The disappearance of honeybees is having significant negative impact on California agriculture, where the majority of the world's almonds, avocados, berries, melons and many other agricultural crops are grown. One major culprit contributing to the destruction of honeybee colonies is the U.S. farm bill, which subsidizes conventional agribusiness programs that are directly propagating the destruction of honeybees and other wild pollinators with their growing methods. While the Bush administration is trying to cut those subsidies and increase funding for environmental and nutrition programs as part of the farm bill, congress is doing its utmost to increase subsidies that have a direct correlation with everything that’s wrong with our overly processed and industrialized food supply as well as widespread obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and now, the annihilation of honeybees and other wild pollinators.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "Domesticated honeybee colonies suffered a 35 percent decline last winter. Wild pollinators such as native bees, wasps and butterflies are suspected to be in sharp decline, too, according to scientists, beekeepers and others at a symposium organized by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who is struggling to get $20 million in the bill to research the cause of the honeybee decline." Pesticides used in conventional farming, consider “safe” for humans, cause severe damage to insects. It’s believed that these pesticides seriously affect bees causing memory loss and navigation failure driving bees to their destruction. Moreover, the expansion of monocultures of single crops, sophisticated pests and other diseases, are suspected to also exacerbate the bee problem as well as the decline of other wild pollinators including bumblebees, butterflies, bats and hummingbirds.

We elect officials who vote and act in the interest of big corporate America. Capitol Hill lobbyists spend millions of dollars effectively luring our politicians to do their employers’ bidding. It’s no surprise to have a congress that supports the expansion of factory farming and industrialized crop production and do so by trying to cut existing farm conservation programs designed to keep pollinators alive. It is a disturbing notion, however, that it is our own lack of awareness about our food chain and the politics around it that makes this possible. Contrary to popular belief, ignorance is not bliss—knowledge and awareness are what can help our own preservation. Our existence as human beings depends on other living things, including plants and animals. Naturally, all plant life, upon which we depend, requires pollination for reproduction. Plants cannot survive without pollination and we cannot survive without plants. The possible extinction of pollinators caused by our own hands could be the demise of our future generations if not our own.

EXCLUSIVE: A fairly new chocolate company called Fine & Raw will soon be offering online sales, according to the owner of the company, Daniel Sklaar. Most available chocolate is junk food, but Fine & Raw chocolate is a superfood! It's made using raw techniques, processed only at very low temperatures to retain all the natural health properties in cocoa. It's lightly sweetened with low glycemic blue agave nectar, and contains virgin and cold pressed coconut oil. Fine & Raw chocolate is vegan, organic and fair trade. The chocolates are currently available in a small number of stores in New York City. Stay tuned, and I'll give you the details about how to buy online when that information becomes available.

"Natural" products you should avoid; Rapadura and diabetes; and this issue's Vegetarian Organic Recipe of the Week: Homemade Savory Baked Tofu! Go here to read it online, and go here to subscribe free!

Many readers have asked me to share a list of my favorite personal care products. My criteria for choosing personal care products is primarily that they have to be 100% biodegradable and made with certified organic ingredients when possible. Additionally, I make sure that they are free of harmful synthetic fragrance, mineral oil, preservatives, petroleum products, parabens, phthalates, FD&C colorants or dyes, and other toxic chemicals. Here are a few my favorite products:

1. Thoroughly Clean Face Wash with Organic Tea Tree Oil and Awapuhi by Desert Essence for face, hands and body. I’ve been using this for many years. I buy the 32 oz refill bottles to refill the soap dispensers I keep in showers and sinks around the house. The tea tree oil in it makes it a natural antibacterial soap, but it can also burn the eyes as a result of it. It leaves the skin clean and soft like.

2. Dr. Bronner’s Organic Castile Soap Lavender for face, hands and body. I love the smell of this soap, which I use alternately with the Thoughroughly Clean Face Wash. I buy the 32 oz refill bottles to fill up my soap dispensers. I don’t like using any one product exclusively as I think variety and moderation are important.

3. Aubrey Organics Camomile Luxurious Shampoo. I love the smell of this product. It’s not very foamy as it doesn’t contain toxic petroleum surfactants but it cleans hair well and leaves it nice and shiny.

4. Aubrey Organics Camomile Conditioner. It makes hair silky and soft as long as you use plenty of water to rinse the hair thoughroughly. Otherwise, it leaves residues in the hair making the hair feel sticky and hard to detangle.

5. Peelu dental fibers. It doesn’t taste very good but it cleans teeth well. To be followed by flossing and Peelu toothpaste or Burt’s Bees Toothpaste.

6. Ecodent Dental Floss.

The Easter tradition of dying easter eggs for most American kids is all about using toxic supermarket Easter-egg dying kits. But you can use organic foods such as juice, onion skins, paprika, cabbage, carrots, coffee and spinach to make your own Easter egg dyes. Christina over at the SoloMother blog tells us how.

Warda, who publishes the 64 sq ft Kitchen blog has a wonderful recipe for roasted garlic oil. The reciepe will produce, in fact, two foods: oily garlic (called garlic mash), and garlicky oil. The Vegetarian Organic Blog, as you know, is all about the most healthy, delicious foods. And I also believe that a little planning and common sense can make the preparation of great food quick and easy. Roasted garlic oil is a perfect way to plan ahead for health and deliciousness. Garlic is one of the most powerful superfoods around. Eat it often to avoid getting sick, and when you do feel under the weather, garlic will fix you faster than any other food. Olive oil is an extremely healthful cooking fat. As always, buy only organic garlic and olive oil. As Warda points out, roasted garlic oil keeps unrefrigerated for at least a month. The garlic mash lasts that long, too, but in the refrigerator. The garlic oil will make it easy to prepare other foods that call for olive oil and a mild garlic flavor. The garlic mash will supply you with an instant superfood replacement for unhealthy things like butter, or store-bought relishes and dressings. Enjoy!

A new study commissioned by Organic Consumers Association finds that some leading "organic" brand personal care products that are not USDA certified contain the carcinogenic 1,4-dioxane. Although 1,4-dioxane is commonly used in conventionally produced personal care products, the USDA National Organic Program prohibits the use of Dioxane in organic products seeking certification by the USDA. The study found that many well known "organic" brand name companies' personal care products including shampoos, body washers and lotions make use of the toxic practice known as ethoxylation. Some unscrupulous "organic companies" use Ethoxylation as an easy way to make harsh chemicals feel soft.

This shameful practice involves using the cancer-causing petrochemical Ethylene Oxide, which produces Dioxane as a by-product. Dioxane not only causes cancer as well as kidney, neurological and respiratory damage but it is also a major groundwater contaminant according to the California Environmental Protection Agency. For a complete list of tested products and test results click on link here.

What Can You Do About It?

Boycott deceitful "organic" companies that have betrayed our trust in their products--they have been poisoning us and the environment. It's unforgivable how some companies are exploiting unsuspecting consumers who pay a premium for products they believe are free of harmful chemicals that can cause cancer and pollute the environment. It's time to take action; use your purchasing power and boycott unscrupulous companies who use toxics out of greed and at the expense of our health and that of the environment. Reward companies who are true to the organic movement and truthful in their claims about the products they make.

The best way to ensure that products have been produced in accordance to the USDA National Organic Program is by purchasing only products emblazoned with the USDA certified organic label. As Ronnie Cummins, Executive Director of the OCA, said in a statement: "The practice of ethoxylating ingredients or using other petroleum compounds must end for natural personal care, and is that much more outrageous in so-called 'organics' brand products." The OCA recommends avoiding products with unfamiliar and unpronounceable ingredients. Read labels carefully and avoid buying products that contain ingredients with words such as “myreth,” “oleth,” “laureth,” “ceteareth,” or other words ending in “eth” (which implies the ethoxylation process that generates 1,4-Dioxane).

Shame on companies deceiving consumers and selling products containing carcinogenics. Boycott these decietful companies until they publicly commit to stop using toxicants in their products that poison consumers and the environment:

Citrus Magic
NutriBiotic
Nature's Gate Organics
Giovanni Organic Cosmetics
Kiss My Face
365* Everyday Value by Whole Foods
Circle of Friends
Aura Cacia
Alba
Ecco Bella
Ecover
Earth Friendly
Shikai
ShenMin
Seventh Generation
Sea-Chi Organics
Rainbow
Planet
Emerald Forest
Healthy Times
Jason
Life Tree
Method

In this issue: Your action plan for times of crisis; romanesco cauliflower; purple potatoes; pots and pans; and this week's Vegetarian Organic Life Recipe of the Week, Vegetable Comfort Soup! Read it here!

Sugar beet farmers in the U.S. will soon decide whether to plant genetically engineered sugar beets. A new genetically engineered strain of sugar beet created by Monsanto and designed to resist Roundup, an herbicide also created by Monsanto, is the latest available option approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2005. The final decision will be largely determined the type of sugar food manufacturers such as McDonald's, Campbell Soup, Kellogg, Kraft Foods, Sara Lee, PepsiCo and Hershey's commit to buying for use in their production of foods in 2009. Sugar is added to most processed foods, including candy, cereals, health bars, beverages, juices, bread, candy bars, frozen foods, dressings, fast foods, etc. It might be difficult to find items to which sugar isn't added. It's commonly known that high intake of sugar is unhealthy but unless we eat mostly homemade meals from scratch, we end up consuming large quantities of sugar whether we want to or not. Take a moment to keep GM sugar off our food.

I told you in November about the pleasures and benefits of "cauliflower of color" -- green, yellow, orange and even purple cauliflower. Now, it appears, the colorful-cauliflower craze that started in California has spread to the UK, according to an article in the Daily Mail. It's now a popular item in some UK grocery stores.

A report in The New York Times today says a caterer working for the United States Olympic Committee (U.S.O.C.) bought a half a chicken breast in a Chinese market that measured 14 inches. After testing it, they found that it "was so full of steroids that we never could have given it to athletes. They all would have tested positive."

A new study counters the myth that people who are obese and people who smoke cost more to treat for healthcare than thin non-smokers do. The study, conducted by the Netherlands' National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, found that unhealthy people are cheaper to treat because they die younger, and dead people don't need healthcare. What this ridiculous study didn't take into account was that dead people don't also don't contribute to the economy or pay taxes.

New research suggests that some of the differences between humans and chimpanzees thought to be genetic may in fact be diet related. In a study by German and Chinese scientists, four groups of mice were fed, respectively: 1) normal lab-mice pellets; 2) the same diet as zoo chimpanzees (fruits, vegetables and yogurt); 3) food from the scientist's cafeteria; and 4) all McDonald's diet. The most surprising finding is that mice expressed various genes differently depending on diet; and in the case of some genes showed some of the differences between human and chimpanzee genes thought to be determined by DNA rather than diet. Another likely take-away: The expression of genes, especially in the liver, of vegetarians is likely to differ from the expression of genes in the livers of people who eat a standard American diet. In other news, zoos feed yogurt to Chimpanzees. ; )

Newsweek reports on recent testing that shows humans carry around potentially toxic chemicals in our bodies that come from ordinary household cleaners and objects. From the article: "Hundreds of animal and test-tube studies suggest that low-dose exposures, particularly during gestation, may later lead to breast and prostate cancer, abnormalities in the reproductive tract and behavioral problems, among other things."

As expected, and despite insufficient research, the FDA officially deemed food from cloned animals and their offspring safe for consumption. And not surprisingly, given their track record as the biggest supporters of agribusiness and corporate America such as the powerful meat and dairy industries, labeling of cloned food is not required. What that means is that you will be buying milk or eating a steak from cloned animals or, most likely, their offspring -- but won't have any way to know. Let's get this straight, conventional food is not only laden with pesticides, chemical fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) but now also franken-clones. What's one to do? Naturally, stay informed and buy only organic. Don't let the FDA force you to eat cloned foods.

Researchers have found that a diet rich in protein is more effective at preventing hunger pangs than diets rich in carbs and fats. The study revealed that protein suppresses hunger by regulating the secretion of a hunger-producing hormone called ghrelin, which is secreted in the stomach to stimulate hunger. When protein is consumed, the body secretes less ghrelin, which otherwise produces feelings of hunger. Fat was found to be the least effective in suppressing hunger. The take-away here is that it's important to eat a well balanced diet at every meal, consisting of real food rich in protein but also good fats and carbohydrates. Eating only protein or too much of it is not the answer to losing weight -- eating a healthy balanced diet and exercising everyday is. Both fat and carbohydrates are essential for other bodily functions.

New studies from both Sweden and India show that regular yoga provides the following benefits: lower blood sugar; reduction in weight; lower triglycerides; higher "good" cholesterol; reduction in anxiety, stress and depression; higher optimism; increase in antioxidants; and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

How to cultivate a healthy attitude; all about mung beans; researchers conclude that most cancers are preventable; and Mung Bean Soup for the Soul -- this issue's Vegetarian Organic recipe of the week! Click here to read it online. Click here to subscribe free!

All beans fall into the super food category, but one of my favorites is mung beans -- also known as moong dal, among other names. Native to India and more commonly eaten in India, Japan, China, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, these tiny little green beans are not commonly found in American kitchens. Fortunately, most health food stores are beginning to offer them.

Mung beans are highly cherished in ayurveda for their balancing power, high nutrient content and ease of digestion. Anyone who typically avoids beans because of digestive difficulties might find that mung beans are friendly to the digestive system and more importantly, they have cleansing and detoxifying properties. Mung beans are rich in potassium beneficial for the cardiovascular and nervous systems and are also a good source of high quality protein for vegetarian and meat eaters. Mung beans contain lots of fiber, which is essential to keep healthy cholesterol levels. Mung beans are rich in iron, thiamin, magnesium and folate, which help many other bodily functions for optimum health.

Mung beans are versatile and can be cooked in many different ways including hearty soups, casseroles and salads. Mung bean sprouts, which can be eaten raw in salads even contain vitamin C.

It's best not to over-indulge in holiday sweets. But if you must, try Pure Fun's candy canes. They're organic, vegan and all-natural without artificial colors, preservatives or other nasty junk you'll find in conventional candy canes. Pure Fun Candy Canes have just five ingredients: organic evaporated cane juice, organic brown rice syrup, organic citric acid, natural beet extract and natural peppermint oil.