Aquaponics 4 You - A Sustainable Food Source For Your Home Or Business

Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Aquaponics 4 You is a methodology of empowering the average person to create and run their own sustainable, organic food production system by utilising a self-sustaining natural cycle involving plants and fish. Aquaponics teaches us there is an eco-friendly solution to the mainstream farming techniques both in agriculture and aquaculture, which both use large amounts of land, power and water. As human encroachment reduces still further the undeveloped parts of the world and destroys the rainforests, we need to start adopting efficient strategies to reverse this trend.

Aquaponics is a cross between Aquaculture and Hydroponics, which is the intensive rearing of fish for food stocks and the growth of plants in closed water systems. The two systems combine by creating a relationship between the fish and the plants. Fish are reared in a tank and their excretions in the form of solid waste sinks to the bottom of the tank. Here it sits in the gaps between the stones/gravel/sand and the process of nitrification takes place. This occurs by chemical process, when bacteria are introduced into the chain of events.

Three stages of bacteria break down the solid waste, which includes uneaten fish food, firstly into ammonia, then nitrites and finally nitrates. It is these nitrates that the plants take their nutrients from. Once these have been removed from the water by the process, the cleansed water is pumped back to the fish and the cycle starts again. In effect, the fish get their water cleaned and the plants get a food source for their efforts. Without this cleansing, the water in the fish tank would quickly increase in pH level to a level of toxicity which could damage the fish stocks.

The benefits of aquaponics systems are numerous and include:

They use a fraction of the water of traditional farming methods, sometimes as low as 2% and the water loss is minimal, only requiring a top up to replace natural evaporation, transpiration and rainfall overflow.

Land usage is reduced, which benefits the environment, brings down costs and allows for smaller plots to be farmed upon. This brings aquaponics into the realm of homeowners, who can set up their own sustainable food crop systems and rear fish into the bargain. The space required means aquaponics systems can be set up on a large or small-scale and on domestic or business premises.

The dangerous pollutants which can escape from traditional farming fertilizers and which can damage water supplies if they run off into river systems are not used in the aquaponics model, so vegetables and fish are produced organically with all of the associated positive effects and none of the negative issues such as pathogens. Aquaponics models still need careful monitoring and regulation though, as the bacteria used in the nitrification process can create problems if not managed professionally and with proficient knowledge.

Steven Bourne is a writer with personal interests in the renewable energy sector and his hobbies are centered around the great outdoors and DIY.

5 Tips on Starting a Small Food Business

Monday, April 2, 2012
So you want to get into the food business? You love to cook or bake and have mama's secret recipe that's been handed down from generation to generation You have a great product and you are wondering how to bring it to the masses. Here are a few tips from someone who with her sister is doing just that.

1. Where are you producing your product? Is this something you can make in your kitchen at home and sell or do you need a commercial use kitchen? Call your local health department and find out licensing and inspection requirements and restrictions on what you can legally produce and sell from your kitchen at home. If you do need a commercial use kitchen look for a "shared use kitchen" or a "community use kitchen" in your area to start. These generally have a small monthly fee and you pay by the hour when you use the kitchen. This is a great way to keep costs low while you grow your business.

2. Determine price point. Break down what it cost to produce your product and comparison shop. Purchase a similar product through a local specialty food store or market and through an online competitor. Ask yourself can your product command the same price, more or less. What will it cost to put your product in a customer's hand?

3. Labeling. Check with your local state health department and the FDA for labeling requirements. There are federally regulated guidelines you need to follow and there may be local state, city or town labeling requirements. Check on these and make sure you are adhering to them before you hire someone to create your labels. This could be a very costly mistake if you need to reprint your labels or pull your product from a shelf because the labels are incorrect.

4. How are you packaging your product? Wherever you intend on selling your goods, you need to test, test and test. You can't just put perishables in a box and send them. When you order from your competitors pay attention to how you received the goods. Did they include an ice brick or was it vacuum packed for freshness. Is this something your goods would need to arrive in edible condition? Test your packaging in a variety of climates. Send samples to your Aunt Betty who lives in Arizona and ask her to leave the sample outside all day to see how the contents hold up. Remember, when shipping to a residence someone may not be there to immediately take the package into the house and refrigerate. You need to plan for this. If you intend on selling in a store how will your packaging differentiate your product from the rest. Separate your product from the clutter.

5. How many products are you selling? If you are selling more than 1 item, don't be afraid to cut from your list of items, those that don't sell or no one is interested in. Do not get attached to products because they're one of your favorites but no one else is interested in them. When it's something your offer on your website or business, you need to have on hand the ingredients to make it. Never use old ingredients to make a product, it will affect the taste and ruin your reputation. Cut out what is not working. Think of your inventory as money with an expiration date sitting on a shelf just waiting to be thrown away.

There are a lot of other considerations before you start your business such as business name, web address, getting a trademark, business certificates, getting insurance, hiring a lawyer and so on. Make a list and work your list. It all starts when you implement. Remember you can have a great product or idea but if you do nothing about it it's nothing more than a great idea or product.

Types of Food Businesses and How to Start One

Sunday, April 1, 2012
Any business that accommodates food industry in one way or another can be categorized as food business. A food business is not necessarily a business that sells food directly or indirectly, it can be a business that provides catering facilities or some business that arranges food in wedding functions. Similarly, you don't need to be a cook or chef because you can go for a food retail store where you just sell the items cooked/manufactured by others. Whatever type you choose, you can be sure of one thing, food items will be the last kind of product that will get out of demand. However that ever increasing demand doesn't guarantees success for a food business, with plus points there are the minuses and starting and running a food business is not without risks at all. As a matter of fact, it is as risky and as challenging as any other business.

First thing of course is to decide the type of food business you want to step into. There are various types and you must decide according to your interests and expertise. Talking about the options, you can open a full-fledged restaurant, you can go for a retail store selling fresh fruits and vegetables, you can start a bakery, sweet mart or a juice shop selling seasonal juices. Options are just innumerable, and the best thing about food business is that usually you don't need a very heavy investment to start with. You can rent a shop and start selling food in small quantities, after observing the response you can decide to expand or wrap up. If you are looking to sell one or more cooked food items, it's better to give it a try before starting a business. You can do so by letting your friends or family members taste and give their opinion. If you get positive reviews, you can be sure that the general public is going to like it.

One thing you must remember is the sensitive nature of the business. Food businesses have to follow strict laws and restrictions set by regulatory bodies. Even if the restrictions are not there, you must make sure that your food complies with the standard guidelines. Sometimes, people treat food business as any other business, trying to sell unhealthy and putrid food. You should never compromise on the health and well being of your customers. Don't get carried away by short term profitability because a food business that manages to win customer's trust will turn into a worthwhile venture that will grow on its own and continue to provide you profits for years to come.