"Until one has loved an animal a part of one's soul remains unawakened"

Quote by Anatole France
Ever notice how unhappy some of the zoo animals look? And why are some dying of cancer - that would be impossible in the wild. In the zoo they are fed and exposed to the same toxins that society is exposed to, causing cancer. It's definitely an eye opener. I know the zoo keepers are trying to help these animals but we have to rethink all our practices now that we are aware of the toxins in our air and food.

"Zoos represent an ethical dilemma, which each reader must resolve to the best of his or her individual ability. Zoological collections now assert that they serve an essential conservation role. Others dispute this, not least upon the grounds that animals in the wild outlive their captive counterparts. Whatever the rights and wrongs of keeping animals in zoos, the inmates can fall prey to disease and, when they do, they then require and deserve the best treatment available." - excerpt from http://www.alternativevet.org/zoo_animals.htm

"The modern zoos we know today are a far cry from those of the past but despite all that we have learned and all that has changed, AZA-accredited institutions are still keeping many of their animals in incredibly unnatural habitats with minimal space and minimal enrichment leading to a number of abnormal behaviours. - excerpt from http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/zoos-bringing-endangered-species-back-from-the-brink/

I loved going to the zoo to see the animals. I've seen elephants up close, but it's not worth seeing if they are unhappy and medicated half the time. Samantha, a 37-year-old Western Lowland Gorilla, was the eldest female at the Toronto Zoo. She died of a stroke. Strokes are not common among gorillas, yet three female gorillas have had strokes in North America in the past few years.
Read more about Samantha here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/gorilla-dies-at-toronto-zoo/article4388880/

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Sunday At The Lakeshore

"The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The weather has finally gotten warmer in the last couple days. I took a little trip down to Port Credit Lakeshore with a friend. Enjoy the pics below!

 

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They are closely interconnected and interdependent

Currently re-reading 'The Turning Point' by Fritjof Capra, a must -read! Here's an excerpt from chapter one:
'It is a striking sign of our time that the people who are supposed to be experts in various fields can no longer deal with the urgent problems that have arisen in the areas of their expertise. Economists are unable to understand inflation, oncologists are totally confused about the causes of cancer, psychiatrists are mystified by schizophrenia, police are helpless in the face of rising crime, and the list goes on… the persistence of slums, poverty and crime.
None of them, however, identified the real problem that underlies our crisis of ideas: the fact that most academics subscribe to narrow perceptions of reality which are inadequate for dealing with the major problems of our time. These problems, as we shall see in detail, are systematic problems, which means that they are closely interconnected and interdependent. They cannot be understood within the fragmented methodology characteristic of our academic disciplines and government agencies.
Such an approach will never resolve any of our difficulties but will merely shift them around in the complex web of social and ecological relations. A resolution can be found only if the structure of the web itself changed, and this will involve profound transformations of our social institutions, values, and ideas. As we examine the sources of our cultural crisis it will become apparent that most of our leading thinkers are outdated conceptual models and irrelevant variables.'
- excerpt from 'The Turning Point' copyright © 1982

Photo by: Manolo Vílchez

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'The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated'

Quote by Mahatma Gandhi
"Animals have always played an important role in agriculture. Not only do they provide us with food and fiber, but they also help to recycle nutrients and add to soil fertility. Over recent decades, however, the farming of animals has become increasingly separated from its natural existence on the land." Read More...
More on helping farm animals: http://www.farmsanctuary.org/
 

Image taken from http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/

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"The landscape belongs to the person who looks at it. "

Quote by: Ralph Waldo Emerson

BLOG UPDATES: Our Earth Land Blog will be going through some minor changes in the next few months ... stay tuned! I apologize for the lack of posts.

Above: Photos taken at Lakeshore Toronto (Winter 2015)

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Picking Apples In September

Back in September, we drove up to Avalon Orchards for some organic apple picking! We love the opportunity to pick our own organic fruits. Freshly picked (raw and ripe) fruits contain energy that can heal the human body. Organic apples have proven to decrease oxidation of cell membrane fats. This is important in our cardiovascular system since oxidation of fat in the membranes of cells, is a primary risk factor for cardiovascular problems. Avalon Orchards is a Certified Organic Apple orchard located in Innisfil, Ontario. Avalon Orchards apples and apple cider is available at Trinity Bellwoods Farmer's market on Tuesdays.

Below: photos from the orchard- enjoy!

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Birds And Beans Café - Mimico by the lake

We dropped by the Birds and Beans Café today, where we spent a pleasant afternoon on the patio and then over at the Lakeshore! We purchased a couple of teas to try that are organic and fair trade. The owner also sells organic, fair trade and "Bird-friendly" certified coffees which meet the requirements for organic certification, as well as ensures that they maintain the forest cover - which provides habitat for birds and other wildlife. You can learn more about "Bird-friendly" coffee here.

Below: Photos taken while hanging out at the Birds and Beans Café patio and the Lakeshore at Mimico. Enjoy!

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The whole of nature and it's beauty

“Our task must be to free ourselves... by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and it's beauty.” - Albert Einstein

Below: photos of wood ducklings in High Park pond - enjoy!

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"Words are finite organs of the infinite mind."

Quote by: Ralph Waldo Emerson

Above: Robin on a tree in High Park on a beautiful morning! Enjoy.

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Relationship With Nature

'When one loses the deep intimate relationship with nature, then temples, mosques and churches become important.' - Jiddu Krishnamurti

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Organic and Non GMO Infographic

Click for actual size

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To Love

'Freedom and love go together. Love is not a reaction. If I love you because you love me, that is mere trade, a thing to be bought in the market; it is not love. To love is not to ask anything in return, not even to feel that you are giving something - and it is only such love that can know freedom.' - Jiddu Krishnamurti

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'Never look back unless you are planning to go that way.'

Quote by: Henry David Thoreau

'Learning is always in the active present; it has no past. The moment you say to yourself, "I have learned," it has already become knowledge, and from the background of that knowledge you can accumulate, translate, but you cannot further learn. It is only a mind that is not acquiring, but always learning, it is only such a mind that can understand this whole entity that we call the "me," the self. I have to know myself, the structure, the nature, the significance of the total entity; but I can't do that burdened with my previous knowledge, with my previous experience, or with a mind that is conditioned, for then I am not learning, I am merely interpreting, translating, looking with an eye that is already clouded by the past'.- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Below: Photos from today's walk in the park. Happy Summer Solstice 2013!

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Bird Friendly® Coffee

Bird Friendly® Coffee is certified to preserve habitat, compensate farmers fairly and globally contribute to biodiversity. By purchasing Bird Friendly® Coffee, we can save the agro-forest ecosystems and ultimately encourage reforestation efforts, which will improve lives for farmers and help make sure that the songbird migration continues for future generations. We recently visited an Organic and Bird Friendly® Café called 'Birds and Beans Café by the lake. There is an outdoor patio located at the back, with a view of Lakeshore. We ordered a Fair Trade Organic Green Tea and Fair Trade Organic Guatemalan coffee - Guatemala Santa Rita. This coffee type originates from Lago de Atitlán (Lake Atitlán) in the Guatemalan Highlands. I have tasted many types of coffee (especially during my Café/Barista days) and none, to this day, have ever tasted as 'sweet and rounded' as the Guatemala Santa Rita coffee. It is described as "earthy chocolate on the nose, accented with a hint of raspberry. It is bright and sweet with some lovely spice, perhaps cardamom or white pepper." Since we are cleansing, we haven't had any coffee but I decided to give it a try and fortunately, I had no side effects. This coffee was the tastiest ever! I strongly recommend it to any coffee lover! Birds and Beans Café is located in Etobicoke. You can check out their website and coffee selections here.

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'To the Buddha or to the bomb'

“Scientists, therefore, are responsible for their research, not only intellectually but also morally. This responsibility has become an important issue in many of today's sciences, but especially so in physics, in which the results of quantum mechanics and relativity theory have opened up two very different paths for physicists to pursue. They may lead us - to put it in extreme terms - to the Buddha or to the Bomb, and it is up to each of us to decide which path to take. ” - Fritjof Capra

Image taken from mundonuevo.cl

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'You will understand whether what he is saying is true or false'

'It is one of the most difficult things to listen - to listen to the communist, to the socialist, to the congressman, to the capitalist, to anybody, to your wife, to your children, to your neighbor, to the bus conductor, to the bird - just to listen. It is only when you listen without the idea, without thought, that you are directly in contact; and being in contact, you will understand whether what he is saying is true or false; you do not have to discuss'. - Jiddu Krishnamurti

Below: Photo from the park - American Robin. Enjoy!

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'Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth'

quote by: Buddha

All civilizations have depended on the sky to guide them in growing crops. Just as old astrologists studied the position of the moon, sun and stars, an elder of the Dogon tribe (from West Africa) climbs to a place amongst the rocks to observe the sun as it moves along a heel stone, in order to determine the exact time that the people must sow their seeds. Since their region is dry (dessert), planting must begin at the precise moment during the short rainy season. This will ensure their survival. 

Elsewhere, in order for crops to grow successfully, farmers/gardeners use a Farmer's Almanac to assist them in sowing seeds. An almanac contains yearly information that includes weather forecasts, planting dates and times of the sunrise, sunset, eclipses, the moon and full tides. It is believed that the earliest published Almanac was in 1457. Some early Farmer's Almanacs were written by Benjamin Banneker (1792-1797) who calculated the astronomical information himself and who also included information on medical treatments. 

Modern 'civilization' does not allow for us to observe the skies as our ancestors once did, with an exception to those who continue to live simply and with a strong connection to the earth. Farmer's Almanac.com provides information (both for U.S and Canada) on weather, gardening, preserving the earth and more!

For more information on this years Spring Planting Dates for Toronto, click here.

Worm Moon Image taken from Phillip's Natural World 3.0

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Organic Certification

When shopping for organic food, it's important to check the labels for 'organic certification' and the ingredients. There are many controversies about the authenticity of USDA Organic foods - based on their standards for testing and Canada Organic apples containing small traces of pesticides - probably during shipping. When you understand the dangers of pesticides in non-organic food, you want to eat organic. Nothing in this world is guaranteed and there is no doubt that there are corporate giants who are packaging unhealthy food with 'USDA Organic' labels. 

However, eating healthy isn't just about organic food, but also about what foods you choose to eat. Although we like to buy local, some of the fruits and vegetables we purchase, such as oranges and avocados, come from the US. We will not choose to buy a USDA organic cereal box from 'Kashi' that contains dead ingredients with traces of genetically modified ingredients, BUT we will buy an organic avocado. If our chances of pesticides are even 50% lower, this is what we want to eat. 

The reality is that until we start growing our own food that we can keep an eye on, we don't know for sure. But we aren't taking any chances with non-organic food or 'organic' labeled products that are not certified. Canada Organic is the equivalent of USDA Organic. You can learn more about their regulations and standards here. To learn more about the controversy behind USDA's Organic products click here. 

For information on the dangers of USDA organic apples and pears click here. 

Sign petition for removing anti-biotics from organic apples and pears. 

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The Organic View

June Stoyer, the host of "Organic View' radio show, recently conducted an interview on the important roles of honeybees and bumble bees, and the dangers we are faced with from their decline. One of her guests, Graham White from Scotland, states that the US has roughly 200 million acres of crops treated with pesticides. This means every seed, every year, year after year is exposed to toxins! He points out that pesticides, in the past, were used as a reaction to the invasion of insects, but the way they are now being used is as a 'precautionary insurance'.  Bees, birds and other insects are disappearing on a massive scale because 200 million acres of US land are poisonous to all forms of insect life - yearly! 

Insect life is crucial for human survival. Their most important role is pollinating flowering plants such as vegetables, that feed us! We can expect a shortage of food in the future with continued use of toxins/pesticides. You can listen to the short interview here. Genetically modified foods, which are implanted with these toxins, will continue to give the human body allergic responses and cause diseases. 

UPDATE: For a 'bee saver' kit in the U.K. click here.

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'Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.'

Quote by May Sarton
Our indoor tomato and basil plants are growing healthy so far. The tomato plants are now 44 days old. It is a challenge to grow them indoors and it requires patience! Butterflies play a major role in gardening. During every walk to the park we see butterflies and moths, but we don't see too many around our neighbors' gardens. If you have an outdoor garden, you can raise your own butterflies for your backyard and help in maintaining the ecosystem. Here is an excellent link on attracting helpful animals to your garden.

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