Hi folks, I was talking with Shelly about cat food and then she mentioned about GMO cat food...then the topic of cancer came up. There will be a great documentary on why cancer is so common and about a reporter who recently experienced cancer and is doing her own investigating on the causes of cancer. I am hoping many people can catch it and view it. I hoping it be watched on Internet so I can copy and share the message along with families, friends and others.

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Chasing the Cancer Answer: After fighting the disease herself, Marketplace's Wendy Mesley is asking questions about our rising cancer rates.

She's getting some disturbing answers.

Chasing the Cancer Answer travels the world to provide revealing interviews with an outspoken American doctor, frustrated cancer victims in southern Ontario, pharmaceutical sales representatives in Paris, France, and activists working to increase awareness of prevention measures.

Chasing the Cancer Answer invites viewers along on the journey to find answers to one of the country's fastest growing medical crises.

For that story, watch Marketplace Sunday March 5, 7:00 pm on CBC Television.

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I saw a little preview of it and they mentioned that the many carcinogens in the environment can contribute to the encouragement of cancer. The many products we use everyday.  It is so scary..go to a common grocery chain and look in the cleaning product area or beauty products. Read the ingredient list..So full of stuffs / chemicals that we can't even pronounce. Of course those products are considered safe and having the safety seal of approval but that just tells us it is safe for a small amount of dose but we are physically accumulating a great amount over the years when we step outside and into the smog, the bustling of city life.  The traffic smell is So gross at peak hours!! And we do this very time we go to work. That is why Conscious consumption is so significance. Anything Environmental friendly and biodegradable is a must if we want to live a healthy lifestyle.

much metta,
Yuri

What causes cancer?

Cancer occurs when cells are triggered to grow abnormally. Triggers include genetics, radiation, and carcinogens.

I finished watching the marketplace venture on Chasing Cancer. Our main question is "Why is cancer so common? The statistics say now that the rate for cancer is 1/2 people get cancer!!! One out of two people. That is too Scary for me. Wendy Mesley begins our journey of discovery by first taking a blood test of herself to see what kind of chemicals and carcinogens are in her system. The result was 44/60, she got 44 out of 60 carcinogens that can harm us. My first reaction was too high is it not? Well, it is considered normal. NORMAL! We have been mirage.

When she first got cancer, she asks many questions about it. WHy Me? She ate healthy, exercise, and live a clean lifestyle. The Canadian Cancer Society says that "healthy lifestyle choices could prevent 50 per cent of cancers. They say a "small percentage" of cancers are linked to environmental toxins, or carcinogens." That just does not make sense to me when the result of the blood test was 44/60. The data is telling us something. Read it. Start to ask. Be curious. The Canadian Cancer Society tells us we can prevent cancer by not smoking, eating veggies, exercise, staying out of the sun, getting screen regularly, visit the doctor and dentist regularly and avoid cancer - causing substances. Is that the whole truth? Is that really enough? Why are cancer still rising? "The more money you spend on cancer, the more cancer you get," Is it the fish, the food or the fishbowl?

Something to think about. The Canadian Cancer Society spends about 10% percent of its budget on prevention. Why? What about the Cancer drug companys? Are they finding a cure or finding treasure of gold? The Cancer industry."In 2006, cancer drugs will be the fastest growing class of pharmaceuticals in the world, exceeding $37 billion in sales." Perhaps cancer is profitable. More drugs, screening, treatment, more disease and greater profit?  "The more drugs are bought, the higher the profit. The more disease there is, the greater the profit." Prevention should be address but why isn't it? "There are no companies that are devoted to cancer prevention as there are to cancer treatment," says Dr. James Holland. "There's no incentive economically for them." Isn't the Canadian Cancer Society about saving lives? And drug companies? Not. "We save lives by prevention not by trying to treat it says Dr. Sam Epstein (a cancer expert).

Facts:

*1 in 2.3 men and 1 in 2.6 women will have cancer in their lifetime.

*A low-fat diet used to be touted as a cancer-fighter. Recent studies cast that into doubt.

*The research found that women who switched to a low-fat diet later in life did not see a reduced risk of breast cancer, colorectal cancer or heart disease.

*Changing diet after age 50 may not work as well as eating healthy foods earlier in life

*But researchers say older women shouldn't give up trying to eat healthy. They say the focus should be on reducing saturated fats and trans fats found in processed foods, meat and some dairy products.

*Meanwhile, prostate cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, thyroid and testicular cancers are all increasing. All have links to environmental contaminants.

*According to the Canadian Cancer Society, over six million people die of cancer worldwide each year. The problem will be 50 per cent greater by 2020.

How much do we know?

The Pill:
In 2005, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer re-classified certain oral contraceptives as carcinogenic to humans with slightly increased risks for cervical, liver and breast cancer. While the overall benefits of oral contraceptives may be beneficial, it concluded, more study is needed.

Beef:
Meanwhile, the European Union has banned the import of Canadian beef injected with growth hormones. At least one of the hormones is carcinogenic.

Canada and product ingredients:
as of January 1, 2005, under the European Union 7th Amendment Cosmetic Directive, cosmetics companies selling products in the EU were ordered to refrain from using certain suspected cancer-connected ingredients, used in some fragrances, hair sprays and nail polishes. In Canada, those chemicals are still found at the cosmetics counter.

Why is Canada so behind the European? "You get cancer by being exposed to this whole range of chemicals, often at critical periods of your development, and over a long period of time." No matter how little you are expose to the dose, it is still a dose and you accumulate doses over time!!!

Good News on product labelling!
In November 2006, new labelling regulations will require manufacturers to list ingredients on personal care products Canada.

What can we do!! Conscious consumption.

1. Pay close attention to what you're exposing yourself to when you bring products into your home.

*killing products - insectides, weed killers with ingredients such as Amitrole, Captan, Chlorothalonil, Dicofol, Naphthalene,  Paradichlorobenzene, Phenoxy herbicides, Tetrachlorvinphos, Trifluralin.(If the word is sciencitific, you can't pronounce it, don't buy it.)

*Cleaning products - with ingredients such as Silica (found in some abrasive cleaners, brass cleaners), Trisodium nitrilotriacetate (NTA) -(Found in laundry detergents.)

2. Be mindful of food and drinks.

*The International Agency for Research on Cancer (World Health Organization) classifies alcoholic beverages as carcinogenic to humans.

*As for food, from 1994 – 1998, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency tested samples of a variety of meat, produce and dairy products for the presence of pesticides. The results were released to the public in 2002 and showed significant amounts of contamination from dozens of pesticides including carcinogens such as captan, chlorothalonil and benomyl.

3. Buy organic! If you are in Canada, try (spud.ca) they deliver a box of fresh organic veggies and fruits to your door :) They are awesome. I used them.

In its CancerSmart Consumer Guide, Mae Burrow's Labour Environmental Alliance Society lists the 15 most likely contaminated and the 15 least likely contaminated fruits and vegetables, based on data from the CFIA's 1994-1998 tests:

Most contaminated food list: (That means that you should buy organic for those kinds of food.)

Apples
Bell peppers (additions from Dr. Greger MD's list.)
Celery
Cherries
Grapes
Grapefruit
Lettuce (leaf)
Lettuce (head)
Nectarines
Oranges
Peaches
Pears
Potatoes
Snow peas
Spinach
Strawberries

4. Be food choosy. Perhaps it is best to vegetarian / vegan?

Acrylamide - (Produced when certain foods (particularly high-starch foods such as french fries or potato chips) are cooked at temperatures over 120 degrees Celsius.

Nitrosamines - Chemical compounds formed by the reaction of amines and amino acids with nitrite (used as a preservative in cured meats).

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) - PCBs bio-accumulate in the fat of humans and animals, including fish.

After all this information, I am very interested in getting a blood test and seeing what kind of chemicals are in my body. What about you?

For further details, check CBC Marketplace

What do we think of when I say "caveman times". An ancient times of hunting and gathering? Living among animals and trees in the forest? Transportation by foot and no power source but the sun and fire made by sticks? It is possible we can go back in time.

Beyond the car culture

I was reading the article "Beyond the car culture" in the Downbound Traveler by Peter Armstrong and they talked about a politician and a teacher in Ontario that wants walkable communities linked by transit. He says that "Cars are more trouble than they're worth. Also, when we're hitting peak oil, we need to reorganize the urban areas of the world into walkable communities like they were in the 18th-century and before that."

What a keen idea! I think it's a really great idea because it is sustainable and environmentally friendly thing to do. After all, who really reaps the benefits from all this? It is US, the people living on this planet. We clean our homes don't we? It makes sense to do the same with our planet. We really need to start thinking about other alternatives besides driving or using vehicle fuel by gasoline. Pollution is gross and no one needs to smell the early and afternoon peak hour traffic fumes or at anytime or worse case yet Cancer.  

What are we going to do when the oil is gone?

After all peak oil season is over. "The issue is not one of "running out" so much as it is not having enough to keep our economy running." The increased of worldly population plus increased in demand will sent oil prices shooting sky high. As a result, the nation's most oil dependent economies "will crumble, and resource wars will explode." Fearful times are coming and this generation will live to see and be involved it.

Something to think about.

Vice President Dick Cheney (CEO of Halliburton) stated in year 1999:

*By some estimates, there will be an average of two-percent
annual growth in global oil demand over the years ahead,
along with, conservatively, a three-percent natural decline
in production from existing reserves.That means by 2010 we
will need on the order of an additional 50 million barrels a
day.  

*Some geologists expect  2005  to be the last year of the cheap-oil bonanza, while many estimates coming out of the oil industry indicate "a seemingly unbridgeable supply-demand gap opening up after 2007," which will lead to major fuel shortages and increasingly severe blackouts beginning around 2008-2012. As we slide down the down slope slope of the global oil production curve, we may find ourselves slipping into what some scientists are calling the "post-industrial stone age."

 "Big deal. If gas prices get high, I’ll just  drive less. Why should I give a damn?"
I thought of that too and how in a way, it is better for the environment but it isn't so simple. There are already many strings attached to our ways of consumption and lifestyles.

Did you know that..? (geologist Dale Allen Pfeiffer says in his book "Eating Fossil Fuels,") - more evidences of high energy usage and hence high environmental contamination.

*approximately 10 calories of fossil fuels are required to produce every 1 calorie of food eaten in the US.

every step of modern food production is fossil fuel and petrochemical powered:

1.  Pesticides are made from oil;

2.  Commercial fertilizers are made from ammonia, which is
    made from natural gas, which will peak about 10 years
    after oil peaks;

3.  With the exception of a few experimental prototypes, all
    farming implements such as tractors and trailers are
    constructed and powered using oil;

4.  Food storage systems such as refrigerators are
    manufactured in oil-powered plants, distributed across
    oil-powered transportation networks and  usually run on
    electricity, which most often comes from natural gas or
    coal;

5.   In the US, the average piece of food is transported
     almost 1,500 miles before it gets to your plate. In
     Canada, the average piece of food is transported 5,000
     miles from where it is produced to where it is consumed.

So what's that got to do with me? It is not only going to effect You but all of US. Some dark times are heading our way. I understand that this is a dark subject but to change the world, we have to understand reality, work with it, learn from it and surf it. As a citizen of this planet, making positive change zaadzsters, we have a responsibility to assist others and ourselves in our journey of changing the world.

"What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself."
Abraham Maslow

"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." Alan Watts

"We are the ocean, each of us are the drops of water that makes the ocean possible. We can not change the whole ocean all at once but we can start somewhere and we can do something." Yuri

What can we do?

1. Use less energy! Walk, Bike and Ride Transit.

The lower to the ground you are, the more energy you save. For eg. walking is better than biking, biking is better than driving, driving is better than plane and so on. If you have to drive, go for fuel efficient car like the hybrid.

2. Recycle, Reuse, and Reduce.

3. Eat local foods...try going to the farmers market for things instead of grocery chains.

4. Buy Organic..eat Less Meat. It takes a great amount of energy to sustain and sanitize factory farming. Consider Vegetarian / Vegan / Raw foods.

5. Consume LESS in general.

6. Use your Voting Power.

7. Educate, Learn and Grow.

"The auto culture is over when the fossil fuel orgy is over so we might as well start redesigning our urban and rural environments now for the post-petroleum era. We must explain to people that this is not a choice; we can't choose to keep cars."

"In 100 years, there will be no cars, period. Whether they're run on bio diesel, ethanol, or chicken excrement, there will be no cars so we better get used to that eventuality and start planning for it now."

Got some more ideas? Leave a comment please :)

References:

Downbound.com

Peak Oil : Life after the oil crash

The package says magnetic Bandages and on the side, it reads "help your body help itself..." and on the back instructions, it is apply to painful, stiff or sore areas. I found it at Community natural foods. I had a light sore at my right shoulder since the beginning of my sitting job. It vibrates sometimes at work and haven't disappear anytime soon which I thought it would. I have been going to hot yoga twice a week and working out the knots in my bodies. The pain was still there.

I wonder if it would work, I heard of magnetic fields bracelets and magnetic clocks.  Chefmystic Zaadzster said that Ken Wilber had a couple of magnetic clocks in his home! "The only electronic clock in the world that does not drain your energy while you sleep or work. Engineered with SRTTM, the ClearWave powerfully neutralizes the effects of EMF in your home or work environment." So there are people who believe in its effects :) How does it work?

In the Q-Link site, it basically talks about a bio field - a force (a biographical sketch/outline) all around us that have an effect on our well-being. Shall we call it "energy field?"
Our energy field can produce both positive or negative vibrating frequencies. Negative would be flickering screens from computers or televisions, cell phones, traffic jams, artificial lights, irritable and rude people, tight deadlines, as well as ourselves and others play a role in our well being. It is important to take a breath of rest, relax and laugh.

The site says that:

“The Q-Link is a technology that amplifies and clarifies the body's energies. By reducing the noise in any energy field, this technology strengthens and purifies the body's own energies.

Interesting discovery.

Yesterday night was my first night of wearing the bandage then I wore it to work until 4:30pm.

I just read Shelly's blog on her lovely bunny friend "lucky". It was very touching story because of the many scenes of friendship, care, kindness and love gesture displayed. When we have critter companions, there exist a special bond shared between the animal and care giver. A special connection when we become familiar with each other's personalities and spaces. We can not help but love each of our quarks and can not resist the feeling of shared love and understanding as our critter friends become part of our lives whether it is in the past or present. We want the very best for them just as ourselves and hopefully, we can be together as long as our conditions allow us to be in our life journey and to the end.

It is neat to witness the bond..In the past, my companion friend was a red -ear turtle. Grandma came home with him after she made her way home from Calgary at her sister's place. The two turtles are from her older sister's daughter's son. The mom didn't want to take care of it so grandma took them home. They were so cute and I love them. They grew fast and soon, they were the size of a small melon. I vividly remembered about the last one, he was quite nosy but sweet for a turtle. Whenever there was an area of energy at our house, he would crawl there and look. He favourite thing was sun bathing on my thighs with his limbs out stretched out and his neck tall. You can't beat that. The cutest is when he yawl! Yes, turtles do yawl and it is the CUTEST. I do miss him much. Is it suprising to know that turtle form bonds? Well, they do and all animals do... even ants and animals that people call pest so have a heart and try not to harm them. Find other alternative to release him.

Animals have their tiny gesture of communication and greeting, the look in the eyes, the expressions on the face, the non verbal ways that we may overlook and for my kitty, a the soft "meow" for a hello while passing by each other in the house. Flo is part of the family and so if I do see her, of course, I will say hello. The funny part is that she understands the same. Last time Ryan forgot to say hello while crossing paths, Flo made sure he understood that it was bad manners when she turned her head and express her impression of his ways through the gesture on her face. He got the message. He just chuckled while telling it to me. I guess we all have a clear understanding of good manners hey :) We are best of buddies and we usually hang out together.

Ms. Flo is quite vocal now and we had her for about half a year already!..Time sure passed by fast. When we first met, she was a gem, her character was very strong..independent, a proactive and determined type of cat who showed us she wanted out from the cat shelter. She was alert and smart. On our meeting together chosen by the coordinator,  she quickly galloped to us..she made eye contact..communicated to us through meowing and darted right to me and Lick Me right there and then. I was surprised..it was my first lick experience by a critter friend. All I did was sit, stare, smile and announced that I got licked. She then would dashed to Ryan and would let him petted her. There was nothing to see anymore. I mean there is no need to see anymore cats, she was the one for us.

Her arrival at our place was quite memorable, she was quite active on arrival. We allowed her to wander and sniff and before long, she already mapped out the litter box after it was introduced to her . The first week she was with us, she caught the sniffles with a virus:( Her nose was plugged and there was great amount of mucous. Poor Flo, she had such difficulty breathing..I was worried just hearing her breath. I phoned the cat shelter coordinator for help a couple of times asking for advice. He recommended a humidifier and eucalyptus oil for better breathing. It really was helpful and Ryan carried her in the bathroom for a hot steam sauna. The shower was turned on hot and we just let her breath in the air. I also had a pot of boiling water with a couple of drops of eucalyptus oil in and held the pot beneath her so the steam would rise in her direction.

During her time of weakness, she was more affectionate then usual, I must admit, it was very sweet...she would cuddle with me on the crouch and rest her head on my lap and I would stoke her from head to her body. It was a safe and homey kind of feeling for us both. We are at peace with other each and our spaces. If we can provide such a feeling to another being, why not do it.

Create or produce such a state with others in this planet!! Share spaces!! Arrive in a place of harmony, peace and love for all!! It increases our capacity for compassion and opens our hearts...being mindful of our connection with each other, connection to this planet, connection to this existence, and connection to the same spaces are valuable. It is not about attachment but the opposite. It is living life and opening our hearts and cherishing differences and sameness..to see animals as same and as unique as ourselves..needing love, food, a home and comfort..

Blossom our love..our universal love to one another,  to animal friends..to strangers..to all species, beings and nature, spaces and everything that is in our presence. See the moment, know the opportunity, take the actions to share spaces, share understanding and share loving-kindness. When we embrace that, we will have no regrets but a smile in the end. If we can give, we are truly the lucky ones.