Cotton

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China, copper beads, cotton, cotton textiles, cottonseed, Flowers, gm cotton, GMO, India, Indus River, Indus Valley Civilization, Karnataka, Mehrgarh, Pakistan, transgenic cotton

Cotton has been spun, woven, and dyed since prehistoric times. It clothed the people of ancient India, Egypt, and China. Hundreds of years before the Christian era, cotton textiles were woven in India with matchless skill, and their use spread to the Mediterranean countries.

This cotton seed pod was recently given to me. It is rather fascinating as the protective capsule (boll) around the seed is a soft fluffy fiber.

 

The seeds were really difficult to get out of the fiber.

The fiber feels just like spun cotton wool.

Cotton was used in the Old World at least 7,000 years ago (5th millennium BC). Evidence of cotton use has been found at the site of Mehrgarh, where early cotton threads have been preserved in copper beads. Cotton cultivation became more widespread during the Indus Valley Civilization, which covered parts of modern eastern Pakistan and northwestern India. The Indus cotton industry was well developed and some methods used in cotton spinning and fabrication continued to be used until the industrialization of India Between 2000 and 1000 BC cotton became widespread across much of India For example, it has been found at the site of Hallus in Karnataka dating from around 1000 BC.

Genetically modified (GM) cotton was developed to reduce the heavy reliance on pesticides.

In many regions, the main pests in commercial cotton are Butterfly (lepidopteran) larvae, which are killed by the Bt protein in the transgenic cotton they eat.

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Cotton

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Honey, a sticky business

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barley malt, Bee, chemical sweeteners, China, corn fructose syrup, food, health, honey, honey comb, honey in the comb, honey producers, honeybee, India, lead, nature, raw honey

Honey is a really sticky business.

“It’s no secret that the honey smuggling is being driven by money, the desire to save a couple of pennies a pound,” said Richard Adee, who is the Washington Legislative Chairman of the American Honey Producers Association.

Honey is being smuggled all over the world from China.

What’s wrong with honey from China? For one thing, it may contain lead, a toxin that accumulates in the body and can cause neurological damage, particularly in young children. The lead contamination has been traced back to the thousands of small beekeeping operations in China that use unlined, lead-soldered drums to collect and store honey before transferring it to processors.

Another favorite con among Chinese brokers was to mix sugar-water, malt sweeteners, corn or rice syrup, jaggery, barley malt sweetener or other additives with a bit of actual honey. In recent years, many shippers have eliminated the honey completely and just use thickened, colored, natural or chemical sweeteners labeled as honey.

Some Honey to look out for on the shelvesLittle Bee honey found on local South African shelves.

100% per Honey collected from Hilly areas in India.

A statement directly from their website : “honey stipulates pure product that does not allow for the addition of any other substances …this includes, but is not limited to, water or other sweeteners”.

Fiona delivers honey twice a week to various Pick n Pay outlets in Cape Town, and previously won runner-up in the Sarie Old Mutual Small Business Women of the Year award. Her honey is one of the purest you can find on the shelves.

Now for simply the best Honey

Now this is really sticky business.

Pure Raw Honey in the comb