Posts Tagged ‘food and drink’

Knowing The Responsibility Of Sustainable Palm Oil

Friday, August 13th, 2010

Sustainable palm oil comes from plantations that have been certified. The plantations are frequently audited making sure they are following the agreed upon global standards regarding good environmental and economic good practices. Palm oil was first traded in ancient Africa. It is native to West Africa and through trade routes, it had spread to South America, Europe and South East Asia.

The fruit of the palm contains a lot of oil in its pulp. This oil is used is many products both edible and non-edible. It is a huge market with a very high demand on an international scale. The fruit of this tree is perennial so production is available all throughout the year.

There are many different types of oils that are derived from palm oil making it one of the largest and fastest growing agricultural industries in the world. But this growing demand for palm oil has raised many concerns on how certain producers are raising their crops and treating the land. Many have received criticism for not damaging the habitat.

These problems have resulted in a roundtable on sustainable oil to develop criteria and principles on how the palm oil can be produced responsibly. A group of companies got together to discuss sustainable palm oil production. They all work to create a greener and more sustainable industry. They have several guiding principles that all stakeholders must adhere to in order to keep the industry sustainable.

There are certain sustainability practices that the Roundtable encourages. Planting high yielding plant by using the most productive mother palm trees to produce hybrids seeds. The management of waste and using natural pesticide control to help the environment and to minimize the loss of crops are some of the many measures being implemented.

Palm oil production is the most productive edible oil crop on the planet but this rise in production has resulted in serious costs. Palm oil’s expansion has hurt some of the countries where it is produced. Some of the companies that product the oil have been accused of using unethical means to meet the growing demand for palm oil. Many indigenous people have been displaced and certain slash and burn agricultural techniques have hurt the natural habitat. Sustainable palm oil is available on the market and will be certified and sold through those supply chains.

Choose more details on sustainable palm oil by looking online. There you will find the choices you have for sustainable palm oil to buy. Head online today and learn more.

Is A Water Filter A Good Idea?

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

Nowadays, most people probably agree that we need to drink plenty of water in order to stay healthy, avoid dehydration and to function efficiently. The amount of water you require will vary according to your body mass and size, the ambient conditions you find yourself in and the level of physical activity in which you are engaged. However, most medical authorities currently suggest that your daily water intake should be between six and eight large glasses of water.

Medical advice such as this has been used in advertising campaigns by bottled water suppliers as a means of marketing their product. The market for bottled water is actually a fairly new development - but it is extremely large. Between 1997 and 2005 sales of bottled water more than doubled. Currently, over 200 billion bottles of water are sold worldwide every year.

The result of this is an enormous number of empty plastic bottles being thrown out in the trash. A small proportion of these (less than 25% according to current estimates) are recycled. The large majority end up in landfill. According to Wikipedia, if those empty bottles were lined up nose to tail, the distance covered would be equivalent to going to the moon and back 56 times!

The carbon emissions generated, both to manufacture the bottles and then to transport the finished product to its final destination, is also a cause for concern. It’s an astounding fact that three times more water is used in the production of the bottles than they will contain when they are dispatched.

Whatever way you look at it bottled water is far from environmentally friendly. Of course, it’s not out of the question that you may drink bottled water due to concerns for your own health - which is quite understandable. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no evidence to support the suggestion that bottled water is any way better for your health than standard tap water.

In North America and Europe it’s perfectly safe to drink tap water - it is subject to rigorous testing to ensure quality. Bottled water on the other hand, has been found to contain chemicals such as uranium and oestrogen. Some chemicals which are often found in bottled water “leech” from the plastic (PET) bottles. It’s also true that many bottled mineral waters contain, along with the other minerals, salt - which is not good for people with high blood pressure.

In fact the only conceivable reason that you may be tempted to use bottled water would be if you preferred the taste. However, it has been shown in blind taste tests that the majority of consumers are unable to differentiate between bottled water and tap water. Of course, if your house is located in an area which is supplied with hard water, or if you really don’t like the taste of tap water (maybe due to chlorine which is often added by the water supply to kill bacteria) you may wish to look at some other alternatives.

You could consider using a home filtration system - which will be better for the environment, better for your health and considerably cheaper than bottled water. You can install whole house filtration systems, under sink filters or even just use something as simple as a Brita filter jug. All of these solutions will remove contaminants, enhance taste and reduce water hardness in a manner which is environmentally friendly.

Get clean, fresh, great tasting water with a Brita water filter - or why not try a Brita kettle for great tasting hot drinks?

The Tap Water Facts They Tried to Hide

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

It is amazing that some of the most important tap water facts have remained hidden for such a long time. Tap water is, after all, the most important source of water today for millions of people across the country. Yet many people are unaware of the condition of the water that they drink every day. Tap water can be badly contaminated.

Tap water contains prescription drugs, organic and inorganic compounds, heavy metals, and plenty of other toxic chemicals. In fact, one of the most astonishing tap water facts is that it contains over 2000 chemicals, most of which are toxic in nature.

Chlorine is used in tap water to kill dangerous bacteria. When you hear chlorine most people think about swimming pools. However, when it is present in tap water, you are consuming chlorine as well which over time could be a health risk.

There are many more different bacteria and chemicals that are found in tap water, unfortunately there isn’t enough room in this article to list them. However, there are the more serious ones like arsenic, asbestos, mercury, benzene, and toluene. These specific chemicals are capable of causing illnesses such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, and kidney failure.

There are many people who are hard at work these days trying to find a solution to clean up tap water. However, the best thing you can do in the interim is to get a water purifier. There are many different water purifiers out there that are good enough to rid your water of contaminants. With these you will find a wide variety of uses and range of cost.

With the wide variety of different filters you will find that most your experts will recommend a carbon block, ion exchange, or micron water filtration system. These have been proven to be some of the most advanced water treatment systems out there, getting your water the cleanest and healthiest it can be.

These types of filtration systems can weed out for the most part all of the bacteria in your water. However, one of the most important things is that it will keep the minerals in the water so that you do not lose those.

Sure you can use reverse osmosis and point of use distillation, but the active carbon block will give you far more benefits. All of the tap water facts mentioned today is some of the most important around. Now it’s up to you to decide when it’s time to start using a good water purifier. We recommend starting today on the road to a healthier you.

Derek Reeve is a enthusiastic researcher of the best and safest drinking water purification systems which are the most effective, efficient and affordable products available.

Save Money With A Home Water Treatment System

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

When people buy products in their everyday life they have to make decisions on what ones are best for them. There isn’t any difference if you are trying to buy a home water treatment system. You have to ask yourself questions to help you decide such as, what kind of water treatment system does I need? Or how much am I willing to spend.

Whenever I purchase something I always make sure I do a cost analysis to make sure I am getting a good deal. This is because, I want to make sure that what I am paying for is not only good quality but is efficient as well. I go over and look at how much it costs to purchase it, operate it, and install it over the course of months to years.

I pay for my water, maybe you do, too. My sister lives in a different city and her water is free. But, we need the same water treatment products, because both of us have high levels of chlorine and where there is chlorine, there are cancer-causing THMs (trihalomethanes).

Unless you have an expert come out and test your water you must make sure that your filtering system can stop these and reduce the chlorine in your water supply. It is better to be on the safe side and have them all eliminated than let some slip through the cracks.

The chemicals can be consumed when drinking unfiltered water. They can be absorbed through the skin, when bathing, showering or swimming in chlorinate pools. They become airborne along with the steam when water is heated for showering or cooking and we inhale them along with the steam. They even build up in the air of our homes.

There have been recent studies that have shown, a considerable amount of chloroform gas (a known THM) in every single home tested. Most of these were found by showering in chlorinated waters. As you can see, that you must get a water treatment system in your shower, but do you really need to get a treatment system for the rest of your home?

Thats a good question. It is sometimes a more economical solution, since only one unit, rather than multiples are required. But, individual water treatment products for the kitchen and the shower are more effective against some contaminants than the whole house units. Its similar to the way that we can do more in our homes than can be done by large-scale public treatment facilities or bottling companies for that matter.

The best thing about home water treatments systems is that not only to they allow you to drink healthier water, but they save you a lot of money as well. You see one of the best kitchen water treatments systems that you can buy will only cost you around $200 and will cost less then a dime a gallon to operate. If you take that into consideration you are spending about $172 year to operate and the average family will spend $1400 on bottled water.

According to recent studies, those generics contain more contaminants than the average public source. The water treatment products used by bottling companies vary. In some cases, they dont use additional purification methods. I could write a book about home water treatment systems, but hopefully, this little bit of information gave you something to think about.

Derek Reeve runs an informational website that gives particulars of the best water purifiers. If you’re serious about improving the quality of water you use visit water purification systems for home

Under Sink Water Filters Are Economical And Efficient

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

Drinking filtered water is something most of us understand is beneficial to our health. Under sink water filters have many advantages over other types of water purification systems. Their ability to provide households with healthy, clear, fresh drinking water at all times is worth every penny.

Bottled water, for example, is very expensive and the quality is inconsistent. Finding a place to put those large plastic containers is frequently a challenge. The plastic itself seems to be of growing concern as chemicals may leach into the once purified water. An under sink filter can eliminate these concerns. Here are more benefits to this option.

An under sink water filter can give you purified water whenever you want it for less than 10 cents a gallon. The carbon block or granular filtration process is efficient and thorough. Under sink water filters do not take up space in your kitchen. They are out of sight and out of the way. If you have a small kitchen this will be a big advantage.

It is very easy to install an under sink water filter. You can do it yourself, in fact, without even calling a professional plumber. A carbon filtration purification technology is used in under sink filters. It removes synthetic chemicals and organic materials efficiently and safely. A distillation and reverse osmosis type of system still requires carbon filters to remove contaminants completely.

An under sink filter using carbon filtration technology will not remove the beneficial trace minerals from your water. You can drink water free of chemicals but rich in natural trace minerals that are very good for your health. Under sink filters take up little space and require little to no maintenance. On the other hand, reverse osmosis systems require a diaphragmed storage tank and very good water pressure in order to be effective.

Under sink filters using carbon filtration technology are fast, producing up to 30 gallons of clean water per hour. In contrast, other systems like reverse osmosis and distillation produce less than a gallon per hour. Under sink filters make your water taste better. Chemicals like chlorine, which is notorious for giving water an unpleasant taste, are removed easily with under sink filters.

You will no longer need filtering pitchers or attachments to your faucet with an under sink water filter. Fresh, delicious water will come directly from your faucet for all of your drinking and cooking needs. The water purified by an under sink water filter will also clean your dishes better. There will be no soap scum build-up. Your house will smell better and the quality of the air your breath will be greatly improved. The chlorine and chemicals previously released into the air in the steam will no longer pollute your air.

There are many types of filters to choose from but if you want a steady supply of fresh clean water effortlessly and economically, under sink carbon water filters are the way to go. So get out there and start shopping for an under sink filter if you want to dramatically improve your health and well being.

Derek Reeve is a committed researcher of the best and safest drinking water purification systems which are the most effective, efficient and affordable products available.

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