Taylor Figueroa's Blog (7)

I would like to highlight two special places- Vital Farms and Organic Pastures. These farms commercially sell eggs and dairy products, but both are Certified Humane, and offer the best care to their animals that I have seen in these industries.



Vital Farms, which produces eggs, is made up of several family-owned farms, all of which have been inspected and deemed humane, through the Humane Farm Animal Care (HFCA) guidelines. The hens are pasture-raised, meaning that they each have 108… Continue

   Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), commonly known as baking soda (not to be confused with sodium carbonate or washing soda, or baking powder, a mixture between baking soda and cream of tartar), is mostly looked upon as a cooking agent, but it has so many other uses! In cooking, it works as a leavening agent in replacement of yeast because exposure to heat and acids, such as its “best friend” vinegar, the powdery white substance produces gas, giving treats like pastries, bread,…

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   Just recently, an amazing new policy was proposed- Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices. This policy would ensure that companies using the USDA Organic label refer to “humane “ treatment of animals. Yes, more work needs to be done before the standards require 100% humane treatment, but it is far better than what is required now.

Some of the new standards include:

• A minimum space requirement…

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Ingredients:

• 1/2 medium banana (about 1/3 cup in slices)
• cinnamon (optional)
• 1/6 cup pineapple juice (can also be apple juice or milk substitute)
• 2 slices of bread (or an english muffin split in two)
• coconut oil

Procedure:

1. Cut 1/2 a banana into round…

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• large amount of methane, a greenhouse gas, is released through their digestion.
• living in concentrated ares makes methane dense.
• poor living conditions causes stress and health problems.
• grain-based diet causes bloating, sickness, and premature death.
• increased antibiotic use to counteract illness.
• inappropriate living space is inhumane. Cows cannot walk.
• nitrogen in manure (again, when in high concentration, which it usually is)…

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  Both “King Corn” and “Food Inc.” are relatively outdated movies- 2007 and 2008 respectively. Things have changed since then, but for the most part, agribusiness and food production have stayed the same. It may be, however, that these documentaries brought awareness of corruption in the food industry, and some of these changes owe it to the documentaries.

  Two changes that I have seen in the past eight years are the lowering of high fructose…

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  Whenever I think about feminism in the Latin culture, I imagine Sandra Cisneros. Sandra Cisneros is a contemporary, Mexican-American author of novels and short-stories. Most of her stories feature insight into Latin culture. For example, she will incorporate Spanish words into English text, in a way that people who aren't familiar with Spanish can infer what the Spanish words mean.

  The theme of Cisneros's writings is often how it feels to live everyday life as a Latina. In books…

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