Growing Hemp Legalized In United States

Story at-a-glance

• Hemp, a species of cannabis plant, has been valued since ancient times for its fibers and seeds, but it’s been illegal to grow in the U.S. for decades
• The 2018 Farm Bill included a section legalizing hemp production, paving the way for what many are calling the next big cash crop
• While both marijuana and hemp come from the cannabis plant, hemp is low in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the substance that produces the “high” associated with marijuana
• Hemp is beneficial for the soil as it doesn’t require the use of pesticides and has a short growing cycle, making it sustainable
• Hemp is valued as an omega-3-rich plant food and fiber and has more than 25,000 industrial uses
• Many of hemp’s health benefits relate to its cannabidiol (CBD) content, which has been found to offer neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory benefits

Hemp, a species of cannabis plant, has been valued since ancient times for its fibers and seeds, but it’s been illegal to grow in the U.S. for decades. That all changed in late 2018 with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. It included a section legalizing hemp production, paving the way for what many are calling the next big cash crop.
Hemp has many uses, ranging from food to fiber, but it’s also the source of the hemp-derived compound cannabidiol (CBD), which shows promising medical uses. The CBD market in the U.S. was estimated at $600 million in 2018, with projections shooting up over $20 billion by 2022.¹
The change in hemp’s legal status was a long time coming and paves the way for this beneficial plant to be treated like other crops, instead of an illegal substance.

The History of Hemp

The legalization of hemp is cause for celebration for more than just hemp supporters, who have been spearheading legalization attempts for decades. The move has ramifications for human health and the environment, now that this plant will no longer be treated as an illicit drug.
Hemp has been valued for thousands of years, with perhaps the oldest discovery of hemp dating back to a piece of hemp fabric from 8,000 B.C.² As noted by the National Hemp Association, hemp has been used throughout the world for centuries:³

“The spread of cannabis took place from China to the Middle East and the Mediterranean area and, subsequently, to Europe, probably via nomadic peoples. Starting around the year 600, the Germans, Frankish tribes and Vikings produced rope, cloth and garments from hemp fiber.

In the Middle Ages, most people wore hemp sandals. Many farmers grew hemp on a small scale. Since the Middle Ages, the industrial use of hemp has seen a number of peaks.”

In the 17th century, for instance, ships took to the seas with sails and lines made from braided hemp fibers. Hemp clothing was also popular, and Rembrandt used hemp paper for sketching. In the U.S., Presidents Washington and Jefferson grew hemp, and according to the Hemp Industries Association (HIA), “Americans were legally bound to grow hemp during the Colonial Era and Early Republic.”⁴
By the 19th century, however, alternative materials like cotton and wood pulp began to take hemp’s place, making it less popular. In 1937, the Marijuana Tax Act was passed, which grouped hemp with marijuana, making hemp sales heavily taxed. The financial strain caused may hemp businesses to close and the hemp industry further declined.⁵
WWII brought with it a brief boost for hemp, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) encouraging U.S. farmers to grow the plant and the government offering subsidies for hemp cultivation. About 1 million acres of hemp were planted in the U.S. during that time, and the stiff fiber was used to make parachutes, uniforms, tarps and other products useful to the war industry.
“After the war ended, the government quietly shut down all the hemp processing plants and the industry faded away again,” the HIA noted.⁶ The final nail in the coffin came with the passage of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which grouped hemp and marijuana together as Schedule 1 substances, a classification reserved for drugs with "high potential for abuse" and "no accepted medical use."
Three years later the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) was formed to enforce the newly created drug schedules, and the fight against marijuana and hemp use began.

Marijuana Versus Hemp: What’s the Difference?

While both marijuana and hemp come from the cannabis plant, hemp is low in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the substance that produces the “high” associated with marijuana use. Whereas hemp typically contains 0.3 percent THC or less, marijuana may contain anywhere from 5 to 35 percent THC, according to HIA.
Interestingly, the 0.3 percent for THC in hemp came about quite by accident when a couple of Canadian scientists designated that number in a 1976 report they wrote on the two plants. Later, the DEA used the same number when they were formulating rules to ban hemp and all products with THC in them. The 0.3 percent later became part of federal law with the 2014 Farm Bill, explained later in this article.⁷
And while the THC percentage varies in marijuana depending on which part of the plant is used, the Alcohol & Drug Institute at the University of Washington says the average THC in marijuana dried leaves and buds in the U.S. can vary from less than1 percent to 20 percent.⁸
Marijuana is typically used for medicinal or recreational purposes, whereas hemp can be used for a variety of applications ranging from food and medicine to clothing, construction, body care and even plastic. You can’t get high from hemp, but its high CBD content makes it attractive for medicinal purposes.
Further, whereas marijuana must be grown in a carefully controlled atmosphere, hemp is easy to grow and thrives in most climates. Generally speaking, cannabis sativa, which has long and narrow leaves, is grown outdoors and has higher CBD and low THC, producing no psychoactive effects.
Cannabis idica, on the other hand, has shorter, wider leaves, grows best indoors and contains higher THC, which produces the high most recreational marijuana users are after.
However, because many hybrids have been produced, it’s not possible to identify these qualities from plant name alone.⁹ According to the 2014 Farm Bill, hemp refers to cannabis sativa plants containing 0.3 percent or less of THC, and that definition remained unchanged in the 2018 Bill.

The Slow Progress Toward Hemp Legalization in the US

In 2013, Colorado legalized industrial hemp farming for commercial and research purposes, provided the farmers verified the THC levels and paid for a permit. In 2014, the Farm Bill also included a section that allowed hemp cultivation for select research and pilot programs, and dozens of states introduced pro-hemp legislation to follow.
By 2017, nearly 26,000 acres of hemp were being grown in 19 states.¹⁰ Still, in a major waste of taxpayer dollars, the DEA would target hemp farmers. Ministry of Hemp noted that prior to the 2018 legalization:¹¹

“[F]armers in all these states still risk being raided by the DEA, going to prison, and losing their property because the federal policy fail[ed] to distinguish non-drug oilseed and fiber varieties of industrial hemp from the psychoactive drug varieties (i.e., ‘marijuana’)”

Now that hemp has been legalized, it removes restrictions for crop insurance, banking and other barriers to farmers looking for a profitable crop. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who spearheaded the bill, believes hemp could replace tobacco as a new cash crop, stating:¹²

“At a time when farm income is down and growers are struggling, industrial hemp is a bright spot of agriculture’s future. My provision in the Farm Bill will not only legalize domestic hemp, but it will also allow state departments of agriculture to be responsible for its oversight.”

What’s more, hemp is sometimes described as a miracle crop, providing sustainable material to replace trees for paper, for instance, because it has a growing cycle of just four to six months. Hemp is beneficial for the soil as well, as it doesn’t require the use of pesticides due to its dense, deep roots, which repel weeds naturally.¹³
Because it grows so close together, hemp can be grown in tight spaces, decreasing land use while still leading to high yields because of its fast growing rate. Basically, hemp grows like a weed, tolerating a variety of climates and soil types, and requiring relatively little water. It was even used to extract toxins from the soil at Chernobyl.¹⁴

What Will the Legalization of Hemp Mean for CBD Products?

With hemp’s legalization, CBD products, which are already on the upswing, are set to take off. Their legal status is another issue entirely. CBD is technically illegal according to the DEA, and it’s unclear whether it will be reclassified. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), meanwhile, classifies CBD as a drug and has no plans to change that. In a statement, FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said:¹⁵

“[T]he FDA requires a cannabis product (hemp-derived or otherwise) that is marketed with a claim of therapeutic benefit, or with any other disease claim, to be approved by the FDA for its intended use before it may be introduced into interstate commerce. This is the same standard to which we hold any product marketed as a drug for human or animal use.

Cannabis and cannabis-derived products claiming in their marketing and promotional materials that they’re intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of diseases (such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, psychiatric disorders and diabetes) are considered new drugs or new animal drugs and must go through the FDA drug approval process for human or animal use before they are marketed in the U.S.”

CBD can come from either marijuana or hemp. Again, the distinction between these two plants hinges on the THC content. Hemp has very little if any THC, whereas marijuana will have varying amounts of THC. Hemp products such as hemp oil and hemp extract are legal.
So even though they may have small amounts of CBD, hemp products such as hemp oil can be lawfully marketed, provided they don’t reference CBD or claim to cure any diseases. This is a potential loophole the CBD industry could use. The drawback is hemp products may not have much CBD in them, and they may not be clinically effective.
That being said, the new legal status will open up hemp and CBD for research, potentially leading to more definitive knowledge about proper dosing and usage. And as noted by the Ministry of Hemp, “Attitudes are already changing. Even before being signed into law, the 2018 Farm Bill inspired the Alabama state attorney general to back off from plans to prosecute CBD stores.”¹⁶

The Many Benefits of Hemp

The hoopla over hemp is well deserved. Its seeds contain nearly as much protein as soybeans and all nine essential amino acids, especially arginine, which is beneficial for heart health.
Two main proteins in hemp seed protein, albumin and edestin, are rich in essential amino acids, with profiles comparable to egg white. Hemp's edestin content is among the highest of all plants. Hemp protein is also easy to digest because of its lack of oligosaccharides and trypsin inhibitors, which can affect protein absorption.
Hemp seeds are also an excellent source of plant-based omega-3s and include a balanced 1-to-3 ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fats. Hemp seeds, especially those with the hulls intact, are also rich in fiber and contain a variety of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin E, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, zinc and B vitamins.
Many of hemp’s health benefits relate to its CBD content as well, which has been found to offer neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory benefits.¹⁷ Potential uses for CBD and other hemp extracts include:^18,19

Parkinson’s disease	Alzheimer’s disease	Multiple sclerosis
Neuropathic pain	Childhood seizure disorders	Schizophrenia
Anxiety	Depression	Addiction
Posttraumatic stress disorder	Pain	Vomiting and nausea

Medicinal uses aside, hemp seed oil is used in body care products while the fiber can be used to make fabric, clothing, paper and even a recyclable hemp plastic and hemp concrete. There are reportedly more than 25,000 industrial uses for hemp,²⁰ and this probably only scratches the surface of what this versatile plant is good for.
The legalization of hemp in the U.S. will now make it easier for humans and the environment alike to enjoy the benefits of this natural wonder plant once again.

Read more: https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/01/08/growing-industrial-hemp-legalization.aspx?utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20190108Z1_UCM&et_cid=DM259304&et_rid=514332196

The First Sustainable Urban Agrihood in the U.S. Could Serve As A Model for Urban Development

Could fresh, healthy, affordable food be the future of urban neighborhood development?
In Detroit, Michigan, “the first sustainable urban agrihood” in the U.S. centers around an edible garden, with easily accessible, affordable produce offered to neighborhood residents and the community.
Each year, this urban farm provides fresh, free produce to 2,000 households within two square miles of the farm. They also supply food to local markets, restaurants, and food pantries.
The concept of agrihoods isn’t new —the Urban Land Institute estimated that about 200 agrihoods had been or were under construction across the U.S. — but this agrihood is unique because it’s the first truly urban agrihood. It plans to operate in a sustainable way, and is more accessible than most other agrihoods.
Agrihoods, also called agritopias or community-supported development, are an exciting concept because they create a remarkable improvement to the dominant food system.
They help tackle food insecurity and other community problems. They make it easy for people in low-income communities to get fresh, healthy food. And they give people a connection with the food they eat, the earth, and each other.

All about the first sustainable urban agrihood

The first sustainable urban agrihood, which recently debuted in Detroit, is the project of the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative — an all-volunteer nonprofit, which seeks to empower urban communities using sustainable agriculture.
The three-acre development has vacant land, along with occupied and abandoned homes centered around a two-acre urban garden, with more than 300 organic vegetable varieties, like lettuce, kale, and carrots, as well as a 200-tree fruit orchard, with apples, pears, plums, and cherries, a children’s sensory garden, and more.
The nonprofit is also working on other projects that go beyond farming, including:

• Turning a long-vacant building into a community resource center, which will offer educational programs, event and meeting space for the neighborhood, a nonprofit incubator, and two commercial kitchens
• Developing a healthy food cafe, and  
• Restoring a home into student intern housing and an off-grid shipping container.

Other projects to make the place more sustainable include:

• Installing solar panels,
• Converting a basement into a water harvesting cistern that will automatically irrigate the garden
• A public composting toilet, and
• A retention pond made from the foundation of a blighted home to supply the farm with water. 
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• Read more: https://foodrevolution.org/blog/food-politics/first-sustainable-urban-agrihood/?utm_campaign=frn16&utm_medium=email&utm_source=email-automated&utm_content=2331&utm_term=existing-email-list&email=subzerohc%40yahoo.com&firstname=John&lastname=Zahos

“SOS: Save Our Soil” Shows Innovative Approaches to Sustainable Agriculture

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• New video report shows how soil health affects the planet’s climate and ecosystem, and features a few innovative farmers with game-changing approaches to sustainable agriculture
• The world’s soils have lost 50 to 70 percent of their carbon, much of which is now in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide
• Humus, different from compost, nourishes soil for centuries and develops naturally if enough organic matter is added and the soil remains undisturbed
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• Watch video: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/04/04/soil-health-sustainable-agriculture.aspx?e_cid=20150404Z1_DNL_B_art_1&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20150404Z1_DNL_B&et_cid=DM73343&et_rid=902786735 

Regenerative Agriculture Is the Answer to Many of the World’s Most Pressing Problems

• To feed the world, we must feed the soil. One of the best ways to prevent global disaster, save our health, and build a sustainable economy is through regenerative agriculture
• Agricultural chemicals are decimating our soils, killing off pollinating insects and other flora and fauna. An estimated 60 percent of the world’s ecological systems are nearing collapse
• As with antibiotic overuse, the onslaught of pesticides and herbicide to combat pests has led to the development of weeds and bugs that are now resistant to the chemicals
• The chemical technology industry not only manages to avoid accountability, it also devises “solutions” that further increase company profits while worsening the problem they created
• Rapidly increasing weed resistance is driving up the volume of herbicide needed by about 25 percent annually. The approvals of 2,4-D and dicamba resistant GE crops could drive it up by another 50 percent
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• Read more: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/10/14/regenerative-agriculture.aspx?e_cid=20141014Z1_DNL_art_1&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20141014Z1&et_cid=DM57928&et_rid=692297207 

Plants Can Hear Themselves Being Eaten, and Can Communicate the Threat to Their Neighbors

• Plants are capable of communicating with each other via extensive and complex networks, and can warn each other of the presence of pests. In response, the plants will mount natural defenses against the infestation
• When a bug such as a caterpillar chews on a plant’s leaf, the plant “hears” the vibrations of the chewing, and produces chemicals to defend itself from further harm
• These chemicals are also what give a plant many of its medicinal qualities, such as glucosinolates, which have anti-cancer properties, and other antioxidants
• This research even suggests that minor pest attacks may play an important role in encouraging plant growth that have higher levels of (to humans) important nutrients
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• Read more: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/10/11/plant-communication.aspx?e_cid=20141011Z1_DNL_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20141011Z1&et_cid=DM59063&et_rid=689341209 

Heirloom seed proponents now labeled 'agri-terrorists' by government

Increasingly, when Americans "dare" to color outside the lines of government food regulation, those who seek to rule us label them extremists and, now, even "agri-terrorists."

As noted by Daisy Luther at The Organic Prepper, officials in more than one state have turned into food Nazis:

It looks like Michigan is not the only state with a Department of Agriculture that is adamant about the best interests of their citizens. Residents in Pennsylvania can now breathe a little bit easier since an illegal enterprise has been shut down.

The Joseph T. Simpson Public Library in Mechanicsburg was participating in an activity that put the entire ecosystem of the state at risk.

In an astonishing act of hubris, they were running a seed library, right there amongst the books, in the very facility where small children go to have stories read to them.

Yes, that's right: a seed library.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/046361_agri-terrorism_heirloom_seeds_home_gardening.html#ixzz3A4EcTT9Z

Chinese government admits one-fifth of farm lands heavily contaminated with toxic heavy metals

(NaturalNews) For the past few months, Natural News has been warning the world about toxic heavy metals found in foods, superfoods and dietary supplements grown in China. Our Natural News Forensic Food Lab has produced breakthrough results showing, for example, that rice protein imported from China is significantly contaminated with lead, cadmium and tungsten -- all industrial heavy metals.

Some greed-driven promoters of rice protein initially insisted all these heavy metals were "naturally occurring," but now the Chinese government has gone on the record confirming the truth: China's farm lands are heavily contaminated with toxic heavy metals, and this has now been scientifically documented and proven by Chinese researchers and publicly released by Chinese authorities.

19.4% of China's farm lands contaminated with toxic heavy metals

According to this statement by the Ministry of Environmental Protection in China, 19.4% of the nation's arable land has been heavily contaminated by toxic heavy metals.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/044950_China_heavy_metals_soils_contamination.html#ixzz30YQi73rk

Why Dirt Matters to Your Health

• The root ball of a plant acts as the “gut” or intestinal tract of the plant, housing essential microbes, just like your gut does, provided the soil system is healthy
• The cooperation between soil microorganisms and the plants’ roots is responsible for allowing the plant to absorb nutrients from the soil. Without proper soil biome, the food will lack nutrients that are important for your health
• Soil health connects to everything up the food chain, from plant and insect health, all the way up to animal and human health
• Health, therefore, truly begins in the soils in which our food is grown
• Scientists have discovered that gene swapping takes place between your gut microbiome and the soil biome, as well as with microorganisms from other places in your daily surroundings
• One of the reasons for concern about genetically engineered crops is a main characteristic of such plants is resistance to the potent herbicide glyphosate, which decimates soil bacteria
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• Read more: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/12/23/soil-quality.aspx?e_cid=20131223Z1_DNL_art_1&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20131223Z1&et_cid=DM37599&et_rid=376486017 

GMOs cause horrible deformities, birth defects in piglets

(NaturalNews) When Danish pig farmer Ib Pedersen first noticed the sudden uptick in disease, deformities and death among his farrow, his immediate reaction was to investigate the diet of his pigs to look for possible causes. And what he found confirms what a growing body of evidence also suggests: that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in conventional animal feed are increasingly responsible for triggering birth defects, deformities, spontaneous abortions and other growth and development abnormalities in both pigs and cattle.

With 13,000 pigs on his farm, Pedersen knows the ins and outs of how to properly raise swine, as well as what is considered normal in terms of pig health. This is why he grew particularly alarmed when many more of them than usual began to come down with strange illnesses. Besides noticeably lower birthrates, Pedersen observed more of his pigs than normal being born with strange defects like spinal deformities and limb problems, and many more pigs than usual were dying.

"When using GM feed I saw symptoms of bloat, stomach ulcers, high rates of diarrhea, pigs born with deformities," explained Pedersen to The Ecologist's Andrew Wasley, who recently conducted an in-depth investigation into the link between GMOs and animal health problems. "But when I switched [to non-GM feed] these problems went away, some within a matter of days."

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/043208_GMOs_farm_animals_birth_defects.html#ixzz2nA5x36B4

Seed diversity has collapsed more than 12-fold since early 1900s

(NaturalNews) From the looks of an average produce section in a typical American supermarket, it might seem like modern society has access to basically every major type of fruit, vegetable and herb one could want. But a survey conducted by the U.S. National Seed Storage Laboratory back in 1983 found that the diversity of our food supply has been progressively shrinking since 1903 when a previous seed stock inventory was taken, with fewer than one-twelfth the number of unique crop varieties available today compared to 100 years ago.

Known today as the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (NCGRP), the laboratory collected seed data on 10 common produce items: beets, cabbages, sweet corn, lettuces, muskmelons, peas, radishes, squashes, tomatoes and cucumbers. NCGRP compared the availability of seeds for each of these items in 1903 to their availability in 1983, which was still long before the time genetically modified organisms (GMOs) hit the scene.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/043166_seed_diversity_agriculture_heirloom_plants.html#ixzz2mrWQ0NYh

High-Performance Agriculture Can Increase Your Garden Yield Eight-Fold

• Farmers and food producers routinely harvest only about 10 to 15 percent of the inherent genetic capacity of any given crop. By optimizing soil composition and nutrient application, you can easily increase your garden yield six to eight times
• The foundation of healthy plants boils down to two things: Adequate mineral nutrition, and strong soil biology. Compost tea and plant nutritional supplements can address both of these components, thereby maximizing plant performance
• Addressing other environmental factors, such as increasing the organic matter in your garden soil by adding soil amendments, such as BioChar, which provides a suitable environment in which beneficial soil bacteria can flourish
• As plant nutrition is improved, they become naturally resistant to disease and insect pests, they become hardier, and form much higher levels of medicinal compounds and essential oils. This is when food becomes medicine
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• Read more: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/09/22/high-performance-agriculture.aspx?e_cid=20130922Z1_SNL_Art_1&utm_source=snl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20130922Z1 

Choice of Monsanto Betrays World Food Prize Purpose, Say Global Leaders

"This statement is supported by 81 Councillors of the World Future Council, a network of global luminaries who "form a voice for the rights of future generations," and/or Laureates of the Right Livelihood Award, often called the Alternative Nobel. Supporters' names appear below."
In honoring the seed biotechnology industry, this year's World Food Prize -- to many, the most prestigious prize in food and agriculture -- betrays the award's own mandate to emphasize "the importance of a nutritious and sustainable food supply for all people."

The 2013 World Food Prize has gone to three chemical company executives, including Monsanto executive vice president and chief technology officer, Robert Fraley, responsible for development of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Yet, GMO seeds have not been designed to meet the Prize's mandate and function in ways that actually impede progress toward the stated goals of the World Food Prize.
Almost twenty years after commercialization of the first GMO seeds, by far the most widely used are not engineered to enhance nutrient content, but to produce a specific pesticide or to resist a proprietary herbicide, or a combination of these traits. Even in reducing weeds, the technology is failing, for it has led to herbicide-resistant "super weeds" now appearing on nearly half of American farms.
GMO seeds undermine sustainability in other ways as well.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frances-moore-lappe-and-anna-lappe/choice-of-monsanto-betray_b_3499045.html

Beekeeping Industry 'Doomed' -- Might We See Destruction of Food Supply Before the End of This Decade?

By Dr. Mercola

For several years now, scientists have been struggling to determine why bee colonies across the world are disappearing—a phenomenon dubbed colony collapse disorder (CCD).
As reported by Dan Rather, the US has recently experienced the highest loss of honeybee populations so far, with most of the nation’s beekeepers losing anywhere from 50 to 90 percent of their bee population.
Honeybees are perhaps one of the least recognized workers in the agricultural industry. They contribute $15 billion in annual agriculture revenue to the US economy alone, as a full one-third of the American food supply depends on them pollinating crops.
Just about every fruit and vegetable you can imagine is dependent on the pollinating services of bees. Apple orchards, for instance, require one colony of bees per acre in order to be adequately pollinated. So, unless the mysterious disappearance of bees is reversed, major food shortages could result.

California Almond Orchards Threatened by Bee Loss

As discussed in Dan Rather’s report, 80 percent of the world’s almonds come from California’s central valley, an 800,000 acre area of almond orchards that are 100 percent dependent on bees pollinating the trees. Surprisingly, almonds are the number one agricultural product in California.
Once a year, in late winter, 1.5 million bee hives from around the country are delivered to these orchards where the bees’ pollination efforts take place over the course of just a few days. It’s the largest mass-pollination effort in the world.
This year, however, the unthinkable happened. Many of the 6,000 orchard owners simply could not find enough bees to pollinate their almond trees, at any price... One of the beekeepers featured in Rather’s report is John Miller, President of the California state Beekepers Association. His family has tended bees since 1894.
Of the 11,000 hives brought to California by Miller, hundreds of hives turned out to be dead when opened up. According to Miller, “the past 30 years have been tumultuous with 40 percent of the national herd dying or dead.”
Another fourth generation beekeeper named Anderson lost 70 percent of his hives this year. Yet another outfit lost 100 percent of his bees...
Fortunately, unsurpassed efforts that included persuading beekeepers as far away as Florida to ship their bees cross country, delayed bloom, and unseasonably good weather thereafter allowed almond growers to dodge the bullet—this year—despite having fewer and weaker-than-ever hives...
This narrowly-achieved success may lead some to reach the mistaken conclusion that beekeepers’ concerns are overblown.
Don’t be fooled. One beekeeper goes so far as to say he believes the beekeeper industry is doomed and cannot survive for more than another two to three years unless drastic changes are implemented...

Read more: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/06/08/bees-dying-off.aspx?e_cid=20130608_DNL_art_1&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20130608

Edible Weeds and how to identify them

By Dr. Mercola

A major part of achieving optimal health is living in partnership with nature.
Growing your own food is a great way to rekindle this connection with nature.
But have you thought about eating plants that grow wild—perhaps in your own backyard?
Some "weeds" can be delicious if prepared properly, and they are absolutely free.
In an article published earlier this summer, Live Science collected some easy-to-identify healthful weeds, including:

• Dandelion: The entire plant is edible, and the leaves contain vitamins A, C and K, along with calcium, iron, manganese, and potassium.
• Purslane: Purslane tops the list of plants with omega-3 fats.
• Lamb's-quarters: Lamb's-quarters are like spinach, except healthier, tastier and easier to grow.
• Plantain: Not the better-known banana-like plant with the same name.  It has a nutritional profile similar to dandelion.
• Stinging Nettles: If you handle them so that you don't get a painful rash from the tiny, acid-filled needles, these are delicious and nutritious cooked or prepared as a tea.

This is of course how our ancestors ate. They hunted and gathered, and ALL of it was wild. And by all accounts, they were far healthier than we are.
Of course, like anything else, identification and use of wild plants requires spending some time educating yourself, lest you eat something inedible or even poisonous. But with some attention to learning what to look for, you can avail yourself of some of the most highly nutritious, health-promoting plants for FREE—and have a lot of fun doing it. With the availability of the Internet, in addition to a number of excellent printed books and even wild-food foraging classes, this information is now easy to access.
So, grab your favorite weeding tool and a basket, and step outside to see what little gems you can find in your own backyard!

Major Groupings of Wild Edible Plants

Plants are classified into groups based on their botanical family, and there are hundreds of families within the plant kingdom. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on a few select members of the following five families:

Purslane family (Portulacaceae), includes miner's lettuce, red maids, rose moss and purslane		Sunflower family (Asteraceae), includes dandelions, daisies, and thistle (largest plant family with more than 22,000 species)		Goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae), includes spinach, Swiss chard, beets, quinoa, and lamb's quarter
Plantain family (Plantaginaceae), includes common plantain, water plantain, and Northern plantain			Nettle family (Urticaceae), includes stinging nettle, wood nettle, and clearweed

Purslane

First, let's take a look at the rock star of wild edibles: purslane—from the Purslane family, of course.
Purslane, or Portulaca oleracea (also called duckweed, fatweed, pigweed, pusley, verdolaga, ma chi xian in Chinese, munyeroo, or wild portulaca) is the omega-3 powerhouse of the vegetation kingdom, and there's a high probability it's growing in your yard right now. According to Mother Earth News, it's the most reported "weed" species in the world.
Purslane looks very much like a miniature jade plant, with fleshy succulent leaves and reddish stems. The stems grow flat to the ground and radiate outward from a single taproot, sometimes forming large, flat circular mats up to 16 inches across. In about mid-July, purslane develops tiny yellow flowers about one quarter inch in diameter. Seeds of purslane are extremely tough, some remaining viable in the soil for 40 years. A single purslane plant can produce up to 200,000 seeds! And purslane can grow in almost anything, from fertile garden loam to the most arid desert soil, and even in your rock driveway.
Be careful not to confuse purslane with spurge, because they can look similar, and spurge will make you sick. This video shows you how to tell them apart. In the plant kingdom, similar appearing plants often grow next to each other—and often one is poisonous! Purslane has a stellar omega-3 fatty acid profile, compared to other vegetables. As you can see from the chart below, purslane beats all of the other veggies for omega-3s.

Omega-3 Levels in Common Foods
Romaine lettuce, 1 cup, 53 mg	Purslane, 1 cup, 300-400 mg
Flaxseed oil, 1 Tbsp., 7196 mg	Broccoli, raw, 1 stalk, 147 mg
Chia seeds, 1 ounce, 4915 mg	Cauliflower, ½ cup, 104 mg
Walnuts, 1 ounce, 2542 mg	Spinach, 1 cup, 41 mg
Walnut Oil, 1 Tbsp., 1404 mg

In addition to its bounty of omega-3 fatty acids, purslane has other nutritional benefits:

• SIX times more vitamin E than spinach
• SEVEN times more beta carotene than carrots, providing 1320 IU/100g of vitamin A (44 percent of the RDA), which is one of the highest among green leafy vegetables
• 25 mg of vitamin C per cup (20 percent of the RDA)
• Rich in magnesium, calcium, iron, riboflavin, potassium, phosphorous and manganese

Purslane is reportedly beneficial if you have urinary or digestive problems, and has antifungal and antimicrobial effects. It has also been found useful for skin conditions such as acne, psoriasis, and sunburn. Some people compare purslane's taste to spinach or watercress, with a "crunchy lemony" flavor. Look for tender young leaves and stems, which are good in salads or sandwiches. Purslane is also rich in pectin, so it can be used to thicken soups and stews. According to Weston A. Price Foundation, the ancient Greeks made a bread flour from Purslane seeds and pickled its fleshy stems; the Mexicans enjoy it with eggs and pork, and the Chinese toss it with noodles.
If you need a little culinary advice, there are quite a few purslane recipes out there—check out Prairieland CSA, Weston A. Price, Sunset Part CSA, and Epicurious.

Dandelion

You are probably already familiar with dandelions. There isn't a yard in America that hasn't sprouted a dandelion or two, usually greeted with vitriol by gardeners everywhere. But, in the words of The Daily Green,

"If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em!"

Every part of the dandelion is edible and full of nutrition. Dandelion, or Taraxacum officinale, is part of the Sunflower Family (Asteraceae). It also goes by other common names, including priest's crown, Irish daisy, monk's head, blowball and lion's tooth. Dandelions have antioxidant properties and contain bitter crystalline compounds called Taraxacin and Taracerin, along with inulin and levulin, compounds thought to explain some of its therapeutic properties.Dandelions offer you a wealth of nutrition!
They contain:

One of the richest sources of beta carotene of all herbs (10161 IU per 100g, which is 338 percent of the RDA)	Numerous flavonoids, including FOUR times the beta carotene of broccoli; also lutein, cryptoxanthin and zeaxanthin	Possibly the HIGHEST herbal source of vitamin K 1, providing 650 percent of the RDA
Vitamins, including folic acid, riboflavin, pyroxidine, niacin, and vitamins E and C	Great source of minerals, including magnesium, calcium, potassium, manganese, and iron	Leaves rich in dietary fiber, as well as a good laxative

Dandelions are found abundantly in fields, lawns and meadows. They have a long, stout taproot from which long, jagged dark green leaves radiate. The yellow flower rises straight up from the root, which matures into the fluffy white puffball you remember blowing away as a child. All parts of the plant exude a milky white "latex" fluid, if broken. The root is filled with a somewhat "yam-like" white pulp and can be harvested in summer for medicinal purposes. The Japanese actually use the root in cooking.
Dandelion leaves can be used in salads, soups, juiced, cooked the same way as spinach, or dried (with flowers) to make dandelion tea. The root can be dried and roasted and used as a coffee substitute, and the flowers can be used to make dandelion wine.
Dandelions are known for the following therapeutic properties:

• Laxative and diuretic; useful for premenstrual bloating and edema
• Normalizing blood sugar and cholesterol (dandelion root)
• Tonic; appetite stimulant and a good general stomach remedy
• Liver cleanser; remedy for liver and gall bladder problems
• Agent for treating burns and stings (inside surface of flower stems)

Dandelions also have antiviral effects so may be useful in combating herpes and AIDS. For more information on the nutritional and medicinal properties of dandelions, go to this article by Leaf Lady. Be careful not to confuse dandelion plants with Hawksbeard, which can look very similar. Hawksbeard won't kill you, but it certainly doesn't offer the great nutritional benefits of dandelion. Here is a video showing how to tell them apart.

Lamb's Quarter

The third weed-gem is called Lamb's quarter (or Chenopodium album), also called goosefoot, wild spinach, pigsweed or fat-hen. Lamb's quarter is a European relative of spinach and beets. It can be found along roadsides, in overgrown fields, on vacant lots, in disturbed soil, and is probably growing in your own backyard. The plants get to be quite tall, reaching up to 6 feet or even taller. But after flowering, they are usually found lying down if not supported by neighboring plants.
Lamb's quarter has diamond shaped leaves with shallow "teeth" and a telltale white, waxy powder on the undersides of its leaves, which makes identification relatively easy. This powdery substance gives it a dusty appearance at a distance, which is why lamb's quarter is sometimes called "white goosefoot."
Lamb's quarter contains:

• A whopping 11,600 IU of beta carotene per half cup (compared to 6500mg for Swiss chard, and 8100mg for spinach)
• 300mg calcium per half cup (compared to 88mg for Swiss chard, and 93mg for spinach)
• More than 4 percent protein

Lamb's quarter is also rich in vitamin C, riboflavin, folate, magnesium, potassium, vitamin E, B6 and thiamine. Wild spinach is much more nutrient rich than its cultivated cousin and tastes very similar. You can prepare lamb's quarter in the same ways as you fix regular spinach. Make sure your specimen is CLEAN because lamb's quarter is a "purifier herb" that pulls pollutants out of the soil, concentrating them in the leaves.
For a few recipes, click here and here.
According to Wildman Steve Brill, lamb's quarter, which is odorless, looks much like a mildly poisonous plant called epazote, which smells resinous—so become familiar with both so you don't confuse the two. Here is Steve's video tutorial on lamb's quarter, with lots of visuals to help you learn to identify it.

Plantain

Plantains, or Plantago major, have a family all their own—the Plantain family (Plantaginaceae). It goes by many names, including common plantain, broadleaf plantain, ripple grass, waybread, snakeweed, Cuckoo's bread, Englishman's foot and White Man's foot, because it was said to grow wherever your feet touch the ground. By the way, this is not at all related to the banana-like fruit called "plantain," which is part of the Banana family (Musaceae).
This cool season perennial herb loves damp, infertile soil and fertile lawns, and has broad oval leaves (up to 10 inches long) with fibrous roots that spread out in a rosette. The plants produce numerous, small flowers along the ends of a long stalk, between 8 and 20 inches tall.
The young leaves of plantains are edible raw or cooked and are rich in vitamin B1 and riboflavin. This herb has a long history of medicinal use, dating back to ancient times. It truly seems to be a panacea for everything, as the list of its uses is extensive. One American Indian name for plantain translates as "life medicine," which says it all.
Part of plantain's nutritional power comes from a remarkable glycoside called Aucubin, which is reported in the Journal of Toxicology to be a potent anti-toxin. In fact, this "weed" is full of effective agents, including ascorbic acid, apigenin (a phytonutrient with strong antioxidant properties), benzoic acid, oleanolic acid, and salicylic acid, among others, which give the plant a wide range of uses as an antiseptic, poison antidote, anti-inflammatory, antitussive, diuretic, hemostatic, and even a heart remedy.
There is medical evidence that plantain can help with a variety of health problems, including:

Asthma, coughing, sinusitis, bronchitis tuberculosis and emphysema	Bladder problems, cystitis	Fever	Hypertension
Rheumatism	Blood sugar control	Diarrhea, dysentery, gastritis, peptic ulcer, Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), hemorrhoids and constipation	Allergies and hay fever
Providing a natural aversion to tobacco	Stopping bleeding	Skin inflammation, wounds, stings, and malignant ulcers	Rattlesnake bites

Stinging Nettles

Last but not least is the wickedly fascinating stinging nettle, a member of the Nettle family, Urtica dioica. This nettle's nasty sting is well concealed behind its beautiful lacey leaves, which can shoot little poison darts into you if you aren't paying attention.
The leaves look a great deal like mint… but they certainly don't behave like it!
The nettle's sting comes from tiny hollow hairs on its stems and on the underside of its leaves. Inside these hairs is a mixture of chemicals, including histamine, acetylcholine, serotonin, and formic acid. Whey you touch the hairs, they break, exposing sharp points that inject your skin with the toxin. Ouch!
The sting of the stinging nettle is a pretty good way to positively identify it. But there is another stinging plant, the Cnidoscolus stimulosus (or spurge nettle, which isn't actually part of the Nettle family) that you could confuse it with. Spurge nettle has palm shaped or hand shaped leaves, as contrasted to the stinging nettle's hock shaped or lance shaped leaves. You can learn more about stinging nettle in this short video tutorial by Green Deane.
David Wolfe shows you how to pick stinging nettles without getting stung in this video. If you do get stung, applying a paste of baking soda and water is said to effectively soothe local pain and inflammation.
Nettles are high in iron, potassium, manganese, calcium and vitamins A, C, D and K. Each cup of nettles supplies you with a whopping 1,790 IU of vitamin A, which is three days' RDA. The parts of the nettle most commonly consumed are the leaves and roots, as the stems are quite tough on a mature plant.
Stinging nettle has the following medicinal uses:

Treating anemia and fatigue, due to its high iron and chlorophyll content	Relief of arthritis, joint pain, and gout (internally and externally), by promoting elimination of uric acid from your joints
Nettle root is reported to be helpful for enlarged prostate (Benign Prostate Hyperplasia, or BPH)	As a styptic (an arrestor of local bleeding)
Urinary tract infections	Breaking down urinary stones
Relief from hay fever and seasonal allergies	Treatment for hives, rashes, and other skin irritations (especially reactions to shellfish) by virtue of its antihistamine properties
Diuretic	Stinging nettle is even rumored to be an aphrodisiac

Most people cook stinging nettles because cooking neutralizes the sting, although there are some uber-hard core foodies who eat them raw. Soaking them also reportedly helps remove the stinging chemicals, so do that first if you want to try them in a salad. For some great sounding nettle recipes, see this article by HonestFood.net.
There are certainly more good wild edibles out there. Prickly lettuce, chickweed, sow thistle, red clover, burdock, cattails, Japanese knotweed, and sheep sorrel all deserve attention but are beyond the scope of one article. As you expand your wild palate, you can gradually learn about some of the other wild edibles just waiting for your discovery.
Safety Tips for the Frolicking Forager
Before foraging out your new wild-edible adventure, there are some precautions to take, since not all wild plants are safe to eat.

You should never eat a plant unless you are entirely sure it is not poisonous.

According to raw food and wild plant expert Sergei Boutenko:

"When you harvest wild plants for food, there is a high guarantee that edible plants will be sharing their living space with non-edibles. These non-edibles may range in toxicity from mild to extreme. If you are anything like me, then you too prefer to avoid any form of poisoning whether it is mild or severe. For this reason it is a good idea to first learn how to positively identify wild plants and then exercise caution when gathering them for food.

Fortunately, there are far more edible plants than poisonous ones. Boutenko claims there are thousands of safe, edible plants growing wild in North America, but there are only 150 listed by the American Association of Poison Control as poisonous. Of those 150, only about 50 are considered to be "highly poisonous" (i.e., can be fatal), and the rest are classified as "mildly poisonous," which means they may cause nausea, diarrhea, or headache, but probably not kill you.
Boutenko argues that it isn't too difficult to learn what you need to know to avoid the 50 dangerous plants, and once you're familiar with those, your chances of getting poisoned are almost nil. Some communities even offer classes that teach you how to identify safe, edible plants, so you might want to investigate the possibility of a "foraging," "grazing" or "wildcrafting" workshop in your area. And purchasing a good field guide will get you off to a good start.
Some of the most common poisonous plants you will need to familiarize yourself with are listed in the table that follows. Please understand, this is NOT a comprehensive list, but just a sampling.

Hyacinth, Narcissus, Daffodil	Oleander	Rosary Pea, Castor Bean	Monkshood
Foxglove	Daphne	Yew	Moonseed
Mistletoe	Water Hemlock and Poison Hemlock	Nightshade	Jimson Weed (Thorn Apple)

According to Wilderness Survival, if you see a wild plant you can't identify, the characteristics that you should regard as "red flags" for toxicity include:

Milky or discolored sap	Beans, bulbs, or seeds in pods
Bitter or soapy taste	Spines, fine hairs or thorns
Dill, carrot, parsnip, or parsley like foliage	"Almond" scent in woody parts or leaves
Grain heads with pink, purple, or black spurs	Three-leaved growth pattern

The fact that a plant has some of these characteristics doesn't necessarily mean it's poisonous, but if you can't positively identify it, you're better off not adding it to your salad. And remember to NEVER harvest plants that have been exposed to herbicides or pesticides, road salt, asphalt runoff, paint or pet waste. Here is one helpful site that includes pictures of poisonous look-alikes, side by side with the edibles.
One last word of caution: Introduce new wild foods to your body gradually.
Even a high-quality, nutritious wild plant or herb can cause an unexpected reaction in some people. Try them one at a time and in SMALL amounts to see how your body is going to react. If you feel good, have at it! But don't consume a big bowl of wild greens all at once that you've never eaten before, because if you DO have a bad reaction to one of them, you won't know WHICH one.

Additional Resources

Edible wild plant expert John Kallas recommends that, if you want to begin a foraging lifestyle, you should have a "starting library" that consists of the following:

1. Three books about edible wild plants
2. Three books about plant identification
3. Three books about poisonous plants

He also makes suggestions about what books to choose in each category.
The following are a few book suggestions, to get you started:

• Edible Wild Plants - Wild Foods from Dirt to Plate Volume 1 by John Kallas
• The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants by Samuel Thayer
• Nature's Garden: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants by Samuel Thayer
• Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places by Steve Brill
• The Wild Table: Seasonal Foraged Food and Recipes by Connie Green and Sarah Scott

If you prefer to learn by video, you might want to take a look at Green Deane's video series about edible plants. He has 125 videos on YouTube, most of them about foraging.
Lastly, Sergei Boutenko has released an iPhone app called "Wild Edibles" for those of you who want a field guide right inside your smart phone.
Happy foraging!

References:

• Live Science July 31, 2011
• Wild Food Adventures
• USDA Plants Database
• University of Illinois Extension July 26, 2003
• Mother Earth News April/May 2005
• Nutritiondata
• Nutrition and You
• Drugs.com
• Weston A. Price Foundation February 18, 2004
• The Daily Green
• Livestrong
•  The Leaf Lady
• Wize Woman Herbal Ezine
• Sacred Earth Ethnobotany and Ecotravel
• Wildman Steve Brill
• Alternative Nature
• Pharm Res. August 1991
• J Ethnopharmacol. December 1995
• Squidoo
• University of Maryland Medical Center
• Eat the Weeds
• Sergei Boutenko
•  Aggie-Horticulture
• Practical Survivor

Four ways to creatively grow your own fruits and vegetables using principles of permaculture

Modern industrial agriculture is a disastrous failure, as it defies practically every natural law related to food cultivation, ecological and environmental protection and stewardship, and human nutrition. But there is a new agricultural revolution sweeping the land that is changing the way humans eat and grow food, and its methods are derived from the concepts found in permaculture.

Permaculture is basically an all-encompassing term used to identify the strategic and creative ways through which human structures and agricultural systems are unified into harmonious, sustainable entities. As opposed to factory farming systems, which rely heavily on chemical and fertilizer inputs and destroy the environment and human health in the process, permaculture farming systems take advantage of the many unique ways that natural systems work together to complement one another and sustain life.

With food costs on the rise and the economy increasingly on the brink of collapse, more and more people are turning to the self-sustaining methods of food production found in permaculture that will persist in the event of a regional or national crisis. So NaturalNews has put together a list of ways you can begin growing your own fruits and vegetables at home in ways that draw from permaculture growing concepts.

The Mandala Garden

If you have a fairly sizable growing area, you may want to consider creating a mandala garden. This unique setup utilizes moveable chicken "tractors" that can be rotated around for the purpose of naturally fertilizing and tilling soil, and creating an environment in which fruits and vegetables grow easily with minimal labor.

You can learn more about the mandala garden concept by visiting:
http://www.small-farm-permaculture-and-sustainable-living.com

Vertical, indoor farming

A surprising number of herbs, greens, nuts, and even grains can be grown indoors with a little creative thinking and conscious placement of growing containers around windows that get lots of natural sunlight. And even if sunlight is limited, special growing lights can also be used to grow food indoors in otherwise dark areas. When stacked and tiered around these light sources, vertical, indoor farms can thrive.

Check out this VertiCrop design for an idea of how this might work for you on a smaller scale at home: http://www.verticrop.com/about.html

You can also learn more about indoor farming at:
http://www.veganorganic.net

Hydroponics

If land and suitable soil area is in limited supply, hydroponics is another self-sustaining growing option that relies on water and nutrients to grow food. Hydroponic systems work well in urban settings where physical space, and even natural sunlight, is in short supply. Hydroponic systems can be stacked in small spaces, which allows for maximized growing capacity in a small amount of space.

You can learn more about hydroponics by visiting:
http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/vista/html_pubs/hydro/hydroponic.html

Aquaponics

Just like hydroponics, aquaponics is a method of growing food at home using water. But instead of just fruits and vegetables, aquaponics systems incorporate fish and other sea creatures into the mix as well. A hybrid of the two systems, aquaponics provides some city dwellers with adequate space the ability to produce their own fish for meat, and even sell it to generate revenue.

You can learn more about aquaponics by visiting:
http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/
http://www.urbanaquaponics.com/

Sources for this article include:

http://permacultureideas.blogspot.com/

http://www.veganorganic.net

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035497_permaculture_gardens_vegetables.html#ixzz1rR6VwKsZ

Parsley attracts predatory insects that protect your garden against pests

(NaturalNews) Companion planting is the ancient technique of planting different crops in close proximity that can provide benefits to each other. For example, the famous three sisters planting widely used by native people across North America involved planting beans to fix nitrogen in the soil, corn for the beans to climb, and squash to shade the ground.

In a garden, parsley excels at repelling harmful insects and attracting beneficial ones. Beetles dislike parsley leaves and will avoid it, an effect that can be extended by sprinkling nearby crops with parsley leaves or a tea brewed from them. If you let your parsley flower and go to seed, it will attract predatory wasps and hoverflies that will kill caterpillars and other garden predators.

Tomatoes especially like being planted near parsley, as the herb attracts wasps that kill the tomato hornworm. Parsley planted near rose bushes will actually make your roses more fragrant.

After parsley has done its job eliminating pests in the garden, you can juice it along with celery, apples and carrots to make a super detox cleansing juice. Parsley is high in chlorophyll which also helps cleanse your blood and eliminate bad breath and body odor.

One caution, though: don't plant mint and parsley close together, or neither plant will thrive.

Source: 25 Amazing Facts About Food, authored by Mike Adams and David Guiterrez. This report reveals surprising things about where your food comes from and what's really in it! Download the full report (FREE) by clicking here. Inside, you'll learn 24 more amazing but true facts about foods, beverages and food ingredients. Instant download of the complete PDF. All 25 facts are documented and true.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034746_parsley_companion_planting_garden_pests.html#ixzz1kMgMeYtX