Check out www.itsaplasticworld.com

English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWjkH7EV9lg

Deutsch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpv74tSiGmU

Obst und Gemüse verlieren immer mehr an Nährstoffen

Frischkost enthält weniger Vitalstoffe als noch vor 50 Jahren.

Fünf Portionen an Obst und Gemüse pro Tag sollen, laut Empfehlungen der “Ernährungsexperten”, den Bedarf an Vitaminen und Mineralstoffen decken. Das ist falsch!
Einige frühere Studien haben dies schon widerlegt und eine aktuelle amerikanische Studie bestätigt es wieder:

Obst und Gemüse sind längst nicht mehr so vitaminreich wie früher.

Laut der aktuellen Untersuchung fällt der Gehalt an Vitalstoffen seit den 70er-Jahren rapide ab: Der Verlust von Vitamin A bei Äpfeln beträgt 41 Prozent. Paprika hat um 31 Prozent weniger Vitamin C und Brokkoli nur noch die Hälfte an Eisen.

Blumenkohl hat heute nur halb so viel Vitamin C, B1 und B2 als noch vor 40 Jahren. Ausgelaugte und schadstoffbelastete Böden in der Landwirtschaft führen zu einem drastischen Verlust an Mineralstoffen und Vitaminen in der Nahrung. „Der Mangel an Magnesium in der heutigen Ernährung ist auffallend“, bestätigt Arzt und Biochemiker Jörg Birkmayer.

Und US-Mediziner Al Sears meint: „Sie müssen heute zehnmal so viel Obst und Gemüse essen, um die gleiche Menge an Vitaminen und Mineralstoffen wie vor 50 Jahren zu bekommen.“ Wem das zu viel erscheint, muss zu diversen Nahrungsergänzungsmitteln und Vitaminsäften greifen.

Kommentar: Neben unreif geernteten Früchten, UV-Bestrahlung, langen Transportwegen und Lagerzeiten, werden die Landwirte durch das kapitalistische System dazu gezwungen auf Quantität, anstatt auf Qualität zu setzen. Die Böden können sich nicht erholen, werden ärmer, verlieren ihre Nährstoffe und werden zusätzlich mit Chemikalien (Düngemittel und Pestiziden) verseucht.

Genetisch verändertes Saatgut (vor allem in den USA – zunehmend auch bei uns) kommt Dank der politischen Lobbyarbeit der Agrarkonzerne vermehrt zum Einsatz. Das ist eine Tragödie die auf kurzfristiges Denken und Geldgier beruht. Was werden die Menschen essen, wenn die Nahrung nichts mehr wert ist? Müll natürlich… Und was passiert dann? Eine zunehmend kranke Gesellschaft.

Wer zu Nahrungsergänzungsmitteln greift sollte jedoch auch hier auf erhebliche qualitative Unterschiede achten. Grundsatz: alles was künstlich ist, macht den Körper längerfristig krank!

Vergleich der Ergebnisse von  älteren Studie aus dem Jahre 1985, 1996 und 2002 mit entsprechenden Vitalstoff-Verlust-Werten:

Studien in diesem Zusammenhang:

1. Hyson D. The Health Benefits of Fruits and Vegetables: A Scientific Overview for Health Professionals. Wilmington, DE: Produce for Better Health Foundation, 2002.
2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005. 6th Edition, Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2005.
3. Casagrande SS, Wang Y, Anderson C, et al. Have Americans increased their fruit and vegetable intake? The trends between 1988 and 2002. Am J Prev Med 2007;32(4): 257−63.
4. Mayer A-M. Historical changes in the mineral content of fruits and vegetables. Brit Food J1997; 96(6):207−11.
5. Christian J. Charts: Nutrient changes in vegetables and fruits, 1951 to 1999. CTV.ca News 2002.
6. Davis DR, Epp MD, Riordan HD. Changes in USDA Food Composition for 43 Garden Crops, 1950 to 1999. J Am C Nutr 2004; 23(6):669−82.
7. Thomas D. A study on the mineral depletion of the foods available to us as a nation over the period 1940 to 1991. Nutr Health 2003;17(2):85−115.
8. Souci SW, Fachmann W, Kraut H. Food Composition and Nutrition Tables. 6th Edition, Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2000.
   
   Source: www.gesundheitlicheaufklaerung.de/

The 10 coolest urban gardens in the world

1. Prinzessinnengarten (Berlin)

Prinzessinnengarten is a green and social project in the heart of Berlin, in the Kreuzberg district. Since 2009 an urban wasteland has been reclaimed with the help of hundreds of volunteers, creating a vibrant space for growing herbs and vegetables, always open for the community.

2. Graze the Roof (San Francisco)

Graze the Roof is a community garden installed on the roof on the progressive Glide Memorial Church in the Bay Area. Built with upcycled materials and equipped with a worm composting system, it hosts workshops for the community and other social activities whilst growing vegetables and keeping bees.

3. Brooklyn Grange Farm (NYC)

One of the most fascinating (and media favourite) urban agriculture projects of recent years,Brooklyn Grange Farm grows organic produce that sells in New York City markets, as well as to local restaurants and retailers. They even run a CSA program (fully booked!) and the lush space can be booked for events. Watch this mesmerizing video showing a growing season in 3 minutes:

4. Lufa Farms (Montreal)

Another commercial rooftop gardening enterprise, this one in greenhouses. Lufa Farms grow more than 40 types of vegetables with a hydroponic system, recirculating 100% of the irrigation water and with no synthetic pesticides. If you live in Montreal area, you can even buy their produceonline.

5. Agropolis Urban Farm (Christchurch, NZ)

Agropolis Urban Farm is part of a wider movement to bring a more sustainable food system to Christchurch, New Zealand.  One of the most important tasks in the hands of this emerging collaborative project is to compost and recycle the waste coming from bars and restaurants in the city.

6. Pop Up Patch (Melbourne)

Staying in the southern hemisphere, Pop Up Patch in Melbourne is a subscription based gardening club where every member rents and tends a vegetable patch to grow his/her own food (groups and families are welcomed too). There are still some spots available, so if you live in the area, “for the price of a coffee a day”, you get your own little garden and all the help and encouragement of the Pop Up Patch team.

7. Soradofarm (Tokio)

This one is for transient gardeners. Soradofarm if a program that keeps gardens of train station rooftops so that waiting passengers can do a spot of gardening while the next train comes.

8. Murs à pêches (Paris)

Did you know that Paris used to be a hub of the peach industry? Starting in the seventeenth century, a maze of walls and plots formed a mediterranean-like microclimate in the Montreuil neighbourhood that produced tons of fruit for the Parisian aristocracy. Now the Murs à Pêchesassociation (translated as “Walls of Peaches”) is working to revive the abandoned orchards to restore them as a urban garden and a cultural space.

9. Growing Underground (London)

Anyone who has taken the tube in London knows that in can be hot down there.  Now two entrepreneurs have launched an initiative called Growing Underground to make use of some of that heat to grow salad greens in spaces once used as WWII shelters in the London underground system.

10. Urban Farm (Dublin)

Ireland’s first urban rooftop garden Urban Farm is located in the Dublin city center and aims to “convert urban spaces into tangible edible benefits for the community”.

We are well aware that this list is not comprehensive, urban gardening projects are mushrooming everywhere. Do you know any other cool urban gardens we should know about? Go on, tell us and spread the good news!!

(Image sources: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6)
Source: http://about.greeni.us/

Aeroponic

The world's 4th busiest airport brings a new meaning to sustainable agriculture. O'Hare International Airport in Chicago uses Aeroponic Towers to grow enough veggies to feed over 10,000 hungry travelers a year. Local, GMO free, chemical free - add renewable energy to the mix and it couldn't get much better. We think every airport and shopping mall should have a similar garden. What do you think?

WATCH THE VIDEO: http://gmofreeusa.org/gmo-media-top/videos/

How to make your own rain barrel

10 Uses for Wood Ash

Before you dispose of those wood ashes sitting in your fireplace or your wood burning stove, try using your wood ash these 10 different ways:

1.   Use wood ash to add nutrients to your compost. Contains potash and calcium carbonate.

2.   Use wood ash to deter snails from plants. Spread around the perimeter of the plant.

3.  Use wood ash to add nutrients to planting holes for tomatoes  by adding about half a cup to each hole.

4.   Use wood ash to clean stove glass doors. Add to a damp sponge to wipe away sooty deposits.

5.   Use wood ash for soap making. Soak ashes in water to make lye which is used in the soap making process.

6.   Use wood ash to clean metal by making a paste with the ash.

7.   Use wood ash as a dust bath for chickens, it kills lice and mites.

8.   Use wood ash to remove sticky labels from glass jars by making a paste with a little water.

9.   Use wood ash as a top dressing around onions, leeks and garlic.

10. Use wood ash to raise the Ph of soil if required, as an alternative to lime.

Can you think of anymore? Please share in the comments below.

These 10 uses for wood ash was originally published on The Cyprus Garden Blog