-friendly pesticides – many based on natural ingredients known to deter bugs in specific crops – they usually don’t mention fungicides, which are applied to produce both pre- and post-harvest to prevent fungi from invading produce.
There’s a reason for that silence — most commercial fungicides, it turns out – even those certified as “organic” — are based on copper in the form of copper sulphate spray, and on chlorine. But fungicides are essential to the produce business. With much of the world’s produce shipped by truck and train – without refrigeration, in many places – fruit and vegetables are likely to succumb to rot and fungus that thrive in the hot storage conditions.
Pimi Agro’s secret: Its products are formulations based on 99.4% Stabilized Hydrogen Peroxide (STHP), which decomposes into oxygen and water, leaving no chemical residue. There are specific formulations for citrus, stone fruits like peaches and plums, potatoes, and onions and sweet potatoes. The trick, said Ben Yehuda, was getting that other 0.6% of the formulation right – and that took him, along with researchers at the Technion and at Hebrew University 15 years. Pimi’s technology has half a dozen worldwide patents and has been tested under rigorous conditions in the US and Europe over 150 times.
It’s the active ingredients in the additives – all natural and environmentally friendly, said Ben Yehuda – that makes the difference. “Applying just hydrogen peroxide to produce would actually promote rot. It’s our enhanced formulation that turns water and oxygen into products that can greatly extend produce shelf life.” In tests, Pimi’s solutions were found to be 15 times more effective than other preservation and disease prevention systems, with 50% more citrus and onions available for marketing after seven months in storage, without the harmful chemical residue left by the preservation systems currently in use – which are anyway less effective than Pimi’s system. The additives, categorized as edible acids, have been declared safe and organic by a host of international agencies, including the EPA and EU food safety agencies.
Besides cutting down on chemical residue and preventing disease, the Pimi solution allows farmers to use much more sustainable growing methods. By extending the life of produce, fruits and vegetables can be transported in more environmentally friendly ways – trains, for example, instead of trucks that contribute to traffic tie-ups and increase air pollution. Since there’s less loss, farmers can grow less, avoiding overplanting, and especially cutting down on the use of fertilizers (another major pollution problem), and using less irrigation water, said Ben-Yehuda.
Besides Wal-Mart and SunPacific, Pimi has begun working with other large food producers, including Pepsico, FritoLay, BASF, and others. Several products are already on the market, and customers are using Pimi products in Israel, the US, Germany, the UK, Canada, Japan, and Russia. The company plans to develop products for additional produce, including asparagus, mushrooms, and peppers, and it’s developing formulations for meat, poultry, and fish.
What if you could have fresh organic veggies, herbs and flowers that are grown year round with no chemicals, pesticides or fertilizers right in your kitchen? Thanks to Hyundai you can! This is a whole food lovers dream come true! The Nano-Garden is an absolutely amazing invention especially for people, like myself, who are living in condos, or in houses that don’t have much yard space.
Most people do not realize that vegetables will lose about half of their nutrients within the first week of being picked. The food that you are getting from the supermarket will not be as nutritionally rich as the food you are growing yourself and consuming immediately after harvesting. Imagine how much more fresh and alive this food tastes. If you have or have ever had a garden I’m sure you have certainly noticed a difference.
Currently, Hyundai’s Nano-Garden is just a prototype and is not available for sale. They are currently working with the manufacturer to get these on the market as soon as possible. If you are looking for something to purchase right now, check out the Urban Cultivator, which is available now and it is also quite sleek and modern looking.
If you have the space to have your own garden or have access to a community garden, you should totally take advantage of that. Being able to grow your own organic foods is one of the best ways to opt out of the system and take control of what you are putting into your body as well as those of your loved ones. Imagine fresh, local organic produce at your fingertips. Gardening is a very rewarding hobby to take part in, it is such a great way to connect back to nature and directly with the Earth.
Bring the freshness of your garden right into your stylish, modern kitchen with a built in Urban Cultivator Residential. You’re able hook up your Urban Cultivator Residential directly to the city water supply, eliminating the need to refill or manually water your indoor garden.
Pack or Born On – This is the manufacture date stamp and often refers to canned goods and beer.
The key to keeping storable foods the longest, is cool, dry and airtight. Canned goods included. If you see bulging cans – do not open! It’s rare, but it could be botulism. Bill Nye made this crystal clear to me as a kid.
The bottom line is that expiration is perception and to follow your nose and your gut. If something smells or tastes funny, do not risk it! Common sense and intuition are our friends and thankfully, we are much less likely to get sick in a clean home than from a restaurant. If you think you might get food poisoning, immediately take homeopathic Arscenicum Album 30c and Activated Charcoal.
Start by adding a few storable items that you typically eat, storing some water that is safe to drink, and saving some money, if only a few coins each week. Then, over time, expand these initial efforts—as individual circumstances allow and where permitted—by storing a longer-term supply of basics such as grains, beans, and other staples.
How quickly should I obtain my food storage?
It is not prudent to go to extremes or go into debt to establish your home storage all at once. Gradually build reserves over time as financial resources and space permit.
When disaster strikes and your family, friends, and neighborhood need your help, the last place you want to be is stuck in a food line. A backup food supply that’s easy to manage and won’t break the bank is a cornerstone of disaster prep. The biggest question: How much food is enough?
FEMA and the Red Cross suggest a two-week supply. On its website, the Mormon Church advises a more world-weary approach, advising its flock to keep a three-month supply of food “that is part of your normal daily diet” on hand. It’s not a bad goal, but the commercial food grid is usually up and running in much less time, so we suggest starting with a month’s backup. How much is that?
The first step is to figure out the basal metabolic rate—the amount of energy a body uses at rest—for each member of your family. Keep in mind that in a disaster situation, people aren’t usually at rest, so add more food to compensate. Visit a site like this one to calculate your family’s BMR. Our sample family has a husband and wife in their 40s (4400 calories per day), and a son and daughter between 9 and 13 (2400 calories per day). We then added 1000 calories as a cushion, putting our requirements at 7800 calories per day and 234,000 per month.
Remember, you don’t have to buy it all at once. Each week, add a few extra items to the shopping list until you’ve filled up your basement shelves to your satisfaction. We built up a sample store of goods for this photo as a guide to the sorts of foods that store well and could keep a family of four well-fed and sane through the aftermath.
What’s wrong with 250,000 calories worth of chocolate bars? If that’s all you have, then nothing. But because we’re talking about preplanning, we filled our pantry with enough food to build a 30-day diet made up of 55 percent carbs, 25 percent fats, and 20 percent protein. That puts us within the 2010 dietary guidelines suggested by the USDA for all age groups.
The downside of all that rice, beans, dried pasta, dried milk, and instant coffee is that it takes water to bring them to life. Our month’s pantry requires 78 gallons of water.
Rice and beans can get old, so lay in some guilty pleasures for the kids. A $1 can of Kosher SpaghettiOs Meatballs is power packed with energy: 480 calories, 7 grams of fat, 11 grams of protein, and 32 grams of carbs.
Don’t discount the need for coffee in the morning. The downside: It requires 8.5 gallons of water.
Don’t forget your veggies.
Only in a disaster should cling peaches and applesauce count toward your fruit intake.
Peanut butter is loaded with protein and fats. Just don’t forget about food and nut allergies.
Long a staple of preppers, dried milk can be used to create sauces, lighten your coffee, make yogurt, and, yes, fill a glass with milk.
a href=”http://jerusalemcats.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/pantry.jpg”> Three-Month SupplyBuild a small supply of food that