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Campaign For Healthier Eating In America : Ban GMOs
Jeffrey M. Smith, international bestselling author and expert on the health dangers of genetically modified (GM) foods, describes the Campaign for Healthy Eating in America, and how it will achieve the tipping point of consumer resistance to GM foods. This will drive them out of the U.S. food supply as was accomplished in Europe and is already being witnessed in the rejection of genetically modified bovine growth hormone, rBGH, in the U.S. People are invited to participate in the campaign by signing up at http://www.responsibletechnology.org. Jeffrey M. Smith, international bestselling author and expert on the health dangers of genetically modified (GM) foods, describes the ... more
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Sustainable Living: Is Your Picnic Filled With 'Frankenfoods?'
Some 200 million acres of the world's farms grew biotech crops last year, with over 90 percent of those crops coming from genetically engineered seeds patented by U.S.-based Monsanto.
Scientists have taken genetic material from one organism (like a soil bacterium), along with an antibiotic resistant marker gene, and spliced both into a food crop (like corn) to create a genetically modified crop that resists specific diseases and pests.
There has been no long-term, independent testing on the effects of these "Franken-foods" on the ecosystem or human health.
It would be difficult to avoid eating genetically modified organisms in our country because they are so pervasive in the food system and unlabeled in the grocery stores.
Part of the reason for this is biotech giants fought to keep GMO foods unlabeled.
Most recently, the growth hormones from GE organisms known as rBGH, which is given to cows to make them produce more milk, were banned in Europe and Canada after authorities learned about the health risks of drinking milk from cows treated with rBGH hormones.
American milk producers started labeling their milk "rBGH and rBST free." Monsanto, which sells bovine growth hormones under the brand name Posilac, has successfully sued dairy producers to force them to stop labeling their milk.
In addition to most milk products, GMOs can be found in commercially farmed meats and processed foods on store shelves. In our country, 89 percent of all soy, 61 percent of all corn, and 75 percent of all canola are genetically altered.
Other foods, like commercially grown papaya, zucchini, tomatoes, several fish species, and food additives like enzymes, flavorings and processing agents, including the sweetener aspartame and rennet used to make hard cheeses, also contain GMOs, according to Greenpeace.
To complicate matters, GMOs move around in the ecosystem through pollen, wind and natural cross-fertilization. The Union of Concerned Scientists conducted two independent laboratory tests on non-GM seeds "representing a substantial proportion of the traditional seed supply" for corn, soy and oilseed.
The test found that at "the most conservative expression," half the corn and soy were contaminated with GM genes, eight years after the modified varieties were first grown on a large scale in the U.S.
Some 200 million acres of the world's farms grew biotech crops last year, with over 90 percent of those crops coming from genetically ... more -
Women Risk Health by Using Abortion Websites
Medical researchers found more than one in 10 customers in a sample study on one of the most well-known websites needed a surgical procedure after taking the medication.
Women in more than 70 countries where abortion is restricted, including Northern Ireland, have used the Women on Web site to obtain the drugs for a donation of £55 a time.
Anti-abortion campaigners have labelled the development "worrying".
Women on Web is available in five languages and offers the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol.
It says a combination of the pills causes the non-surgical termination of a pregnancy and can be used up to the ninth week.
The website says it helps women "gain access to a safe abortion with pills in order to reduce the number of deaths due to unsafe abortions".
But the BBC cites a study published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology that found that 11 per cent of 400 customers went on to need a surgical procedure - either because the drugs had not completed the abortion or because of excessive bleeding.
Of 200 women who answered questions about their experiences, almost 60 per cent said they were just grateful to have been able to have an abortion in this way, and 30 per cent said it had been stressful but they found the experience acceptable.
Women on Web posts the drugs only to countries where abortion is heavily restricted, and to women who declare they are less than nine weeks' pregnant.
Customers must answer 25 questions before they are allowed to purchase the drugs, and women are advised to have a pregnancy test and an ultrasound if possible. Customers are asked to make a minimum donation of 70 euros (£55).
The website says it is "a digital community of women who have had abortions and individuals and organisations that support abortion rights".
The Family Planning Association in Northern Ireland told the BBC the website was "helpful and reputable", but stated that on two occasions women bought drugs without appropriate medical information and needed medical care after experiencing complications.
Northern Ireland FPA director Audrey Simpson told the broadcaster: "The Women On Web site is very helpful and reputable.
"But for Northern Ireland women, it is encouraging them to break the law - and as an organisation, we have to work within the law.
"We're really concerned about women accessing the rogue sites - we're hearing about it and we know it's happening.
"There are potentially serious medical complications for women from sites which aren't well managed and this could be the new era of backstreet abortions."
But the anti-abortion group Comment on Reproductive Ethics said it was taking abortion "into the shadows".
Spokeswoman Josephine Quintavalle told the BBC: "This is very worrying indeed. It represents further trivialisation of the value of the unborn child.
"It's like taking abortion into the shadows. These drugs have side-effects and tragedies will increase."
Martin Lupton, chair of the ethics committee of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "The problem with termination services available without access to medical oversight is that we know that women often under-state their gestation.
"The very people who may benefit from this service may have problems with literacy and may not understand their underlying medical conditions.
"They are putting themselves at risk in taking these tablets.
"Having said that, access to illegal termination services is extremely hazardous in any case and it may well be that this is a safer form of termination than illegal surgical methods, which may be the only alternative they have."
Medical researchers found more than one in 10 customers in a sample study on one of the most well-known websites needed a surgical pro... more -
You will be sprayed with pesticide unless you speak up.
Asthma and flu-like symptoms have occurred in people already sprayed, and who knows what else in the short and long term. This is an undocumented, untested chemical that interferes with the light brown apple moth's ability to reproduce. And what about humans reproductive and lung and skin health?
Santa Cruz and Monterey County residential areas are scheduled to be aerial sprayed beginning June 1, 2008, and again every 30 to 90 days. San Francisco, Daly City, Colma, Oakland, Piedmont, Emeryville, Albany, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Tiburon and Belvedere residential areas are scheduled to be aerial sprayed on August 1, 2008, and again every 30 to 90 days. Asthma and flu-like symptoms have occurred in people already sprayed, and who knows what else in the short and long term. This is an u... more -
Deadly Food: Are we dying with every bite?
Do you know what GMO means?
A few years ago I had no idea it meant genetically modified. That we had been eating food that had been altered at the DNA level in such ways as adding rodent or mold genes to food to make it drought resistant in the growing fields.
Do I want to be eating mold or rodent? What else have they done to maximize profits?
Now I eat all organic. I grow a huge garden with open pollinated seeds. I feel healthier than I did when I was 9 years old. I am 38 and loving life. This is a great eyeopening disturbing book. Thank you so much for writing it. The advice saved me. Go read seeds of deception by Jeffery M Smith. Do you know what GMO means? ... more -
Look out above!!
The California state agriculture department plans to use airplanes at night this summer to spray a farm pesticide over urban San Francisco, Marin County and the East Bay, intending to eradicate a potentially destructive moth.
Doesn't sound like a very good idea to me. The California state agriculture department plans to use airplanes at night this summer to spray a farm pesticide over urban San Franc... more -
Riskometer - Put Perspective on Health Warning
From the website:
Americans are bombarded daily with warnings of dire threats to their health. Favorite scares include ones about traces of various chemicals in the environment, and about both synthetic and natural food constituents. But in reality, most if not all of these warnings have little to do with the real threats to our health and lives. The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) has therefore constructed this website to give Americans a more accurate perspective on the exposures and diseases that have been proven to increase the risk of death for Americans.
An interesting way to put some perspective on media scares. From the website: ... more -
NHS Highlights Cancer-Causing Lifestyles
Sunbeds and sunbathing have been highlighted in new NHS proposals to raise awareness of "lifestyle" causes of cancer. The emphasis on risks is part of a £370 million five-year Government strategy for battling the disease. Among preventative measures are plans to consult on banning the sale of tobacco in vending machines, reducing cigarette displays in shops and a fresh look at cigarette packaging.
I don't think that highlighting risky behaviour is a necessarily new or innovative approach to discouraging us from partaking in activities that may increase our risk of cancer. Perhaps they are going to do so more aggressively. Sunbeds and sunbathing have been highlighted in new NHS proposals to raise awareness of "lifestyle" causes of cancer. The emphasis on ... more -
Do Breasts Go Under 'Food' or 'Drugs' With the FDA???
A former colleague of mine - also an extremely dear friend - got breast implants about maybe 5 years ago; she said she'd done it because after having had two kids she wanted to restore her breasts to a symmetry that was more representative of her, ah, glory years.
This is a stunning, beautiful, brilliant woman---she branched off on her own from our old company and has since independently built her own multi-million dollar business. She's easily one of the most intelligent, ballsy, savvy women I personally know. But I'll never forget the sight of her driving the two of us to a business appointment, a few days after her implants surgery, and holding bags of frozen peas against her boobs to help assuage the apparent pain---and I couldn't help but wonder to myself how and why a sane, intelligent person would voluntarily endure that kind of agony and discomfort.
But---to each his - or her - own! A former colleague of mine - also an extremely dear friend - got breast implants about maybe 5 years ago; she said she'd done it becau... more -
New Nuclear Power Plants Are Not a Solution for America's Energy Needs
New nuclear power plants are unlikely to provide a significant fraction of future U.S. needs for low-carbon energy. NRDC favors more practical, economical and environmentally sustainable approaches to reducing both U.S. and global carbon emissions, focusing on the widest possible implementation of end-use energy-efficiency improvements, and on policies to accelerate commercialization of clean, flexible, renewable energy technologies. New nuclear power plants are unlikely to provide a significant fraction of future U.S. needs for low-carbon energy. NRDC favors more p... more
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Health Risks
