Why most natural disasters aren’t natural at all

(NaturalNews) From the point of view of many humans, the term “natural disaster” is a convenient scapegoat because it allow a person (or a whole nation) to blame nature for their own poor planning. Wherever we find so-called “natural disasters” around the world (such as Brazil at the moment), we also usually find a large group of people who have cut down the forests that buffer rainfall, paved over the grasslands that allow rain to soak into the soil, and built their homes right in the middle of gullies and natural drainage channels. When the floods come, they look to the sky and curse Mother Nature, shouting, “We got hit by a natural disaster!” Of course, in some cases it really is a natural disaster. When a volcano blows and causes widespread destruction beyond what anyone could have reasonably foreseen — such as Mt St Helens in the 1980′s — that’s a legitimate natural disaster. When an under-the-ocean earthquake causes a fifty-foot tsunami that wipes out a beach town, that’s a legitimate natural disaster, too. When a large meteorite slams into the planet with the force of millions of atomic bombs, laying waste to an entire era of unique lifeforms (the dinosaurs, for example), that’s a natural disaster. But getting wiped out by a flood because you built your house right in the flood path of a local river is not a natural disaster. That’s a man-made disaster. Or, more accurately, it’s just poor planning on the part of short-sighted humans. And when it comes to disasters, there’s plenty of short-sightedness to go around these days. Poor planning When I lived in Ecuador, I witnessed all sorts of homes being built right in the drainage pathways and low-lying flood zones of rivers with a known history of flooding. Even back in the United States, the federal government actually encourages people to build homes in flood zones and hurricane zones by offering “federal flood insurance” which is for the most part a way for the taxpayers to subsidize the risk of those who live in homes that never should have been built in those areas in the first place. The entire fiasco of rebuilding the low-lying regions of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina is a perfect example of mankind just begging to be hit with yet another “natural disaster.” It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that some time in the next 50 years, a category five hurricane is going to strike New Orleans yet again and reclaim the very same regions that technically belong under water as part of the Gulf of Mexico. (This is in no way meant to disparage the people of New Orleans, by the way, who are some of the most joyful and creative people you’ll ever meet. Great folks. Sad geologic situation, however. You can’t fight geology for long…) Forest fires should never be a surprise The most striking example of so-called “natural disasters” is when people build their homes in a giant forest, surrounded by trees, and then they seem surprised when those trees catch on fire and burn their homes to the ground. Did they really think that trees never burn? Do people honestly buy multi-million dollar homes in California and think that their homes will somehow be magically immune to the forest fires that inevitably sweep through all forests? I don’t mean to make light of the loss of property and the human suffering that occurs during such events, but wouldn’t all that loss have been prevented if they thought more carefully about the situation in the first place? Even the news gets it wrong. They’ll report things like, “The fire caused over $200 million in property damage…” Well, not exactly. The forest fire burned where it has always burned, every few decades, for probably tens of thousands of years. Fires are, in fact, crucial for the healthy functioning of forest ecosystems . And until humans started building homes in forest fire zones, those fires never caused any so-called “property damage.” So why is the fire to blame for destroying homes? Because people built their homes right where the fires burn every few decades! Once you realize that, you can’t really blame the fire for destroying the homes. It’s not the fault of the fire. People shouldn’t build homes in forest fire zones. See, when I look at a forest as a potential home site, the very first thing that comes to my mind is, “Sooner or later, these trees are going to burn.” It’s a natural cycle caused by lightning combined with a dry season that follows a wet growing season that produces lots of underbrush “fuel.” All it takes is one lightning strike to light it up, and from there the laws of chemistry take over. When poor planning collides with natural repeating cycles Most “natural” disasters are actually caused by poor human planning. Generally speaking, people don’t have a very long-term view of things. They don’t consider that the little creek running behind their new home could very easily wind up meandering through their living room after record rainfall. The cattle rancher who buys 500 acres of forest and then clear-cuts the trees to make room for cattle grazing (Brazil, anyone?) doesn’t usually consider the fact that they have now removed the rainfall / water buffer zone that protected their lands from floods and erosion. Even professional city engineers often aren’t very bright about all this: They’ll design cities with enormous areas of pavement and roads, all while failing to properly consider the fact that what used to be dirt which once absorbed water is now concrete that channels water somewhere else. It doesn’t take much rain for a city of pavement to become a flash flood nightmare. Stop blaming nature for poor human planning It’s inappropriate for people to use the term “natural disaster” to refer to poor planning on the part of humans. Instead of blaming themselves for building their homes right in the middle of a flash flood zone, too many people blame nature (or God). “Why does God punish us by destroying our home?” they cry. Maybe God was actually sending them an important message: “Don’t build your home in a flood zone.” Not all floods are the fault of the people affected by them, of course. There are huge floods happening right now in Brisbane, Australia. I haven’t studied the underlying cause of these floods, but they seem completely out of character for the region there. In that case, it means the victims of the floods in Brisbane are suffering through no fault of their own but rather as a result of some destructive global influences on the planet’s weather systems. Still, now that Brisbane has seen the potential for flooding, watch in amazement over the next twelve months as many Australians rebuild homes right back in the same exact locations devastated by this flood . It’s not a characteristic of good planning. (And it’s not unique to Australians, of course. This happens everywhere in the world, it seems, where people live.) What “natural disasters” are coming next due to poor human planning? Here are some of the “natural disasters” I predict will strike our world in the near future. They’ll be blamed on nature, but the real cause is found in human behavior: • It won’t be too long before our food crops suffer a genetic pollution disaster due to the widespread use of GMOs. Amid global starvation, the GMO scientists will exclaim, “There’s no way we could have foreseen this!” Oh yeah? We warned ya! • The massive life extinction event occurring right now on our planet will ultimately be traced largely to the mass chemical contamination of the world with pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, food additives and synthetic chemicals in consumer products. Already, the bird and fish die-offs are being called “natural” by conventional scientists who don’t see what’s really happening. • The next great dust bowl will strike within twenty years as abused, over-farmed soils continue to erode, transforming many food-producing regions of the world into food deserts (deserts as in sand, not desserts as in cherry pie). Instead of blaming destructive farming practices, scientists will blame the weather. • The global use of fossil water — especially in India — will soon meet a geologic limit, causing widespread drought and desertification. This, too, will be blamed on a “natural” disaster (dry spells). • The massive loss of food pollinators will accelerate, ultimately leading to emergency shortages of pollinators and a detrimental impact on the global food supply. Instead of blaming this on the most likely culprits (GMOs and pesticides), conventional scientists will try to blame viruses or weather events. … and this list goes on… and on… while humans continue to blame nature instead of looking at the real source of these problems: Ignorant “scientific” progress and boundless human expansion! Maybe instead of blaming floods, fires and crop failures on Mother Nature (or God), human beings should take responsibility for the impact of their own actions , both individually and collectively. How to prevent many so-called natural disasters So how can we avoid these “natural disasters” on a personal level? It’s easier than you think: Be mindful of the world around you. Be aware of your impact on the world around you and the fact that you are connected with the world around you. Everything we do to world around us, whether destructive or creative, will eventually be reflected in that world. And especially be wary of contaminating the planet, destroying natural habitat or attempting to alter the natural cycles of nature. The best way to avoid natural disasters is to learn to live in greater harmony with the nature world , respecting its natural cycles of “destruction” which are actually crucial to life on Earth. As one more quick example, consider large hydroelectric dams and the issue of flooding. Arrogant scientists and engineers promised that such dams would end floods downstream, produce clean energy and lead to a healthier world. They were wrong: By stopping the floods, dams directly interfere with the normal life cycle of virtually all the animals that live downstream. And by halting flooding, they deny the croplands on the banks of the rivers the nutritional replenishment they need to grow healthful, mineral-rich crops. Much the same is true with forest fires. Humans desperately and ignorantly attempt to extinguish such fires, thereby preserving the forest floor “fuel” that one day ignites into a much stronger blaze that, instead of invigorating the forest, kills it dead. Just look at the history of Yellowstone National Park. It was all the decades of extinguishing fires there that led to the devastating, tree-killing fire of 1988. Human arrogance at work yet again, thinking that every time a fire or flood occurs, it’s a “natural disaster” that must be halted through human intervention. The upshot is that many “natural disasters” are really only disasters from the point of view of people who don’t respect nature in the first place.

Earth’s magnetic pole shift unleashing poisonous space clouds linked to mysterious bird deaths

(NaturalNews) Following the unexplained deaths of several thousand birds over the last two weeks, events are now emerging that may offer a physics-based explanation for the mysterious deaths. It all begins on a runway in Tampa, where airport officials recently closed that runway in order to change the numeric designators painted there. Why are those numeric designators being changed? Because the Earth’s magnetic poles are shifting and the numbers previously painted on the runway no longer match up with the magnetic measurements of sensitive airplane instruments (http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-01-tampa-airport-runways-renumbered-due.html). As Physorg.com explains: The primary runway at the airport is designated 18R/36L, which means the runway is aligned along 180 degrees from north (that is, due south) when approached from the north and 360 degrees from north when approached from the south. Now the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has requested the designation be changed to 19R/1L to account for the movement of the magnetic north pole. This brings us to our first physics fact of this article: Physics Fact #1: The Earth’s magnetic poles are shifting. (And not just a little bit, but enough to affect airport runways on the scale of human observation.) The role of Earth’s magnetic field The Earth’s magnetic field is extremely important for protecting the planet from so-called “solar wind” and other electromagnetic influences from space. The magnetosphere , which is driven by the Earth’s magnetic field, serves as a kind of electromagnetic barrier to prevent dangerous rays from reaching the surface of the planet. You can see a picture of that here: http://www.theozonehole.com/magnetic.htm Physics Fact #2: The Earth’s magnetic field has flipped hundreds of times in the past. The Earth’s magnetic field “flips” (or reverses polarity) every few thousand years. This is called a geomagnetic reversal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_reversal). In between these flips, the magnetic field can become quite weak and chaotic, causing “turbulence” in the field, which can effectively cause weaker gaps in the magnetosphere. These magnetic gaps or weaknesses can allow outside influences that normally would not penetrate the magnetosphere to reach deep into that magnetosphere, theoretically all the way down to where birds fly at very low altitude. Last week, a report from the Russia’s Ministry for Extraordinary Situations (MCHS) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Emergency_Situations) warned that the weakening Earth magnetosphere was allowing “poisonous space clouds” to enter deep into Earth’s atmosphere where it is coming into contact with birds. These “space clouds” are called Noctilucent clouds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noctilucent_cloud), which exist at very high altitudes (roughly 50 miles) and accumulate space dust from micrometeors and other sources. What’s really interesting here is that these noctilucent clouds exhibit very high radar reflectivity (http://media.caltech.edu/press_releases/13188). This means these clouds create a very large radar signature on weather tracking systems. Physics fact #3: Noctilucent clouds have very high radar reflectivity. Weather radar tracks phenomenon during bird kill Now here’s where this story gets really interesting: On New Year’s Even when birds began falling out of the sky in Arkansas, the National Weather Service in North Little Rock documented an unusual phenomenon on their radar monitors. “There are some indications that we’re picking up a non-precipitation target,” said Science and Operations Officer Chris Buonanno at the NWS (http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=137071&provider=top). He went on to explain that the radar signature definitely was not indicative of a cloud or rainstorm. It was something altogether different. At or around the same time this radar image appeared, birds began falling out of the sky. Over the last several weeks, hundreds of thousands of birds and fish have been found dead across the globe. Here’s a compilation of the deaths so far: http://www.naturalnews.com/030985_mysterious_deaths_birds.html This same data is also reflected in an image compiled by Matt from www.GoAskMatt.com who gave us permission to post this image: http://www.naturalnews.com/gallery/articles/BirdFishDeaths.jpg A theory of what might be happening The working theory in all this, at least for the birds, is that deadly space clouds are reaching into the lower atmosphere and killing these birds in flight, after which the birds fall to the ground. The reports of the birds experiencing “blunt trauma” are likely from the birds hitting the ground. What, exactly, would be found in these deadly space clouds that might be killing the birds? One possibility is that these clouds might be moving along with gaps in the magnetosphere that would invite deadly radiation to “fry” the birds in flight, as one possibility (although this explanation seems unlikely, see below). I’m not aware whether tissues tests have been done on these birds to determine whether they died of intense radiation poisoning. It would also seem that if radiation reached so low into our atmosphere, it would have killed many plants and trees in the area, and there’s no evidence of that occurring, at least not that I’m aware of. Another possibility is that the deadly space clouds could have frozen the birds in flight with blasts of extremely cold air. But such an event also would have seemingly impacted the trees and plants at ground level, and there’s no evidence of that occurring either. The most likely explanation is that the birds were killed in-flight by changes in the composition of the air they were breathing. And as it turns out, Noctilucent clouds are largely made of a poisonous gas known as Hydrogen Cyanide . For all you chemists reading this, as the EUtimes.net website explains: Hydrogen Cyanide is also formed in interstellar clouds through one of two major pathways: via a neutral-neutral reaction (CH2 + N -> HCN + H) and via dissociative recombination (HCNH+ + e- -> HCN + H). The dissociative recombination pathway is dominant by 30%; however, the HCNH+ must be in its linear form. Dissociative recombination with its structural isomer, H2NC+ produces hydrogen isocyanide (HNC), exclusively. (http://www.eutimes.net/2011/01/poisonous-space-clouds-slamming-into-earth-cause-mass-bird-and-fish-deaths/) Could humans be next? The really concerning part about all this is the sudden realization that if these poisoning clouds of Hydrogen Cyanide could reach into our lower atmosphere, they could also theoretically reach ground level . That’s where humans live, of course, and if such a poisonous cloud reached down into a major city such as New York, it would cause the mass instantaneous death of potentially millions of people. Nobody is prepared to survive a sudden cloud of Hydrogen Cyanide — not even the preppers. I own stored food and some emergency gear, but even I probably wouldn’t survive a sudden Hydrogen Cyanide gas attack from outer space. Notably, Hydrogen Cyanide has been used as both a rodent killer and as a chemical precursor in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals (gee, why doesn’t that surprise me?) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_cyanide) As Wikipedia explains, Hydrogen cyanide is extremely deadly: A hydrogen cyanide concentration of 300 mg/m3 in air will kill a human within about 10 minutes. It is estimated that hydrogen cyanide at a concentration of 3500 ppm (about 3200 mg/m3) will kill a human in about 1 minute. The toxicity is caused by the cyanide ion, which halts cellular respiration by inhibiting an enzyme in mitochondria called cytochrome c oxidase. Interestingly, a key chemical use of Hydrogen cyanide was developed by none other than IG Farben , the Nazi war era criminal pharmaceutical giant that was later broken up to become today’s pharmaceutical giants, including Bayer. Hydrogen cyanide is widely recognized as a chemical weapon and is even used on the tips of whaling harpoons to murder whales. Physics fact #4: Hydrogen cyanide kills birds and humans very quickly. Is this the result of a weapons test or attack? That it is used as a chemical weapon might make some people wonder whether all this is fallout from some kind of weather control weapons experiment. It’s not a crazy idea: Scientists in Abu Dhabi have experienced tremendous success bringing rain to that city through the use of weather control systems engineered in Europe (I’ll be posting a full story on this shortly). In the United States, meanwhile, the HAARP experimental program projects high-energy beams directly into the ionosphere. See the video at: http://www.naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=E3CADA3AE2B04FB92F27BB09C8AE19FB Although we have no direct evidence of this, it is conceivable that HAARP technology could be altering the magnetosphere in ways that are contributing to the invasion of our lower atmosphere with these Noctilucent clouds compose of Hydrogen cyanide. This is just a wild guess at this point, however. We don’t have any evidence that this is really happening. But if it were, that would be a very clever weapon, indeed: Aim your weapons at the atmosphere above an enemy city, fire it up and wait for Hydrogen cyanide gas to kill off everybody in a minute or two. Then you turn off your beam weapon and play it all off as some sort of “freak natural disaster” or unexplained atmospheric mystery. There is speculation, of course, that these bird deaths occurring in North America right now are really a test of precisely the weapon system I’ve described above. But this is just speculation, of course. We don’t have any hard evidence that such a system is being used, nor even that it is possible. The official HAARP website (http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/) describes itself as a “facility for the study of ionospheric physics and radio science.” It then displays a diagram showing HAARP waves bouncing off the ionosphere, beaming through “irregularities” and finally reaching a satellite in high orbit. These satellites are typically placed in geosynchronous orbits at roughly 26,000 miles above the Earth — far higher than the 50 miles or so at which the Noctilucent clouds are located. The HAARP home page, by the way, also contains a “security message” with the following warning: This is a U.S. Government Computer System. This computer system operates as a world wide web server to provide information to the public concerning unclassified programs only. …Unauthorized attempts to upload or change information; to defeat or circumvent security features; or to utilize this system for other than its intended purposes are prohibited and may result in prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 or other applicable statutes and regulations. When Governor Jesse Ventura tried to ask questions about HAARP, he was met with extreme resistance and stonewalling by government officials. Watch the video yourself to see what happened: http://www.naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=E3CADA3AE2B04FB92F27BB09C8AE19FB Does this mean HAARP is a weapon being used to cause poisonous space clouds to enter the lower atmosphere and kill the birds? Not at all. That would be a leap at this point until we know more. But we do know that HAARP isn’t talking about what it does , and that it is more than just a “radio science experiment.” We also know that weird things are happening to our planet’s magnetic poles and weather systems. We know that birds are literally falling out of the sky dead. These facts are not to be taken lightly. They might be caused by “natural” events, or conceivably they could be influenced by man-made events. In either case, something that could very easily threaten life on our planet may be afoot, and there’s no logical reason to conclude it will be limited to birds and fish. I’ve seen reports of some doctors chiming in on all this and blowing it off as “normal” deaths of birds and fish. Conventional doctors, of course, are the world’s most experienced experts at missing the big picture , and they seem to haphazardly discount the most important fact about all this: Sure, birds and fish die every day. But not en masse . They don’t usually fall out of the sky by the thousands, in other words. These are obviously not normal events where birds are dying of normal causes. That much is obvious to everyone… except the doctors, it seems. In conclusion, I can’t explain these mysterious deaths with any high degree of confidence at this point. But I do know that thousands of birds don’t fall out of the sky for no reason . There is an underlying cause that seems extremely important for us to observe, document and understand. There are many possible explanations that merit attention: Some of them might be attributable to natural phenomena, but others may be far more insidious. It is important for the future of life on Earth that we solve this mystery sooner rather than later. Because if we don’t understand this, we may sooner or later become victims of it.

Industry, government push GMO oranges as solution to pest problem

(NaturalNews) Problem, reaction, solution: that’s the name of the game in the U.S., and it’s how sweeping changes that would otherwise never happen end up coming to pass. Currently, a widespread pest problem among citrus plants known as “greening” allegedly threatens the continued existence of orange fruit production, and the only way to fix it, say some, is to genetically-alter orange trees to resist the pest. A recent report in Reuters explains that the Huanglongbing (HLB) bacteria, or “yellow dragon disease”, is ravaging orange groves throughout Florida. The disease was first identified in China more than 100 years ago, and it has now somehow spread to the U.S. where some experts say it could wipe out the majority or entirety of Florida’s orange groves within seven or eight years. But instead of trying to address the root causes of the issue — causes that opponents of GMOs say include overuse of pesticides and nutrient-depleted soil — some government agencies are proposing that biotechnology companies be granted their wish to genetically-modify the trees to artificially resist the pest. Like all other GMOs, there is no evidence that altered oranges are safe for human consumption or for the environment, but that hasn’t stopped the push to get them developed and approved. Advocates continue to insist that transgenic fruits and vegetables are no different than selectively-bred ones, but numerous studies show that GMOs significantly alter gut bacteria and lead to various health problems, as well as damage the environment (http://www.naturalnews.com/GMO.html). Researchers and biotechnology companies are essentially chomping at the bit to convert the nation’s orange groves to GMOs because there’s much money to be made from it. Erik Mirkov, professor of plant pathology at Texas A&M’s Agrilife Research Center in Weslaco, Texas, and a paid researcher into the issue, told Reuters that the conversion “could potentially be huge” in terms of profits. GMO oranges, like other GMO crops, require new seeds to be purchased every year for plantings. Their seeds are programmed to self-destruct every year, requiring farmers to purchase new ones. The GMO crop’s patents also require regular fees and royalties to be paid to the companies that produce them, resulting in even higher profits. Sources for this story include: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6B24ZE20101203

Bear Fruit Bars satisfy kids, parents as wholesome organic fruit food bars

(NaturalNews) In April, we introduced NaturalNews readers to Bear Fruit Bars, a simple, nutritious organic line of fruit bars available in apple, cherry, blueberry and raspberry flavors. Since then, the feedback from readers has been consistently positive — they like the simplicity, the “kid-friendly acceptability” and the USDA organic certification of the Bear Fruit Bars. Back in April, we were able to offer them through the NaturalNews Store at a rare 30 percent discount off the normal price. Now, following the popularity of these natural fruit bars, we’ve been able to bring the discount back one more time. While supplies last, we have all four flavors of the Bear Fruit Bars at the same discount as before. It’s all on our specials page: http://store.naturalnews.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=100370 The best deal is the 4-pack which offers 1 box of each flavor (20 bars of each flavor, or a total of 80 bars) for less than a buck a bar. It continues to be an extraordinary price on a USDA organic fruit bar with simple, honest ingredients. Read my original review of these bars to learn more about what’s in them (and what isn’t): http://www.naturalnews.com/028671_Bear_Fruit_Bars_organic.html Setting the record straight on natural food bars I’m on the record saying that these Bear Fruit Bars are excellent food items to send to school with your kids. That’s because they make a really healthy lunchtime snack that’s far better than the usual stuff kids eat at school. However, just for the record, I’ve consistently said that fresh fruit is always better than packaged fruit . And if you can manage to carry around fresh apples, blueberries, cherries and other items, then munching on those is naturally going to be the very best way to get your fresh fruit nutrition. Yet reality often makes that inconvenient , if not impossible. Just try carrying a pound of fresh blueberries on an airplane sometime. Or try leaving fresh cherries in your car all day and you’ll discover how quickly they start to go bad. The convenience of Bear Fruit Bars is that they’re the closest you can get to carrying around fresh fruit, but with the convenience of a one-year shelf life (or so). And that’s accomplished without chemical preservatives of any kind. These bars are essentially low-moisture dried fruits which is how they maintain their freshness for so long. That makes them uniquely convenient for snacking in your car, on an airplane, in the office or at school. I’ve eaten these at trade shows and public events, too, and they’re a lot more convenient than carrying around bushels of fresh fruit. Still, if I can get fresh fruit I will always opt for that first. Nothing beats fresh, raw fruit and vegetable juices in terms of living nutrition. And eating fruits and berries right off the trees (or bushes) is the very best way to enjoy your fruit nutrition! Bear Fruit Bars are simply the closest thing I’ve found to convenient, portable real fruit nutrition that’s tasty enough for kids yet nutritious enough for adults to enjoy, too. They’re also a smart choice for those times when you’re not able to carry fresh fruit around. Here’s our specials page where you can pick up some of these while supplies last: http://store.naturalnews.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=100370 Thanks for all your positive comments about these Bear Fruit Bars over the last few months! Oh, one more thing: Keep in mind that these are not protein bars . They contain no protein whatsoever, so they aren’t a full meal replacement bar. They’re more like a side dish of fruit. You’ll steel need something else for your main meal (unless you’re a fruitarian, of course).

Heirloom cacao is ancient treasure of chocolate from the Ecuadorian rainforest

(NaturalNews) Most people have never eaten real chocolate. Sure, we’ve all wolfed down plenty of “chocolate” candies, bars and cakes. But as you’ll see here, very little of that is actually made from real chocolate. Virtually all the chocolate used in modern foods is derived from a hybridized cacao plant that lacks the phytochemical potency that gives real chocolate its many beneficial properties. So even though almost everyone has tasted chocolate, very few people have actually experienced true heirloom cacao from the original, phytonutrient-rich plants. Cacao originated in a region now spanning the border of Ecuador and Colombia. Its plants were discovered thousands of years ago, and the cacao fruit and seeds have been used throughout South American culture for as long as human history can remember. Heirloom cacao is called Arriba Nacional or just “Arriba” for short. That’s the real cacao from Ecuador, harvested from heirloom plants growing just the way they grew thousands of years ago. In comparison, virtually all the chocolate used in candy bars, chocolate chips, chocolate cakes, breads and so on is derived from the hybridized plant called CCN-51 — a pale shadow of the heirloom “Arribe Nacional” cacao it was supposed to replace. Most consumers have no idea the chocolate they’ve been eating is “watered down” with what is effectively a cheap, weakened cacao substitute. And if you’ve been eating that watered down chocolate all your life, you’re in for a real surprise when you get your hands on “Arribe Nacional” cacao, which has a deeper, more complex and “floral” flavor profile. My first taste of real chocolate My first experience of real chocolate was enjoyed in Ecuador, where I lived on and off for two years. One day I drove to a nursery in Zamora, a small city to the East of Loja (in Southern Ecuador). There, we picked fresh cacao pods right off the trees, sliced open the tops and began to eat the cacao fruit . Here’s a picture of me holding cacao pods from Zamora: http://www.naturalnews.com/Valley-of-Longevity-Property/photos/17.jpg Yes, cacao trees have fruit. It’s a thin layer of sweet fruity flesh surrounding the cacao bean, sort of in the way a lychee fruit has a layer of delicious white fruit flesh surrounding its central seed. Cacao fruit tastes a little bit like fresh lychee fruit, in fact, with a hint of chocolate flavor in it. Once you eat the fruit, you’re left with cacao seed pods. This is where “chocolate” comes from. The seed pods are usually ground into a fine powder, with the oils being mechanically separated from the non-oil substances which are then subjected to a combination of drying, fermentation and cooking (depending on who’s doing the processing), creating a finished cacao powder. This fine cacao powder is what goes into fine chocolates, often sweetened with sugars or enriched with milk fats. Hence the name “Milk chocolate.” However, the higher cost of heirloom chocolate has kept it out of the hands of all but the most selective chocolate artisans. The number of chocolate-making shops in America that use real heirloom cacao in their confections probably numbers less than ten. That’s why virtually no one in North America has ever tasted real chocolate before. How I met the founder of Pacari In Ecuador, there’s a company producing 100% heirloom cacao that’s truly raw (never goes above 118 degrees during processing), truly organic and “single origin” meaning it’s all from one region and not blended with other cacaos from other countries. That company is called Pacari , and its founder, Santiago, introduced me to his line of heirloom cacao one evening at a raw foods gathering at Matt Monarch’s house in the Valley of Longevity near Vilcabamba, Ecuador. There, I had the opportunity to taste 100% raw, unsweetened, full-potency heirloom cacao — and it was a superfood experience that forever changed my perception about just how powerful and even enlightening superfoods can be. Food of the Gods? You see, the best-known active ingredient in cacao is a bitter alkaloid called theobromine . The Latin prefix “theo” is of course the same root as in the word “theology,” meaning the study of God. Bromine comes from “broma” which, in the variation of “brosi” is Latin for “food.” Theobromine, then, is literally translated into “food of God” or “food of the Gods.” Why would cacao be named “food of the Gods?” If you just eat regular watered-down chocolate, you’ll probably never know. To really attain a deeper experience of cacao, you must eat the heirloom variety that’s naturally high in theobromine and other alkaloids. And once you do that, your experience may give you a greater understanding of why, over the last several thousand years, the indigenous people of South America have used superfoods like cacao to support their connection on a spiritual level. In the cultures of South American people, eating heirloom cacao is not merely an act of consuming calories. Nor is it a form of entertainment as is often pursued in first-world countries. Rather, eating heirloom cacao is a way for them to connect with the universe . It is a deeply spiritual experience, to be savored and honored, not to be wolfed down with processed sugar and ice cream. Throughout the cultures of South America, food was a way in which people were able to gain insight into the universe around them . I realize it seems odd in our modern cultures to think of food as a source of enlightenment or wisdom, but this idea was pivotal for South American cultures, and it actually makes good sense: Since we become what we eat , to eat the seed pods of a sacred plant is to become one with that plant . Certain plants alter brain chemistry and function, expanding consciousness and inviting us to explore alternate realities before returning to their physical world, blessed with the gift of new experiential insight. Such is the nature of the “sacred plant journeys” also routinely practiced by medicine healers (shamans) of South American cultures. While cacao is not a psychedelic plant, it is well known as a source of unique antioxidants and bitter alkaloids that may support healthy moods while brightening your day. Maybe this is why this superfood was called the “food of the Gods.” Straight from Ecuador: 100% organic, raw heirloom cacao Now, after five thousand years of history, YOU can experience Arribe Nacional heirloom cacao straight from the rainforests of Ecuador. Thanks to our connections in Ecuador, we were able to coordinate with Santiago to receive a large shipment of this unique heirloom cacao, straight from Ecuador. This is the real stuff: Pure heirloom cacao, truly raw (not just a false claim, but really truly raw), truly organic and harvested with the help of local farmers in a genuinely fair manner that honors their livelihoods. (The Pacari company works in many ways to help support local cacao farmers, and while it’s not yet certified as “Fair Trade,” they are working in that direction.) Right now, we have available for immediate shipment from our store: • Raw “Arribe” Cacao Beans • Raw “Arribe” Cacao Paste • Raw “Arribe” Cacao Butter • Raw “Arribe” Cacao Nibs • Raw “Arribe” Cacao Powder • A combination “chef’s pack” of Powder, Nibs, Butter and Paste (regular price is $83.80, but for this article we’ve marked it down to just $54.72, a nearly 35% savings ) Click here to see these products in the NaturalNews Store . These are all single-source, straight from Ecuador, made 100% of heirloom cacao plants, organic and raw. Just as importantly, this is perhaps the finest cacao you will ever taste in the world . It is one of life’s “bucket list” experiences to ingest this plant and tune in to how it is interacting with your body and mind. To miss out on this plant that our world has to offer is to truly miss out on one of life’s real gems. I regret to have to mention this, but not everything described as “Arribe” in the cacao world is truly Arribe. Some cacao producers will blend a small amount of Arribe into a batch of largely hybridized CCN-51 cacao, then they’ll label the final product “Arribe” cacao. That’s like calling your salad dressing “Olive Oil Dressing” when it’s really made from 90% soybean oil and only 10% olive oil. Our Arribe cacao is 100% truly Arribe with no misleading blending. Additionally, all the products have absolutely no sweeteners, no filler, no preservatives, no GMOs, no soy, no wheat… nothing! Just pure, raw heirloom cacao from Ecuador to you. As a result, don’t expect this to taste like a candy bar. It doesn’t! This is not candy. This is a potent superfood in its purest form, unadulterated and uncooked. It is the closest thing you can find to venturing into the Ecuadorian rainforest and harvesting your own wild cacao pods. This raw cacao is grown in Ecuador, harvested by Ecuadorian farmers, then processed by hand in small batches. It’s never cooked! The result is some of the finest cacao you will ever encounter on our planet. When you get some of this, consider it a treasure. I recommend not feeding it to anyone who isn’t enlightened enough to appreciate what they are consuming. Most children, in particular, are expecting sweet “junk” chocolate and will likely not appreciate “Arribe” heirloom cacao. And if you do give this as a gift to someone, please explain the history of heirloom cacao to them so they understand what a magnificent food treasure they are consuming. This is the stuff of Kings and Queens. Just a few hundred years ago, only ultra-wealthy royalty would have had access to such exotic foods. Today, we can all experience it! Pick some up here at the NaturalNews store . And enjoy this heirloom cacao. This may be some of the finest superfood you are likely to be able to source anywhere in the world.

Mesquite flour is a high-protein, low-glycemic superfood from desert trees

(NaturalNews) When I lived in the Sonoran desert in Arizona, I used to take long daily walks for exercise and adventure. I would go far off the beaten path and hike through dry washes, weaving my way through all the astonishing desert plants, many of which are highly medicinal, by the way. I also happened upon many creatures in the desert, including falcons, which have an amazing audible scream that just sends shivers down your spine when you hear it live and in person. But the most interesting creatures I saw were the desert Javelina . Sometimes incorrectly called “desert pigs,” these are wild pig-shaped creatures with thick spiny hair, and they’re not really related to pigs at all. They often travel in family packs of a half-dozen at a time, with three or four large adults and a few children javelina tagging along. I actually have pictures of these creatures right in my back yard in Tucson. They also love carrots, I quickly discovered one night after they rooted up my carrot beds. And they’re quite aggressive about going after any kind of food or garden plants you might have outside. Food from desert trees! In observing these creatures, I noticed that they also eat mesquite pods . These are the long, beige-colored seed pods from the mesquite tree (a type of legume tree) which is extremely common in the Sonoran desert. Seeing them eat this surprised me, because not being a person who grew up in the desert, I had no idea these seed pods were edible. But over time, I observed javelinas eating the seed pods, and I also found lots of examples of javelina poo which contained the rather obvious elements of digested seed pods. So I knew they were using them as a food source. (You can learn a lot about animals by studying their poo, by the way…) Curious to try these seed pods myself, I began harvesting them off the trees and chewing on them as a snack. Over time, I learned that indigenous American Indians relied quite heavily on mesquite pods as an important food source. I even went to the local Desert Museum where I saw demonstrations of how the native people of the area would grind mesquite pods into a high-protein flour using a large mortar and pestle tool. This was serious work requiring a high level of stamina, by the way. A real grind. Literally. To this day, there is a non-profit in Tucson, Arizona that runs around each year with a mesquite pod grinding machine, and they’ll grind your mesquite pods into flour which you can use in baking or cooking. It replaces regular white flour or whole wheat flour cup for cup. Why American Indians suffer from diabetes Over the years, the more I learned about the native diets of the indigenous people from the Southwest of the current United States, the more intrigued I became about mesquite flour. Diabetes was virtually unheard of before processed foods were introduced to American Indians, but once processed white flour began to replace the mesquite flour in their diets, American Indians soon became diabetic. (All the liquid sugars in soda certainly didn’t help either…) The same is true with people of Latino descent. White flour doesn’t go well with Latino genetics. In just one generation when people switch to processed food diets, they begin to suffer all the ravages of degenerative disease: cancer, heart disease, obesity, depression, you name it. Mesquite flour as a superfood Today, mesquite flour is a little-known specialty food used only by two groups that I know of: 1) People who live in the desert and whose ancestors used it as food, and 2) People in the raw food / vegan foods community who have popularized this amazing superfood. Vegans and vegetarians use mesquite flour in all sorts of ways in the kitchen. It’s like a low-glycemic flour that’s rich in protein and micronutrients. You can make healthy, low-glycemic breads, pancakes and tortillas out of it (as American Indians have done for as long as history has been recorded). It bakes and mixes just like wheat flour, but obviously without the wheat allergens. It’s also gluten free . Yep, no gluten in mesquite flour. Very cool. I’ve also heard of people using it in raw food recipes and even in smoothies. This is a highly versatile and very nutritious ingredient that very few people know about. And even among those who do know it, most have never eaten raw mesquite pods right off a tree. I consider myself privileged to have enjoyed that opportunity in the Sonoran desert (in fact, to this day, I still miss the Sonoran desert plants, as they are some of the most majestic and intelligent plants you’ll find anywhere on the planet). Where to get mesquite flour Today, most of the mesquite flour produced in the world comes from Peru . It’s grown quite successfully in the high desert areas of this fertile country. Then it’s ground, packaged and exported to the United States (and other countries) where it’s incorporated into a number of high-end health products. You can buy two types of mesquite flour: Organic and conventional. The conventional stuff is obviously sprayed with pesticide chemicals, and we don’t recommend eating that. I have no idea what pesticides are legal to use in Peru, but I bet it’s a nasty list of chemicals, so I avoid conventional products from that country (only organic is ok). On the organic side, we’ve acquired a medium-sized shipment of organic mesquite flour at a very considerate price that we’re passing on to NaturalNews readers. Normally, a 16-oz. bag of organic mesquite flour sells for $20 or so online. At our store, we would normally carry it at $14.99. But right now, while the inventory of this shipment lasts, we have a supply of organic mesquite flour from Peru available at just $9.95 per 16-oz. bag . This is the price you might typically pay for “conventional” mesquite flour, except ours is organic (which is usually twice the price). Once again, NaturalNews buying power has enabled us to make this available to you at an amazing discount. And it gets even better: When you buy three 16-oz. bags of our organic mesquite flour, the price drops to just $8.96 per bag ( a 40% savings over the regular price in our store). Click here to take advantage of these specials right now . This is probably the best price you’ll see anywhere on 16-oz. bags of organic mesquite flour, so if you’ve never tried this ingredient before, there’s no better time that right now to pick some up and see what it’s like. What does mesquite flour taste like? Mesquite flour has a sweet, nutty taste. It has a texture like wheat flour, but perhaps a bit more grainy. It’s about 17% protein, making it ideal for those who wish to avoid high-carbohydrate foods. It also has a significantly lower glycemic index than regular white flour… or even wheat flour, for that matter. Now I know it costs more than wheat flour. So the best way to use this is to stretch your supply by mixing it 50 / 50 with your traditional wheat flour. If you’re making recipes for kids (like pancakes in the morning), use even less mesquite powder at first: Maybe 20% in the recipe, until they get used to it. Then you can slowly increase the percentage over time. Mesquite flour actually tastes really good. I’ve been known to just chew on the seed pods for fun. People living on the Kohala Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii may also be familiar with mesquite pods because they grow there in large numbers (they were brought by ranchers to provide a high-protein food source for the cows!). The pods in Hawaii also taste really amazing (sweet!) because they’re often grown near ocean water. The increased mineralization, it turns out, makes the mesquite pods taste even sweeter, almost like a cake. Cool huh? Here’s a natural food, straight off a hardy desert tree, that can replace wheat and other processed grains in our diets. In fact, I have no doubt that if the Latinos and American Indians still living in the Southwest of the USA would go back to their traditional diets — which included mesquite flour — they would see a sharp drop in diabetes, a disease that is right now devastating the Latino and Native American communities. Mesquite flour alone isn’t a cure for diabetes (or any disease), but it can be part of a dietary strategy that emphasizes natural, unprocessed foods straight from nature while avoiding liquid sugars and other highly refined foods which we now know greatly increase the risk of type-2 diabetes. Try some yourself! I think you’ll really enjoy this. And you won’t find a better price than what we have right now with this limited supply. This price is only good while our inventory lasts: Organic Mesquite Flour 16 oz. bag for just $9.95 Click here to order from the NaturalNews Store . Enjoy!