DO You Know How Safe Your Food Is? Do You Care?

The last few months we've heard quite a bit about terrorists who may try to poison the food supply, Relax, the terrorists aren't going to poison us because the government is allowing the big agriculture corporations like Monsanto do it. Here's the point where we, meaning you and I, either stay friends, or you decide that I've lost my mind and we part ways. I haven't lost my mind, actually  I've found it.  The past year has been quite interesting. You see, I stopped drinking the Kool-Aid and when I did my eyes began opening to the ugly truths that surround us. All of us. My new mission in life is to help as many people as I can see the truth as well as prepare for the situations I believe we are all facing in the near future. 

Up until recently I paid little attention to things like "GMO's" (Genetically modified organisms), toxic pathogens in livestock feed and crops", and the blatant corruption in the government agencies who regulate the producers of our food supply. The more I read, the more I realized that Monsanto's claims that all of these derogatory reports about them we're false couldn't be. The fact that the corruption is so obvious leads me to believe that my fellow Americans have truly dropped the ball when it comes to anything that distracts them from their iPhones, XBoxes and PC's. 

Big corporations are in bed with just about every government agency so why should agriculture be any different? Is anything safe? Apparently not. How much do YOU know about the food you eat? Are you, like 99% of the rest of the population content with whatever is written on the label? Do you have ANY idea where the food you feed your family comes from and if you learned it was toxic would you even care? I mean after all, it looks good, smells good and tastes good. Wake up people. The people who control our food supply are POISONING you! 

Take a moment to Google: Monsanto, Roundup, Monsanto law suits, Monsanto documents, and then think decide if you really think all of the information is overblown or hyped, or conspiracy theory. Think about how you're going to protect your family from this company that controls almost all of the worlds food supply. Their goal is to control 100% within 10-20 years.Most people are not informed, they are conditioned to believe what the mainstream media tells them to believe. Most people never take the time to check the facts. It's time to take self-sufficiency seriously. 

Do I sound like one of those survivalist people that spout end-of-the-world scenarios? When you dig deeper and start learning what's really going on beneath the surface of the mainstream media glossing over the facts, you'll get serious too. And then again, maybe you won't. Whatever you decide, you and your family will be left with the consequences be they good or bad. When it comes to my family, I tend to err on the side of extreme caution. 

Whether you believe it or not, there are things that are happening that put everyone at risk. When you simply ignore it,  you are only putting yourself in a position to have to take emergency or crisis action instead of being prepared. No one is saying you have to build an underground bunker and hide out, but opening your mind to the possibility that that change you feel coming is real and you need to act. There is a reason why people are learning to garden, preserve their food, and stockpile. There is a reason why people are researching "self-sufficiency", urban homesteading, and prepping in record numbers and why the movement to be more self-sufficient is growing by the hour. It's because people can FEEL the change coming. Some will listen to that inner voice and prepare and some will say that those of us that are have gone crazy and bought into the conspiracy theories of future disaster. 

Do you ever wonder why cancer rates have risen greatly over the past few decades? Is it possible that the people who claim our food is being poisoned may just be right? What do you have to lose by checking it out and educating yourself? Search for facts about how our environment and all of the toxins released into it are causing this rise in cancer. 

(Global cancer rates are expected to increase 50 percent by the year 2020, according to the latest report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization (WHO). The 351-page study, titled World Cancer Report, begins by explaining that 10 million people developed malignant tumors and 6.2 million died from the disease in the year 2000. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/apr2003/canc-a26.shtml) 

Under the Willow Tree is committed to bringing you the most accurate information and the BEST ways to become more self-sufficient.  Stop listening to the main stream media, start seeking facts and information independently and be prepared. 

For those that decided to stick it out with me, thanks for letting me rant. I truly care about you and hope you'll take the initiative to  protect yourself and your family, it's obvious that our  government isn't going to do it for us!

The Saving Grace :: Urban Homesteaders

Sometimes you have to be thrust into an unsuspecting situation to truly appreciate some people for who and what they are. Last week, around Wednesday'ish, I had a life changing experience. Good things do come of bad situations and there is still plenty of good left in humanity even if the good ones are off the grid. Well, sort of anyway.

I've said it before and I'll say it again...The world is headed for some mighty big changes. No, I'm not talking about 2012 doomsday scenarios, although, at the rate we're abusing our planet, it's always possible that we'll find ourselves facing cataclysmic events we weren't expecting. No, I'm talking about a shift in attitude en mass. 

If the Durvaes Trademark scandal has accomplished anything, it managed to bring the urban homesteading community together, united in one cause. Within days, hundreds of us had come together as one to fight the greedy corporate attitude that has literally destroyed America starting with one Jules Dervaes and family. We were all sharing, and "liking", friending, and following each other and within days we all gained a couple hundred new friends and colleagues in our quest to make the world a better place.

Urban homesteaders EVERYWHERE today are flooding the Net with articles and posts about the one thing that belongs to no one person but to all of us who wish to live and teach others about living a self-sufficient lifestyle in urban areas e.g. urban homesteading. Not one of us claims to have invented the concepts that set us part from most of society, we all openly share our techniques and secrets with one another. The NERVE of Mr. Durvaes to think he would get away with trying to take our way of life and control it for his profit. Not only NO but HELL NO!

I'm not an urban homesteader, I'm in the process of being a rural homesteader, BUT my website - Under the Willow Tree DOES contain information about urban homesteading (notice I am not using any TM symbols? I REFUSE TO give Mr. D. ANY credit for the lifestyle).

So, what's so great about urban homesteaders and urban homesteading? PLENTY! The urban homesteading community is made up of the very people who will be the saving grace of our society WHEN it goes to crap. These people have mastered the art of living off grid, as much as possible, in urban and suburban settings. They grow their own food, raise their own livestock, make their own cheese, raise their own bees, and SO much more!  The big corporations and government want you to think they are nothing but a bunch of tree-hugging hippies. If you think that, well, then your just one of the sheeple who keeps feeding the corporate machine while they return your loyalty with processed foods that are killing you, chemical saturated nutrition, an environment they are raping for profit, and a speech to make you think they care about you, your family, and your well-being.

"Here, eat these veggies grown from genetically modified seeds"


"Have some of this beef raised on toxic, pesticide coated feed and pumped with more toxic steroids"

Enter an urban homesteader. These people start planning their city gardens the day after Christmas, they spend all of their time supporting themselves and many of them do it on apartment balcony's, rooftops, postage size lots and some even do it indoors. GO figure! They grow and harvest enough to give to their neighbors, the local food bank, and anyone who might need a little help. They do this with no thought of depleting their stock. They just do it. It's the spirit of sharing and giving that makes up their character. Not just here and there, but ALL of them. That's part of who an urban homesteader is.

Some urban homesteaders take it a step further. They've learned what most people don't know or refuse to believe and that is, even our food supply is tainted and poisoned by the big corporations solely for the almighty dollar. Our livestock like beef cows, dairy cows, and chickens are raised in inhumane ways, fed steroids and genetically modified feed to produce MORE MORE MORE for LESS, LESS, LESS! These urban homesteaders are creating organic seeds and feed that eliminate the poison from our food. Most people are too stupid to take them seriously, but many of us know exactly how valuable a part they play in our system. They are creating LIFE and to those of us who belong to this community, they are a saving grace.

Can you grow enough food to sustain your family for an entire winter? Can you preserve it? Know how to raise chickens or bees in your backyard? How about making homemade cheese or soap? Probably not. Urban homesteaders do.

Go ahead, call us tree huggers, we are. Make fun of our burning desire to store our food and preserve all we can in case of an emergency,  call us hippies... it kinda has a nice ring to it these days. But when you're done making fun, remember, it's the neighbor next door to you who has turned their 500 square foot yard or their 10 square foot balcony into a harvest that may be your saving grace if disaster strikes.

It's time to wake up people. You've been used by corporate America long enough. Find the energy, find the time and find the desire to start living a more self-sustaining life. Go ahead, tell us we're all doom-sayers and survivalists, maybe we are. But then take a moment to remember events like Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath and how responsive the government was to New Orleans. Do you think they'd do any better in a city like New York, Los Angeles  or Miami? Good luck!

Are you ready for the increase on your food, fuel and basic essentials? Can your already strapped budget afford to go out and buy healthy, organic, fresh produce? Probably not. It might be a good time to make friends with your neighborhood urban homesteader. They may be your saving grace. While you're at it, learn as much as you can from them. I guarantee you won't be sorry.

Today is dedicated to urban, suburban, and rural homesteaders EVERYWHERE! In my opinion, these fine folks may be the saving grace when it all finally goes to hell in a hand basket.

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Coming Up:

An entire listing Take Back Homesteaders.
Strawberries are a comin'!
Under the Willow Live Talk Radio

Stay tuned for the first official Under the Willow eZine!

Be sure to follow the trademark scandal on Twitter at hashtag ##DumpTheDervaeses

and come join the Take Back Homesteaders on Facebook - WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT TO PROTECT THE LIFESTYLE!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=lf#!/pages/Take-Back-Urban-Home-steadings/167527713295518

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Country Living 101 - Gardening Season Is Coming!

We're having a heat wave here in east Tennessee! The temperature officially reached 62 degrees up here on English Mountain and to put it mildly, it was MARVELOUS!  I threw open the windows and let all that fresh mountain air flow through the house.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the four seasons. One of the reasons we picked the foothills of the Tennessee Appalachians was because of the well defined, yet mild seasons we get. All that changed when we got our first major snow before Thanksgiving!  NORMALLY, we get hardly ANY snow...this year, I was snowed in more than I wasn't.  I did make the best of it though. I tried to enjoy every single day of the season, I had all the fire places lit, baked up a storm, quilted, painted, wrote, and spent massive amounts of time with my teens...(THANK GOODNESS IT'S ALMOST SPRING!) You'd be surprised how quick everyone, including the kids, can get sick of snow days. We're a loving family, but there is a point of too much togetherness.

Soooo with the whisper of Spring outside my window, the songs of the birds at the feeders, and the thought of getting my garden started I decided to get started on the 'Garden" section of Under the Willow Tree!

Right before I began this article I received a news alert warning me that food and gas prices were set to spiral up again...wow...what a surprise <yawn>. Who would have thunk it?  That's OK, I've got a master plan for saving tons of money this year. Go grab a drink and let me share it with you! We're going to start the series with Homemade Paper Seed Pots because after all, you gotta start somewhere and your seed pots are the first step!.

Whether you are an experienced gardener or a novice like myself, you can still utilize the tips and tricks of the pro's. Each year, I go out and spend a boat load of money on planting items like peat pots, planting trays, seeds, etc. By the time I'm done buying all the equipment, I don't really save much, although I do enjoy great homegrown veggies.  Most of you probably save some of the reusable stuff from the previous year but if you don't and you're starting from scratch, here is a good money saving tip for starting your seeds indoors with homemade Newspaper Seed Pots. Take a look at this wonderful video I found on You Tube.

As you can see, almost everyone has the materials for these handy-dandy little pots laying around the house. Depending on how many plants you grow your savings can start at approximately $15+. That's extra money for seeds and if you plan on preserving any of your bounty, you can use it towards preserving equipment (more on that later). 

I'd love to hear how your Paper Seed Pot projects go. Be sure to email me and send me pictures and I'll use them on the UTWT community.  This project may seem small and insignificant to you , but realize that you are  taking your first step towards being self-sufficient AND the pots are bio-degradable, how GREEN is that! You've already eliminated the need for those plastic, mass produced pots! Good job!