Do to the lock down and other commitments I did not have time to update in detail so I am giving you a list of pertinent articles that you can browse through. May have to do this for August as well.
All the best to the CCFSH community. If you have local stories you wish to share please send them to me to include in the August “FOOD Justice NEWS….Thank you, Ken Billings, editor
Join Herbalist Yarrow Willard in another addition of the Herbal Jedi Video series. This time he is Mulling over Mullein (Verbascum blattaria, V. thapsus). Mullein is a plant that has a rich history of use in every place it has been found, and it can be found all over the place.
In this full length episode, Yarrow goes deep into many of the benefits and ways in which the leaf, flower and root of Mullein can be prepared as medicine, including benefits to working with the tea, tincture, macerated oil, and flower essence. Plus like always the Herbal Jedi adds in a few extra gems on working with wild plants and health in general.
Mullein – Verbascum blattaria, V. thapsus Identification: Mullein is a biennial herb, producing a rosette of broad leaves in its first year. It has an erect stem 30-200 cm tall. The second year the leaves and stem are covered with dense, grey, felt-like hairs. The leaves are alternate, elliptical to oblanceolate, 10 – 40 cm long. The lower leaves have petioles while the upper leaves are sessile. The flowers are in spike-like racemes and are bright yellow.
Distribution & Habitat: Mullein grows in waste areas, along railroad tracks, dry meadows, pastures, gravely banks and around settlements. It can be found throughout North America and surprisingly, it is an introduced plant from Europe.
Corbett Report Extras - July 9, 2020 - Video 14 min
FROM 2012: As the world begins to digest the implications of intellectual property for online censorship, another IP issue threatens an even more fundamental part of our daily lives: our food supply. Backed by legal precedent and armed with seemingly inexhaustible lobbying funds, a handful of multinationals are attempting to use patents on life itself to monopolize the biosphere.
Bitchute - Robert H. Lustig, MD - Recorded May 26, 2009
Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, explores the damage caused by sugary foods. He argues that fructose (too much) and fiber (not enough) appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin. Recorded on May 26, 2009.
A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) identified an antioxidant in mushrooms that can reduce the risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
The researchers believe that this effect stems from the strong antioxidant properties of ergothioneine, an active compound found in all varieties of mushrooms, including golden mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, shiitake and white button, all of which were included in the study.
What is mild cognitive impairment?
MCI refers to the stage between normal cognitive decline and dementia. Older adults with MCI are prone to bouts of forgetfulness. MCI also affects important cognitive functions such as language, attention and visuospatial ability, but not to the same extent as conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease do.
Unlike those with dementia, older adults with MCI may not yet exhibit apparent signs of their condition. Many are actually able to perform basic activities with little to no support.
There is also no accepted mainstream cure for most progressive forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Mushrooms and MCI
Researchers at NUS found that the weekly consumption of more than two portions of cooked mushrooms for six years led to a reduced prevalence of MCI in adults aged 60 years and above.
To understand the relationship between mushroom intake and MCI risk, the researchers used data from 663 participants who were part of the Diet and Healthy Aging (DaHA) study, a prospective cohort study in Singapore. These participants neither had dementia nor showed any signs of MCI.
The researchers then looked at the participants’ mushroom intake over a period of six years. Some of the most common mushroom varieties in Singapore were featured in the experiment. The researchers defined a portion of mushrooms as three-quarters of a cup or 150 grams (g), while two portions were equivalent to half a plate.
At the end of the experiment, they found a reduced prevalence of MCI among participants who ate more than two portions of mushroom each week. They attributed this effect to the antioxidant properties of ergothioneine, a compound found in several mushroom varieties.
The researchers also posited that other compounds in mushrooms may also have protective effects against neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.
The researchers concluded that mushrooms are rich in neuroprotective agents like ergothioneine that can help prevent neurodegenerative diseases.
Tea consumption linked to better cognitive performance as well
Together with his team, Feng looked at the tea consumption of 716 Chinese adults aged 55 years or older, who reported drinking different varieties, including black tea, oolong tea and green tea.
The team then assessed the participants’ cognitive performance using neuropsychological tests that evaluated attention, memory, executive function and information processing speed.
They found that tea consumption improved all of these cognitive aspects. Interestingly, the brain-boosting effects they observed were not restricted to a specific kind of tea.
Feng and his colleagues believe that the cognitive benefits of tea consumption may be due to certain antioxidants present in tea leaves. These include L-theanine and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). EGCG, in particular, is known for its protective effects against cognitive deterioration and MCI.
Based on their findings, Feng and his team concluded that tea consumption is linked to better cognitive performance in older adults.
Read more articles about ergothioneine, EGCG and other beneficial plant compounds at Phytonutrients.news.
Natural Products Global - June 30, 2020 - Jim Manson
China was the biggest exporter of organic agri-food products to the EU during 2019, followed by Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Ukraine and Turkey, according to new analysis released by the European Commission.
Colombia and Kazakhstan entered the top ten suppliers for the first time.
The Netherlands was the single biggest importer of organic imports into the EU (32%). Other important importing EU Member States of organic products include Germany (13 %), the UK (12 %) and Belgium (11 %). Organic imports in Member States which joined the EU after 2004 remain minor at slightly above 3 %.
The ten most imported product categories represented 82 % of total organic import volumes in 2019. First came tropical fruit, nuts and spices with 27% (0.9 million tonnes), followed by oilcakes (mainly for animal feed) with 12 % (0.4 million t), followed by cereals other than wheat and rice and by beet and cane sugar (both 7 %, 0.2 million t).
Overall, organic import levels remained stable in 2019, amounting to
3.24 million t of organic agri-food products. Commodities represented 54% of 2019 imports, a slight decrease compared to the previous year. The share of imports of other primary products increased to 38 %.
For some of the products categories surveyed, organic imports represent a significant share of total imports. Of olive oil imports in the EU, for example, almost 20 % are estimated to be organic. For the other product categories, organic imports represent up to a maximum of 10 % of total imports, and for the large majority less than 5 %. Overall, organic agri-food imports are estimated to represent about 2 % of total volume of agri-food imports.
