TulsiPeople.com – An Organic India blog about organic farming, Tulsi (Holy Basil) and sustainability

Organic tomatoes have significantly higher levels of flavonoids, compared to non-organic tomatoes, according to the results of a ten-year study carried out by researchers at the University of California.
You can read about this study in a report coming out soon in the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry.Flavanoids are a class of water-soluble pigments that are present in many plants. Scientists have identified a few thousand different flavonoids. Flavonoids are known to lower hypertension (high blood pressure), thus lowering heart disease and stroke risk. Studies have also indicated that flavonoids may protect us to some extent from cancer and dementia.
The researchers believe that it is the quality of the soil that gives the organic tomatoes their higher flavonoid levels, specifically, the absence of fertilizers. Read More…

Nepal recorded a whopping 40 percent rise this year in organic coffee production compared to last year, The Kathmandu Post reported on Sunday.

The daily quoted Raghupati Chaudhary, acting chief of National Tea and Coffee Development Board, western regional office as saying that coffee production this year has soared to 391 tons from 278 tons of last year. Read more…

An ingredient found in many curries may help prevent colon cancer.
A small clinical trial showed the food chemicals reduced the size and number of precancerous growths in the intestinal tract. If left untreated, such growths commonly lead to colon cancer.
The experimental combination contained a chemical found in turmeric, the spice that gives curries a yellow color, and an antioxidant found in onions called quercetin. Read more…

ORGANIC milk sales have risen by more than a fifth in the past year, according to figures.
Organic cheese is also proving popular with sales also up by almost 20%, according to retail analysts TNS.
Health-conscious consumers are willing to pay around a third more for organic milk than the standard variety. At Tesco, a four-pint bottle of organic milk costs £1.46, compared with £1.11 for a standard four-pint bottle. Read more (from theherald.co.uk)…

It’s an organic world out there. After eating a meal of organic fruits, organic vegetables and organic pasta, you can wear organic jeans and roll around on organic carpet. With organic perfume, furniture and even pizza and beer, you might think there would be no surprises left for an entrepreneur hoping to make a statement in the organics industry. But you’d be wrong.
Read more..(from entrepreneur.com)

Organic farming was practiced in India since thousands of years. The great Indian civilization thrived on organic farming and was one of the most prosperous countries in the world, till the British ruled it. Read more..(from organicfacts.net)

Here is a ‘Must Read’ article about the copyrighting of ancient wisdoms.
A Big Stretch By SUKETU MEHTA

The New York Times has a nice little story in their Home & Garden section about the Conlin-Beavan family. Mr. Beavan and Ms. Conlin and their 2-year-old daughter live together on Fifth Avenue, and are in the midst of a year-long lifestyle experiment called No Impact. This involves eating only food organically grown within a 250-mile radius of Manhattan; as little discretionary shopping as possible (but cheap birthday presents are OK); producing no trash other than compost; using no paper; and using no carbon-fueled transportation. Find out more on Mr. Beavan’s blog, where, thankfully, he readily admits he’s nothing more than a guilty liberal - but one who has taken action. Read more..

The verdict is in on hybrid cars: Americans love them. But just suppose, some environmentalists have been asking, you had a bigger battery pack in your hybrid and the ability to plug it into the wall. Wouldn’t that give you the ability to drive to work on electric power, with the small gas engine available in reserve for longer trips? This concept started out as an environmentalist’s dream, propelled by activists like Felix Kramer of Calcars.org and the utility-backed Plug-In Partners. But now it’s headed for the market. And other high-tech green cars are on their way, too. Read more..

Here is the original farm, and it’s big success this year! Since 1986, Farm Sanctuary’s annual Adopt-A-Turkey Project has rescued over one thousand turkeys from a thankless fate at the dinner table and given thousands of people an opportunity to adopt a turkey for the holidays. Click here to go to their site

“Medicine and Multiculturalism” by Ziauddin Sardar was featured in the online magazine Renaissance Universal, which delves into the crucial question, “Who should the power of healing belong to: the patient or the doctor?” The article takes a close look at the differences stiffling Western principles of medicine and health with the more traditional practices of “Eastern” or “alternative” methods. Sardar brings to light the fact that most modern medicine was based on the cultural practices of indigeneous people all over the world, only to then demonize the very examples they followed as substandard models that were merely inefficiant and superstitious. From midwifery to holistic healing, Sardar confronts the western stereotypes of methods that have been utilized for ages long before the emergence of Western medicine. “How we enjoy life, what we think of our bodies and how we treat them, how we shape our environment—all this is governed by our worldview. While worldviews shape lifestyle, lifestyles determine our states of health.” (more…)

University of Florida will be one of the first in the US to offer an organic farming major see article

No, this is not James Bond.  It’s real - Here’s an excerpt from the treehugger.com newsletter that I subscribe to:

THIS PHONE WILL SELF-DESTRUCT (AND WE LIKE IT THAT WAY). Nokia has created a prototype of a cell phone that dissembles itself in two seconds. Today, most cell phones and other small electronics are shredded instead of taken apart for recycling, because the disassembly time is too expensive for the amount of material reclaimed. In contrast, a process called “active disassembly” is all about creating gadgets that can break into their component parts just by being exposed to heat or magnetism. It saves money, and the materials can be recovered more efficiently.

According to Nokia, “By using a centralized heat source like laser heating, the shape memory alloy (SMA) actuator is activated, and the mobile phone covers are opened. The battery, display, printed wiring board (PWB) and mechanical parts are separated and can then be recycled in their material specific recycling processes. […] The heat-activated mechanism is a fast and cheap method if compared to manual dismantling, which takes on average two minutes and costs about 0.3-0.8 , per phone. In the project, the heat-activated disassembly took only two seconds and the only cost is the investment cost in a disassembly line. However, the method still needs to be developed further.”

Some Canadian companies seem to be on the right path towards going green! Check out this article, particularly the tips on how you can make your company a bit more environmentally responsible.

A simple way to begin doing your part for the environment….