Douglas Farm

We all know bees pollinate our crops for 1/3 to 1/4 of the food we eat. But what is not said are the crops pollinated used for feeding live stock or other uses. Clover and Alfalfa are two of the biggest live stock greens that give our meats and dairy the Omega 3's we need.

However, what I want to write about today is vegetable oils and biodiesel. It was a sad day when the largest biodiesel chain - BioWillie close up. But, that doesn't mean you can't make your own.

Before I get started I'd like to acknowledge this blog is a response to Lauren's blog: What Oil is Best Used for What?

So here's my answer being a guy, oil is best used to make my truck grrr like a tiger. Ha Ha. (Sorry I'm trying to put more personality into my writting).

But, seriously. I'll respond with asking questions to her question, "What oils make the best biodiesel? And, what is their sustainability?" So are you ready for some crazy oil data?

Let's look at the sustainability first. Okay oil; let us consider the amount of oil given by various crops, because we can't have 100 acres giving only 2000 gal of oil a year. Obviously there are other factors like soil fertility, climate required, water required by the crop to name a few. But, for this lets focus on the crop yield. Here are some yields:

Side note: briefly think of all the pollination the bees do to make  these crops and oils.

So now that we have a few oils that might be able to meet the volume we need to be our car or truck's fuel, let's look at what oil makes better biodiesel.

Iodine number is important because it relates to the cloud point of biodiesel. Cloud point is when your fuel turns to a solid and no longer flows into the engine. Very Bad! So some fats like lard are solid at room tempurature and would need to be pre-heated to be used as a fuel in liquid state.

Cetane number is important because it is the diesel equivalent of regular gas octane rating. So the higher the cetane the more premium the fuel, and thus you'll get more power out of 1 gal.

Here are some oil characteristics:

So maybe this has sparked an interest in biodiesel. Perhaps you're thinking you'd like to cut loose from your reliance on our gas imports. Perhaps you like doing things your self or going the green way.

You can actually build your own reactor to make biodiesel for a few hundred bucks. Biodiesel can be made from waste vegi oils, methanol and lye. The waste oil is often availible for free from restaurants. You will need to filter the particles out of the oil (to less than 10 microns), mix it with the meth. and lye. Then separate out your by product, glycerine. (which can be used as a home fuel in a special furnace). Then you wash and dry the biodiesel and its ready for your car.

Obviously you'll need to read and learn more than just my short sales pitch. And each step has more to it that you might think. So where can you go to find out more:

Utah Biodiesel Supply

Try a YouTube or Google Search

I also recomend checking out a centrifuge to filter out your oil and diesel's waste particles instead of using lots of filters:

Simple Centrifuge

Where did my numbers come from:

Yellow

White

From a letter to a friend about the Vegan honey debate,

Our honey is raw, I never have it hotter than the normal temperature range inside a hive. I normally extract honey on warm summer days so it flows without needing to be heated. I also sell other products like comb honey, which is about as raw as you can get.

It is my feeling, that my beekeeping practice of putting the bee first makes my honey vegan:

My primary goal is to make more bees and to keep them alive. So if one hive is having a slow year and doesn't make enough honey to survive the winter, I transfer some from a hive that did very well. So the hives help each other by sharing their honey. If there is a surplus after all the hives have been given enough to get them through to the spring, then I take my share, and harvest.

After all honey has been harvested I feed the bees, so they can avoid eating their winter stores as long as possible. I'm sure this might not be the case for commercial beekeepers who have several thousand hives.

Vegans argue they honey bee is exploited by the beekeeper, that the bees are the beekeepers slaves. I actually feel the opposite sometimes.

1. The bees are free to come and go, and sometimes they do leave (swarm)

2. The bees are fed pollen and sugar by me in periods when they can't get their own food. I purchased 1500lbs of sugar to feed them last year.

3. They are not forced to do work, they work various jobs on their own accord. They work to feed themselves as any free spirit does.

4. I give them a clean and dry home at great cost to myself. I repair their home if it is damaged or needs paint.

5. If a predator like a raccoon is attacking them I will defend them. I trapped one last year and let it go in a park 25 miles away.

I also sell bee pollen, a super food. Bees use it as the protein source of their diet. It is a super food because it has the highest protein concentration per ounce than any other food source. It's also vegetarian since it comes from flowers. Many people like it to pre-expose their body to pollen before allergy season.

Lastly, I'll say a beekeeper can live in a symbiotic relationship with his bees, though not all beekeepers are. Some beekeepers might exploit their bees, such as taking too much honey at the end of a year. Such a practice is also not sustainable beekeeping. A symbiotic relationship with bees is not the same as those that exploit them. I stand firm in saying a symbiotic relationship provited Vegan honey. So some honey is vegan, and some honey is not. 

One favorite Hanukkah indulgence is the fried honey puff. These sugared balls of fried dough are popular at Sephardic Hanukkah celebrations and are an excellent treat to add to the menu for the last nights of the holiday. A batter prepared with yeast gives the pastry a light and airy texture, very similar to a doughnut when fried. However, it is the honey coating that gives these puffs their exclusive flavor. A glaze made of honey, lemon juice and sugar ice the puffs just after frying, sealing in their delectable flavor with a slightly crisp outer shell. A smattering of cinnamon completes the dessert, offering a lovely winter spiciness that mingles so well with the flavor of the honey.

Recipe:

Yield: about 36

Batter

• 1 (2 1/4 teaspoon) packet active dry yeast

• 1 cup warm water

• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

• 1 large egg

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Honey Syrup

• 1 cup sugar

• 3/4 cup cold water

• 1/2 cup honey

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Plus cinnamon to garnish

1. For the batter, mix together the yeast, 1/2 c of warm water, and the sugar. Let mixture rest for 5 minutes or until it is foamy. Stir in the remaining batter ingredients, including water, until smooth. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let batter rise for 1 hour.
2. While the batter rises prepare the honey syrup. Mix all ingredients together in a large saucepan and slowly bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring only until the sugar dissolves. Lower the heat and boil the syrup for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
3. When the batter has risen, stir it down. Heat oil, about 1 1/2 inches deep, in a large pan until it is about 375 degrees. Dip a teaspoon into the oil, and then use the spoon to scoop up some batter and gently slide batter into the oil. The batter will quickly puff up to almost twice its original size. Continue making puffs but do not crowd the pan. Turn puffs with a slotted spoon until they are browned on all sides and very crisp.
4. Drain them on paper towels or a wire rack, then drop them into the syrup to coat. Sprinkle the puffs with cinnamon and serve immediately.

Bees Against ElephantsThe bee method could save the elephants By Stefan Anitei, Science Editor

9th of October 2007, 06:52 GMT

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Bees-Against-Elephants-67949.shtml

This is not a cartoon joke: the Goliath of our days can be chased away by the same insects: bees. The giant mammals evacuate the place as soon as they hear the buzz of a bee swarm.

In the end, this could be their salvation. Strategically placed beehives could prevent elephants from raiding crops, decreasing man-beast conflicts when the pachyderms are killed. You can imagine that only one elephant destroys a corn field in just one night, that would provide food for a whole African family.

"If we could use bees to reduce elephant crop-raiding and tree destruction and enhance local income through the sale of honey, this could be a significant step forward towards sustainable human-elephant coexistence," said zoologist Lucy King at the University of Oxford.

There were many previous clues suggesting that elephants avoided bees. In Kenya, acacia trees with empty or occupied beehives are much less damaged than trees lacking hives. In Zimbabwe, a team observed elephants creating new trails to avoid beehives.

The African killer bees (Apis mellifera scutellata) from eastern and south Africa are notoriously aggressive and persistent near their hives and swarms are known to have killed even African buffalo.

To check the elephants' reaction, King's team recorded the buzz of agitated African bees.

"We recorded our bee sounds from a wild hive that we found inside a tree trunk along the Ewaso Ng'iro river in Samburu." said King.

The recording was played back four minutes through wireless speakers located inside fake plastic tree trunks to 17 elephant groups resting under trees in Samburu National Reserve (Kenya) during the midday heat. 16 groups fled within 80 seconds of hearing the buzz. In fact, 8 groups reacted in only 10 seconds. The group that did not react to the buzzing was made of young individuals, which perhaps had not suffered from a previous bee attack.

"When you first mention this idea to people, they usually chuckle at the images it invokes, as it seems so improbable that such a large, powerful creature like an elephant could possible be afraid of tiny bees," King told LiveScience.

But "the sting of an African bee is absolute agony to humans-believe me, I know!-so it's not impossible to imagine that being stung in the sensitive areas around the eyes, behind the ears and even up the trunk would be similarly painful to an elephant." she added.

The most important fact is "that whole herds of elephants moved away together from the sound. If only one or two moved away, the use of bees as a deterrent would only be partially useful." said King.

Using beehives could impede elephants from approaching farms "and therefore contribute to a safer future for both elephants and the people who have to live with them," King said.

Throw a Green Dinner Party!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/15/earlyshow/living/recipes/main4946088.shtml

"Katie prepared a minted pea soup, fresh mushroom and asparagus springtime pasta, and mini-cheesecakes drizzled with honey.

But when throwing a green dinner party, the food is only half the battle.

There's frequently lots of waste at dinner, especially during the summer, when we eat outside using paper plates and napkins.

But Katie's table was totally green, with everything from the placemats to the centerpiece 100 percent recycled, reusable, or repurposed.

After making the pasta, Katie poured the soup into espresso cups and garnished the dessert with the honey and bee pollen.

Bee pollen is said to strengthen the immune system through its antioxidant properties. It's been claimed that bee pollen improves oxygen uptake and helps accelerate recovery in training. Bee pollen is a mixture of bee saliva, plant pollen, and nectar. Some people take it thinking it has special health-enhancing properties; others take it because they think it acts as a performance booster."

Love Your Skin

http://feelgoodstyle.com/2009/04/14/love-your-skin/

"Hands down the best lip balm/gloss I have ever used.  Packed in a jar like a balm, this thick concoction goes on more like a gloss and lasts a super long time.  The light lemony scent is fresh and the added honey makes it sweet and yummy.  Honey is also an effective yet gentle skin repair ingredient, perfect for lips.  Once you try this stuff you will never go back."

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Future Directions for Honey Research

By Ronald Fessenden, MD, MPH
Presented at the 1st International Symposium on Honey and Human Health, January 8, 2008, in Sacramento, Calif.

Most Promising Categories of Research:

? Restorative Sleep
? Memory & Off-line Processing
? Insulin Resistance & Blood Sugar Control
? Immune System Enhancement
? Anti-microbial Effects

Types of Research Needed:

? Human Observational Studies (short term)
? Studies investigating mechanisms of action
? Clinical trials
? Population or Epidemiological Studies*
* Expensive, confounding variables, control cohorts, accidental correlations

Examples of Human Studies:

? Sleep lab studies observing REM sleep / measuring cognitive abilities post-honey dosing vs. no pre-bedtime or other food ingestion
? Expansion of oral honey ?tolerance? tests measuring effects on blood glucose, HA1c, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and insulin response compared to glucose, HFCS, artificial sweeteners
? Clinical trials in pre-diabetic, diabetic patients
? Mechanisms of immune system enhancement

Example of New Product:

? Honey nebulizer for prevention and inhalation treatment of tuberculosis, Valley Fever, and other antibiotic-resistant pulmonary infections
? As of January 6, 2008, provisional patents were pending in 3 countries for use of honey in a nebulizer apparatus for such use
? Clinical trials to establish efficacy and treatment protocols will be needed

Conclusions:

? The scientific and medical community should be able to deduce longer term consequences of consuming honey pending the need for population or epidemiological studies
? The potential public health benefit on metabolic diseases such as obesity, childhood obesity, insulin resistance, type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and neuro-degenerative diseases could be enormous
? Two years of focused research could have a significant impact on the health of the next generation