The Organic View

Top Bar Hive Beekeeping is a simple, practical way to have healthy and happy bees in your garden or back yard. You can actually harvest your own honey without the cost and complications associated with conventional beekeeping. In this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, host, June Stoyer talks to Beekeeping Expert and Radio Host, Phil Chandler, author of the Barefoot Beekeeper (http://www.biobees.com/) Stay tuned!

Top Bar Hive Beekeeping is a simple, practical way to have healthy and happy bees in your garden or back yard. You can actually harvest your own honey without the cost and complications associated with conventional beekeeping. In this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, host, June Stoyer talks to Beekeeping Expert and Radio Host, Phil Chandler, author of the Barefoot Beekeeper (http://www.biobees.com/) Stay tuned!

When you mention raw food, people immediately think of vegetables and salads. However, there is a lot more to it than that. The appetizers, entrees, and desserts are absolutely scrumptious, appealing to the most particular organic foodie. Organic raw foods have been found to be quite beneficial when it comes to maintaining good health. Like most diets, the hardest part is being able to understand which foods to choose from and what are the perimeters as far as preparation. The cost and time factors are very appealing considering that there is less time and money needed to prepare many dishes which can be made from garden fresh vegetables from your own yard that are prepared with just a few easy steps. Author Marie-Claire Hermans is the founder of Ravishing Raw. She is a raw food coach and is committed to bringing people closer to a healthy and happy life through raw food classes, coaching and lectures. Her life experience, her hunger for knowledge and never ending training are the basis of her coaching and guiding skills. She is so devoted to her work that she even offers her books free of charge on her website which is http://www.RavishingRaw.com! In this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, host, June Stoyer talks to Marie-Claire Hermans about the organic raw foods and how you can create some cost effective, delicious meals for you and your entire family. Stay tuned!

In 1988, Badger Mountain Vineyard became the first Certified Organic winegrape vineyard in Washington State. They are sincere stewards of the land as they practice IPM, make their own compost tea and even have earth-friendly organic boxed wines too! Since 2006, Badger Mountain Vineyard has been producing bio diesel for all of the vineyard equipment and farm trucks. They have created a weekly route to local restaurants to retrieve their used cooking oil for the conversion. The bio diesel is stored in a solar-heated building in order to create the proper temperatures for conversion. This provides Badger Mountain with clean burning fuel for the vineyard equipment. In this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, host, June Stoyer talks to the folks at Badger Mountain about the trends in organic wine production and certification process in the USA. Stay tuned!

With St. Valentine’s Day rapidly approaching, the stores are stocked with all sorts of products aimed to encourage couples to be more loving and affectionate with one another. However, many of these products are made with chemicals and materials that are not loved by your body and are not very good for the environment. In this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, host, June Stoyer, will speak to adult personal care expert Lisa Mazurek, to discuss the toxic chemicals in adult personal products and how the industry is changing to respond to the demands of the organic industry. Lisa maintains the belief that sexuality is a healthy, wonderful part of all of our lives. Through education, people feel empowered to make good, informed decisions and will ultimately, communicate better with their partner which creates an even stronger and more loving relationship with the one they love.

Let’s face it, if you have food sensitivities, it can be a nightmare to dine out because of the high risk of trusting restaurants and other dining establishments with the purity of your food. The sheer possibility of ingesting one tiny ingredient that accidentally may not be mentioned while describing a particular entrée or side could result in a reaction that can render you sick for the rest of the day or even worse, the course of the next few days. When restaurateur, Chris Maykut decided to open his first café in Seattle, he wanted the experience to be a core joy of life which is to EAT and enjoy food. Based from the outset on an ethic of organic produce, waste-reduction, and unique cuisine, he created his Chaco Canyon’s identity as he grew. Carved into a tiny below-sidewalk space that had no business being a cafe, they steadily grew from the occasional customer to bursting at the seams after 3 years. Is it possible to create a successful business that caters to a very select group? What makes his customers drive to his café from far distances just to buy a loaf of his gluten free bread? Can a business actually be profitable, sustainable and support organic in a very weak economy? In this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, host, June Stoyer will speak to entrepreneur and restaurateur, Chris Maykut to discuss the business side of feeding people organically, with plant based and gluten free foods that will satisfy the most selective carnivore! Stay tuned!

Dr. Henk Tennekes has been involved with cancer research for most of his career. His work regarding bees began after reading an official report to the Dutch Minister of Agriculture on the decline of bees. He was amazed at the lack of information on insecticides as a possible factor in the bee decline. Dr. Tennekes then began to research the impact of neonicotinoid insecticides such as imidacloprid and clothianidin. He discovered that they were identical to those of genotoxic carcinogens. These chemicals are not only affecting the honeybees but other species that are not closely monitored such as butterflies and other insects. He began to study the food habits of declining bird species and discovered that they depended on invertebrates. Dr. Tennekes is convinced that there is a link between the use of neonics and the decline of insects and birds. Some countries such as Germany have already banned the use of these chemicals. However, if these applications are not banned, there will be an impending environmental catastrophe that is irreversible. In this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, host, June Stoyer will speak to esteemed Toxicologist and author, Dr. Henk Tennekes, about his research and discuss this monumental devastation that will affect us on a global scale. Stay tuned!

Honeybees pollinate ¾ of all of our agricultural food as well as other important crops such as cotton that are used for textiles. Without them, life as we know it would cease to exist. Any fatal impact on the honeybee would create a monumental disaster. Clothianidin has been widely used as a seed treatment on many of the USA’s key crops (which include canola, soy, sunflowers, wheat and sugar beet crops) for eight growing seasons under a conditional registration granted while EPA waited for Bayer Crop Science, the pesticide’s maker, to conduct a field study assessing the insecticide’s threat to bee colony health. The EPA has moved from granting a conditional registration to full registration of this chemical just in time for the spring planting. Clothianidin is of the neonicotinoid family of systemic pesticides, which are taken up by a plant’s vascular system and expressed through pollen, nectar and gutation droplets from which bees then forage and drink. Scientists are concerned about the mix and cumulative effects of the multiple pesticides bees are exposed to in these ways. Neonicotinoids are of particular concern because they have cumulative, sublethal effects on insect pollinators that correspond to CCD symptoms – namely, neurobehavioral and immune system disruptions. In this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, host, June Stoyer will speak to Tom Theobald, Master Beekeeper, President and founding board member of the Boulder County Beekeepers' Association about the impact of this devastation chemical. Stay tuned!

People assume that the finest wines in the world are produce with very strict standards for purity. That is not the case as the demand for sulphur free wines has exploded, especially in the organic wine industry. In the organic debate, the USA reserves the label of organic wine for wine made from organically grown grapes and without any added SO2 and where the SO2 level is below 10ppm. The majority of wines made from organically grown grapes have added SO2 but are referred to as organic wines. The majority of organic consumers are under the impression that organic wines contain no preservatives and are surprised to discover that this is not generally the case. Stellar receives constant queries from the public regarding the availability of SO2 free wines. Producing an SO2 free wine allows us to recapture the credibility in organic wines while at the same time giving our customers what they want. On the winemaking side the flavors are cleaner and more transparent. In red wines the colors are often better. SO2 can bleach color. Stellar Organic is South Africa’s largest producer of organic Fair Trade Certified™ wine. Each year, close to 2 million bottles are produced for the local market and export destinations in Europe, the UK, USA, Canada and Asia. Stellar has been an innovator in the wine industry and has really set the standard for organic wines by becoming the first organic winemaking operation. Well-known for its organic certification and Fair Trade certification, Stellar changed the wine industry standard by becoming the first cellar in Africa to produce commercially viable, no-sulphur added wines. Their wines have won numerous awards over the years in both national and international competitions, proving that organic Fair Trade wines can more than measure up to their conventional counterparts in quality. In this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, host, June Stoyer will speak to Jeremy Shapley, CEO of Stellar Organics. Stay tuned!

In every state and country you will find differences in the climate, the people and the creatures that we share the earth with. What if there was a way to create animal welfare awareness for regional issues as well as global issues? That is exactly what Michelle Buckalew did when she founded Animal WorldUSA.org (http://www.animalworldusa.org/) Throughout the year, different states and countries are being celebrated with events that are organized and promoted for an entire weeklong celebration. The 3rd Florida Week for the Animals February 5-13th, kicks off this Saturday, February 5, 2011. Throughout the week, educational institutions, animal shelters, rescue groups, and humane organizations across the state will be hosting scores of wonderful animal-related special events. Educators, students, businesses and caring citizens across Florida will be joining in, creating and planning their exciting activities to celebrate and help animals. Events will include adoption fairs, spay/neuter awareness events, shelter beautification days, R.E.A.D. dog programs in libraries, walks for the farm animals and therapy dogs visiting hospitals and nursing homes. Also to be included are a salute to our canine military and police dogs, feral cat initiatives, animal law events, educational programs at the zoos, blessings for the animals, and full-filled festival days for families to come and enjoy food, music and the always amazing animals! In this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, host, June Stoyer will speak to Michelle Buckalew who is the Founder of AnimalWorldUSA.org which is kicking off its 3rd annual, Florida’s Week for the Animals(http://www.floridaanimals.org/) Stay tuned!

The celebration Americans call Groundhog Day began in the late 18th or early 19th century in the area of Pennsylvania referred to by some as Amish Country. Bearing similarities to Christian and Pagan holidays harkens to our agricultural need to forecast the weather. Weather prediction is a cornerstone of gardening and farming. Gardeners and farmers alike use almanacs, rings around moons, colors of sunsets and sunrises, as well as wind direction and of course experience to predict short and long term temperature and precipitation. Most importantly both use the sequence of plant growth to help them know when to plant see, when to watch for insects and disease, when to cultivate for weeds and when to prepare for harvest. Phenology is the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events and how these are influenced by seasonal and inter-annual variations in climate. The blooming of the forsythia for example is an indicator that pest plants called weeds will soon be germinating. So much to talk about as spring really is right around the corner and the gardener’s time to plant is soon upon us or in the words of the old English round: ‘Sumer is icumen in, Lhude sing cuccu! Groweþ sed and bloweþ med’. In addition to snow, and ice, planting and seeding, there are indoor garden chores which need attention to for now is the time that the garden awakes and gardeners cannot sleep. In this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, host, June Stoyer will speak to Invasive species and Horticultural expert, John Peter Thompson, who is President of the National Agricultural Research Alliance (http://www.NARA-B.org ). John Peter will discuss some of the interesting tools farmers have used as well as things you can do to prepare for this coming gardening season. Stay tuned!

The fight for organic and the fight against genetic engineering is one tough battle. There are many people who sincerely talk the talk and walk the walk. One of my favorite organic advocates, activist and Organic Good Food Friends, is Max Goldberg. Max started LivingMaxwell.com in December 2009. Max’s organic food blog gives readers useful information about the best products, news, trends, and legislation, and provides interviews with the industry's leading CEOs. His blog focuses on his passion for organic food as a means to educate people about its importance and to inspire others to live a healthier lifestyle. Readers follow Max on his journey to eating organic after a long personal battle with high-stress, depression and self-destructive behavior, including his decision to quit Prozac, an antidepressant he had been taking for more than a decade. Later this year, Max will be publishing a memoir, which describes his nearly 11 years on antidepressants and what happened when he went off of the medication in 2001. A former Wall Street investment banker, Max quit drinking in 1999, cigarettes in 2000 and antidepressants in 2001. He has never relapsed once on any of those three. His mission with LivingMaxwell.com is to inspire people to change their relationship with food and to educate people about the importance of eating organic. Max has been profiled and quoted in The Huffington Post and The Chicago Tribune. In this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, host, June Stoyer will speak to Max Goldberg, organic advocate, activist and organic good food friend. We will discuss the current issues the organic industry faces including the highly controversial decision by the USDA to deregulate genetically engineered alfalfa which is going to open Pandora’s box for all things organic. Stay tuned!

When the Gulf Oil spill happened, the public was outraged. There was a worldwide outcry of concern for marine life and marine preservation as the Gulf Oil spill contaminated miles of pristine ocean and its surrounding areas. However, there is an even bigger problem affecting marine life. It is being done for the sake of fashion and exotic home décor. An estimated 70-90% of marine aquariums are collected illegally using poisonous cyanide. Other poisons such as bleach, formalin, and gasoline are also used. This not only reduces biodiversity but also removes key components of the reef ecosystem, including algae grazers, which help maintain ecosystem health. Coral reefs contain some of the largest diversity of life in the world. They are home to thousands of different plants and animals. For example, coral reefs in the Florida Keys sustain 500 species of fish, more than 1700 species of mollusks, five species of sea turtles, and hundreds of species of sponges. Did you know that fish feel pain, as do crustaceans and other invertebrates? Coral reefs are typically found at a depth less than 150 feet so that they are reachable by sunlight. Corals contain microscopic algae, called zooxanthellae, that provide the coral with food and give them their vibrant colors. On average, they grow about 1 mm to 4cm per year. In this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, host, June Stoyer will speak to Dr. Dan Thornhill, Coral Reef Marine Scientist from Defenders of Wild Life (http://www.defenders.org) about this crisis. Stay tuned.

One of the first things that you notice about someone after their physical appearance is how they smell. If someone has poor physical hygiene or does not know how to manage the natural body odors we create as human beings, it can be very offensive. This is due to the use of deodorants and antiperspirants that just do not resonate with our natural chemical composition. Unfortunately, these products are also chock filled with chemicals such as aluminum that cause cancer, Alzheimers and other diseases. It seems as though the price we pay for beauty seems to be with our health. Fortunately, there is a solution that is Crystal® clear! Crystal® deodorants consistently and unfailingly deliver on a simple promise: to prevent odor all day long without harmful chemicals. The deodorants are all natural, mineral salt deodorants that actually prevent body odor all day long. They contain no aluminum chlorohydrate, parabens, phthalates or alcohol and have been clinically tested. They don’t stain clothes or leave a white residue. Crystal also is cruelty free and environmentally safe. They have won awards from Better Nutrition Magazine’s Best of Beauty award for three consecutive years, 2008 – 2010, including Top 10 All-Time Classic and Best Natural Deodorant, Natural Health Magazine (UK) named us Best Natural Deodorant (2010). In this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, host, June Stoyer will speak to Jerry Rosenblatt, CEO and Larry Friedberg, S VP and CMO of French Transit, Ltd., the parent company of The Crystal (http://www.thecrystal.com) They will talk about personal care and how Crystal has made our personal grooming options safer and healthier.

Historically, as many as 20-30 million bison roamed across much of North America. Now they are an endangered species. Did you know that they are the largest land mammal in North America? Millions of bison once roamed freely across North America. However, after unregulated killing during the 19th century, wild bison were almost completely wiped out. While there are now half a million bison in the U.S., nearly all of those are cattle-bison hybrids managed for meat production. Bison are making a slow comeback as wildlife, mostly in small conservation herds. Fewer than 30,000 bison are managed for conservation instead of meat production, and only 5,000 bison are both free-roaming and disease-free, with a majority of those confined to the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park. During harsh winters and with nowhere else to go, bison are routinely culled upon leaving the park in search of food. Defenders.org is working with the Park Service, tribes, and state wildlife agencies and land managers to find suitable habitat for bison to roam free outside the park, hopefully someday putting an end to the annual slaughter. In this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, host, June Stoyer will speak to Mike Leahy, Rocky Mountain Region Director, Defenders of Wildlife (www.defenders.org)to talk about this crisis and how you can get involved to stop this merciless slaughter!