Better Healthy Choices

​For the last week, I’ve been reading everything I can get my hands on regarding the current Cyclospora outbreak. I wrote a blog about chemicals in our produce. A supplement blog for the Cyclospora outbreak. And then a few days ago, the CDC apparently pinned the outbreak down to Taylor Farms. So this is what I have found out. Taylor Farms is Headquartered in Salinas, California. The company was founded in 1995. And besides the U.S. they also have processing operations in Canada, Mexico & Western Europe.  Taylor Farms produces a large assortment of fresh produce, including organic and non organic conventional salad kits, ready-to-eat vegetables, and meal prep items. And in fact, the company has been recognized as the first fresh food company to achieve true platinum certification for zero waste, which means it has achieved the highest recognized standard for sustainability. So, after finding this all out, I started asking myself a lot of questions. If they won these awards for s...

I'm doing a mini blog (more of a rant but roll with it) because I am sick of the news saying dumb shit like, we have no idea how lettuce got contaminated with Cyclospora. So here is what I learned: There are a few regions where the U.S. and other countries have had flooding near lettuce fields in the past few months. Michigan in the U.S. saw record flooding near their agricultural fields  Mexico also experienced flooding near their lettuce fields in April So then I Googled: How long does it take lettuce to mature? Answer: Lettuce typically takes 3 to 4 weeks to grow into "baby" leaves and 45 to 55 days to reach full maturity, depending on the variety. Loose-leaf and butterhead varieties grow the fastest, while dense heading types like Romaine or Crisphead can take up to 75 to 100 days. As an update to this particular blog, we now know from the CDC that the Taylor Farms division in Mexico seems to be the culprit. So lets do some basic math (Sorry for those who don'...

Up until about 5 years ago, I always bought farmed fish. I like the way it tasted. It always looked healthier in the store. It didn't taste like mud when I ate it. And I thought I was doing the right thing for my family. And then, back in 2021, my wife had me sit down and watch a documentary on farmed fish. I strongly suggest everyone go on a platform like NETFLIX and watch one. It was nothing like I had expected. I'm going to use farmed salmon for my example today because it is the most farmed fish here in the U.S. Did you all know that 70% of our global salmon supply is farmed and that farmed Salmon also accounts for 99% of Atlantic salmon sold? In all honesty, I didn't know that until I  Googled it.  Farmed fish is as you would imagine. They are put in containment pens. These pens can be land-based or Open Net Pens which are used extensively for fish like salmon.  Now if you are like me, you have no idea what the advantages or disadvantages of these pens are or how th...

This topic is near and dear to me because if you would have asked me how I felt about gardening 10 years ago, I would have told you if you saw me gardening, call a psychiatrist, I've cracked. That's not a lie. I had absolutely zero interest in gardening back then. And I mean NONE.  But then something happened a few years back. My wife, as I have mentioned many times in my blogs, was diagnosed with breast cancer. We were both devastated with the news. And both our worlds were turned upside down for very different reasons.  Some backstory. We are both the types of people who love nature. We love to go hiking or just walking in all sorts of settings. We love animals. We tend to visit places like the mountains or the beaches. We love the smell of salt air. Being in Lake Tahoe where you can literally just inhale the pine trees (and now you can smell them too). We've been on hiking trips in Hawaii just to see the many Waterfalls they have to offer. We've done so many things o...

When I first began to research this topic, it horrified me. I knew they sprayed our non organic fruits and vegetables with chemicals to kill pests. But I didn't know how many they used or how often they used them. If you look up the chemicals in non organic fruits & vegetables, you'd never eat any of these foods again. Or you would at least pause and ask yourself, "is this apple worth it?" In fact, after writing about the additives in our candy, I can confirm you'd be better off eating a chocolate bar than most of the non organic fruits and vegetables they sell in our grocery stores.  I recently saw an article about a particular company in California (most of you know who I'm talking about and if not just Google it because they have the strawberry market cornered) who grows more strawberries than anywhere else in the country. In fact, did you know CA is responsible for 90% of the entire US Strawberry supply? Did you all also know, that for example, a non o...