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Showing posts with label gmos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gmos. Show all posts

How to detox your body from GMOs and Pesticides

Detoxing can be hard on your body and cause a wide variety of alarming side effects. After all, the substances being removed are usually pretty horrible, consisting of toxic chemicals from pesticide residues, by-products of GMO foods, pharmaceutical drugs, chemotherapy residue, free-radicals, heavy metals, aluminum, radiation.

Image: consciouslifenews.com
There are numerous detoxing agents and methods available — some more costly than others — and some producing very intense experiences with potentially dangerous side effects. We advise choosing a more natural method.

However, there are several ways to remove these noxious substances gently, with kindness to your system. These techniques may take a bit longer to achieve completion that some the harsher detox programs; however, if you take your time one or more of these natural methods should work for you.

Pectin

Fruit pectin is probably the most gentle method of detoxing contaminants. Pectin comes from the fibrous portion of the fruit and is most commonly found in the pith of limes, lemons and other citrus fruit as well as in apples. Other sources of pectin are bananas, grapes, carrots, and cabbage. Pectin helps to release heavy metals, chemicals and other substances into the blood stream, where it binds to them and flushes them from the body. Simply eating fruit high in pectin will help to cleanse your system, or you can add a pectin product to a glass of water, organic grape juice or fresh veggie juice to speed the detox process. Beware of pectin sold in grocery stores, as some brands may contain MSG. Check health food stores for the best products.

Cilantro

The delicious culinary herb cilantro, happens to be one of the most effective and gentle detoxifiers of mercury, heavy metals and other toxic contaminants. You can buy cilantro juice at health food stores or simply include the fresh herb in your diet as pesto or seasoning to control the amount consumed and limit unwanted side effects. It’s inexpensive and works without the addition of man-made chemicals. Cilantro also possesses antibacterial and anti-fungal properties, quickly reducing infection and inflammation as it works to clear your system.
Detoxing can be hard on your body and cause a wide variety of alarming side effects. After all, the substances being removed are usually pretty horrible, consisting of toxic chemicals from pesticide residues, by-products of GMO foods, pharmaceutical drugs, chemotherapy residue, free-radicals, heavy metals, aluminum, radiation.

There are numerous detoxing agents and methods available — some more costly than others — and some producing very intense experiences with potentially dangerous side effects. We advise choosing a more natural method.

However, there are several ways to remove these noxious substances gently, with kindness to your system. These techniques may take a bit longer to achieve completion that some the harsher detox programs; however, if you take your time one or more of these natural methods should work for you.

Pectin

Fruit pectin is probably the most gentle method of detoxing contaminants. Pectin comes from the fibrous portion of the fruit and is most commonly found in the pith of limes, lemons and other citrus fruit as well as in apples. Other sources of pectin are bananas, grapes, carrots, and cabbage. Pectin helps to release heavy metals, chemicals and other substances into the blood stream, where it binds to them and flushes them from the body. Simply eating fruit high in pectin will help to cleanse your system, or you can add a pectin product to a glass of water, organic grape juice or fresh veggie juice to speed the detox process. Beware of pectin sold in grocery stores, as some brands may contain MSG. Check health food stores for the best products.

Cilantro

The delicious culinary herb cilantro, happens to be one of the most effective and gentle detoxifiers of mercury, heavy metals and other toxic contaminants. You can buy cilantro juice at health food stores or simply include the fresh herb in your diet as pesto or seasoning to control the amount consumed and limit unwanted side effects. It’s inexpensive and works without the addition of man-made chemicals. Cilantro also possesses antibacterial and anti-fungal properties, quickly reducing infection and inflammation as it works to clear your system.

Chlorella

Chlorella is a single cell algae sea vegetable that grows in fresh water. Some of the best cholrella reserves have come from Japan; however, use caution when buying Japanese chlorella due to possible exposure to radiation from Fukushima. Chlorella is an easy-to-digest superfood best known for being able to remove mercury and other heavy metals from the cells. Too much chlorella can produce side effects — mostly in the digestive tract — where it works best to bind to mercury, eliminating it. Start with the lowest quantity and work up slowly for a gentle detox.

Wheatgrass

Juicing fresh produce and grasses such as wheat or barley grass provides an excellent way to remove toxins from the system. Wheatgrass is high in nutritional content, and provides vitamins, minerals and all nine essential amino acids. Wheatgrass can be a powerful detox, so start slowly with only a small amount of juice to keep it gentle — 1/2 ounce a day — and work up to avoid symptoms.

Using gentle detoxing products requires that you repeat treatments over a period of time until all symptoms have cleared. Side effects may include nausea, vomiting, muscle aches and pains, dizziness and fatigue. Additionally, detoxing can cause a flare-up in your condition temporarily. It’s just the toxins leaving your system and should pass shortly. If side effects are severe, reduce the quantity of whatever you’re using to detox. If the symptoms continue, stop and consult your natural health practitioner for further instructions.

Source: Natural News

Farmers begin suing Monsanto over genetic pollution of wheat crops

Image: www.trunews.com
(NaturalNews) The next wave of farmer backlash against Monsanto has just been unleashed by Ernest filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Wichita, Kansas, alleging that Monsanto's genetic pollution has financially damaged himself and other farmers.
Barnes, a wheat farmer in Morton County, Kansas. He

Barnes' case appears to be well supported by the facts: Last week the USDA announced the shock discovery that genetically engineered wheat strains from Monsanto's open-field experiments had escaped and spread into commercial wheat farms. Almost immediately, Japan and South Korea cancelled wheat purchase contracts from the United States, and more cancellations are expected to follow. The more countries reject U.S. wheat due to GMO contamination (genetic pollution), the lower wheat prices will plunge and the more economic damage will be felt by U.S. farmers.

Monsanto now a confirmed genetic polluter

GMO wheat (i.e. "GE wheat") has never been commercially grown in the United States... at least not on purpose. Experimental fields were approved by the USDA and planted across 16 U.S. states. Until now, it was not known that these GE wheat experiments escaped their designated field plots and began to spread as a form of self-replicating genetic pollution.

For the record, Natural News openly warned about this possibility in a 2012 article called, "Stop Out-of-Control Science." There, I wrote:

Humanity has reached a tipping point of developing technology so profound that it can destroy the human race; yet this rise of "science" has in no way been matched by a rise in consciousness or ethics. Today, science operates with total disregard for the future of life on Earth, and it scoffs at the idea of balancing scientific "progress" with caution, ethics or reasonable safeguards. Unbridled experiments like GMOs have unleashed self-replicating genetic pollution that now threatens the integrity of food crops around the world, potentially threatening the global food supply.

Those words, it turns out, were prophetic. We are now faced with precisely this situation in the U.S. agricultural sector, and farmers are starting to feel the economic losses. GMOs are just one of several areas where so-called "science" actually threatens humanity with total destruction.

See my infographic of all 12 dangerous sectors of science with this infographic:
http://www.naturalnews.com/Infographic-SOS-Stop-Out-of-Control-Science.html

Monsanto engaged in genetic contamination

As Yahoo News reports:

The petition filed by Barnes claims Monsanto knew there was a high risk the genetically modified wheat it was testing could contaminate other varieties of wheat, and the company failed to follow proper procedures to keep the wheat contained.

Monsanto tested the wheat in many states, including Kansas, the top U.S. wheat-producing state, but did not disclose to farmers in those states that it was testing the controversial wheat there, the petition states.

Monsanto to sue the farmers?

Monsanto claims it will mount a "vigorous defense" against the lawsuit, expressing that it takes no responsibility whatsoever for all the genetic pollution it spews across America's farm lands. If Monsanto's genetically modified, toxin-producing crops just happen to infect your commercial crops, then that's your fault!

In fact, I'm surprised Monsanto hasn't announced plans to sue all these farmers for "stealing" its "intellectual property." That's what the company has done before, of course: sued farmers whose fields were contaminated by Monsanto's genetic pollutants.

Is this not the height of corporate evil? When British Petroleum spills billions of gallons of oil in the Gulf of Mexico, it at least pretends to be sorry about it. But when Monsanto spews its genetic pollution all over the planet, it blames the farmers! It would be like if BP drove an oil tanker right into your front yard, dumped a thousand gallons of oil on your lawn, then sued you for stealing their oil.

That's the Monsanto model. And it's yet another example of the total runaway criminality of this evil corporation that frankly should have its corporate charter yanked. This is one business that deserves to be permanently put out of business and never allowed to operate again. When corporations become such arrogant, destructive and threatening monsters that stomp on our farmers and spew their genetic jizz all across the planet like a bunch of sicko ag perverts, something has gone terribly wrong and needs to be stopped.

The recent March Against Monsanto was only the beginning. I even foresee a day when millions of citizens from around the world engage in a far more aggressive march on the Monsanto headquarters and literally tear the place apart brick by brick until this corporate demon is permanently excised from our planet.

We are winning the war against Monsanto

I also predict -- but do not condone this violence -- that if Monsanto continues to engage in its crimes against farmers, nature and humanity, we are going to start seeing well-planned "acts of justice" against Monsanto executives, employees and scientists. I literally had a bizarre, disturbing dream the other night where a band of activists had kidnapped a Monsanto executive, tied him to a chair, and forced him to admit to all the crimes Monsanto has committed while being filmed on camera. The videos were then released on the internet. I realize this sounds a lot like the plot of a major motion picture, but I believe this could become reality if Monsanto continues on its current path.

Again, for the record, I do not condone the kidnapping of Monsanto executives. Kidnappings and executions are no way to resolve problems in a civilized society. If such an act actually takes place, it would actually hurt the anti-GMO movement and allow the government to paint all GMO protesters as "potential terrorists." So if anyone out there is actually thinking of doing this, please redirect your energy and focus into non-violent protests and other similar actions that are already making tremendous progress. As I said recently on Natural News, I believe we have reached a tipping point of success against Monsanto. Let's continue to pressure Monsanto in a grassroots, non-violent way, okay?

After all, we are winning this war against Monsanto and GMOs. They are in full retreat and completely surrounded... by the truth.

Source: naturalnews.com

GMO Labeling Defeated in Washington by Monsanto Funny Money

Natural Cures Not Medicine

Image: rt.com
GMO labeling, once again, was defeated not by informed voters, but by millions of dollars worth of negative ads bought and paid for by Monsanto & company.

via Liberty Beat:
"In a closely fought battle, voters in Washington state have decided not to label Genetically Modified Foods. Initiative 522 appears to have lost by a margin of 45% in favor of labeling and 55% against. In early September, polls showed support for labeling to be ahead by 45%, that number quickly dwindled after a $22 million advertising campaign against the measure was launched by General Mills, Nestle, PepsiCo, Monsanto, DuPont and others."
This win for GMA, the lobbying arm of 'Big Food', comes despite a lawsuit filed over the GMA's suspected illegal political finance activities and money laundering. Acording to seattlepi.com:
"The attorney general went to court on Wednesday, saying the association gathered and spent more than $7 million in the campaign, shielding its donors and violating public disclosure laws."
The GMA is well known for it's political activities which are aimed at countering grass-roots food rights initiatives such as Washington's I-522 and California's Prop 37; where they contributed a large part of the $40+ million raised to defeat GMO labeling.

Monsanto, one of GMA's largest contributing members($4.8 million to defeat I 522 alone), has had a long history of both anti-science and anti-health stances: claiming that scientists across the globe who question GMO safety are simply conspiracy theorists for thinking Monsanto's claims that pesticides are actually good for the soil and that pesticide exposure is not bad for you, are questionable claims.

Other top donors which contributed to the false propaganda campaign, according to firedoglake.com, were:
"General Mills, Inc. ($598,819), PepsiCo, Inc.($1,620,899), Kellogg Company ($221,852), Nestlé USA, Inc. ($1,052,743) and ConAgra Foods ($285,281)"
The GMA, 'Big Food' and the bio-giants may have won the battle for now, but the war is far from over. Many activists are likely to double their efforts after being beaten by corporate cash and political corruption, just as we saw the March Against Monsanto movement gain momentum from Prop 37's corporately funded defeat, this is only the beginning in the fight for our right to know if it's GMO.

BREAKING: There is a Growing Scientific Consensus on GMO Safety Fears

Image: thoughtshaker.com
The number of scientists, physicians and legal experts who have signed the group statement, “No scientific consensus on GMO safety” has climbed to 231 in just over a week – and it’s still growing.

The number of initial signatories stood at almost 100 on the day the statement was released, 21 October. It has more than doubled since.

A recent signatory is Dr Belinda Martineau, former member of the Michelmore Lab at the UC Davis Genome Center, University of California, who helped commercialise the world’s first GM whole food, the Flavr Savr tomato. Dr Martineau said:

“I wholeheartedly support this thorough, thoughtful and professional statement describing the lack of scientific consensus on the safety of genetically engineered (GM) crops and other GM organisms (also referred to as GMOs). Society’s debate over how best to utilize the powerful technology of genetic engineering is clearly not over. For its supporters to assume it is, is little more than wishful thinking.”
Another signatory, Dr Judy Carman, director of the Institute of Health and Environmental Research, Adelaide, and adjunct associate professor, health and the environment, Flinders University, South Australia, said:

“Of the hundreds of different GM crops that have been approved for human and animal consumption somewhere in the world, few have been thoroughly safety tested. So it is not possible to have a consensus that they are all safe to eat – at least, not a consensus based on hard scientific evidence derived from experimental data.”

A third signatory, Prof Elena Alvarez-Buyllla, coordinator of the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics of Plant Development and Evolution, Institute of Ecology, UNAM, Mexico, said:

“Given the scientific evidence at hand, sweeping claims that GM crops are substantially equivalent to, and as safe as, non-GM crops are not justifiable.

“We must be especially cautious in the case of proposed release of a GM crop in the centre of genetic origin for that crop. An example is the planting of GM maize in Mexico. Mexico is the centre of genetic origin for maize. GM genes can irreversibly contaminate the numerous native varieties which form the genetic reservoir for all future breeding of maize varieties. In addition, maize is a staple food crop for the Mexican people. So GMO releases can threaten the genetic diversity on which food security depends, both within Mexico and globally.

“Such decisions with broad implications for society should not be made by a narrow group of self-selected experts, many of whom have commercial interests in GM technology, but must also involve the millions of people who will be most affected. As things stand, in Mexico we have an ongoing uncontrolled experiment with no independent scientific or popular mandate, in which GM genes are allowed to crossbreed with native maize varieties. The inevitable result will be genetic alterations with unpredictable effects.”

A fourth signatory, Dr Joachim H. Spangenberg, faculty member at the UFZ Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany, said:

“Researchers in ecology and relevant environmental sciences have predicted negative environmental impacts from GM crops for around 25 years. Over the years, many of these impacts have been empirically documented. One example is the development of pest resistance to GM Bt insecticidal crops and weed resistance to the required herbicides for GM herbicide-tolerant crops. These resistance problems are now an increasing problem for farmers – to the benefit of the GM seed and agrochemical corporations – and are forcing farmers back to older, even more toxic chemical pesticides.

“Twenty years ago, the international academic associations of ecologists and molecular biologists met at the International Council for Science.  The two groups agreed that their fields of expertise were complementary and that they needed to cooperate in order to assess the ecological impacts of GM crops in a systematic way. However, many molecular biologists involved in GM crop development today persistently ignore their own blind spots and the science emerging from the complementary environmental segments of the science community, turning the application of GM technology into a social risk.”

Source: sustainablepulse.com via rawforbeauty.com

20 Ingredients To Memorize and Avoid In ANY Food You Consume

by Marco Torres | Prevent Disease
Image: www.directlyfitness.com

Artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, emulsifiers, sweeteners have saturated the food supply for more than four decades. We are on the precipice of discovering what our toxic food industry has done to our bodies and our environment. There is a heightened awareness and a sense of caution on the minds of most grocery shoppers, so let’s make it easier for them. Here are 20 of the most common toxic ingredients you must avoid in foods. The discovery of even one of these ingredients on a food label means “stay away.”

This list is by no means all inclusive as there are dozens of other culprits, but these are the most commonly used by the food industry with little regard to consumer’s health.

1. Artificial Flavors
Artificial flavorings are derived from chemicals made in a laboratory and offer absolutely no nutritional value and are a magnet for processed foods. They show up in almost everything today, including bread, cereals, flavored yogurt, soups mixes, and cocktail mixers, so they can be hard to avoid. Every single artificial flavor in the food industry has some kind of detrimental health effect. These include neurotoxicity, organ, developmental, reproductive toxicity and cancer.

2. Enriched Wheat
Wheat is already one of those grains that should be avoided, but the key word to watch out for is ‘enrichment’. That means niacin, thiamine, riboflavin, folic acid, and iron are added after these and other key nutrients are stripped out in the first place during the refining process. That applies to whether it’s wheat, rye, or other grains. Enriched flour is really just refined flour that has had a few nutrients re-added to it, but not enough to make any food made from this nutritionally worthy.

3. Hydrogentated or Fractionated Oils
Fractionating oil is a process most often used on palm and palm kernel oil that involves heating the oil, then cooling it quickly so that it breaks up into fractions (hence the name). The key thing is that the filtration process separates out most of the liquid part of the oil, leaving a high concentration of solid unhealthy fat behind which is terribly toxic for human consumption.

Hydrogenated oils are oils that are often healthy in their natural state, but are quickly turned into poisons through the manufacturing and processing they undergo. They take these naturally healthy oils such as palm, kernel, soybean, corn oil, canola oil or coconut oil and they heat it anywhere from five hundred to one thousand degrees. They then become fantastic preservatives because all the enzymatic activity in the oil has been neutralized during the hydrogenating process. Hydrogenated oils are the closest thing you can get to plastic sludge running through your body. If you see “hydrogenated” anywhere on an ingredient list, run like the wind.

4. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
The food additive “MSG” is a slow poison which hides behind dozens of names, such as natural flavoring, yeast extract, autolyzed yeast extract, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, caseinate, textured protein, hydrolyzed pea protein and many others. Currently, labeling standards do not require MSG to be listed in the ingredient list of thousands of foods.

MSG is not a nutrient, vitamin, or mineral and has no health benefits. The part of MSG that negatively affects the human body is the “glutamate”, not the sodium. The bound glutamic acid in certain foods (corn, molasses, wheat) is broken down or made “free” by various processes (hydrolyzed, autolyzed, modified or fermented with strong chemicals, bacteria, or enzymes) and refined to a white crystal that resembles sugar.

There are a growing number of Clinicians and Scientists who are convinced that excitotoxins play a critical role in the development of several neurological disorders, including migraines, seizures, infections, abnormal neural development, certain endocrine disorders, specific types of obesity, and especially the neurodegenerative diseases; a group of diseases which includes: ALS, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and olivopontocerebellar degeneration.

5. Sugar
The single largest source of calories for Americans comes from sugar.Sugar is loaded into your soft drinks, fruit juices, sports drinks, and hidden in almost all processed foods–from bologna to pretzels to Worcestershire sauce to cheese spread. And now most infant formula has the sugar equivalent of one can of Coca-Cola, so babies are being metabolically poisoned from day one if taking formula. Sugar changes metabolism, raises blood pressure, critically alters the signaling of hormones and causes significant damage to the liver — the least understood of sugar’s damages. These health hazards largely mirror the effects of drinking too much alcohol, which they point out in their commentary is the distillation of sugar. If it’s not a natural sugar, it doesn’t belong in your food.

6. High Fructose Corn Syrup
A few years ago, the Corn Refiners Association petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow the term ‘corn sugar’ as an alternative label declaration for high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). The reason? Too many people were finding out how lethal HFCS was for the human body.

HFCS causes insulin resistance, diabetes, hypertension, increased weight gain, and not to mention manufactured from genetically modified corn.

7. Potassium Benzoate and Sodium Benzoate
Sodium Benzoate can convert into lethal carcinogenic poison when combined with absorbic acid. Professor Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology and biotechnology, tested the impact of sodium benzoate on living yeast cells in his laboratory. What he found alarmed him: the benzoate was damaging an important area of DNA in the “power station” of cells known as the mitochondria. “These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it: they knock it out altogether.” he stated.

Potassium benzoate often shows up in seemingly innocuous foods such as apple cider, low-fat salad dressings, syrups, jams, olives, and pickles. It is just as hazardous as Sodium Benzoate so read your labels.

8. Artificial Coloring
Food colorings still on the market are linked with cancer. Blue 1 and 2, found in beverages, candy, baked goods and pet food, have been linked to cancer in mice. Red 3, used to dye cherries, fruit cocktail, candy, and baked goods, has been shown to cause thyroid tumors in rats. Green 3, added to candy and beverages, has been linked to bladder cancer. The widely used yellow 6, added to beverages, sausage, gelatin, baked goods, and candy, has been linked to tumors of the adrenal gland and kidney.

9. Acesulfame-K
Acesulfame-K, also known as acesulfame potassium, represents one of the food additives used for sweetening aliments and drinks. It is approved by the FDA, but there are several potential problems correlated with consumption of this food additive. Even though there are many studies that attest its safety, acesulfame potassium is still suspected of causing benign thyroid tumors. In rats, the development of such tumors took only 3 months, a period in which the concentration of this additive in the consumed food was between 1 and 5 percent. This is a very short period of time, so the substance is believed to have significant carcinogenic properties. Methylene chloride, a solvent used in the manufacture of acesulfame potassium, is the substance that may give the food additive its potential carcinogenic characteristics.

10. Sucralose
Splenda/sucralose is simply chlorinated sugar; a chlorocarbon. Common chlorocarbons include carbon tetrachloride, trichlorethelene and methylene chloride, all deadly. Chlorine is nature’s Doberman attack dog, a highly excitable, ferocious atomic element employed as a biocide in bleach, disinfectants, insecticide, WWI poison gas and hydrochloric acid. Chlorocarbons are never nutritionally compatible with our metabolic processes and are wholly incompatible with normal human metabolic functioning. Sucralose is a very common additive in protein mixes and drinks so beware all of you who love to add these into your smoothies.

11. Aspartame
The sale of aspartame, with only four calories per gram and 200 times sweeter than sugar, is sold under the trademarks NutraSweet and Equal. Results indicate that aspartame is a multi-potential carcinogen, even consumed daily at 20 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. That is a lower quantity than the maximum recommended by the FDA. It’s one reason you should never purchase major brands of chewing gums.

12. BHA and BHT
Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydrozyttoluene (BHT) are used to preserve common household foods. Any processed food that has a long shelf life is often filled with BHA. They are found in cereals, chewing gum, potato chips, and vegetable oils. They are oxidants, which form potentially cancer-causing reactive compounds in your body.

13. Propyl Gallate 
Another preservative, often used in conjunction with BHA and BHT. It is sometimes found in meat products, chicken soup base, and chewing gum. Animals studies have suggested that it could be linked to cancer.

14. Sodium Chloride
A dash of sodium chloride, more commonly known as salt, is the culprit that the mainstream media and medical community claim we should stay away from. They’re right, but only because it’s not real salt. Common table salt (sodium chloride) has almost nothing in common with traditional rock or sea salt. If a food label lists salt, or sodium chloride as an ingredient, that’s the bad stuff and you need to avoid these foods wherever possible.

15. Soy
Although it’s often lauded as a healthy, cholesterol-free, cheap, low-fat protein alternative to meat, soy is NOT a health food. Any foods that list soy in any form as an ingredient should be avoided. Soy protein, soy isolate, and soy oil are present in about 60 percent of the foods on the market and have been shown to impair fertility and affect estrogen in women, lower sex drive, and trigger puberty early in children. Soy can also add to the imbalance between omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids.

The only soy products fit for human consumption are fermented and organic and I can guarantee you will never find this type of soy in any processed foods. The majority of soy is GMO and you can’t get around this. Regardless of who I am speaking with, soy is one of those foods I use to gauge the nutritional IQ of others. You would not believe how many health practitioners and even Naturopathic Doctors still think soy is a health food. Please don’t touch this stuff.

16. Corn
We are at the point where all corn products, including fresh corn should be avoided. The percentage of genetically modified corn is just far too high. You will never know if you are actually consuming organic corn. Modified cornstarch, dextrose, maltodextrin, and corn oil should all be avoided. All are high in omega-6 fatty acids, which can promote inflammation, cancer, and heart disease. While your body needs both omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids to perform at its full potential, most experts recommend an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 1:1–currently most Americans consume about 15-20 times more omega-6 acids than omega-3s.

17. Potassium Sorbate
As one of the most prolific preservatives in the food industry, it is difficult to find an ice cream without potassium sorbate. However, it is not only recommended to avoid this chemical, it’s a necessity to eliminate it from our foods. The food industry and its scientists will parrot endless myths that potassium sorbate is not a health threat because of its safety record and non-toxic profile. This could not be further from the truth.

Food and chemical toxicology reports have labeled potassium sorbate as a carcinogen, showing positive mutation results in the cells of mammals. Other studies have shown broad systemic and toxic effects on non-reproductive organs in animals. No long term studies have ever been initiated on either animals or humans, so there is simply not enough evidence to theorize what could happen after years of ingesting this preservative. However, based on short-term carcinogenic and toxic effects, is it worth the risk to find out?

18. Soy Lecithin
Soy Lecithin has been lingering around our food supply for over a century. It is an ingredient in literally hundreds of processed foods, and also sold as an over the counter health food supplement. However, most people don’t realize what soy lecithin actually is, and why the dangers of ingesting this additive far exceed its benefits.

Soybean lecithin comes from sludge left after crude soy oil goes through a “degumming” process. It is a waste product containing solvents and pesticides. The toxic hexane extraction process is what is commonly used in soybean oil manufacture today. Another big problem associated with soy lecithin comes from the origin of the soy itself. Look out for this emulsifier in ice creams, chocolate and many processed creams.

19. Polysorbate 80
Polysorbate 80 has been found to negatively affect the immune system and cause severe anaphylactic shock which can kill. Food and Chemical Toxicology has shown that Polysorbate 80 causes infertility. It accelerates maturing, causes changes to the vagina and womb lining, hormonal changes, ovary deformities and degenerative follicles. What is very suspicious about this ingredient is its addition to vaccines. Scientists are obviously aware of its ability to cause infertility yet it continues to appear in children’s vaccines. You will also commonly find this in a child’s favorite treat, ice cream.

20. Canola oil
Canola or rapeseed oil is poisonous to living things and is an excellent insect repellent. It is an industrial oil, not a food. It is a genetically modified plant designed through intensive breeding and genetic engineering techniques. The Canadian government and industry paid the FDA $50 million dollars to have canola oil placed on the (GRAS) List, “Generally Recognized As Safe”. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find products that do not contain Canola oil. Please do not buy any food product containing canola oil.

Marco Torres is a research specialist, writer and consumer advocate for healthy lifestyles. He holds degrees in Public Health and Environmental Science and is a professional speaker on topics such as disease prevention, environmental toxins and health policy.

Source: RealFarmacy.com via Prevent Disease

Sign this petition to ban GMOs and all other toxins from our food supply!


Image: bloginfo.educate-yourself.eu
Ban ALL Hazardous Food Additives, Ban GMOs and whole truths on food labels. Sign the petition here.

The FDA needs to do a widespread nationwide ban on many harmful food chemical additives that are making us all sick including:

- MSG (monosodium glutamate) a neurotoxin that negatively affects the brain and nervous system and can cause brain cancer.
- High Fructose Corn Syrup. Possible leading cause of diabetes.
- Aspartame (a.k.a. Equal) another neurotoxin that can cause brain cancer and turns into deadly formaldehyde just after it’s ingested and reaches around 86°F in the body;  the same undertaker’s embalming formaldehyde use to preserve dead bodies before burial.
- rBST harmful growth hormones injected into dairy cattle that gets into the milk supply
- Wheat Gluten.
- Trans Fat.
- Yeast Extract which is at least 60% MSG.
- Fluoride in our drinking water, toothpaste and in oral rinses. Fluoride is equally toxic as lead and has killed people. It does little to no good preventing cavities and it needs to be banned completely.
- 100% complete ban on all planting, growing, harvesting and consumption of all Genetically Modified plants as well as banning GMO living animals such as genetically altered catfish etc.

The mentioned harmful additives are the cause of a variety of cancers and are also the cause of obesity, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes and neurological diseases like MS.

We also need the whole truths in food labels as well. If the front of the label says the product is All Natural and MSG free it cannot contain yeast extract which is at 60% MSG. I just seen this on a can of chicken broth made by a major manufacturer. There are many dozens of other food companies out there that do the same.

People are constantly getting sick and now they are totally outraged because the FDA has not taken action. The American people deserve a lot better and are demanding a sweeping change to eat much better healthier highly nutritious nontoxic food than this highly toxic GMO crap currently available in the grocery stores today.

You the FDA, must make these sweeping bold changes and BAN these highly toxic additives and GMOs plus tell the food companies that they cannot print bold face lies on their labels any longer. This must be done NOW!

Sign the petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/fda-ban-all-toxic-food-additives-ban-gmos-and-whole-truths-on-food-labels-now

WARNING: Food labeled 'all natural' are likely made with GMOs


Food Babe

As a consumer, it’s shocking to find out 100% all natural products can be chock full of GMOs.

I used to eat a lot of Lean Cuisine frozen meals back in the day. I was right out of college and wanted quick, easy and calorie controlled dinners I could have after work, which would take zero effort after my long days as a management consultant. All my girlfriends were doing it, we’d share with each other which new flavors were the best and talk about how low the calorie count was. I’d pop that sucker right into the microwave, in it’s plastic wrapping and bowl and have (what I thought at the time) a decent ready to eat meal that was healthy and “lean”.
Image: FoodBabe.com
Oh boy those were the days! This was a time period in my life where I was easily fooled by deceptive marketing I saw in persuasive, too-good-to-be-true messaging in commercials and on packages. I knew basically nothing about real food, GMOs, or chemically processed ingredients and I was sick.
Some say ignorance is bliss, considering all the alarming information there is to know about food these days and products to watch out for. But let me ask you, do you call living with chronic illnesses (asthma, allergies, endometriosis, and eczema) and being on several prescription drugs in your 20’s, bliss?

That’s why when I saw the recent commercial for the new Lean Cuisine meals called “honestly good” with the words “100% all natural” slapped on the package, I had to investigate. These meals promise all whole foods with whole grains, but when you look at the ingredient list, they have ingredients from the top 4 genetically engineered crops (corn, canola, soy and sugar beets). How can they call this product natural? Are they truly sourcing natural ingredients that aren’t developed in a laboratory? Well, I wanted to find out, so I called the headquarters.

Watch the video below to find out what happens. You’ll be shocked at the information and website the customer service agent directs me to learn about GMOs.


The customer service representative confirmed that there is a 70-80% likelihood that any and all Lean Cuisine products (including this Honestly Good line) contain GMOs and could not guarantee their product labeled 100% natural is free of GMOs. They also directed me to a website that was created by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) that is funded by Big Food, and Biotech companies like Monsanto. These are the same companies giving millions and millions of dollars to stop GMO labeling. This makes me wonder how many customer service representatives are instructed by their employers (BIG food companies) to spread this mass misinformation campaign to consumers. It’s absolutely atrocious.

As you can see below, the entire list of ingredients for each flavor has suspected GMOs – but for some reason (you can thank the FDA for the lack of regulation) they are allowed to put not just “all natural “– but “100% all natural” on the label.

Lean Cuisine sources their ingredients “domestically when possible.” It’s startling to see how many potential GMO ingredients there are in their new product line.

How are companies getting away with labeling an entire product line 100% all natural and still using GMOs?! Well, they are not exactly getting away with this. Even though the FDA does not have a strict definition around what natural means, these companies are being sued left and right because they are misleading the consumer with false advertising and claims.

The proof is in the labeling

Image: FoodBabe.com
Labeling a product 100% all natural and not being able to verify it (see video above), is extremely unfair to the consumer. This is fraudulent and irresponsible marketing that Lean Cuisine and parent company Nestle need to be held accountable for.

How long do you think it will be before Nestle/Lean Cuisine joins the ranks of General Mills (Nature Valley GranolaBars), Conagra (Wesson Oil), Pepsi (Naked Juice), Frito-Lay (Tostitos and Sun Chips), Kashi (Cereal),Barbara’s Bakery (Cereal), Pepperidge Farm (Gold Fish), etc? All of these companies have been or being sued for mislabeling their products as “all natural” when really their products contain synthetic material or GMOs.

Contact Lean Cuisine and tell them what you think at 1-800-993-8625 or facebook message them.

GMOs increases the use of toxic chemicals in our environmentkill bees and are linked to cancer, allergies and autoimmune disorders in animal studies.

To avoid GMOs, choose products with the USDA Organic Certified and Non-GMO Project Verified labels and remember, 100% natural does not equal GMO free. Review the product list above and see the items listed in red, if the product is conventional or marked natural, it likely contains GMOs. One of the most unsuspecting ingredients is “sugar” that comes from GMO sugar beets (unless listed as cane sugar) and “natural flavor” that usually starts with a base of GMO corn (and can also contain beaver anal secretions – ewwww!). Also, hidden GMOs can be found in any meat product that is labeled “all natural” because it is likely raised with GMO feed. Here’s a full list of common GMO ingredients.

If you know someone who’s buying “natural” products or perhaps eating Lean Cuisine or other frozen meals, share this video and information with them. We all need to spread the truth.

P.S. If you’d like to take further action, please sign the Organic Consumers Association’s petition that asks the FDA to reserve “natural” claims for foods that are produced without the use of genetic engineering.
Since the FDA is asleep at the wheel, any lawyers out there want to take this on?

GMOs are not found in nature! The DNA has been altered in a laboratory.

Source: foodbabe.com

GMO Farming Is Poisoning The World's Drinking Water

Image: Raw For Beauty
Monsanto’s Herbicide Linked To Groundwater Contamination

In a groundbreaking study published in the journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry last year, evidence surfaced that glyphosate, the active ingredient in the Monsanto’s patented herbicide Roundup, is flowing freely into the groundwater in areas where it is being applied.1 The researchers found that 41% of the 140 groundwater samples taken from Catalonia Spain, had levels beyond the limit of quantification – indicating that, despite the manufacturer’s claims, glyphosate herbicide does not break down rapidly in the environment, and is accumulating there in concerning quantities.

Why Is Groundwater Contamination An Important Finding?

Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface, that supplies aquifers, wells and springs.  If a chemical like glyphosate is mobile enough to get into the groundwater and is intrinsically resistant to being biodegraded (after all, it is being used to kill/degrade living things – not the other way around), significant environmental exposures to humans using the water are inevitable. After all, according to the USGS, 88,000 tons were used in the US in 2007 alone.

Keep in mind that glyphosate is considered by the EPA as a Class III toxic substance, fatal to an adult at 30 grams, and has been linked to over 20 adverse health effects in the peer-reviewed, biomedical literature.
This groundwater contamination study adds to another highly concerning finding from March, 2011, published in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, where researchers found the chemical in 60-100% of all air and rain samples tested, indicating that glyphosate pollution and exposure is now omnipresent in the US. When simply breathing makes you susceptible to glyphosate exposure, we know we are dealing with a problem of unprecedented scale.

In fact, glyphosate’s broad spectrum toxicity has been identified to be one potential cause for the disturbing loss of indispensable food-starter bacteria from soils and cultured foods within certain regions of the world, indicating that GMO farming may be depleting the microbial biodiversity of the soil, and ultimately its ability to remain fertile.

Who Is Responsible For The Groundwater Contamination? 

Monsanto is a multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation, presently dominating the global genetically engineered seed market, with 90% market share in the US alone. It is also the world’s largest producer of the herbicide glyphosate, marketed as “Roundup,” among other brand names.  If you are eating corn and soy, or any of their ten thousand plus byproducts – and it does not have a USDA organic logo – you are getting the Monsanto “double whammy”: the genetic modification (GM) of your health (and gene expression) that follows the consumption of GM food (because we are – literally – what we eat), and ceaseless chemical exposure to glyphosate, as all Monsanto-engineered foods have been designed to be glyphosate-resistant, and therefore are saturated with it.

Is Monsanto’s Herbicide A New Agent Orange?

Roundup is not Monsanto’s first entry into the systemic herbicide market. Monsanto admits it manufactured the herbicide/defoliant Agent Orange from 1965 to 1969, which Vietnam estimated killed and maimed 400,000 people and resulted in the 500,000 children being born with birth defects.

The true devastation caused by Agent Orange was covered up for many years. We may find that Monsanto’s Roundup, and its primary active ingredient glyphosate, may be causing a similar degree of devastation to both environmental and human health under the lidless, though not very watchful eye (as far as business interests are concerned), of our regulatory agencies.

Indeed, glyphosate is a powerful endocrine disrupter. Exceedingly small amounts are capable of mimicking and/or disrupting hormonal pathways, cell receptor sites and signaling. Research culled from The National Library of Medicine links it to 17 adverse pharmacological actions, including carcinogenicity, genotoxicity, neurotoxicty, hepatoxicity, and nephrotoxicity.

Source: Raw For Beauty via Green Med Info

BREAKING: McDonald’s sues Australian town for rejecting its fast food

Image: www.campusscope.co.kr
(NaturalNews) Plans by fast food giant McDonald's to build its first restaurant in the Australian town of Tecoma, located in the state of Victoria, are being challenged by nearly 100,000 individuals who recently signed a petition demanding that McDonald's stay out of the area. According to Yahoo! TV in Australia, representatives from an activist group known as BurgerOff recently flew 10,000 miles to the McDonald's global headquarters near Chicago to deliver the petition and signatures, which company officials reportedly refused to touch.

For over two years, BurgerOff and the people of Tecoma have been fighting to keep McDonald's out of their town, pointing out that the company's intent to build a large, 24-hour drive-thru location near an elementary school would be "a giant advertisement for junk food" for young children who would walk by it daily. But according to the International Business Times, this massive grassroots effort that has included public demonstrations, flash mobs, social media and other forms of community outreach has thus far been unsuccessful at thwarting McDonald's plans.

So to raise the stakes, BurgerOff went straight to the heart of the beast, bringing along signs, petitions and plenty of fervor, which has put the effort in the global spotlight. The group even set up little inflatable kangaroos at a busy McDonald's location in Chicago, which helped draw even more attention. The ultimate goal of the protest, of course, is to show McDonald's that it is not welcome in Tecoma and needs to look elsewhere for its expansion endeavors.

"They sent out a P.R. [public relations] lady and a guy from corporate responsibility," explained Garry Muratore, a Tecoma McDonald's protester, to Australia's Sunrise Live recently about how McDonald's responded to the arrival of four BurgerOff members. "They wouldn't touch the actual petition; it was like we were giving them poison. They handed the 7,000 pages [of the petition] to a poor security guard there."

Despite the fact that the vast majority of Tecoma residents, according to Muratore, are in opposition to the project, McDonald's plans to move forward with it anyway. The company has even gone so far as to file a lawsuit against the protesters in an effort to keep them away from the proposed construction site, alleging that the project is well supported throughout the local community. But according to Muratore, this claim is absolutely false.

"That's a lie that McDonald's in Australia keeps pushing," he told reporters. "We know that nine out of 10 people don't want this."

McDonald's claims lawsuit will somehow 'protect' people of Tecoma

Muratore and his allies have, of course, challenged McDonald's on this claim. But the response they received is both nonsensical and almost cryptic, as the burger giant claims that suing the protesters is the best way to protect them.

"We then pointed out that if they were being responsible, why are they suing us? And it was a little bit like the quote from the Vietnam War that we had to destroy the village to save it," added Muratore. "They actually told us that they were suing us for our own legal protection... I don't know what that meant, but they seemed to think it was a great idea."

You can keep up to date with all the latest in this David versus Goliath story by checking out the BurgerOff website: http://www.burgeroff.org.

Article source: naturalnews.com

Sources for this article include:

http://au.tv.yahoo.com

http://www.ibtimes.com

http://www.burgeroff.org


12 things you didn't know about the labels on your food

Image: www.maximizedliving.com
Are you confused about food label claims and what they really mean? That’s part of the strategy of the global food giants, of course: confuse you with so much noise that you give up trying to make sense of it all.
That’s why I wrote this article: to demystify food label claims and give you the low-down on what they really mean. Most of these points will probably surprise you…

#1) “Kosher” does not mean non-GMO
Genetically engineered ingredients are openly allowed in Kosher-certified foods. The Kosher certification does not involve testing for GMOs, and Kosher certifications are routinely found on foods containing GMOs.

#2) “Organic” does not mean low in heavy metals
The USDA certified organic certification process does not test for heavy metals. Foods that are very high in lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury and even aluminum are openly allowed to be labeled USDA certified organic.

#3) “Non-GMO” does not mean organic
Just because a food is certified non-GMO doesn’t mean it is organic. Even conventionally-raised crops such as corn, soy and canola can be certified non-GMO if they are grown without genetically engineered seeds.
There are several snack chips on the market right now which use non-GMO ingredients grown with chemical pesticides.

#4) “All Natural” doesn’t mean anything at all
The phrase “All Natural” is not regulated in any way by the FDA. Any foods, including foods made with artificial colors, chemical sweeteners, chemical preservatives and GMOs, can be labeled “all natural.”
“All natural” is the trick used by large food corporations to try to mislead consumers into thinking their junk food products are somehow organic.

#5) “Trans-Fat Free” does not mean free from trans fats
The FDA currently allows foods containing up to 0.5g of trans fats per serving to claim ZERO grams of trans fats per serving.

The FDA, you see, has been completely hijacked by food and drug corporations, and they have convinced the FDA to allow food labels to blatantly lie to consumers about what the food really contains. Everywhere else in the world, 0.5 does not equal zero. Even in high school math class, it’s rounded up to one. But at the FDA, 0.5 somehow means zero.

#6) “Non-GMO” does not mean certified non-GMO
There are many foods, superfoods and even nutritional products currently claiming to be “non-GMO” but failing to provide any certification of that status. A company that self-proclaims its products to be “non-GMO” is most likely trying to pull a fast one on you unless it can back up that claim with certification.
Only certified non-GMO means something. The next time you see a label that claims “non-GMO,” ask yourself, “Certified by whom?” “Where’s the proof?”

#7) “Gluten-free” foods are often GMO
Beware of GMOs in gluten-free foods. Because gluten-free foods are often based on corn, they are usually made with genetically modified corn containing BT toxin, a deadly insecticide.
Avoid gluten-free unless it’s also certified non-GMO.

#8) “Organic” foods can still contain a small amount of GMO
GMOs are so widespread that they have now contaminated virtually the entire food supply. Foods that are certified organic can still contain trace levels of GMOs.

How much are they allowed to contain? “there aren’t specific tolerance levels in the USDA organic regulations for GMOs,” says the USDA. “National Organic Program policy states that trace amounts of GMOs don’t automatically mean the farm is in violation of the USDA organic regulations. In these cases, the certifying agent will investigate how the inadvertent presence occurred and recommend how it can be better prevented in the future. For example, they may require a larger buffer zone or more thorough cleaning of a shared grain mill.”

Even though certified organic foods can still contain trace levels of GMOs, they are still far healthier for you than conventionally-grown foods, by the way.

#9) “Organic” foods are now being routinely grown in heavily polluted countries such as China
An increasing percentage of “organic” foods, superfoods and raw materials used in nutritional supplements are being imported from China. Natural News has found that these raw materials are consistently higher in heavy metals than competing products grown in North America.

But because they are significantly lower in case, they are being increasingly used in nutritional products or sold at health food stores after being labeled “organic.”

Organic certification standards openly allow organic farms in China to grow produce in fields that are heavily polluted with cadmium, lead and mercury. There is no limit on the heavy metals levels in soils used to produce USDA certified organic foods.

#10) The FDA currently has no limit on the amount of heavy metals allowed in foods, either
The FDA does, from time to time, conduct food contaminant tests on imported foods. However, the FDA does not publish or set any official limits on heavy metals in imported foods.

Usually, when the FDA does find metals in foods (such as arsenic in rice), it declares the contaminant “too low to cause short-term health risks” while blatantly ignoring the long-term health risks.

As long as the food is dead and not carrying e.coli or salmonella, there is almost no food too polluted for the FDA.

#11) The use of “organic” ingredients does not automatically make the whole product organic
Some products sold today are being described as “organic” when only a fraction of their ingredients are organic. This does not qualify a product to be called organic.

Unlike the phrase, “all natural,” the term “organic” is highly regulated by the federal government and carries a specific meaning. The mere presence of organic ingredients in a product is not sufficient to be able to claim the entire product is organic.

Interestingly, even if ALL the ingredients used in a product are certified organic, the product itself still needs to be separately certified to be accurately called “organic.”

By the way, sometimes the cleanest product in a particular category is not the one that’s certified organic, as we discovered in our heavy metals tests of chlorella superfoods.

#12) “Low calorie” almost always means it is sweetened with a chemical sweetener
Look on the ingredients labels of “low calorie” foods or beverages, and you’ll almost always find sucralose, acesulfame potassium, saccharin, aspartame or other chemical sweeteners. The presence of such chemical sweeteners is almost ubiquitous on foods sporting the “low calorie” label.

And yet “low calorie” does not mean it’s healthier for you in any way whatsoever. In fact, low-calorie foods such as diet sodas can still contain extremely damaging ingredients such as phosphoric acid, a potent chemical that can eat away your teeth and bones.

What is the ultimate food, then?The ultimate commercially-available food would be certified organic, certified non-GMO, grown in your local country, certified Kosher and lab tested to be very low in heavy metals

But if you just grow it in your own garden, you don’t need all those labels and certifications in the first place. You’ve got real food right from your own yard.

That’s why I encourage everyone to grow what you eat and eat what you grow. The answer to pollutants, GMOs, pesticides and heavy metals in foods is found when you get on your knees and put some seeds in the ground.

Everything else in the marketplace — including quadruple-certified premium food — is vastly inferior to food you grow yourself.

How do you know you can trust me on this point? Because I sell superfoods and I’m still telling you to grow your own instead. In my vision of a perfect world, the Natural News Store wouldn’t even exist because everybody would be growing their own foods and superfoods in their own yards or greenhouses.

Source: Natural News

Study: Can organic agriculture feed the world better than GMOs?

For years now, the most-asked question by detractors of the good food movement has been, “Can organic agriculture feed the world?” According to a new United Nations report, the answer is a big, fat yes.

The report, Agro-ecology and the Right to Food, reveals that small-scale sustainable farming would even double food production within five to 10 years in places where most hungry people on the planet live.

Image: organicwins.com
“We won’t solve hunger and stop climate change with industrial farming on large plantations,” Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food and author of the report, said in a press release. “The solution lies in supporting small-scale farmers’ knowledge and experimentation, and in raising incomes of smallholders so as to contribute to rural development.”

The report suggests moving away from the overuse of oil in farming, a problem that is magnified in the face of rising prices due to unrest in the Middle East. The focus is instead on agroecology, or eco-farming. “Agroecology seeks to improve the sustainability of agroecosystems by mimicking nature instead of industry,” reads a section.

The report shows that these practices raise productivity significantly, reduce rural poverty, increase genetic diversity, improve nutrition in local populations, serve to build a resilient food system in the face of climate change, utilize fewer and more locally available resources, empower farmers and create jobs.

Of 57 impoverished countries surveyed, for example, yields had increased by an average of nearly 80 percent when farmers used methods such as placing weed-eating ducks in rice patties in Bangladesh or planting desmodium, which repels insects, in Kenyan cornfields. These practices were also cost effective, locally available and resulted from farmers working to pass on this knowledge to each other in their communities.

While the report admits that agroecology can be more labor-intensive because of the complexity of knowledge required, it shows that this is usually a short-term issue. The report underscores that agroecology creates more jobs over the long term answering critics who argue that creating more jobs in agriculture is counter-productive. “Creation of employment in rural areas in developing countries, where underemployment is currently massive, and demographic growth remains high,” states the report, “may constitute an advantage rather than a liability and may slow down rural-urban migration.”

Mark Bittman put it aptly in his column on the UN report at the New York Times, saying:

Agro-ecology and related methods are going to require resources too, but they’re more in the form of labor, both intellectual—much research remains to be done—and physical: the world will need more farmers, and quite possibly less mechanization.

This is not the first time such a report has declared more productive ways to feed the world other than leaving that important task to large corporations. In April 2008, the IAASTD report (the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development)–which was supported by the World Bank, the UN Food & Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization, among others, with the participation of over 60 world governments and 400 experts–found that not only would industrial food production not be able to feed the world in the long term, but the practices being employed are actually increasing hunger, exhausting resources and exacerbating climate change. However, the U.S., under the Bush Administration, was one of the countries that decided not to endorse the findings.

Though agroecological farming has benefits for industrialized countries too, both reports focus largely on what to do in the least-developed nations on the globe. The status quo for U.S. foreign policy in agriculture up until now has been to leverage our political muscle to force countries to except our subsidized crops, even if it meant destroying local agricultural economies. (Former President Bill Clinton apologized for this policy last year, saying that it has “failed everywhere it’s been tried,” and “we should have continued to work to make sure [Haiti] was self-sufficient in agriculture.”) Will the Obama Administration be more receptive to these findings and could there be a change in the way we work with other countries in our support for agriculture?

Looking back at this (proudly pro-business) administration’s follies in hiring a pesticide lobbyist as our Agricultural Trade Representative, maintaining the USDA in the confusing role of promoting and regulating agriculture, and focusing on “improved seeds,” which usually means funding for the development of genetically modified crops for poor countries and you might be discouraged.

But De Schutter argues that real change to improve the livelihoods of rural farmers requires governments to be on board. “States and donors have a key role to play here,” he said. “Private companies will not invest time and money in practices that cannot be rewarded by patents and which don’t open markets for chemical products or improved seeds.” In other words, feeding the worlds hungry should not be left to the market alone.

The report makes these specific recommendations for governing bodies:

making reference to agroecology and sustainable agriculture in national strategies for the realization of the right to food and by including measures adopted in the agricultural sector in national adaptation plans of action (NAPAs) and in the list of nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) adopted by countries in their efforts to mitigate climate change; reorienting public spending in agriculture by prioritizing the provision of public goods, such as extension services, rural infrastructures and agricultural research, and by building on the complementary strengths of seeds-and-breeds and agroecological methods, allocating resources to both, and exploring the synergies, such as linking fertilizer subsidies directly to agroecological investments on the farm (“subsidy to sustainability”); supporting decentralized participatory research and the dissemination of knowledge about the best sustainable agricultural practices by relying on existing farmers’ organizations and networks, and including schemes designed specifically for women; improving the ability of producers practicing sustainable agriculture to access markets, using instruments such as public procurement, credit, farmers’ markets, and creating a supportive trade and macroeconomic framework.

The report also gives recommendations for donors seeking to decrease hunger and improve rural livelihoods and for research organizations.

You can read the full report here [PDF]

Source: civileats.com

howstuffworks.com

Over 75 Million Americans are now eating organic. Here are 10 reasons why:

Organic Consumers Association
Image: Organics.org

Organic foods and products are the fastest growing items in America’s grocery carts. Thirty million households, comprising 75 million people, are now buying organic foods, clothing, body care, supplements, pet food, and other products on a regular basis. Fifty-six percent of U.S. consumers say they prefer organic foods.

Here are 10 reasons why you should buy organic foods and products:

1. Organic foods are produced without the use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Consumers worry about untested and unlabeled genetically modified food ingredients in common supermarket items. Genetically engineered ingredients are now found in 75% of all non-organic U.S. processed foods, even in many products labeled or advertised as “natural.” In addition, the overwhelming majority of non-organic meat, dairy, and eggs are derived from animals reared on a steady diet of GM animal feed. Although polls indicate that 90% of Americans want labels on gene-altered foods, government and industry adamantly refuse to respect consumers’ right to know, understanding quite well that health and environmental-minded shoppers will avoid foods with a GMO label.

2. Organic foods are safe and pure. Organic farming prohibits the use of toxic pesticides, antibiotics, growth hormones, nano-particles, and climate-destabilizing chemical fertilizers. Consumers worry about pesticide and drug residues routinely found in non-organic produce, processed foods, and animal products. Consumer Reports has found that 77% of non-organic produce items in the average supermarket contain pesticide residues. The beef industry has acknowledged that 94% of all U.S. beef cattle have hormone implants, which are banned in Europe as a cancer hazard. Approximately 10% of all U.S. dairy cows are injected with Monsanto and Elanco’s controversial genetically engineered Bovine Growth Hormone, banned in most industrialized nations. Recent studies indicate that an alarming percentage of non-organic U.S. meat contains dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

3. Organic foods and farming are climate-friendly. Citizens are increasingly concerned about climate-destabilizing greenhouse gas pollution (CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide), 35-50% of which in North America comes from our energy-intensive, chemical-intensive food and farming system. Organic farms and ranches, on the other hand, use far less fossil fuel and can safely sequester large amounts of CO2 in the soil (up to 7,000 pounds of CO2 per acre per year, every year.) Twenty-four billion pounds of chemical fertilizers applied on non-organic farms in the U.S. every year not only pollute our drinking water and create enormous dead zones in the oceans; but also release enormous amounts of nitrous oxide, a super potent, climate-destabilizing greenhouse gas.

4. Organic food certification prohibits nuclear irradiation. Consumers are justifiably alarmed about irradiating food with nuclear waste or electron beams, which destroy vitamins and nutrients and produce cancer-causing chemicals such as benzene and formaldehyde. The nuclear industry, large food processors, and slaughterhouses continue to lobby Congress to remove required labels from irradiated foods and replace these with misleading labels that use the term “cold pasteurization.” The USDA and large meat companies have promoted the use of irradiated meat in school lunches and senior citizen facilities. Many non-organic spices contain irradiated ingredients.

5. Consumers worry about rampant e-coli, salmonella, campylobacter, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and fecal contamination in animal products coming out of the nation’s inhumane and filthy slaughterhouses. The Centers for Disease Control have admitted that up to 76 million Americans suffer from food poisoning every year. Very few cases of food poisoning have ever been linked to organic farms or food processors.

6. Consumers are concerned about billions of pounds of toxic municipal sewage sludge dumped as “fertilizer” on 140,000 of America’s chemical farms. Scientific evidence has confirmed that municipal sewage sludge contains hundreds of dangerous pathogens, toxic heavy metals, flame-retardants, endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, pharmaceutical drugs and other hazardous chemicals coming from residential drains, storm water runoff, hospitals, and industrial plants. Organic farming categorically prohibits the use of sewage sludge.

7. Consumers worry about the routine practice of grinding up slaughterhouse waste and feeding this offal and blood back to other animals, a practice that has given rise to a form of human mad-cow disease called CJD, often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s disease. Animals on organic farms cannot be fed slaughterhouse waste, manure, or blood – daily rations on America’s factory farms.

8. Consumers care about the humane treatment of animals. Organic farming prohibits intensive confinement and mutilation (debeaking, cutting off tails, etc.) of farm animals. In addition to the cruel and unhealthy confinement of animals on factory farms, scientists warn that these CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations) produce enormous volumes of manure and urine, which not only pollute surface and ground water, but also emit large quantities of methane, a powerful climate-destabilizing greenhouse gas.

9. Consumers are concerned about purchasing foods with high nutritional value. Organic foods are nutritionally dense compared to foods produced with toxic chemicals, chemical fertilizers, and GMO seeds. Studies show that organic foods contain more vitamins, cancer-fighting anti-oxidants, and important trace minerals.

10. Consumers care about preserving America’s family farms, world hunger, and the plight of the world’s two billion small farmers. Just about the only small farmers who stand a chance of making decent living these days are organic farmers, who get a better price for their products. In addition study after study has shown that small organic farms in the developing world produce twice as much food per acre as chemical and GMO farms, while using far less fossil fuel and sequestering large amounts of excess CO2 in the soil. Yields on organic farms in the industrialized world are comparable to the yields on chemical and GMO farms, with the important qualification that organic farms far out-produce chemical farms under extreme weather conditions of drought or torrential rains. Of course, given accelerated climate change, extreme weather is fast becoming the norm.

For all these reasons, millions of American consumers are turning to organic foods and other organic items, including clothing and body care products – part of an overall movement toward healthy living, preserving the environment, and reversing global warming.

Source: Organic Consumers Association & RealFarmacy.com


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