Imagine a park where you don’t have to say to your kids, “don’t put that in your mouth!”. In fact, imagine one where you encourage them to do the opposite. Well, it’s happening! Seattle will soon be home to the nation’s first-ever edible park.

A seven-acre plot of land in Seattle’s Beacon Hill area will soon be the Beacon Food Forest. The area will be planted with several types of edible plants. Walnut and chestnut trees, berry bushes, fruit trees, even exotics like pineapple and lingonberries will grow in this new park. The best part? It’s open for public picking and plucking. All are invited and encouraged to eat up the nation’s’ first food forest.

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New York has everything, right? That’s pretty much true, including progressive thinkers who want to see a healthier population and a cleaner planet. One of the many ways New Yorkers are trying to accomplish these goals is through bike sharing, specifically through a company called Citi Bikes. The business is simple and really a no-brainer in a busy city that requires commuting. A new report suggests that conservatives are making it really tough to do the healthy thing in NYC, though.

 Citi Bikes is super simple, with a minimal three step process:

1. Unlock a bike from any station by paying for the rental.

2. Ride the bike wherever you want.

3. Return the bike to any station when you’re done.

Riders don’t have to invest in a bike, they don’t have to search for a place to lock up a bike, and they don’t have to store a bike in a notoriously small New York apartment. They also get exercise and do not leave a carbon footprint behind. When I see these units set up in other cities, my first response is, “wish we had these.”

While this simple plan could literally reverse so many of our country’s health problems, some groups have found a way to deter such a great program. Mayor Bloomberg has already caught flak for trying to reduce soda sizes in his city, and apparently the complaints don’t stop when Americans feel they might be pressured into riding a bike instead of sitting in an expensive, fume-emitting cab.
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A year-long study regarding the connection between weight loss surgery and curing type 2 diabetes was released this week. The study showed that surgery seemed to be more effective than lifestyle change and medication for treating the disease. However, the tradeoff was that those who had the surgery were at a very common risk for complications. Is this just a one step forward and one step back scenario?

The Associated Press reported that a new publication in the Journal of the American Medical Association is stating that gastric bypass surgery can effectively treat type 2 diabetes in patients with mild to moderate obesity. This means people who are about 50 to 70 pounds overweight.

While the glowing light of the words “treatment for diabetes” seems impressive, it was also stated that of those in the study who received surgery, a third of them developed serious problems during the first year after surgery. The typical complications include infections, intestinal blockage, and bleeding. And then there was a much smaller percentage who experienced much more severe complications.
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Britney Spears is always in the spotlight. Sometimes for her music, sometimes for her personal drama, and lately for her new body, something the pop star has dramatically changed with yoga.

The 31-year-old mother of two is preparing for her new Las Vega show, set to open in the fall. She recently told Shape magazine that she needed to be in shape to pull off that performance. Spears began working with her trainer and started the Nutrisystem program. The results have been impressive as Spears sported a very revealing bikini on the cover of Shape this month.
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“We’ve fought them before and we’re not afraid of them.”

 Those are the words of Warren T. Burns, one of the attorneys representing a Kansas wheat farmer who is taking on the biotech giant Monsanto. According to the Associated Press, farmer Ernest Barnes filed suit against the company on Monday after genetically modified wheat was found growing in a field in Oregon. Barnes is claiming the company’s gross negligence has hurt U.S. growers. Genetically modified wheat is not approved for U.S. farming and this discovery may show that the GMO crops that were tested in certain states have infiltrated the food system by actually growing in the field where approved wheat is farmed.

Since the announcement, Japan has suspended some import orders. This is just an indicator of what may happen if GMO wheat contaminates the American wheat crops. Other countries have strict laws about GMOs; more than 60 countries have banned GMOs and most do not want any products sent to their country if they contain GMOs. The wheat industry was still on the up and up, as no GMO wheat has been approved for U.S. farming. Now that it seems there’s been a contamination, who knows what will happen.
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