2013: Global Mercury-Ban Misses Numerous Mercury-Containing Products

By Elizabeth Renter Natural Society As we reported in January of 2013, a convention ten years in the making has resulted in a treaty that will ban the production and trade of many products containing mercury as well as processes where mercury is released into the environment. But critics say the Minamata Convention didn’t go far enough, and suspect that those in attendance may have helped sway the treaty in their favor. As the Alliance for Natural Health reports, 140 countries were present at the convention earlier this year and over 90 of those countries just recently signed the final treaty. Because of the timing and the bickering in Washington, the delegation from the US was recalled due to the government shut-down. But the US joined on November 6 to sign the treaty. According […] Read More

2013: Grow Your Own: 5 Easiest Vegetables To Grow Without Gardening Skills

By Christina Sarich Natural Society If Monsanto, Dow and Dupont chemical companies won’t listen to our pleas for non-GMO, organic food, we’ll just have to take growing our food into our own hands. Following is a list of 5 of the easiest vegetables to grow, even if you’ve never even watered a chia plant. Make sure you get heirloom, organic seeds to avoid perpetuating GMO seed monopolies. 1. Lettuces – Many kinds of lettuce grow fast and easily with a little organic soil and filtered water. If you grow them indoors in containers or pots, you don’t even have to worry about fending off other critters that like to munch on lettuce, too. You can also harvest your lettuce greens when they are still very young (or micro-greens) […] Read More