A Few Days Off

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I'm taking a few days off - be back Tuesday May 27th!!_

Sabina ~

Eating Green

The following helpful info is from an online article I found via "The Food Network".
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Eating Green - A guide to organic and other in-the-news terms.
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When deciding what to feed your family, you're bound to face a bewildering array of food labels claiming that items are organic, natural or free range. Here’s what these labels mean:
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Growing Conditions
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Organic
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If a product bears a "USDA organic" label, you are guaranteed that’s it’s at least 95 free of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and sewage sludge and that it hasn’t been genetically modified or irradiated. No hormones or antibiotics are allowed; animals must be fed organically-grown feed and have access to the outdoors. While some experts have suggested that organic foods are healthier than conventionally-grown, the USDA doesn’t support these claims.
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Sustainable
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Sustainable agriculture refers to crops that are raised in ways that don’t harm the environment, are humane to animals, and that supports farm workers and farming communities. Not all sustainable foods are organic — most come from small family farms which may not have the time or resources to get organic certification (it is expensive and time-consuming). A related label is "Fair Trade," which certifies that farmers in developing countries have received a fair price for products like coffee that are grown in a sustainable way.
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Natural
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Natural refers to meat and poultry that contains no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. There is no certification and because a food is called "natural," it doesn’t mean that farm animals were raised organically.
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Locally Grown
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Locally grown refers to crops produced no more than 250 miles from where they’re purchased. The emphasis is on seasonal, fresh produce, meats and dairy products but these crops may have been raised with pesticides. If the label does not specify that the food any special growing conditions, you should assume it’s conventional. Crops and cattle are raised using synthetic chemicals, like fertilizers and pesticides to curb insect growth and increase the amount of food produced. Farmers can give their animals antibiotics, growth hormones and other medications. This is the way most crops and livestock have been raised in the U.S. for the past 50 years.
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Hormones and Antibiotics
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Antibiotic-Free
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The term "antibiotic-free" is unregulated but producers can label foods "no antibiotics administered" or "raised without antibiotics," which means animals were raised entirely without the substances. Concerns have been raised that antibiotic use in cattle causes antibiotic resistant bacteria to develop, threatening human health.
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Hormone-Free
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For pork and chicken, the label "hormone free" is meaningless; these substances are banned when raising pigs and chickens. Beef may carry a "no hormones administered" label but no outside authority currently certifies this claim. Controversy has arisen over the artificial hormone rBGH which increases milk production. The U.S. is one of the few countries to approve its use; others have banned it because of concerns over human and animal health.
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Animal Welfare
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Free Range
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Chickens that aren’t confined to cages and are granted access to the outdoors are called "free range." But the USDA only requires limited outdoor time; conditions can be crowded and dirty and there’s no outside monitoring.
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Grass-Fed
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Cattle raised largely on grass and hay are referred to as "grass-fed." No government regulations or inspections apply to the term and these cattle may not be organic. Since cows’ stomachs more easily digest grass than grain, it is a more natural, humane and antibiotic-free way to raise cattle.
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(Courtesy of The Food Network and Jupiter Images)

Beautiful Hair

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Staying on the subject of hair - I really love when I see a women with beautiful natural hair of gray or more aptly - white, silver, pewter and every shade in between. My mother is one of those women and she receives endless compliments (I'm not exaggerating) and is even regularly asked if she dyes it that color. But I'm not just talking about women of a certain age going natural I see lots of women over forty with this attention grabbing hair. With the availability of new treatments and conditioners made to enhance gray hairs color and conditioners, this once-maligned hair hue has became a new style option not only just for men. Gray hair can be dramatic, elegant and yes - beautiful!!

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My next read-

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(What I Learned About Beauty, Sex, Work, Motherhood, GOING GRAY, Authenticity and Everything Else That Really Matters - By Anne Kreamer)

Suave Commercial - Is Motherhood Messing With Your Hair?

Sorry everyone but the video uploaded experienced some problems and is no longer available. Go to Suave.com link - click on "OUR STORY" and then click on "ADVERTISING" to see this hilarious commercial.

On the lighter side of things - Happy Monday!!

(Courtesy of Suave.Com)

About the Film - Darfur Now - On DVD May 27th

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About the Film -
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Darfur Now is a story of hope in the midst of one of humanity's darkest hours - a call to action for people everywhere to end the catastrophe unfolding in Darfur, Sudan. In this documentary, the struggles and achievements of six different individuals form inside Darfur and around the world bring to light the tragedy in Sudan and show how the actions of one person can make a difference to millions.

Darfur Now trailer

Human Rights - The Children of Darfur - Ron Haviv Captures The On-Going Humanitarian Crisis

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(Three young girls set out from a refugee camp to gather firewood)
Photograph by RON HAVIV.
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Haviv gives viewers a haunting look at life among the civilian children of this desert region, who have endured years of hardship and brutal civil conflict. Young girls and women risk their safety daily while performing acts of survival such as gathering water and firewood. The photograph of the teenager in the red scarf who is shown with two of her friends was terrified every day, reports Haviv. Yet she felt it was her responsibility to leave the camps in search of food for her family, despite having been attacked and raped in previous excursions.
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Photography is one of the few ways of bringing such stories to distant hearths. Award - winning Photojournalist Ron Haviv was asked by UNICEF to travel to Darfur to try and capture the daily life of children.
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The situation in Darfur is urgent - between 2 and 400,000 have died, 2.5 million have been displaced from their homes, and 4.5 million people in Darfur and hundreds of thousands in the neighboring countries of Chad and Central African Republic are at risk of starvation, disease, and further attacks.
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To find out more information about the crisis in Darfur or learn about ways you can help visit these websites -
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24 Hours For Darfur
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Amnesty International USA
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Unicef - Unite For Children
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Not On Our Watch
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Go Bloggers Unite!!