Summer time is officially here!  Which means we are spending less time indoors and more time out.  But figured I'd take a quick break to write up another post.  
I love this time of year.  The kids are getting old enough now to play on their own outside, which is great when I need to get a little gardening done.  They like to help, but only have a limited attention span so when they are done helping me out, they can go and play in the yard.  I love going camping and am excited to get my kids out for their first tent experience.  There are so many great camping places around this area, the possibilities are endless.  Another thing we love doing in the summer is going to our local farms and farmers markets and making many delicious recipes.  We have found many great local organic farmers in our area and we love all the fresh seasonal fruits and veggies.  In this post I'd like to give you a few links to our favorite places to visit in the summer if you are in the local area. 

As I said, I love going camping.  Growing up, we went camping and fishing every summer.  We'd often go with my grandparents and cousins all around northern California and they were definitely some of the best times!  We'd camp in a great little place just outside of Truckee, CA, called Tahoe Timber Trails.  My grandparents, great-grandmother, aunts and uncles and a few cousins all own/owned a lot in this little gated community campground.  We'd go fishing at nearby Stampede Reservoir, Boca Lake and Prosser Creek. It was great because they had "comfort stations" which were full restrooms with showers, a lodge with a pool table, games, and TV (which we usually only watched if a storm blew in), a swimming pool, baseball field, playground, trails, and horseshoe pits.
Another great area that we'd go to was all around Plumas County, CA; specifically in the Lakes Basin Recreational Area between Sierra City and Graeagle, California, along Gold Lake Road.  There are dozens of lakes, ponds, streams, and creeks in this area as well as many campgrounds, cabins, and lodges to stay at.  We loved camping at spots like Chapman Creek campground and going fishing in the surrounding creeks or going to Upper/Lower Sardine Lake, Gold Lake, or Packer Lake to go fishing.  We'd go swimming in Sand Pond or eat burgers at Bassetts Station and go hiking up to the Sierra Buttes (which was quite the experience for me, hiking all the way to the lookout tower, considering I'm terrified of heights).  Another great thing about these areas is you don't need a lot of money to go enjoy them.  Big bonus if you have a limited budget!  It's also just a short drive from the Reno/Sparks area, so these make great weekend trips.
While we lived in Las Vegas, it was a little more difficult to get out and camp (especially if you were looking for places near lakes and rivers).  We'd usually drive about 3-4 hours up to Duck Creek Village, Utah, which is a beautiful area as well.  There were quite a few lakes and trails in this area to fish, hike, and ride ATVs. We'd also go camping out at Dumont Dunes in California and ride ATVs.  It was quite a challenge to tent camp out there as there is no running water.  You definitely need a motor home or trailer when camping out here.  But there was still many good times and memories with friends and family to be had. I'm very much looking forward to sharing these great memories (and making new ones) with my kids now and in the future.

Now I get to give some shout outs to some of our favorite farmers!  If you are looking to meet some new farmers, a farmers market is a great place to start.  Around here, you can usually find one almost any day of the week.  Here is a great link with all the local markets going on for 2014:  http://www.ediblerenotahoe.com/2012-01-27-04-24-16/2012-farmers-market-guide.
One of the things I love, is coming home from the markets and looking at my kids' faces, which are usually covered in some sort of fruity mess from them trying all the fruit samples the vendors are giving out.
Here is a list of some of our favorite local farmers too.  When you get a chance, get out and see them for yourself!

• From The Earth - Located in Washoe Valley, NV.  Betty and Ron have been longtime family friends and we were very excited to see them growing bigger and providing great local, organic, and heirloom variety foods (fruits, vegetables, eggs, and fowl) to area restaurants and residents.  Stop by and give them a "Like" on Facebook and take a tour of their farm.  We are still enjoying some of our 24lb turkey from them from Thanksgiving (by way of canned turkey broth). They have amazing eggs and produce as well.  Their girls are quite spoiled!
• Lattin Farms - Located in Fallon, NV.  This is such a fun farm!  They have been around since the 1970's and are well established.  We've enjoyed visiting them and enjoying all the fun activities they offer  - the pumpkin maze in the fall, craft fairs, the Easter Bunny, and of course their organic vegetables and fruit. 
• Midtown Farm - Located in Reno, NV.  This is a relatively new farm/homestead that we've discovered.  They are a great little family homestead who offer classes to youngsters about organic farming and offer fruits and vegetables, eggs, rabbit, and fowl.  We picked up 5-1/2lbs of mulberries from them and enjoyed a few mulberry pies and smoothies (and still have plenty that we froze).
• Hidden Valley Honey - Located in Reno, NV.  We buy this at many locations around town including Raley's and Whole Foods.  I love their raw honey!  I also use some of it in my skin care items.
• Joy's Honey Ranch - Located in Reno, NV.  Another good local bee keeper.  We love their honey too (my kids look forward to his booth at the farmer's markets to buy honey sticks).  He is also another great source for me for local beeswax.
• Alpine Ranch Grass-fed Beef - Located in Fallon, NV. A great source for grass-fed beef and pastured pork.  We found them last year through All Natural Nevada Food Company at the local farmers markets. I love that they raise their cattle and pigs the way they are supposed to be raised.  They also deliver to Las Vegas, NV which is great for all our Vegas friends and family. 
• KT Beef - Located in Loyalton, CA.  Another great source for grass-fed beef.  We bought a very large steer from them last year with a couple of other families and are still enjoying the meat now.  I love that they also raise their cattle the way they are supposed to be raised.
• Sunny Day Organic Farms - Located in Stagecoach, NV. Another great source for organic pork.  We also found them through All Natural Nevada Food Company last year at the farmers markets.  They had the best pork sausage and chops!
• Carrol's Corner Truck Farm - Located in Yerington, NV. I love seeing them at the local farmer's markets!  Great source for organic fruits and vegetables.  I just finished making up a few batches of cilantro pesto tonight from the cilantro I bought from them this week.
• Andelin Family Farm - Located in Sparks, NV.  This is another really fun farm.  We visit them every year in the fall for all their family activities.  They have a great pumpkin patch, horseback rides, games and activities, and a new corn maze.  We have such a great time here!
  
• Basket Case Organics - Located in Sparks, NV. While technically not a farm, I feel they are definitely worth mentioning.  We get a weekly basket delivered from them and it is awesome!  Organic fruits and vegetables (and from local sources when available) delivered to your door for about the same price (if not cheaper) than what you'd find at your local grocery store. It sure cuts down on my trips to the store and their produce is great.
• Debi Gray - Located in Sparks, NV.  A little shout out to another egg supplier of ours.  She delivers farm fresh organic eggs to our door every week and they are so yummy.  Thank you Debi!
• Heirloom Gardens - Located in Reno, NV.  I don't have any personal experience with them, but I still wanted to give them a mention.  I think this is a good resource for any of you out there who would like to start your own organic heirloom garden.
• Girlfarm/Grow For Me Sustainable Farm - Located in Reno, NV.  Another farm that I don't have any personal experience with yet, but I'm hoping that one day that will change.  I love their farming practices (organic, heirloom, sustainable) and they have some of the best Facebook updates.  I love seeing all the pictures of their farm and seeing the love they have for their animals and farm. 
• Hungry Mother Organics - Located in Carson City and Dayton, NV.  Another farm that I don't have any personal experience with. But again, I think they are worth mentioning for more organic farms in our region.
• Quail Hollow Farm CSA - Located in Overton, NV.  This is one I thought I'd throw in for my Las Vegas friends and family.  Again, I don't have any personal experience with them, but if we still lived in Las Vegas, I'm sure I would know them.  Just another great option for organic farms.
• Great Basin Community Food Coop - Located in Reno, NV.  Another great resource in Reno for local organic food.  Again, no personal experience with them yet, but hoping that will one day change.

I hope you are out enjoying the summer as well this year!  Let me know where your favorite camping spots are and who your favorite farmers are!

Wow, it's been a busy couple of weeks!  I had my first couple of shows of the year this last weekend.  It was great to get out and meet new people! I'm looking forward to all the new shows I have coming up.

So if you haven't already figured it out by the products I make and sell, we tend to go pretty natural in our household.  In my journey to research more about the chemicals in the beauty products that my family and I used, it was clear that what we were using wasn't the best.  The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has a great website that tells you how safe the products you use are.  Looking up the products that we had been currently using, most of them were rated about a 4 or 5 (On a scale of 0 to 10; 0-2 being low hazard, 3-6 being moderate hazard, and 7-10 being high hazard).  I guess I was a little surprised that all the items we used (most of them being for sensitive skin and/or for babies) were still rated this high.  So I set out on a mission to find products that were rated 0-2 (preferably 0) and that didn't cost an arm and a leg (why is it that the more natural and non-toxic you want to go, the more expensive things tend to be?).

I figured that one of the best and least expensive ways to get a good product with ingredients that I trusted was to make it myself. One of the first items that I wanted to switch out to a natural product was our shampoo and conditioner.  Of course I dove right into Pinterest to find a recipe for shampoo.  Boy was I in for it!  There are SO many DIY recipes on Pinterest to try!  It's a bit overwhelming.  One recipe that I kept coming across and seemed really interesting to try was called "no-poo".  If you're like me when I first read about it, I thought, "what in the heck is 'no-poo' and how could this possibly work?"  It's actually really simple.  You use baking soda as your new shampoo and vinegar as your new conditioner.  With traditional shampoos and conditioners, the chemicals in them strip your hair of all its natural oils.  This can leave your hair very dry and unhealthy.  You are also exposing your skin (your body's largest organ) to many toxins which will be absorbed directly into your blood stream.   By using the no-poo method, you aren't using the toxic chemicals on your hair (and indirectly, your skin) and you are giving your hair a chance to get it's natural oils back.  Did you know that some of the toxic side effects from the ingredients in chemical shampoos include Ecotoxicology, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), & Cancer?  And that's just from the Fragrances alone.  We are exposed to so many different toxins in our daily lives, if I can choose to eliminate some of those toxins, than I'm going to do my best to steer clear of them.

Now be forewarned - there can be a transition period for people when you first start going this method.  It can look like you dunked your hair in a vat of Crisco.  Not a very appealing thought, especially if you have a job to go to everyday and need to look professional.  I will admit, this is now my 3rd or 4th attempt at going the no-poo route and I think I may have finally achieved the result I wanted.  My first few attempts were not so successful.  I went through a very long transition period that I never was able to get out of.  I just looked like I hadn't washed my hair ever.  I even had my mom asking me when I would give it up and just wash my hair.  From most of the blogs that I read, the transition period for people was about 2 weeks or so.  I would go over a month and not ever get past that greasy, static-y, gross look.  So I found a few shampoos at the supermarket that were rated a 1 and would use those in between trying the no-poo method several more times.  I finally came across a new blog that gave me a better method to start the no-poo method.  In most of the original blogs that I read, the blogger would put a little (maybe a teaspoon to a tablespoon) of baking soda into a cup, dilute with water and then wash their hair with it.  This method never worked for me.  In this newer blog post, the blogger just used the baking soda straight and would massage it directly into her scalp/hair.  So I tried this method and it actually worked!  I was so excited that I didn't have to look like a grease head and have unmanageable hair and could still go with the no-poo method.  I'm now about 7 weeks into the no-poo style and I have to say I really like it.  I wash my hair now about every 2-5 days with the baking soda and then rinse with the apple cider vinegar.  

So here are a few pictures from when I first started out:

To answer some questions you may have regarding this method:
No, your hair doesn't stink from not washing it with a "regular" shampoo.  There can be a slight vinegar smell from the conditioner, but this doesn't bother me (I use vinegar in so many of my cleaning supplies and laundry, I have begun to equate it with a clean smell).  If it does bother you, you can also add a few drops of essential oils in the vinegar when you rinse (I've used lavender and melaleuca on mine on occasion). 
You can try a few different applications.  You can try the baking soda diluted in water and rinse or you can just put the baking soda straight onto your hair.  Go with the method that works best for your hair.  Everyone's is different.
And to answer the question I asked earlier - Natural and non-toxic tends to be more expensive because, well, let's face it, you get what you pay for, unfortunately. 

Here are a few more pictures as I've gone through the last few weeks of no-poo:

Some of the things that I really like about going the no-poo route is how cheap it is!  Baking Soda is so much cheaper than any shampoo out there and lasts so much longer.  It's also rated a 0 on EWG's website (hooray for non-toxic!).  The apple cider vinegar is rated a 1.  I also love how soft my hair feels.  It actually feels so much more healthy than when I was using regular shampoo and conditioner.  I'm amazed at how well it brushes out as well.  There are hardly any tangles in my hair and it's much nicer to brush after a shower.

If you do end up going through that transition phase with greasy hair, you can also try dry shampoo.  Simply brush (I use a large makeup brush) some arrowroot powder/cocoa powder mixture on your hair and comb through.  (For the dry shampoo, start with a base of arrowroot powder and add the cocoa powder for color; the darker your hair, the more cocoa powder you'll add.)  This will help soak up any excess oil in your hair and make it a little more manageable between washes.  And as a bonus - you'll smell like chocolate! 

So if you've seen me around the last couple of months, let me know what you think, or if you've even been able to tell that I haven't "washed" my hair.  If you've tried this method, let me know how your experience was too!

If you'd like to read more on what some other bloggers went through in their no-poo adventures, here are some good links:  
http://www.homemademommy.net/2013/10/does-the-no-poo-method-actually-work.html
http://thecrunchymoose.com/2013/07/no-poo.html
http://thecrunchymoose.com/2014/03/one-year-without-shampoo.html
http://www.healyourselfdiy.com/no-poo-method-hair/
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/04/the-best-homemade-shampoo-recipe.html
http://redandhoney.com/diy-all-natural-dry-shampoo-2-ingredients/

The Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep - http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

Spring is officially here!  Although from the weather outside, you'd think it was still winter. (Got to love weather in Northern Nevada!) Over the last couple of weeks, I've been working on getting my gardens ready for planting in the next month or two.  I love having a garden!  I grew up in a house that had a large garden out in back.  If I remember correctly, it was about 25' x 50' and we had rows of corn, green beans, numerous squash, berries, and potatoes.  I remember having to weed it as a kid and how my brother and I hated picking the rows of green beans (but then loving to eat them once it was done).  It was such a great memory for me as a kid and I hope that my kids will have the same memories as well.

For about 10 years, while we lived down in Las Vegas, we didn't have a garden.  I really would have loved one, but with a very tiny west facing backyard in Las Vegas heat (110 degrees on avg.), crummy soil, and dogs who liked to eat all our plants, it just wasn't happening. I was so thrilled when we moved back up to Sparks that our new house had a pre-existing garden with room to expand if we wanted.

The first year with our garden, we expanded from a 13' x 8' (approx.) little garden to a 23' x 11' (approx.) garden.  My youngest was about 3 months old when it came time to start planting, so with a lot of help from from my dad and husband, they helped make the expansion possible.  I forgot how well zucchini and squash do and ended up planting 9 plants.  Plus 9 roma tomato plants.  They took over the garden that first year and we gave a TON away.  I really wish I knew how to can then.  Luckily I was able to freeze quite a bit with a Foodsaver.  It was nice to have all through winter (and beyond)!  My oldest sure loved that year in the garden!  She was constantly digging and of course eating everything she could.  Here are a few pictures from before and after the first expansion:

So it was about this time that I started learning more about GMOs (2012).  I always knew I wanted an organic garden, especially with the kids and dogs eating straight from it.  I also started learning more about heirloom plants vs. hybrids.  For those of you who don't already garden or know the difference - heirlooms are plants that have been breed for generations and take on the characteristics of both parent plants.  They carry these traits down from generation to generation.  They are also open-pollinated, meaning they are pollinated by the wind or by bees.  Most of them are considered to be at least 50 years old or more, although this is subjective.  Hybrids are a cross from two different types of a plant (i.e. two varieties of tomatoes) and are bred for certain characteristics.  They are named for their generations (i.e. F1 for first generation, F2 for second generation, etc.) and they are breed through human manipulation.  The hybrid plants may not continue to produce the same traits that they were bred for over time and instead revert back to what one of the parent plants traits were.  Some subsequent generations may also be sterile (will sprout, but will not produce fruit).  GMO seeds should also not be confused with hybrids.  Hybrids are made through traditional breeding methods while GMOs are made in a lab by inserting DNA from other species into the seeds which couldn't happen naturally in nature.  There are some pros and cons to both heirloom and hybrid.  Heirlooms can be a little trickier to plant, especially if you are used to hybrids.  They can be a little less hardy and more susceptible to pests than their hybrid counterparts.  Heirlooms typically taste much better than hybrids though.

For the 2013 planting season, I went with almost all heirloom varieties.  We also expanded again.  I kept the original expanded garden and added an additional garden to the side of the house where it was all open still.  I also added a few container gardens on the patio.  This was definitely another experimental year for growing.  I like to rotate where my crops are grown and also do companion planting.  By doing this it helps keep the soil from being stripped of nutrients and also can help with pest control.  I also started making my own compost the year before, so this was added into the soil as well for extra nutrients.  I learned my lesson from the year before and didn't plant as many zucchini and squash or tomatoes.  However, this created problems of its own.  In the original garden, we had an infestation of squash bugs, as I call them.  I think they are actually stink bugs and they can take over a plant and practically kill it.  So I only got a few zucchini and squash this last year, but it was much nicer than the previous year.  The tomatoes were moved to containers on the patio.  Unfortunately there was no other flowering plants close by and therefor no bees to pollinate either.  I ended up having to hand pollinate the tomatoes all season and ended up with only a few.  Luckily some friends and family had more than plenty they were willing to part with and I was able to learn to can and make marinara and tomato sauce for the first time.  Here are a few pictures from this last years gardens:

This year will probably be another experimental year as well to see what will work best in the containers and the other gardens.  I'm also planning another small expansion, although this one is much less labor intensive as the others were.  Since the pumpkins and squash took over the last years garden, they are being moved to some empty spots around the yard so they have plenty of room to grow.  I'll be adding a few new flowers and other bee-friendly plants to the container areas in hopes the bees will frequent the area a little more and do some pollinating.  Here's a little preview of this year's garden:

I love that my girls love to help with the garden!  They love to dig in the dirt (what kids don't?), plant the seeds and cover them, play with worms, watch the plants grow, and of course eat everything straight from the garden.  Last year we wouldn't even make it out of the garden before all of the strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries were eaten.  They are constantly snacking on cilantro, basil, onions, lettuce, and other herbs too.  Funny how when I bring the veggies in the house, they suddenly don't taste as good to them.  Guess they like them as fresh as possible!

We are planting another almost all heirloom and/or organic seed garden.  I love getting my seeds from Seed Savers.  They have a pretty extensive catalog and the shipping has always been really good.  There are plenty of other heirloom seed companies out there as well.  If there are things from Seed Savers that I can't find, I'll go to some of the local nurseries that sell organic/heirloom seeds/seedlings as well.

Here are a few fun facts about gardening that I love.

• Gardening can relieve stress.  The simple act of digging in the earth and trimming plants can help your mind decompress .
  
• Gardening is good for your mental health.  Studies have shown that gardening can help improve depression symptoms.
• Gardening is exercise.  (In case you didn't already know this.) It gets you out into the fresh air and sunshine too!  And it's an exercise that you're more likely to stick with.
• Gardening is good for brain health.  Some studies have shown that the physical acts associated with gardening can help lower your risk of developing dementia.

If you don't already garden and you'd like to start, but are afraid to... don't be!  It really doesn't take much effort or space.  I don't have much of a green thumb (just ask my house plants), so if I can do it, anybody can.  All you need is the right mix of soil & compost, water, and sun.  Thank goodness for our sprinkler system!  My houseplants might actually survive if I could remember to water them more consistently.  If you have good soil, regular watering, and the right amount of sun, nature will take care of the rest.  You also don't need a lot of space for a garden.  We are fortunate that we have enough space in our yard for such large gardens, but if you don't, container gardens are great!  There are so many things that can be grown in containers either outside on a patio or even inside (especially during the winter).  And one of the best parts about gardening is that it's pretty cheap to get started.  A packet of seeds costs between $1-$5 with about 25-100 seeds (depending on the type of plant) and each full sized plant can give you many pounds of free food.  And you can't go wrong with free food!

Here are a few links if you'd like to learn more about gardening or stop by your local nursery and ask how to get started:
Seed Savers - http://www.seedsavers.org/
Organic Gardening - http://www.organicgardening.com/
List of Heirloom Seed Companies - http://www.off-grid.info/food-independence/heirloom-seed-suppliers.html
Mother Earth News - http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/our-favorite-heirloom-seed-companies.aspx#axzz2xQZdgT9q

Wow!  I can't believe it's already been more than a month since my last blog post!  There's so may things that I want to write about and have my little mental notes filed away, life however has kept me from sitting down to write anything new.  So here is a little catch-up entry to let you know what I've been working on...

I've had a few new ideas and requests that have come up over the last couple of weeks and if you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you may have seen a few sneak peeks come up.  A good friend of mine and fellow fiber artist Purple Goddess Design asked me to step out of my comfort zone and try making a soap.  So after a couple of attempts to getting the right texture, I think I found one that I like.  It's a wool wash and is perfect for washing your wool or linen items.  PGD loves it to wash her wool yarns (which are fantastic!).  Thank you Alicia for getting me out of my comfort zone.  If you are interested in any wool wash for yourself, contact me and let me know.  I'm in the process of getting everything onto my Etsy shop now, and will be posting the wool wash soon.

So that leads me into what else I have been working on.  I FINALLY have my shop on Etsy open (It only took me about 7 months or so to stock it with at least one item and get it open)!  As I said before, I am in the process of trying to get more items stocked on there.  Again, those darn day-to-day things keep popping up (do the kids and animals REALLY need to be fed again?!  And that laundry and dishes... where's that maid?  Oh wait... guess my day job is calling. Hehe!).  So if you are interested in something and don't see it just yet, please feel free to drop me a line and I'll be happy to get it on the shop so you can purchase.  I do plan on getting multiple sizes of the wool wash on there, as well as my other skin care items, some hats and headbands, and of course some of my new items - recycled market bags and barefoot sandals.  Please feel free to stop on by and have a look, let me know what you think.  https://www.etsy.com/shop/DesignsByMeganG

Here's a few new sneak peeks at my latest creations that I'll be selling on Etsy as well as at my next craft fair - Reno Earth Day.  My recycled market bags are made from old grocery/shopping bags and crocheted into a fun market bag.  I love these for the farmers markets or for trips to the beach/pool.  So versatile and I love that I get to recycle all those old bags that have piling up in my garage (and would always forget to take to the store to recycle).  Another fun project I'll be premiering at the show are these barefoot sandals.  I'll be making these in both adults and children's sizes.  The kids and I love running around barefoot, so these are perfect for us (and so pretty!).  And of course they are made with the fabulous yarn from PGD! 

Also at Reno Earth Day, my friend LeAnn will be sharing a booth with me and selling her very cool recycled bottle plates/dishes and wind chimes.  I love how crafty these are!  They are made with recycled wine/beer/liquor bottles.  Here's a little peek at what she makes:

If you are ever over in Sparks shopping, head on over to Recycled Rugrats.  I have a small display of skin care items over there for the next few months. I am one of a few featured local artists over there. They currently have all my stock items, so if you are looking for something, head on over there!  They also have great gently-used baby and kids items for sale if you are in the market. 

In addition to Recycled Rugrats, I'm also joining the Indie Reno group in a co-op store in Reno at the Great Western Marketplace.  The store will be opening later this Spring, so I will be sure to keep you updated as we get closer to opening.  I'm so excited to be joining this great group of artists!  

So with that, I must get back to making my wares for the next show... Hopefully I will be able to update the blog much sooner next time!  I have a few things I'd love to write about including some about gardening and some about cosmetics and "no-poo".  Thanks again for stopping by to read the blog!

Hello out there!  Thanks for stopping by to read this blog!  So for those who don’t already know me, I’m Megan.  I am a wife, a mother, an artist.  Growing up I was always a bit of a hippie kid, now I’m just a hippie adult. I love to create and be inspired, in many different mediums.

One of the mediums I love to use every day is food.  I love to cook! I love REAL food.  Some may even call me a foodie.  Over the last year and half or so, our family has made a huge food transformation.  I started to hear more about things called GMOs (genetically modified organisms).  For those of you who don’t know what they are, they are organisms (plants/animals/insects/bacteria/viruses) that have had their DNA altered by scientists inserting new genes into them (i.e. corn with virus or bacteria DNA; goats with spider DNA; tomatoes with fish DNA).  After doing some digging and researching what they were and why they are potentially dangerous, we decided to cut them out of our diets completely.  

So what is the big deal with GMOs?  They’ve been creeping into our food since the mid 90’s without any word that they were there.  The FDA approved them without any independent testing done for safety and here they are today.  Based on patent laws, companies like Monsanto, Bayer, Dow and Sygenta (among others) can conduct their own studies while not allowing any independent research of their products.  Some of the biggest crops on the market today are Round-up Ready corn, soy, sugar beets, and cotton.  These GMO seeds mean that farmers can dump massive amounts of Round-up (yes, that toxic weed killer with all the warning messages on the bottle that tell you not to consume it or breath it) on them and it is supposed to kill everything around it except the Round-up ready crop. Most of these crops end up getting fed to livestock (including cattle, pigs, chickens, and even farm-raised fish, to help fatten them up).  The other portion that does not get used for livestock feed, ends up in your food.  Mostly in the pre-packaged and highly processed foods and usually in ingredients that you would never suspect.  Ingredients like vitamin E, maltodextrin, citric acid, and some more recognizable like cornstarch, soy lecithin, cottonseed oil, or sugar (most processed food ingredients that are labeled as “sugar” come from GMO sugar beets).  All of these foods have traces of Glyphosate (the main ingredient in Round-up) in them.  Even the meat that you are eating, the dairy products, and the eggs that you consume have glyphosate in them.  As the saying goes, you are what you eat.  And I for one, don’t want to be eating food that has been grown in (or fed) a toxic chemical that clearly states on a bottle that I should not be consuming.  

Other effects from the use of GMOs are the contamination of our groundwater (Where do you think all the Round-Up and other chemicals are going to once you douse a field with them?).  It has also led to the rise of super weeds (plants/weeds that have become resistant to glyphosate and other chemicals) and even super bugs (Bugs that are resistant to the chemicals and plants that were designed to kill them, such as Bt corn which is a GMO corn that when eaten by insects, makes their stomachs explode – tasty, huh?).  These mono crops have also led to the demise of biodiversity.  Biodiversity among plants is so important to our future.  Cross-pollination is a huge issue, especially among corn crops.  Corn varieties that are a huge part of many cultures are being contaminated with the GMO strains and if it continues, entire crops will be completely eliminated. The decline of honey-bees has also been a huge concern over the last decade or so.  Without bees, we don’t have most of our food crops.  While the collapse of so many bee colonies has been under debate, you can bet that GMOs and pesticides will be just a few of the reasons why. (As a side note, did you know that Monsanto purchased the leading bee research firm after being implicated in colony collapse? Sounds a little fishy to me.)

There are also the unknown health effects from consuming GMOs.  The studies that were conducted by these companies were 90 day trials on rats. That’s it, 90 days.  There have been no long-term studies done on any of these GMOs.  And because of patent laws, independent researchers are not allowed to conduct any studies without fear of being sued.   So in effect, we the consumers have become the lab rats in these long-term studies, all without our consent or our knowledge.  Did you know that there are 64 other countries around the world that have banned GMOs?  They don’t want to be eating them, so why should we?  I know I don’t.  And I don’t want my family eating them either.  Some of the few studies that have been conducted have also shown a huge rise in diseases like auto-immune disorders, cancers, irritable bowels, infertility, allergies just to name a few.  It makes you wonder why we’ve seen such an increase in severe childhood allergies, gluten intolerances, infertility, cancers, and ADHD over the last couple of decades. 

So upon finding all of this information out, we started our food transformation.  I started to buy only organic and Non-GMO verified food.  We cleaned out our cupboards and replaced our staples with the organic ones.  I found a local company that delivers a basket of organic fruit and veggies to our door once a week (their pricing is comparable, if not cheaper than going to my local grocery store to buy).  We got together with family and friends and purchased a grass-fed cow to be humanely killed and butchered and our freezer is now stocked.  I found a few local farmers who have free-range hens who are fed organic food and they deliver (or I can pick up) farm fresh eggs. I started growing my own food from heirloom seeds in our gardens in the summer.  I’ve learned to freeze food using a food saver and learned to can using a water bath canner and a pressure canner to preserve all the food that we grow.  This past summer we also spent 1-3 days a week down at our local farmers markets, supporting our local organic farmers.  I also started cooking things from scratch using all our real food ingredients.  I became a label reader.  Not only did I want to avoid GMOs, but preservatives, and artificial colors and flavors as well. And so I cook from scratch.  It can be time consuming, especially when you are first learning, and it is totally worth it.  That’s where the food preserving and meal planning can definitely come in handy for time saving.  And my crockpot has become one of my best friends in the kitchen, especially when I know I have a busy day ahead of me and can’t spend all day in the kitchen. But that’s another subject for another blog.

If you stop and think about how radically our food system has changed over the last 100 years or so, it can blow your mind.  Most people these days (especially young people) don’t know how to cook for themselves or even where their food comes from.  Our grandparents and great-grandparents grew their own food or bought from their local farmers.  I’ve heard of people these days who think that broccoli is made in a factory, not grown from the earth. I think that’s a little sad that we’ve let our society and culture go so far that people have no clue where our food comes from. I hope that’s a trend we can change.  My hope is that more people will learn to grow their own food and to be more self-sufficient. I hope that my children will learn about these things and more.

If you are interested in finding out more about GMOs there are some great resources out there.  There are some great documentaries that are worth watching including Genetic Roulette and Seeds of Deception.  Below is a list of links if you’d like to read more. I am certainly no expert, just a mom trying to find what's best for my family.  

Thanks for taking the time to read my first blog.  I hope that you found it interesting and maybe even a little informative. 

Links for more information:

• The Non-GMO Project - http://www.nongmoproject.org/
  
• Non-GMO Shopping Guide - http://nongmoshoppingguide.com/
• Dr. Mercola - http://gmo.mercola.com/
• Moms Across America - http://www.momsacrossamerica.com/
• Institute for Responsible Technology - http://www.responsibletechnology.org/
• Genetic Roulette Documentary - http://geneticroulettemovie.com/
• Seeds of Deception - http://seedsofdeception.com/