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Organic quinoa

Incan people of the Andes have been producing quinoa for over 6000 years. You can buy organic quinoa anywhere today because more financial support has been given to quinoa farmers for growing, harvesting and export of this amazing food.

Mr. Simeón Genaro Miranda Vilca from Peru won this year’s Best Producer of Organic Quinoa prize. He comes from a small farmers’ community, called Qollana. Mr.Vilca currently has 6 hectares with quinoa varieties such as Salcedo-INIA, white Juli and black Qollana.

Why is Organic Quinoa better than nonorganic? The answer is pretty simple.

It is free of chemicals from pesticides and free from all artificial fertilizers.

According to The Soil Association of Organic Standard there are four reasons to buy organic product vs. nonorganic:

Controversial additives including aspartame, tartrazine, MSG and hydrogenated fats are not allowed under organic standards so it’s better for your well-being and most of all for your health and body.

Nonorganic farming releases more greenhouse gases than organic farming. Choose local, organic and seasonal food, so you can reduce your carbon footprint so it is much better for the environment as well.

Organic farms are great places for wildlife and they provide homes for bees, birds and butterflies so you protect wildlife when you buy organic product vs. nonorganic.

Genetically modified crops and ingredients are not allowed under organic standards.

Source: Soilassociation.org

Always go for the organic quinoa because it is better for the environment, for the wildlife and for you too.

Finally a very simple yet healthy and filling quinoa recipe – Quinoa Pudding with Macerated Strawberries

The ingredients are the following:

– 3 cups whole milk
– 1 cup heavy cream (optional)
– 1 or 2 tsp vanilla (mexican of course)
– 1/4 cup organic sugar
– pinch of salt
– 1 cup organic quinoa

-1 cup strawberries, diced
-1 Tbs organic sugar
– chopped pistachios (optional)

First place the organic quinoa in a strainer and rinse it with cold water.

Combine the milk, cream, sugar, salt and vanilla in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer.

Add the quinoa and stir. Reduce heat to medium low and cook for about 25-30 minutes stirring every few minutes.

If skin starts to form on top of the milk, just stir it back in. The milk will reduce and thicken. Ladle into bowls.

Place the cut strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle them with organic sugar. Toss them and let them sit at room temperature for about an hour until juices start to come out.

Top the puddings with the strawberries and chopped pistachios.

Source: http://caliwilkins.blogspot.com/2010/10/almost-guilt-free-dessert.html

Get more information on Organic Quinoa

Enjoy Quinoa!

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Agricultural Pollution

Agricultural pollution refers to the contaminants present in the environment as a result of agricultural practices. Most effects of agricultural pollution are felt in water environments and are caused by runoff from farms and barnyards such as ammonia, pesticides, fertilizers, oil toxins, and animal waste that make their way into bodies of water. Agricultural pollution also negatively affects the quality of air. Chemicals and byproducts from the agricultural industry are quite harmful to the natural environment and can pose a problem for humans as well. As the world’s population continues to grow at a significant rate the demand for intense agriculture will remain high, and so combating agricultural pollution will be increasingly difficult. With this in mind, several alternatives to industrial agriculture, with its polluting tendencies, have been explored and are being utilized today.

Pesticides used to kill insects that feed on crops can cause much damage to the environment if used inappropriately. Excessive pesticides remain in the soil after sprayings and are washed away by rain that forces them to be absorbed into groundwater. Avoiding pesticide contamination is a tricky process only feasible through careful containment practices. The same problem exists with the use of fertilizers. Excrements produced by cattle and other barnyard animals also cause pollution. The methane released from cow flatulence is also a type of greenhouse gas making it partly responsible for global warming. Emissions from the use of fossil fuels by tractors and other farm equipment used in agriculture also contribute to air pollution. Fires, which are not uncommon on farms, can be very detrimental to the environment if fertilizer or waste products are being burnt. The problem of agricultural pollution is not simply felt in regions in farming regions. Contaminates in rivers can be carried all the way to the ocean and polluted air can be blown to other areas with denser populations.

Agricultural pollution poses numerous human health problems. Chemicals that make their way into groundwater can eventually end up in water sources that are used for drinking. Blue baby syndrome, a disease that causes death in infants, is often caused by contaminated water. Pesticides released into the air and emissions from farm equipment cause difficulty breathing and a host of respiratory problems. Fertilizers, manure, waste, and ammonia that are present in water release nitrogen that reduces the amount of oxygen present resulting in the death of fish and other marine animals.

While industrial agriculture is the most efficient way to produce large quantities of food, the pollution associated with it raises many environmental and health concerns. In light of this, there has been a shift to organic farming which uses more natural ways to raise crops and livestock and avoids the use of harmful chemicals. The use of alternative crops that require less fertilizer because they are adapted to the environment in which they are grown also help to reduce agricultural pollution. However, the demand for cheaper and higher quantities of food as world population steadily rises will make changes in farming methods less likely and more difficult.

Organic Options
More and more people are deciding to choose an organic lifestyle to counteract the imbalances of todays fast-paced world.

An organic lifestyle consists of using products, eating food and generally living a lifestyle, which is free from the chemicals that are present in so much of the commodities that we use to live life in the 21st century developed world.

Some people are choosing to go wholly organic, others, just partly, but it has been proven that an organic lifestyle is beneficial to health and well-being. Here are a few ethics, for organics:

Eating organic food means that fruit, vegetables and grains have not been sprayed with chemicals and have been grown using traditional methods. Organic meat is free from the antibiotics that are fed to animals that are farmed intensively to make them prematurely fat. Ingesting these chemicals and unnatural substances has been proven to have a negative impact on health.

To source the very freshest organic produce many people order fruit and vegetable boxes from farms that are delivered to their door, some people use farmers markets where they can trust their food has been raised/sourced/grown responsibly, and are able to ask the sellers, who are very often the farmers any questions.

Growing vegetables and owning an allotment has increased in popularity in recent years, this is again a way that people are aware of where there food comes from, and its popularity indicates that people are becoming more aware and concerned about this.

Using organic cosmetics, toiletries and household products eliminates the chemicals that tend to be present in conventional products, therefore protecting our bodies and immediate environment from chemical. Brands such as Ecover have been sold for many years but are finding that peoples increased awareness of the environment and their health has been beneficial to sales.

Organic clothing is also becoming more and more popular. Natural fibres such as cotton, hemp and bamboo are grown organically and then made into clothing, which again ensures that skin does not come into contact with chemicals that can be used in clothes dye and manufacturing clothing. Many people who have children and babies will try to adopt some kind of an organic lifestyle, to give their child the purest and healthiest start as possible, and there are a variety of organic childrens clothing options available.

Eliminating unnecessary chemicals and preservatives from our lifestyle can only be a good thing for physical health, but there is also a certain sense of well-being that those who go organic adopt.

Organic meat is always free range, so to eat organic means that you have not contributed to cruelty to animals, pollution and general waste that a non-organic way of life is susceptible to. An organic lifestyle is also considered more sustainable and recyclable, and quite often fair trade products are organic.

An organic lifestyle can be more expensive, however this encourages moderation, as it is widely understood that society today is greedy in excess of what it requires.

So, the benefits of organic are huge and for physical, mental and spiritual well-being, it is certainly a choice to consider.

Organic Music

The word “organic” is used quite a bit these days. We hear it in business as organic growth and now we hear it with regard to music recording and podcasting. The term “organic” has come to refer to something that is natural, authentic, and has core value. For example, the organic growth in business refers to true expansion in the central core of the company not inflated increases from outside venues or other sources.

According to the online urban dictionary, organic music is music that has a core sound and tone that is natural by use of acoustic instruments and vocals. This definition went on to elaborate about organic music resonating positive vibes or something to that effect. As musicians, the music industry cautions us to be “more organic.” However, in this digital age, recording music in a home studio on a PC via Audacity or Adobe Audition by its very definition is digital. The sound is stored in a system of ones and zeros. Musicians can record short segments and easily repeat these sections by copying and pasting multiple times. Drums can be manufactured on keyboards or can be made completely inside a computer by using software. Most indie musicians use electronic keyboards, drum machines, and software for instrumentation when recording. These resonating vibrations though, are merely recreations from a computer.

Indie musicians are branching out into selling their music to film and television (i.e. sync licensing or synchronization). This leads to wondering how modern indie recording musicians can obtain an organic music texture?

TROUBLE WITH QUANTIZATION

Quantizing is a digital software adjustment that can move beats to equal other beats. So if a beat is slightly off, it can be snapped perfectly into place. The same can be used for vocals that are slightly flat or sharp by adjusting the pitch. Anyone doing their own recording and mixing has their own techniques for editing and layering tracks. However, something that I noticed early on with quantizing beats in my instruments was when listening back, some instrumental sounds were canceled out. The aural threshold of human hearing is limited, so by aligning every single instrument to an exact beat meant that the listener wasn’t hearing everything that was intended. This aural phenomenon means that only a few sounds can exist in the same space at the same time. I also noticed that if two instruments had similar timbres or tones, one of them might be canceled out aurally.

Maybe this organic music direction has a slightly different meaning? Maybe it means less perfect?

ORGANIC SYMPHONIC

Let’s compare this to a symphony orchestra or choir where you have multiple musicians playing together at the same time. The orchestra has a thick acoustic sound which fulfills the definition organic music. If all the musicians are playing at the same time how can we hear the various instruments? There are a few factors that make this possible. The musicians are playing at the same time, but no two people can place precisely note for note at the exact time like a computer can. This fraction of a millisecond difference when each musician puts their bow to the string can be multiplied by all the musicians playing. This produces a thickness to the sound texture of orchestras and choirs.

Another reason for being able to hear the various instruments is due to the timbre of the individual instruments or choir voices. No two violins or voices have the exact same tone or vibrato. This variance allows human hearing to differentiate between sounds.

An additional reason for variance is the use of multiple ranges of notes. Orchestras have first and second violins, violas, cellos, and multitude of other instruments playing different notes in different octaves.

The last reason is where the musicians reside in the linear plane of hearing. For example, violins are heard more to the left, cellos basses are heard more to the right, and woodwinds are more central. This is a result of where they are seated in the orchestra during a performance and where a listener would commonly hear them from the audience.

APPLYING THIS

Knowing this information can be vital in providing a more organic sound to recordings.

Instrumentation- If you are using more than one type of the same instruments like guitars from a keyboard or digital strings, try using completely two different textures. You can even adjust one to be more treble sounding than the other. If you are adding a digital woodwind or flute of some type, add in the vibrato. If you are using multiple instruments, use different octave ranges and divergent notes within the chord structure of the song.

Panning – Use the pan feature and place instruments left center, another center, another right center, etc. This allows the listener to hear the individual instruments. If you are a band but want to achieve a chamber orchestra sound, place the orchestra how you would hear them live– violins on the left, viola left center, cello/bass more to the right. Place these instruments more to the back by using reverb while placing your guitar, bass, and vocals more up front.

Quantizing – By all means, quantize your rhythm and drums and a few of the instruments. In other cases, play the instruments all the way through the song and allow for that millisecond variance, as if multiple musicians were playing at the same time.

Timbres – Add a real voice, real percussion, or real other instrument along with your recording. If you are using the digital ah’s in a song from a keyboard, get a real person to sing along with them. Adding in live actual sounds goes along way to making the recording more organic.

All the Way Through – I will use quantization to make drum tracks or basic percussion tracks and bass tracks. The rest I play live, all the way through. It is a challenge to do this and requires practice. The end result is that you can achieve a sound of multiple musicians even if you are recording by yourself.

“Music is a form of emotional communication, and when an instrument is played by a skilled performer, it can conduct that emotion from composer, through performer to listener. But when machines are allowed to have too much influence, then that emotional connection is broken. Yes, the notes, rhythms and timbres remain, but the subtleties that make music truly involving are lost. Non-organic music does often start with good DNA (to continue the analogy), but then it goes through the machine process and is liberally treated with pesticides (quantization) before being packaged and sold to the public.” Reference – Audio Masterclass

Organic Gardening – The Greenest Agricultural Technique

Everybody appears to be deeply concerned about the environment. If you share that sentiment, organic gardening may just be your thing. In the identical manner that humans have frequently polluted the earth, organic gardening has continually helped, with people gardening this method for years.

Lab chemicals did not was once customary agricultural aids, thus no one even had to “go” organic back in the day – they already were. Therefore, their food was much healthier and a lot of nutritious. Those are the identical primary reasons organic gardening is therefore engaging nowadays – health and nutrition.

What Precisely Makes an “Organic” Garden?
You have got truly organic gardening when commercial pesticides and fertilizers aren’t half of the growing process. It’s not that these do not work, however their short-term edges are outweighed by the long-term negative effects – destruction of natural ecosystems.

Nature takes the simplest care of itself; air, water and soil stay purer when you choose for organic gardening.

Improve Physical Performance
Organic gardening = organic food = better health. (A nice equation!) The only real all-natural foods are organic, and they additionally happen to be the safest and healthiest. Your average, pesticide-laden garden could never manufacture foods with as many nutrients and minerals.

Organic foods are a true boost to the immune system – that is because of the amount of potassium, iron, magnesium and calcium found in them.

Not solely will your body function higher with high amounts of the minerals you wish, however you don’t have to stress concerning doable side effects from fertilizers and pesticides. There’s a important reduction in the number of food toxins.

Higher Crops
Vegetable gardens are some of the simplest places to begin your organic gardening journey (as long as you’re willing to place in the work). Not only can the quality of your vegetables improve, however their shelf lives will be longer.

There is nothing higher than contemporary vegetables – except fresh organic vegetables. Like every garden, it’s going to prevent money.

It is a reward in itself simply to be ready to sit down back and finally see a lusty garden in your backyard. Gardening is nearly perpetually a great health benefit – using manufacture from your garden may be a useful method to begin out the day.

Organic gardening is such a tremendous health chance that it’s a surprise therefore few folks go this route. If additional were to use this methodology, pollution of the environment would be a considerably less. After all, what you set in the ground in your yard makes it over to the neighbor’s.

Equally, what you do not place in your yard doesn’t. Get the whole family involved and begin working toward a better nutritional future together. Deciding to try and do organic gardening is one of the simplest health choices you may ever make.

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