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Have you ever experienced difficulty obtaining organically certified hen’s eggs? From the farmer’s perspective, Jesse Laflamme concedes that filling demand throughout the year can be challenging. Based in New Hampshire, he works alongside his father Gerry to produce Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs. Jesse points out that each egg brought to market must be planned for at least eight months in advance. With the high cost of organic grain to factor, there’s little margin for error. He knows of organic egg farmers who miscalculated their growth potential and ended up with surplus eggs which could not be sold to recoup costs. While subject to a cyclical demand, organic egg farms like Pete and Gerry’s continue to provide consumers with premium...

Once children are weaned from breast milk or infant formula, the variety of solid foods should be increased to ensure the balanced intake of nutrients essential for normal development. The easiest way to ensure optimum nutrition is to focus on the five healthy food groups. Fresh fruit and vegetables, complex carbohydrates, lean protein, dairy produce, and monounsaturated vegetable oils. Plenty of fresh water assists the immune system and vital organs to function efficiently, particularly the kidneys, which develop a heavier workload in the older child. In addition to increasing the body’s access to useful nutrients, optimum health and wellbeing depends upon restricting the intake of harmful substances. Avoiding poor quality food sources While...

Organic growers dedicate themselves to a philosophy of maintaining healthy soils without addition of chemical sprays or growth agents. Natural soil additives such as organic manures, seaweed, and worm compost are provided to ensure the availability of all minerals and trace elements, including magnesium, iron, calcium, iodine, chromium and selenium. Despite any similarities in appearance, nutritional analysis of organic produce will reveal higher concentrations of these mineral elements compared with samples raised in poor soils using chemical fertiliser and other synthetic additives. Mineral content Minerals play a key role in the growth and regeneration of bone and soft tissue. They are integral to many aspects of metabolic function including...

For many years, nutrition scientists have explained that optimal nutrition requires a balanced intake of carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals. It is well accepted that nutrient deficiencies within the major food groups can contribute to malnourishment, lowered immunity, disease, and degenerative conditions such as arteriosclerosis, cancer, and arthritis. Our modern lifestyle now appears to be an underlying factor in many cases of nutrient deficiency and related health problems. Fortunately, there are positive steps that can be taken. Overemphasis on convenience comes at a cost The emphasis on a convenience-based lifestyle has increased our overall consumption of processed food items. Many of these are loaded with unhealthy preservatives,...