organicandhealthy.org

This City Really Exists Where People Live Without Politics, No Religion, And No Money!

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What do you think the biggest issues the world faces today are? Most people would say matters of bias and privilege, right? Well what if you could go somewhere where those weren’t problems?

The truth is, you can. This utopia has existed for 50 years, even; it’s called Auroville, and is located in Southern India.

The brainchild of Mirra Alfansa, Auroville is a universally welcoming place, regardless of nationality, culture, religion, or language.

Instead, it celebrates what we all are: Citizens of earth.

Alfansa created a charter by which the city runs, and no nation can claim property of the place. Instead, it belongs to the world.
There is no authority, legal or political, nor a person of power, that the inhabitants need to respect. There are no written laws either.
Instead, there is only one supreme universal truth by which the city runs; citizens work toward harmony, love, and acceptance, and prioritize education and research.
As a result, the functioning of the town is organized in a very modern and environmental friendly way. They have implemented systems of wastewater treatment, as well as systems of ground water depletion.
Auroville uses eco-friendly methods for production of organic food, as well as technologically advanced methods for making the poor soil fertile. With the time, the town has become self-sufficient when it comes to food production and drinking water.
Starting from the seventies, they have started a process of forestation, and today the city is settled within a belt of forests and fields, making it one of the cleanest places on earth.
Even crazier, Aurovillians use no money – they have a whole economy functioning on principles of sharing, giving, and exchanging.
There is a distribution center in the city where both citizens and strangers can get a meal, but mainly, people produce what they need and exchange items with neighbors, without any aspirations of earning from the barter economy.
As a result of the cosmopolitan spirit embedded in the city, today it is inhabited with representatives from more than 50 nations.
It is protected under the authority of UNESCO, which in a way secures its future existence.  The town has no restrictions – everyone is welcomes to come and to find his own peace.
We just might have to consider moving!
Souce:organicandhealthy.org

The 8 Root Causes Of Eczema Doctors Never Treat.

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Eczema is part of a group of skin disorders, that cause dryness, inflammation, scaling and redness of the skin.

 
It affects children and infants, but with adults only 2-4% will have it. When the skin’s barrier is dried out and weakened, sensitivity and irritation ensue. 

Here are the symptoms of acute/chronic eczema:

  • Blisters
  • Inflamed skin
  • Itchiness
  • Peeling, flaky skin
  • Burning from exposed, irritated skin
  • Cracked, cut skin from severe dryness
  • Changes in skin texture and color

Root causes of Eczema

There are skin creams and ointments that are widely used to treat the several symptoms of eczema. Addressing eczema at its root would do you better in treating it, than just treating the symptoms only. That would help you retain control over the skin condition.
Here are 8 root causes of Eczema:
1. Genetic Factors
Our genetics can play a huge role in the development of eczema. The reason for that, is from a mutated gene. One mutation reduces the level of filaggrin, a protein that keeps the corneal layer of the skin protected.
2. Reduced Serum Production
When your skin is really dry, it is from low oil production. Genetics and changes within your immune system, contribute to reduced serum production.
3. Low Immune Function
When your immune system is weakened, it will contribute to inflammation of the skin. It does this in responding to the bacteria and yeasts that live on your skin. It’s directly caused by autoimmune disorders, medications, nutrient deficiencies, untreated infections or from an unhealthy gut.
4. Allergies
You could have allergies to specific foods, soaps, perfumes, harsh toxins and even certain chemicals. When we have an allergic reaction, our body sends out many antibodies and stimulates an immune response that is harmful.
5. Toxicity
Toxicity can be caused by long-term exposure to pollutants, and smoking, as it all builds up toxins within your skin and body. The long-term usage of antibiotics can cause the weakening of the immune system, resulting in toxicity.
6. Climate
Eczema sufferers usually are from developing countries or cold climates, due to dryness and the cold air. A poor diet and living in highly polluted areas can be contributing factors to this skin condition.
7. Formula
It is being found that feeding your children formula can increase their risk of developing eczema. Other research is finding that babies who are breast-fed are better protected from allergies that harm the immune system.
8. Vaccines
Scientists are trying to find out if vaccines are contributing to eczema. Even though there is no evidence to support that, it is fact that eczema is becoming more common with the rise in vaccination.

How To Help Your Eczema

• Don’t scratch or peel dry skin. This can cause open cracks or wounds that allow bacteria to get in.
• Take a closer look at the food you’re eating, as well as your skin care products and household products. You may be allergic to something you come in contact with often.
• Eat a healthy diet full of anti-inflammatory foods that boost immunity.
• Make your own eczema cream with natural ingredients to help soothe your skin.
Source:organicandhealthy.org

7 Famous Brands That Use Child Slaves To Make Your Chocolate – Stop Supporting Them NOW! 

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It’s very shocking to report that there is child slave labor going on in Africa, and the ages range from 5-15 years old.

 
They work from six in the morning until evening in West African cocoa farms. What’s even more controversial, is these farms are directly tied with popular chocolate makers like Hershey, Nestlé, Kraft, ADM Cocoa, Mars, Fowler’s Chocolate, and Godiva. These child slave labor-enabling chocolate manufacturers are the ones who make your Kit Kat, Reese’s, Milky Way, Butterfinger and M&M’s. 

There were three class action lawsuits, in California that accused Nestlé, Mars and Hershey of ignoring the fact that there is human rights violations happening in their cocoa suppliers, while knowing it is going on. While this ensues, they are projecting themselves as human rights-friendly.
Then, Cargill, ADM and Nestlé are in separate lawsuits with three former child slaves from Mali in 2005. They accused the companies of helping and enabling the slavery of children in the cocoa market within Côte d’Ivoire.

In 2000, the documentary “Slavery: A Global Investigation” exploits how deep and expanded, the chocolate industry’s ties are with cocoa farms that utilize child slaves for labor. The guardian of 19 children who were former slaves, told the makers how the children worked from dawn until dusk each day, locked within a shed at night like dogs. In order to go to the bathroom, they were given a tin cup. They had been stripped naked, tied up and routinely beaten.

They also spoke about how thousands of children were being purchased from their parents. Most of the kids are from countries like Mali, Togo, and Burkina Faso, for money, or kidnapped. Then they are shipped to Ivory Coast like cattle, where they are enslaved on cocoa farms for mass profit.

Here are 7 brands that allow child slavery and enjoy the benefits of the hardwork children put into making your beloved chocolate:
Nestlé 

Even though it says in their code of conduct that child labor is not used in it suppliers, researchers from the Fair Labor Association found evidence that contradicts their policy. In the evidence, it was found that forced labor occurred, and for 14 hours they worked in dangerous conditions.

They would perform tasks that were hazardous to their health such as utilizing machetes and carrying/transporting heavy loads. A spokesperson for the Nestlé corporation spoke with The guardian: “To date we have identified 3,933 children working on their family farms (around 10% of the children surveyed) who were involved in hazardous tasks classified as child labor.

We have included half of them in our Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System, which includes providing school kits, obtaining birth certificates and developing income generating activities for the families of 312 identified children. Unfortunately, the scale and complexity of the issue is such that no company sourcing cocoa from Ivory Coast can guarantee that it has completely removed the risk of child labor from its supply chain.”

Nestlé made $91.6 billion in chocolate sales in 2014.
Hershey
Hershey is the largest maker of chocolate in the United States, and gets their supply from the Ivory Coast, where child labor, child slavery, and forced slavery. A pension fund from Louisiana had brought up questions on whether the executives of Hershey’s knowledge of how much of their cocoa supply comes from West Africa, and if it could have been produced by child slaves. Jeff Beckman, head of corporate communications, said to confectionerynews.com:
“The allegations in the lawsuit are not new and reflect long-term challenges in cocoa-growing countries that many stakeholders, including NGOs, companies in the cocoa supply chain and the US Government have been working diligently together to address for many years.”
Hershey brought in $847 million in total income for the 2014 fiscal year.
Mars
Mars has openly stated that it would pledge to sourcing only certified cocoa by 2020. When questioned on their commitment to taking until 2020 to accomplish making their chocolate child labor-free, the company stated that “a very small number of children is trafficked or forced to work on cocoa farms”, that “reaching every one of the millions of cocoa farmers in West Africa is a difficult task”, and that pursuing non-child slave chocolate is “complex.” they believe “ten years is a realistic time frame” to maintain sustainability.

In 2001, the cocoa industry signed an agreement to stop and self-regulate child slavery by 2005. Then the deadline was delayed until 2008, then to 2010. It’s 2017, and we STILL have these giant cocoa manufacturers profiting off of child labor.

In a report done in 2015, it was reported that the number of children enslaved had increased 51 percent from 2009 to 2014. 1.4 million children are currently enslaved, and that’s the result of a 10 percent rise, from 1.1 million children since 2009, that are living in slave-like conditions.

ADM, Kraft, Godiva, And Fowler’s Chocolate

In 2005, three Malian citizens who had been forced into working on cocoa plantations in the Ivory Coast, filed a class-action lawsuit in a federal court in California, claiming ADM, Cargill (in 2015 Cargill acquired ADM’s global chocolate business for an enterprise value of $440 million) and Nestlé — through buying massive amounts of cocoa harvested by child slaves — “aided and abetted” child labor, slavery and torture.

As the lawsuit against ADM continues, one of the world’s largest producers of cocoa liquor, powder and butter, sold away its cocoa business for $1.3 billion in August 2015. Olam International Ltd, a Singapore-based agribusiness company bought the company.

 In 2012, Cadbury and Kraft Foods owner Mondelez International pledged $400 million to improve the lives of cocoa farmers and create a balanced and fair, cocoa economy. All the efforts from the company have been a constant failure, as it has been struggling for so many years to phase out forced labor from its top supplier chain.

West Africa is the main source for about 60% of the world’s cocoa, and Godiva. Godiva is the only chocolate maker that has abstained from making commitments to phasing out child labor from its supply chain. Even though it has been announced that Godiva would move to purchasing cocoa from child labor-free plantations by 2020, they have been very ambiguous in what motives and steps they are pursuing to roll out safe working environments, equal pay, and no forced labor of children.

Fowler’s chocolate has consistently spoke out about the slavery of children, yet, they still purchase their cocoa from suppliers in the Ivory Coast that have no guarantee of openly admitting they enforce child labor.

The BBC opened an investigation in 2010 to investigate the suppliers that sell chocolate to the UK. They found evidence of human trafficking, child slavery and labor. It was found that even with safeguards, there is no certainty that any chocolate has been made from child slaves. Chocolate thats sold as a Fairtrade product, are misleading as it isn’t sure if child slavery is enforced within their chain of supply.

Source:organicandhealthy.org
              anonews.co

Vitamin D Is More Effective Than Flu Vaccine, Study Says.

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According to Dr Joseph Mercola and others, vitamin D deficiency may actually be behind your winter flu.

As a result, researchers have begun examining if increased vitamin D might make an effective flu vaccine, and, as it turns out, it does!
n fact, the research found several notable returns:
  • People with the lowest vitamin D levels show significantly more colds and/or cases of the flu.
  • For people with the lowest vitamin D levels, taking a vitamin D supplement cut the risk of respiratory infection by 50% – though researchers also noted that vitamin D was better absorbed through sunlight.
  • Vitamin D proved slightly more effective than the traditional flu vaccine (1 case prevented per 33 people vs 1 case prevented per 40 people), though this was more pronounced in trial participants with severe vitamin D deficiency.
  • Vitamin D is significantly better absorbed from sun exposure than from supplements.
  • Mounting research suggests vitamin D deficiency may actually be a major cause of influenza. People with the lowest vitamin D levels report having significantly more colds or cases of the flu
  • Scientific review confirms vitamin D optimization boosts immunity and cuts rates of cold and flu. Among people vitamin D blood levels below 10 ng/mL, taking a supplement cut risk of respiratory infection by 50 percent
  • To prevent influenza in one person, 40 people must receive the flu vaccine whereas one case of the flu can be prevented for every 33 people taking vitamin D. If you’re severely vitamin D deficient, vitamin D supplementation is 10 times more effective than the flu vaccine

Source: organicandhealthy.org