read Full Story
* Rice, Wheat and Corn have been the dominant agricultural crops for over 10,000 years.
* Rice, Wheat, and Corn convert solar energy into a dense carbohydrate bundles which can easily be stored or transported for future use.
* Rice, Wheat, and Corn therefore represent an accumulation of wealth and are more than just “food”.
* Historically, there were two forms of sustainable farming.
* One form of sustainable farming was practiced around rivers where annual “floods... Read Full Story
