Thanks to the 'Organic' labels -the consumers can now spare themselves the trouble of going through the list of ingredients on a product's packet in order to decide whether it is organic or not. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has introduced a few national standards that need to be met before companies can use the term "organic" for their food items. Any product labeled 'Organic' assures that it is created without the use of artificial hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, bio energy, or irradiation. The farmers involved in the agriculture of organic foods are not only required to abide by certain water and soil conservation mechanisms, but also need to give a benign treatment to animals.
The Definition of Organic
It may be strange yet interesting to note that marking a food item as organic does not necessarily indicate that the food is healthful and nutritive. The USDA does not claim that food produced organically has more salubrious benefits than conventional food, but it does assure that such foods do not contain any pesticides or harmful chemicals. Therefore, the picky consumers, who pay a lot of heed to nutritional values of everything they eat, are still required to read labels attentively in order to decide how nutritious their diet is going to be. Another interpretation conveys that the term 'organic' does not mean 'natural.' All it means is that USDA has approved the food.
USDA's Steps towards Creating Organic Foods
These days, the USDA makes the use of state and private agencies in order to carry out inspections on food companies to certify them to market organic foods. However, all the farmers making less than $5000 through organic sales are exempted from the process of certification. They do however, have to comply with the latest standards of the government and be veracious about their claims for organic label. A fine, as large as $10,000, can be issued upon the companies and individuals, who try to label or sell a product, which does not meet the USDA standards.
The Benefits of Organic Foods over Conventional Foods
The best thing about organic foods is that they comprise of less amounts of minerals. Most of the other foods contain heavy metals, detrimental to our health in the end. These metals include aluminum, which is responsible for Alzheimer's disease; Mercury, which causes neurological damage; and lead, the mental implications of which are known to affect children's IQ adversely.
Therefore, in a world where nothing can be trusted for complete purity, the consumption of foods, certified as organic can certainly define your path towards a healthier lifestyle.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
What does the Organic Label Really Mean?
Friday, February 5, 2010
Top 5 Solutions to Problems with HOA Boards
So, you have a problem with your home owner association (HOA) or its board members. The general rule which seems to apply to most people's feelings as it relates to HOAs are follow the rules or its time to move. What happens when you feel your HOA has outdated policies or you have been treated unfairly? The following at 10 things you can do for solutions with your HOA board.
You do have to keep in mind that you singed a contract as it states with your home owner association so these solutions don't work if you simply are made you can't have a gazebo in your backyard. Those issues and others like it are policies that you would need to have your board members approve. The solutions we are mentioning below are for when you feel that the HOA has acted capricious or in a vindictive manner.
5 Solutions to Problems with HOA Board
1. If you read newspaper columns for advice they will tell you to work it out with your HOA board members. You do have to keep in mind that these columns are typically written by lawyers who represent HOA boards so they are not the best source of info for the home owner themselves. It is still important to attempt to work any issues out directly before taking further course of action.
2. You need to know your bylaws. If you want a state official to help you solve your issue you need to know exactly what you are talking about. Many people don't get far with their cases against HOA boards as their information is filled with emotion more than facts on how HOA bylaws were broken.
3. If there are board members who are apathetic to your situation you can use them to hold special meetings and replace vindictive board of directors. It is important that all policies on these proceedings are followed for them to work.
4. You need to keep all documentation with correspondences between you and the HOA or the HOA's attorneys. You want to get to proof of your violations though you have to realize you will also need proof of your innocence. Just as you want the HOA to have all the documentation, so will you if you are to win your case. If you ever need your own lawyer, the lawyer will need proof to be able to defend your interest.
5. Most issues with home owner associations are consistent courses of action that are in violation or patterns of now working with home owners. You can recommend professional community services take over your HOA's management services which is usually better for both the HOA board members themselves and the individual home owners. Professional community management services are experts in how to handle home owner concerns so that both parties understand and win in the end.
Monday, January 18, 2010
What's the Gold Market LIke
The gold market is unique in the world of finance because gold is unique. Much more than merely another investment, gold is an asset in its own right, a raw material, a natural resource and also a trusted store of value and medium of exchange.
Gold plays more roles in more lives than any other commodity, other than water and possibly oil.
Gold's variety of roles and broad utility mean that the gold market itself is unlike any other market.
Gold reacts differently to the economic and geopolitical factors which impact the financial markets.
For example, hyperinflation, which has historically been terrible for stocks and bonds, prompts people to seek the safe haven of gold, and gold has historically increased in value during periods of high inflation.
The same can be said for other factors:
Geopolitical crisis, such as the threat of war or sudden terrorist attacks, usually result in an increase in the price of gold. In the wake of the September 11th attacks back in 2001, US stock markets were interrupted for a week, but gold rose in value and continued to trade internationally throughout the period.
Currency crises, such as those that occurred in Mexico in 1995, Asia in 1997 and Russia in 1998, disrupt local stock markets dramatically. But in each of those instances gold increased in value dramatically, relative to those local currencies.
Banking crises, such as the one that occurred in the US in November of 2008, also are usually very bad news for the stock markets. Meanwhile, gold holds its value as people seek safe havens.
In summary, the kinds of factors which tend to make the value of stocks, bonds and other assets suffer, tend to make the value of gold increase. There are, of course, exceptions, but over the long-term this axiom has held true. Gold zigs when paper zags.
There are some other interesting aspects of the gold market that also set it apart from other markets.
For instance, there are more ways to own gold than any other asset class. You can own physical gold in the form of bullion bars, wafers or coins, such as the American Eagle, Canadian Maple Leaf or South African Krugerrand. You can also physically own gold in the form of rare gold coins.
For those who do not require the added security of physical gold, there are still other indirect methods of owning gold.
Some individuals choose to participate in the gold market by owning shares of companies that mine and/or refine gold. Along the same lines, mutual funds which acquire the stocks of such companies are another alternative which provides added diversification.
Gold buyers should be aware, however, that this method does not duplicate the direct ownership of gold.
There are still other methods of gold ownership.
One of the latest is the "Exchange Traded Fund" or ETF. These types of funds invest in physical gold and then turn around and sell shares which represent an undivided ownership interest in the holdings of the fund. In this way, investors can participate in movements in the price of gold, again, without the physical security of gold ownership, however.
Another widely followed method of participating in the gold market are the futures markets in which individuals can take positions in the market using leverage to participate in increases and decreases in the price of gold.
There is one final thing that sets the gold market apart:
Gold is a market that never sleeps. Gold trades around the world 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, all year long. No matter what time it is, somewhere the gold market is open and gold is trading. So, gold may close at one price in New York at the end of the trading day and open at a dramatically different price the very next morning due to action on the bourses in places like London, Paris, Zurich, Dubai, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Sydney. No other asset or commodity is traded as widely and as actively as gold.
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