Guest guest Posted August 5, 2007 Report Share Posted August 5, 2007 - " Helene " <hdthoreau62 <Living_Foods >; <TravelingRawFoodists >; <LosAngelesLivingFoods >; <Orange_County_CA_Living_foods >; <serenityspaces >; " SD LivingFoods " <SD-LivingFoods >; " Grapevine SanDiego " <GrapevineSanDiego >; <LivingLightly >; <VegSingles >; <RawSeattle > Sunday, August 05, 2007 8:27 AM Raw Energy Hotline - Aug 2007 - " interim " <rhotline <hdthoreau62 Saturday, August 04, 2007 11:35 PM Raw Energy Hotline-Aug 2007- Great Free Offer Rhio's RAW ENERGY HOTLINE AUGUST, 2007 (212) 941-5857 www.rawfoodinfo.com www.TribecaRadio.net This is a one-time mailing as an invitation to join my Raw Energy Hotline free monthly newsletter If you would like to receive it regularly, at: http://www.rawfoodinfo.com/mail_list/mailchooselocationpg.html Thank You, Rhio Register Now for The Amazing Raw Summit Listen to the Interviews of a Variety of Raw Food Speakers, Authors and Practitioners, including Yours Truly Hurry, only a few days left to register and hear all this information for FREE It begins this Tuesday August 7th at 8 pm EST (see #4 below for more info and link) 1) Quotes 2) Slow Food Movement 3) Once Upon a Time there was a raw cashew that wasn't, now there may be a raw almond that isn't 4) The Amazing Raw Summit - Listen to a variety of raw speakers and educators absolutely free - begins August 7th. Register Now. 5) Feedback from Jinjee Talifero and Shannon Leone on First Raw Lifestyle Film Festival 6) Upcoming Guests on Hooked on Raw Internet Radio Show with Rhio (www.tribecaradio.net) 7) Feedback (we invite your feedback which will be shared on the next hotline and also posted online in the Hotlines Section of www.rawfoodinfo.com Flowing Thoughtfulness When one person is thoughtful to another, the thoughtfulness gets carried on and on. It is like a river of kindness, once blocked by rocks, That is suddenly opened by a single person's kind thought or act. The river runs freely again, and continues to flow, Moving more rocks and reaching the hearts of others. When one person is thoughtful to another the thoughtfulness gets carried on and on. The more we get together and help each other, The more friendship there can be throughout many different places. The friendship can begin like a small stream in a single neighborhood. And then expand throughout a river of districts, states, countries, and even continents. When one person is thoughtful to another, the thoughtfulness gets carried on and on. Soon, we could have a whole ocean of friendships, and that's how the world was created And how it should always be. -Mattie J.T. Stepanek (1990-2004)Love is the only thing you get more of by giving it away. -Tom WilsonI suddenly realized that what I was feeling was the love of the Earth, the love of Creation. Every day we, as a species, do so much to destroy Creation's ability to give us life. But that Creation continues to do everything in its power to give us life anyway. And that's true love. -Julia Butterfly Hill Legacy of Luna 2) Slow Food Movement 75% of European food product diversity has been lost since 1900 93% of American food product diversity has been lost in the same time period 33% of livestock varieties have disappeared or are near disappearing 30,000 vegetable varieties have become extinct in the last century, and one more is lost every six hours I got these appalling statistics from the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity (www.slowfoodfoundation.com). If you haven't heard about it yet, I'd like to introduce you to the international Slow Food Movement. The Slow Food Movement grew out of the Slow Movement which began in Italy (inaugurated as Arcigola, the forerunner of Slow Food) in 1986 under the impetus of Carlo Petrini. Spurred by a protest against the opening of the first McDonald's in Rome, Carlo started the organization in a determined effort to preserve regional foods and small producers. Since then the Slow Food Movement has spread worldwide in response to the unrelenting loss of biodiversity, in response to the fast food culture, in response to the breakneck speed of modern life. The Slow Food Movement seeks to consciously reverse these trends. I think the Raw Food Movement and the Slow Food Movement are a good fit because both movements want many of the same things; biodiversity, preservation of heirloom plants; gentler pace of life; local farmers and farming; preservation of local cultures; appreciation for whole foods, etc. The Slow Food Movement through hundreds of convivias (local chapters) throughout the world organizes numerous events open to the public, such as food festivals, food workshops, table talks, special meals, tasting workshops for children, etc. Wouldn't it be great if producers of raw foods, raw restaurants, etc., would take booths at these Slow Food Festivals and introduce the original slow food? The Slow Food Movement now boasts over 83,000 members, has a publishing house, opened a University of the Science of Gastronomy in Pollenzo, Italy, sponsors an annual Taste Fair in Turin and has developed many branch organizations to help implement different aspects of its mission. The first annual North American Slow Food Festival was held in 2000. For more information on the Slow Food Movement, put the words into a search engine. Here are two web sites: www.slowfood.com and www.slowfoodusa.com 3) Once Upon a Time there was a raw cashew that wasn't, now there may be a raw almond that isn't... Most of us know by now that raw cashews aren't raw, but how that got to be is unclear. We surmise that those in charge at the time did it to distinguish un roasted cashews from roasted cashews. Un roasted cashews undergo heat treatment to burn off the toxic liquid between the two shells of a cashew. Sunfood NutritionT is North America's only distributor of certified organic TRULY RAW CASHEWS! These cashews are produced by small-scale organic cashew growers in Bali, Indonesia, and processed by hand utilizing no heat. (Available from our web site: www.rawfoodinfo.com) Now, those in charge of almond production in California (most almonds produced in the US are grown in California) are putting through an ill advised measure that will fumigate, pasteurize, steam, blanch or roast all almonds, even organic almonds. And then those that are pasteurized, steamed or fumigated would still be labeled as raw. The fumigation chemical to be used is called propylene oxide and its use on food is banned in the European Union, Canada, Mexico, and many other countries. Research confirms that the ingestion of propylene oxide leads to gene mutation, DNA strand breaks, and neo plastic cell transformation. The EPA has classified propylene oxide as a probable human carcinogen. The only way left to actually obtain CA raw almonds after September 1 of this year is to buy them from an almond farmer's farm stand or at a certified California farmer's market. There will be 100 lbs of raw almonds allowed to be sold to any one individual per day, through these 2 venues. But what is one to do if one does not live in California near an almond farmer or farmer's market? The whole rest of the country is excluded from purchasing raw almonds. Are we just going to sit back and let this happen? Will we have to purchase our raw almonds from Spain? What about almonds in the shell, will they be pasteurized or fumigated also? Is this action going to set a precedent for treating all nuts and seeds in the same way in the future? In fact, I called the California Almond Board which is in charge of putting these draconian measures into place. After 4 calls, I finally got a call back from " Marsha " . Marsha was very good in her job of trying to throw me off track of my various questions. I asked a lot of questions but only got the standard answers. When I persisted in some of my questions, Marsha transformed into my childhood schoolteacher saying " I'm only going to repeat this one more time " when in fact she hadn't answered the question at all... but, like a stubborn child, I forged on... Among the things that Marsha told me were that the " surface steam " method was devised " especially for the raw food community " , though in another part of the conversation she disparaged the raw community as being only a miniscule part of the purchasers of almonds. She told me 1/2 of 1% of all almonds are sold raw. However, 1/2 of 1% of an estimated current crop of 1 1/2 to 2 billion lbs of almonds is still a substantial amount. (And does this percentage include the almonds that are purchased to be made into raw almond butters?) The Cornucopia Institute says that 5% of CA almonds are purchased raw. However, I question the accuracy of some of the things that Marsha told me because she had also said that there had been testing done on the " surface steam " method and some of the almonds still sprouted. (What does " some of the almonds still sprouted " mean?) Marsha told me that the information was on their web site, but I have been all through that site and found nothing about these supposed tests that say some almonds still sprout after being surface steamed. And what does surface steamed mean? Are they in a steam room surrounded by steam and for how long? Or are they placed on a conveyor belt with steam blasting them from all sides? And what if I want " all " my almonds to sprout, instead of just " some " of them? I also asked about almonds in the shell. Would almonds in the shell be subjected to these treatments also? The answer surprisingly is " yes " . Nature, in her wisdom, put all nuts into shells. If the salmonella contamination is from the surface, then almonds in the shell should be protected by their shell. I was disappointed to hear that these almonds would be processed as well, because this was going to be my personal solution, in the interim, until we get our raw shelled almonds back. (I'm going to have to call Marsha again to ask her whether the almonds in the shell will be treated with the " surface steam " or the propylene oxide which will be more generally used.) Another thing Marsha told me was that all fields (meaning all farm lands) have salmonella in them. But Marsha did not have the time to hear my response to that. However, I will tell you the correct response in case you want to call Marsha and talk to her and express how very (fill in your own word here... upset, disappointed, outraged, etc.) you are that all the almonds are now going to be subjected to treatments that will render them cooked or processed, but still, inexplicably, be labeled as raw. The two outbreaks of salmonella contamination on California almonds occurred on conventional farms. While it is true that all farm lands have salmonella in them, conventional farms, because of their use of chemicals, pesticides and herbicides are more likely to have killed off the beneficial bacteria and micro organisms in the soil which keep the salmonella in check. Organic and eco farms generally encourage a good balance of beneficial bacteria and micro organisms in the soil by nature of the organic matter and compost that is constantly replenishing and enriching the soil. The soil bacterial balance on a well-managed farm can be compared to the health of a person's intestinal system. In a healthy intestine, Ecoli exists, BUT it is kept in check by the counter-balance of the beneficial bacteria. The intestinal flora of a healthy person is a microcosm of what happens in healthy soi l. There is also the question of sanitation on conventional farms. Did anyone actually visit these farms (that produced the contaminated almonds) to see what their process of handling the almonds was? I asked Marsha this question but she had no answer for me. The new regulation also places an unfair financial burden on small-scale and organic farmers and the small-scale handlers that service these farms. According to the Cornucopia Institute: " It is unreasonable to require small-scale and organic farms to pay the additional costs of pasteurization since they were never part of the Salmonella problem. The equipment to pasteurize almonds is very expensive. A propylene oxide chamber costs $500,000 to $1,250,000, and a roasting line can cost as much as $1,500,000 to $2,500,000. Smaller, family-operated handlers that buy almonds from small, family-owned almond growers, and cater to the organic and natural foods markets, are concerned that they will not be able to afford such expensive equipment and will be forced out of the almond business. " In addition to the costs of the chemical and steam treatments, more costs could be incurred by transporting the almonds to pasteurization facilities, as well as documenting the procedures... While the Almond Board contends that small handlers may outsource pasteurization, it really means that small handlers will become dependent upon large corporations. Small handlers that pride themselves in getting fresh almonds to consumers quickly may have to absorb the cost of trucking the almonds back and forth from the pasteurization plant-adding expenses for, as well as environmental impacts from the extra trucking (pollution/climate impacts). All this could place them at a fatal competitive disadvantage. " Humans have been consuming raw almonds for thousands of years without incident, but now in the 21st century we are being told that this option is being taken away from us forever in the US. In an interview that I did with Dorit of Serenity Spaces in CA (www.serenityspaces.org), Dorit suggested that we start a boycott of all almonds and that we get not only the raw community, but all communities that value their health involved because a majority of the almonds will be treated by the fumigation method with the propylene oxide that is banned in Europe. Which brings another question to mind... What will this do to the export of CA almonds to Europe? If we start a boycott, how will this affect the innocent organic almond farmers, most of whom are not in favor of pasteurization or fumigation, or the producers of living organic almond butter, such as Jessie Schwartz's Living Tree Community? Jessie's premier product is Living Almond Butter. (www.livingtreecommunity.com) If we do a boycott, should it exempt organic almonds, though they will still be treated? Jessie told me that he would still use raw almonds in his product, even if he has to get them from Spain and he will also be buying untreated almonds from farm stands and farmer's markets in his area (Berkeley, CA). Jessie, understandably, is less than excited about the prospect of an almond boycott. He suggested instead that I and others who are so inclined go to the major newspapers in their area and try to ge t a journalist to do a story on the issue. Jessie says the last thing the Almond Board wants is to have a spotlight focused on their organization. I will be taking Jessie's suggestion and doing that in NYC, but we need all the help we can get so that this issue gets covered in mainstream publications across the country. The grapevine has it that the real push behind this processing of raw almonds is coming from the candy manufacturers such as Hersheys and Mars. They do not want to have to recall millions of candy bars because of salmonella contamination. It would be interesting to know whether there are any financial dealings between the California Almond Board and these companies. When this regulation to sterilize all almonds was being formulated, the USDA sent a notice to almond handlers, and then there was a short period when the draft rule was open for public comment earlier this year. However, there are more stakeholders in this affair than just the almond handlers... consumers, retailers, organic almond farmers, raw almond butter producers, the raw food community and health organizations concerned with food safety were not given a chance to provide input and have their voices heard. With a diversity of comment, perhaps other avenues of protecting almonds could have been explored, such as using ultra violet light or ozone. The Cornucopia Institute (www.cornucopia.org) has formally asked the USDA to re-open the regulatory proceeding to allow for additional public input and review. Only 18 public comments, all from the almond industry, were received during the comment period. (Now you know they would get more comments than that had the general public been informed.) The Cornucopia Institute has a comprehensive fact sheet on the almond issue on its web page, and a sample letter for interested individuals to send to the USDA can be found at http://cornucopia.org/index.php/238 GOOD NEWS: Clinton Miller, formerly a Washington, DC lobbyist for the National Health Federation is committed to working on this issue with us. We could not have asked for a better adviser, activist, lobbyist, speaker and most of all, strategist on our side in this. Clinton Miller has been instrumental in protecting numerous health freedom rights in the past. We welcome his experience, knowledge and assistance. I want to open up this discussion with my readers. Below I have some suggestions about what we could do, but I think when we all put our heads together, who knows what great solutions we could come up with? I encourage you to get involved in this initiative because as I stated before, I see this move by the Almond Board as just the first step in mandating that ALL nuts and seeds be treated in the same manner. In the raw community we need our raw nuts and seeds as an important addition to our largely fruit and vegetable diet. 1) Call Marsha at the Almond Board. 209 549-8262. First go to their web site and get all the facts so that you can arm yourself. www.almondboard.com 2) At the Almond Board number, they will probably first pawn you off to a machine that will record your message regarding the situation. You can leave a message, but a more effective way that really gets their attention is when you ask (demand) to speak to a real person which probably will be - uh oh - " Marsha " . In order to speak with a real person, you may have to exert a little gentle pressure. When you do get someone on the phone, please be courteous... but persistent. 3) Plant an almond tree. 4) Contact your local papers and ask them to do a story on the issue. 5) Call your senator or member of the house of representatives and tell them about your objection to this regulation. Ask them to look into it. 6) Write letters to the editors of various papers. 7) Tell as many people as possible about the problem. Even people outside of the raw community may object to ingesting propylene oxide, or should as soon as they find out what it is and the potential for harm that it carries. 8) If you are a writer or blogger, let your group know about the issue. 9) Buy up some almonds from last year's crop and freeze what you will not use within six months. Refrigerate the rest. 10) Forward this email to interested parties. 11) Consider a boycott. 12) Contact health food stores and chains such as Whole Foods and tell them about the situation and that you want to be able to purchase raw almonds. 13) Call or write the USDA. 14) The Almond Board is having an important annual Almond Industry Conference December 5-6, 2007, in Modesto Centre Plaza. Consider organizing a protest inside and/or outside of this meeting. Get info on the meeting from the Almond Board web site: www.almondboard.com 15) Send your feedback and suggestions for placing in the next hotline. 16) And somebody please, buy up some raw almonds from an organic almond farmer in CA and send them to me in NY, with a bill. (smile) Thanking you in advance for " agitating and activating " . 4) The Amazing Raw Summit - Listen to an incredible variety of raw speakers and educators absolutely free - begins August 7th. Register Now. From Raw Summit Interviewer: Kevin Gianni The event starts next Tuesday - August 7th! You will be able to listen to each call either by phone or by podcast (for international listeners). Each call will be played at 8:00 PM EDT, 5:00 PST and will be available to listen to, streaming, for 24 hours. If you don't know what time the calls are at (in your time zone), please visit: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html Call in numbers will be sent to you next week, so please go to this page: http://www.rawsummit.com/access/free And sign in to each call so we will be able to send you the call information when we get it! Tuesday August 7th, 8:00 PM EDT - David Wolfe Wednesday August 8th, 8:00 PM EDT - Dr. Gabriel Cousens Thursday August 9th, 8:00 PM EDT - Dorit Friday August 10th, 8:00 PM EDT - Mike Adams Saturday August 11th, 8:00 PM EDT - Victoria Boutenko Monday August 13th, 8:00 PM EDT - Brendan Brazier Tuesday August 14th, 8:00 PM EDT - Brenda Cobb Wednesday August 15th, 8:00 PM EDT - Matt Monarch Thursday August 16th, 8:00 PM EDT - Angela Stokes Friday August 17th, 8:00 PM EDT - Happy Oasis Saturday August 18th, 8:00 PM EDT - Rhio Monday August 20th, 8:00 PM EDT - Richard Blackman Tuesday August 21st, 8:00 PM EDT - Shazzie Wednesday August 22nd 8:00 PM EDT - Special Wrap Up 5) Feedback from Jinjee Talifero and Shannon Leone on First Annual Raw Film Festival (they both attended) March 18, 2007 Saturday at the first annual raw film festival was a day of watching films including Supercharge Me, Eating, Go Further, Vegan 2 Raw Vegan, Side Effects, Not the Cooking Show, and Dr. Ann Wigmore's Living Foods. We also interviewed some of the film-makers for the Raw Vegan Channel. Well-known actor Ben Vereen attended as he was in Supercharge Me having attended Optimum Health Institute at the same time as the film-maker Jenna was there. We were fortunate to get a very enlightening interview with Ben who is a huge proponent of the living foods lifestyle and is a wonderful person. This will be available on our Raw Vegan Channel next week along with other footage from the festival. Now we're getting ready for the last day of films and this evening's awards dinner! Wish us luck! Yours, Jinjee & Storm http://www.TheGardenDiet.com March 22, 2007 Sorry to take so long to announce the results of the Raw Film Festival. We're still waiting for the final results of the ballots but I can tell you that " Interview with Sergei " won Most Entertaining Raw Film and " Supercharge Me...30 Days Raw " won the Most Motivational Raw Film. The ballots are being re-counted for " Most Educational Raw Film " due to a possible mistake. The Best Auxiliary Film awards went to " Birth as We Know it " for Most Impactful and " Money Talks " for Most Informative. The ones I saw of these were truly wonderful films - " Supercharge Me " and " Birth As We Know it " . I have the others on DVD now and will watch and review soon. The Festival was like a three day raw party that was a lot of fun! Many people reported that they were convinced to go raw by seeing the amount of positive experiences and stories shown through the variety and array of films shown! We've had a few emails from people asking if the festival will come to New York City. If anyone would be interested in sponsoring the festival in NYC or next year's festival in LA, email me. We will have the video footage of the film festival up soon as well as DVDs of some of the film festival films for sale. With a big thanks to everyone who attended and otherwise supported the festival! Jinjee http://www.TheGardenDiet.com Read a review of the Raw Film Festival by Shannon Leone here. The Awards Best Motivational Raw Film 1st Place - SuperCharge Me 2nd Place - Breakthrough 3rd Place - Go Further Best Raw Educational Film 1st Place - Eating 2nd Place - Ann Wigmore's Living Foods Lifestyle (Hey, yours truly demonstrates some raw recipes in this video!) 3rd Place - Breakthrough Most Entertaining Film 1st Place - Interview with Sergei Boutenko 2nd Place - Vegan 2 Raw Vegan 3rd - SuperCharge Me Most Impactful Film 1st Place - Birth As We Know It 2nd Place - Breakthrough 3rd Place - Eating Most Informative Film 1st Place - Money Talks 2nd Place - Birth As We Know It 3rd Place - Eating 6) Upcoming guests on Hooked on Raw Internet Radio Show with Rhio Upcoming interviews: A chef-owner from a Diner in Georgia who has introduced raw foods into his menu, A Permaculture expert, Interview with an organic almond farmer in California and Jessie Schwartz, producer of Living Tree Community's Living Almond Butter about the Almond Boards implementation of measures to render our almonds either cooked or fumigated with chemicals, and more. Tune in at: www.TribecaRadio.com Some shows are available on podcast. We are pleased to announce that our station's programming will be carried on another internet radio station's simulcast starting in a few weeks. The other station is ranked at 54,000 with millions of listeners. We are thrilled for the opportunity to be reaching new listeners and introducing them to the raw food lifestyle information. If you know of anyone who would appreciate receiving the Raw Energy Hotline, please have them at http://www.rawfoodinfo.com/mail_list/mailchooselocationpg.html or forward their email to me and I will send them an invitation to join. Please put " invitation to join " in the subject line. Thank You! 7) Feedback Until the next hotline, remember, stay in tune with Nature and you'll be in tune with yourself. With blessings and peace, Rhio please contact the list owner at: rhotline The following physical address is associated with this mailing list: P.O. 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