Michael Edwards - Author Page

Michael Edwards is the founder, owner, editor-in-chief, and janitor for Organic Lifestyle Magazine. At age 17, Michael weighed more than 360 pounds. He suffered from allergies, frequent bouts of illness, and chronic, debilitating insomnia. Conventional medicine wasn’t working. While he restored his health through alternative medicine he studied natural health and became immersed in it.

Organic, All Natural, and Certified Naturally Grown Food Labels

June 1, 2008 by Michael Edwards
Last updated on: June 3, 2015

Sometimes it doesn’t say organic, but it is. Sometimes it says organic, but it’s not. At least not by the definition you’d expect. When it says Certified Naturally Grown, wildcrafted, or organic, what do the labels really mean? USDA Organic… [read]

Gyre

June 1, 2008 by Michael Edwards
Last updated on: June 16, 2014

Between California and Hawaii lies a gyre (jir), one of the five areas in the world’s oceans where the currents maintain a circular pattern. The North Pacific Central Gyre is nicknamed the Eastern Garbage Patch due to multiple “islands” of… [read]

Canvas Bags

June 1, 2008 by Michael Edwards
Last updated on: June 3, 2015

Back in March, I was in the checkout line at my local farmers market when the checker asked, “Paper or plastic?” “Damn it!” I yelled, loud enough for everyone to hear. “I forgot my canvas bags again!” I don’t usually… [read]

Plastic Everywhere

June 1, 2008 by Michael Edwards
Last updated on: June 3, 2015

Here we go again. Just when I thought I had picked the right plastic, I discover I’m drinking toxic water. I stopped microwaving with plastics after reading about dioxins leaching into foods. Soon after, I threw out my microwave. What… [read]

More on Plastic Bags

June 1, 2008 by Michael Edwards
Last updated on: June 3, 2015

It takes roughly 430,000 gallons of crude oil to produce 100 million plastic bags. With groups like the Worldwatch Institute estimating that Americans discard as many 100 billion plastic bags each year, we’re talking about using tens of millions of… [read]

Paper Vs. Plastic

June 1, 2008 by Michael Edwards
Last updated on: June 3, 2015

You’re standing in the checkout line at the grocery store and you’ve made enough decisions for one day. You decided what you’ll be eating all week and what you’re having for dinner tonight. You’ve taken the time to choose which… [read]

Farming with Organic Certification

June 1, 2008 by Michael Edwards
Last updated on: June 3, 2015

When organic certification began, each state set its own standards. In time it was decided one uniform code was necessary. The USDA began a nationally recognized certification program in 1990. Consumers think organic means organic. No pesticides. No herbicides. Nothing… [read]