Tom van Oosterhout - Our Green Health

Conventional Farming versus Organic Farming: the Unfair Comparison

18/09/202109/04/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

Conventional farming versus organic farming is an unfair comparison. Hannie and I are organic fans. For us, organic is the only truth about food. We want conventional farming to convert to organic, and we want this NOW. Some very relevant questions need to be asked about conventional farming. We also need more organic converts.

Farmers, the agricultural industry, and many consumers believe that the conversion from conventional to organic agriculture is too complicated. Most people shy away from complicated, specifically when it comes to food. The responsibility is firmly put in the hands of the government. However, most governments make unfair comparisons between conventional and organic farming.

The Quality of Food Determines Life Expectancy

14/09/202105/04/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

The quality of food determines life expectancy. However, the quality of food can as well be a savior as a menace. This is best understood in the contribution of food to the rise, and the subsequent standstill, of life expectancy during the past century and a half.

Average life expectancy almost doubled. This great achievement I have always attributed to the presence of clean water and better health care. This is only true to some extent. The rise in life expectancy must be mainly attributed to the mechanization of food production in the US.

There are Many Ideal Protein Alternatives for Cow’s Milk

31/03/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

There are many ideal protein alternatives for cow’s milk. When we were young we drank three glasses of cow’s milk a day. And we ate a lot of cheese and yogurt.

Dairy products were considered extremely healthy. Of course, what we ate and drank when we were young brought us where we are now. Nevertheless dairy has lost much of its appeal.

Over the years, many myths about cow’s milk have been dismantled. The ‘wrongs’ of cow’s milk are diverse. Cow’s milk can cause nasty respiratory and digestive problems. And why should you bother to drink cow’s milk when there are so many ideal protein alternatives.

To Dream is Mandatory for our Mental and Physical Health

06/01/202229/03/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

The absence of dreams will most certainly lead to an unstable mental state, to dream is mandatory. And as dreaming is a way to process our days it can reduce stress and hence have a positive influence on our physical health.

You have to dream several times a night. On average, dreams will last 20 minutes. This is more or less the same for everyone who is healthy.

However, no matter how mandatory dreams are, they remain lies.

Organic Companion Planting for a Healthy Kitchen Garden

06/09/202125/03/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

Organic companion planting is the key to a healthy kitchen garden. When toxic herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides aren’t allowed, as they aren’t in organic gardening, companion planting is the only solution.

From our following short introduction, you will get a limited grip on the ins and outs of companion planting. It requires knowledge of plants, plant diseases, insects that threaten and insects that benefit plants, which plants can be combined, and which not, etcetera. However, on a small scale as a kitchen garden, everybody will be able to manage the mutual dependencies.

Citizens Devoted to the Conservation of Biodiversity

01/03/202222/03/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

The conservation of biodiversity appeals to many citizens. In this article, I introduce 2 examples of citizens initiatives, committed to the conservation of biodiversity: GREFA, a wildlife biodiversity initiative, and RMDS, an agricultural biodiversity initiative.

Because we live in Spain, the examples are Spanish. We’re convinced, however, that these types of citizen initiatives can be found everywhere.

GREFA is a citizens’ wildlife conservation intitiative: Grupo de Rehabilitación de la Fauna Autóctona y su Hábitat (Group for the Rehabilitation of Autochthonous Fauna and its Habitat).

Food with a Conscience is More than just Healthy Food

06/01/202210/03/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

Food with a conscience is something most of us want more and more. We visit the supermarket and try to think beyond what we want on our plate. Yes, we want healthy food, but we also want to know where the food comes from.

However, the more we have to buy, the more difficult it is to keep track of our good conscience. And if both parents have a busy and demanding job, there is little time and energy left to be mindful of what we buy and eat.

That’s why I’ve made up some rules of thumb for ‘food with a conscience’.

Medical Care for the Elderly Lags Substantially Behind

05/02/202211/02/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

“Medical care for the elderly lags substantially behind in most Western countries.” Already in 2007, the Dutch professor of internal medicine and gerontology Rudi Westendorp made this claim in one of his famous lectures.

Westendorp advanced two arguments to prove medical care for the elderly lags behind. The first was that the medical protocols prevented a more coherent approach of the elderly. His second argument was that people over 65 were consistently excluded from medical research.