Ecotistic Magazine Issue 2

STAFF BOX

MARCH/APRIL 2012 VOL. 1 ISSUE #2 Publisher Beau A. Odom Associate Publisher Mike Dial

CLIMATE CHANGE

Editor-in-Chief Rebecca Odom

STRESS

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Associate Editor George Duenas Art Director Ian Ruz

GLUTEN

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Advisory Board: Mike Dial Heinz R. Gisel Jennifer Dial Contributors: Heinz R. Gisel Lance Rogers Bahareh Urban Farmer Randy Villarba Tiffany Janay Jaime Schwartz Aaron Evans George & Antoinette Duenas Jennifer Dial Esther Rubio-Sheffrey Marc Emmelmann Jeffrey Von Stetten Advertising Sales Reps: Beau A. Odom Tiffany Janay Heather Phillips Richard Huerta

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HAPPINESS

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SPRING PLANTING

TRAVEL

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HEALTHY PET

BAMBOO SK8

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ECOTISTIC Magazine is printed on recycled paper with soy-based ink.

HEALING TEA

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YOGA

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Publisher’s Letters

DO YOU WANT TO BE PART OF A REVOLUTION TO CREATE A FOOD NETWORK THAT IS ECOLOGICAL?

Thank you for picking up the second issue of Ecotistic Magazine! We’ve been having an amazing time meeting local artisans in San Diego and discovering some of the most passionate people we have ever met. We are excited to be able to share with our growing readership all of the information we are learning. I received a wonderful letter from someone who picked up a copy of our first issue that read, in part:

All of us need to play a role in being stewards for Earth, safeguarding it for future generations. And that is a good way to think – modest use of all the natural gifts of life, provisioning as much as we can. As we look at all that needs to be made right in the world, we might want to start by looking in our own backyards first. It is foods that binds us, but if the food is not from our community, then how can it bind us, especially when most of it comes from thousands of miles away?

“I just picked up your first issue in North Park. It looks good! I was pleasantly surprised by your subject of choice; I ran into ‘health complications’ a couple of years ago, dropped a hundred pounds and had to change everything overnight. So you can image how thrilled I was to find Ecotistic!”

That is why we do this! I feel honored and privileged that someone finds comfort and/or education in the information that we are trying to share; information that is important to not only us, but to all people. And if we can make an impact on a few lives, we feel our jobs are done and that is payment enough!

We have some crazy plans for the future, including seminars at our upcoming Pacific Beach location hosted by some of our advertisers and writers, where they will be covering their areas of expertise in an open to the public arena. Keep up-to-date with our developments online at www.ecotisticmag.com.

April is Earth Day and we will be at Balboa Park sharing a booth with the boys from Innovative Growing Solutions, so make sure to stop by and say hello to the Ecotistic Staff. Seeing how this is the issue that will be distributed at Earth Day as well, there is some information that we NEED to share!

The California Right to Know, Genetically Engineered Food Act is currently gathering signatures to be included on the November ballot. We need to let our voices be heard; we do NOT want dangerous ingredients in our food supply. We spend hard earned money on what should be pure food for our babies and loved ones. We should have the right to know what is in our food, so we as Californians can start to fix the future of our food. But as always, it is urgent that we work fast to get this measure on the November ballot because the gathering of signatures will only last two months, February 18th –April 22nd. We have a short time to do some work.

To get involved, go to www.lablegmos.org and get started! It is just a step in the right direction, but it’s a BIG step! If we can get a GMO label on our food, it is like putting a skull and crossbones on it, and most of us will not buy it in lieu of true organic agricultural products. Food is medicine and medicine is food ONLY if the food is pure, whole food from the Earth and not from a lab.

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The United States was built on agriculture, seeing as how 90% of its population was made up of farmers. Since then, we’ve become a world power and have even put men on the moon, but now we can’t even put our own food on the table? I guess it’s back to me and you, or US. You see, when an institutionalized nation fails, it is the people’s yards that fill the gaps. And those gaps are far too big for the small percentage of farms we have left, which is less than 10%. And by the way, small-scale farmers only make up about 1% of our nation, so support them or we will lose them too!

In Cuba, when all of the large imports were shut down under the embargo and maybe because of the lack of leadership and/or government, it was the ordinary people who picked up the ball to feed the country. In the end, the government would tell the world what a good job they had done. As always with large governments, they will claim the hard work of its people. This is true all over the world. During times of hardship, it is always a small group of ordinary people who come together to form a grassroots movement, and who is more qualified than “WE THE PEOPLE” to lead us out of the worst food crisis in America’s history. Food is so much more than a fuel, it is life.

And we have to get back to a basic human/food relationship for the good life in all of us.

Now let’s get back to the best democratic right we have, which is to grow our own food for better family and community health. The benefit of safer, fresher food is a reduction in the use of fossil fuels. This minimizes the food’s carbon footprint and leaves more resources for the world’s poorest.

Now think about all the good this will do for the world as we improve local economies and get back to having good, healthy relationships with our neighbors, families, and communities. We can go from being the largest consumers on the planet to producers again. And with regard to world problems, we created them, so we need to find the solutions to clean up the mess we’ve made. It’s going to be a lot of work, but we have to start with fixing our own food crisis before we can help fix the wrongs we have done to the Earth.

So where do we start? The way we look at food should be no different from how we look at loved ones, with passion and a true love. Sound deep? Well, it is. If the food we eat is not grown here, then how can it be ours? We have no reason not to grow because everything we need is right here in the bread basket of the world. Before our government did the math on how much tax could be made on homegrown food, they took taxpayers’ money to run ads in publications to tell people that they should move to the city and become doctors or lawyers and live in big high-rises or suburbs. You see, it is a lot easier to tax a cement city because everything comes from far away and through the gates. And it’s the same with importing; it’s easy to tax. As long as they keep farmers at less than 10% of who we are, taxes will flow.

Remember, we started with 90% farmers, so if we were to look back a few generations, we would find a farmer. So how do we fix this food crisis in America? Farming any way we can! From small-scale backyards, to big old farms to grow what we have no room to grow – grains, soy, corn, and so on.

But for the most part, we can grow 80% of our food locally.

When it comes to our health, the government suggests “5 A Day”, which means five portions of fruits and vegetables each day. Personally, I think it’s a joke, but it’s a start. You don’t want to eat the same five every day because you will burn out and get sick. Mix it up with a variety of colored fruits and vegetables. If you pick a selection of 25 to 35 fruits and vegetables, you will have a different option every day for your 5 A DAY for the next 300 to 500 years. Just think of all the variety if you added a new one each week. Earth gives us about 90,000 plants and fruits to eat and we only eat about 150 at best. Experience the different textures and flavors with a rainbow of colors and variety of shapes.

How much room do you need? Just what you have is fine. Live in a small house with no yard or room inside? Grow wheat grass or sprouts, or how about microgreens, which are all done in a window. How about a spare room? Put up a grow light and grow lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, etc.; it goes on and on. And if you have a backyard, get rid of your gardener and have your wife and kids by your side, or the other way around. Planting edible plants and spending time in the sun with your loved ones will help you build a healthy relationship with your food and family. And who knows, maybe one day those baby girls and boys can say they are the sons and daughters of farmers. Wouldn’t it be nice if when they’re grown, all they know is the land of milk and honey and not hate and money?

90% of us, THE USA, will be farmers in one way or another. It is going to take some hard work and time, but that’s okay, as long as we start today. We can’t wait for our broke government to fix what we gave up.

We need to flex our best democratic right and take back our power as the U.S. And when it comes to our food, do we not want to say that it is BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE. Now that’s a revolution I can be a part of – the 90%ers for local sustainable foods!

So can you tell that you just read the words of an old babbling farmer and how he sees things? Well, you would be right. It looks like I just unloaded a lot about how I feel and I would like to thank you all for sticking with me. I was going to write without all the sparks, but sometimes I just like to get right to it and start the fire. Let me know if you need help on how to grow with what space you have and I will do my best to help you fulfill your dream. Oh, and my dream is to get back to the 90% SMALLSCALE FARMING in the good ol’ USA. We grow food, we change our food, we change society, we change our values of life. Remember, it is about FOOD. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, said, “Food should be our medicine, and medicine should be our food.” He said this in the year 431 B.C. What have we been doing to our bodies all of this time? We will talk about that next time. Once again, thank you for picking up Ecotistic Magazine; it tells me that you care and it makes me care about you. So let me know how I can help you help us all grow. And as always, what the hell do I know anyways, I am just an old farmer.

Much Love to ya’ all, MIKE DIAL, THE BIO-FARMER Mike Dial, a Northern California native, has been an avid farmer and gardener for over 30 years and enjoys sharing his research and knowledge with members of his community and beyond. Mike lives in North County San Diego where he runs a farm with his wife Jennifer and their Rottie, Odin. Mike embraces his passion for sustainable agriculture by growing organic, high quality produce and is considered one of San Diego’s Gardening Gurus. You can find seasonal fresh produce from the farm at his retail garden store, Innovative Growing Solutions, Inc., in Pacific Beach.

Mike enjoys music, art, hiking and being a steward for our planet. He is also a member of a team that assists other countries in recovering from natural disasters by providing solutions for their agricultural needs.

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Photos courtesy of Friends of Balboa Park Friends of Balboa Park, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and maintaining Balboa Park since 1999, along with the San Diego Floral Association, is staging a butterfly and ladybug release during the park’s 2012 San Diego Science Festival on Saturday, March 17th.

300 butterflies and over 1,000 ladybugs will be set free at noon, 1:00 p.m., and 2:00 p.m. at Balboa Park’s Zoro Garden on the day of the festival.

“It’s a great opportunity for parents to bring their young children into the garden and excite them about the insects and plants. We hope they will revisit the garden during their next trip to the park to look for and find butterflies other times of the year,” said Jim Hughes, Chairman of Friends of Balboa Park. “The memories we’re creating will hopefully inspire future generations to take care of Balboa Park and bring their families back for similar experiences 10, 15, and 25 years from now.”

Other activities are staged during the day to educate kids about the life cycle of a butterfly, including displays, storytelling, face painting and more.

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Since 2007, Friends of Balboa Park, together with other park ‘friends’, have invested over $10,000 in Zoro Garden, which was renamed the Butterfly Garden in 2007. Several upgrades included a butterfly mural in the garden, a mosaic birdbath, butterfly brochures for patrons, and the planting and nurturing of butterfly-friendly plants.

This is a FREE event and it’s going to be a lot of fun! So for more information, please visit: http://friendsofbalboapark.org/

Find tranquility, wholesome foods and a delicious meal at Lotus Café and Juice Bar Lotus Café and Juice Bar is a new addition to Hillcrest. The multicultural, whole foods restaurant specializes in locally sourced and natural foods. Lotus Café and Juice Bar opened in the Village Hillcrest shopping center a few months ago and boasts 3,600 square feet of space for fresh, natural, healthy food at affordable prices.

The owners are yogis and pride themselves in making food that is not only healthy, it is prepared with love, simplicity and a joyful heart. “Hillcrest was a perfect place for our second location,” said owners Carl and Johanna Wright. “The café reflects our personal commitment to a healthy diet, and in many ways feels like an art project that we have co-created together as an offering to our community. As long-time meditators and yoga practitioners, Hillcrest felt intuitively the right place to be.”

Lotus Café and Juice Bar offers mostly organic homemade soups, salads, sandwiches, pasta, vegetarian entrees, fish, chicken, kids meals, fresh juices, smoothies, shakes, desserts and homemade vegan cupcakes. The menu includes vegan, vegetarian, strict vegetarian, and gluten-free options, certified organic items and fish and poultry choices for non-vegetarians.

Popular menu items include the Acai Bowl, Lotus Caesar Salad, the Spiritual Spinach Salad, Hillcrest Hummus & Pita, Indian Curry Bowl, Encinitas Veggie Grill, Grilled Portabello Sandwich, Avocado Heaven Sandwich, Vegetarian Lasagna, Neptune Fish Tacos, Chicken Enchiladas, Turkey Burger, Swami’s Carrot Shake, Peanut Butter Shake, Avatar Acai Smoothie and shots of fresh organic wheatgrass juice.

Here are a few reviews from our dining “As a vegetarian, it is hard to find restaurants team: that fully cater to my lifestyle. When I found out Lotus Café opened down the street from “I am always looking for a place to go for my house, I was so excited! I had heard great lunch that not only has soups, salads and things but had never experienced it myself. I sandwiches (not a hard find in SD), but find- had the half Avocado heaven sandwich with ing those items built the way I want (whole lentil soup combo and it was absolutely deligrains, organic greens, fresh fish) is not al- cious! The fresh ingredients combined with a ways easy. I went for the first time to Lotus great value has made Lotus my new favorite Cafe with my team after hearing such great lunch spot!” things about the Encinitas location from friends who live up there. My assumptions “I love eating healthy and wholesome, and were confirmed and my lunch was delicious! when I heard Lotus Café had opened a locaI had the Lotus salad + Tuna Sandwich & tor- tion just up the street from where I work I tilla chips. It was just enough, without leav- was excited to check it out. I had the Neptune ing me feeling too full - which is a common fish tacos with black beans and rice. The fish occurrence when going out for a meal. Defi- was cooked perfectly and the salsa had just nitely going back.” enough kick to balance out the tacos. For less

than $9.00, this was a great value and left me feeling comfortably full and energized.”

“Being a vegetarian, I feel very limited at some restaurants, but Lotus Cafe had so many vegetarian and vegan options it was hard for me to pick something! I got the Spiritual Spinach Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing from Lotus Cafe & it was delicious! The salad was healthy and perfect for my vegetarian dietary needs. The serving size was large, but it was so good I almost finished the whole thing.”

Lotus Café and Juice Bar provides two hours of parking validation in the Village Hillcrest parking structure.

Lotus Café and Juice Bar is located in Village Hillcrest at 3955 Fifth Avenue and is open daily from 11:00 a.m.9:00 p.m. A second location can be found at 765 South Coast Highway 101, Encinitas, Calif., 92024 in The Lumberyard.

For more information about Lotus Café and Juice Bar, a complete list of menu items and locations, visit http://www.lotuscafeandjuicebar.com/.

Saturday, April 7th, is National Coffee Cake Day!

In honor of this fun coffee day, the Kona Coffee Company, San Diego’s Kona-only coffee roaster and full-service coffee house, is giving FREE generous slices of coffee cakes to the first 50 patrons who mention National Coffee Cake Day. In this case, you can have your cake (for free) and eat it, too!

Kona beans served at the Kona Coffee Company are sourced organically from the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa in the North and South Kona Districts of the Big Island of Hawaii.

The Kona Coffee Company is located at 3995 5th Ave. in Hillcrest.

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By: Jeffrey Von Stetten Stress, stress, stress, it’s everywhere in the air these days, isn’t it? Whether you speak to someone smiling, or someone clearly upset, all it takes is a mere mention of it and it is all people can do to stop from gushing about how overwhelmed they’ve been. It’s no secret, this last year wasn’t much of a winner for anyone I’ve spoken to, and for myself, personally, it was nothing short of hideous, and I’ll freely confess that. I will gladly join anyone and everyone who wishes to take 2011, crumple it up, throw it into the fire pit, never to be mentioned or revisited again, and there’s no shame in saying that.

There’s an old adage that misery loves company, and in that, there may be some comfort, actually some healing. Sharing what is upsetting you is the first step in trying to find some form of solace, insight, and wisdom in navigating your way out of perceived isolation, unhappiness, and feeling overwhelmed.

Our spirit, mind, and body connection is something that cannot be disputed. Once someone can grasp the notion that the mere thought of something upsetting sends cortisol surging through your veins, raising your blood pressure, your heart rate, and getting the rest of your body’s sympathetic nervous system rolling with it, there is very little left to 8 | ECOTISTICMAG.COM

argue with. It’s measurable, it’s repeatable, and it applies to the population as a whole without exception.

Stress related disorders are responsible for a massive amount of ill health – mental, emotional, and physical – and, according to some well-known holistic and medical theorists, it is possibly the number one cause of innumerable health issues that, if especially long-term, can be crippling, compromising, and life threatening. The upside to this is that there are many things that can assist in helping to balance out the equation and actually make preventative progress to stop it from happening all together, or minimize any potential damage that excessive stress may cause. To be clear, excessive stress is what we are discussing here as well. Healthy levels of stress are needed for you to perform and be at your best, think quickly, react fast, and make good decisions. There’s nothing attractive or desirable about being out of it, listless, sluggish, or flakey. It’s that excess part that we really want to avoid. Unfortunately, we’re all way past that these days and need to take it down a peg. No worries, that’s a “can do”.

You can break down the areas to focus on

three categories: Intake, Release, and Balance.

This is broad, but it is the best way to address stress as a whole.

Intake: Things you consume are extremely important in times of stress. Comfort foods can be quick fixes that usually have healthier counterparts. Herbs and root extracts are powerful and fantastic. Clean healthy foods are the balancing mechanisms that are your #1 ally.

My favorite food based supplements are healthy fats (hemp, flax, coconut, Udo’s choice). These are essential for neurological functioning, capillary elasticity, heart functioning, cellular balance, skin quality (dryness under stress is very common), hormone production and sex drive. You can’t overdose and they make you look sexy. It’s hard to go wrong.

Second – We need clean phyto proteins (hemp, spirulina, organic fermented brown rice). Phyto proteins are a greater asset to your well-being because on a nutritional graph they occupy the widest array of beneficial categories simultaneously over others. These are the most hypoallergenic, assist with blood sugar regulation, deliver whole food vitamins and minerals as well as trace minerals, are most easily digested, contain NO added

sugars, do not raise uric acid (as does Whey), and are not estrogenic as is soy. They are vital in the synergistic utilization and incorporation of needed chemistry to your body, especially in their providing of a complete amino acid profile in various ratios.

Third – It’s time for your B vitamins. A well done B complex in addition to extra B3 and B12 help you stay on your toes, think clear, decrease blood pressure, and keep you from becoming depleted.

Fourth – Last, but definitely not least, is vitamin C. Your body gobbles up vitamin C storehouses in your body under periods of stress because it needs it to combine with other chemicals in your system to produce adrenaline. As your body begins breaking down vitamin C to accomplish this, your body’s storehouses run low very quickly. This is why people under periods of great stress for even a moderate period of time are so prone to becoming sick. High amounts of vitamin C (preferably from whole food sources) are essential to staying healthy under periods of great stress. DO NOT NEGLECT IT. A close fifth is magnesium. Load up on your magnesium levels to help you stay calm and collected; it’s wonderful. What is not wonderful is that too much of it will cause diarrhea, which is not going to help you feel calm, so find your optimal level and cruise with it.

Herbs, Roots, and Extracts – This is a very wide category. Some of the best substances available are reishi mushroom, schizandra, jujube, mucuna, ashwagandha, holy basil, ginseng (eleuthero, or in some cases, Panax, which is very warming), turmeric, kava kava (with restrictions), rhodiola, prickly ash, shilajit, he shou wu, chaga, and spirit poria. Each one of these incredible substances has its own unique properties as a balancing mechanism for your body – some more preventative, some more curative, some more balancing under situations of extreme stress. Finding which is the right mixture and combination for you is something that takes the process of listening to your own body and researching how each makes you feel under circumstances where you can discern and measure the outcome in a way that is helpful to you. Taking them all at once and obtaining a desired result is great, but if you don’t know which ones were the winners for you, you’re roped into taking them all at once forever or starting the process again, which is time-consuming, frustrating, and sometimes very expensive. It’s only going to add to your stress. You want to feel better, right?

Absolutely!

Diet – The key here is alkalinity with nutrient density. A fresh vegan diet with massive amounts of raw grasses, grass juices, and veggies are your very best friends. They will prevent inflammation, promote a healthy immune system, assist with digestion, regulate blood sugar, and make available a wide array of nutrients and co-factors needed for your body to be healthy, as well as provide an overall massive amount of preventative assistance to any health issues that may arise from unhealthy levels of stress. Animal substances are all counterproductive to your health goals here. Their manner of cooking, the hormones possibly within them, the poor digestion ration, the raising of inflammation and uric acid levels – all counterproductive, and that’s barely the start. Stick to things that are fresh, vegan, and, when possible, raw to help your body rock with good health.

You will feel noticeably calmer and much, much happier. Who knows, it might become a regular thing when you start to feel great, and I won’t fight that one bit. Regular meals are also important. Much easier said than done; but please, do the best you can.

Drinks – As an added icing on the cake, try to consume teas and fresh water throughout the day. Chamomile and holy basil teas are my personal favorites.

For Release: It’s important to try and let out your feelings. Any form of expression is helpful, but only in a context that is safe. Find friends, loved ones, or, when needed, a counselor you can talk to about what is affecting you adversely in a manner that does not come back to haunt you; people who are “out of the loop” and cannot cause you harm if their loose lips sink your ship. Take time to cry, to yell, or find healthy outlets for your frustration in the form of exercise, music, art, journaling and writing. If you aren’t honest about how upset you are, or what you’re upset about, it’s hard to get better and begin the road back to wellness.

For Balance: It’s important that you try to do activities that are interactively balancing. Hiking, walking, prayer, meditation, yoga, tai chi, chi gong, singing bowl use, and other such related synchronizing whole body activities in harmony with your beliefs are essential in trying to help you find balance in your daily life and staying healthy. Aromatherapy is also

very helpful to some individuals in finding harmony and balance in their daily lives. Explore what scents help to get you into your deep limbic system and really make a difference in your quality of being. You will know them when you find them and they’re easy to keep on hand to smell when stressed and sad.

None of these are the exclusive means of feeling less stressed, but if properly incorporated, they offer a well needed and wide array of tools to help you find your way back to wellness, happiness, and loving calmness that we seek when we are unhappy and overwhelmed by unhealthy levels of stress.

One unique thing that has yet to be discussed is simple honesty. In our society, we often feel pressured to be positive, to keep up appearances, feel odd, shamed, ostracized or out of place in our unhappiness, or we simply do not have the means to share our state of being when someone asks “How are you?” or “How are you doing?” due to the setting it’s asked in. Sometimes, simply finding someone who you can just be honest with and say “I’m overwhelmed, I’m sad, I’m unhappy, or I am deeply hurt”, etc., is the first and very best step we can take to try and change our lives into something that makes us happier, long-term. Choose wisely in this endeavor, but don’t feel too apprehensive. After a while, our levels of stress make us less concerned about the consequences of sharing than the potential risks of our emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical health if we keep it all in.

In all that you do, try to love, try to forgive, try to be open to whatever there may be to learn, and don’t let your ego get in the way of a chance for true love and intimacy with another human being. Interactions free from falsehood are, in the long run, beneficial to us all, and you don’t have to go it alone. There are many, many, many people who really do care. If you’re wondering who that might include, feel free to start with me, I’m here to help.

Jeffrey Von Stetten is the owner and founder of Jeff’s Best Hemp, a clinical nutritionist, behavioral specialist, cancer survivor, and natural products educator.

Www.Jeffsbesthemp.com www.Jeffsbestnutrition.com

Cli·mate, noun, \’kli-mǝt\: (3) the prevailing influence or environmental conditions characterizing of a group or period.

Change, transitive verb, \’chānj\: (1)(b): to make radically different.

SOURCE: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.

By: Lance Rogers GLOBAL – BOLIVIA AND THE RISING COST OF QUINOA I recently went out to lunch with a group of friends from South America. We ate sushi from sustainable fish sources (for those readers who pay close attention to my column and eating habits). Because I am often incapable of coming up with new ideas myself, I naturally asked my friends for a topic to explore for the next edition of “Climate Change”. They told me to look into the double-edged sword of quinoa production in Bolivia. Because I knew nothing about this issue, and because I love quinoa, I set out on a Google search voyage of 4,096 nautical miles south to La Paz, Bolivia.

Cultivated for thousands of years in South America, quinoa has been called the “lost crop of the Incas” and “the mother of all grains”. It was the official marching food of the Incan Empire. It is deemed a super food by the United Nations. Apparently, NASA scientists decided it was the most nutritious food available on the planet and would be ideal for long-term missions into outer space. Recently, quinoa has grown in popularity among healthconscious Westerners.

Probably the biggest misunderstanding about quinoa is that it IS a grain. Quinoa, however, is not a grain, but a “chenopod”.

Other members of the cheno-clan include beets, spinach, and tumbleweeds (not as delicious). According to an article in The Independent newspaper, quinoa contains more protein than any grain and includes all eight essential amino acids needed for tissue development. The seeds are also high in magnesium and a good source of dietary fiber.

Most of the world’s quinoa comes from Bolivia. This small, landlocked country (think natives with the distinct bowler hats) produces and exports approximately 30 million tons annually.

Although quinoa can be grown in other parts of the world, the quality of the Bolivian product is apparently unmatched due to the Bolivian climate and the skill of its farmers who have been 10 | ECOTISTICMAG.COM

growing the crop for centuries. As a result, the price of quinoa per kilo is now twentyfive times higher than it was a quarter of a century ago, according to the Quinoa Growers Association.

The increased global demand and rising cost for Bolivian quinoa has created a unique dilemma for the country. Bolivians can no longer afford to eat this super food themselves. According to the New York Times, while quinoa prices tripled over the past five years, Bolivia’s domestic consumption rate fell 34% over the same period. Priced out of the market for this food they have eaten for centuries, Bolivians are now turning to cheaper alternatives such as processed noodles or white rice.

In 2011, a 1,000 gram bag of quinoa cost about $4.85. The same weight of white rice cost $1.00 (Source: New York Times). I was shocked to learn that although malnutrition rates have generally fallen across Bolivia, chronic malnutrition in children has risen in quinoa-growing regions in recent years. Picturing a young Bolivian going hungry while her nutrient-rich, local food is shipped to my Trader Joe’s makes my quinoa polenta with wild mushrooms a little tough to swallow.

I have to admit, the tension between meeting global food demand and preserving local culinary traditions is a rather dif-

ficult dilemma to sort out. On the one hand, small, developing countries benefit financially from exporting products to larger, wealthier nations. The sons and daughters of the Quinoa Growers Association members are certainly not suffering from malnutrition. They are probably asking their parents for the next Playstation game, which they can now afford to buy with U.S. quinoa dollars. At the same time, the rising cost of the product makes it more difficult for indigenous Bolivians to access this healthy food, which has been a staple of Bolivian culinary tradition for centuries.

Personally, I will continue to buy and enjoy Bolivian quinoa. I am hopeful that, over time, the cost of quinoa will stabilize in that country. Production of quinoa in other countries, such as Peru and Brazil, will increase the availability of this quality chenopod. I suppose an argument could be made that it is up to the Bolivian people themselves to preserve their own culinary traditions, and that unwanted meddling by out-oftouch, quinoa-eating, Western hippies is a tad paternalistic. If the Bolivians want KFC, who are we to stop them? Maybe the Colonel can put a scoop of quinoa next to those extra-crispy fried chicken strips.

Quinoa Facts: • • • •

Cultivated in the Andes since 3000 B.C., the “mother grain” was turned into marching food for Incan armies.

A species of goosefoot, the seeds are high in magnesium and iron and are a good source of dietary fiber.

The World Health Organization rates the quality of protein in quinoas as equivalent to that in milk.

The grain has a nutty taste. It can be served in place of rice in cooked dishes, salads, side dishes, or as a stuffing.

Serving suggestions include butternut squash chili with quinoa, a quinoa tabbouleh salad, and as a main course with spicy chicken.

Quinoa Alternatives: • • •

•

Couscous – North African in origin, particularly popular in Moroccan cuisine. Made from durum wheat, ground barley, or pearl millet. Spherical granules around a millimeter in diameter.

Bulgur wheat – Most commonly found in Middle Eastern cuisine, also popular in Turkey, Greece, and Bulgaria.

Used in pilafs, soups, breads, and as stuffing.

Freekeh – Roasted green wheat, popular in Middle Eastern food, particularly in Egypt. The wheat is harvested while still soft and then set on fire, so only the straw and chaff burn and not the seeds. First mentioned in a 13th century Baghdad cookery book. Now most commonly served in the Egyptian dish hamam bi’l-farik – pigeon stuffed with green wheat.

Moghrabieh – Known as giant couscous, it is Syrian in origin, but more popular in Lebanon. Like couscous, but with larger grains that vary in size, so they don’t always cook evenly and retain a chewy, starchy consistency. More dumplings than couscous.

Lance Rogers is a local civil rights attorney. In addition to state and federal criminal cases, Mr. Rogers handles civil litigation matters, asset forfeiture proceedings, and immigration consequences resulting from criminal proceedings.

Mr. Rogers received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, San Diego and his Juris Doctor from California Western School of Law. He is a member of the San Diego County Bar Association, San Diego Criminal Defense Bar Association, and the Hemp Industries Association. Mr. Rogers is an Adjunct Faculty Member at California Western School of Law.

By: Jaime Schwartz There has been a lot of talk lately about gluten. You can’t pick up a magazine or turn on the TV without hearing about some new gluten-free diet. Gluten is making you fat! Gluten is killing your brain cells! Gluten is going to bring about the zombie apocalypse! Everyone, quick, climb a tree! Well, ok, maybe the last one was an exaggeration, but you get the idea. Gluten has become the boogie man under the bed and we all jump under the covers real quick and hope he doesn’t grab at our ankle.

Lots of people have stopped eating gluten. Perhaps they’re allergic (a growing problem among adults and children), or maybe they’re trying to lose weight (aren’t we all?), or maybe they’ve just read so many awful things about it that they believe it must be bad. Gluten is like the MSG of the new millennium. You know it’s there, you know it’s tasty, but you run screaming in the other direction whenever you see it. In the 4 months that my bakery has been open, not one person has asked me what gluten is; why it is bad for them; why is it good for them; where it comes from; or what it does? No one is asking these questions, or if they are, they aren’t asking me. But since I get to write this column, I’m going to answer those questions anyway. Here it is folks, the Tao of Gluten.

Gluten molecules are found in the endosperm of certain seeds, which is the bit in the middle. The mature plant manufactures gluten as a storage protein or a molecule with a lot of energy packed inside. Like one of those snakes in a can gags, it looks small, but when you open it up those snakes just explode everywhere. Just like human embryos are fed through the energy in the placenta, the purpose of gluten is to feed the young seedlings as they germinate, so they are able to photosynthesize or absorb nutrients from the soil.

Despite all the information flying around right now about “gluten protein”, gluten is not a single protein; it is actually a complex structure composed of several distinct proteins. Most of them are found in a variety of grains and have absolutely nothing to do with gluten allergies or intolerances. The two that we are most concerned with are gliadin and glutenin, which make up approximately 80% of the gluten molecule. When gliadin and glutenin bind together, they crosslink or bond forming a flexible scaffolding. Like a Hoberman sphere (that bright plastic toy that can expand into a huge hollow globe or compress down into a spiky little bundle – not much bigger than a softball), a gluten molecule is capable of squishing up into a very small package, but

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also of expanding much larger leaving hollow spaces between the strands (perfect for trapping air bubbles during baking). It is this crosslinking that gives bread its chewiness, cakes their lift, and pie crusts their stability.

When you remove gluten from your baking, you get dense, crumbly foods that refuse to hold their shape, a source of frustration for bakers everywhere.

Still the question remains, is gluten good for you or bad? The answer is a very definite…it depends. The same storage protein that provides energy for seedlings also provides energy for the humans who consume it.

10 thousand years ago gluten was a miracle.

All that energy in such a small compact form.

It could be dried and stored, carried around, ground up, mashed together; there was almost no end to the possibilities. As more children were able to get the nutrition they

needed, the childhood mortality rate dropped significantly. Those children grew up into healthier adults who produced greater numbers of children, who in turn had an increased survival rate…and you can see where this is going.

The population increased, there were more people, and those people began to spread and take their love of gluten with them. Leavened bread, flat bread, pasta, porridge, crackers, cakes, crusts; gluten is all over our historic cookbooks and documents.

It was gluten that was baked on the back of the Israelites during the exodus from Egypt. Gluten that is ingested in the form of communion wafers during church. Gluten in the hard tack that Sailors used to sustain themselves on the way to settling America. Gluten holding up the cakes we use to commemorate the birth of a loved one. Gluten is what we stuff our children with to withstand the frigid winter walk to school. Its importance is so great that it’s even used as a slang form for currency. You can be low on bread, or in need of dough.

So if gluten is so useful, so important to our development, so integrated into our language and our economy, than what’s the problem?

Remember that magic little endosperm, the one with all the energy? It’s only good if you need all that energy. And to be honest, most of us don’t.

A good portion of our population is actively trying to lose weight, a goal achieved by expending more calories than you take in. This makes a small, calorie dense food source less appealing then it would be during starvation times. By cutting gluten out of your diet, you are almost guaranteed to lose weight. However, if you cut any high calorie food out of your diet, you’re going to lose weight. Gluten just happens to be a food that Americans, eat an astronomically large amount of.

Toast and cereal for breakfast. A sandwich or burger for lunch. Pasta and breadsticks for dinner. Not to mention all the snacks throughout the day. Even if you don’t eat much bread or pasta, you’re still not free of gluten. It’s in almost everything. Because its power to bind ingredients together while still being flexible is so great, food manufacturers sneak gluten into so many processed foods you can’t get away from it. Salad dressings, soy sauce, licorice, ice cream, even ketchup has gluten added to it. You’re getting so much gluten in your diet it’s almost impossible to keep track of.

So let’s say you’re Joe Average (or Josephine Average, let’s be fair). You don’t have a gluten allergy. You don’t have a gluten intolerance, and you don’t have any other disease or condition that can be improved by staying away from gluten (yes, they are out there, and they are numerous, consult your doctor). Should you eat gluten? A loaf of whole grain bread isn’t going to hurt you. That fresh spinach pasta you bought at the farmers market will help make a wholesome dinner for your family. And a bowl of cereal in the morning is about all I can manage to choke down that early as well. But all that gluten the manufacturers sneaked into your condiments and premade frozen or dehydrated meals? It probably won’t hurt to give that up, and your waist line will most definitely thank you.

Jaime Schwartz is the owner of Starry Lane Bakery, an allergen-free bakery

in Santee that opened in the fall of 2011. They specialize in cookies, and all are guaranteed free of gluten, soy, tree nuts, peanuts, dairy, and eggs. They are also completely vegan.

Starry Lane Bakery | 10769 Woodside Ave Santee, CA 92071 | (619) 328-0500

http://www.starrylanebakery.com

Happiness – What Does Your Health Have To Do With It? By. Heinz R. Gisel

Are you happy? Is happiness something that happens to you, or is it a state of mental consciousness that you are in control of? Merriam Webster1 defines happiness as a “state of well-being and contentment”, or “a pleasurable or satisfying experience”. If the latter is true, then happiness is an ephemeral event. Falling far short of Aristotle’s definition: “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” If there is one thing we can agree on, it is that we all strive a lifetime to achieve – and hold on to – happiness. In fact, it seems that many believe and act as if happiness was their irrefutable birthright.

We all have heard someone say, “Why does this happen to me? Why do I deserve that?” Of course, this 14 | ECOTISTICMAG.COM

uttering is indicative of something going wrong, and never when that person just cracked the jackpot in the lottery. So where do we source the notion that we are entitled to live a life in happiness?

Is happiness a quality or a quantity? Are we either happy or unhappy, or can we be “quite happy” or “very happy”? A person in love is very happy, while the quite happy one has fallen short of expectations. However, such colloquial parlance is very different from our innate thriving to live the very happy life. So how do you define a happy life: wealth, acclaim and power, great health, giving or receiving love, or family and friends? The answer is according to a person’s faith and beliefs, but it is also circumstantial.

Let’s say you live in a dilapidated home in an affluent neighborhood where people avoid you because you don’t share their displayed wealth – you consider yourself underprivileged and you are probably not happy. But if so, despite the circumstances – you are

a stigmatized loser. It follows the social pressure that plays a significant role in how we have to express our happiness.

Now consider yourself living with the same means in the mud hills of Tijuana; you would be envied by all your tens of thousands of close neighbors who have far less than you – would you be happy now? If you are not sure what the answer is, observing the children playing may give it to you. Is the kid from the La Jolla beach-front home happy while the kid from the makeshift home on the Pasig River in Manila unhappy? Now it becomes obvious that there are other factors at play in determining happiness, and what these are is up for debate. But there is one thing we may agree on: without health and vitality – you can’t be happy!

If so, we have a vested interest in restoring and sustaining health – but can you describe what “health” means to you? Are you considered healthy when you are able to work, subject to taking your prescription meds? Or do you define “healthy” by being “not (diagnosed) sick”? A quick look at how the dictionaries define health2 does not reveal an unequivocal answer; thus, if we again review the term in conversational jargon, we find, indeed, that “I’m healthy” means that the doctor hasn’t diagnosed any disease. We owe it to the TV networks that routinely serve us up prescription drugs camouflaged as candies; we perceive them as lifestyle necessities. Hence, even if men are devoid of any manhood without the purple pill, their mental state is so fragile that the anti-psychotic drug is their only hope to “save the day”; when the ubiquitous (though utterly useless3) blockbuster antacids taken after indigestible “make believe food” burgers have become the routine “digestive” to the tune of $12 billion in revenue; and even when their nightly sleep companion is the neon-butterfly drug; and even if we have joined in with the 12 million on the U.S. statin drug hype 4 without ever delving into the pharma-independent research that show all that benefits are the makers and not the takers5 – even then, folks proudly profess: “I’m healthy!”

Last but not least, we should mention these “compulsory” corporeal enhancements that are society imposed pre-requisites to self-esteem and happiness, the likes of women carrying these extra fluffy silicon pouches in their breasts, not for the men as they like to believe, but to compete with other women. Or the guys’ paste fake hair on their top as if they were going to audition for major network “News”. You know those hideous patches that look like a pot cleaner pad,

but constitute the standard “dress code” at the networks.

Yes, that’s right, “the world news leader” that commonly “misses” events of real significance in lieu of urging you to go shopping and max out your credit card to support the ailing economy.

If you are one in six Americans without a job 6, you may have been advised to spend your savings (or just charge it) on a nose job, or – if you have ejected yourself from the employability pool by exceeding the fossilizing age of 40 – opt for a total face makeover. Being an obedient citizen, you concur with congress that pizza is indeed a vegetable7 and you will have followed the nutritional advice of the USDA and indulged in the “Standard American Diet” food pyramid8; and that’s before you have outgrown the XXL clothing size to a waistline where the airlines insist on selling you two seats all to yourself. But nothing to worry about, your gastric bypass - bariatric surgery 9 physician is standing by – even in India10 or the Philippines if you can’t afford it at home. Remember though, you may have to buy two one-way tickets, but only one return ticket!

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Just don’t get the idea to engage your grey matter in researching what kind of foods are good for you, you could end up losing weight naturally, regaining energy, and enhancing your appearance and youthfulness – and that could make you really happy; particularly if you source your produce from a local farmers market, or take your kids to an organic farm where they could accidently discover that tomatoes grow neither round, nor in uniform shape and size, and that they have a unique flavor not resembling anything they get at the golden arches. Playing with farm animals is distracting kids from texting and Facebook and is subjecting your child to possible happiness. However, your government in cahoots with the media strongly discourages you from even getting the idea to act on your own outside of their micromanagement scheme of when you have to shop, what you have to eat, and how life-enhancing all of these prescription drugs are for you. Happiness? Yes, ask your doctor which psycho-pharmaceutical Drug Company is the most generous for his or her personal gain and he or she will be happy to prescribe it to you. You’ll make your congress person happy too – a prescription means much more for them than your worthless vote. And lastly, your government is given a great utility to herd the sheeple; isn’t it beneficial for all if we act in a predictable, controllable, and compliant manner, so we will all be “happy”?

At this point it becomes blatantly clear that neither the government nor the media have a role in creating or sustaining your happiness; in this, you are on your own and have to call on the higher power you believe in to get there.

Even in this spiritual realm, we witness that every reminder that used to point to the Creator is being systematically removed in the U.S., and while that happens, we replace our inborn sense of morality with the morality of the New World Order brought to you by your mainstream media11, whose owners are at the very core of it.

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We often talk about “holistic health”12, and by that we mean to acknowledge that the measurement of health cannot be conclusive by limiting its assessment to some arbitrarily set lab analysis numbers that are thought to be “the normal range” simply because the majority of test subjects fit into that frame. But in the framework of holistic health, we understand this to include physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social, and intellectual health. Can you guess why we only measure physical health, and why we only measure disease symptoms, the discrepancy of your vital signs versus a consensus-derived benchmark? The answer is: on all the other five elements there is no consensus on assessment or data points, let alone interpretation.

It is noteworthy that from these five intertwining elements, only mental health is receiving attention. Why so?

Because mental health is heavily contested and exploited by the pharmaceutical industry and by the APA (American Psychiatric Association). This fact is exemplified by the pace at which APA invents mental disorders – now more than 300 personality traits, including normal emotions or grieving, are called a mental illness13. Do you see where we are going: with the insatiable appetite of drug companies, together with their Capitol Hill accolades, it is just a matter of time before disagreeing with the government is classified as a mental disease. Thus far, big pharma has found no footing in the spiritual health realm and that is why spirituality is considered insignificant, even though there is plenty of evidence that your belief system not only affects your health, but your chances in the outcome of healing14. Now, in the spiritual realm it can be clearly seen that health has a lot to do with happiness and that’s why we don’t hear about it; it makes no money on Wall Street!

When all that matters in a society is money – for the rich (the 1%) because they can’t ever get enough, and for the

working people and the unemployed (the 99%) because they strive for survival – the social system becomes dysfunctional and government tyranny takes over. In order to do that effectively, the rulers have to destroy people’s values (faith, beliefs) and replace them with distracters that keep people from thinking – and comprehending – what’s happening to them. That is what we see unfolding in the USA of today: the abolition of liberties, the signing of unconstitutional laws, government agencies abusing or ignoring the laws and amassing power they don’t legally have, the harassment of Christians and the promotion of Islam and so on. Classic examples that you can watch every day are how the media spins the facts according to their credo: if we tell a lie often enough it becomes the truth – thus, the majority has become hostage to the minority (e.g. gay marriage, water fluoridation). You see, part of the orchestrated distraction agenda is to keep the pressure up on the 99%, so they don’t think and just follow orders. That is why you see this relentless onslaught of media messages: shop, shop, shop; spend all the money you don’t have, so you have to keep working harder just to make ends meet – and the more you do, the more indebted (and enslaved) you become. As long as the pressure is on, you’ll have no time to think about your real purpose in life; you are under so much pressure, you just have to follow the herd; you are too exhausted to think or take action – you are now a sheeple.

But there is a better way: take time out to ponder what is really happening to America and to your life, think about happiness and how you can get it and give it to others, and meditate about the meaning of life. If you were to die tomorrow – is there something in your life left undone?

Heinz R Gisel is an unrelenting innovator of health care technology, medical devices and lasers, full-spectrum cell-resonant nutrition for humans, animals and plants, and he has spearheaded the Predictive Health Information System, which “measures” health rather than disease. He is an author, radio host, and public speaker on many health technology, business, and quality of life topics. His recent book “In Foodture We Trust” unveils how America has become the sickest nation on Earth and the way it can escape out of it.

References: 1. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/happiness 2. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/health http://www.thefreedictionary.com/health 3. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/07/08/water-works-betterthan-ulcer-pills-to-decrease-stomach-acid.aspx 4. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/07/20/the-truth-aboutstatin-drugs-revealed.aspx 5. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/06/12/unintended-statinsideeffect-risks-uncovered.aspx 6. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/278036/20120107/real-u-s-unemploymentrate-15-6.htm 7. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2062056/Pizza-vegetable--coveredtomato-paste.html 8. http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/Fpyr/pmap.htm 9. http://www.yourbariatricsurgeryguide.com/ 10. http://www.codsindia.com/ 11. http://truthtellers.org/alerts/jewsconfirmbigmediaupdated.html 12. http://www.v italityxpress.com/vitalityxpress/en/what-is-holisticf-health.html 13. http://www.naturalnews.com/034997_mental_illness_grieving_psychiatry.html 14. http://ezinearticles.com/?When-Healthy-Is-Not-Enough:---Unleash-The-PowerOf-Belief!&id=5298317 ECOTISTICMAG.COM | 17

One of the benefits of living in Southern California is our weather, especially this year! Even though we have had an odd winter, spring seems to be coming even sooner than normal! One way to get ahead and have some good healthy organic produce earlier than normal is to start your plants inside under a T-5 fluorescent light fixture. You can pick one up for $40-$250 (depending on the size and number of bulbs).

Energy efficient high output bulbs and ballasts are cool running and don’t normally require a full environmental ventilation system, which is required for full production indoor systems. This allows you to start with 6”-12” tall plants ready to go, and a month or two ahead of your neighbors and normal growing cycle.

By starting your plants inside under a T-5 fluorescent light in a seedling tray with organic stating plugs and a humidity dome, anyone can start their favorite pack of seeds and have them planted in the ground outside by March 21st and be that much further ahead than starting from seed outside after the last frost, which is typically March 21st.

By starting them inside, you have the advantage of starting seeds a month or two early and having small vegetative plants that are more mature and further along than seedlings planted outside at the same time of transplanting. You’ll have larger plants with bigger yields earlier in the season before your neighbors do. But remember, when starting plants indoors to transplant outdoors, you must acclimate them to the outside environment to avoid shock. A tip to help prevent shock is to use organic bio stimulants like Full On from Grow Switch, or B-1 Thrive Alive as a transplant shock reducer. Also, when transplanting to outside from indoors, it is a good idea to put them outside under a patio cover, a bush, or tree for a few hours at a time over the course of a few days, getting them acclimated to the different outdoor climates. You just don’t 18 | ECOTISTICMAG.COM

want them to get too shocked because they can die from too much of a climate and environmental difference!

Greenhouse operations use this practice by planting seedlings as early as January in a controlled environment greenhouse and manipulating the lighting by adding daylight hours to the plants to get them growing a few months early. That way when planted out in the field, they are planting mature growing plants that will harvest much sooner, or harvest much longer, or harvest more fruit, all depending on what the plant’s cycle is.

Tomatoes, for example, flower about 60-80 days after they are started from seed. So if you plant them inside, or in a controlled greenhouse with artificial supplemental lighting, you could be harvesting a month or two before the normal market harvests.

Fresh produce is much better and rewardable when you have something that no one else has before the season.

Here are a few starter tips to help give you a healthy start to gardening with a good immune system and a microbial base living-active ecosystem to support a healthy, nutritional, and tasty harvest. First, start with a good base, meaning a good soil. One of my personal favorites is Dr. Earth’s Potting Soil.

It costs around $24, but trust me, it’s well worth every penny. From my experience, it outper-

Above: plant using half strength NPK nutrients and full strength Full On. Right: plant using only NPK nutrients at recommended strength.

forms all other potting soils so far. Second, you need to inoculate the soils with some microbial beneficial fungi. One of my favorites and, by far, the best acting with the highest purity and spore count is Green Gro Granular Plus and Green Gro Ultra Fine Powder Mycorhizae inoculants. A simple tsp per planting site does wonders for your plant’s root development, leading to a healthier plant and more nutritional product.

I also recommend using a high quality organic nutrient, some good quality nitrogen based bat guano, and another product that even cuts down on your N-P-K nutrient usage by 50% – Full On by Grow Switch. This is an all organic bio-stimulant with amazing results that is highly concentrated. Use 8 ml per gallon for foliar feeding and in your root zone watering feedings and you will have amazing results. You will have bigger, better, healthier plants while using an all organic bio-stimulant that even saves you money on your nutrient costs, using or requiring up to 60% less nutrients, with up to a 40% increase in cell reproduction, growth rates and yields, which means environmentally friendly and less waste of chemicals into our oceans and groundwater. We as gardeners, farmers, and growers need to take control and help save our planet. We need to stop damaging Mother Earth by dumping our chemical nutrients into the sewer, which ends up in our oceans locally causing major algae blooms off the West Coast!

A couple of other products highly recommended for any garden, vegetables, fruit trees, and/or lawns are organic amendments. Historical use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides have destroyed our soils, especially in Southern CA., but through simple education, we can cut down on water waste and create or rebuild a healthier, organic, living ecosystem and a microbial active soil. Any soil rich in organic microbes with proper minerals and a balanced ecosystem would help a plant thrive and become better and more alive year after year – but only if we stick with organic practices and are patient in rebuild-

ing the soil and giving it what it naturally needs, not trying to change the way Mother Nature intended things to work.

Some of my favorite organic amendments include Agrowin Worm Castings and Agrowinn Minerals, which are 2 of the most important bases and foundations to creating a good soil. I’ve known George from Agrowin for a long time, and he does supply the cleanest, purest, and most highly active earthworm castings available! And best of all, it’s a local San Diego business, so you’re supporting your community. Another mineral I like a lot, which is a little different than Agrowin, but can be used in conjunction with each other, is Element’s Clay Mineral supplement. It has over 78 trace minerals available and is very affordable. And Element’s Bat Guano High Nitrogen will green up any plants or lawns. Best of all, these are all made in the U.S.A., which means no radiated castings, minerals, or guanos.

I know landscapers who use these same products on their home landscape accounts and they have cut costs and improved their yards over the years – less pests and diseases and healthier, juicier fruit and produce! Your lawn will be greener than ever, but more importantly, you’ll have a healthy, deep root mass within a healthy, biologically alive soil, which will dramatically cut down on your water usage and costs. And by building up the health and immune system of your plants, it builds natural defenses against pests and diseases, saving you money and the environment in the long run!

I know you can find these products locally at City Farmers Nursery and Innovative Growing Solutions (IGS), which are both located here in San Diego.

So start your garden off right with good quality heirloom seeds and no GMO seeds.

With some good, rich organic potting soil and some basic organic amendments, you will have a healthier lawn, garden, or plants than you ever dreamed possible. And for a few extra dollars – starting your favorite seeds inside early and then planting them outside already partially grown and ahead of the season – you too can have the rewards of fruits and vegetables earlier than your neighbors. And remember, when growing outdoors, always respect the environment and use organic products that don’t add toxic pollutants and chemicals to our Earth and groundwater!

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Agriculture and the quality of our water are the two most vital factors to sustaining life on this planet. Our children are the ones we need to seriously educate! We need to teach them about proper nutrition and what’s actually in their food and how to control it. Our children need to understand and be educated in the values of our produce. They deserve the knowledge to grow their own healthy nutritional fruits and produce!

Through proper nutrition education, kids can learn what to feed the plants and how to balance the right nutrient feeding program to get the most nutritional produce possible. One way to combine water conservation and healthy plant growing and education is through soilless growing systems. A soilless system is one that recirculates the water and uses a non-soil medium to grow the plants in.

Green crops, such as lettuce, basil, herbs, greens, and other leafy short-term plants, thrive in a NFT (Nutrient Film Technique) system, which saves on the upwards of 70%-90% water usage over commonly grown soil plants!

IGS has done several school presentations, a few field trips, and several education seminars for schools, students and teachers. They donated a small soilless NFT (Nutrient Film Technique) growing system to Crawford High School’s horticulture program and are in the process of working with several other schools with gardening programs this spring, including the Borderview YMCA Afterschool Program at San Ysidro High School, Mendoza Elementary School in Imperial Beach, and El Capitan.

The purpose is to teach our kids that you can sustainably grow your own healthy, nutritional, and pesticide-free produce; to teach them the difference in the quality of ingredients they’re putting into their food, which, in turn, ends up in their bodies.

Through teaching our children proper growing methods, how to feed their families and become more aware of what they’re eating and the nutritional value of homegrown produce, we would have much healthier kids and less diseases and health problems. Many of our children don’t even know where fruits, vegetables, and the healthy things come from, or that they too can learn to grow their own food and be healthier!

The NFT system IGS has helped several schools with is not just about growing, it teaches them a lesson in life and nutrition, as plants have a unique connection to our bodies…As the saying goes “You are what you eat”! A simple NFT system is easy to maintain and can grow herbs, leafy greens, basil, lettuce, and many other greens very well and easily with low maintenance. It teaches the kids about the balancing of the nutrition or nutrients to the plant and shows them the differences of what certain products do and how they affect a plant.

One of my most rewarding moments was when we had a small group of kids in the store for a small field trip and class. We gave them all some fresh produce and some fresh grown soilless strawberries (grown in our NFT systems) from our farm. One girl said she didn’t like strawberries and another had

never had one, but the both of them said, “Can I have another? This is the best thing I ever tasted!” A few days later, I received a few emails from their parents thanking us for sending home the best tasting produce, lettuce, and herbs they had ever had.

Our newest project to donate to is the San Diego Cooperative Charter, the only public school of its kind in San Diego known for its gardens for kids. So we are looking now at getting a display donated to them for their upcoming 10-year anniversary. Please visit sdccs.org for more information on this school’s projects and the NFT system that IGS donated to their cause for teaching the kids. Also, make sure to visit the IGS booth at Earth Day in Balboa Park. We’ve been a part of Earth Day for the past 8 years!

Show your support and come out on Earth Day! Support your local schools’ programs like this to help build a better future for our kids. Remember, the children are our future. Teach them sustainability through gardening properly, soilless gardening for water conservation, and, most importantly, to be healthier.

A Trip to Sierra Bounty Produce Collective - Community Shared Agriculture Keeps Its Momentum Sierra Bounty’s “High Country Harvest” fundraiser dinner, located on one of our farms in Swall Meadows, CA

By: Randy Villarba In the Eastern Sierra of California, Mammoth Lakes resident Sara Pfeifer gave wings to her dream for the Sierra Bounty Produce Collective. Founded in October of 2009, they are well along their way to fulfilling their mission statement by creating a healthy, sustainable community, uniting farmers with their local market and supporting efforts to increase accessibility to fresh, organic produce for all residents of the Eastern Sierra. Looking back at their humble beginnings, Pfeifer recalls her fears of keeping her project up and running.

“I was totally uncertain that we would even ever get off the ground that first season,” says Pfeifer. “Since that time, Sierra Bounty has really taken off. I feel increasingly excited and motivated to keep up with the momentum we are gaining.”

Sierra Bounty makes local produce available to the community by coordinating pre-ordered sales and deliveries. Using a collective Community Shared Agriculture model, Sierra Bounty pools produce from multiple local farms to organize the ordering, purchasing, and delivery of produce between participating growers and produce box shareholders, grocers and restaurants. Their role is to ensure that growers are able to receive a fair price for their goods and that buyers are not overcharged in their efforts to support local agriculture.

“I realize now that part of what got me involved in Sierra Bounty in the first place was my love for food,” says Pfeifer. “I guess you could say I have been a ‘foodie’ all my life without ever consciously acknowledging it. Currently, I want to put more of my energy, and drive more of Sierra Bounty’s momentum toward looking at food inequality and nutrition access issues in our area.”

Last year, Sierra Bounty certainly experienced the difficulty of operating a CSA model. On their website, they explain that “when snow at high elevation wipes out the primary crop of one grower, his or her loss is considered a loss for all produce box members.”

“This last season was the most difficult growing season that many of our farmers could remember,” Pfeifer explains. “Apple Hill Ranch, who provides us with almost all of our fruit, nearly lost their entire crop this year (about 15 acres of fruit trees) to a late freeze. It was devastating to our members, but even more devastating to the Devores (the growers), who estimated a loss of $100,000–$150,000 in sales. Our members were obviously very disappointed, though most of them understood that the situation was uncommon and out of anyone’s control.”

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produce totes, 2011

Lindsey Swinger at produce assembly, 2011

produce boxes, 2010

Despite last year’s hardships, Sierra Bounty has continued to experience steady growth in their collective produce box members. In 2010, they had 50 produce box members; in 2011, they sold 70. For now, keeping the box numbers at 70 keeps the CSA functioning smoothly. In the future, Sierra Bounty hopes to focus on some larger initiatives. Next season, they hope to have two interns to help them run the CSA, so that they have time to work toward projects aimed at enhancing nutrition and access for a more diverse spectrum of the community.

Each produce receiving membership cost $500.00 in 2010 and $600.00 in 2011, with no anticipated increase for 2012. While expansion is certainly a goal, Sierra Bounty cannot yet afford to have a space that would allow them to accommodate a significant increase in the number of members. Currently, all of their operations take place on the site at Stellar Brew in Mammoth Lakes, CA. “We are extremely fortunate to have been given this space,” Pfeifer explains. “But we would need to have a more spacious working area in order to consider expanding our services. We have identified serving low-income families as our top priority for the 2012 season and are currently investigating various opportunities for partnerships and funding to establish this project.”

Sierra Bounty is also well aware of the growing trend of the farmer to table scene among foodies nowadays. Local Mammoth Lakes restaurants, such as Petra’s Wine Bistro and Stellar Brew, have both been avid buyers since the summer of 2010.

“I think fine dining restaurants, such as Petra’s Wine Bistro, place a high value on the quality of local produce. Stellar buys our produce for ethical reasons; the produce is the freshest, it is organic, and it’s benefiting our local economy.”

The connection between Sierra Bounty and Stellar Brew’s owner Andrea Jones are many fold. Pfeifer claims her inspiration for Sierra Bounty resulted almost directly from Jones’ decision to purchase the Stellar Brew.

“I felt that if she were willing to make such a huge commitment to (the health of) her community, then perhaps, somehow, I could do something to make a difference too. At that time, I really wasn’t thinking in terms of partnership. Andrea has offered support in so many ways; offering her own time to volunteer, giving us a space to operate out of, and making direct donations to Sierra Bounty for our fundraisers, and so forth. Sierra Bounty would not have had the same opportunity to thrive without the encouragement and generosity of Andrea and the Stellar Brew crew.”

“Jesse Romero, Executive Chef at Petra’s Wine Bistro, has volunteered much of his time, energy, and creativity to support Sierra Bounty this season.

Also, the owners of Arcularius Ranch purchase produce through us for special events and for entertaining. In the summer of 2012, Sierra Bounty will maintain a relationship with these vendors, but may limit expansion of sales to new vendors. Working with vendors is beneficial in that it offers additional sales opportunities for farmers, though such relationships have proven very difficult for Sierra Bounty to maintain in conjunction with our more imperative operations.”

Although still in its early years, the Sierra Bounty Produce Collective has established itself as an in-

tegral and strong part of their local community.

Sierra Bounty will continue to offer innovative and customized solutions to building a thriving local foods economy in the Eastern Sierra, aiming to be a leader in the local food movement and in green business practices. They stand as an organization that benefits and strengthens the entire community; where customers and employees, the local and global environment are deeply valued and treated with respect.

For more information on the Sierra Bounty Produce Collective, please visit www.sierrabounty.org Randy Villarba is a San Diego native, whose love for nature has him trapped living in the Eastern Sierra of California. Villarba left America’s Finest City following his love for the backcountry and nature; fishing, hiking, mountain biking, photography, skiing, and snowboarding. A graduate of San Diego State University, Villarba has also studied at the University Of London Union in the United Kingdom and the University of California San Diego. He has worked for Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum, the San Diego Natural History Museum, and the San Diego Unified School District. His writing has been published in 90:00 Minutes Soccer Magazine, Dining Out San Diego Magazine and The Mammoth Times. www.randywrites.com

Sierra Bounty’s “High Country Harvest” fundraiser dinner, located on one of our farms in Swall Meadows, CA (view of Mt. Tom)

ECOTISTICMAG.COM | 23

By: Tiffany Janay If you are looking for this to be a step-by-step guide on how to garden, this isn’t it – yet. The truth is that I’m having a hard time staying dedicated to growing my own food.

My ultimate goal is to be self-sustainable and grow the majority, if not all, of my own food. And as important as that is, it’s still too easy for me to walk into the co-op and get organic produce, or to go to a restaurant and get the food I want. It hasn’t become a necessity for me to grow my food.

My family and I just recently moved, and because of the way I planted my raised bed, I was able to pick it up and carry it with me. I also had a few plants in small pots that I was able to bring with me too. Now that we are settling into our new spot, I’ve been consumed with settling in and haven’t dedicated the proper energy and time to my garden.

As a result, a few things have died and others are wilting.

Some plants are even surviving, despite it all, and are doing really well.

Last month I had one head of broccoli growing and I didn’t pick it because I figured it would grow to be bigger, but it didn’t. Instead, it turned into flowers. I am letting the flowers grow because I’m thinking the flowers might turn back into heads of broccoli, but I think that’s not true.

My cabbage hasn’t produced a head yet and the leaves look like a tribe of snails has been eating them. I see holes in the 24 | ECOTISTICMAG.COM

leaves followed by a slimy trail. I picked up some neem oil, which is a natural pesticide I can use, but the bottle says to only use it when the sun has gone down so that the heat combined with the oil won’t burn my plants. I haven’t done that yet.

The kale I bought was a transplant, meaning that the nursery had already grown it to a pretty large size and it was ready to be transplanted into a bigger space so that it can continue to grow. I didn’t have to bother with growing it from a seed. It has leaves on it that have been there since I bought it and I’m sure I could pick them, but there’s hardly enough leaves to make a substantial meal. So I haven’t wanted to pick them because then there would be nothing there and it would be an ugly blank space. I’m sure this isn’t what a real gardener would do.

I bought some small onion bulbs and planted them in my organic soil and now they are producing green onion stalks. Soon I will cut and sprinkle them on a meal. I had a beautiful stalk of corn growing and everyone was amazed that I was able to grow it from a seed. I was proud of that fact. But, it died. It actually just disappeared, so I’m not sure if a bird ate it or if it just shriveled up and died. I don’t know if I should have planted it in a seedling container, but I grew it in a large enough space or pot that would serve as its permanent spot.

Even though I’m not achieving the success I had hoped for initially, I’m still determined to become a better farmer. I don’t take

all of this as failure at all because I’m learning, and from this I will grow. It’s good to make mistakes so that I know what not to do in the future and what results I will get from certain choices.

On another plus side, it has been raining a lot, which is nature’s way of taking care of my garden when it simply slips my mind to water the plants myself. I think that I’m going to start over with my garden; plant some new seeds (this time I will remember to label them), get all the tools I now know I need, and solicit the help of my loved ones to maintain the garden.

Stay with me, I’m growing….

Tiffany Janay started out her life following the paved path to achieving the American dream. She spent long days and nights working 9-5’s that never seemed to bring her enough fulfillments, personally and financially. After realizing that the typical path was not going to lead her to where she felt contentment, she made a drastic change to claim creative freedom. She exchanged her mundane and predictable life for a more exciting, nourishing, and unpredictable path. Currently, she expresses her creative freedom through writing, event coordination, lifestyle consulting, and creating marketing and media campaigns at Organic Blood. Follow her movement at www.OrganicBlood.com

O

pinions on food, treats, and general care for dogs and cats vary, but all pet owners agree on one thing – keeping your pet “flea free” is extremely important. Not only do fleas cause great discomfort to your pet, but they spread quickly in everything from rugs to bed sheets, highly irritating you and your family.

While a lot of consideration is given to many aspects of our pets’ health, more often than not, hardly any thought is given to flea management products. It is not for the lack of care, but certain flea control products, like Frontline and Advantage, dominate the market.

More than any other brand, veterinarians recommend and sell Frontline and Advantage products, and they are also readily available everywhere from large pet store chains to the local healthy pet store.

These products are easy to apply approximately once a month and they get the job done. So what is the problem? Not surprisingly, it is the chemical ingredients.

Despite her own “Farmacy not Pharmacy” lifestyle, Janelle Diters, owner and operator of Flea Free Organically, was like many pet owners and never gave flea products much thought until the death of her dog Kody, which was roughly four years ago. “Kody was originally my mother’s service dog, but when she passed in ‘05, he became the family dog,” she said.

Diters’ natural medicine education aided her in helping her mother fight a 15-year battle against the horrors of Alzheimer’s disease.

Kody was not only a great help and companion through it all, but he also provided comfort after her passing. “He was a large breed, 80% wolf, and originally from the Arctic, where there are no fleas,” Diters said. “I had to medicate him because an allergic reaction from fleas could have led to his death.” Unbeknownst to Diters, the spot treatment she was using was contributing to the health issues that would eventually take his life.

“Every time I put the treatment on him, he would lower his head and give me this sad look. For roughly two days afterward, he would mope around and lacked energy…our animals are trying to tell us something,” Diters said, lamenting that she was just not listening.

“The last time I put it on him was the last time he walked.” Soon after, with great difficulty, Diters had to carry Kody into her veterinarian’s office, where she had no choice but to put him down.

Kody was 13 and did suffer from a form of cancer, but Diters was convinced that the flea medication had contributed to his death and began to research flea products. What she discovered not only alarmed her, but it also led to what became Flea Free Organically.

Signs of Toxicity

Few studies exist in the U.S. on the adverse effects of flea products, but some American researchers are attempting to warn consumers. Take, for example, a report by Kathleen Dudley published in 2002 by the Animal Protection of New Mexico foundation, an organization dedicated to animal activism for more than 30 years.

Dudley clearly outlines how, despite advertising claims to the contrary, both over-the-counter and prescribed flea killing topical treatments are pesticides that enter our pets’ internal organs (livers, kidneys), move into their intestinal tracts, and are eventually eliminated in their feces and urine. These pesticides can disrupt the hormone and nervous systems, causing skin and neurological disorders and sometimes cancer. She cites several cases in her own report, much of which the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) supports in their physical and chemical property reports on individual flea treatment ingredients. So why is there very little information available when products like Frontline and Advantage are being advertised as safe?

It all boils down to flea products’ “active” and “inert” ingredients.

In 1949, Congress passed the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), which, similar to protections enjoyed by the pharmaceutical industry, protects “inert” ingredients as industry trade secrets. Of course, to qualify for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registration, all pesticides must undergo testing before they can be marketed. However, the EPA has a higher standard of scrutiny for “active” ingredients. In Dudley’s report, Dr. Virginia Dobozy of the EPA’s Pesticide Division states that “inert” ingredi-

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Article By Esther Rubio-Sheffrey Photo by: Gloria Cheng

Natural and Safe Flea Prevention

ents are tested in short-term studies for acute toxicity only, and that long-term studies of any of the ingredients are rare. Unfortunately, the chronic effects of pesticides can take years to manifest, and the majority of spot flea treatments on the market today are considered by industry standards to be new.

Diters considers it a community service to provide anybody who simply emails her with toxicity information on the most popular flea products, but careful examination of a flea product box is all one needs. Take, for example, Frontline Plus for dogs weighing 44 to 88 lbs. Fipronil is the main active ingredient at 9.8%, while 81.4% of the ingredients are listed as inert.

Fipronil came to use in 1996. According to the NPIC, it’s a neurotoxin and suspected human carcinogen that, according to levels of exposure, can cause many things, including liver toxicity, thyroid lesions (cancer), damage to the kidneys, increased cholesterol levels, miscarriages, and smaller offspring. The potential harm after long-term exposure at low dosages remains mostly unknown, but some dog breeds have exhibited symptoms that many vets and pet owners struggle to treat, such as alopecia, pruritus, and erythema.

Alopecia is hair loss, often times severe, and only in certain areas, causing what look like bald spots on your dog. Pruritus is when a dog cannot stop scratching, chewing, or licking his skin, especially the paws. All dogs exhibit these behaviors on a daily basis, but pruritus is so severe they are unable to stop, even if they are causing themselves harm. Erythema affects predominately adult dogs and it’s a skin disorder often found on the legs, mouth, armpits, and/or ears. These red spots can look like pimples, blisters, and sometimes larger ulcers; and like the other two symptoms, erythema is known to occur because of a drug reaction.

If your dog exhibits any of these symptoms, not only should you consult your veterinarian, but you should also look into alternative treatments for flea control. Keep in mind that these are symptoms associated with one of many key ingredients. Doing your own research based on the product you use is highly beneficial.

Flea Free Organically

Non-toxic methods of flea control do exist. Fresh food combined with supplements, such as fish oil or garlic and brewers yeast tablets, are a few of the natural options available. There are also natural deterrent sprays, herbal shampoos, and things that you can do around your home and garden, but a longtime proven treatment and the key ingredient in Flea Free Organically works great too. It has been around for years and is known as Diatomaceous Earth.

“Diatomaceous Earth, known to many in the farming industry as DE, is a natural powder that can work wonders. And unlike other natural treatments, fleas will never build a resistance to it,” Diters said. “It is messier and more time-consuming to use than the spot treatments, but it’s worth the extra effort. Over time, you use less and it becomes less burdensome.”

Diters explained that Flea Free Organically also works to increase immune levels, handle worms, heavy metals, and prevent heart worm.

It can be applied directly to your pet’s fur and once a year to your carpets to control infestations. It can also be used in your garden to control pests and to help your plants grow.

“I use it on all of my animals. You’ll notice a difference in your pet within two weeks,” Diters said. “If you have an infestation in your home, you can brush it under base boards and use it on sheets. It has multiple uses with none of the toxins. If your dog or cat licks some of it off, there is no danger. You can also add a little bit of it to their food each day, and it is safe for human consumption with many detoxification benefits. What other product does that?”

For Diters, selling Flea Free Organically is not a business; she makes enough to maintain the website and cover expenses, but her main goal is to get the information out there. “For me, it’s about helping one animal at a time. The Diatomaceous Earth I provide is from Canada because it is more refined and easier to work with. People can save money on shipping by visiting my booth at the Encinitas Farmers Market.”

Diters is working towards getting a booth at other farmers markets, but interested readers can also purchase her product online at fleafreeorganically.com. A small 2 lb. container costs $15 and a large 6 lb. container costs $25, plus the cost of shipping. She also recently introduced Mutter Butter treats, which aid your dog’s immune system and keep worms away. Kitty Katty treats will soon be available too!

ECOTISTICMAG.COM | 27

By George & Antoinette Duenas Heading into spring, we are continuing to explore the benefits of bamboo with BambooSK8, a local ecologicallybased skateboard brand and manufacturer.

Based out of Oceanside, San Diego, BambooSK8’s humble origins stem from an interest in pursuing a resource that would benefit the environment without sacrificing a product’s quality. Most of the time when it comes to decks, enthusiasts will snatch up the first cool board they see or the board they think is the best bang for their buck without considering the wood or material’s origins. In a greener market, maple boards would be obsolete; unfortunately, that’s not the case.

Nature is not a limitless resource, and BambooSK8 has closed the gap between their product and the environment with a better, sustainable option – Bamboo!

“It’s simple,” says Geoff Koboldt, BambooSK8 President and Owner. “A maple tree takes 40-60 years to mature. And once you cut it down, it’s gone forever. After 3-5 years of maturity, you cut bamboo down and 4-5 new chutes easily regenerate. The yield of product in that time is massive in comparison while also contributing to less soil erosion and more oxygen being given off.”

In 2007, when Ron Stebenne and Wyatt Gregson started throwing around the idea for BambooSK8, it seemed like a great opportunity considering the rise of skateboarding globally and the maple deforestation that was becoming more evident as a result. At the time, the two consulted with Geoff Koboldt, who was working as V.P. of Strategic Operations for Dark Horse Distribution. Geoff had a wealth of knowledge and expertise in skateboarding and the action sports market, as well as incredible operations and lean manufacturing experience. He quickly helped BambooSK8 streamline all of their operations. And in 2008, Ron suggested Geoff for the position of President to lead the direction of the company.

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Geoff Koboldt was kind enough to answer some questions about BambooSK8 and their impressive decks.

Since its start in 2007, what have been some major accomplishments for BambooSK8?

The fact that we are still around, despite a downed economy, providing an alternative to the maple status quo is a great accomplishment within itself.

Next, it would relate to how we have mentored countless skateboard kids to not only be better skateboarders, but better human beings who take responsibility for their actions and choices. Having sponsored some of those little kids and to watch them grow up and be the future pros is just amazing. Another great accomplishment is that we have mentored over 60+ interns through our internship program and changed the lives of many of them, as they too become the next group of leaders in action sports.

What have been some major setbacks?

Like any brand, you have to earn respect. It’s not always the easiest to come up with something new that becomes accepted over night. While it seems like common sense for any skateboarder to make the change from maple to bamboo, the industry is built around maple as its bread and butter. Without putting resources into traditional advertising, it becomes that much harder to get your name out there.

Without paying top money for the best pros, it becomes that much harder. In the very beginning, quality was a major setback because our decks just weren’t up to par with the industry pro standard.

But, we were persistent and solicited feedback from hundreds of skaters who tested out the next generation of decks.

Why do you think most people aren’t completely sold on bamboo?

I don’t think it’s that they aren’t sold on it as much as they aren’t educated about how sustainable bamboo really is.

It wasn’t until recent years that bamboo started hitting more of the mass market; so it takes time. Bamboo products are showing up all over the place now and more people are taking notice. We are excited at the endless possibilities.

Why is it important to educate people about sustainable resources like bamboo?

We as a society are already tainting our water and air supply, but our planet can only sustain so much. We cannot continue to live with this mindset of just consuming with little regard for how products are created or where they go once we are done with them. If everyone just made small incremental changes, the world would be much better off.

Can you describe how your boards might have changed or developed over the past few years?

We’ve had many changes starting with which specie of bamboo we would use to the type of glue. We started with 100% bamboo for 3 and 5-ply to the 70% bamboo 5-ply, to the current 6-ply hybrids, which have even more concave and greater construction. We’ve ran with vertically pressed lines vs. horizontally pressed lines to various mixtures in between. We tried carbonized veneers.

You name it, we’ve probably tried it.

How would you rate the pop and durability of your boards compared to lower quality boards?

Our decks are in a league of their own, so I would never compare them to anything lower quality than an industry pro brand. The POP is the #1 feature, which benefits skaters in having more hang time in the air for pulling

off more difficult tricks. The strength is the next feature with bamboo being highly dense like hickory pecan, the strongest hardwood. The durability is great with less razor tail than traditional maple decks. The real litmus test is skating one and seeing how amazing they truly are.

How do you guys come up with the designs for your decks and longboards?

It is a mixture of designs created in-house and designs created by other artists around the world.

We typically start with a certain theme or concept that we want to represent and then build around it.

Quite a few of our decks go to support charities, so we also try to encompass a message that relates to what that charity represents. We’ve also conducted contests and let the skaters themselves pick a winner, and we ran with their concept.

What are your most popular board(s) and product(s)?

The 8” blank deck is the best selling size, followed by the 7.75”.

The top graphic seller in the short decks is the Capped Langur deck, size 8”. This board features a black/white Capped Langur monkey with the body of blues musician Albert King playing a flying V guitar. It has a lot of open space allowing the bamboo to naturally come through with a silver foil BambooSK8 logo and colorful B’s representing BambooSK8.

On the longboard side, the 44” Pintail is quite popular as is the 31.5” Locker Cruiser decks.

When looking at your company’s history on your website, I see and read a lot about your success.

What’s next for BambooSK8? Any new products or upcoming events?

What’s next is to create a new line of street clothing that pushes the envelope of sustainability while still being functional and hip. We’d also like to start invoking more of our social responsibility by helping those skateboarders who are less fortunate and can’t easily afford a new skateboard. Our goal is that for every X number of decks sold, we are able to give one away. We hope that in 10-15 years, we can look back and know that we’ve made a huge impact on skateboarding, society, and the Earth.

We’ve launched some new sweatshirts and beanies – very simple and focused on the ‘B’ logo and BambooSK8 name. We have three new short deck graphics coming out in March designed by Sutsu in the UK. We’ll be attending a variety of events soon, including the Clash at Clairemont in San Diego, Ride the Beat in Milwaukee, Coachella, SDSU GreenFest and a few others.

Can you tell me a little about the organizations that BambooSK8 is involved with or contributions that BambooSK8 has made?

Standup for Skateparks (TONY HAWK) – We provide a yearly financial donation as well as providing skateboards to be auctioned off each November in Beverly Hills.

RED CROSS – Sales from our 42” Double Kick longboard with the Tsunami graphic benefits this wonderful organization that provides assistance in countless situations around the world.

WWF – $2 from each sale of our Capped Langur deck benefits the World Wildlife Fund to help endangered animals.

MUSICARES – We are working on a new deck, which will benefit this charity that helps out musicians with drug abuse problems.

Why Bamboo?

Bamboo is now a sustainable resource for the modern skater, thanks to BambooSK8. Unlike hardwood trees, bamboo possesses the ability to renew itself and can grow as much as two feet or more a day. Farmed bamboo stabilizes the earth with its roots, preventing erosion, and creates 35% more oxygen than an equivalent number of trees.

It simply enhances our environment and now it’s influencing an industry. BambooSK8 has taken skateboarding to the next level with complete sustainability.

“BambooSK8 is an ecologically-based skateboard brand and manufacturer of high quality skateboards made from sustainable bamboo from managed forests. We are social entrepreneurs who believe that giving back to our communities is as equally important as profits. We service core shops, brands and individuals around the globe while providing a solidified partnership and unique experience with each. We have been a part of action sports and skateboarding our whole lives and now passionately hope to inspire others to take actionable steps toward preserving our natural environment.”

For more information on BambooSK8 or their use of bamboo, check out their website www.bamboosk8.com and follow them on facebook.com/ bamboosk8, twitter.com/bamboosk8, youtube. com/bamboosk8 BambooSK8 | 3025 Industry Street, Suite B Oceanside, CA 92054 | 1-877-226-2339

There is nothing quite like sipping on a warm cup of tea. Tea is consumed and enjoyed every day all over the world and is well-known for its ability to calm the mind, body, and spirit.

Tea is the second most-consumed liquid (after water) and is among the most ancient and simple methods of natural healing. A harmonious marriage of plants and water, tea is far more than simply a hot or cold infusion. Tea is endowed with crucial nutrients and potent healing compounds and brings together the wisdom of many cultures. Thought to be the oldest cultivated plant in the world, tea began its journey in China and was introduced into other parts of the world slowly, reaching the New World around the mid-17th century. At that time, only green tea enriched with spices was available, but the new tasty beverage gained popularity quickly and soon made tea parties a regular occurrence.

In today’s world, thousands of varieties of tea are enjoyed for their wonderful flavors and aromas, soothing properties and healing powers.

These herbal brews are rich in vitamins, minerals, and other health-promoting compounds.

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Unlike other herbal preparations such as capsules or tablets, drinking herbal tea has the unique quality of being readily absorbed into the body.

Another important benefit of drinking herbal tea is that it provides the opportunity to take a moment for ourselves. In the hustle and bustle of life, taking time out for tea is a pleasant healing ritual, a way to let our minds and bodies relax and rejuvenate.

Most grocery stores offer a wide selection of teas, bagged and boxed and ready to steep. Tea aficionados shun this version in favor of making herbal teas from scratch. Loose bulk herbs generally make a better cup of tea than tea bags, but for those of us with a limited amount of precious time, a fresh high quality tea bag will do the trick. Be conscientious when you shop for herbs, whether you choose pre-bagged or bulk variety. Support companies that farm organically and use recycled packaging or hemp tea bags.

A growing number of companies are part of the fair trade movement, which promotes fair wages for plantation workers and their efforts. For the true naturalist, try growing your own tea plants.

The process is easy and the healing energy of

plants is further increased by the relationship we cultivate when spending our time tending to plants and utilizing them for our health and well-being. Grow tea on a balcony or sunny windowsill or anywhere in the garden. You can pluck off a few leaves throughout the season whenever you want to make tea. You can also dry them for use during the winter.

There are more than three thousand tea varieties, each of which belongs to one of the following main types: Green Tea: Green teas are made from unfermented leaves. For the best quality of green tea, only the first two leaves and the bud are picked. After the leaves are collected, they are left to wither until all moisture is gone. The leaves are then heated or steamed and rolled.

Green tea is higher in essential oils than black tea and it is well-known for its therapeutic properties. The best-known varieties of great tea include Dragonwell, Gunpowder Green, Jasmine, Sencha and Young Hyson.

Black Tea: As with green tea, the highest qual-

ity black tea is made from the top two leaves and a bud. After harvesting, the leaves are spread out to dry on a wire-mesh frame for 12 to 18 hours, and then they are rolled and fermented. This process breaks down the enzymes, causing the tea to lose some of its medicinal qualities. Well-known black teas are Assam, Ceylon, Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Keemun and Lapsang Souchong.

White Tea: White teas have a sweet, delicate flavor from using only the white leaf buds and very young silvery tips. They are dried in the sun and undergo the least amount of processing, hence, containing high levels of antioxidants.

Green Tea: Green tea has a milder flavor than black tea and ranges from bitter to sweet. Of all types of tea, green tea contains the most polyphenols and has earned a reputation for aiding good health. Polyphenols are recognized as antioxidant and anticarcinogenic, helping prevent free radical damage produced by environmental toxins. Green tea helps lower your cholesterol and also keeps your blood sugar levels steady. The popular tea helps prevent dental decay by aiding in the reduction of plaque formation, and it also contains a natural fluoride that helps strengthen tooth enamel.

Herbal teas are flavorful and beneficial, but there are other ways to enjoy herbal tea.

Oolong Tea: Oolong is a semi-fermented tea and is considered one of the most difficult teas to make. After harvesting, the leaves are left to wither in order to remove some of their moisture. They are then rolled by a machine and go through a partial fermentation process and oven firing. Oolong tea contains the same cancer fighting properties as green and black tea. The most common varieties are Formosa Oolong, Pouchong, and Ti Kuan Yin.

- Add herbal tea to wine to make delicious sangria.

Herbal teas offer a wide range of healing properties, providing tools for supporting our body’s inherent vitality and ability to mend itself.

Learning to use a few good herbs can open you to a host of therapeutic possibilities.

- Add herbal tea, in place of water, in recipes for breads, cakes or cookies.

Try anise, cardamom, fennel, ginger or peppermint for a unique flavor in baked goods.

- Used tea bags that have cooled are great for tired, puffy eyes.

- Compresses soaked in cold tea can help relieve sunburn.

- Use your favorite herbal tea to make ice cubes.

- Eliminate fishy smells by rubbing wet tea leaves into the pan.

Mint: Mint is a familiar and fresh taste. Pungent and sweet, mint tea is regarded as an excellent remedy for stomach and intestinal problems, nausea and flatulence. Peppermint is known to contain the strongest medicinal qualities, notably its ability to counter mental fatigue, stress, depression, and headaches when the oil is applied to the temples.

Chamomile: Made from the fresh or dried flowers of the chamomile plant, chamomile tea is wonderfully aromatic and, thanks to its particular active ingredients, it relieves cramps and helps balance, restore, and heal the nervous system. Chamomile tea has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties and is a popular home remedy for stomach and intestinal issues. This powerful tea also calms anxiety and aids in the relaxation of the body.

Ginger: Ginger is an aromatic and zesty herb. It promotes digestive health, helping to relieve cramps and stomach ailments. Ginger is known for being very effective in curbing motion sickness and it’s a great non-drowsy alternative to Dramamine. Ginger also boosts the immune system and is commonly used to treat and prevent colds.

Hibiscus: The hibiscus flower makes a lovely, reddish colored tea that tastes tart and refreshing. The drink has a relaxing effect that cools the body and soothes the tissues. Hibiscus helps the body eliminate excess fluids and is often combined with rose hips to make a potent antioxidant tea.

Lemon Balm: Ideally made from fresh leaves, lemon balm is flavorful and refreshing with a lemon scent. Tea made from lemon balm has relaxing and calming properties and may help counteract sleeplessness and alleviate tension. Lemon balm is an excellent mood booster and is often used for schoolchildren who are anxious about upcoming tests.

Raspberry: Raspberry leaf has a robust flavor similar to green or black tea, but it contains no caffeine. Considered an excellent tonic for pregnant women or those trying to get pregnant, raspberry nourishes the mother and growing baby with its high mineral content and ability to support the reproductive system. When used after birth, it helps decrease uterine swelling and enhances the quality of colostrum. While often regarded as an herb for women, raspberry leaf is also nourishing for men.

- Tea is often used by gardeners to fertilize their plants.

In today’s busy world, the simple pleasures of tea bring us closer to nature while giving us the opportunity to heal and nourish ourselves. Whether you are welcoming the day on a chilly morning, looking to increase your vitality, or chatting with a friend on your porch, tea is always appropriate.

“If you are cold, tea will warm you; if you are too heated, it will cool you; if you are depressed, it will cheer you; if you are excited, it will calm you.”

– William Gladstone Jennifer Dial was born and raised in sunny San Diego, California. She lives in North County San Diego with her husband Mike and Rottweiler, Odin, on their 5 acre farm. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Communication from San Diego State University. Jennifer enjoys yoga, hiking, snowboarding, water skiing, and photography. Healthy living is her passion and she loves cooking organic meals and making preserves with the produce grown on their farm. Jennifer works at Innovative Growing Solutions, Inc., a retail garden store in Pacific Beach, and also owns Nature’s Body Food (www. naturesbodyfood.com), an organic skin care product line.

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f movement is the body’s voice let loose to wander free and frolic playfully, then this month’s feature Shelby Lafrinere (E-RYT) is a master linguist constantly exploring and expanding the range of which her soul can sing.

Her instrument an intricate tool finely tuned to the universe’s natural rhythm, smitten by the infinite possibilities of our physical form. At times she sits in a state of nearly complete stillness, as breath becomes a bohemian decrescendo during moments of decompression and grounding. In contrast, other moments are wild and ferocious as limbs spin, bend, and bounce, ravaging life’s endless dance floor. But for as much as Shelby’s tale is about finding inner peace outside the box, as she shares her god given gifts with the world, her most interesting story is about the roadblocks and obstacles she’s had to overcome on her journey. She may be a highly accomplished yoga instructor and dancer, but her legacy is defined by her rebirths and resurrections.

From hyper extending her entire spine during a freak dance accident that left her motionless and overwhelmed with pain, to overcoming past issues with addiction and anxiety, Shelby has used yoga’s healing properties to become a phoenix rising from the ashes. From private lessons with business lawyers in downtown sky rises, to certifying new instructors at YogaWell, one of SoCal’s premier teacher training programs, to leading public classes at Pilgrimage of the Heart and teaching in rehabilitation clinics, Shelby uses her light to shine in every dark corner she can find.

I’ve watched Shelby teach a multitude of classes and what impresses me most is her willingness to always go the extra mile to make sure each student finds their own lane, expres32 | ECOTISTICMAG.COM

sion, and voice within the yoga culture. Then again, this should come as no great surprise. After all, it was Shelby who taught me to “Make Yoga My Own”, and in time I’ve manifested my own lane where I now expose this accent art form with a new generation of practitioners right here in Ecotistic Magazine. I sat down with Shelby this month to hear more about her practice, teaching, and dreams. Her words were chalked full of insights and inspirations. Traditionally, I’m not one to utilize the Q&A format often, but given the nature of this article and the examination of just what it means to “Make Yoga Your Own”, I think getting the story as they say, “straight from the horse’s mouth,” will serve our readers best.

What is VinShelby in practice?

I began practicing in 1997 and I focused mainly on Ashtanga, Vinyasa, and Samadhi yoga. These three styles of flowing yoga build endurance, strength, and inner heat (known as tapas), creating a moving meditation. However, in 2003 I hyper extended my spine while dancing in Canada. Due to extreme tissue damage, I was ordered not to move my back for three and a half months until the bruising and swelling had subsided.

By that point, I had lost so much muscle, and the fascia (connective tissue) surrounding my vertebrae was incredibly tight and stiff. On top of that, I have a history of drug abuse, so I had decided to handle the whole injury without pharmaceutical painkillers. Emotionally, I didn’t trust that I was strong enough not to become lost in addiction. But, I was determined. It could have been so much worse and I was not taking that realization lightly. I began studying other forms of yoga, learning a lot about alignment and therapeutic approaches

to physical rehabilitation and pain management. I dove deep into the practices of Viniyoga (yoga therapy), Yin yoga (targeting the connective tissue of the body), Restorative yoga, and then Anusara (celebratory and alignment based). I also deepened my commitment to meditation and breathing practices to help with the depression and anxiety that had accompanied the injury as well as to manage the pain and general mental agitation. I practiced a lot of gratitude for the opportunity to heal. It has been a long road, but this path has taught me so much about alignment, patience, perseverance, trust, and healing. Currently, my practice varies quite a bit from day-to-day. Sometimes it’s an hour of Vinyasa (flowing yoga), sometimes it may be a half hour of slow, gentle stretching with an emphasis on restoring and releasing, or it may be a combination of several styles. It just depends on how I feel and what I need.

What is VinShelby’s philosophy?

Over the last 15 years, I have studied many different yoga lineages as well as my own approaches, and, in the end, my thoughts always come back to the teachings of T. Krishnamacharya, a man who has had a profound impact on the world of yoga as we know it today – that yoga should be continually adapted to meet the changes of each individual. The practice of yoga is like having a giant tool box to help you with whatever is hap-

behind you on the floor and place the other hand on the opposite knee. As you exhale, gently squeeze the belly muscles towards your spine and twist to one side using your arms as leverage, keeping the pelvis rooted to the floor. Take several deep, full breaths, staying present with the sensations that arise. Then repeat on the other side.

What is on the horizon?

Thankfully, lots of great things! I am currently in the process of creating a summer intensive 200-hour yoga teacher training program for YogaWell. It is a nine-week certification course that runs from June 18th – August 17th. I am also working on earning my 500-hour advanced certification this year with a focus on Yoga Therapy and applying to present at my first national yoga conference, the 14th Annual Midwest Yoga Conference.

pening in your life; from post surgery rehab to Olympic athlete, from tons of free time to a single mother of three. Whether you have time to practice two hours a day, 10 minutes twice a week, or (like me) you’re a pendulum swinging through a broad spectrum of variables, the point is to just do something other than nothing to keep you connected to being alive. In the end, our yoga practice should make us feel better, not worse; and when practiced with awareness, compassion, and consistency, it will.

Tell us about the pose and how it applies to everyday life?

I chose to share a simple seated twist (Parivrtta Sukhasana) because just about everyone (except pregnant women) can safely do it. You can even practice this twist seated in a chair with both feet on the floor, legs uncrossed. This pose stretches and relieves tension in the muscles surrounding the whole spine, resulting in less compression on the nerves between each vertebrae (i.e. less pain). Twists are also great for strengthening digestion, cleansing the abdominal organs (think wringing out a wet towel), and toning the abdominal muscles. Sit in an easy cross-legged position, and as you inhale, sit up as tall as you can (if sitting tall is not possible or painful in your lower back or hips, fold two or three blankets and sit on them). Place one hand

You’ve had quite an amazing life outside of your yoga career, including an impressive list of dance accolades and activist activities. Tell us more about these adventures?

Making it back to the stage three and a half years after my injury was a definite personal highpoint. I have also been fortunate to dance, and be a soloist, for several award-winning companies, including three years with a multimedia company that had me in crazy costumes – full face paint, wigs, the works! It was super fun and emotionally freeing. I’ve been an activist since I was 12, when I created flyers on ways to save the rainforests and passed them around to houses in my neighborhood.

There’s been quite a few adventures since then, so I’ll briefly share two of my favorites: I U-locked my neck to a bulldozer in the Wayne National Forest in Ohio in response to proposed logging of Indiana Brown Bat maternity territory (Indiana Brown Bat is an endangered species and they play a large role in insect control within the forests). For three freezing weeks in February, we hiked out in the middle of the night to beat the cops and loggers to the site each morning. The whole ordeal made CNN! While traveling many summers ago, I spent seven days in a tree sitting by myself 145 feet up in a giant Douglas Fir as part of a larger action in protest of a BLM sale in Oregon. It was an incredible experience sitting in observation of the forest, watching the full moon cycle over the valley below, taking in the symphonic harmonies of the critters all around.

Why is it important to make yoga your own?

Ultimately, yoga is a practice of awareness and focus that gets you in touch with your own truth. We are all unique and have our own stories, injuries, ways of learning, and amounts of available time, and fortunately, yoga is adaptable to include all of them. How you approach the practice should be determined by where you are in the present moment coupled with an awareness that we are always changing. This eradicates any expectation to be what you aren’t and, instead, opens up an exploratory experience that holds no judgment and allows room for growth and change.

To contact Shelby about private lessons, please email her at shelbylafrinere@yahoo.com. For listings of her public classes and programs, please go to www.yogawell.com and www.pilgrimageyoga. com. Also, special thanks to Undisputed Gym and Kleen House.

For more information about the photographer and author, go to www.aaronevansimagination.com

Your Health Coach Are you ready for a healthy lifestyle? Follow us each month for tips and guidance to get healthy and stay well.

10 Reasons to Add Breakfast Back Into Your Daily Routine Skipping breakfast? Here are 10 reasons why eating a nutritious breakfast will help you stay healthier and have more energy throughout the day.

1) Keep your metabolism higher.

Regular meals throughout the day result in a steady burn of calories. Irregular meals, like skipping breakfast, result in a slower caloric burn. When you don’t eat regularly, your body tries to conserve energy and slows your metabolism. It makes sense to conserve energy if you don’t know when your next meal will be or if you know you won’t be eating anything between dinner tonight and lunch the next day. When your metabolism slows down, you burn fewer calories and gain more weight.

2) Set yourself up for a whole day of healthier eating.

Ever notice that when something bad happens at the beginning of the day, it snowballs into a full day of challenges and mishaps? The way we start our day has dramatic effects on how the rest of the day plays out. So starting your day with a nutritious meal will help you feel positive about the healthy choices you made, and that positive feeling will empower you to make healthier choices for your next meals.

3) Avoid sugar cravings and binge eating.

Maintaining blood sugar levels means that you won’t go on a sugar hunt or binge eat at lunch because you’re starving or feeling weak. Eating a healthy breakfast will maintain your blood sugar, so you can resist the need to eat the donuts in your ten o’clock meeting or gorge yourself with the cookies your officemate brought in.

4) Share time with family members and housemates.

We are all so busy and distracted these days that it’s important to set aside time for each other. Use this time to put down the cell phone, the iPad, or whatever is between you and your loved ones. Make a ritual of asking what each person is looking forward to that day.

5) Get in your servings of fruits and veggies.

Breakfast is a great opportunity to fill up on your required serving of fruits and veggies. This means getting fiber into your system early in the day for great digestion, loading up on vitamins and minerals with seasonal produce, and loading up on antioxidants.

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6) Have a set time to take your daily vitamins.

Are the vitamins and supplements you spent a small fortune on just sitting in your cabinets? Incorporating them into your daily routine will help you remember to take them. Generally speaking, taking your vitamins with a meal will enhance their absorption and help prevent an upset stomach. Be sure to read the labels or check with your healthcare provider as some supplements are best taken on an empty stomach.

7) Boost your performance at work.

Your belly is full with a healthy breakfast, you’re burning those nutrient-rich calories, and your blood sugar is stable. So what does that mean? That means that you will have sustained energy, better focus, and the ability to perform better physically and mentally. Remember that food is fuel for the brain too!

8) Add green tea to your diet.

Trying to cut down on coffee? Want to take advantage of the benefits of green tea? Add a cup of green tea to your morning breakfast routine. Regular consumption of green tea has been shown to increase the rate of calorie burn, lower body weight, and lower total body fat. Green tea is also known for its antioxidant properties; antioxidants help protect the body from degenerative changes and many diseases associated with the aging process. If you think you don’t like the taste of green tea, give it another try. There is an overwhelming variety of green teas on the market that appeal to a variety of diverse tastes.

9) Stop unhealthy snacking and mindless eating before lunch.

Skipping breakfast can lead us to unhealthy snacking and mindless eating at our desks as we wait for the opportunity to grab some lunch. Irregular eating includes skipping breakfast and random bouts of snacking and binging. Studies have also shown that irregular eating can lead to higher levels of insulin, a fat storage hormone. That means the more insulin your body pumps out after a meal the heavier you’ll be. Insulin imbalances are linked to many health issues, including diabetes.

10) Set a good example for your kids.

They are watching you! Set a great example each morning by eating a healthy breakfast. Is a whole orange or grapefruit unappealing to them? Cut up a variety of fruits into bite-sized pieces and share a bowl with them in the morning. You may not have control over what they eat once they leave, but the morning can be your time to give them the nutrients they need for a healthy start.

Pick two reasons that resonated most with you and remind yourself each morning as you enjoy a healthy breakfast. Looking for breakfast ideas? We have some posted for you at http://ecotisticmag.com/myhealthcoach.

In health, Bahareh Bahareh is a certified Health Coach & Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant based in Encinitas, California. She empowers busy professionals to live healthier, happier lives by eating well, reducing stress, and achieving balance. www.mindbodyalliance.com