Despite more than 17.5 million households in the United States either going hungry or underfed, our grocery stores throw away 26% of perfectly good produce every year. What’s worse, many people on food stamps or considered ‘food challenged’ don’t have access to healthful, organic produce. So why so much food waste?
One of the most recent decisions made by US Department of Agriculture has been branded as controversial and led to numerous disputes and arguments. The USDA decided to give an organic label to produce that is grown in controlled, water-based environments. The decision to label aquaponics and hydroponics as organic has angered a lot of people.
Buying organic food is often a little more expensive, but you can make your budget stretch farther with just a little bit of effort. Since produce is one of the most expensive items you will buy, why not grow your own at home? There are many healthy foods that you can re-grow right in your own kitchen, some with nothing but water.
Here are 21 foods to grow at home to save money and enjoy better health:
Show me you have a seed there and I’m prepared to expect wonders — Henry David Thoreau.
Here’s a new twist on food sustainability. Inmates at Maryland’s Eastern Correctional Institution have grown 5 tons of fresh produce for the less fortunate on a small garden plot, turning rock-hard soil into food for others.
The program is similar to others taking root around the country. Inmates not only help to reduce costs for prison food, but often grow more than they can consume, and donate it to local food pantries.
Monsanto, Bayer, Syngenta, and other biotech bullies are still telling the world they are trying to feed us with their GM foods, but I think most of us are on to their shady tactics. I will venture that in order to feed a growing population, one thing we need to start doing is STOP wasting so much food.
Some of my early, organic urban gardening attempts resulted in wilted produce, eaten alive by aphids and other pesky bugs, and I almost gave up growing one of my favorite greens altogether – lettuce. But there are fairly simple techniques any gardener can utilize to survive these woes and create a stellar organic garden – something called additive intercropping is one of those techniques.
It doesn’t matter if you have acres of space to plant your herbs, vegetables, and fruit, or if you are starting with a few small pots in a window sill; beginning your own organic gardening is a cinch when you know how to get your seeds growing right from their first stages.
Here are 5 unknown gardening tips to start and grow your own organic seedlings.
As an ‘almost’ vegetarian myself, I often get asked how I can consume enough protein just eating plants in order to be healthy. I love to cook my own healthful meals where I use ingredients that I either grew myself or can be 100% sure are organic and non-GMO. But for vegans and vegetarians there are other health risks that get overlooked – such as signs of protein deficiency, which can cause serious health issues. Below you will find 55+ protein sources for vegetarians.
