Who we are!

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram! @TheOrganicHype

Growing up, I couldn't have cared less about the food I ate. The terms organic, free range and all natural meant nothing to me. Like many of my fellow Americans, I would get into heated debates over who had the best dollar menu. Then everything changed.

I decided to start The Organic Hype because this is one of the things I truly believe in. Even growing up in California, Organic eating really wasn't exposed to me until I went to college. I had to take an ethics course as one of the requirements for my law school certificate program and when I saw that "Climate Change" was one of the topics, I literally laughed out loud. I thought thought that topic was forever behind us along with Al Gore's presidential campaign. In my defense, I was young and relatively uneducated at the time.

As I started studying the environment and climate change, I realized how big of an impact eating has on our planet. The more I studied, the stronger I felt about the subject. The only thing I wish is that I would have known about these things earlier in life. That is why I have started The Organic Hype. This is a blog to promote an Organic lifestyle. I hope I can convince you through logic and reason to stop supporting companies who are knowingly destroying our planet. I don't just want you to stop supporting fast food restaurants (although I highly suggest you do just that), I want to encourage you to purchase from companies who are promoting healthy living.

In her book “Your Money and Your Life,” Vicky Robin says “How you spend your money is how you vote on what exists in the world.” That is one of my favorite quotes because it is so true! If enough people give their money to organizations who are mindful of their effect on our planet, they will take over those companies who are doing just the opposite.

I want this to be a place of educated discussion. I will try my best not to say anything without having evidence to back it up and I expect the same from you (those who wish to comment)! If you have recipes you love, companies you support or thoughts to share, do it! That's what The Organic Hype is all about!



-The Organic Hype

Please Vote!

The Organic Hype has entered a contest for blogs that make a difference! We are hoping that this will, at the very least, raise awareness for our cause! Getting a donation for the World Business Council for Sustainable Development would be a great accomplishment!

Make sure to vote for us here: http://bloggers.maker.good.is/projects/theorganichype

Keep up with TheOrganicHype!

Friend us on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/theorganichype

Follow us on Twitter: @TheOrganicHype

And of course, check our blog daily! organic-hype.blogspot.com

The Solution: Part 7

Here are FIVE things that you can do to be a part of The Solution!

1. Support local farmers:
In her book “Your Money and Your Life,” Vicky Robin says “How you spend your money is how you vote on what exists in the world.” We love that quote. If you think about it, every time you purchase products from a local farmer, you are voting in favor of that company. We encourage you to take the time and buy as much produce as you need from local farmers to support their business so that they can continue selling locally grown, organic products. There are also many places where you can buy locally grown beef, chicken and eggs. Just recently, my parents decided to share the cost of a cow with five other families. This cow had been grass fed and raised locally. By giving this local butcher their money, they did not financially support another company who gets their meat from factory farms. Which brings us to point number two..

2. Do not financially support bad companies:
“Bad companies” seems quite loaded, so let’s expand on that. Companies who are destroying our planet to make a profit should not receive our money. Remember our favorite quote, ““How you spend your money is how you vote on what exists in the world.” When you purchase products from “bad companies” you are voting in favor of their existence and you are giving them the momentum to keep destroying our planet.

3. Financially support good companies:
There are many companies out there who choose to produce their products in a way that does not negatively impact our environment. These companies should be rewarded for that! We need to always be on the lookout for companies and organizations who choose to act this way.

4. Buy less beef:
From the article series, “Why Organic?”
“Domesticated cows account for seventy percent of animal-derived methane gases in the atmosphere.[2] This is, without a doubt, significant, but there are larger implications. The Amazon rainforest is responsible for carrying forty percent of the world’s fresh water into the atmosphere and the oceans.[3] Soya farms, which produce the ingredients to feed domesticated cows, are replacing the Amazon rainforest at a rapid rate to meet the demand for animal feed. Three American agricultural corporations fund sixty percent of the soy farming in Brazil.[4] As meat consumption continues to be the norm in first world countries, soya farmers will keep destroying the very rainforests that can offset the effects of the greenhouse gases these cows, and other products of the first world, create.”

“African farmers are currently seeing droughts that are causing significant reduction in crop yield, which has led to famine and malnutrition.[5] These agricultural problems will expand to Asian countries as well. As Greenland continues to melt, there will be less warm water from the tropics to cool the North Atlantic. This will cause less monsoon rains in Asia which will lead to a food crisis in China, India and Indonesia.[6] With world population predictions near nine billion in the year 2050, a food crisis will be exponentially impactful.”

It should be clear. Buying less beef needs to be a step we take NOW!

5. Stop financially supporting the fast food industry.
If you look at number four, you should be shocked. Who do we think are raising all these cows and destroying rainforests? The Fast food industry. Did you know that 25% of Americans eat fast food every day? Stop financially supporting the destruction of our planet! I was a poor, male, college student and I know how tempting it can be to pay one dollar for a tasty chicken sandwich or mcdouble. I promise that there are cheaper ways to fill your stomach which will not result in supporting some of the most destructive companies our world has ever seen.

BONUS: Spread the word!
This isn’t a plug for The Organic Hype. This is a call to action. Don’t be that annoying person who judges people for not buying organic. Don’t think you are any better than anyone else because of your lifestyle choices. Kindly spread the information you know is credible to your friends and explain why it is the RIGHT thing to do.

Recipe of the Day! 6/22/12

"Avocado-Pear Smoothie"

Today's recipe comes from @PlanetOrganic!

see it here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=986565&l=5573ab85b5&id=172771382771615

Ingredients:
2 organic, firm avocados
2 cups unsweetened organic pear juice
2 Tablespoons raw honey
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup organic cream
2 cups of ice cubes
For directions, click here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=986565&l=5573ab85b5&id=172771382771615

Organic Fact of the Day! 6/22/12

Organic Fact of the Day! 6/22/12


Organic fruits and vegetables now represent 11.4 percent of all U.S. fruit and vegetable sales!

[http://www.ota.com/organic/mt/food.html]

 

The Solution: Part 6

The Solution: Part 6

Looking back at the evidence presented in the “Why Organic?” series and “The Solution,” it is clear that we have a problem. Our population is growing and we continue to destroy our planet. We have already seen the effects of this in many areas, such as Africa and rural Asia. We believe that something needs to be done. Our ideal choice would be to decentralize the food production process here in America. We believe this would decrease the amount of animal-derived methane gases significantly, but it would also increase the cost of food.

Although there may be terrible effects on the price of food, specifically beef and other meat products, in America and many people will suffer, we believe it is time for Americans to take responsibility for the world we are destroying. If we stay on this path, the amount of damage caused by global warming will result in food shortages and famines around the world. Within a few hundred years, there could be no poor to suffer from the high costs of food. If we do not change our food production processes here in America, we could be a leading cause of the destruction of our beautiful earth.

So, what can we do? Obviously the food production process will not “decentralize” overnight. That would not be realistic, nor would it be good for the well being of many, if not all, Americans. I believe that anything is realistic, so those who say “The food production process in America will never decentralize” in my opinion have too little faith in not only the human race, but also underestimate the repercussions of what we are doing to our planet.

That being said, what should we do?

Monday, we are going to give you FIVE things that you can do to be a part of The Solution!

Company of the Day

Today's Quality Company is MeltSpread!

 http://www.meltbutteryspread.com/our-story/our-promise/

If you're looking for an organic, healthy alternative for butter, Today’s Quality Company @Meltspread provides just that!

@MeltSpread
“These products contain the perfect organic blend of the healthiest fats that supports healthy weight when replacing other fats in your daily diet. Each serving of Melt® & Honey Melt® Organic deliver an ideal combination of healthful saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated fats for optimal nutrient content and absorption, weight management, thyroid function, heart health, and digestive health. Melt® Organic is certified organic and kosher, and is soy free, Trans fat free, and gluten free. Our products do not contain artificial ingredients of any kind and they never will. Our ingredients are Eco-social, Fair Trade, and non-GMO.”

The Solution: Part 5

The Solution: Part 5

Here at The Organic Hype, we understand the arguments of all three of these writers. Each bring profound insights to this discussion. In the end, we as human beings must be conscious of our effect on the world and on other non-human persons. Northcott provides evidence showing how detrimental the consumption of beef alone has become due to our diets in America. Singer provides a great example for why we should treat non-human persons with as much respect and dignity as we do to our fellow human beings. On the other hand, the decentralization of food production in America would increase the price of food dramatically. Many families already struggle feeding themselves and this would have terrible effects on the poor. A question that must be addressed is whether or not decentralizing food production in America will solve all of the problems that come with climate change. The answer is no. Modern societies have created many different avenues of destroying the environment and this one change, no matter how drastic, will not ensure that climate change will discontinue.

A second question that must be addressed is the cost of organic, free range beef if America were to move to a decentralized model. We were unable to find academic studies which project the cost of beef in this hypothetical model, so we decided to investigate for ourselves. At our local grocery store, we found the cheapest beef at $3.49 per pound. This is obviously not organic, grass fed, free range beef, so we used this as the base price of a pound of meat currently available in our grocery store. We then looked for organic, free range, grass fed beef. The cheapest we found was $7.25 per pound. This is more than twice the cost of the cheaper beef selection available. There are many economic factors that would affect whether or not this would be the standard price of beef if the whole country moved to a decentralized model, so we cannot say with certainty what the price would be.

What we can say on this matter is that, as of right now, grass fed, organic, free range beef is a luxury item. It is not necessary at this time to purchase this more expensive beef if one is on a budget trying to feed a family. Our projection is that with the decentralization of food production in America, the average American’s diet would change drastically. Since the price of beef would increase significantly, our population would be forced to turn to different forms of protein. Quinoa, for example, has nearly eighteen grams of protein in one cup. Beans, lentils and legumes are also great sources of protein which would all be relatively cheap. This would make beef a product that we eat once or twice per week instead of once or twice a day. Although there may be terrible effects on the price of food, specifically beef and other meat products, in America and many people will suffer, we believe it is time for Americans to take responsibility for the world we are destroying. If we stay on this path, the amount of damage caused by global warming will result in food shortages and famines around the world. Within a few hundred years, there could be no poor to suffer from the high costs of food. If we do not change our food production processes here in America, we could be a leading cause of the destruction of our beautiful earth.

What to do now...? (Sneak Peek)
We at The Organic Hype have some ideas for what we can do to contribute to The Solution. It’s time for us to make a difference and positively impact our planet.

Check back tomorrow for the next step!

Quality Company of the Day

06/21/12

Todays Quality Company is Organic Valley

See their website http://www.organicvalley.coop/about-us/overview/our-history/
Follow on Twitter: @OrganicValley

“If a company is going to make a difference in today’s world, it’s going to have to think differently. At Organic Valley, our philosophy and decisions are based on the health and welfare of people, animals and the earth. We’re a mission-driven cooperative, owned by family farmers, and we’ve been leaders in organic agriculture from the very beginning.”