Jana Tompkins

“This can’t possibly be happening!” thought Jana Tompkins when she first felt the lump in her breast. I live a healthy lifestyle, I eat a vegetarian diet and exercise an hour every day. No one in my family has ever had breast cancer. What did I do wrong? These feelings are similar to the ones many women experience who are diagnosed with breast cancer.

Jana shares her journey before, during and after her diagnosis and discusses the alternative approach she took to healing. She made a choice to address this issue not only from a physical perspective but also from a mental, emotional and spiritual viewpoint as well. Through all her research Jana learned that although her previous lifestyle was thought to be healthy, there were things that she was doing that really did not support her good health and actually increased her potential for breast cancer. She also learned how to navigate all the choices and decisions that were being presented to her.

Learn what alternative therapies assisted Jana through this journey and what food changes she made that has supported her being cancer free.

Show Notes

• Jana Tompkins – Patient Navigator
• Progressive Health Center
• Rocky Plains Quality Meats
• Harold P. Freeman Institute for Patient Navigation

Jacqueline Lloyd has been studying energy and solar flares for years. Lloyd connects the dots on how solar flares affect the Earth’s energy field and our own person energy field. She combines her knowledge of the science of solar flares and her understanding of energy to help us further understand their impact on the Earth. Her studies also include observations of human behavior during strong solar flares and how to use this energy to heal unresolved emotional issues. Lloyd discusses the importance of being prepared for what scientists are predicting to be an active couple of years for strong solar flares.

Show Notes:

Receive Free Solar Alert

Learn More about Solar Flares

Being Prepared

Show Notes:

The Film Trailer

People vs. State of Illusion website

The Experts

Our guest, Amanda Hitt, attorney and Director for Food Integrity Campaign, a division of Government Accountability Project, represented the man who was fired when he blew the whistle on the company that created “pink slime”. This issue came to full public light recently when ABC aired an investigative report on World News with Diane Sawyer. The public outcry was so loud that many grocery stores have responded by refusing to use it. But, as you will hear that is only part of the problem. Listen and learn the other ways “pink slime” meat can end up on your table! Learn how fast food chains like McDonalds, Taco Bell and Wendy’s, have been using it for years!  Learn how it is being fed to our children as part of the school lunch program and what can be done about it!

We also discuss the FDA and the USDA; what is the difference, who do they protect and what are their separate and sometimes conflicting agendas?  You may be surprised to learn that the consumer is NOT the primary focus of both of them!

Show Notes:

• The Government Accountability Project
• The Food Integrity Campaign
• ABC News video covering “Pink Slime”

The new laws are called “Ag Gag” legislation. If an employee takes a video of animal cruelty or atrocities enacted on the farmed animals and gives it to law enforcement or an animal rights group, they can be arrested and prosecuted.

Most of us look at the eggs, milk or meat in the grocery store and see how appealing it looks. It is packaged with cute logos and lots of comforting words, like Fresh, Natural, USDA Approved, etc. According to Rice what most consumers do NOT know is how the animals we eat are treated, what inhumane practices are considered “standard” or that most of the food we eat comes from corporately owned factory farms.

Consumers have a right to know how their food is being produced and how the animals are being treated so they can make informed choices. Listen to this show and wake up to how the farmed animals are treated in many of these factory farms. Take ACTION to help end the use of battery cages in the United States. Learn what you can do to help stop the laws that block transparency and accountability.

Show Notes:

• Mercy For Animals
• Sparboe Egg Farm Undercover Footage

Show Notes:

• Why in The World Are They Spraying? website
• Michael Murphy website
• What In The World Are They Spraying? movie trailer
• Why In The World Are They Spraying? movie trailer
• Information on the Clean Sky Ordinance in Mau

Image courtesy A Joyful Noise Farm

Are you tired of traffic and banging your head against your desk? Dreaming of peaceful life out in the country? You can do it and Craig McHugh will tell you how. Craig McHugh owner of A Joyful Noise Farm, has a mission and it is to assist other individuals to do what he has done–leave the business world and create small sustainable farms in urban areas. Referring to himself a “gentlemen farmer,” he left a lucrative career in the high-tech business world to create his small organic farm. He and his wife Kellie started A Joyful Noise Farm on 10 acres only four years ago with a few chickens. In addition to having organic vegetables to sell at local farmers markets, they raise chickens, pigs, turkeys, cattle and goats. Their animals are raised in the pasture and are only supplemented with organic, non-gmo, non-soy, non-corn feed.  McHugh is passionate about the work he does and what they have created on their farm. He not only has a wealth of knowledge about farming, he is an inspiration for others who may be considering doing the same. A Joyful Noise Farm offers workshops on this lost art of farming and he invites folks to come visit the farm. This gentlemen farmer is teaching by example!

Image courtesy OSGATA

Monsanto and its shareholders can temporarily rejoice. The multinational seed conglomerate won a dismissal of a class-action lawsuit challenging the company’s patents on genetically modified seed.

Monsanto is known for aggressively filing lawsuits against small farmers for patent infringement. Concerned farmers were no longer able to keep transgenic contamination out of their fields. Many farmers are forced to stop growing certain crops to avoid potential lawsuits.

U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, threw out the suit, stating that it represented no controversy and that she had not jurisdiction in the matter. She further stated, “There is no evidence that plaintiffs are infringing defendants’ patents, nor have plaintiffs suggested when, if ever, such infringement will occur.”

However, the farmers are not backing down. We contacted Jim Gerritsen, President of The Organic Seed Growers Association (OSGATA), who notified us of plans to appeal Judge Buchwald’s decision.

We received the following statement from Daniel Ravicher, lead attorney for OSGATA:

While I have great respect for Judge Buchwald, her decision to deny farmers the right to seek legal protection from one of the world’s foremost patent bullies is gravely disappointing.  Her belief that farmers are acting unreasonable when they stop growing certain crops to avoid being sued by Monsanto for patent infringement should their crops become contaminated maligns the intelligence and integrity of those farmers.  Her failure to address the purpose of the Declaratory Judgment act and her characterization of binding Supreme Court precedent that supports the farmers’ standing as ‘wholly inapposite’ constitute legal error.  In sum, her opinion is flawed on both the facts and the law.  Thankfully, the plaintiffs have the right to appeal to the Court of Appeals, which will review the matter without deference to her findings.

Disappointing, yes. But no one expected an easy fight, right? This lawsuit threatens the very foundation on which Monsanto is built.

Are you fired up and want to help? Great! Please share this message with your social networks. Want to do even more? Wonderful! Support OSGATA.

As of this writing, OSGATA is currently working on a press release. We’ll be updating this post after it is issued.

UPDATE: OSGATA press release

via [Bloomberg Businessweek]

Pam Cureton, RD, LDN

Eating wheat, especially organic whole wheat, can be beneficial to your health. But for some, the gluten contained in wheat can be harmful. “Gluten-Free” products seem to be everywhere these days. But just what is gluten, where does it come from and what can it do to the body? What other foods contain gluten? How do you know if you have celiac disease, an allergy to gluten or are gluten-sensitive? What you can do about it? Pam Cureton, RD, LDN, of the University of Maryland’s Center for Celiac Research in Baltimore has been working in this field for 19 years. Pam answers these questions and describes what can happen if gluten problems are left untreated.

Learn to recognize the symptoms and how to find gluten on food labels in this informative show.

Richard Gage, photo courtesy AE911Truth

Many of us were mesmerized and glued to our televisions on September 11, 2001. As we watched the news show the planes hit the buildings over and over again, we were filled with grief and fear. How could this be happening in America? Were we no longer safe? Many of us never even questioned the events of that day but we knew that America would never be the same. What if what we thought we were watching and being told, wasn’t the truth? Richard Gage of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth has a much different prospective on what happened on that day.

Gage and many other architects and engineers (over 1,600) believe and have evidence that the events of that day happened much differently than what we were led to believe. Why do so many Americans not know about WTC Building 7? How did this building collapse in a mere 7 seconds? The massive amount of evidence gathered by AE911Truth and countless others demonstrates that the combined effects of the impacts and the ensuing fires do not account for the complete and explosive destruction of the WTC skyscrapers. Gage and others, including family members of some of the victims of 9/11, are calling for a further investigation of the events of 9/11. Gage is also working on a documentary called  9/11: Explosive Evidence – Experts Speak Out , which will be released in about 3 weeks.

Grant Family Farms

Grant Family Farms is a 2200 acre organic farm located in Wellington, Colorado. Our guest, Rachel Reiter – their Northern Colorado Rep, gives us an insider’s view into organic farming, what they grow and how they sell it. She shares a new strategy between farmers and consumers called Community Supported Agriculture that creates a direct link between the production and consumption of foods.

Rachel also fills in the knowledge gap that most of us have between food grown on the farm and food on the shelves of grocery stores. How does the produce get from one to the other and how long does it take? The process is eye-opening and the timing involved can significantly affect the nutritional value of the food. In the case of traditionally grown produce, it can involve being treated with hormones and artificial chemicals as well.

We also discuss how some produce that may have been grown out of state or even across the country and was destined for a grocery store, may end up at local farmer’s markets being sold as locally grown and even labeled as organic. Learn tips that everyone who shops at farmer’s markets should know before they buy!

Citizen’s Assembly. Courtesy of Simran Sethi

The GMO debate continues to grow as the issue received national attention last week in a packed federal courtroom in Manhattan. Farmers filed a a class-action suit against the multinational seed and chemical corporation Monsanto, stating they are no longer able to keep transgenic contamination out of their fields.

With genetically-modified crops representing 90 percent of all soybeans, corn, canola and sugar beets raised in the United States, this is huge issue. If you’re not trying to avoid GM foods, you’re probably eating them every day. One of the most common sources is vegetable oil, of which virtually every restaurant in existence makes wide use of. Virtually all processed food contains GM ingredients. Unlike the European Union, Japan, China, India and Australia, the United States has no labeling requirements for GMOs.

Over the past decade, Monsanto’s aggressive marketing tactics, political lobbying and promises of increased yields has swept the farming world by storm. Farmers who refused to make the switch to Monsanto’s expensive seed and chemicals were seen as outcasts. As the wave of GM crops spread, many independent farmers who did not buy the hype but were found to have patented genes in their fields were ruined by expensive lawsuits brought on by Monsanto’s army of litigious lawyers.

From Food Democracy Now:

In many cases farmers are forced to stop growing certain crops to avoid genetic contamination and potential lawsuits. Between 1997 and 2010, Monsanto admits to filing 144 lawsuits against America’s family farmers, while settling another 700 out of court for undisclosed amounts. Due to these aggressive lawsuits, Monsanto has created an atmosphere of fear in rural America and driven dozens of farmers into bankruptcy.

Historically, independent farmers have not had access to the funds or resources to stand up to the Goliath that is Monsanto. But, thanks to the organizational efforts of the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA) with legal backing from the Public Patent Foundation, that is all changing. OSGATA has since been joined by 82 other seed businesses, trade organizations and thousands of family farmers, which together represent more than 300,000 people.

Jim Gerritsen, President of OSGATA gave us an interview on the Food Integrity Now podcast back in December to discuss their efforts.

In the OSGATA press release, Gerritsen said:

Our lawyer did a good job explaining the current injustice farmers face. We have a right to be secure on our farms and to be free from Monsanto’s GMO trespass. If we become contaminated by Monsanto, not only is the value of our organic seed crop extinguished but we could also be sued by Monsanto for patent infringement because their contamination results in our ‘possession’ of their GMO technology. We have farmers who have stopped growing organic corn, organic canola and organic soybeans because they can’t risk being sued by Monsanto. It’s not fair and it’s not right. Family farmers need justice and we deserve the protection of the court.

The purpose of the lawsuit is not to seek monetary compensation. Instead, the farmers are preemptively suing Monsanto and seeking court protection from patent infringement lawsuits. Earlier in the legal process Monsanto was asked to provide a binding legal agreement not to sue. Monsanto refused this request, making it clear they do not want to give up their option to sue innocent family farmers.

Dave Murphy, founder and Executive Director of co-plaintiff Food Democracy Now, stated:

For the past 12,000 years farmers have saved the best seeds each year to increase yields and improve traits for the food we eat. In 1996, when Monsanto sold its first patented genetically modified (GMO) seed to farmers, this radically changed the idea of how farmers planted and saved seed. Less than two decades later, Monsanto’s aggressive patent infringement lawsuits have created a climate of fear in rural America among farmers. It’s time for that to end. Farmers should not have to live in fear because they are growing our food.

Monsanto moved to dismiss the suit, claiming the plaintiffs lack standing because the company has taken no action against them. Judge Naomi R. Buchwald will rule on this motion by March 31st. Daniel Ravicher of the Public Patent Foundation and lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, said “We expect she will deny the motion and the case will then proceed forward.  If she should happen to grant the motion, we will most likely appeal to the Court of Appeals who will review her decision without deference.”

Proponents of GMOs are quick to take the illusory high road and proclaim that coexistence is the solution. Last year, the Agriculture Department stated that organic crops would not necessarily lose their certification if they were found to contain some genetically-modified genes. That’s hardly coexistence, that’s divide and conquer.

Peterson’s mission is to amass and document as much information as possible to educate the public as to what is happening in our atmosphere, which includes using chemicals such as aluminum, barium, strontium, boron, arsenic and other dangerous chemicals. She feels that many people would be outraged if they truly understood what is happening. Peterson’s website contains hundreds of documents for the public to further research what they are spraying and who stands to gain from weather modification and geoengineering.

Scott, Mary and the several hundred members of GM Know want to change this. They have created “The Citizens Cropland Policy” and it comes under final review by the County Commissioners on Thursday, December 8^th in Longmont, CO.

The Citizens Cropland Policy is a new vision for the land that includes returning the soil to its natural, healthy state and growing non-GMO food for all citizens of Boulder County. Their economic analysis shows this plan would create new jobs and not impact the current budget. Listen to this show and hear their comprehensive plan that could well become the role model for other counties in Colorado and across the nation.

Note: This show was cut short at 30 minutes. We are working on fixing this.

Mother Jones reported, citing the EU official statement:

In order not to risk jeopardising citizens’ health and safety, only security scanners which do not use X-ray technology are added to the list of authorised methods for passenger screening at EU airports.

This new law is based on reports from concerned scientists who state that even these low levels of radiation cause cancer risks. They further added that the TSA’s testing methods are flawed because the testing is not done on the skin, which receives the most backscatter x-rays.

Important to note is that EU airports can still use millimeter wave scanners, which use radio frequency waves that are not linked to cancer. Pro Publica reports that 500 body scanners are currently being used in the US. About half of these are X-ray scanners which look like a pair of large blue boxes. The millimeter wave scanners look like a round glass phone booth.

What are the chances that the US will take similar precautions for the health of its citizens? I give it slim to none.

Earlier this month, TSA administrator John Pistole agreed during his Senate testimony to conducting independent evaluations on the machines. However, in a release of a draft report by the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday, Pistole apparently changed his position. “An inspector general report that is in draft form validates those prior studies, so that may suffice,” he stated.

[Mother Jones via Gizmodo]

The joint session of the Food and Agriculture Policy Council (FAPC) and the Parks and Open Space Advisory Commission (POSAC) saw a huge turnout Tuesday night at the Longmont Convention Center. The purpose of this meeting was to publicly present and receive comments on the current agricultural policy recommendations set forth by the members of the Cropland Policy Advisory Group (CPAG). The Boulder Cropland Policy encompasses many aspects of agriculture, but the main issue is whether to let farmers grow GMO crops on public open space land. While this group could not come to a consensus on the GMO issue, the majority of the members recommended that GMOs be allowed on open space land.

Boulder, known for its progressive stance on sustainability and the environment, naturally attracts more health-oriented people than the national average. Local surveys have shown that 71% of the people do not approve of GMOs being grown on county land. Proponents for both sides of the issue were in attendance, but the crowd’s reaction to the meeting’s proceedings made it overwhelmingly clear who was the majority. Concerned citizens arrived carrying posters and the applauses for non-GMO statements were so long and numerous, the facilitator requested they be withheld.

Each citizen was given three minutes to speak. The vast majority expressed their concerns about the safety of GMO crops, their associated chemical application, and possible contamination issues. They spoke out against the conflict of interest, political influence and corporate greed that has affected national GMO public policy.

Members of the Boulder GMKnow Group, a local non-GMO awareness group organized by Scott and Mary Smith, were not satisfied with the recommended agricultural policy and wrote their own. This new policy, called the Citizens Cropland Policy was read by 25 members in 3-minute intervals and is available for viewing and endorsement on their website.

The opposite camp showed up as well. Standing out like sore thumbs, the large men, wearing blazers and cowboy hats, stood mostly in the back of the room. Their arguments were that GMOs made it easier for them to make more money.

During the public comments, an unidentified man in red shirt, who expounded on the benefits of GMOs to the panel, was later questioned as to his affiliations by an elderly man in the crowd. The red-shirted man pushed the elderly man and told him to “sit down”. It was later revealed to the panel that the red-shirted man is a Monsanto employee.

“It was a perfect ending to a glorious demonstration of citizens in action,” Smith said.

Prior to the altercation, representatives from the Colorado Farm Bureau spoke up in defense the GMO technology, stating that the existing science speaks for itself.

Good science does speak for itself, but has the GMO science been “good science”? Many, including the scientists doing the research, believe that not to be the case.

The safety of GMO crops depends on who you talk to. All studies conducted on the safety of GMOs have been conducted and/or funded by the very companies selling them. Since GMO crops were planted 15 years ago, companies such as Monsanto, Syngenta and DuPont have made it impossible for studies to be conducted without their authorization because of a “Technology/Stewardship” agreement that prohibits using their product for research. These policies came under scrutiny when 24 scientists anonymously contacted the EPA in February 2009 regarding unethical controls on scientific research. Elson Shields of Cornell University’s Department of Entomology, one of the formerly anonymous twenty-four, worked around the companies’ restrictions for 10 years but felt that too many issues were going unanswered. The scientists could not be assured that multi-year studies would be renewed or that the companies would give approval to follow up on unexpected findings. The companies have since implemented Academic Research Licenses (ARLs) to improve the issue, but these licenses are still restrictive in approved areas of study and require negotiation with the companies.

Still, these roadblocks have not stopped some international scientists from inquiring deeper into the issue. Russian biologist Alexey V. Surov of Surov’s Institute of Ecology found that hamsters fed a diet of GM soy developed infertility, slower growth, higher mortality rate and hair growing within the mouth. Another study by Gilles-Eric Séralini, published in the International Journal of Biological Sciences, found that Monsanto’s GMO corn was linked to organ failure in rats.

Perhaps the biggest concern citizens should ponder is not the effects of ingesting the genetically altered food, but the effect on the human and environmental health of the community. Earth Open Source published a report in June 2011 showing that Roundup, Monsanto’s trade name for glyphosate, causes birth defects. All available varieties of GMO seeds require the application of this chemical. It’s widespread application in association with GMO crops has also been linked to the dramatic rise of “superweeds” which do not respond to herbicide application.

The European Union, as well as most of the planet, continues to ban GMO crops. One has to wonder why, in the face of so many questions, our own government is trying to push them down our throats?

The FAPC and the POSAC will meet November 16th and 17th to decide on approving the policy recommended by CPAG. The policies will then be presented in public hearing to the Boulder County Board of County Commissioners on December 8th at 6pm at the Longmont Convention Center.

The citizens of Boulder county have made it loud and clear how they feel on the GMO issue. But ultimately, the final decision on which policy to accept lies in the hands of the three county commissioners. Political influence has been traditionally stacked in favor of the biotechnology corporations due to multimillion dollar lobbying budgets and insider connections. Many other local governments are looking to Boulder to set the precedent on this and you can be sure Monsanto has assigned some lobbyists to this case. Two of the three commissioners are up for re-election in 2012. There are a lot of forces at play here, and given the huge local response to this issue, this could go either way.

Correction: “Two commissioners are not up for re-election; Will Toor and Ben Pearlman are term-limited at the end of 2012.” – Garry Sanfacon (see comments)

What? You’re not on drugs? Big Pharma is doing their best to change that. In its ever present bid to have every man, woman, child (and now dog) hooked on their wares, the US pharmaceutical industry continues to create new ‘syndromes’ while simultaneously claiming to possess the miracle cure. A miracle cure that requires taking their pill for the rest of your life, that is. Their latest tactic is to convince women they need Viagra and dope up your dog on anti-depressants.

In a scathing expose, RT news shines light on a case of industry greed gone out of control. Big Pharma’s strategy of creating new syndromes, combined with slick marketing and paid off doctors, has created a cash cow which has resulted in record profits and growth.

The industry is also charged with engaging in illegal practices in which companies are marketing drugs for purposes they are not approved for. Drug giant Pfizer was charged with hiring doctors to spread hype about their drug and encourage other doctors to prescribe it for purposes that it was not approved for.

The problem is that the risks pale in comparison to the reward. Dr. Sidney Wolfe, President of the Public Citizen’s Health Research Group states that “Unless people go to jail, unless the fines are much larger than they have been, the companies will find that it is cheaper to cheat.”

You may not have heard that last year they passed the Food Safety Modernization Act, and that it calls for the creation and implementation of New Dietary Ingredient Guidelines.  The FDA has drafted regulatory guidelines that, if implemented, will put smaller companies out of business. The increased cost of submitting or reformulating existing products for approval, by companies able to do so, will translate to a greatly inflated price for the consumer. The space created in the market by this carnage will leave it vulnerable to domination by pharmaceutical companies. Doubtful? This has already happened in Europe, and will happen in the U.S. unless the gravity of the situation is realized and acted upon by the people.

Research shows that the nutritional supplements industry takes a substantial amount of potential profits away from the pharmaceutical industry. If the people don’t talk LOUDLY, the money will.  There is a short amount of time left to make your voice heard, the deadline is December of this year unless an extension is agreed to.

To take action:

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/750/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8252

These articles provide more information:

http://newswithviews.com/Emord/jonathan206.htm

http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Regulation/Citizens-for-Health-NDI-guidance-contravenes-spirit-and-letter-of-DSHEA?utm_source=AddThis&utm_medium=More&utm_campaign=SocialMedia#.Tn4UOGNu89g.blogger

Dr. Kriger is a leading expert on the amphibian disease, Chytridiomycosis. The Chytrid Fungus has caused amphibian population declines in Australia, South America, North America, Central America, New Zealand, Europe, and Africa, and is likely responsible for over 100 species extinctions since the 1970′s.

90 to 95 percent of Americans state they would not eat GMOs if given a choice. So the USDA and FDA decided to not give us that choice. The companies claim that the food is not fundamentally different, so it should not be labelled. However, they simultaneously argue that the organism is so different that it deserves to be patented. Even taking this standpoint as far as prosecuting farmers whose fields have been contaminated by their patented genes.

It is not by chance that the FDA Deputy Commissioner of Foods is Monsanto’s former Vice President of Public Policy. Wikileaks cables have even exposed that U.S. Government conspired to retaliate against European countries who refused to accept GMO crops. The GMO issue stands as one of the most glaring examples of how corporations have hijacked our country.

Come November of 2012, we could see a huge turning point in the GMO tide that is sweeping our country and the world. Do we want to know if pig and rat genes are inserted into our vegetables? It’s up to us to decide.

Do you care about GMO labeling and want to show your support? Sunday, October 16th is World Food Day and rallies are happening all over the country. Click here to find one near you.

Eric is passionate about spreading the word about the dangers of GMO’s and the use of toxic herbicides and pesticides.  He advocates everyone getting involved in this movement because as he puts it, “everybody eats.”  Listen to his informative and inspirational message.

Artist: Paul Hoppe

For the past 40 years, conventional farmers have been using chemical herbicides to kill weeds in their fields. It was touted as being easier on the farmer and the environment than the more traditional methods of tilling. Today, scientists are facing the grim reality that this chemical shortcut has now created a problem much larger than ever foreseen.

The selection pressure created by these chemical applications has lead to rapid evolution of weed species that survive chemical herbicides. Weed Science released a new series of studies this month which find at least 21 weed species have become resistant to the world’s most popular herbicide glyphosate (Roundup). A growing number can survive multiple herbicides. Some of the stronger varieties, such as pigweed, grows three inches a day and is tough enough to damage farm machinery.

“The herbicide resistance issue is becoming serious,” said expert, William Vencill, “It is spreading out beyond where weed scientists have seen it before.” In 3 years, glyphosate-resistant crops have spread by more than 450% and infested more than 11 million acres of US farmland in 2010. In that same year, Congress held hearings to discuss possible solutions to the issue. No solution was found because of a determination to fix the problem using the same technology that caused it.

Of particular concern is the degree to which the US has plunged headfirst into glyphosate reliance. Genetically-modified organisms (GMO) engineered to tolerate glyphosate account for roughly 90 percent of soy, canola and corn in the United States. These patented GMO seeds are typically twice the price of non-GMO varieties and are dependent on the use of glyphosate.

Information released by Wikileaks earlier this year revealed that the US has been actively lobbying other countries in efforts to increase GMO adoption, even going so far as to penalize countries that did not comply. To understand this, one need simply look at the long list of former biotech industry executives who now hold US government regulatory positions.

During the 2010 congressional hearing, Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety, called the glyphosate-resistance issue just the latest failure of the USDA on biotech issues. “The history of USDA’s oversight of genetically-engineered crops is littered with failures,” said Kimbrell, calling for more oversight of biotech firms by the government. “Numerous government assessments have found USDA’s oversight severely lacking.”

In May 2011, the USDA went so far as to allow biotech companies to conduct their own studies on whether or not to approve their own products.

Originally marketed as an “environmentally-friendly” herbicide, Roundup has been associated with a deformities in a host of laboratory animals. Other studies have linked it to birth defects in humans.

The route these biotech companies are taking is obviously unsustainable. Monsanto’s only current solution is to advocate prevention by diversifying chemical application and crop rotation, but this is only delaying the inevitable. Any one of these issues alone is reason to question the continued use of this technology. Other varieties of GMO crops are raising flags as well, as the toxin produced in Bt corn is now showing up in the blood of pregnant women and fetuses.

Associated health risks aside, proponents and manufacturers of GMO crops state they are working to solve the world’s hunger problem. As it becomes more and more expensive for farmers to manage these weeds infesting their fields, we could see yields drop and food costs climb. If this happens, and all indicators point towards that unfortunate outcome, then we will see GMOs exacerbating the problem they were supposedly designed to fix.

[Fast Company via Natural News via Organic Consumers Association]

Image credit: tattfoo.com

In this series on growing your own food in harmony with nature, Evan Folds has been teaching us the immense importance of microbiological activity in our soils. In this segment, Evan walks us through the making and application of compost teas. These teas boost the viability of compost and can automatically take care of many pest or nutrient imbalance issues you are having in your garden. It’s very easy too! If you aren’t using compost tea, you are missing out on something great for your garden.

There are just too many people to feed, is the simple reason given. The magnitude of the world’s population is unsustainable. Nations under pressure to compete in an ever more competitive world food market are considering the compromising decision of embracing biotechnology. Genetically engineered salmon is offered as an answer to overfishing. The problems are visible and obvious, but are the causes as straightforward as they seem? Could it be that this looming global starvation is really just a manipulated distribution of resources?

Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen said that it is governments that make the difference in times of famine. He pointed out that food supplies aren’t significantly reduced during such times. This means that food is sold to those that can afford the higher prices, neglecting the greater poor and rural populations. The problem according to Sen is the uneven distribution of food rather than the ratio of food to people. He also points to wars and the shifts of industry that can create a vulnerable imbalance in nation’s economies as major factors.

In developing nations, as the population abandons farming to compete in business and technologies, food prices rise. In the U.S. this was remedied with the industrialization of farming and the creation of Agribusiness. With industrialized farming, more food could be produced at a lower cost. Systematically, factory farming and food cartels have replaced the small farmer. Today, the percentage of the U.S. population involved in growing food is only 2-3%, a shift from 1870 when it was between 70-80%. The average American is completely out of touch with where his food comes from and how it is grown. One might argue that industrialized farming and Agribusiness has allowed the U.S. to be a world leader, but when does something that appears to be good turn bad?

A developing country with a populace struggling to raise its living standards would buy the cheapest food, and that’s what Agribusinesses are happy to step in and provide. A political tactic used in cooperation with international food cartels is to undercut a nations farming population, creating dependence on imports. As the diversity and strength of small farms disappear, withholding food or raising prices can then be strategically used to destabilize a country or to coerce cooperation. Instead of building national wealth by buying locally, a countries’ resources are siphoned away through importing what could be supplied from within. Control of a nation, then, becomes quite easily obtained. Not with war, but with food, or the lack of it. But if it is war that is wanted for a regime change, a hungry, rioting population certainly delivers.

The fear of offending the God of Capitalism that seems to pervade Western culture has resulted in the slow erosion of ethics which keep it in balance. The ethics that defend the public against harm in the pursuit of profits, monopolization of an industry, and denial of basic human rights in favor of corporate interests, is what allows capitalism to work for the majority of us. The abandonment or twisting of ethics is very profitable for some, and seems to benefit economies, for a while. But if you start to pay attention to how laws that once protected the public have changed, is it really so surprising that we are where we are? A crisis is presented, a solution is offered, and we end up with less personal freedoms.

Food shortages seem remote and unreal in this land of plenty. Blissfully unaware, we’re in deeper trouble than we realize. Our economy is drained, and our rights concerning food have been quietly bargained away. For our “safety” a heavily protested bill, S 510, was recently passed to bury the small farmer in red tape and regulations. A further concern over the bill is that the language allows for regulation over homegrown foods as well. No money is one thing, but what about food, a basic right? Even without the imposition of food regulation laws, the patenting of engineered seeds has changed the whole concept of food rights, turning what was once very simple into a complex issue.

Genetically modified seeds can be engineered to commit suicide after one harvest, leaving the farmer dependent on the corporation supplying the seed instead of saving seeds from harvest to harvest. Farmers must also use the chemical herbicides and pesticides that these seeds are engineered to tolerate. Through the inevitability of cross contamination, these genetically modified, patented organisms could invade the entire food supply.  Imagine that. Could this be a goal of biotech companies in a world in which profit comes before anything else? The effort by these corporations to set a precedent in successfully suing farmers whose crops have been contaminated with patented genetic material reveals the intent.

The suspicion towards biotechnology and it’s potential use for political and economic control is evident. Europe has kicked it out, and even more suspiciously, the U.S. has used political threats, attempting to reopen the doors through intimidation.  Some African countries suffering from the worst food shortages will not allow GMO seeds into their countries, even in the form of food aid, without it being first milled to prevent it from being planted. But here, in the U.S., 80% of the food supply is now genetically modified, and the majority of Americans are unaware.

If patented bioengineered seeds are the savior they are claimed to be, why are nations so slow and even resistant to embracing the technology? As Henry Kissinger, the champion of Agribusiness, said: “..if you control the food, you control the people.” It’s time to wake up.

Neonicotinoids, including dinotefuran, are taken up by a plant’s vascular system and expressed through pollen, nectar and gutation droplets from which pollinators such as bees then forage and drink. Neonicotinoids kill sucking and chewing insects by disrupting their nervous systems. Beginning in the late 1990s, these systemic insecticides began to take over the seed treatment market. Clothianidin and imidacloprid are two of the most commonly used neonicotinoid pesticides. Both are known to be toxic to insect pollinators, and are lead suspects as causal factors in honey bee colony collapse disorder.

The brown marmorated stink bug is a non-native species thought to have been accidentally introduced to North America from Asia in the 1990s. The pests were first identified in Allentown, PA and have since spread rapidly throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Because they are not native to this continent, they have no natural predators or ecological checks on population here, allowing their numbers to skyrocket.

The question I ask is this: Why would the EPA approve the use of a known toxin that is directly one of the major causes of Colony Collapse Disorder? Honeybees don’t just make honey, they pollinate more than 90 of the tastiest flowering crops we have. Honeybees pollinate apples, nuts, avocados, soybeans, asparagus, broccoli, celery, squash and cucumbers. And lots of the really sweet and tart stuff, too, including citrus fruit, peaches, kiwi, cherries, blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, cantaloupe and other melons. In fact, about one-third of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants, and the honeybee is responsible for 80 percent of that pollination, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

So I guess the EPA is justified in killing more of our precious honey bees which are vital to our food chain in order to control brown marmorated stink bugs. Yes indeed, another bonehead move by the EPA!

On Tuesday, June 28 at 7:00pm(MT) on Blogtalk Radio, Food Integrity Now talks with Liz Reitzig and Sally Fallon of  Farmageddon about the film released last week in Washington D.C. and this week in Los Angeles.

Americans’ right to access fresh, healthy foods of their choice is under attack. Farmageddon tells the story of small, family farms that were providing safe, healthy foods to their communities and were forced to stop, sometimes through violent action, by agents of misguided government bureaucracies, and seeks to figure out why.  Why is the FDA raiding small farms with SWAT-type raids? Farmageddon documents the U.S. government’s constant attacks on innocent farmers and consumers in an attempt to protect massive corporate interests.

Liz Reitzig is the President of the Maryland Independent Consumers and Farmers Association and Secretary of the National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association.  Both organizations lobby for farmers rights and for access to real foods. Reitzig is featured in the movie and actively supports local farmers.

Sally Fallon is a journalist, chef, nutrition researcher, homemaker, and community activist. She is on the Board of Directors of  The Westin A Price Foundation and is the author of Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats. Fallon is also featured in the movie.

GMOs are proliferating our food and chemicals are polluting our soil. Much of the food you buy in the store today is an empty shell devoid of nutrients. This lack of nutrient density provides a very short satiation of hunger and robs the body of it’s necessary nutrition. It is now more important than ever to know how to grow your own food. Designing your garden in alignment with nature increases yields and provides you and your family with a reliable source of nutrient dense food.

Folds’ vision is inspiring:

One thing is for sure, we all need to wake up. To survive and prosper we must live with nature, not against her. We must wake up to our spiritual potentials and move past the dominance of materialism in our thought, action, and scientific investigation. We can do better, and we will.

Join us as Folds talks about various methods and tools that you can implement at home and take charge of your own nutrition!

The FDA report indicated that a new study developed by the agency shows that an ingredient in chicken feed contains arsenic. The FDA further states that people should not stop eating chicken that may have been fed the drug.  Are you kidding me?  This is yet another example of how inept the FDA is and how they are in bed with the drug companies.  By the way, the company that was adding arsenic to chicken feed is Pfizer, the second largest drug company in the world.

And  yet, for more than 60 years, the federal regulators have approved arsenic additives to poultry feed in the United States, partly to control parasites and partly because they chemically improve the appearance of packaged chicken and turkey parts, pinking them up for consumer approval.

A person can survive low-level arsenic poisoning for quite some time. But  because of the way it damages cells – breaking apart the structures that allow cellular respiration -  it turns out to be a quite dangerous carcinogen. This has been demonstrated, especially, in countries where elemental arsenic permeates rocks at high levels and seeps into ground water. In Bangladesh, for instance, a program of well-drilling begun in the 1970s, literally created an epidemic of arsenic-related cancers.

Those of us who prefer less obviously toxic material in our chicken buckets – and this includes me – will definitely only eat organic chicken that are fed an organic diet.

Moret explains what happened in Fukushima and why. Her explanation includes the use of HAARP and the Stuxnet Virus, illustrating a well planned and executed sabotage. The result has been plumes of radiation over Mexico, Hawaii, and the Western coasts of the United States and Canada , where much of these nations foods are grown. With the information provided by earlier nuclear experimentation and disasters such as that at Chernobyl, Moret predicts how contamination of food with radiation will result in increased disease including cancers, diabetes, birth defects, mental illness, and lower IQ in new generations. Why would this purposely be done? Moret gives us insight into that question, and more importantly, information about how to reduce exposure to the radiation and protect our immune systems.

Source: Gakuraman.com

Radioactive contamination of drinking water, dairy products, and food in the US during nuclear bomb tests in the 40′s and 50′s was said to cause birth defects and and long lingering illnesses throughout the US population. The Fukushima disaster is far worse than that period of nuclear bomb testing. That being said, how is the radiation being leaked from the Fukushima plant effecting human health today? Radioactive isotopes, when ingested, release beta and gamma rays directly into the body’s cells. This damages cells and triggers cancer.

Leuren Moret, geoscientist, will be our guest on Food Integrity Now on Wednesday, May 25 at 2:00pm(MDT) to discuss the Fukushima Disaster. With all the widespread radioactive food contamination in the United States, what can we do? What foods are most effected? Do we need to be taking potassium iodine? If so, why is the EPA not advising us to do so? Why were Chernobyl contaminated food products sold covertly in US junk foods and cheeses? These questions and more will be answered by Leuren Moret. This is a critical global issue that effects all of us. Don’t miss this important show. Listen Live!

If you haven’t been paying attention to your food lately, biotechnology giants such as Monsanto thank you for that. Because behind your back, they’ve succeeded in replacing 86% of US corn with their patented insecticide-producing “frankencorn”.

The industry name for this is “Bt corn” and the insecticide is actually produced inside the plant, so it is impossible to wash it off. This is accomplished by inserting genes from the bacteria Bacillus Thuringiensis into the corn.

Up until now, scientists and multinational corporations such as Monsanto and DuPont have spent billions in lobbying, campaign donations and “testing” in an attempt to convince world governments that GMOs are safe. In the case of Bt corn, they stated the insecticide produced within the corn posed no danger to human health because it was broken down in the digestive system.

Despite corporate assurances, many have been skeptical. Non-GMO advocates such as Jeffrey Smith from The Institute For Responsible Technology and the Organic Consumers Association have long been concerned about the potential impact this Bt toxin could have on human health.

Scientists from the University of Sherbrooke, Canada, proved the validity of these concerns when they detected the insecticidal protein, Cry1Ab, circulating in the blood of both pregnant and non-pregnant women. They also detected the toxin in fetal blood, suggesting that the toxin can be passed on to the fetus. The research paper has been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication in the journal Reproductive Toxicology.

Neither the women studied or their spouses worked in agriculture. All reported to be consuming a typical Canadian diet that is virtually identical to the American diet.

“Generated data will help regulatory agencies responsible for the protection of human health to make better decisions”, said researchers Aziz Aris and Samuel Leblanc.

Unfortunately, I don’t feel that our pro-GMO Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will pay attention to this research. I also doubt that our Deputy Commissioner of Foods Michael Taylor, who also happens to be Monsanto’s former vice-president, will pay this study much attention either. It doesn’t stop there. The revolving door is growing exponentially and the foxes have taken up residence in the hen house.

Are you pissed? You should be. We’ve let corporate interests turn us into poison-fed lab rats. It doesn’t end at corn either. 93% of both soy and canola are also genetically-modified. On top of that, Monsanto has acres of laboratories containing new mutant species awaiting to slip into your pantry. You’re probably wearing some of their Bt cotton right now. It comprises 93% of US cotton and 68% of Chinese cotton.

Perhaps you’ve heard of the uproar around Bt brinjal, a GM variety of eggplant, in India. When it was approved in 2009, a country-wide protest began and the Indian government applied a moratorium on its release.

Meanwhile, here in the US, GMO crops are getting approved left and right and most Americans still don’t even know what “GMO” even means.

Want to do something about it? We can’t rely on our regulatory agencies to do it for us and we possess more power than we think. It won’t take much to reach the tipping point of consumer rejection and get these “frankenfoods” out of our lives. Information spreads like wildfire these days with Facebook, Twitter and email. Tell your family and friends and vote with your dollar, the world’s food supply depends on it! Now that you know, it’s your responsibility to pass it on.

Scientists are still looking into the cause of this, but history seems to be pointing to the answer. In the years following the 1989 Exxon oil spill in Alaska, the herring fishery collapsed and has yet to recover. Like the fish in the Gulf, the herring suffered skin lesions as well as other similar symptoms.

This news is not surprising for many. Food Integrity Now featured two separate shows on the health of the Gulf last fall. Jean-Michel Cousteau, oceanographer and documentary filmmaker, stated that we had yet to see the full ramifications of the disaster. Project Gulf Impact conducted research which clearly indicated the seafood is not safe.

UWF Biologist William Patterson III, a scientist working on the case, states:

I’ve had tens of thousands of fish in my hands and not seen these symptoms in so many fish before. All those symptoms have been seen naturally before, but it’s a matter of them all coming at once that we’re concerned about.

Compounding on the concern, Patterson acknowledges the fact that many commercial fishermen are reluctant to report their findings to state and local authorities out of fear that fishing grounds will be shut down.

The focus of most Americans have moved on from the BP oil spill, including the major news agencies. 210 million gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf and 2 million gallons of toxic dispersants poured on top of it was a major wound to the region’s ecology. Just because our short attention spans have moved on doesn’t mean the Gulf has healed.

I’m not eating any fish from the Gulf, but that choice is up to you. Food Integrity Now will continue to monitor this issue, and keep you updated as new developments arise.

[pnj.com]

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Beginning July, the FDA will be able to detain food products that it has reason to believe are adulterated or misbranded for up to 30 days, if needed, to ensure they are kept out of the marketplace. The products will be kept out of the marketplace while the agency determines whether an enforcement action such as seizure or federal injunction against distribution of the product in commerce, is necessary.

With this, the FDA declared it no longer needs evidence to seize food that may be contaminated, thereby ignoring the Fourth Amendment. Based on mere suspicion that a food product has been contaminated or mislabeled, it now can hold the food for 30 days while it then looks for evidence.

The Fourth Amendment states:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Of course they have already been doing this illegally when you look at the raids on raw dairy farms. This law now expands their authority to conduct these types of raids.

A Summary of the FDA’s new powers under the Food Safety Modernization Act:

• Mandatory recalls: under the law, the FDA now has the power to issue mandatory food recalls in cases of suspected outbreak. The FDA had the authority to issue only voluntary recalls, prior to the new law, except in cases of contaminated infant formula.
• National food safety standards: the new law also directs the FDA to create national food safety standards for growing, harvesting and transporting produce. This is the first time that a universal standard will be created. Previously, there was a patchwork of standards varying by state and grower.
• Electronic food tracking system: facilities that grow and sell produce now must keep track of where their products go through an electronic tracking system. The system is meant to help the FDA and other public health officials more quickly identify where potentially contaminated food has been shipped and isolate which foods need to be recalled.
• Facilities must take charge of preventing outbreaks: the new law requires food manufacturing and processing facilities to take pre-emptive action to prevent contamination, including creating written safety plans that identify both potential contamination risks and steps taken to prevent contamination.
• More on-site inspections: the FSMA increases the frequency of FDA on-site facility inspections. Previously, it was one inspection in every five to 10 years. Now, it’s one inspection every three years.
• FDA oversight of food imports: prior to the passage of the law, the FDA had little to no authority over produce imported into the U.S. from other countries. (Currently, imported fruits and vegetables account for 60 percent of the fresh produce sold in the U.S.) The FSMA gives the FDA authority to require foreign foods to meet the same safety standards as produce grown in the U.S. The FDA can also conduct on-site inspections of overseas facilities that export to the U.S. and block foods from entering the country that come from facilities that refuse to allow these inspections to take place.

What does this all mean and how does this effect local and organic farmers? By slapping voluminous new paperwork and reporting requirements on small farmers (who aren’t even the source of the food problem to begin with), they are forcing farmers out of business and causing agriculture jobs to be shifted to Mexico and elsewhere.

When you hear American farmers saying they are going to “scale back” their businesses because they “don’t want to get too successful” (to fall under the authority of expanded FDA tyranny over the food supply), you know the country is headed for economic disaster.

America was once founded on ideas of opportunity and that hard work is supposed to pay off. People who invest in their small businesses and grow them should be rewarded, not punished. But now, thanks to the U.S. Congress and the Food Safety Modernization Act, small farmers who find even a little bit of success selling food (because selling $500,000 worth of food is still a very small scale operation, and the actual profit on that might only be $50,000 for a full year of work) are about to find themselves punished for being successful.

My take on all this is that the FSMA was passed to: give the FDA more control so they can regulate our food supply; force small organic and local farmers out of business; and give them authority to conduct recalls and raids on non-FDA approved foods they could not previously control.

A major aspect of becoming a sustainable civilization is having a reliable food supply. Dave discusses how the signs are present calling for dramatic change. Will we wake up and step up to the challenge before it is too late?

GMO foods contain altered DNA. Laboratories manipulate the genetic structure of these foods in a manner that would never occur in nature. The most common purpose for the genetic modification of foods is to produce crops that tolerate being bathed in herbicide. Herbicide is a poison that kills plants. Monsanto’s Roundup-Ready GMO crops, engineered to tolerate the herbicide Roundup, currently dominate the market.

GMO distribution in 2010 US crop. Data from Wikipedia. Copyright Food Integrity Now

The increased reliance on herbicide for weed control has resulted in “superweeds” which have evolved tolerance to herbicide, thereby nullifying the benefits of the GMO crops. In October 2010, a House oversight subcommittee held a hearing to discuss possible solutions for this issue. In that hearing, the Obama Administration made the statement that they will only consider solutions using GMO technology to the fix the problem caused by GMO technology. Monsanto is already making a new, more powerful poison to address the problem.

A growing number of studies indicate GM food is unsafe for human or animal consumption. A paper released by The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) shows more than a causal association between GMOs and adverse health effects.

According to the AAEM,

…several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food consumption including infertility, immune dysregulation, accelerated aging, dysregulation of genes associated with cholesterol synthesis, insulin regulation, cell signaling, and protein formation, and changes in the liver, kidney, spleen and gastrointestinal system.

Professor Andrés Carrasco of the University of Buenos Aires Medical School demonstrated that Roundup causes birth defects at far lower doses than those used in agricultural spraying and well below maximum residue levels in products approved by the European Union. The study was initiated because of widespread reports of human malformations in Argentina beginning in 2002. This was two years after farmers began widespread aerial spraying of Roundup on their GM soy crops.

The President’s Cancer Panel suggests reducing your risk of cancer by “giving preference to food grown without pesticides, chemical fertilizers and growth hormones.”

Problems linked to genetically modified organisms continue to build: South African farmers were devastated in 2009 when genetically modified maize from Monsanto failed to produce kernels; GM soy has been linked to sterility and infant mortality in hamsters; and insecticide-producing GM corn is polluting streams, lakes and rivers.

While the EU requires that GMO food be labeled, the U.S. does not have any such requirement.  A Washington Post public poll from September 2010 shows that 95% of the public wants to know if they are eating GMOs. A recent MSNBC poll asked the public whether GMO foods should be labelled. As of this writing, 96% of over 43,000 people voted that GMOs should be labelled.

Non-GMO Project seal. Look for this on products you buy.

What can you do? Spread the word, email this link to your friends, vote with your dollar. Ask your favorite food producers and restaurants if they use GMOs. Use The Non-GMO Shopping Guide. Make decisions about the food you want to eat, or others will make it for you.

Additional resources:

• Institute for Responsible Technology
• Organic Consumers Association
• The Non-GMO Project
• The Rodale.com GMO-free Challenge
• The Weston A. Price Foundation
• The Center for Food Safety

Mangels’ high altitude soil and surface water tests show alarmingly high levels aluminum hydroxide/oxide, barium oxide, strontium oxide. These levels are off the charts for what the EPA considers safe, yet they refuse to investigate. In addition to toxicity, these chemicals make soil pH 10-20 times higher than normal and make it difficult for plants to grow.

Mangels’ further supports his claims by pointing to the Welsbach Patent, which describes a process for absorbing UV radiation in the atmosphere through aerosol spraying from an airplane. Mangels has contacted the FAA, NASA, the Airforce and other military agencies about his findings and they refuse to acknowledge it. To date, no one has disputed his data, they just refuse to comment. This amazing interview will leave you wondering, what in the world are they spraying and why?

Monsanto’s GMO alfalfa is resistant to being bathed in the herbicide Roundup. Given that less than 10% of conventional alfalfa farmers even use herbicide on their crops, this new GMO crop solves a problem that does not exist. It will merely add to Monsanto’s growing control over our world’s seed supply.

The recent deregulation of GMO alfalfa is the biggest blow to the organic movement since GMOs were first approved. Due to the widespread reach of alfalfa pollination, organic alfalfa everywhere is at great risk for contamination from GMO crops. This policy change, if it stands, virtually guarantees that organic alfalfa will no longer exist in a few years. That would also mean that organic milk will no longer exist in a few years. Our government’s regulatory agencies have completely rolled over for Monsanto.

Just a few years ago, BPA was all over the news because it was revealed that the chemical mimics estrogen. Many plastic food containers contained BPA in the formulation, and studies showed this chemical leached into the contents over time. Companies rushed to replace their plastic formulations with new chemicals, many them with lesser-known effects.

It is still unknown the effects of these small amounts of estrogen-like chemicals on the human body, as most tests have been done on mice and lab rats. The study does not look into this, but focuses on revealing their presence in the products we purchase.

Of the 450 plastic items purchased from stores like Walmart and Whole Foods, 70 percent released chemicals that acted like estrogen. When those plastics were subjected to real-world stresses like sunlight, dishwashing and microwaving, that number jumped to 95 percent.

George Bittner, one of the study’s authors and professor of neurobiology and pharmacology at the University of Texas, Austin, noted that not all of the plastics tested leached chemicals, so it is possible to create safe plastics.

Bittner is also the founder of the study’s testing lab, CertChem, and PlastiPure, a company that makes plastics certified free of estrogenic activity.

Some scientists are questioning the reliability of the study, as wine and some vegetables can also act like estrogen.  Others brought up the fact that Bittner holds a financial interest in the testing lab and in a company involved in making plastics that don’t release estrogenic chemicals.

Still, many are welcoming the new research.

“We’ve long cautioned consumers to avoid extreme heat and cooling for plastics, to discard scratched and worn plastics and we feel like this [study] validates one of our many concerns,” says Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst at the Environmental Working Group.

She advises against putting plastics through extreme heating or cooling cycles, and throwing away items that are worn or scratched.

While this study may not be definitive, it certainly warrants a closer look into this issue. I already try to minimize the plastic in my kitchen, but it is becoming increasingly harder to do. I was shopping for a thermos the other day, opening them all up looking for ones with the least plastic. When I told sales clerk why, he looked at me like I was crazy. Until we see more research from others in this area, I will be washing those few plastic items by hand.

[NPR]

Jacobs decided to let the courts decide whether the pesticide sprayer should be held accountable for his damaged crops. Last December, California’s 6th District Court of Appeal in San Jose upheld Jacobs’ right to sue the pesticide applicator, Western Farm Service, and let stand the $1 million award a jury handed Jacobs two years ago. Jacobs discusses this precedent-setting case as well as the future of organics and the recent deregulation of GMO alfalfa. Jacobs believes the future of organics depends on all of us being involved and educated, especially our children, in where our food comes from and offers simple advice to families on how to involve our children in this process.

Farmageddon Trailer from Kristin Canty on Vimeo.

The Food Safety Modernization Act would give the FDA more power and oversight over the food system. Many have been concerned how this would effect the small farmer, and this has been alleviated somewhat by the Tester Amendment.

Others question whether the FDA has already been stepping over the limits of it’s power, indicated by increasing raids of private dairy and food clubs. These clubs are local small businesses that have nothing to do with the food-borne illness outbreaks that have occurred in this country. People seek out these private dairies and food clubs because they can’t get this same quality of food anywhere else. One farm was raided three times over the course of 18 months, all over the labeling of the farm’s goat cheese.

Most of the food-borne illness outbreaks have been the result of industrial meat or poultry production facilities. Either the meat is tainted itself or runoff from the facility taints a farmer’s field with e.coli or salmonella.

Many people don’t know that e.coli and humans have co-existed since the beginning. It was not until cattle feedlots (with the associated need for antibiotics) were introduced, that e.coli began evolving into the stronger strains that are deadly to humans.

S.510 gives more power to the FDA over initiating food recalls, but it does not propose to make any changes to those production methods causing these virulent strains of pathogens to be created. I agree that aspects of S.510 are needed, but perhaps it would be even more prudent to address the source of the problem?

Ann Wright, a deputy undersecretary at the USDA, told a House oversight subcommittee last week:

This administration and USDA see biotechnology as being a very important tool for farmers to use in addressing some very important issues, globally and domestically. All the options we look at have to be supportive of that.

Yes, you read that right. In finding a solution, the Obama administration and USDA will only consider options supporting the same technology that created the problem.

Wright also stated the USDA did not have authority to regulate weedkiller-tolerant crops leading to superweeds.

Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Ohio democrat and former presidential candidate, corrected her by stating the department can impose restrictions on weedkiller-tolerant crops under its authority to control noxious weeds. Kucinich advocates creating a moratorium on genetically modified organisms and is holding a series of hearings on the superweed issue.

The USDA statement came amidst reports that Monsanto’s shares are down 42% and on the eve of the first official Non-GMO month.

Monsanto, the creators of Roundup (a weedkiller also known as glyphosate), is the world’s largest supplier of genetically modified seeds. They alter the DNA of crops to resist weedkiller, then sell both the seed and weedkiller to the farmer. It is supposed to make a farmer’s life easier, as it allows an entire field to be blanketed with weedkiller. The GM crops survive, and the weeds die. It was touted to be more environmentally friendly than the old method of tilling weeds under. But as the years went on, the weeds around the crops grew resistant to weedkiller as well, erasing the benefits of the GM crop.

This news reinforces President Obama’s appearance as a politician determined to facilitate biotech world domination. Since winning the presidency, he has made it his mission to fill his administration with a team of biotech all-stars:

December 17, 2008, then-President-elect Barack Obama nominated Tom Vilsack, a politician well-known for his preference of large industrial farms and genetically modified crops, as US Secretary of Agriculture. Vilsack originated legislation prohibiting local communities from regulating where GM crops could be grown. He was also the founder and former chair of the Governor’s Biotechnology Partnership, and was named Governor of the Year by the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

July 7, 2009, President Obama appointed Michael Taylor, Monsanto-man and poster boy for revolving door politics, as “senior advisor” to the FDA Commissioner. Taylor began his career as staff attorney for the FDA before moving to a law firm representing Monsanto. He later returned to the FDA as Deputy Commissioner for Policy, where he lead the approval for using Monsanto’s rBGH growth hormone in dairy cows without labeling. From there he moved to the USDA as Administrator of the Food Safety & Inspection Service, before becoming Monsanto’s Vice President for Public Policy.

September 24, 2009, President Obama appointed Roger Beachy, “the father of GM foods”, as Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Beachy was the founding president of the Danforth Plant and Science Center, a non-profit arm of Monsanto, where he is still a trustee and member of its scientific advisory board. A part of the USDA, NIFA was developed as a result of a task force chaired by William H. Danforth and appointed by then Secretary of Agriculture, Ann Veneman. Veneman herself has a history in biotech, having served on the board of directors for Calgene Inc, a biotech company later purchased by Monsanto.

November 10, 2009, President Obama nominated Rajiv Shah, GMO and vaccine proponent, as Administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Before this, Shah was Chief Scientist at the USDA (also appointed by Obama), where he worked on launching NIFA. Shah used his USDA position to promote genetic engineering to Congress and direct millions towards GMO research. Prior to his involvement in government, Shah was the agricultural programs director for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, along with the Danforth Plant and Science Center, is one of Monsanto’s key non-profit partners.

January 13, 2010, President Obama re-appoints Michael Taylor, this time to Deputy Commissioner of Foods for the FDA.

April 2, 2010, President Obama appointed Islam A. Siddiqui, a registered biotech lobbyist, as Chief Agricultural Negotiator in the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Siddiqui is a former VP for Science and Regulatory Affairs at CropLife America, a biotechnology industry consortium. His credentials include lobbying against mandatory labeling of GMO foods in Japan and criticizing the European Union’s precautionary rejection of importing GMOs. Siddiqui is the former Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at the USDA, where he oversaw the National Organic Program’s standards. These standards initially allowed both irradiated and GM foods to be labeled as organic, but were later revised due to public opposition.

It’s no wonder 86% of US farmland is planted with GM crops, a good ‘ol boys network is writing our nation’s agricultural policy!

Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the agricultural spectrum, the First Lady created an organic garden where she grows produce for the White House kitchen as well as local charities and soup kitchens. She also uses the garden to educate local elementary school children about organic gardening. In addition, the First Lady hosted diplomat spouses of world leaders at the UN General Assembly to a luncheon tour of a local NY farm specializing in seed diversity, local farming and sustainability.

You may be baffled, so am I. Is Michelle Obama just a front? Does the President really believe he is helping the world? Or, is he a puppet in the hands of wealthy campaign financiers?

Clearly, the government has ignored the growing number of studies which indicate GM food is unsafe for human or animal consumption. A paper released by The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) shows more than a causal association between GMOs and adverse health effects.

According to the AAEM,

…several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food consumption including infertility, immune dysregulation, accelerated aging, dysregulation of genes associated with cholesterol synthesis, insulin regulation, cell signaling, and protein formation, and changes in the liver, kidney, spleen and gastrointestinal system.

Another study, lead by Professor Andrés Carrasco of the Laboratory of Molecular Embryology at the University of Buenos Aires Medical School, demonstrated that glyphosate (Roundup) causes birth defects at far lower doses than those used in agricultural spraying and well below maximum residue levels in products approved by the European Union. The study was initiated because of widespread reports of human malformations in Argentina beginning in 2002. This was two years after farmers began widespread aerial spraying of Roundup on their GM soy crops.

Even the President’s own Cancer Panel suggests reducing your risk of cancer by “giving preference to food grown without pesticides, chemical fertilizers and growth hormones.” In other words, eat organic.

We are faced with a mountain of problems linked to genetically modified organisms and they continue to build: South African farmers were devastated in 2009 when genetically modified maize from Monsanto failed to produce kernels; GM soy has been linked sterility and infant mortality in hamsters; and insecticide-producing GM corn is polluting streams, lakes and rivers. What will be next?

The biotech lobbyists have succeeded in preventing GM foods from being labeled thus far, but many are seeking for that to change. This Washington Post public poll clearly shows the public wants to know if they are eating GMOs. But, the biotech industry knows they would have no industry if that was the case. Watch for this issue this coming election and ask your candidates where they stand on GMO Food Labels.

Congressman Kucinich seems to be one of the only people in Washington taking a stand for integrity and common sense. Let’s hope he still has a job come November.

Andrew Weil calls his book:

“the most up-to-date and readable work I’ve seen on the subject of contamination of our drinking water and how to protect yourself from it.”

Did you know that most public water systems now use a chemical called chloramine that is not removed by most commercially-available water filters? Even if you have a well, it is wise to get your water tested for various ground contaminants. Lono talks about what filtering systems are the best, and what you can do to ensure you are drinking the best water for your health.

The campaign involved an article posted on the Mom Central website in defense of high fructose corn syrup in which it stated, “High fructose corn syrup, like sugar and honey, is natural and should be enjoyed in moderation.” The bloggers were paid in gift certificates to participate in a one-hour CRA webinar and post the information on their respective blogs. When the information was posted and the comments ensued, truth came out about the campaign. The “trusted moms” were really just talking heads for the CRA.

One mom blogger stated:

The professional speakers used a lot of technical scientific terms and words that rather confused me, but ultimately the important message I learned from them is that there is no significant difference between HFCS and table sugar.

Going through the various blog posts, it is apparent the focus of the webinar was merely on the glucose/fructose composition of HFCS without addressing the way in which it is made. HFCS is made from GMO corn refined with sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid, yet the CRA is having moms believe it is just as natural as honey.

This disinformation is clear when one of the moms who blogged in defense if HFCS, stated in her comments:

I agree there is too much sugar in our foods. That is why I do my best to eat organic and have my own organic garden. When I can/freeze I know exactly what is in my food Good idea!

Contrary to what the CRA wants us to believe, high-fructose corn syrup is on the opposite end of the organic spectrum. They may call it natural, but natural means nothing anymore. This is not to point fingers, but to expose the disinformation around health issues in this country. This is about education and integrity.

How have corporations duped moms who eat organic and have organic gardens into defending the most chemically-processed sweetener out there? A few gift certificates, is it really that easy?

[via Mom-101]

According to the AAEM,

several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food consumption including infertility, immune dysregulation, accelerated aging, dysregulation of genes associated with cholesterol synthesis, insulin regulation, cell signaling, and protein formation, and changes in the liver, kidney, spleen and gastrointestinal system.

Then there is the issue of GM crops contaminating neighboring farmer’s fields through cross-pollination. These are all issues that the biotech giants want to sweep under the rug while cheerfully touting that their seeds will save the world. Biotech has had a good run over the past ten years, it promised farmers an easy way to grow crops with higher yields. It did deliver, for a time, but now farmers are beginning to see the promise of a quick fix was not without repercussions.

Farmers of the popular Roundup-Ready GM crops, engineered to withstand the pesticide glyphosate, are now walking into fields populated with super-weeds which are becoming increasingly resistant to pesticide application every year. Proponents of the Roundup-Ready crops once claimed that use of GMOs would reduce pesticide use in conventional farming methods. As such, it was claimed to be more eco-friendly. But as the years have gone by, the weeds have evolved and farmers have found their pesticide needs increasing.

Contrary to what Monsanto wants you to believe, recent years have shown the growth of the biotech market slowing down. 86 percent of US farm acres were planted with GM seed last year, only rising one percent from the year before. Though this number is still large, this is the smallest increase since 2001 and it shows that the industry is changing.

Money drives the market, and when farmer’s bank accounts start to take a hit, they look for changes. In some instances, GM contamination of fields has forced farmers to sell crops at lower prices.

“If you’ve got your conventional seed right next to your neighbor’s [biotech] seeds, the pollen flies,” says John Schmitt, a corn-and-soybean farmer in Quincy, Ill., who had to sell a third of his conventional corn at lower prices last year because of contamination. “It’s nature.”

Prices of GM seed have also been rising. Last year, the price of GM rose 32 percent while GM soy rose 24 percent. Farmers blame this on lack of competition, the biotech companies can charge whatever they want.

The US Justice Department is looking into complaints of anti-competitive practices in the seed business, where seed giants like Monsanto have raised prices, bought up or pushed aside smaller seed companies, and emphasized genetic engineering over traditional plant breeding.

In spite of these examples of corporate greed, the biotech giants continue to try to sell us on their humanitarian agenda of saving the hungry people of the world through genetic engineering. Monsanto and DuPont want us to believe that the world is greeting genetic engineering with open arms, but the reality is quite opposite. This issue is taken much more seriously by countries around the world than it has been in the US, with people protesting in the streets of India against GM eggplant. The European Union requires genetically modified organisms to be labelled while no such requirement exists here in the US.

Even the data that GM crops increase yields is questionable.

“The technology has really been hyped a lot,” says Doug Gurian-Sherman, author of a 2009 study for the Union of Concerned Scientists that concluded that yield increases have come almost entirely from traditional plant breeding. “Even on a shoestring, conventional breeding way outperforms genetic engineering.”

Since the beginning of this year, we saw Monsanto’s stock price fall 42%. Perhaps investors are beginning to see that there are too many potential risks with the genetic engineering of our food.

“The first seven or eight years it was the greatest thing since sliced bread,” says Bill Johnson, a weed specialist at Purdue University, who called Roundup “arguably the most rapidly adopted agricultural innovation ever.” Now, he says, “We’re going to see the value of it erode over time.”

It can seem daunting at times, standing up for the integrity of our food. But as stories such as this show, it pays to have truth on your side. The biotech companies will keep churning out science experiments that are hailed to be newer and better. But they are working against the forces of nature. As all physicists know, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. As farmers now must deal with superweeds, perhaps they are beginning to see those few years of easy crops were not worth the trouble. There must always be balance.

October 2010 is the first ever Non-GMO month! Keep up the good work everyone.

[via Christian Science Monitor]

Early Onset of the Night wrote:

Basically, the entire chicken is smashed and pressed through a sieve—bones, eyes, guts, and all. it comes out looking like this.

There’s more: because it’s crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia, soaked in it, actually. Then, because it tastes gross, it will be reflavored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color.

We did a show a while back on the advent of using ammonia in beef processing. The crafty engineers at Beef Products Inc. devised a process that would allow meat once relegated as dog food to be eaten by humans. Who knew that ammonia was just as good for cleaning your floors as it is for cleaning your meat?

Mmmm…. tasty.

[Early Onset of the Night via BuzzFeed via Gizmodo]

In this show, we get Dr. Campbell’s viewpoints on the widespread and controversial field of genetic engineering, discuss the response of the medical, meat and dairy industries, and find out what projects he has coming up next.

The core of the book is a combined study of the relationship between various mortality rates and several dietary, lifestyle and environmental characteristics which was conducted jointly by Cornell University, Oxford University and the Chinese Academy of Preventative Medicine over the course of twenty years. Based on the results of this work, Dr. Campbell recommends that people eat a whole food, plant-based diet while avoiding animal products and getting adequate amounts of sunshine to maintain sufficient levels of Vitamin D.

The China Study, published back in 2005, has continued to spread in popularity around world. It currently sits at #103 on the bestseller list on Amazon. Bill Clinton, in a recent CNN interview with Wolf Blitzer, referenced The China Study as one of the key components to healing his heart disease and regaining his physique. Dr. Campbell is getting the message out there that food is medicine and people are listening.

Kalafa spent years packing her kids’ lunches, advocating positive change in her school district’s food and eventually became banned from her children’s’ school cafeteria. Our kids were being sold sugary drinks, cookies and candy for lunch and then expected to sit still and learn. Many were not ever being taught what proper nutrition is and how important it is proper mind-body function. Seeing that this problem was much bigger than her community, she decided to use her film-making abilities and take her message nationwide.

This film currently sweeping the nation takes food documentaries to next level. Not only does it expose the issues, agendas and interests that propagate the old system, it offers strategies for the viewer to take action.

Scahill states that in January 2008, Kevin Wilson, Monsanto’s security manager for global issues, met with a Cofer Black, a representative of Total Intelligence (a Blackwater subsidiary), to discuss protecting the Monsanto company’s brand name. Following the meeting, Black sent an e-mail to other Blackwater executives, stating that they discussed how Total Intelligence “would develop into acting as an intel arm of Monsanto.” and discussed how Blackwater “could have our person(s) actually join [activist] groups legally.”

This may not come as surprise to some following Monsanto’s history of aggressive litigation, political lobbying, and “strong-arming” the seed industry. The company’s actions have made the Monsanto name quite controversial around the world and a target of environmental activists.

In a report compiled in 2005 by The Center for Food Safety, the organization found Monsanto had filed 90 lawsuits against American farmers, involving 147 farms and 39 small businesses or farm companies. Monsanto reserves an annual budget of $10 million dollars and a staff of 75 devoted solely to investigating and prosecuting farmers.

Blackwater itself has quite an embroiled past beginning with the September 2007 incident in which company employees shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians in Nisour Square, Baghdad. According to the New York Times, Blackwater then “created a web of more than 30 shell companies or subsidiaries in part to obtain millions of dollar in American government contracts after the security company came under intense criticism for reckless conduct in Iraq.” Blackwater Worldwide is currently being sued for the Nisour Square event in an amended lawsuit which further alleges the company engaged in kidnapping, weapons smuggling, money laundering, tax evasion, child prostitution, illegal drug use and destruction of evidence.

If the “Healthy Meal Incentive” legislation passes, a meal may include a toy or incentive only if it contains fruits and vegetables, does not exceed 600 calories or 200 calories for a single food item and does not have beverages that have excessive fat or sugar.

As you can expect, the fast-food companies are up in arms and are already planning their lawsuits. Toys and incentives are a powerful marketing tool that drive sales. The mark-up on fruits and vegetables is not as high as it is on chicken nuggets and french fries. This is going to dig into their profits.

As Jamie Oliver has shown us, many kids these days don’t even know what common fruits and vegetables look like. Could this be a way to bring something positive out of the fast-food industry’s marketing dollars?

Kick back and enjoy the show.  Voice your opinion in the comments below.

Ben & Jerry’s co-sponsored a rally and press conference today in front of the White House to ask President Obama to stop the pending approval of this first genetically-engineered animal for human consumption. Other groups present to raise concerns included Food & Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, The Organic Consumers Association, Food Democracy Now and CREDO Action. The Center for Food Safety presented the FDA and President Obama with signed joint letters from over 300 environmental, consumer, health and animal welfare organizations, along with salmon and fishing groups and associations, food companies, chefs and restaurants. Over 160,000 consumers comments were also submitted along with a letter from 14 members of the California state legislature requesting the denial of approval until a “full suite of environmental and food safety concerns are addressed.”

There are many questions to ponder with the issue of a genetically-engineered animal. We already have seen how much cross-contamination can occur with plants that do not have the means to move on their own. AquaBounty claims that only 1% of their GE salmon retain the ability to reproduce. Researchers estimate that 3 million salmon escape from farms around the globe annually. AquaBounty states that their salmon eggs will only be sold to inland fish farms, but who is going to enforce that these eggs do not fall into the hands of a fish farmer in Chile?

These salmon grow three times faster than wild salmon and are more aggressive due to an inserted gene that increases levels of growth hormones. They would have a clear advantage over wild salmon and it would not be long before the new genes would contaminate the entire wild salmon population.

The FDA approved GE salmon based on an AquaBounty-funded study which used samples as low as six fish and determined they did not cause an allergic reaction humans. This article gives a penetrating critique on the science used in AquaBounty’s testing methods.

Yes, there is a problem with world hunger and the biotechnology companies claim to be our saviors. But in our rush for a quick fix, might we be creating even bigger problems in the future? There is a cache of many more GE animals waiting to jump from the lab onto your plate and if this GE salmon gets approved, the flood gates are open. It is certainly a time that we must all begin to pay more attention and to decide… what do we accept?

UPDATE: Other sources are reporting the date of the public hearing to be September 21, 2010 from 9:00am to 4:30pm at the Hilton Hotel in Rockville, MD. On-site registration will be available for those wishing to attend, more info here.

George Kimbrell, senior staff attorney at The Center for Food Safety, lead the charge in suing the U.S. Deparment of Agriculture. The lawsuit argued that the agency did not fully gauge the potential impact of cross-pollination before it approved genetically-engineered sugar beets.

Cross-contamination of fields has been a huge issue in the genetic engineering debate, and many farmers have been sued upon the discovery of patented organisms in their fields. Documentaries such as Food Inc. and The Future of Food show-cased farmers who fought the battle and lost against huge multinational corporations such as Monsanto. In one case, a farmer was forced to destroy the entire supply of seed he spent his life cultivating and adapting to his region. In most instances, faced with a mountain of legal costs, farmers were forced to settle out of court and never utter another word. What was most shocking about these cases was it was clear the farmer had no intention of using the patented organism and it had arrived there without their knowledge. The cross-contamination of fields can happen with a gentle breeze and there is no way to control it.

With this case, along with Monsanto vs Schmeiser we are beginning to see the tables turn in what was looking to be an impossible battle for independent farmers seeking to preserve their way of life.

The approval of sugar beets is currently revoked until the USDA carries out an environment impact study. That could take a couple of years, so unless something new happens before next year, farmers will go back to planting conventional beets next spring.

You can be certain this is not the last you will hear about this, as Monsanto and the bio-tech giants are certainly crafting their appeal as we speak…

[NPR]

High-fructose corn syrup has gotten a lot of bad press lately when studies revealed a link between it’s consumption and an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease. Then there were reports of studies who found the toxic heavy metal mercury in HFCS-containing products. With movies such as Food Inc and King Korn educating people about the negative aspects of this sweetener, sales have been down.

The Corn Refiners Association applied Tuesday to the FDA to allow use of the name ‘corn sugar’ instead of the tarnished ‘high-fructose corn syrup’. It could take the FDA two years to decided on the new name. ‘Corn sugar’ sure sounds a lot healthier and more natural to me, and I am sure it well help boost sales amongst the people who do not stay updated on food news.

For those of you who like to action, and I know many of you reading this do, I am sure there will be an online petition to the FDA soon. We will post the link for that as soon as we get it.

[Grist][Slate]

Some topics covered:

• the effects of stress and agitation while eating.
• fasting, detoxing and dieting.
• the overall health of the body, mind, emotions and spirit.
• the five flavors (sweet, salty, sour, bitter and pungent) and how this relates to creating balance in your diet.
• the importance of intention and responsibility of our food choices and how that relates to overall health.

Join us for a great show!

Join Carol Grieve’, Susan Wright and special guest, Mike Schott, CNC to find out.

Alan Drobnak has been doing extensive research into this topic and it turns out it affects a lot more than just your teeth. This toxic chemical is a by-product of aluminum production and has many detrimental effects on the human mind and body. Fluoride micro-crystals clog the the pineal gland and affects consciousness. As well as being a primary ingredient in Sarin nerve gas and pesticides, fluoride was originally used in Nazi concentration camps to promote passivity amongst the prisoners. The promotion of fluoride as beneficial to human health was a dupe by one of the most clever marketers of our time and is in much more than just your water and toothpaste. Join us for this groundbreaking show as Alan puts it all together and tells us why we should care and what we can do to cleanse and protect our bodies from fluoride.