The Right-to-Know campaign has obtained more than enough signatures on its GMO labeling petition to appear on the California ballot this fall. The petition will require GMO labeling on foods in California.
The measure would require food manufacturers to identify genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that are in any food sold in California. This may lead to nation-wide labeling so manufacturers don’t have to print two labels on the same product.

When California added the caramel coloring 4-MI to its list of carcinogens under Proposition 65 in 2009, the manufacturer of that product agreed to change it to meet California’s standards.

Food Poisoning Bulletin asked Stacy Malkan, Media Director for the California Right-to-Know 2012 ballot initiative, about this issue. She said, “consumers have a right to know what’s in the food we buy and eat and feed our children, just as we have the right to know how many calories are in our food, or whether food comes from other countries like Mexico or China.

“The same goes for whether our meat, dairy, fruits, or vegetables are genetically engineered in a laboratory. We should all be able to make informed choices, and have the freedom to choose whether to buy genetically engineered food or not.”

We asked if there are any health issues connected to GMO foods. Ms. Malkan answered, “the U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn’t require any health studies or safety testing of genetically engineered food, so there’s a lot we don’t know about the health impacts. But we do know there is cause for concern.

“Independent studies show that genetically engineering food can create new, unintended toxicants and increase allergies and other health problems. Experts around the world agree that by labeling genetically engineered food, we can help identify if these foods are causing any health problems.

The measure needed at least 550,000 verified signatures to be added to the ballot. The group has collected almost 1 million signatures. California requires that the signatures be verified by random sampling and full check methods. The Right to Know organization used volunteers to collect signatures.

According to a poll conducted by the Mellman Group, 90% of Americans want to see GMO labeling on foods. Transparency in labeling is important, according to Dr. Ted Labuza, food science professor at the University of Minnesota, who stresses the principle of informed consent.

Read the rest of this entry »

Did you know that any illness or disease can be traced to one of three causes – genetic, environmental or poor nutritional habits. The third one is the most important and the easiest for you to change because the food you eat or do not eat is the number one contributing factor to any ill health.

Just by giving up the unhealthy food and changing to healthy eating for a period of time (and hopefully for the rest of your life) can bring about a positive and long lasting health improvement.

Poor dietary habits can even trigger genetic tendencies towards disease such as cancers and others. In spite of this, the mainstream medical industry fails to educate their patients on the importance of what they eat or do not eat while concentrating on a pharmaceutical or symptoms approach to their health care. Very little time is spent in medical school on the importance of nutrition. Sadly, it is all about diagnosis and disease rather than the prevention of disease and the maintenance of good health.

But that is no reason why you cannot yourself prevent disease and maintain your own good health. After all, ultimately you are solely responsible for your own health and of course that of your children and perhaps even your elderly parents. And one of the best ways you can carry out such responsibility is to change completely from refined, sugary, processed foods to whole, living, natural foods.

Many people use the argument that processed foods are so much cheaper than whole foods. Well, they might be cheaper when you are paying out dollars in the supermarket but at what cost to your health? You will also find that when you change to a whole, living, natural food diet that the hunger pains diminish and you actually feel more satisfied because of the nutritious value. Unfortunately, processed foods are often lacking in nutrition so they leave you less than full but craving more of the same.

Several decades ago, we ate mostly fresh, local food with meals cooked from scratch and we knew where that food was coming from. As fast food and refined, processed foods gradually took over, they changed both our palettes, our tastes and the food business in general. And what was the result? Well the obvious ones were obesity and weight gain but cancer, heart disease, diabetes, liver overload and other conditions are taking a huge toll too. Many of the problems stem from the ingredients used in processed foods including artificial and toxic colorings and additives, HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), hydrogenated oils, high sodium content, genetically modified foods, meat, dairy, poultry and eggs from factory farms, chemicals and insecticides sprayed on to vegetables and crops and so much more.

90% of the housekeeping money that Americans spend on food is used to buy processed items whether it is boxed, bagged, canned, jarred, frozen, refrigerated, dehydrated or aseptically processed.
Manufacturers would have you believe that processed foods have been altered from their natural state for “safety” and convenience reasons. Unfortunately, convenience isn’t the only thing you get when you eat processed foods. You also get colorings, stabilizers, emulsifers, bleaches, texturizers, softeners, preservatives, sweeteners, odor maskers and flavorings and none of them are natural.

There are over six thousand different chemicals used in processed foods. Do you really think that they are not going to cause you harm? And some more ammunition in the fight against processed foods is that your taste buds become so used to the strong flavors of processed foods that at first you want to add more salt or sugar to the natural flavors of whole foods. Fortunately your taste buds renew themselves every two weeks so you can soon get used to new healthier tastes. To make up for the loss of nutrients during processing, manufacturers add synthetic vitamins and minerals to their processed foods in the hope that they will enhance their nutritional content.

Changing to whole, living and natural foods means avoiding the central aisles at your local supermarket but cruising the perimeter aisles where the fresh produce lives. It means supporting your local farmers markets and it means going organic if possible but not if it entails buying wilted produce that is not locally produced but has had to travel long distances. It means using common sense to buy the best natural, fresh and local produce for your dollars and for your good health. Do your own research but please seriously consider making that change.

Read the rest of this entry »

Every night when you go home, you have to make a decision about what to have for dinner. For the most part, we would like to eat nutritious food, but many of us didn't grow up learning how to cook healthy meals. If you're watching your health, eating out is not the best option, so most people look in their cookbooks for recipes. This isn't always the best solution, because recipes lie. But, if you know the right way, it's very easy to cook nutritious food every night of the week.

This is the process that many people go through:
1. You come home from work, and have to start planning dinner.
2. You've already cooked the 5 things you know how to cook this week.
3. You need more ideas,
4. You look through the pantry, consider calling for pizza…

It's not only exhausting, but you have to re-educate yourself every single night. It's not going to get you the results you want or deserve for yourself and your family. If you're looking to cook more nutritious food at home, save time and have endless cooking ideas, you're in the right place. There are 5 simple steps to cooking with fresh ingredients.

Step 1: Get Fresh Ingredients
* The first step for using fresh, seasonal ingredients is to actually GET some.
* This could be the most difficult step for many of you that are used to the huge mega-mart grocery store.

There are alternatives. My eyes were opened to more alternatives during my trip to Paris, France. The food culture in Paris is so much different from where I live in the US. There were very few corporate "chain" restaurants there.

Many of the restaurants were small, 10 table places where there were three people on staff, the chef, the maitre d' and the dish washer. They had their service each night and went home. Each time I asked why their food tasted so good, they all had the same answer. And, not a single person bragged about their recipes.


Instead, I was told that I needed fresh, simple ingredients. I discovered that I needed to examine where my food is coming from. This doesn't mean simply the store where you shop, but what is the country of origin for your food. Think about how you feel about your money going to another country when there are farmers in your community that need your help. Now think about how long ago that vegetable was harvested in the far away country, and what happened to it during its travels.

It might be inconvenient to drive past dozens of mega-marts to find a farmers market. But you may find that there's a local produce roadside stand near you that you've avoided. In my case, I signed up for "The Produce Box" which delivers fresh community supported agriculture to my doorstep. Fresh is important because fruits and vegetables degrade as soon as they're picked.

* Nutrients are lost
* They become visually unappealing
* Harder to cook successfully
* Loss of flavor!

Step 2: Select the freshest ingredients when you shop
Be aware of what you're choosing, even if you shop at the local produce stand or farmers market. Some items may still be fresher than others and the most nutritious, healthy food is the freshest. You have to be even more aware if you shop at the local mega grocery.

In understanding how to cook healthy, you need to be able to understand the difference between fresh food and food that has been ripened artificially or is not ripe at all. Do you know how to tell a fresh orange or grapefruit? Did you know that color is NOT an indicator of freshness in peaches?

Step 3: Storing Fresh Ingredients
For maximum shelf life, nutritional preservation and budget savings, there are three issues in storing fresh ingredients:

1. Moisture
2. Air circulation
3. Temperature

Not everything can be thrown in to the drawer in the refrigerator and preserve their freshness. In fact, some things will suffocate in a plastic bag. Other produce will need to be wrapped tightly to retain moisture. Other items will need to be kept cold, while others will degrade under the cold.

Step 4: Master a few basic cooking techniques
At the very least, master the following techniques:

1. Understanding the transfer of heat
2. Saute method
3. Know how to make sassy sauces

But there are so many more. All of the basic methods in cooking are covered in my live cooking classes. Giving you the tools to understand these basic methods is what makes my approach to teaching cooking so unique and why people rave about my Web Cooking Classes. Web Cooking Classes empowers you with a thorough understanding of basic methods which allows you to cook and create without a reliance on recipes. Pure freedom!

Step 5: Finishing the Process with Fresh Herbs
This is the number one question I get during my live cooking classes:
Q: "Which herbs to use and how much to use?"
A: "Use the ones you like."

Seriously! Use your nose to see what it reminds you of, use the ones that you like and use as much as you like.

You want to know my number one herb secret? Herbs go last! Fresh herbs should not be cooked. In fact, just the heat of the finished dish is enough to release the aromas of fresh herbs.

These are the secrets that chefs know about how to cook healthy which are so easy to incorporate into your every day cooking. You can cook nutritious food that you want to eat for your health and for how wonderful it tastes.

Read the rest of this entry »

Consuming processed foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, has unfortunately become the ritual for many Americans over the past couple of decades. While getting a hassle free meal without even having to leave your house or car in a manner of minutes seems to signify the height of modern culture, it is this mindset that is slowly destroying us.  Regular consumption of prepackaged and overly processed foods has lead to nation faced with a plethora of different digestive problems including GERD, acid reflux, constipation, gastritis just to name a few.  We have gotten away from the basics of healthy eating and it is starting to show in our gurgling waistlines.

3 reasons to stay away from processed foods:
Processed foods contain no nutrients.—You can eat and eat and eat these foods and still wind up being undernourished since these foods have nothing that your body needs and you just end up  wasting a ton of energy digesting stuff which just ends up going in one way and coming out the other.

Processed foods do not contain water.—Your  body needs the water that is contained in fresh fruits and vegetables to help carry nutrients to all parts of your body and to cleanse your system of toxins. Water is generally not a popular additive to most processed foods  resulting in the stuff being heaped onto the pile of waste and leaving you feeling more toxic than ever.

Processed food leave you feeling hungry.—As said in the first point, processed foods really have nothing your body needs. So after you eat them, your body will continue to tell you that you are hungry since you really obtained nothing of value from the food you stuffed yourself with.  Processed food just becomes filler with no real value to you.

Keep up with the habit of getting your meals fast and hassle free and a vicious cycle of malnutrition will develop. You will feel hungry and eat, but then still feel hungry so you will eat more and so on. Do not be surprised if you already have a digestive disorder of some type already creeping up on you. If you  are looking ofr a good way to cure your GERD, acid reflux, and other stomach problems, do not go get some pills, instead go to the grocery store and pick yourself up some real fresh foods.

Read the rest of this entry »

Typical fast food is speedy, yes, but it's also unhealthy, pre-prepared and lacking in variety. Even when you buy a sandwich, it's usually been made hours, if not days, before. And you can never swap the onion for cucumber, can you? A recently movement towards tastier and healthier lunchtime fast food has been spreading across London. One of the more popular variations invading the capital is quick, delicious Mexican food.

Trendy, efficient Mexican restaurants in London are serving hungry city workers every day of the week with a quick, nutritious alternative to packaged salads, sandwiches or burgers. It's a food revolution. Mexican food in London is a bit British, a bit Latin American, and the beauty of a burrito or a box of nachos is that getting hold of them is just as fast (if not faster) as standing in line for a microwaved pile of grease.

In the new wave of gourmet Mexican takeaway restaurants you can choose from a traditional burrito – a flour tortilla filled with rice, black beans and whatever else you're in the mood for. Or you can go 'skinny' with an unwrapped version, try some tacos, or have a box of nachos – ideal for sharing. Fill with your choice of marinated char-grilled chicken, deliciously pink steak, slow cooked pork, or for vegetarians, char-grilled veggies with marinated tofu. Pile some spicy salsa, sour cream, cheese, jalapeños, guacamole and salad on top and you're done! Okay, so if you have all of that, then it's not going to be quite as healthy as a salad, but the beauty of Mexican street food is that you can alter it depending on how hard a morning you've had, and whether or not you're going to the gym after work.

To give you a bit more of an idea, a typical, stomach-filling burrito with chicken contains around 10 grams of fat. Compare that to a beef burger from a popular chain, which tips the scales at 24 grams of fat. While both may contain roughly the same amount of calories, a burrito is lower in fat and deliver more energy in nutritious fibre and slowly breaking down carbs. Mexican food is as healthy as you choose to make it, it's fast, and it's great value for money for a lunchtime meal that will keep you filled up for the afternoon. Get down to your local restaurant today and join the Mexican food revolution!

Read the rest of this entry »

Supermarkets - large oversized shops that we have all become accustomed to, selling "processed food". Shops that have been designed to trap us, to lure us into their maze-like structures, have caught many of us in their psychological web.

They serve as a convenient way to provide food for our families. Sadly, they also serve to distance all of us from what real food actually is, where it has come from, and what it has become. Further, the convenience factor has drawn a curtain over our ability to be as critical about what we are feeding our families as perhaps we should be. Still further, besieged by a deluge of persuasive and relentless advertising, we are ever induced to 'try'.

It's a hook, a lure if you like. Hardly a day passes without some new 'must-try' food, being advertised on television - the novelty appeal, or the value-added vitamin, being factored in, to assure us that we are buying well. So we do!

Optimal health
Eating quality food is essential to the health and wellbeing of everyone. Young children in particular need a quality, non-processed diet in order to grow and develop both physically and physiologically. A healthy diet with adequate nutrients will go towards ensuring that their immune systems stay healthy.

And yet, at no time in history has the health of our children ever been so compromised. You see, even the foods that we regard as staples, foods that we believe are healthy, are indeed, processed.

So what do is meant by the term 'processed food'?
To be honest there are only two distinct types of food, either whole, or processed!  I'm sure there is no need to define whole. Processed is something else. Aside from being huge business, processed food is really food that is not in its natural state. It has been through a "process" so to speak, rendering the foods less nutritious, loaded with trans-fats and chemical preservatives, then doctored with colourings and flavourings. There is no way that any of these devitalized foods can serve to keep us healthy, let alone our children!

What really is sad is that we have lost the ability to enjoy the taste of fresh, unadulterated food and be satiated. On the other hand, the highly-salted, sugar-laden processed food leaves us wanting more, so that today, more than ever before, obesity and our sedentary lifestyles are imposing the greatest health challenge for the developed world.

What can we do?
The most important thing that we can do right now is to realize that to some extent, each of us is responsible for the shopping and eating situation that we find ourselves in right now. We have become disconnected from the origins of our food sources - the farms, the dairies, and the orchards.

Our children are even more disconnected. When the English chef Jamie Oliver did his tour of American schools, he was shocked to discover just how many children had never tasted everyday vegetables. Nor could they name them.

Ask the average child where their cereal comes from and they will tell you, it's from a packet. Many can also tell you about which of the packets will provide the best nutrition – the value-added factor, etched in their minds through persuasive advertising. All of this has serious implications for health generally.

Our spending habits
I think it would be fair to say that a large percentage of a family's household budget is spent on processed, convenience food. Stripped of essential nutrients, and with harmful additives such as sweeteners artificial flavouring and colouring, they pose a significant risk to health.

Not convinced?  Then grab a few convenience foods from your fridge or pantry and have a look. If there are ingredients there that your great grandmother would not recognize, chances are you shouldn't be ingesting them.

And...now that you are looking at the ingredients, I would imagine that you are struggling to actually read the names of the chemical additives. Let me assure you that this is absolutely deliberate. Being readily able to read and fully understand all of these might make many of us stop in our tracks and question our buying them.

But what's missing?
But you know it goes deeper than that. Yes, we can worry about the additives, but we should be greatly concerned about what has been subtracted!

Very often you will find that the naturally-occurring nutrients that should be in foods, nutrients designed to protect your health, fibre, good fats and antioxidants, have been stripped away. That's processed food.

Our convenience way of eating is a recipe for a disaster, the consequences of which we have not begun to measure! We have a lot to learn.

Read the rest of this entry »

Many peoples suffer less heart attacks and cholesterol problems than many other states in bangaalis stay lean and healthy and they share a common feature with many other people staying near the sea.chili vegetarian recipe would taste best with garlic, beans, tofu, onions and tomatoes.

Seafood varieties ranges from fish like tuna,salmona and sardine to the slightly unusual like the blackened catfish cooked with pineapple or vegetable and herbs.Diversity in fish species ensures that you can enjoy sauteed tilapia, pan-grilled wild salmon or bass and grilled grouper. Delicious, tasty, healthy, good for the heart and gourmet food are some of the words and phrases used to describe the delicacies and justifiably so.

fish:
Seafood varieties ranges from fish like tuna, salmon and sardine to the slightly unusual like the blackened catfish cooked with pineapple or vegetable and herbs. Refrigerated and fast supply chain ensures that supermarkets and online vendors are able to provide fresh fish and any of the seafood variety. Only concern for consumers is the level of mercury and other toxins found in fish. Therefore, fresh fish are to be purchased only from trusted sellers.

chili:
Your chili vegetarian recipe would taste best with garlic, beans, tofu, onions and tomatoes. Just make sure that you mix your ingredients well so that the chili flavor does not stick in just some parts of the recipe but watch out for burned ingredients. Experts advise though that ingredients shouldn't be mixed all at once since this could kill the hot taste. Sauté the spices gradually to release the chili oil that holds the secret to its hot taste. Depending on the dish, you can serve a chili dish the next day to give time for flavors and tastes to mix.

Chilies can burn the skin. Handle chilies only with your bare hands if you only have a small quantity to cut. Handling lots of chilies for a flavorful chili vegetarian recipe can burn your skin. It makes better sense to use cooking gloves with lots of hot chilies. Make sure too that the juice of chili peppers never find its way into your eyes.

Habanero and santaka chilies however are among the hottest so you would do well to add moderate amounts in your chili vegetarian recipe. The famous jalapenos are only about moderately hot and are often the favorite ingredients in a chili vegetarian recipe

Read the rest of this entry »

With the warm summer weather comes a desire to eat healthy and get in touch with the outdoors, something Mass Local Food cooperative has been dedicated to since 2009. While the area organization is small, President Kelley O’Conner says it’s growing in leaps and bounds.

“We’re providing a way for people to purchase from local farmers,” O’Conner said. Mass Local Food purchases from over 40 local farms for everything from veggies to coffee to meat. “We all come to it for different reasons. Our vision and our goal is to support local farmers so they don’t go out of business and for buyers so they don’t have to drive to so many famers’ markets. It allows buyers to have more selection and farmer only has to go to one spot.”

The organization is located in Westminster and is entirely volunteer-based. They currently have two pick-up points in Worcester – Briarwood Retirement Community and UMass Memorial. They distribute fresh produce to 350 customers year round on the first Friday of every month.

No Pink Slime Here
“Certainly the biggest benefit now right now is a safety factor,” O’Conner said. These are small businesses. You know your farmer. You know your prices. You’re not going to get pink slime. It’s not big factory farming.”

Besides the health and safety benefits, O’Conner said that the taste is an added bonus… and her dog appreciates the local food, too.

“I didn’t know it would taste that good when I got local meat. I buy my dog’s treats there, and she loves them,” she said with a laugh. “It’s not just the taste. It’s also the feeling of security of buying from people you know and knowing you’re supporting them. Some of the farmers have told me how much Mass Local has done to keep them in business and make it a viable business.”

Vendors
Mass Local Food does business with many local farms including Maple Heights Farm, Open Meadow Farm for their meats. “We do sell a lot of meat. It’s one of the only ways that people can get locally raised meat in the area,” O’Conner said. “Those two farms have been with us the longest.”

The co-op also offers produce from Glimpses of New England Past, Honeybee Bakery, Good 4 You Tea, Westfield Farms, Smith Country Cheese, and Robinson's Farm, just to name a few.

Building One Step at a Time
O’Conner has been happy to see Mass Local Food grow as much as it has and hope to continue to see it thrive, but for now they are still a small organization trying to spread the word.

“Education and community outreach is something we would like to do, but we’re all volunteer based. If we do anything, it’s because someone decides to get out and to it on their time,” she said. “We have done booths at events we care about. We also participated at the UMass Local Sustainability Fair recently and have been invited to the Green Day Fair in Framingham.

“In the long term I’d love to see a local, store-front building in every town including Worcester, but that’s probably 20 years out,” she said. “Short term, it would be great if Worcester could have a food co-op that promoted local food.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Interest in eating healthy is growing, but accessing locally sourced or organic foods isn't always easy, especially for those living in the inner city or far flung rural communities.

That dilemma presented Matt Ewer and his wife, Elizabeth Blessing, with a business idea. They are co-founders of Green B.E.A.N. Delivery, an online home delivery service that's making it easier than ever for Midwest residents to eat healthy — all year round.
 
According the United States Department of Agriculture, nearly 5 percent of all food now purchased is organic and more than half of organic food is purchased in traditional grocery or big box stores. It's no longer the domain of health food stores. Still, it's not always easy for people in cities or rural communities to get find it and that's where Green B.E.A.N. Delivery comes in.
 
The company brings locally grown organic produce and natural groceries directly to consumer's homes in six Midwestern cities. By connecting Midwest food producers with Midwest communities through its year-round home delivery service, the company has created a sustainable network promoting the health of the community, local economy and the environment. More than 10,000 familiesuse Green B.E.A.N. Delivery, the company said.
 
"We deliver organic produce and natural groceries directly to our members' doorsteps," Ewer said. "Our company makes healthy, local and sustainably grown foods convenient, affordable and accessible to Midwest communities, while providing an avenue for local artisans and farmers to share their food crafts with the local community."
 
B.E.A.N is an acronym for the larger initiatives the company is pushing forward: Biodynamic, Education, Agriculture and Nutrition. Green B.E.A.N. Delivery has spawned several sister companies that have been developed to strengthen its multi-faceted approach to advocating sustainability within our current food systems.
 
Those include: Tiny Footprint Distribution, which distributes locally sourced products to retail establishments, Farm to Kitchen Foods, which sells healthy, shelf stable food with a focus on local and organic ingredients, Break Room Bins, which provides healthy food options for people in the workplace and The Feel Good Farm, which is Green B.E.A.N. Delivery's own certified organic, 60-acre farm in Sheridan, Ind.
 
BusinessNewsDaily asked Ewer to tell us a little bit more about his successful venture and how his original idea has blossomed into a variety of new businesses.
 
BusinessNewsDaily: How long have you been in business?
 
Matt Ewer: My wife, Elizabeth Blessing, and I founded the company in early 2007 and currently service areas of Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.
 
BND: Did you have a formal business plan or did your business just evolve naturally?
 
M.E.: I did have a business plan, but in the same breath, there has been a lot of natural evolution from 2007 to present. There was no blueprint for me to follow, so there has been a good deal of trial and error, creativity and, of course, very hard work. We have been fortunate enough to accumulate an incredible set of employees that share in our vision. They have made our company’s vision come to fruition. [Do you feel 'green guilt'? You're not alone.]
 
BND: Either way, how close has your business stayed to what you originally envisioned it to be?
 
M.E.: I often get the question if I expected our company to be where it is today. My short and sweet answer is absolutely. We are on track with what my wife and I envisioned when we started Green B.E.A.N Delivery. That being said, we are at the tip of the iceberg. There is so much for our team to achieve. Right now, I am focused on the agricultural side of our company. We are sowing seeds for the future and establishing "The Feel Good Farm" as a leader in Midwest sustainable agriculture.
 
My main focus for Green B.E.A.N. Delivery is my favorite department, human resources. We are working to make sure that the success of our company is built through solid design and well thought out technique when it comes to the relationship between employer and employees.
 
BND: How did you finance your statup?
 
M.E.: The most important thing that I did to help finance my company is making sure that I understood the business I was entering before I started my company. I took out a very small business loan to start the company and made sound decisions along our growth curve. We are very thankful for the support of the community of Indianapolis. Our members have enabled us to create a dynamic food company. We will continue to diversify our services to the community and educate them about the importance of eating healthy and supporting family farms.
 
BND: How much did you invest?
 
M.E.: Everything that I have, both financially and mentally. And, now that we have the farm, you can throw physically in there, as well. At this point, we are investing in the business. We have put everything the company has generated back into the company or the individuals that make the company grow and keep improving.
 
BND: If you had it to do over again, what would you do differently when starting your business?
 
M.E.: I wouldn't change anything. Everyone makes mistakes and I have learned from the ones I have made as a company owner. I have learned from mistakes I almost made. I have also learned from our successes and the employees I work with every day. I started the company slow and took a grass roots approach. I have basically performed every position. Now that the company is larger, my managers are starting to teach me lessons about their departments. That is rewarding and shows the power of the culture we have built and are continuing to build upon. I believe that running a company follows a certain evolution. That is often times accompanied by a personal evolution. I learn from my company each day and feel fortunate to have this lesson in my life.
 
BND: What's your best advice for someone with a great business idea who wants to give it a shot?
 
M.E.: Have passion for what you choose or don't bother. You have to love your industry and you have to understand why you are entering that mode of business. What impact does it have on community? And, what about that business is going to drive you and the decisions you are going to need to make?
 
Owning your own business is difficult. There is an endless amount of responsibility and you cannot escape your own business. Love what you do and live what you love. If you have that in you, then go for it. Make conscious decisions and fight your way into the market. Otherwise, continue to clock in and clock out.

Read the rest of this entry »

Nutrition experts are constantly urging Americans to eat healthier — that usually means including more fresh fruits and vegetables in our diet. But fresh foods are expensive and often difficult to obtain for many families, which is why researchers from Ketchum Global Health and Wellness asked the question, Is fresh food really always best?

“There is increasing conversation around ‘fresh’ foods, especially fruits and vegetables, as being more nutritious. Yet, this supposition had not been supported by evidence,” says study author Cathy Kapica, who is also an adjunct professor of nutrition at Tufts University.

Given that canned foods are cheaper than fresh and usually quicker to prepare, Kapica and her team wanted to know whether they could be an equally nutritious but more affordable alternative. The researchers conducted a market-basket study comparing the total cost of getting nutrients from canned, fresh, frozen and dried varieties of common foods.

The conclusion: when price, waste and preparation time were factored in, canned foods won out as the most convenient and affordable source of nutrients. For instance, canned pinto beans cost $1 less per serving as a source of protein and fiber than dried beans. That’s because it takes about six minutes to prepare a can of pinto beans, compared to 2½ hours for dried beans, after soaking and cooking. (The researchers calculated meal prep and cooking time at $7.25 an hour, the minimum wage in New Jersey where the research was conducted.)

“While all forms of the foods — canned, frozen, fresh and dried — were nutritious, when you added the cost of the inedible portions and the cost of the time to prepare to the price, in most cases the canned versions delivered nutrients at a lower total cost,” says Kapica.

Read the rest of this entry »