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EST and will continue until Saturday at 11:59am. Feel free to stop back
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Organic Garlic is one of our recent crop harvests
and we are loving all of the savory meals we've made. It's delicious and
nutritious....IF it is homegrown or locally grown organically.
HOMEGROWN GARLIC grown organically
I've started this article and stopped several times in the
last month. I wish our current food system wasn't so corrupt. I wish we
could trust the "decision makers" in our food system to choose what is
best for consumer and not what is best for a companies "bottom
line." Growing our own food is one of many ways we fight the corrupt
food system.
IMPORTED GARLIC: Notice the absence of roots
Chinese Garlic accounts for over 75% of the world's garlic supply.
In 2010, the United States imported 164.4 million pounds, or
74,531 MT, of fresh garlic valued at $130 million (FAS 2011). The United States
also imported 30,170 MT of dried garlic valued at $32.6 million (FAS
2011). For all uses, the country imported 4119.4 MT of garlic (FAS 2011).
China accounted for the majority of total U.S.
garlic imports. Other top suppliers of garlic to the United States
were Argentina and Mexico. source
"In little more than a year, a single Chinese company
has flooded the U.S. market with 60 million pounds of garlic, almost half of it
through the Port of Oakland, in a scheme to avoid penalties that protect
domestic growers.
The dumping of Chinese garlic has severely hurt the U.S.
industry. Half of California's biggest garlic packers have disappeared in the
past decade, says industry leader Bill Christopher of Gilroy."
THAT isn't even the worst of it. The methods of Growing garlic in China are
much different than Organic Growers in the US. Add to that, imported
crops are fumigated and you have a recipe for toxic products being fed to your
family!
"Garlic can be whitened by using chlorine or with a
mixture of sulphur and wood ash. Whitening garlic helps to make it look
healthier and more attractive to consumers. In fact this obsession with white
foods has lead to the bleaching of many food products (flour, salt, sugar)
using chlorine dioxide or benzoyl peroxide.
Growth inhibitors are used to stop garlic from sprouting and can be made from
hormones or chemicals. When garlic begins to sprout, the garlic clove loses
much of its potency. Growth inhibitors together with gamma irradiation extend
the shelf life of garlic.
Gamma radiation is also used to sterilise many products, and in Australia, this
treatment is not accepted for foodstuffs. This does not prevent food treated by
gamma radiation to enter the country."
"Potential food safety hazards in China stem from many
sources. High crop yields and animal output from intensively cultivated land
are achieved by widespread use of chemicals and veterinary drugs, some of which
leave toxic residues on food. Banned toxic agricultural chemicals are still
available through underground vendors. Even where they are not used, chemicals
may still be present in the soil from use in past years or may drift when
sprayed on adjacent fi elds. Many of China’s farms and food processors are
situated in heavily industrialized regions where water, air, and soil are
contaminated by industrial effl uents and vehicle exhaust. Hong Kong
researchers
found heightened levels of lead and cadmium in tests of crop
soils from the Pearl River Delta region of southern China (Wong et al.).
Contamination from human and animal waste also contributes to poor water
quality, partly because most rural areas lack sewage systems"
"FDA has cited over 50 different violations in its
refusals of Chinese products, but most fall into a few general categories that
include general filth, unsafe additives or chemicals, microbial contamination,
inadequate labeling, and lack of proper manufacturer registrations.
Here, we analyzed the FDA data on refusals of Chinese food
imports by violation for 2002-04 and 2007-08 to characterize the types of
problems occurring in imports from China
Our tabulations show the most frequently occurring
violations in Chinese shipments. The occurrence of violations in products from
all countries for 2002-04 is shown for comparison. Note that this analysis is
based on the total number of violations and that many refusals had multiple
violations. For example, many fish refusal reports listed both veterinary drug
residues and filth violations; each of these violations were counted separately
in this part of the analysis.
The most common violations during 2007-08 included “filthy”
and unsafe additives, each of which accounted for 20 percent of violations.
These violations together accounted for 42 percent of violations for China
shipments, nearly double the share of violations from all countries (a combined
22 percent). “Filthy” violations occurred when the food appeared to contain a
filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance (like human or animal hair, feces,
insects, or dirt), was spoiled, or was otherwise unfi t for food (20 percent of
violations for 2007-08 and 25 percent for 2002-04). This category also included
some shipments rejected for containing non-nutritional substances or embedded
foreign objects. Filthy violations occurred frequently for all types of products.
Unsafe additives, including colorings or dyes, dulcin, cyclamate, and excess
sulfite levels, accounted for 22 percent of 2007-08 violations. Melamine
adulteration is included in this category. Unsafe additives were most common in
fruit products. The unsafe additive share of violations in shipments from China
is much higher than the share among shipments from all countries.
Nearly 200 million farmers in China, India, Vietnam,
sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America harvest grains and vegetables from fields
that use untreated human waste.
Ten percent of the world's population relies on such foods,
according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
**I understand using Humanure practices on your own
homestead. It's a natural way to fertilize crops and as long as you
aren't on pharmacueticals, it's a great option. I do not agree with mass
use of untreated human waste on commercial crops. Especially not one as
easy to grow as Garlic.
Last but
certainly not least,
METHYL BROMIDE
Chinese garlic heavily fumigated with methyl bromide
to get rid of any bugs. Methyl bromide is a very toxic hazard. Exposure to high
concentrations can cause damage to the respiratory and central nervous systems,
even death. According to the UN it is 60 times more damaging than chlorine and
is the base of CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons).
Chinese garlic is also contaminated with lead, sulfites and
other unsafe compounds.
Chinese garlic may be treated with growth inhibitors and
subjected to cold temperatures, as well as over-storage. Over storage is
particularly problematic as levels of allicin, one of the major constituents in
garlic responsible for its health benefits, start to decline over time.
"Methyl bromide is used as a fumigant and
pesticide. Exposure may occur during fumigation activities. Methyl
bromide is highly toxic. Studies in humans indicate that the lung may be
severely injured by the acute (short-term) inhalation of methyl bromide.
Acute and chronic (long-term) inhalation of methyl bromide can lead to
neurological effects in humans. Neurological effects have also been
reported in animals. Degenerative and proliferative lesions in the nasal
cavity developed in rats chronically exposed to methyl bromide by
inhalation. Chronic inhalation exposure of male animals has resulted in
effects on the testes at high concentrations. EPA has classified methyl
bromide as a Group D, not classifiable as to human carcinogenicity."
Why rely on imported, potentially toxic food items when it
is simple and easy to grow it yourself? I'm baffled. Please
consider a healthier, less-toxic source for your next meal.
We LOVE Giveaways!!!! I'm sure we'll sponsor another when our FB page reaches 10,000 likes but today we're sharing one Just Because!!! Are you ready??? This is a super simple giveaway with loads of seeds! We will pick 2 winners on Wednesday June 29th at midnight PST. One lucky winner will receive our "In the Kitchen" Herb Garden pack.
This is a great starter kit for your Kitchen Herb Garden. Includes a full-pack of the following varieties: -Genovese Basil -Cilantro -Dill Vierling -Oregano -Sage -Tarragon -Thyme Our second lucky winner will receive our Mary's Green Machine Combo Pack
Includes one FULL PACK of the following varieties: -Arugula "Roquette" -Catalogna Puntarelle Dandelion -Endive -Russian Red Kale -Little Gem Lettuce -Rainbow Swiss Chard
That's over 700 Seeds!! SAVE on GREENS when you purchase our combo pack!
About Mary's Heirloom Seeds
Mary's Heirloom Seeds is a "mom and pop" small business created out of a
desire to help people become more sustainable and self-sufficient. Our
customers know that we are a simple phone call or email away
We currently offer over 350 varieties of Heirloom, open-pollinated, non-gmo non-hybrid, non-patented, untreated and organic seeds. Mary has signed the Safe Seed pledge AND the the Declaration of Seed Freedom.
Are you ready to enter the giveaway?
Giveaway is open to all Residents of the US and Canada. Giveaway opens 6/26/2016 and ends Wednesday, June 29th at Midnight PST.
All giveaway entrants will be added to Mary's Heirloom Seeds mailing list.
Your information is never sold and we never send spam emails.
The party starts every Tuesday at 7am
EST and will continue until Saturday at 11:59am. Feel free to stop back
any time and "like" your favorites. Please visit other blogs if you have a moment.
Share older posts as well as new ones. No limit on links!
*Pictures should be your own*
By linking up you give us permission to use these photos
(with proper link backs) in our features. And now for the party!
The party starts every Tuesday at 7am
EST and will continue until Saturday at 11:59am. Feel free to stop back
any time and "like" your favorites. Please visit other blogs if you have a moment.
Share older posts as well as new ones. No limit on links!
*Pictures should be your own*
By linking up you give us permission to use these photos
(with proper link backs) in our features. And now for the party!
The party starts every Tuesday at 7am
EST and will continue until Saturday at 11:59am. Feel free to stop back
any time and "like" your favorites. Please visit other blogs if you have a moment.
Share older posts as well as new ones. No limit on links!
*Pictures should be your own*
By linking up you give us permission to use these photos
(with proper link backs) in our features. And now for the party!
We're definitely feeling the HEAT here. How are the temps in your area?
Recently, we shared a few additional planting tips and our JUNE Seed Planting Guide. It was very popular and we are happy to answer any additional questions you might have for us.
Our SIZZLING SUMMER SPECIAL starts TODAY and ends June 10th. Yep, only 7 days and the specials end.
It's a HUGE selection of seed
varieties supplies on special. Why? Because we listen to our customers
and so we delivered! (Thanks Ashley)
**Before you place your order** Please notice at checkout that we offer Free shipping on select items/orders of $10 or more. If your seed order is less than $10, please choose the appropriate shipping option.
