Eucalyptus Spotlight

Did you know there are 300 species of Eucalyptus trees? These trees are indigenous to Australia where the fresh leaves have been used traditionally in wound treatments, and the wood is used for making didgeridoo wind instruments. Trees are also used for making pulp and charcoal.  Eucalyptus essential oil, which is powerfully cleansing, antiseptic, and deodorizing, is steam distilled from the leaves.

Eucalyptus tree in bloom, photo by Starr. Trees can grow as high as 90 meters

Australian Eucalyptus globulus essential oil is the best quality. Due to its camphoraceous, sweet and woody scent, 75% of "Eucalyptus Oil" on the market actually comes from China where the faux oil is made from Camphor Trees. True Eucalyptus oil is refreshing and stimulating; a favorite to use in steams or bath formulas for people with congested sinuses. A 2% Eucalyptus oil room spray emulsion is extremely antiseptic, with the ability to kill 70% of airborne Staph bacteria. The oil provides a cooling and stimulating sensation useful in a congested chest rubs or lip balms for blistered lips. Below is a demonstration from Aromatherapy Oasis on how to use essential oils safely in a steam inhalation. 

There are environmental and safety concerns regarding cultivation of Eucalyptus outside of Australia. Eucalyptus has become invasive in many areas including California, where it is also a fire hazard due to the volatility of the essential oil. The Seminole Indian tribe has taken a stand against the planting of genetically engineered (GE) Eucalyptus trees in Florida. Native pine forests are being cut down to plant GE Eucalyptus, which worsens climate change and is a threat to biodiversity. People living near the GE Eucalyptus plantations are concerned with health risks from altered tree pollen and toxic chemicals used on the plantations. Eucalyptus trees are also require a lot of water. We are against the destruction of native South Eastern forests for Eucalyptus production. 

Eucalyptus globulus trees in Hawaii, photo by Starr

Vitamin E is helpful in skin care formulas, but is it GMO?

Vitamin E is commonly known as a supplement for internal use, but it is also an important ingredient for herbal balms and body product formulations. What makes Vitamin E so important to skin care formulators is its antioxidant properties. Antioxidants help extend the shelf life of oils by scavenging free radicals from oil based formulations that might otherwise go rancid quickly. Vitamin E is found in plants like soybeans, safflower, wheat germ, avocado, sunflower, and spinach. The chemical makeup of Vitamin E is a mix of 10 fat soluble components called Tocopherols and Tocotrienols. Vitamin E is best stored in a refrigerator to maintain potency which can decrease over time.

Did you know that most Vitamin E, and many Vitamins are made from Genetically Modified Organisms?  This can be a challenge for Organic food manufacturers and formulators who are striving to support Organic growing methods. Vitamin E is most often extracted from soybeans and corn. Soy is now largely genetically modified, with approximately approximately 90% of North American soy crops grown from altered seed. Brian Baker, research director of the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI), has warned the National Organic Standards Board that more and more Vitamins are coming from genetically modified sources. National Organic Program rules state that an Organic product "must be produced and handled without the use of excluded methods," such as genetic engineering. This ambiguous wording has led to inconsistent interpretation by Organic certifiers who are assessing manufacturers who have not themselves used genetic engineering methods to produce the crop used to make the Vitamin E.  It can also be confusing to manufactures, because Vitamin suppliers may provide information indicating that genetically modified material is not detected in the finished Vitamin. Some Organic certifiers allow Vitamin E derived from GMO crops if it does not contain detectable genetically modified DNA in the finished product, while others may not. The Vitamin E used by Aquarian Bath is made from Spanish non-GMO soybeans. The soybean crop itself and the finished Vitamin E have both tested negative for GMOs. The Vitamin E is extracted from the soy beans by vacuum distillation. 

Aquarian Bath uses Vitamin E for its antioxidant properties in our Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil based herbal salves, herbal balms, deodorants and most lip balm formulas (all but Virgin Coconut). Oil based formulations which contain primarily Jojoba or Fractionated Coconut oil (95% or more) such as our massage oil, mosquito repellent and hair serum do not require Vitamin E, because these base oils do not go rancid. Vitamin E is also not required in well formulated soap recipes.  It helps that certain ingredients in our soaps and shampoos like Organic Cocoa Butter have a high concentration of Vitamin E.

March Against Monsanto in Ormond Beach Saturday May 24th

There will be another March Against Monsanto event on Saturday May 24th, 2012.  The Ormond Beach event will be held at Cassen park located at 1 South Beach Street, Ormond Beach, Fl 32174. The march will begin at 2 pm EST and continue until 4.  Early birds can arrive as early as 1 o'clock to prepare posters.

Do you know the difference between Conventional Cotton versus Organic Cotton Fabrics?

In this article we will discuss cotton in agriculture, the historical use of cotton, and conventional versus Organic cotton cultivation and textile manufacture, and Aquarian Bath's switch from conventional to organic cotton fabrics.

The Cotton Plant
Cotton (genus Gossypium) is a native plant to tropical and semi-tropical places around the world. Cotton plants can be perennial, however for optimal cotton production they are grown as annuals. The cotton shrub requires lots of sunlight and around a five month long growing season. Cotton is highly susceptible to temperatures below freezing, so it does not grow well in the United States above the latitude of 46 degrees north. Also, the seeds take longer to ripen than the growing seasons found in much of the U.S. The plant itself reaches two to six feet tall, with branching stems and hairy leaves. The ideal growing temperature for cotton is 90°–95°F. The flowers of the cotton plant range in color from white or yellow with purple spots near the center, with some flowers turning rose color with age. After the flower petals fall, a hard capsule or boll remains, within which the cotton develops. Once the bolls are ripe, they burst open, revealing the cotton fibers. The cotton seeds are buried deep within the fibers, and can be pried out with some effort. The cotton crop requires significant fertilization. Drought, including droughts caused by climate change are a significant concern to Cotton farmers, both Organic and Conventional. The water requirements of this crop put it in direct competition with crops grown for food during severe drought periods.

In the U.S., the process of commercially picking and processing cotton is entirely automated. In others countries, such as India, farmers still rely on the handpicking process for harvesting the cotton in their fields. Here in Florida, Aquarian Bath raises what was received in a trade as a "native Florida cotton," pictured below. We grow the cotton for use in doll making, first aid, and for seed sharing and preservation.

Flowering Cotton plant in Florida.

A Brief History of Cotton
Cotton has played a big part in human history as far back as 7000 years ago in the Middle East, and cotton cloth dating to around 5800 BC has been identified in a cave in Mexico. Although different cultures around the world used cotton even in ancient times, huge production of cotton did not really start until the Industrial Revolution in Britain at the end of the 18th Century. At that time in 1738, Lewis Paul and John Wyatt, of Birmingham, developed spinning machines able to create large quantities of cotton cloth. To feed these spinning machines, the British relied on cotton raised in the U.S. South. After Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, a mechanical device or “engine” which performed the function of removing the seeds from the cotton, the production of cotton in the South boomed, as did the dreadful use of slaves to handle this labor intensive crop. During the U.S. Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, Britain lost its primary source of cotton and had to look for other places around the world where cotton could grow, including Egypt and India. Cotton remains one of the staple crops in the Southern U.S. today. Other countries that supply a significant amount of cotton for the world market today include Brazil, Australia, India, China, Turkey, Argentina, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

Oklahoma Cotton Field 1897--98.

Modern Conventional Cotton Cultivation
Did the cotton industry ever recover morally and ethically from the days of commonplace slavery in the US south? Today cotton growers who would like to be certified as up to Global Organic Trade Standards must also be compliant in terms of fair trade and, labor must also not be forced. These standards also set forth a living wage, prohibition of child laborers, and provision of hygienic conditions. Below you will find some of the hazardous materials that conventional cotton farm workers are exposed to during cultivation.

The level of toxins generated by the cotton industry is frightening. One of the most disturbing aspects of conventional cotton cultivation is the large amount of chemicals needed to raise cotton from seed to harvest. Three of the top 10 pesticides used in conventional cotton agriculture, Aldicarb, parathion, and methamidopho, are among the most dangerous. According to the Organic Trade Association, cotton is the worlds dirtiest crop with around 45 million pounds of pesticides used on 11 million acres of cotton planted in the U.S. in 2010 alone, which breaks down into 4.1 pounds of pesticide per acre. Approximately 90 percent of cotton seed raised in the U.S. is genetically engineered to be “Roundup ready.” Roundup, the flagship herbicide for the U.S. chemical company Monsanto, is the most popular herbicide used on cotton fields in the U.S. The studies of its key ingredient, glyphosate, show that this chemical causes birth defects in study animals, as well as genetic damage, cancer and endocrine disruption in mammals. Despite Monsanto’s claim that glyphosate passes through the human body without leaving any residue, a recent study shows that glyphosate is found in human breast milk. Also, scientists have discovered significant levels of glyphosate in both water and air samples in the watershed of the Mississippi River, which means this chemical leaves the field where it is applied and enters the wider environment. Besides round up ready GMO cotton seeds, GMO Bt cotton crops, which are cotton plants engineered to create their own pesticides, are failing in India.

Conventional Cotton Textile Processing
The chemical bath for conventionally grown cotton does not end in the field. Once the conventionally grown cotton is taken to the factory to be made into cloth, the cotton is whitened with chlorine bleach, which can potentially be released into the environment. The warp fibers are stabilized using toxic waxes. The cotton is finished with synthetic surfactants in hot water, along with other chemicals, including the possibility of formaldehyde and arsenic. To make all the pretty colored cloth, conventional cotton material is dyed with heavy metal based dyes and sulfur content with the possibility that the pigments enter rivers and streams through water runoff. Residue from these chemicals can remain in the finished fabric.

Organic Cotton Cultivation
The answer to cleaner, better quality cotton lies in organic cotton cultivation using non-GMO seed. The problem of cotton pests, such as the cotton boll worm, is solved by a combination of methods. First, organic cotton farmers practice crop rotation, which eliminates a constant supply of food for harmful insects, along with adding increased organic matter to the soil. Organic cotton farmers also introduce beneficial insects, such as ladybugs, lacewings, spiders, parasitic wasps, beetles and ants to their fields to help destroy the harmful insects. Trap crops like okra, sorghum, sunflowers and hibiscus are grown next to the cotton. The trap crop attracts otherwise harmful insects and spares the cotton. If an insecticide is thought necessary, organic cotton farmers use organically sound products made from natural ingredients, such as neem spray, which is an extract from neem seeds (Azadirachta indica), or pyrethrum, which is made from extracts of chrysanthemum flowers. Organic cotton is now grown in 23 countries with most production is being made in India, Syria, China, Turkey, and the United States.

Organic cotton farmers and conventional cotton farmers considering to switch to Organic farming methods face various issues. A major problem farmers face is finding enough organic cotton seed. The vast majority of seed available is genetically modified seed, and many organic farmers report saving at least a portion of their cotton seed to replant next year. Other problems for organic cotton production include pressure from neighboring conventional cotton farmers, friends and family who don’t accept the benefits of organic farming. As other types of organic farming grow more popular in an area, organic cotton farmers find it easier to switch to organic practices. Also, organic cotton farmers still struggle with getting the word out about the environmental benefits of Organic cotton and advantages of Organic cotton textiles, therefore we are writing here to educate others about this industry.

GOTS Organic Cotton Textile Production
The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is an international organization that sets the definition of what Organic fabric should be. During organic cotton textile production, the warp fibers are stabilized using non-toxic cornstarch. To whiten the fibers, organic manufacturers use peroxide instead of bleach, a safer alternative. To finish the fabric, it is put through a soft scour of warm water and soda ash, which changes the pH of the water to 7.5-8. Dying and printing occurs using natural dyes or low impact fiber-reactive dyes, neither of which contain heavy metals.

Aquarian Bath now offers Hot and Cold therapy pillows made with GOTS Organic cottons
With the amount of organic cotton raised as of 2011 (the last available statistic) at less than 1.5 percent of total cotton production, we have worked very hard to locate the Organic cotton fabric suitable to be used in our line of single layer hot/cold therapy pillows. These flax seed neck wraps or facial pillows can be heated in the microwave for warm therapy, or put in the freezer for cold therapy relief. Our selection of therapy pillows now includes pillows made with GOTS Organic cotton, with eight new prints from the companies Harmony Art and Cloud 9 Fabrics. These fabrics are a bit more expensive to buy, but they are guaranteed GOTS cotton, which means they are certified Organic cotton, without pesticides and without tons of harmful chemicals used in processing of the cotton.  The fabrics are also produced without child or forced labor.
Here is one of our favorite canvas pillows made with GOTS cotton. The Line Leaf print is designed by Eloise Renouf for Cloud 9 Fabrics, and is available from us in black or blue.

Aquarian Bath also has a few pillows made from a base of blended organic cotton and hemp, and a washable pillow cover created from GOTS certified organic fabric like the one below.  We will be writing more on hemp and how it compares to cotton next month.  We added these double layer pillows to our line in 2013, and the added pillow cover makes them a bit more expensive. Aquarian Bath is in the process of phasing out all conventional cotton products used in our hot and cold therapy pillows.

Please be sure to follow our blog for a chance to win 2 of our Harmony Art flax seed pillows. We will be giving away 2 pillows for Mother's Day. One pillow will go to one of our blog followers, and one to that follower's favorite mom. The contest will start next week.

Mahyco GMO Bt Cotton Now Banned in Parts of India

Following failure the failure of genetically engineered Bt Cotton crops in 7 districts in the state of Karnataka, India, the GMO Bt Cotton seed from the small biotech company Mahyco Ltd has been banned.

A major concern with cotton production today is the use of genetically modified (GMO) cotton seed, and most of the cotton seed available today is GMO. The rationale behind the GMO cotton seed is that farmers no longer have to spend as much money on herbicides or pesticides, because the seed is engineered to fight off pests on its own, howevever GMO crops are associated with pesticide resistant insects and secondary insect infestation. The companies that produce GMO Bt cotton seed have introduced a gene from Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt that encodes a protein in cotton plants which acts as a pesticide. Under normal circumstances, Bt is a bacterium that lives naturally in the soil, and it is sometimes used to kill garden pests. However, studies, such as the reports available at Organic Trade Association and Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, indicate that Bt cottonseed has its own set of problems. First, by eliminating the pests most susceptible to Bt, the door is left open to secondary pests, whose presence in the field is normally held back by competition with the primary Bt susceptible pest. In the case of cotton, the cotton bollworm is susceptible to Bt. With the removal of the bollworm, other damaging insects, such as aphids, thrips and mealy bugs, are on the rise in cotton fields in India and other cotton growing countries.

The second problem with GMO cotton seed is that the primary insect pest, the cotton bollworm, is showing signs of developing a resistance to the genetically modified seed. This forces farmers to use stronger pesticides to kill both the bollworm and the other secondary insect pests.

Finally, studies indicate that humans and animals exposed to the GMO cotton can develop serious health issues from the plant matter. In India, farmers report their livestock become ill or even die after grazing on cotton field residue. Farmers who handpick the Bt cotton have reported respiratory or allergy-like symptoms after handling the cotton plants. Also, scientists have found that Bt is more toxic to humans and other mammals than previously thought. The report at collective evolution states that mammalian red blood cells are damaged in the presence of Bt exposure.

Another aspect of GMO cotton seed is the human cost, as documented in Miched Pelad’s 2011 film, Bitter Seeds. The GMO cotton seeds have had a devastating effect on Indian cotton farmers. The combination of high cost of GMO cotton seeds and massive crop failures has created a situation where the farmers can no longer afford to keep their land or support their families. The end result is a high suicide rate among Indian cotton farmers.

At Aquarian Bath we introduced hemp and Organic Cotton fabrics to our line of flaxseed pillows in 2013 in response to a growing awareness about the issues with conventional and GMO cotton and conventional cotton textiles.  We are continuing to add Organic cotton flaxseed pillows to our line this year and will discuss the differences between Organic cotton Textiles and versus conventional cotton textiles in a future blog post.  

Flax pillow made with GOTS certified Organic Cotton fabric from Cloud9Fabrics.

Genetic Roulette free Showing at Cinematique in Daytona Beach

Love Whole Foods is hosting a free screening of the film Genetic Roulette on October 28th at the Cinematique Theatre.  Be sure to mark your calendars if you haven't seen this film yet.  Find all the details below.

Ode to Monsanto by Maimouna Youssef

Top 10 Reasons to Label and Avoid GMOs

I recently wrote another article for the EcoEtsy blog.  I hope you will check it out and share with your friends in California where there is an initiative on the ballot to label GMOs.  This is my top 10 list, but please check out the full article which also includes comments from one of my EcoEtsy Team mates, Nancy of SoulRole and the full length film Genetic Roulette, which available to watch free through November 6th.

Top 10 reasons to label and avoid GMOs

1) We have a right to know what is in our foods, so we have the freedom to choose what to eat and what kind of agriculture practices we support.  Without labeling we don’t know what is in our food, though it is estimated that 80% of processed foods contain GMO.

2) The US falls short in best accepted policies for GMO labeling.  50 countries now label genetically engineered foods including Australia, Japan, Mexico, Russia, the European Union and China.

3) Serious health issues are linked with GMOs in humans and animals including: cancer, infertility,allergies, and irritable bowels.  We do not have assurance of safety.  The Food and Drug Administration does not test GMOs despite warnings from it’s own scientists.  GMO manufacturers suppress independent safety testing with patenting of seeds.

4) Herbicides and Pesticides used in GMO farming are highly dangerous to farmers health.

5) GMO farming increases use of toxic herbicides creating superweeds.  These superweeds lead tomore pesticide  use.

6) GMOs contaminate the natural and Organic seed supply through pollination between GMO and Non-GMO crops.

7) GMOs do not improve crop yields.  This is particularly important in the context of climate change and drought.  Organic crops have shown to consistently produce better under drought conditions.

8) GMOs are dangerous to the livelihood of farmers.  Unlike traditional crops farmers are not allowed to save seed to replant for future sowing.  Farmers face expensive court battles, including Monsanto versus Vernon Hugh Bowman whose case will be heard in the Supreme Court.

9) GMOs promote seed slavery.  A seed is not an invention. That is why patents on seeds are illegitimate. Even in a genetically engineered crop, the original seed come from farmers. Patents on seed are based on biopiracy… Patents on seed allow corporations to prevent farmers from saving andexchanging seed. Thus patent violates farmers’ right to save, use, reuse, breed and exchange seed as their commons.

10) Labeling will offer more options for the consumer at no extra cost, because they will have the opportunity to vote with their dollars.  Opponents of Prop 37 suggest that labeling GMOs will result in increased food prices.  However there is no evidence that  food prices have increased in the many countries that have implemented GMO labeling.

Occupy Monsanto in Daytona Beach, St. Louis and Worldwide starting September 17th

WORLDWIDE – An expanding network of concerned individuals known as Occupy Monsanto has emerged over the past 8 months staging numerous protests at companies connected to the global trade of genetically engineered foods, also known as GMOs. The network announced today that on September 17, 2012  protests will begin for an entire week in St. Louis, home of the Monsanto Corporation, and across the US including California where voters will decide if they will label GMOs this election and worldwide in Argentina, Canada, Germany, India, Philippines, and other countries where concern over GMO impact on the environment and human health is growing.

The protests will vary in size and nature but are unified in pushing back GMO food into the lab from which it came.  An interactive map with times, dates and locations of the 60+ protests can be found at http://occupy-monsanto.com/genetic-crimes-unit/ In Daytona Beach September 17th-22nd as early as 8 AM Occupy Monsanto will meet at the corner of West International Speedway Blvd & Williamson Ave, Daytona Beach FL 32114 Contact: Dave Manoulian (386) 258-7800 gcu_daytona_beach@occupy-monsanto.com to coordinate meetup times.

Occupy Monsanto means to confront the industrial agriculture system head-on. Some protests could result in widespread arrests of people who choose to engage in non-violent civil disobedience. Despite the peaceful nature of these planned protests, organizers are concerned about surveillance of Occupy-Monsanto.com by the US Department of Homeland Security and law enforcement agencies worldwide. Nevertheless Occupy Monsanto protests will feature costumes made of bio-hazmat protective gear that can also protect against pepper spray from police who have routinely attacked occupy protests in the past year.

“There is something wrong when a chemical manufacturer, the same company who made Agent Orange, controls the US food supply,” says Jaye Crawford, a member of the Genetic Crimes Unit in Atlanta, Georgia that has planned a week of events. Info: http://occupy-monsanto.com/atlanta-gcu-schedule-of-events .

“Wall Street and the American political elite have underestimated and even ignored our potential to effect rational policy change on GMOs which would include labeling for GMOs and restrictions on GMO cultivation,” says Gene Etic an anti-GMO campaigner based in Washington, DC. “If Occupy Monsanto’s anti-GMO actions are successful, after September 17 the media and increasingly more voters will ask tough questions about these experimental GMO crops especially within the context of the Presidential election, as that office holds the power to determine American food policy,” says Etic.

“People are stirred by the evidence that GMO foods compromise human health,” says Rica Madrid, a member of the Genetic Crime Unit of Occupy Monsanto. “Politicians and their sponsoring corporations ignore public outcry over GMOs to protect huge profits over health. Since GMOs’ introduction to the food supply in the mid 1990’s, food allergies have expanded according to Center for Disease Control data,” says Madrid.

“By purchasing influence via massive campaign donations, Monsanto ensures the essential duties of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are neglected. One example of this corporate coup is President Obama’s appointment of Michael Taylor, former Monsanto Vice-President and legal council for the chemical company, to head the FDA’s food safety efforts despite his obvious conflict of interest,” says Ariel Vegosen, a member of the Genetic Crimes Unit. She adds, “Monsanto is the biggest maker of genetically engineered crops so it must be stopped before it is too late to shift to healthy organic agriculture practices as a result of widespread genetic contamination by GMOs. ‘Coexistence’ as defined by the USDA of Organic and GMO crops is a myth.”

“At the US State Department it’s apparent Monsanto has duped leaders in Africa to ask the US for foreign aid in the form of GMO technology and equipment,” says Monsanto shareholder Adam Eidinger who last year walked from New York to the White House in Washington, DC with hundreds of other food activists to demand labeling of GMO foods. “The generous use of US tax dollars, endorsed by the likes of rock-star Bono and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a former legal council for Monsanto, is actually another taxpayer funded subsidy for Monsanto’s pesticide and herbicide hungry crops.”

Occupy Monsanto will be heard at the offices and facilities linked in the GMO food system. In St. Louis a major anti-GMO conference will take place in the same location as the ‘12th International Symposium on GMO Safety.’ A lead organizer of the conference is Barbara Chicherio who believes, “’Monsanto’s push to control agriculture and what people are eating poses a great threat not only to consumers in the US, but to farmers and communities throughout Latin America, Africa and Asia.” Info on the conference is at http://gmofreemidwest.org/