It was 75 degrees in Santa Cruz last Sunday and the urge to dust off the camping and backpacking gear was too great to resist. I pulled it all out and began to go through everything to see what was needed for the coming season. Fortunately, it looks as if all the gear is in tip top shape and I only need to pick up some more bear spray and small propane cartridges for the stove and it’s go time. Oh yeah, and to load up on SunRidge Farms Trail Mix and other SunRidge Farms mixes for snacking on the trail and at the campsite. My stand by has always been the Organic Hit the Trail Mix, which simply tastes great and provides all the energy I need when hiking. This year, however, I’m going to make an effort to bring many different types of SunRidge Farms mixes. NonGMO Project verified Cranberry Harvest Mix combines dark chocolate chips with organic cranberries, organic peanuts, organic pumpkin and sunflower seeds, organic raisins, almonds, and apples. That’s a great breakfast coupled with hot tea or coffee or a solid lunch while taking a break from the trail. Our Tropical Trail Mix gives you a fruit emphasis in your trail mix with raisins, dates, papaya, pineapple and banana combined with sunflower seeds, almonds, peanuts, and coconut chips. These are but two of the many trail mixes we offer and doesn’t even touch the creations you can make yourself buy visiting the bulk section in your nearest grocery and deciding for yourself what constitutes healthier snacking excellence. Start making these mixes part of your everyday diet and you’ll find that trail mixes are not limited to the hike.
Tag: non GMO
GMO debate rages on…no clear answer in sight…or is there?
It appears that Washington State voters weren’t prepared to be the labeling initiators for GMO foods. I-522 currently trails in the voting results that have been announced so far and it’s unlikely that further returns will be enough to pass the measure. While disappointing to those of us who vigorously support labeling of GMO’s, we have to realize how far we’ve come in making people aware of the concerns of GMO’s in a relatively short time and that this is when those that are concerned must reach deep and continue to push. Having closely observed both the California and Washington campaigns we’ve learned exactly how the companies that stand to gain from the status quo will attack these measures and what information they use to ‘muddy the waters’. Therein lies the path that will back these companies into a corner. How clear is this path? Well the first steps are pretty clear as certain cards have been played in both campaigns. Language of the Initiative, Research ( or lack thereof ), and economic impact are three of the ‘hot’ buttons that the NO campaigns utilized to confuse, mislead, and misinform the voters. In a soundbite environment it was very easy to pick apart the initiatives with half truths and propaganda. In attacking the language, opponents emphasized exemptions ( alcohol, restaurant menus, etc.) regardless of the reasons why. In attacking research, they discredited independent studies and touted theirs, despite the fact that they restrict independent research and limit study of their own inventions to very short periods of time. In attacking economic impact, they emphasized the costs of labeling and reformulating as being prohibitive which as anyone in the food business really knows is an absolute standard cost of being in that business. The trouble for the average consumer is that they don’t know these things and the soundbite ends up sounding convincing since it’s presented as fact in context versus fact in reality. Couple that with the pro labeling groups also being guilty of missteps and it’s a recipe for the recent voting results. Those missteps include attacking science without credible science to back up the assertions and attacking the wrong science, getting caught up in arguing rhetoric, and not focusing on education and facts. For example, though the YES campaigns tried to focus on just the labeling, activists routinely discussed safety of GMO’s and presented anecdotal evidence at best of the safety concerns in relation to disease. Yes, many of us can see the correlation between disease rates and the introduction of GMO’s but since the studies have not been done, the ‘science’ is murky at best. What we do have science on, however, is the negative environmental impact that the planting of GMO crops is causing. This is an area that the Non-GMO activists need to focus on. Claims that GMO’s will feed the world’s population can be discounted with the science that’s available too. Food production under any guise produces enough food to feed the world, however the infrastructure to get it there doesn’t exist. That’s factual and verifiable and another area to attack, especially when you look at the profits of Monsanto, Dow, and Bayer. IF they were truly in it for the right reasons, they would be doing everything they could to fund the infrastructure to get foods to the people that really need it. Since US law favors the shareholder, these companies won’t do that since it would impact their quarterly numbers and it’s easier to spend a few million to defeat a measure than do the right thing.
If you think about it, the GMO fight really is about the future of the USA and it’s standing around the globe. Companies like Monsanto are creating a distrust of business on top of a growing and existing unease with our government and congressional leaders. That’s an economic impact that goes beyond what foods we’re eating. What’s worse is that if only these companies and our elected officials would change how they act we might not even be in this discussion at all. Whatever side of the table you sit, this is something we can all agree on.
Language of the initiatives has been a target of the No labeling group. One common themed argument has been the alcohol ‘exempt’ language. The No side makes it sound like ‘how is this possible?’ and ‘if we label we have to label everything’ in order to make it clear. How about food in a restaurant, pet food, meats, etc. If, everything regarding labeling were cut and dry, it would be easy to write language which encompasses these ambiguities, but with federal laws or regulatory agencies having different rules the initiatives are written in compliance with those requirements. In a 60 second spot it’s much easier to malign or mislead than educate which means that more education is necessary and that takes money and time. Perhaps some of that education is starting in this missive.
Another successful tactic of the No group involves the ‘economic impact’ to the consumer. Claims that food prices would go up and that every family would be negatively impacted were in every ad presented by the No group yet this has been proven false time and time again. As a food manufacturer, we’re constantly updating our products and packaging. Do we want to? Of course not because it does cost money yet it’s really out of our control. For example, supplier x can’t keep up with demand for a certain type of almond and we have to adjust a formula in one of our mixes by adding a few more raisins and a few more cashews to keep our item in stock. We have to change the nutritional panel, ingredient panel, bin label, case label, print new bags, etc. It doesn’t matter if it’s GMO or not, we still have to change it. That’s why the No argument carries no weight. The cost to us was real but doesn’t translate into higher prices for you. We have over 1300 items so it’s a full time thing (regardless of GMO labeling or not). Note that this example covers reformulation too so that argument has no merit. For the No side it’s an easy scare tactic with TV ads.
So, where do the Non-GMO folks go from here? This is still a peoples issue. Education, education, education will get us there. Many companies are becoming aware and realizing that their brands are at risk without change. We, the people, still hold the cards and if we play them correctly, the end of GMO’s is a real possibility, not just the labeling but the elimination.
Choosing to eat better one step at a time!
Welcome to 2013! The New Year Resolutions are still fresh in our minds yet they can quickly fall by the wayside if we don’t keep some focus. I kept mine a bit simpler this year so that I can continue this journey into better foods that started a couple of years ago. Eating better has had additional benefits that were not my intention when I resolved to feed my family better that must be mentioned too, but first let’s look at how we can eat better.
We know that we need so many servings of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains to improve our diets. We also know that we should reduce the amount of meat we consume too. This has been drilled into us from elementary school on, yet this is only scratching the surface and may not really be as healthy as promoted. Why is this? From GMO crops to residual pesticides, many of the fruits and vegetables we are tasked to consume can negatively impact our body on the cellular level. We’d hope that trying to eat better wouldn’t do this but in reality, it often does. To make your resolution stick and give yourself the health benefit you’re looking for, choose fresh, locally grown produce and fruit whenever possible. You’ll find these items to be fresher, better tasting, and more nutritious than their counterparts in most grocery stores. Better tasting is a huge factor for my children and Non GMO a huge factor for me. If all you do this year is make this change, you’ll find it to be very positive one. There is plenty of information on GM foods out there and on our website, www.sunridgefarms.com so I won’t go too much in to that other than the easy way to avoid these foods is to look for a Non-GMO designation or a USDA Organic logo. I was concerned that I would be paying more for organic foods and on the surface it might appear that I did, but in reviewing wasted food, our overall health, and our satisfaction with our food, it was overwhelmingly a better fiscal choice. First, food that tastes better gets eaten. When we first started putting better foods on the table, I would put our conventional items out too. Quickly we realized that we favored the organic goods due to taste more than anything. It was especially evident with the kids and their fruit choices. They ate more, had less waste, and resisted less to the introduction of new items. If we compare year to year over the past 3 with health issues, we are seeing fewer illnesses like colds amongst our entire family even though we are even more on the move with work travel and our kids social activities. Just that alone has made the economic equation for choosing to eat better an easy decision. What’s even better is that we’re not perfect in our pursuits. A hamburger often follows a LL baseball game but instead of eating two burgers, it’s become a salad and a hamburger. No need to beat ourselves up as life happens. Better choices has meant better health.
See what eating better can do for you and your family. Make it a priority to change just a few habits this year and start tracking the benefits. It may not show up for a bit of time. I know it took about a year for the lifestyle changes we made to reflect in a positive light. Getting kids to ‘feel’ the difference between refined sugars and naturally occurring sugars takes time. It’s more than taste that we have to adjust to but once you do you’ll find your kids less interested in junk food. It actually won’t taste as good to them as it used to which makes it easier to put better snacks and desserts on the table.
Lastly, as you make the move towards better foods, you can start eliminating the presence of GMO’s. Clearly, this is still experimentation regardless of what the FDA allows. I expect that we’ll see more and more evidence that these foods have negatively impacted our health in the coming years. Enough time has elapsed where the correlation between the introduction of these foods into the supply chain and increased disease rates is more evident. This is especially true for inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s Disease and Colitis. This makes sense since the BT toxin, produced by many GM crops is designed to impact the gut of the pest insects of these crops. Coincidence? That’s what they’d like us to believe…but to some of us with first hand knowledge, we know differently.
I hope that this will help a few of you keep your resolutions to eat better. Take it one day at a time and make the adjustment. I’m living proof that these improvements are positive and possible. At SunRidge Farms, we strive to help you improve your lifestyle with healthy snacks, mixes, confections, fruit, grains, vegetables, nuts and seeds. We source Non GMO where possible and work very hard to ensure reliable and sustainable sources for these items.
Do you really believe that GM foods pose no risk to you?
As I ponder the possibility that Prop 37 might not pass now that the big 6 chemical companies have spent upwards $30Million to create fear amongst the voters, it is clear to me that we are too susceptible to what we see and hear in the mainstream media (TV, Radio, Print). It’s also clear that many Americans lack any semblance of ethics. I realize that’s a pretty bold statement but I’ll stand behind it all day long. I can provide a litany of examples on a daily basis where the ‘me first’ mentality blocks any reasonable approach to doing the right thing. It’s even worse when we have allowed a corporation to become an ‘entity’ that is provided similar rights to the individual. In the case of Monsanto, we have provided a vehicle in which, by law, is forced to act in the interests of it’s shareholders and their need for profits. These actions often fly in the face of reason due to those profit pressures. Since the company is inanimate, that means that decisions are being made by humans who’s first concern is taking care of their needs. What is most disturbing in all of these folks inability to see past their own concerns is the fact that many have children. How is it as a parent, that you would support anything that potentially puts your children or your children’s children at further risk? That is the question I want to ask the leadership at Monsanto, Dow, etc. Wouldn’t they want to know the long term concerns of their work on humans, especially children? Let’s completely understand the risk, if any, before we put these types of foods into our bodies. In addition, if I were in charge and felt that these foods were absolutely safe I would not hesitate to be part of a long term study in order to prove their safety. I wouldn’t feel right pushing a product that I couldn’t 100% stand behind. Let’s see that commitment from the leadership at Monsanto. Starting to make sense?? Frankly, without a public statement to this effect by Monsanto and the others that are against Prop 37, all of us should be skeptical of their stance. Let’s err on the side of caution by VOTING YES on PROP 37. At least be informed as to whether or not GM foods are part of the foods you’re eating. No one in the companies that have created these transgenic foods is willing to be part of any human trials so the ‘science’ that could make this proposition a non issue has never been accomplished. That by itself is enough for me to know that I have only one choice next Tuesday. YES on 37!
Earth Day 2012 – new possibilities, greater challenges
What do we see in our minds as we look out over the next 20 years? The next 50? How is the planet as we know it going to change in this short period? MIT has just predicted social and economic collapse as early as 2030. That’s only 18 years away!
Let’s hope that things aren’t that dire, but even if the prediction is off by years the impact by humans on the planet’s resources is without question. Swelling populations, an emerging global middle class, and the resulting basic needs AND material desires have begun to seriously impact the global economy. Since there is no turning off this engine, the question is how can we get closer to reusing/recycling almost everything we use?
In parts of the country plastic bags have been banned at retail stores and paper bags cost $.10 each. Inconvenient?? Maybe, but already I’ve noticed myself reusing the paper bags I already have 6-7 times before they get too beat up and I have to recycle them. Studies are showing that growing foods organically is as cost effective or better than commercial farming methods. Shopping the local farmers market is always a good idea. Learning to use raised farm beds for growing your own an even better idea. Check out Marshall Loskot’s plans for raised beds, www.herb-blossom.com. His are on platforms allowing him to move his wheelchair around and tend his garden that way. For able bodied folk, these beds allow for immediate organic farming methods to be accomplished without the stooping and bending over associated with traditional farming. Fewer pest issues and few pathogens are also part of the benefits of farming more than 18 inches above the ground.
One last way to have a positive impact and something that we, at SunRidge Farms feel very strongly about, is that of bulk food buying. We hope it’s our products for our efforts to source only high quality, sustainable, organic and Non-GMO foods and ingredients but recognizing that it’s bigger than just us. Buying in bulk reduces packaging costs significantly, thereby reducing the planetary impact on resources to produce that packaging. Those cost savings are passed on to the consumer so you get better pricing in bulk. When shipping products across the country, bulk items create more efficiencies leading to a reduced emissions impact by the service industry. This is just a few examples. To find out more, visit Bulk is Green at www.bulkisgreen.org or http://www.bulkisgreen.org/blog/post/Save-money-by-purchasing-bulk-food-in-bins.aspx
Take the steps today to plan for the future and do your part to minimize your impact on our planet. Remember, it’s Earth Day every day!
Should you be concerned about GMO foods?
Up until a few years ago I had no idea what Genetically Modified Organisms were and how the food we consume each day may or may not be genetically modified but that it was becoming more and more likely that at least some of what I was eating was, in fact, GMO. With awareness comes concern. There are studies that claim to substantiate how safe these foods are; there are an equal number that come to a different conclusion. Clearly a majority of the ‘safe’ studies have been funded by the biotech companies themselves or groups with a vested interest in having a study that produces a ‘safe’ result. That’s not all that reassuring. Natural News has published some information that is helpful in learning more about GMO foods and their safety testing. It’s well worth reading: http://www.naturalnews.com/031951_GMOs_safety_studies.html
On our end, SunRidge Farms is committed to sourcing non-GMO wherever possible.
Rainbow (Drops) for the Holidays!
Rainbow’s are one of natures most pleasurable phenomenons. Who fails to be charmed whenever the rain and sun give us such a visual delight? The joy the children express is contagious and if that guy on YouTube is any indication, a double rainbow causes hysterics that get to be shared by all. I’ve now experienced the taste of the ‘Rainbow’ and have to say that it’s about time that we were able to add in the other senses and we’ve learned that instead of gold at the end of the rainbow there is this treasure. Introducing Rainbow Drops from SunRidge Farms. These all natural candy coated milk chocolates come in 7 rainbow colors and will quickly disappear in your candy dishes that you put out this holiday season, or anytime else. Since all candies are not made alike and Rainbow Drops are part of the SunRidge Farms product line, you’ll find no artificial colors or flavors, no hydrogenated oils, 0 grams of trans fats, no titanium dioxide, and no preservatives. The candies are even non-GMO! So, visit your favorite grocery store’s bulk section and stock up on Rainbow Drops right now and stimulate all of your senses. Now the joy of the rainbow can be enjoyed day or night ( and without the rain! ). Happy Snacking from SunRidge Farms.
