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In the course of two months, since the first part of this
article, "Caffeine Fiend," I have completely quit all
forms of caffeine. Well, I still eat chocolate but I don't
drink coffee, soda or caffeinated tea. I felt as though
drinking caffeine every morning was giving me an
extra jolt that I really didn't need. It made me a little too
hyper and during certain times of the month it made
my stomach feel horrible and very acidic. Those side
effects are right on the mark in comparison to what
most people complain about when they have had too
much coffee to drink. But Americans love their
caffeine. The average American drinks approximately
200 milligrams of caffeine a day. That is equivalent to
two cups of coffee, three to four cans of soda, or four
cups of tea.
Caffeine belongs to a group of stimulants called xanthines. After drinking an 8oz cup of coffee, the highest concentration of caffeine kicks in within thirty to sixty minutes and it usually lasts approximately four to six hours. When the caffeine in your body is at full power you may encounter a rise in your anxiety, become more restless and irritable, have gastrointestinal aches, headaches that don't seem to go away, or trouble sleeping. These are physical signs or "red flags" that your brain is alerting you to. It is possible you have had too much caffeine or maybe caffeine isn't right for you. Listen to your body. It is so much smarter that you could even imagine. A little gloomy: Caffeine sends out those physical red flags for a very important reason. Your body is trying to tell you that if you keep drinking too much caffeine eventually you will be faced with long-term effects. Personally I believe it depends on each individual body. Caffeine is not great for the body at all but some people can handle it a lot better than others. So the easiest way to figure it out is to decide whether or not you get any of those side effects listed above. If you get any effects consistently, it is probably a very good idea to stop drinking caffeine, or at least lower the amount you intake daily. For me, my body was definitely telling me to "cut it out!" So I did. My withdrawal from caffeine was not too bad, although I definitely felt it leaving my body! I had a horrible headache for three days and my stomach was still a little off the whole time. Now my stomach feels great, the headaches went away, and I actually feel much more rested when I wake up. Some of the long-term side effects of caffeine are listed below. Osteoporosis, birth defects, miscarriage, infertility, cancers, high blood pressure, PMS, ulcers and heartburn, fibrocystic breast disease, and heart disease. The plot thickens! What about decaffeinated coffee? Is it healthy for you? Chappy, one of my yoga students, brought up a good point about decaffeinated coffee being unhealthy because of the process the beans go through to remove the caffeine. All I could think of was, "now what?" The Food and Drug Administration is always coming up with new reports about something that was healthy and now is a carcinogen! So I did some research. The decaffeinating process In order for coffee to qualify as decaffeinated, it must have at least 97 percent of its caffeine removed. There are two different techniques that remove caffeine from the coffee bean, direct or indirect decaffeination. The substances used to remove the caffeine may directly or indirectly come in contact with the beans. The Removal Substance: Ethyl Acetate- a substance found in many fruits. Indirect Decaffeination: Coffee beans are soaked in water to soften them and dissolve the caffeine. The water containing the caffeine is treated with a solvent, heated to remove the solvent and caffeine, and then returned to the beans. The flavors in the water are reabsorbed by the beans, which are then dried. The beans never touch the solvent therefore it is called indirect decaffeination. When the coffee label says, "naturally decaffeinated" this is the process they are referring to. A second form of Indirect Decaffeination: The beans soak in water to soften them and remove the caffeine. Then the liquid runs through activated charcoal or carbon filters to decaffeinate it. The liquid, with the flavor, is then returned to the beans to be dried. This process is called and will be labeled "Swiss Water Process." Direct Decaffeination: This process involves the use of carbon dioxide as a solvent. The beans are soaked in compressed CO2, which removes the caffeine. The solvent containing the extracted caffeine evaporates when the beans cool down to room temperature. The solvent is directly in contact with the bean, therefore it is a direct decaffeination. The misconception: In the past there have been very toxic solvents used to decaffeinate coffee beans. Methylene Choride, alleged to cause cancer was used many years ago and is no longer used today. In the 1970's, another solvent, Trichlorethylene, was found to be carcinogenic and is also no longer being used. So I am finally at ease again, drinking my decaffeinated coffee, with a big smile on my face. I just checked the container of "Trader Joe's Smooth and Really Mellow Blend" decaf coffee and it states on the container "100% naturally decaffeinated" All is well in the world again! |
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By Miriam Stollar and Deivis
Karaliunas
In the last issue of Yoga Bean we took you to Lonavla, in the state of Maharashtra, India, for a look at Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute. A picturesque ten- minute train ride away is the small nearby village of Malavli, surrounded by fortressed mountains, whose serene natural landscape is home to various Buddhist and Hindu spiritual centers. The typical oases of India backpacking guidebooks usually refer to those tourist oases where a laid-back traveler's atmosphere reigns, and the shopkeepers greet customers in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew and Japanese. Plenty of cheap guesthouses, tourist restaurants serving Israeli breakfasts and Italian dinners, available internet connection, and an even readier availability of hashish, plus, the requisite chocolate cakes from the German Bakeries, are usually the defining factors of the traveler's haven in India. Ordering an elaborate meal for one dollar on a rooftop terrace and sitting lazily for hours with a truly spectacular view, writing postcards, updating journals, swapping books or sharing travel tips, the cheap and easy living lulls backpackers into long and comfortable stays in places where hummus and falafel, Italian pasta and pizza, and even Korean specialties can be easier to find than a good Indian meal. In the rural oasis of Malavli, however, the foreign tourist is still a curiosity. Small villages nestle in green valleys encircled by rings of mountains. Romantic forts of long-gone eras perch on majestic mountaintops, still gazing down imperiously on their spectacular countryside as if waiting for their ancient kings to rise again. Ancient monasteries carved into the mountainsides by the hands of Buddhist monks give silent witness to these mountains' long tradition of spiritual practice and retreat, a tradition still attested to today by the numerous Hindu, Buddhist and yoga spiritual centers in the area quietly continuing their ancient paths. There may be no cheap guesthouses, and you will be hard-pressed to find pasta or a pizza, let alone hummus and falafel. There are few local people that speak English, even fewer foreign tourists about to swap stories and books, and no tourist shops trying to sell you Goa fashion. In fact, the local villagers expect nothing at all from you except that you return their enthusiastic wave with a large smile. On the weekend, the region bubbles with extra life and different accents, as Bombay's well-to-do come to shed the city stress in holiday homes and resorts, enjoying family outings and barbecues in the fresh mountain air. Facing Malavli to one side are the Karla Caves, ancient meditation halls and solitary cells carved into the mountainside by Buddhist monks almost 2000 years ago. On the opposite mountainside are the lesser-known and equally spectacular Bhaja Caves, carved over 2200 years ago, in which mystic Buddhist initiations are rumored to still be taking place secretly under the cover of the night. Hidden in the back fields of Malavli under the inspiring gaze of the Bhaja Caves is the Buddhist retreat center of Trailokya Buddha MahaSanga SahaYoka Gana, a non-denominational Buddhist organization based in the nearby city of Pune. The center was founded by British monks in 1956 in support of the mass Buddhist conversion of the Dalit people, outcast 'untouchables' in their own Hindu religion and society. With no signs declaring its unassuming presence and the road still a vague meander through the fields, we trudged through the picturesque fields of harvest, where time seemed to have stopped some centuries back. Arriving unannounced from the midst of the fields, shaking off wisps of hay, we were warmly greeted, toured around the serene grounds, and served a cup of tea alongside a vibrant sunset. The center's expansive and natural setting accommodates 25-50 people in private rooms for small retreats, and is also open for meditation instruction and spiritual retreat on an individual basis. Room, meals and spiritual guidance are provided, as well as the possibility of an isolated cave retreat. Individual retreats function on a donation basis, but keep in mind that most of the local Buddhists attending seminars and retreats are quite poor, originating from the untouchable caste, so the center relies on foreign donations to maintain its activities. Back in the center of Malavli village, between Karla and Bhaja Buddhist cave monasteries, sits the Vedanta Academy, a Hindu spiritual ashram in a lush, beautiful modern setting that might, at first, be mistaken for an American university campus, with its shiny new buildings, spacious modern dining facilities, hi-tech lecture hall, and fully equipped gym fitness room. The cricket grounds, meanwhile, ensure that the Indian national sport is not neglected. Vedanta Academy is headed by Swami Parthasarathy, a foremost scholar of Vedanta philosophy and the Bhagavad-Gita. Vedanta, also known as the school of non-duality, is one of the main schools of Hindu philosophy, its roots found in the ancient Hindu Vedas, and its spiritual essence postulated in the later Upanishads. The academy offers a three-year course in Vedanta Studies, in which, fitting to the timeless aspect of Vedanta philosophy- in which there is no absolute beginning and end, only a subjective and illusionary sense of time- each student's three years begins whenever he begins, and ends three years later. The Swami teaches in a circular three-year series of lectures having no absolute start or end, no linear chronological framework. As a spiritual ashram, there are no strict fees, however suggested donations for foreigners are sketched at about $10,000 for a full three-year period, virtually everything included. As an Australian disciple put it, "Someone can show up here, having paid the tuition donation for the full three years, without a penny in his pocket, and be in need of absolutely nothing for the next three years." He went on to stress that sincere applicants are welcome regardless of financial situation, and should not hesitate to contact the Swami personally. A few other spiritual centers are quietly keeping their heads down in different corners of the valley. Meanwhile, less than an hour away by train, in the city of Pune, is the famous Osho International Meditation Resort. The Osho center, whose common byline is 'Meditation, Celebration', offers a wide-angled and very flexible outlook on personal development and spirituality, with an emphasis on dynamic therapies, at expensive prices, and in an impeccable, modern and health-conscious setting. Malavli is also home to the Rural Housing Project, providing housing for the rural poor. The first house was donated by former President Jimmy Carter, well- known for his philanthropic globe-trotting, and the Jimmy Carter Work Project had volunteers from all parts of the world giving a hand in building the Malavli rural homes. On the idyllic surface, the Buddhist retreat center, Hindu Vedanta Academy, and Yoga Institute all share the same peaceful valley. Underneath, however, lies a turbulent socio-cultural past still simmering on the smoldering coals of the past. Local Buddhists of today are the Dalit untouchables of yesterday. The Dalit castes mass-converted to Buddhism in 1956, following the famous conversion of their charismatic Dalit leader, B.R. Ambedkar. On converting to Buddhism, the Dalit people changed, at least in their own eyes, from Hindus to Buddhists, and from polluting 'untouchables' to equal human beings. The Hindu hierarchy they left behind, however, did not forget, and many did not forgive this slighting of the sacred social order. Riots, violence, and massacres have shed the blood of both sides in a continuing saga, as last year marked the 50th anniversary of the 1956 mass Dalit conversions. Still today, an adopted Buddhist identity continues to stand out as a stigma of a Dalit past. Complicating the picture is the increasing interest in Buddhist meditation retreats amongst the Bombay-Pune upper class, fueled in part by the popularity of Goenka Vipassana meditation retreat centers. Hinduism has a flexible and pragmatic tendency to incorporate anyone who's anyone into its own echelons, brushing aside such unimportant issues as contradicting dogmas and philosophy. As such, Buddha, even Jesus (according to some schools), and other spiritual greats, have been included under the Hindu banner as divine Hindu reincarnations. Amongst Hindus, Buddha, spiritual icon of the untouchables, is commonly regarded as the 'poor people's god', a god that the upper class might like to bow to occasionally, but wouldn't want the neighbors to see. And so high- caste Hindus may attend Buddhist meditation retreats, but may be uncomfortable rubbing shoulders with low caste Buddhist converts. Meanwhile, despite attempted government bans on Dalit gatherings, mass Dalit conversions- seemingly the only escape from an endless rebirth as untouchables- continue periodically all over the country. With Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute, Trailokya Buddha MahaSanga SahaYoka Gana Buddhist retreat center, Vedanta Academy, and other spiritual centers quietly cooperating in peaceful harmony across the valley, we can hope that the future will bring a next generation unscarred by the ideas of caste pollution and inhumanity that chained their forefathers, Brahmins and untouchables alike. Trailokya Buddha MahaSanga SahaYoka Gana retreat center: www.FWBO.org Vaidyamilin@rediffmail.com The center also functions as a social support center. The Hindu caste system, while rejecting the Dalits, supported them as 'rejects'; with conversion, their only social and economic network- insulting as it was- was pulled out from under their feet, and the converts found themselves as non-entities, living ghosts, in a Hindu- run society that refused to recognize their caste- breaking rebirth as Buddhists. The retreat center cooperates with a Dalit social network group 'Manuski'- a local Maruti word encompassing the ideas of humanity, compassion, and respect- that run various courses aiding and encouraging the development of local NGOs and support groups. (www.manuski.org, www.jambudvipa.or g) Vedanta Life Institute, Vedanta Academy: www.vedanta- edu.org academy@vedanta-edu.org Osho International Meditation Resort: www.osho.com |
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I don't even know where to begin. Let's see, first we
will hear from Monsanto.
"Monsanto is an agricultural company. They apply innovation and technology to help farmers around the world be successful, produce healthier foods, better animal feeds and more fiber, while also reducing agriculture's impact on our environment." -right from their website. The Monsanto Pledge Integrity: Honest, decency, consistency, and courage Dialogue: Listen carefully to diverse points of view and engage in thoughtful dialogue Transparency: Ensure that information is available, accessible and understandable Sharing: Share knowledge and technology to advance scientific understanding, improve agriculture, and the environment, improve crops, and help farmers in developing countries. Benefits: Use sound and innovative science and thoughtful and effective stewardship to deliver high-quality products that are beneficial to the consumers and the environment. Respect: Respect the religious, cultural, and ethical concerns of people throughout the world. Act as Owners to Achieve Results: Create clarity of direction, roles, and accountability. Create a Great Place to Work: Ensure diversity of people and thought. Okay, sounds nice right? Well here is what they are really doing. Monsanto is: Intimidating small family farms The driving force of unlabeled, genetically engineered foods Poisoning consumers with toxic pesticides in and on foods Here are just a few examples of the science of Monsanto and how it effects us. 1) Monsanto has created what they call "Round Up Ready seeds." These seeds (i.e. corn, wheat, soybean, etc.) will not be harmed by Round Up brand weed killer (which, for everyone's information, is made by Monsanto). That means farmers can saturate the land with the very toxic chemical Round Up in order to kill weeds. The seeds/plants will be resistant to the Round Up chemicals, but the soil is receiving hundreds of gallons of toxins, leaching everywhere, in the ground and air. And who knows what is in the seed to make it resistant! 2) If you are using a Monsanto seed that is Round Up Ready, you have to conveniently use ONLY their Round Up product for the best results. They don't guarantee any others. On a side note, Round Up has been linked with hormone disruption and birth defects in humans. 3) Another strong selling seed by Monsanto is one that is implanted with a Bt gene. This gene produces a pesticidal toxin in every cell of the resulting plant. Therefore the seed has chemicals in it that helps protect it from insects and birds. So the pesticide is actually IN the seed. 4) Monsanto enforces the "Technology Protection System" or "Terminator Technology." This technology renders seeds of crops sterile after one or two years. This assures Monsanto that their seeds will not keep being used over and over, causing farmers to continually purchase new seeds every year or two. 5) Monsanto is also enforcing a new "law" that any farmer that is caught cultivating Monsanto seeds will be sued. There are many cases where organic farmers, growing near Monsanto seed farms, have had their land contaminated with the GM Monsanto seeds. Not only does this render their farm not organic but Monsanto is also suing these farmers for misuse of their seeds! In 1995 there were no genetically modified crops in the US for commercial sale. Only three years later, in 1998, there were 73 million acres of genetically modified crops worldwide, more than 50 million in the US. In 2000, Monsanto stated that 100% of all soybean crops were genetically modified, thanks to Monsanto's genetically modified soybean seeds. The FDA passed a law a while back that states that genetically modified foods do not have to be labeled. Therefore, the consumer has no idea what toxins they might be digesting. There is really not enough room in this newsletter for all of Monsanto's stories, lawsuits and genetic disruptions on so many levels. Do some research and see what you find out about this company that is the creator of "agent orange" and aspartame! You will surely find that there is much controversy surrounding this company as well as it's many connections to the government. The problem is that the soybeans, corn and wheat are all ready out there and we are probably eating them already! Knowledge is power! Read more about Monsanto on the following websites. Monsanto Home Page http://www.monsant o.com/ Organic Consumers Association http://www.o rganicconsumers.org/ Environmental Research Foundation http://www.rache l.org/home_eng.htm |
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(Zea mays) (Hopefully organic and not a Monsanto
cob!)
Did you know that corn is really grass? I didn't! All varieties of corn are grass, belonging to the gramineae family along with wheat, oats, and rye. Corn is an ancient staple food of the Americans. Corncobs, five thousand years old, have been found in Mexico and the southwest US. Ancient strains were small, brightly colored ears with compact nutritious kernels, today's corn being white or yellow and white with large kernels and not nearly the nutritional content as their ancestors. The nutritional value of corn has been severely sacrificed in order to create a much sweeter cob. Corn, especially organic, still holds a glimpse of vitamin A, B-complex, phosphorous, potassium and vegetable protein. It is a complex carbohydrate (you know the "good carbs"). Corn is the symbol of fertility and beneficence. Indian tribes would refer to corn as; "Seed of seeds," "Sacred Mother," "Blessed Daughter," and "Giver of Life." Indian tribes of the American Southwest are well noted for their many different varieties and colors of corn. In Zuni Indian ceremonies yellow corn is used to represent the north, blue corn for the west, red for the south, white for the east. Culinary Tips· Cook sweet corn as soon as possible to maintain its sweetness and receive the most nutrients. Keep corn, in the husk, refrigerated as soon as possible before using. There are so many ways to cook corn: Steam husked corn in 1-2 inches of water for about 6-10 minutes; boil in water for 5 minutes; soak corn cobs, with the husk on, in water and then barbeque or put in the oven for a half hour or so; microwave a cob, in its husk, for about one minute (tip from one of my yoga students, Sue); remove raw kernels, mix with flour, milk, and egg and fry as a corn fritter. Corn freezes very well. Blanch corn for just a few minutes, remove kernels or just leave on the cob, bag, and freeze. Bryn (she writes the wonderful gardening articles for Yoga Bean), has a great idea about freezing kernels. After you have blanched and removed the kernels, spread them out on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer until frozen. Then put in bags and freeze. This way the corn wont stick together when it is frozen. Medicinal Uses Stop diarrhea fast! In one cup of milk or water thoroughly stir one heaping tablespoon of cornstarch. Drink quickly before the starch settles. Repeat if needed. Facial Masks for Skin Problems: Try this mask once or twice a week. It seals in moisture, draws our impurities and tightens pours. What can be better than that? For dry skin: Cornstarch with any of these: egg yolks, mashed banana, peaches, avocado, olive oil, yogurt, powdered milk, cucumbers, sour cream, honey, lemon, grated carrot. For oily skin: Cornmeal plus any of these: papaya, strawberries, tomatoes, lemon juice, cucumber, apple juice, whipped egg white. For normal skin: Cornmeal plus any of these: strawberries, bananas, egg yolk, yogurt, mayonnaise. RECIPES Tina's Corn and Tomato Salsa Corn kernels, cooked Tomatoes, diced very small Red onion, diced very small Cilantro, as much as you can handle Juic of a lemon Juice of a lime Salt and pepper to taste Mix all ingredients and serve with chips, fish, as a side, with anything really! Spicy Corn Fritters (Recipe from "Simple Recipes" online) Dipping Sauce ¾ cup rice vinegar ½ cup sugar 1 ½ teaspoons red chili pepper flakes salt 1 large clove of garlic, minced Fritters 1 cup flour ¼ teaspoon baking powder salt 1 teaspoon ground coriander ½ teaspoon ground cumin 1 egg, lightly beaten 1 teaspoon lemon juice ½ cup water 2 cups of corn kernels 4 large scallions or green onions, finely sliced ¼ cup shopped cilantro oil for frying 1) Mix all ingredients of dipping sauce and cook on medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium and let boil for 5-10 minutes or so, until the mixture becomes somewhat syrupy. 2) Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, ground coriander, and ground cumin in a medium bowl. Add egg, lemon juice and water. Stir vigorously until smooth. Add the corn, onions, and cilantro. Stir until just combined. 3) Heat large frying pan on med. Heat. Add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Spoon about 2 tablespoons worth of fritter batter into the pan to form one fritter. Pat down to make the fritter a little flatter. Let cook about 2-3 minutes on each side or until browned. When fritters are done, let them drain on a plate with a paper towel on it. Makes about 16 fritters. If you have any great recipes with your favorite foods, please send them to me and I will include them in this section of an upcoming issue. Or if you have any suggestions about what veggie, fruit, herb etc. you'd like to know more about- Just email me at tina@yogabean.net. Thanks! Heinerman, J. (1995). New Encyclopedia of Fruits and Vegetables. Paramus, NJ: Parker Publishing Comp. |
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Ah, I remember the good old days when all I had to
worry about was getting the newest and most
fashionable clothes on me in the morning and then
getting to the bus on time. On my way out of the house
I would grab my brown-bagged lunch on the kitchen
counter, that my mom made everyday, and then run
down my lawn to the bus. Actually, even when I was
able to drive myself to school, my mom still packed my
lunch. She is such a keeper! Haha. Anyway, I believe
I can take that experience and pull many good ideas
from it to help a parent figure out how to get their child
to eat a healthy lunch everyday.
Leftovers: One of the easiest ways to figure out what to put in the lunch. Every Sunday afternoon my mom would make spaghetti and turkey meatballs (no one in my family really ate red meat and I was and still am very sensitive to it so I cant eat it) and every Monday, for lunch, my mom would pack me a spaghetti and meatball sandwich. I don't know how, but it didn't get all nasty in the bread, in my lunch bag, getting hit around a lot during the morning, and it tasted incredible. And apparently it was a "weird" sandwich because my lunch mates all gave me strange looks. But then they tried the sandwich. After that my mom would have to pack two spaghetti sandwiches in my lunch bag every Monday! Everyone shared my lunch with me on Mondays. Make it fun with variety: I never knew what I was getting in lunch that day. Except for Mondays, I got to a point where I would wait until lunch to look and see what I got. It was also very intriguing for all of my lunch mates too. On occasion, when my mom would have used up the butter in those little plastic butter containers and had cooked artichokes the night before, guess what I would get in my lunch the next day? Along with other things, I would get a plastic butter container, being reused, with one artichoke in there, almost smashed in. It tasted great! Variety is hard to master when you are a working mom or dad or on a small budget of money or time, but it keeps lunch fresh and new for your kids and inevitably more fun. Finding variety is easy when you start thinking about it. It doesn't have to be the outrageous foods that my mom concocted in a place of a normal sandwich but it can be easy and still very effective. For example, how about 10 almonds (or whatever kind of nut) in a sandwich bag as a snack, or unpeeling an orange in one complete piece (my dad perfected that) and then rewrapping the orange and putting it in a bag for lunch as a snack. It makes it more fun to eat and just enough of a surprise to get them interested. Get on their level: Another fond memory I have of my bagged lunches were of the little comics that my mom would cut out once in a while from the Sunday Star Ledger and include in my lunch. It was usually "Family Circus." On the other hand, I do recall getting what Harry Potter would call "howler mail" in my lunch that consisted of one of two napkins that would have large writing on it, in pen, listing all the things I had to remember to do before leaving school that day. To all the moms and dads out there, "this tactic works." Writing on a spare napkin is a wonderful way to talk to your child during the day. Write "I love you" or "Good luck on the test" or just "have a great day!" and you will be talking in volumes to your child's self esteem and feelings of being loved. Off the beaten track: Sometimes it is good to change up the ordinary veggies that moms and dads usually put in their kids lunch (i.e. carrots and celery) and cut up some strips of raw pepper or add some sticks of raw asparagus (another one of my moms favorites). What about organic corn on the cob that you cooked the night before. My mom would break the corn into smaller chunks and then give me a chunk or two as a vegetable. Fresh breath counts: When I would stay over my good friend Miriam's house (the same Miriam that writes the "Yoga Talk" section of this newsletter!), her mom would pack us a brown bag lunch. The one thing I remember being surprised about were the two velamints that were in the bottom of the bag. These mints were sweet tasting and a great way to not have horrible breath in the afternoon. These are only a few ideas to help spruce up the boring bagged lunch rut that moms and dads get into because they can't think of what else to put in the lunch. If anyone has any ideas that they would like to share with the Yoga Bean crowd, just email me your ideas and I will print them in the next issue or send as a supplement even earlier. tina@yogabean.net |
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Going Native!
You may have seen ads for plants, extolling among other features, that they are native or you may have seen the term "native plant" splashed across the cover of a glossy gardening magazine. You probably wondered, "What's all the fuss about?" "What is a native plant anyway?" A very rough definition of a native plant is a plant species that naturally occurs in an area ("area" defined as a region and ecotype - examples: Pennsylvania Pocono Mountain ridge or the NJ Pine Barrens) without any human intervention at any time in its history. By this I don't mean a plant like kudzu ("The Vine That Ate the South") which, although it is growing extremely well in the South (and has moved north into Pennsylvania) without any help from people, was originally brought to this country from Asia by humans for erosion control, for cattle fodder, and for its ornamental qualities. I mean a plant that has ended up in an area through evolution or because its seed traveled there with help from floodwaters, birds, insects, etc. Frequently a native plant is defined (in the US) as a plant that naturally occurred in an area prior to the arrival of Europeans. While this definition has some value, it doesn't take into consideration any evolutionary changes since that point in time. It also loses value outside of the "New World". Why should you plant a native plant? There are many good reasons. Native plants have a long history of being adapted to your area. They can grow in your unamended soil (provided it hasn't been badly damaged by previous use/abuse), they can handle the normal rainfall patterns, and they can handle the typical summer highs and winter lows. This means that native plants require less from you, provided you have located them appropriately (i.e. don't take a plant that naturally occurs on a dry mountain ridge and plant it in your rain garden - for a discussion of rain gardens, see my article in the July/August 2007 issue of the Yoga Bean magazine.) You won't need to change the pH of your soil, you won't need to fertilize, you won't need to water once that plant is established unless there is an unusually long dry spell, and you won't need to protect the plant in the winter. Furthermore, native plants are a valuable part of the local ecology. They have developed a complex set of relationships with the native insects, birds and animals. They provide food, shelter from predators and places to rear young. They may have also developed a very specialized relationship, like the monarch butterfly and the milkweed plant. Milkweeds are toxic to many insects and animals but are edible to monarch caterpillars. The toxin builds up in the caterpillar and later makes the butterfly toxic to its prey. No milkweeds = no monarchs. You may be thinking, "well, birds are nice and butterflies, too, but why would I want to attract insects?" Butterflies may be attracted to your butterfly bush (native to China and Japan), but if you don't have plants that provide good surfaces for the butterflies to lay eggs or plants that feed the caterpillars, you will have a very limited number of butterflies visiting. As for attracting birds, they don't just eat berries and seeds, many birds need insects to survive. Consider the following facts, as presented by Doug Tallamy in his lecture "Restoring Balance and Diversity to Your Garden", as presented at the Millersville "Native Plants in the Landscape" conference earlier this year: * 96% of all terrestrial birds rear their young on insects. No insects; no baby birds. * 90% of all insects that eat plants require native plants to complete their development. That is because plants protect their leaves with toxic chemicals. Insects can survive after eating those chemicals only after they have evolved physiological mechanisms for detoxifying them. This requires a long evolutionary history between insects and their host plants. Native insects only have such histories with native plants. They have not been exposed to plants that evolved in Europe or Asia long enough to be able to use them as host plants successfully. * Every time we plant an alien plant, we are reducing the local insect population and thus depriving the birds and wildlife of the food they need to survive and reproduce. * Studies have shown that areas overrun with alien plants produce 35 times less caterpillar biomass, the most popular insect food with birds. * Alien, non-native plants used in the ornamental trade support 29 times fewer species of caterpillars than native ornamental plants. * Generalist insects (those that feed on many types of plants) will not be able to compensate for the loss of specialist herbivores (those that feed on a specific type of plant). Although they are better able to eat a variety of plants, the chemical differences between most alien plants and our native species are too great even for generalist to overcome. Additionally, by planting native plants we are encouraging diversity and preventing extinction of both plants and everything that depends on them. More facts from Doug Tallamy: * We have paved 4 million miles of roads in the U.S. (Hayden 2004) This is equivalent to 37,879 sq miles, or nearly five times the size of New Jersey. * We have converted 62,500 sq miles (40 million acres) to suburban lawn in the U.S. This is over 8 times the size of New Jersey dedicated to an alien plant. * Over 800 plant and animal species are rare, threatened, or endangered in Pennsylvania. 150 have already disappeared entirely. * 40% of Delaware's plant species are rare or extinct and 41% of its forest birds no longer nest in the state. * Michael Rosenzweig's work at the University of Arizona has shown that the area required to sustain biodiversity is the same as the area required to generate it. Since we have taken 95% of the U.S. from nature we can expect to lose 95% of the species that once lived here unless we learn how to share our living, working and agricultural spaces with biodiversity. * Biodiversity is not optional, and yet we are forcing it to extinction. We need biodiversity because biodiversity runs the ecosystem on which we depend. The more diverse an ecosystem is, the more services (air, water, food, benign weather systems, carbon dioxide sequestration, garbage recycling etc.) it will provide for us. Biodiversity losses are a clear signal that humanity's life support systems are failing. Finally, native plants are beautiful! So maybe it took the interest of a handful of German plantsmen for us to realize the beauty of what we have in our own backyards, as it were, but now that our attention is focused, native plants are hitting the mainstream. Native plants can offer colorful flowers, mottled bark, attractive shapes, or any other features for which we value in non-native plants. The interest in native plants encourages the development of named cultivars, which encourages further interest in planting native plants. Therefore, the rise of interest by the consumer in native plants encourages plant breeders to focus their energy on the growth and development of native plants and their aesthetic features. Native plants are easily available in most nurseries and there are also a number of nurseries that specialize in native plants. In summary, how strictly you define "native plant" may vary according to how you plan to use that plant. If you are trying to do a meadow restoration or a streambank restoration, you would want to define "native plant" fairly strictly. You would want to use straight species instead of specially bred cultivars because you would want the genetic variation. (Named cultivars are genetically identical to each other.) You would also select plant species that grow in a similar local area. I know people who have gone so far as to collect seeds from a nearby woodland in order to populate their restoration project with the local genetic variations. Conversely, I would define "native plants" much looser for a garden project. Although genetic variation provides greater resilience to weather irregularities or unusual, severe insect predation, I wouldn't hesitate to use a cultivar because I am looking for certain aesthetic qualities as well as adaptation to the local ecology. For example, I would use the straight species Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) for a meadow restoration project. However, I may decide to use Echinacea purpurea 'Fragrant Angel' or Echinacea purpurea 'Kim's Knee High' in the dry sunny area of a garden because the first offers fragrant white flowers (the species has no discernable fragrance and has purple flowers) and the second is much shorter than the species (12"-24" vs. 30"-48"). Both cultivars will still fill the same ecologic niche as the species, i.e. attract bees and butterflies to their flowers and goldfinches to their seed heads. There are a lot of resources to learn what plants are native to your area. Many states are encouraging the use of native plants and provide lists and recommendations on their websites (Pennsylvania, Delaware). There are also many native plant societies in existence (Native Plant Society of New Jersey, Pennsylvania Native Plant Society, Wild Ones). These groups would be good resources if you have specific questions and they also frequently host lectures and field trips. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center has an excellent online plant database that you can search. American Beauties, a branded collection of plants native to the northeast US, also has an excellent online plant database as well as recommendations for different garden conditions. If you want to know more about native plants and restoring the ecology of your yard, I highly recommend the book Noah's Garden: Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Back Yards by Sara Stein. Although she writes about her yard in New York state, one could easily apply her story to other areas. If you live in the Mid-Atlantic and can take a few days off in early June, the Native Plants in the Landscape Conference at Millersville University is always excellent. (Their website isn't always up-to-date but request to be added to their mailing list.) Many thanks to Doug Tallamy, who spoke there this year, for sharing the facts and figures from his lecture with me, as I couldn't write them down fast enough while he spoke. I look forward to the publication of his book, Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens, this December. Happy gardening! Bryn Richard is a licensed landscape architect with a strong interest in sustainable design. She can be reached at Bryn@BlueTrillium.net and welcomes your questions and suggestions for further articles. |
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Doctor Joseph S. Russo D.O. will be joining our staff
of writers here at Yoga Bean Magazine. He will be
contributing articles in his areas of interest: alternative
medicine, anti-aging medicine and preventive
medicine. His first contribution will be a series of
articles on "Essential Vitamins" of which the first will
appear in our next issue of Yoga Bean. He will begin
with the "What, Why, When, Where and How" of the
essential Vitamin B-12!
Dr. Russo is a residency trained and board certified family Practioner with many years of private practice and institutional experience. He has served as a county Health Officer and in association with state and federal departments of public health he has created public health policy. Dr. Russo has also served as medical director of various medical clinics throughout his career. Additionally, he volunteers his time for third world medicine needs and he has been active in alternative medicine research. We welcome Dr. Russo to the staff at Yoga Bean. |
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Don't forget, please send this to your friends and family so that everyone can be a part of the Yoga Bean family. Talk to you soon!
Sincerely,
Tina LeMar
Yoga Bean
email:
tina@yogabean.net
phone:
610.805.6724
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