Lacto-fermentation, A Forgotten Art and Value

I have recently discovered the numerous health benefits of lacto-fermentation, as well as learning some of the history and process. The process is very simple. Mixed with whatever grated/sliced/pureed vegetable/fruit concoction you can add simply salt or salt and whey, jar it tightly sealed, leaving 1-2" space between the veggies and lid, and let it sit for a few days for the fermentation process to occur. Adding the whey is highly helpful with veggies and essential when using fruits. The salt preserves the food initially, keeping bad bacteria out until the lactic acid begins to take over and thereby preserve the food. Lactobacilli are lactic-acid producing bacteria which cover every living surface around us. Using whey inoculates the bad bacteria by adding the essential lactobacilli and lactic acid to the food.

The process of lacto-fermentation is cross-cultural and cross-generational (until now when we have lost this type of food in our diets). From Japan's pickled plums, ume boshi, to Korea's kimchi, to Europe's sauerkraut, to India's pickled chutneys, the practice is wide-spread and has been used for centuries as a method of preservation before the relatively recent incorporation of electrical refrigeration.

Store bought pickles and sauerkraut are no longer fermented, but instead preserved in an acidic solution (usually vinegar and/or other preservatives) and then pasteurized. This detracts from the nutritional content, as well as from the wide-ranging benefits of incorporating healthy living bacteria (flora) into our digestive system.

Fermentation turns the carbohydates in the fruits or vegetables into lactic acid. Ingesting this lactic acid makes digestion easier and stimulates proper digestive functioning. It may even increase metabolism. The beneficial bacteria and digestive enzymes are very important for digestive health. Not only does the lactic acid enhance digestibility, but it also increases vitamin levels. Fermented foods have powerful medicinal properties and can potentially cure a range of maladies, such as arthritis, diabetes, indigestion and cancer. These fermented foods contain anti-carcinogenic and antibiotic substances.

So why have we lost touch with such a richly nutritious food? Partly, this is due to the difficulty this process poses for industrialized techniques. The process can't be done in huge quantities and the results are necessarily variable. Some consider this to be more of an artisanal craft than a strict science.

The fear of bacteria in our culture is partly to blame. Unfortunately, in ridding of all the bad, toxic bacteria, we have also rid of all the good bacteria and thereby created weakened systems, whether that be digestive or even the functioning of our bodies as a whole.

Increased ability to preserve things through refrigeration and chemical preservatives has likely had an impact on the loss of this technique, as well.

So far, I have tried several homemade fermented products. Kombucha is a fermented tea that has a certain culture or bacteria strain, referred to as the "mother." Add sweetened, room temperature, black tea to the culture, wait 1-2 weeks and the product is ready. The bacteria grows to cover the surface area of the tea, allowing for the anaerobic fermentation process to take place. Fermentation takes place in the absence of oxygen, so when fermenting things such as sliced cabbage (sauerkraut), it is important to just barely cover the top with water, making sure the fruits or vegetables are submerged in the liquid.

I have also made fermented cabbage, using whey, salt and cabbage with the recipe I found here:
http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/homemadekraut.htm

The whey is collected by placing quality yogurt in a hanging cheese cloth or coffee filter (or you could place the cloth/filter into a strainer over a bowl) and allowing this to drip into a bowl placed underneath. The longer it sits, the more whey you will extract, but the process should take between 8-18-ish hours. What is left in the cloth is the curd and what has dripped into the bowl is the whey.

The curd can be used as a cream cheese type spread. Try flavoring it with some dill, chive, parsley or garlic or make a sweet variety with dried fruits, honey, maple syrup, cinnamon, etc.

Any whey that is not used can be saved in a jar in the fridge for quite some time (weeks, probably months).

In addition to sauerkraut, I have made an apricot butter spread, using dried, unsulphered apricots, whey, a bit of salt and honey. I have also made more interesting sauerkraut variations adding carrots, onion, garlic, dill, caraway seeds and so on. In the future, I intend to try fermented salsa, fermented bean dip, fermented pickles and hopefully many other fermented recipes.

The best book describing this technique (a book I am intent on buying soon) is Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. Fermentation is but one of many topics discussed in her book with recipes included. She is often referenced on internet sites promoting the benefits of lacto-fermentation. Some other sites with recipes and information include:
www.thefamilyhomestead.com
www.simplebites.net
www.sustainableeats.com/2010/03/24
www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2009/04

The possibilities are endless, the process is very simple once you understand it, and the health benefits are unbeatable! I would highly recommend anyone and everyone to research this and try it out. I would even be willing to convince you with a taste of some of my very own homemade krauts. Check it out and happy eats.

Xenon 133 Dispersion Animation - Radionuclide Has Blanketed Entire United States

I cannot tell you what this means- I am far from a chemist... but it doesn't look good. The best we can say is that we're not yet sure how the radiation from the nuclear plant in Japan is going to effect the world as we know it. And that isn't saying much.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/xenon-133-dispersion-animation-radionuclide-has-blanketed-entire-united-states

RADIOACTIVE RAIN in Japan-

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/nhk-finally-confirms-fuel-damage-radioactive-rain-starts-pour-and-japan-increases-decontamin

I have a really difficult time thinking about the next 20, 50, 100 years in relation to this extreme radiation. There is going to be so very much suffering.

Climate Instability

This is a fantastic, "no frills" interview from Democracy Now about increasing climate instability. Dr. Paul Epstein discusses the data behind global warming, offering a better phrase, climate change or climate instability. He shows that there has been a clear increase in climate instability over the past 50 years, with the past year being particularly bad, from fires in Russia, to floods in Pakistan, heat in the Middle East and now the blizzard that hit the East Coast and intense winter weather that has hit much of the U.S. this year. My own family's home was 1 street away from being completely destroyed in a tornado that hit several places around St. Louis on New Year's Eve.

Over the past 50 years, the oceans have absorbed 22 times the amount of heat as the atmosphere, which Epstein points out, is, for some reason, not as often discussed as heat increase in the air, yet absolutely essential to understanding the weather phenomena. This ocean temperature increase leads to more evaporation and rainfall. Another interesting point about rainfall statistics is the way they are reported. When reported on an overall average increase, the increase appears small. But when you look at regions based on their varying rainfall, from 2, to 4, to 6, 8 and so on. The rainfall increase, increases almost exponentially, with areas averaging a higher rainfall, seeing a far more significant increase in rainfall over the past 5 decades.

Epstein has written a book looking at the way global warming is affecting human health. He highlights 5 areas: 1) Infectious diseases; 2) Respiratory diseases, especially asthma; 3) winter anomalies; 4) heat; and 5) affect of warming and extremes on crops. Growing insect populations carry many infectious diseases with them. To name a few of the pest increases he talks about, lime disease associated with the growing number of ticks, increasing numbers of spiders, mosquitoes as far north as Alaska and of particular significance, an invasive beetle species that has moved from Arizona to Alaska and is literally decimating forests. Epstein notes that especially with issues like the spreading of these beetles, there is very little that can be done in the way of human involvement/help. Crops and forests are being destroyed because of pests that can now migrate further and further north due to slight temperature increases.

As for asthma and respiratory diseases, it has been studied that pollen count increases in plants in response to increased carbon dioxide. Pollen count has increased 2-3 times in the past 2-3 decades, which extends the allergy season and leads to more respiratory problems. The resulting components in the air from things such as burned fossil fuels, allows for the pollen to enter more deeply into the lungs, again, escalating the problem.

So why is there still the questioning of global warming? As discussed in the interview, it is a manufactured doubt coming from a corporate agenda. Epstein does not try to give his opinion on what this corporate agenda is, but he does point out that the number of companies benefiting from the agenda is slipping. Insurance companies, for example, are seeing the risk to their business in this weather instability. The main proponents of maintaining the doubt is the fossil fuel corporations and that is pretty much it. They sight here reporters being specifically told to "always state climate change data has been called into question." And a Fox News official has been exposed in telling reporters to refrain from asserting that temperature has increased or decreased in any given period. Epstein calmly explains that while this may be the mainstream media push, it is blatantly accepted by the scientific community that climate change is occurring.

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/12/28/from_snowstorms_to_heat_waves_how

GMO science

Here is yet another telling interview about the severity of GM crops on the health of us, animals, the land, future, etc. It is terrifying how much research has been ignored, erased and discredited. The information here speaks for itself.


http://geraldcelentechannel.blogspot.com/2010/11/jeffrey-m-smith-gmo-threat.html

Creation of the police state

In this interview from RT, Paul Craig Roberts questions the aims of the FBI that would cause them to create fake terrorists, by seeking them out, hiring them and giving them a fake (or real) bomb. He discusses this in relation to the newly imported body scanners into airports covering the country. If the government needs to create terrorists, does that mean there are not enough terrorists to justify actions such as widespread use of body scanners? The main purposes behind the spreading body scanners that he brings up are: 1) money and 2) creation of a police state, i.e. getting us to accept more and more infringements upon our privacy until we are as complicit and controlled as possible (an unreachable, never-ending goal, of course). He goes on to talk about how these scanners could likely spread from airports, to bus stations, to sports events, shopping malls, and so on. New methods of control such as this should not be taken lightly. And it can't be forgotten that everything in today's society is driven by money, not consumer or citizen interests.

http://geraldcelentechannel.blogspot.com/2010/11/paul-craig-roberts-fbi-creating-police.html

Since I'm on the topic of airport scanners, I will link an article I read recently about the capability of the body scanners to emit harmful radiation.

http://myhelicaltryst.blogspot.com/2010/11/tsa-x-ray-backscatter-body-scanner.html

Monsanster

I recently watched a documentary titled, "The World According to Monsanto," recommended by a friend. The link is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3OedIuaZto

If you need any more reasons to be distrustful (or down right enraged, dismayed, downtroddened, etc.) of the government-corporate-media totalitarian regime, see for yourself. And if you are like me and despise the unbelievable comment that people all over the United States still genuinely believe, that "industrialized farming is feeding the people of the world," this will give you a complete picture of that 100% lie that started with the company of Monsanto itself.

For starters, it's important for every single citizen of this country to be aware that government officials often cycle in and out of working for the government and in high positions of giant corporations, such as Monsanto. It's cited in the documentary related to the agri-business aspect of society, but it is pervasive in areas beyond this, such as the economic sector. High ranking Monsanto businessmen will end up in powerful positions serving the FDA, regulating health, food, agriculture and more. Here is a list to view some of these people and they are discussed more in detail in the documentary as well: http://www.purefood.org/Monsanto/revolvedoor.cfm To think that these people have no agenda but to serve the best interests of people of our country, is to be a blind fool.

Many people in this country today have a faith in the government that is completely off base. The classification of GMO foods by the FDA as "substantially equivalent" is the perfect example. The people of the United States do not view governmental policies with a critical eye. This is largely due to the fact that contrary scientific evidence often results in the firing, discrediting and downplaying of the brave soul who exposes evidence in contradiction to the company's goals and thereby, profits. There are many accounts in the documentary.

There are also numerous studies done suggesting that GMO's are not at all similar to a naturally bred seed and the resulting plant. For example, when rats were given GM potatoes, there was a noted increased immune response as well as an increase in cell division, showing clearly that their bodies recognized these GM potatoes not as food, but as foreign, possibly harmful items. The second response, the scientist commented, does not indicate directly cancerous cells, but that is only because it takes 30+ years for the cancer to develop.

Monsanto manages to gloss over real research in search of just enough vague data to fool the masses, or at least not make them curious enough to investigate on the wide scale. One example from the film was a study published by Monsanto attempting to "prove" that GMO's were "substantially equivalent" to naturally bred plant varieties, but within the study, there are countless vague, poorly worded and moreover completely inconclusive statements, such as "except for the darker brown color, livers appeared normal at necropsy." The scientist commenting on this, made the obvious statement that this is not enough investigation to be considered a legitimate study. All it takes is a critical mind to look at this sentence and say, "why?" So why not answer the "why?" It should be obvious that answering all the "why's" and holes in the Monsanto research would prove every premise false. The Round Up product, Monsanto's claim to fame, was initially advertised as biodegradable, safe, and even "good for the environment." All these claims have been taken off the labeling now, but the same mentality exists and the same manipulation of the facts continues.

Then there is the issue of patent genes. Monsanto is developing a worldwide monopoly over seed sales. The account of farmers from India to Paraguay to Mexico are heart wrenching. In India, the seed sales are now almost completely controlled by Monsanto. The seeds are 4 times the cost and cannot be saved or replanted, as traditional farming methods have done since the dawn of agriculture. This means, if there is a bad year due to weather or uncontrollable and unpredictable factors, the farmers lose everything and declare bankruptcy. There has been a sharp rise in suicides of cotton farmers in India who have been forced into this and have experienced this unrecoverable fate.

In Mexico, due to the NAFTA trade agreement, cheap, American GM corn has been imported and now comprises about 40% of the corn sales, and comes at half the cost to consumers. Although Mexico had not yet allowed Monsanto to enter directly, the corn being imported has spread the patented genes randomly into fields, from a dropped kernel here and there. Some Mexican farmers are trying desperately to keep these new genes out of their higher quality fields that have been bred through generations of honest farming. These modified genes have a high capacity to spread and overtake a plant variety and it is already happening in a big way. One threat is that Monsanto can come in and claim these crops as their own, since the seed has been patented, and destroy farmers lives in this way. On the wider scale, the threat is to plant diversity, which is already being reduced by cross pollination and spreading of these GM plants. And to imagine the implications of the spreading of these GM plants is nothing short of mind blowing.

In Paraguay, 70% of farmland is now owned by 2% of the population, 75% of which are foreigners trying to capitalize on the economic opportunity. The various farmers' accounts in the film demonstrate clearly that these methods of industrialized farming are doing the opposite of feeding the world, but instead causing more death, destruction, dependence, poverty and starvation than before. Communities and families are destroyed. Lives ruined. Suffering abounds. And the lies, lies, lies that Monsanto and the government alike are feeding us, continue to blind us of these truths.

Headed to... ?

Just watched this video from RT that I found on Gerald Celente's blog. The interview is with Paul Craig Roberts and he discusses the process of America becoming a third world country. We are headed this direction fast, and as he sees it, we are already pretty much there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIisOdwAIho&feature=player_embedded

I watched another video (3 parts) today from Max Keiser's show, On the Edge, consisting of an interview with David DeGraw. A similar message to the video above, he discusses the overall degradation of economies and societies on a global scale. He points out the unsustainable nature of every aspect of growth in the human species and societal structures.

http://maxkeiser.com/2010/10/10/ote76-on-the-edge-with-david-degraw/

Finally, I watched the October 8th episode of Democracy Now, The War and Peace Report. Overall, some interesting stories, but particularly interesting was the segment on the foreclosures and frauds committed by banks, forcing many people out of their homes. Luckily, Obama vetoed the bill that would have allowed for continued fraud with the mortgages and foreclosures. The Ohio Secretary of State speaks passionately and convincingly on the issue.

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/10/8/ohio_secretary_of_state_jennifer_brunner

A further story in the episode shows previous Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu giving a speech discussing the importance of global warming awareness and action. He seems like a truly wonderful and genuine man!

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/10/8/nobel_peace_prize_winner_archbishop_desmond