Wanna Move to Peru?

Peru has officially passed a law banning genetically modified ingredients anywhere within the country for the next ten years.

In a massive blow to multinational agribiz corporations such as Monsanto, Bayer, and Dow, Peru has officially passed a law banning genetically modified ingredients anywhere within the country for a full decade before coming up for another review.

Peru’s Plenary Session of the Congress made the decision 3 years after the decree was written despite previous governmental pushes for GM legalization due largely to the pressure from farmers that together form the Parque de la Papa in Cusco, a farming community of 6,000 people that represent six communities.

They worry the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will compromise the native species of Peru, such as the giant white corn, purple corn and, of course, the famous species of Peruvian potatoes. Anibal Huerta, President of Peru’s Agrarian Commission, said the ban was needed to prevent the ”danger that can arise from the use of biotechnology.”

While the ban will curb the planting and importation of GMOs in the country, a test conducted by the Peruvian Association of Consumers and Users (ASPEC) at the time of the ban’s implementation found that 77 percent of supermarket products tested contained GM contaminants.

”Research by ASPEC confirms something that Peruvians knew all along: GM foods are on the shelves of our markets and wineries, and consumers buy them and take them into their homes to eat without knowing it. Nobody tells us, no one says anything, which involves a clear violation of our right to information,” Cáceres told Gestión. GMOs are so prevalent in the Americas that it is virtually impossible to truly and completely block them, whether through pollination or being sneaked in as processed foods.

“There is an increasing consensus among consumers that they want safe, local, organic fresh food and that they want the environment and wildlife to be protected,” wrote Walter Pengue from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, in a recent statement concerning GMOs in South America. “South American countries must proceed with a broader evaluation of their original agricultural policies and practices using the precautionary principle.”

Source

Note: This decree was signed into effect on April 15th 2011. I guess agribiz corporations didn't want it widely known!

California Homemade Food Act Passed

Last week, the Governor of California signed the California Homemade Act, A.B. 1616 into Law. That sounds like great news, but my sentiments run more along a bloger's post written on the subject back in July, where he said " thanks... for giving us what we should already have...?"

Here's the text of his post; the bold emphasis is mine.

"The legislation is meant to offer people a bit of freedom taken away by the Department of Agriculture that decided moms and sweet little old ladies who fed their families for generations aren’t as smart as the closed-door factories producing our food on conveyor belts, soaking foodstuffs in preservatives, irradiating and pasteurizing to the point of needing “natural flavors” to make the food product taste like eating.

How ludicrous is the current state of food prep and selling due to restrictive regulation? As of right now, my wife could make a loaf of bread and some blackberry jam. A friend could offer to buy that loaf of bread and jar of jam. But if that bread and that jam are not produced in a professional kitchen, that purchase would be considered a misdemeanor in California. Never mind that both parties know each other. Never mind that Rachel is certified by Sacramento County as a Master Food Preserver. Nor that she is an engineer and “wired” a bit more to the, er, meticulous side. Nor mind our kitchen is as spotless as any professional kitchen. Doesn’t matter. The friend who wishes to buy that jam and bread- no matter how much trust there is in Rachel’s food prep, no matter how confident in Rachel, no matter that the friend sampled a loaf and jam from the same batches- that food is ”bad” and cannot be legally sold. My wife, food bootlegger. Of course, she can give it to the friend, that’s ok. But exchange $10 for it, and the food is unfit to eat because it hasn’t been given the Department of Agriculture’s stamp of approval. Snap on the cuffs. Go to jail. Do not collect $200. (Actually, pay a fine, you incompetent and unsanitary food producer, you.)

It makes you think, “Hey, we need a law that would make such a sale legal.” Hence the The California Homemade Food Act, AB 1616. Many are excited about this. I’m not as excited for the simple reason that I don’t feel grateful to the powers that be for “giving us” (through this legislation) a reduced portion of the naturally held right we once had- the right to sell what we make.  I’m not excited about the CDA holding the underlying assumption that we need to be protected from ourselves and our neighbor’s poor sanitation in the kitchen. It’s insulting, patronizing, if not outright degrading. In its way, such over-reaching regulation has made people frighteningly uneducated about what they are eating- its health and quality.

While I half-heartedly support the spirit behind the bill, the other half of my heart holds onto the outrage of being patted on the head, handed a crouton, and told I should be grateful for the fine loaf of bread I’ve just been given." Source

There are similar laws in at least 33 other states (including my state of Virginia), none of which have reported a food-borne illness from non-potentially hazardous foods. In Virginia, home kitchens have to be inspected, and must have a separate food storage area for all the ingredients used in a product, including refrigeration. 

If a product requires a teaspoon of salt, you cannot use the regular box of salt in your kitchen, but have a separate box in a separate area. Further, each and every product must have the exact recipe submitted for approval, and have a USDA approved label. It is a very tedious process, and probably the fees are high. As much as I might have a market for my biscotti, I'd fail going through the hoops.

I'm all for Food Safety, particularly in my own kitchen for my own consumption. However, I would never buy home canned goods like green beans (which are not allowed by Law anyway) because I'd never know if they were properly canned to prevent botulism.



"Prior to the California Homemade Food Act, outdated statutes and local ordinances strictly prohibited everyone from home-based, artisanal bread bakers to small-scale, jam and preserve vendors from selling their products. Now, cottage food producers will be permitted to produce and sell every-day foods such as breads, tortillas, dry roasted nuts and legumes, cookies, granola, churros, jams, jellies and other fruit preserves to their communities. 

Producers choosing to sell directly to consumers will register with the local health department, and those choosing to sell to local retail shops, such as the neighborhood coffee shop or corner store, will be subject to initial inspection and permitting by the local health department. All producers will also be required to complete a food processor course, verify that the home kitchen meets specific standards, and disclose on the product label that the product was made in a home kitchen." Source

Speaking out of both sides of the mouth

The most important opportunity to affect the control the Corporate Agribusiness has over our foods is Proposition 37 on the California ballot in November. Prop. 37 is the Right to Know (what's in our food), mandating GMO labelling.

All Proposition 37 does is require clear labels letting consumers know if foods are genetically modified. We already have food labels showing nutrition, allergy information and other facts consumers want to know. This measure simply adds information telling us if food is produced using genetic engineering, which is when food is modified in a laboratory by adding DNA from other plants, animals, bacteria or viruses.    

I think the California vote on Prop. 37 is perhaps even more important that the Presidential vote. After all, no matter who is elected President, he will still have 535 Voting Members of Congress to deal with anything he wants to change or accomplish. However, if Prop. 37 passes, it will ultimately inform every one of us in the U.S. who purchases food because it will be too costly and cumbersome for corporations to have different food labels for foods sold in different states.

Most of us imagine that anything "organic" (by Law non-GMO) would automatically be on the side to defeat the proposition, yet many large corporations that produce or market organic foods have helped put over $26 MILLION into the war chest to defeat the initiative. How can these corporations market some foods as good for us, yet refuse to label what's in the other foods they market?

        Kellogg’s (Kashi, Bear Naked, Morningstar Farms);
        General Mills (Muir Glen, Cascadian Farm, Larabar);
        Dean Foods (Horizon, Silk, White Wave);
        Smucker’s (R.W. Knudsen, Santa Cruz Organic);
        Coca-Cola (Honest Tea, Odwalla);
        Safeway (‘O’ Organics);
        Kraft (Boca Burgers and Back to Nature);
        Con-Agra (Orville Redenbacher’s Organic, Hunt’s Organic, Lightlife); and
        PepsiCo (Naked Juice, Tostito’s Organic, Tropicana Organic).

On the other hand, there are many smaller organic leaders supporting the Proposition. By enlarging the poster above, you can see the companies donating to the cause. Please support them and their products when possible!  

The current Administration has deregulated more genetically modified foods than ever. From plums to alfalfa and even sugar beets. But it's not just that so many crops are modified (93% of all soy, 86% of corn, and 93% of canola seeds are now genetically modified) it's that there's currently no labeling system in place so that we know what we're buying. 

We are one of the few industrialized nations that doesn't require labeling of GMO foods. In the past year alone 19 U.S. states have attempted to pass GMO labeling laws, but each time Monsanto and biotech lobbyists have threatened to sue. Only Alaska, with its huge wild salmon industry, has passed a biotech seafood labeling law.

Most of us would like to believe that our foods come from nature, but that's far from the case. In 40 countries, including Australia, Japan and all European Union nations, there are significant restrictions or outright bans on the production of GMOs because they are not considered proven safe.

Update: Giant pesticide and big food companies have so far donated more than $37 million to defeat Yes on 37 to label GMOs in California. Earlier this spring, the Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA), of which Monsanto is a leading partner, declared that defeating Prop 37 was its single highest priority for 2012.

Monsanto just funneled another $2.9 million dollars to defeat California’s Prop 37 to label genetically engineered foods. This comes on top of their $4.2 million dollar pledge only weeks ago and brings Monsanto’s combined total to more than $7.1 million dollars!  That’s a huge pile of cash and it’s dedicated to only one thing – denying us the Right to Know what’s in our food.

My Question: Did Monsanto just kick in more $$ because they are concerned the People might actually WIN??

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A Front Yard Garden Victory!

I recently posted about the gorgeous but doomed to be destroyed front yard vegetable garden of a couple in Quebec here.

I'm happy to report not only a victory for them, but a change in the city's new guidelines for urban gardens!

Over 30,000 gardeners took action over the past three weeks in support of the food garden cause. The first and most important was the Drummondville front yard garden case which attracted over 30,000 petition signatures and significant international media. Earlier this week, the Drummondville Municipal Council announced that henceforth front yard kitchen gardens will be allowed, and have even invited the gardeners, Josée Landry and Michel Beauchamp, to help shape the city's new guidelines for urban food gardens. You can see the news story translated here.

It's nice to win one, but a pain in the arse for what we have to do to enable our basic rights.

 

The War on American Soil

Yes, there really IS a war on American soil, and it's about our Rights to real food... and being force-fed adulterated and nutritionally unhealthy foods instead. This war on our right to control what we eat could grow into a major conflict, and the Feds have already brandished guns on food raids.

I ended up being admitted to my local hospital 2 weeks ago, with what they thought were cardiac problems. Immediately they put me on a "heart-healthy, low-sodium diet", and if I had been there long enough I might have starved. It wasn't the lack of salt on the foods, but that most of the foods were inferior to the point of absurdity. In fact, one meal had canned green beans (commercially canned) that were so full of sodium I couldn't eat them. So much for a low-sodium diet. The only exception was a cup of fresh sliced apples with a few grapes for contrast. The other cooked fruit dishes (and juice cups) were so high in sugar (or some kind of sweetener) I gagged. No wonder we have an obesity epidemic, and skyrocketing diabetes.

The "butter" for my hospital wonderbread toast was Promise®, which is 60% GMO vegetable oils, water, whey from milk, with some chemicals and chemical vitamins added. How healthy is that? They gave me a list of foods to avoid, like processed cheese and hot dogs. Hell, I already avoid all those foods, and most intelligent people know they are not "real food".

I've been thinking about the control the government is trying to take on all of our foods. What started as a "war on drugs" 40 years ago has mushroomed into the government believing it has the authority to control everything we put into our bodies. (They only control alcoholic beverages and cigarettes to collect tax on it, not how much anyone consumes.) The war on drugs isn't being won either, and they are putting more pressure on controlling foods and supplements. Their propaganda machine (the CDC, Center for Disease Control, government owned and operated) has been working overtime, to the extent that almost everyone "buys" it, even doctors. "If the CDC says it's so, then it must be."

I do understand the need for some controls for food safety, like imported supplements of unknown safety, and particularly those foods that come from factory farms like milk, beef, pork, eggs and chicken. Some of those facilities are so foul that I won't eat anything from there no matter how safe they try to make it.

No milk comes from a factory farm that isn't pasteurized by law (cooked to destroy all pathogens but the cooking also destroys healthy nutrients like essential fatty-acids, enzymes and vitamins). The CDC says raw milk is unhealthy, but their own data from 1993-2006 shows on average 76,000,000 food-borne illnesses per year and only 116 of those were from raw milk.

A presidential election is coming in the fall, and I'll bet my last fiat dollar that food rights are never mentioned. I'll also bet that sooner or later, mothers are going to wise-up about nutrition and wage war on the government control of real food.

No GMO Apples!

"A small BC (British Columbia) company called Okanagan Specialty Fruits (OSF) has developed a genetically modified apple that will not turn brown when it is cut, even though 10 years ago, the genetically engineered (or genetically modified, GM) “non-browning” apple was actually driven out of Canada when BC apple growers successfully stopped planned field trials at a local government research station. Nonetheless, the company has now asked Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) for approval.

When apple flesh is cut and exposed to oxygen, it begins to brown. But the GM apple or “Arctic Apple,” as the company calls it, “will decay naturally just like any other apple, but it will not turn brown from bruising, cutting or biting – not in minutes, hours or days.” In fact, the company president has told reporters the GM apple will not brown for 15 to 18 days.

But browning in fruit is not a problem; on the contrary, it’s helpful information. Without this visual cue for freshness, we could be eating apple pieces that are old and decaying. Non-browning is a cosmetic change that consumers have not asked for, especially as we already have techniques that slow browning – in our kitchens, we use lemon juice and the food service industry uses ascorbic acid (vitamin C).

OSF is asking for approval to sell two varieties of genetically engineered apples: GM Golden Delicious and GM Granny Smith, but president Neal Carter also says, “Our Arctic program isn’t going to stop with golden and the granny; those are just the first out of the pipe.” In fact, OSF says they are planning to engineer Gala and Fuji apples and also lists “future products” that include cherries and pears with the same non-browning technology.

OSF says the US could approve the GM apple this year and by 2014 it could be on sale in Canada. While our government has set up regulation to approve GM foods quickly and quietly, without any consideration of the impact on farmers and consumers, the GM apple and proposed GM alfalfa are putting this system to the test. While the federal government ignores the negative effects on farmers, local and regional governments cannot. On May 28, the City of Richmond just south of Vancouver, unanimously passed a resolution that states, “No further GM crops, trees or plants should be grown in the City of Richmond. This also includes GM fruit trees, all GM plants and shrubbery, GM vegetables, GM commodity crops and any and all field tests for medical and experimental GM crops.”

Source

Government Crackdowns and Food Control

I haven't posted a rant about the government controlling what I eat in quite a while, but this news item below caught my eye. To me, it just sets up another means of the government tracking and ultimately controlling what I can grow in my own garden.

Utah Garden Challenge (for Suckers)

The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food is promoting the Utah Garden Challenge in order to collect information about independent food production for the USDA.

The Utah Garden Challenge is a voluntary contest to register 10,000 gardens. The data mining project has a broad interest in any "resource" who is growing food:

"Whether you grow a tomato in a pot, a row in a community garden, have backyard gardens, a CSA or working fruit and vegetable farm, we want to hear from you because you are an important resource as a food producer."

While the contest paints a proud face on independent food production, it is important to remember that registering with the government sets up a system to track, tax, permit or confiscate the registered item. Gun ownership is a good example of this scheme.

According to a pop-up window on the official website, participants' gardens will be registered with the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS):

"We need to know how much food is being produced in Utah. The Census of Agriculture is done every 5 years.  Every agricultural operation in Utah, regardless of size, is vital to this question.  If you produce $1000 of agricultural products, you can influence economic development and decision making by filling out a NASS survey.  We will only share your information with NASS by your permission.  Your response to the census of agriculture is protected by law.  For more information, you can go to www.agcensus.gov  "

In other words, people who produce $1000 or more worth of food have an impact on the food market, and the USDA wants to know about what you are doing in your backyard.

Victory gardens in America produced up to 40% of all vegetables consumed during World War II, with over 20 millon home gardens and community plots that produced over 9 million tons of food.

The USDA is notorious for its corrupt partnerships and revolving door business relationships with big commercial agriculture.

Government Crackdowns and Food Control
Food is under attack because if you can grow your own food, have access to water and shelter, then what use do you have for a government master?

The federal government has profoundly overstepped its constitutional authority on all fronts, and there are a number of examples of the USDA's outrageous control over food that include SWAT team raids on raw milk sellers and fruit tree confiscation. 

The Food Safety Modernization Act expanded the power of the FDA and its sister agency, the USDA.  The law is bad for many reasons and is an overwhelming burden on small and independent farmers due to over-regulation and increase in paperwork and reporting. 

Additionally, the FBI identifies people who store food as potential terrorists! 

Why Is Utah a Threat?
1.  A few months ago Utah voted down a Food Freedom Bill that would have made it a crime for anyone, including Utah state agents, to enforce the Food Safety Modernization Act's unconstitutional mandates.  It would have made farmers who trade only inside of state lines exempt.  The bill was a direct constitutional challenge to federal overreach.

2. Highland City, Utah passed a Food Freedom ordinance that exempts residents from federal regulations on food that is produced, exchanged and consumed within city limits (state laws still apply).

3.  Utah has the largest concentration of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as Mormons) who have an official policy of food storage, currently set at a 1-year minimum supply.  This may be construed as a threat by the FBI, especially since a 1-year supply of food can cost as little as $225.

Conclusion
Survivalist.com points out that the Utah Garden Challenge is linked to the United Nations Agenda 21 Sustainable Development plan for totalitarian control. 

The Utah Garden Challenge is enticing Utahans with meager prizes (a 1-in-1000 chance of winning a giftcard or free restaurant dinner) to register their gardens and subject themselves to invasive government data mining.  But is your food independence worth it?

Demanding GMO Labeling

http://www.organicconsumersfund.org/donate/moneybomb.cfm

All of our persistence and insistence in the U.S. for labeling GMO ingredients in our foods has been ignored for years because Money Talks, but we finally have an opportunity to change that by a public vote. 

Which way California votes will largely determine the future of what we all eat and what we grow all over the country. If we can force GMO labeling in California - the eighth largest economy in the world, and a population of nearly 40 million people - consumers will finally know what's in their foods and can choose to avoid buying foods containing GMOs. Labeling laws in CA will affect packaging and ingredient decisions nation-wide.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In victory rallies across state today, supporters celebrated as the California Right to Know campaign filed 971,126 signatures for the state's first-ever ballot initiative to require labeling of genetically engineered foods. The huge signature haul, gathered in a 10-week period, is nearly double the 555,236 signatures the campaign needs to qualify for the November ballot. 

If passed this November, Californians will join citizens of over 40 countries including all of Europe, Japan and even China who have the right to know whether they are eating genetically engineered food.

Of course, I'm not in California so I cannot cast a vote, but I can send a few $$ to support the effort to get the ballot passed. My own Right to Know is at stake! 

Monsanto and their minions have billions invested in GMO's and are pouring millions of dollars into California, lobbying and advertising to defeat this initiative, trying convince people that GMO's are safe, and labeling is not only unnecessary but will drive up the cost of foods. (The bill has been carefully written to ensure that it will not increase costs to consumers or producers).  

The best thing those of us in other states can do is to financially support the campaign in California, because if they lose... we all lose. I'm encouraging you to make a donation to the campaign behind the grassroots-powered citizens' ballot initiative (California Right to Know GMO Labeling Campaign) to require GMO labeling. It's time to put our money where our mouth is!

Mercola.com, the largest alternative health website in the world, along with a group of leading organic companies including Nature's Path, Lundberg Family Farms, and Eden Foods, pledged another one million dollars to the campaign - but only if the campaign also reaches a goal of $1 million by May 26. 

For decades, Monsanto has controlled the world's food supply by buying off politicians and regulatory agencies, intimidating small farmers, manipulating the outcome of scientific studies, lying to consumers - and threatening to sue states like Vermont if they dare to pass a GMO labeling law. It's time we have a choice in our foods, and we can't choose if we don't know what's in them. 

Labeling genetically engineered foods is a wildly popular idea and enjoys nearly unanimous support across the political spectrum. A March 2012 Mellman Group poll found that 9 out of 10 American voters favor labeling for genetically engineered food.

Every dollar you contribute will go directly into the California Right to Know ballot initiative and other state GMO labeling campaigns, including a legal defense fund to defend states that pass GMO labeling laws from Monsanto lawsuits. 

It's time to put our money where our mouth is!

"Pink Slime" in Hamburger, what about Chicken???

This is mechanically separated chicken, an invention of the late 20th century. This particular paste, chicken -- is the main ingredient in chicken nuggets, chicken hot dogs, chicken bologna, and an ingredient in things like pepperoni, salami, jerky etc, etc. Mechanically separated chicken is also treated with ammonia for sterilization purposes, just as is Pink Slime. If you see the words 'finely textured' before the name of the meat, this is what you are eating...

Someone figured out in the 1960′s that meat processors can eke out a few more percent of profit from chickens, turkeys, pigs, and cows by scraping the bones 100% clean of meat. This is done by machines, not humans, by passing bones leftover after the initial cutting through a high pressure sieve. The paste you see in the picture above is the result.

The industry calls this method AMR – Advanced Meat Recovery.

The definition of "meat" was amended in December 1994 to include any "meat" product that is produced by advanced meat/bone separation machinery. "This meat is comparable in appearance, texture, and composition to meat trimmings and similar meat products derived by hand." This machinery separates meat from bone by scraping, shaving, or pressing the meat from the bone without breaking or grinding the bone. Product produced by advanced meat recovery (AMR) machinery can be labeled using terms associated with hand-deboned product (e.g., "pork trimmings" and "ground pork").

Mechanically Separated Meat (MSM)
Mechanically separated meat is a paste-like and batter-like meat product produced by forcing bones, with attached edible meat, under high pressure through a sieve or similar device to separate the bone from the edible meat tissue.

Mechanically Separated Poultry (MSP)
Mechanically separated poultry is a paste-like and batter-like poultry product produced by forcing bones, with attached edible tissue, through a sieve or similar device under high pressure to separate bone from the edible tissue. Mechanically separated poultry has been used in poultry products since the late 1960's. In 1995, a final rule on mechanically separated poultry said it was safe and could be used without restrictions. However, it must be labeled as "mechanically separated chicken or turkey" in the product's ingredients statement. 

The final rule became effective November 4, 1996. Hot dogs can contain any amount of mechanically separated chicken or turkey.
Source

Are you really comfortable now with the meats the supermarkets are selling, or those in the fast food drive-throughs? Actually I do not blame them in general... they just buy a product they are told is edible (and aren't we all gullible?), and sell it to us. I blame the USDA and FSIS for allowing the corporate pressures and financial contributions of BigAg to determine what we eat.

Preschooler’s Homemade Lunch Replaced with Cafeteria “Nuggets”

I certainly agree that kids should have a balanced lunch, and not just the pre-schoolers, but all kids. But for some inspector to decide that cafeteria chicken(?) nuggets breaded and fried in a GMO oil are better than a homemade turkey and cheese sandwich just doesn't cut it. 

Moreover, what kind of message are they giving a 4 year old by the state officers inspecting their lunch bags? A message that the state is all-knowing and in control, and the mother is just dumb and too incompetent to pack a good lunch? This is really outrageous!!

I also notice there's nothing about a child's food allergies included in the mandates. Will kids have to have their allergies tattooed on their arms so every new inspector can read it? 

Preschooler’s Homemade Lunch Replaced with Cafeteria “Nuggets”

State agent inspects sack lunches, forces preschoolers to purchase cafeteria food instead 

By Carolina Journal News Reports (click for full story)

RAEFORD — A preschooler at West Hoke Elementary School ate three chicken nuggets for lunch Jan. 30 because the school told her the lunch her mother packed was not nutritious.

The girl’s turkey and cheese sandwich [on white whole wheat bread, ~editor], banana, potato chips, and apple juice did not meet U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, according to the interpretation of the person who was inspecting all lunch boxes in the More at Four classroom that day.

The Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs - including in-home day care centers - to meet USDA guidelines. That means lunches must consist of one serving of meat, one serving of milk, one serving of grain, and two servings of fruit or vegetables, even if the lunches are brought from home.

Some USDA school and general nutrition links:

http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/regulations.htm

http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns/nutrition.htm

Cooking a Frog

You’ve probably heard the old saying before: "If you want to cook a frog, you can’t toss it into a pot of boiling water because it will just jump out. Instead, you put it in the water first and then slowly turn the temperature up. The frog will slowly adjust to the change until it’s too late."

I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't what's happening to the control over the foods we eat. Rather than implementing strict controls all at once, "incrementalism" makes small changes over time in an atmosphere where people are usually resistant to change. This is especially easy if you add the fear about food "safety" to the mix.

The fear about food safety is now so wide-spread that it ranks right up there with terrorism. The American Public, thanks to government and media hype, has come to believe that even our food and water is subject to a terrorist attack; therefore, we have become hypervigilant and have allowed laws to be passed that curtail our basic food freedoms. In fact, the FBI now can prosecute anyone as a terrorist if they expose animal welfare abuses taking place on factory farms like feedlots, slaughter houses or poultry houses.

Now I am not saying an attack on our food and water could not happen... surely some home-grown malcontent, or even a foreign terrorist, could find a way to poison any water supply, or any fresh produce shipment, but is it prudent to control the entire food supply (and diminish the nutrients) to the extent the government now does, or proposes to do? Where is MY choice for the chemical-free food I prefer to eat?

The Devil is in the Details. "It’s the Farm Bill that largely shapes food and agriculture policy, and — though much of it finances good programs [like food stamps and WIC ~editor] — ultimately supports the cynical, profit-at-any-cost food system that drives obesity, astronomical health care costs, ethanol-driven agriculture and more, creating further deficits while punishing the environment." (Source)

I eat fresh local fruit and vegetables from family farmers I have come to know personally. (I'm pretty sure there are no terrorists among them, nor do I believe they are out to poison me.). So why should that fresh food be subject to the same, and very expensive food packaging mechanization, chemical washing, and handling requirements for the massive produce shippers from several thousand miles away, who must contend with multiple handling of the foods and multiple storage sites of their "fresh" foods for weeks until it finally hits the shelves?

Will the next regulation require Federal testing of the produce I grow in my own garden before I am allowed to eat it?

"If you control the food supply, you control the people." ~Henry Kissinger

ps... I'm almost through ranting about adulterated food... for a while, at least. Soon it will be time to start the 2012 garden and have my own real foods to eat again!

2012... and Beyond

NASA Goddard Photo

The year 2012 should be interesting.

Many folks have an underlying (or at least partial) belief running through their subconscious mind that Nostradamus' and the Mayan "end of the World" scenarios might happen. However, most of our overt behavior indicates total disbelief not only in Doomsday predictions, but also in accepting the critical food/water/health situation worldwide. (Isn't the media wonderful?) Our changing weather patterns continue to impose hardships on many of our lives and gardens, giving credence to possible violent environmental changes that could be coming to this lovely blue planet we occupy.

Personally, I do not believe the "end of the world" will happen in December 2012. However, the environmental, economical and political changes are not only continuing, but increasing... and it could get right nasty down the road.

There is another prediction out there, proclaimed by many, that the "changes" will usher in a "thousand-year era of Peace". IMO, there is much that needs to be significantly altered before real Peace can happen.

On our food and health aspects for change, it is time for us to increase our awareness and ethical/moral responsibility beyond what the for-profit television and advertising media tell us... because ultimately our health/future Is NOT Up to Someone Else.

GMO's have proliferated simply because we didn't raise any flags in the beginning. It is our own fault. For too many years we have allowed ourselves to believe that others ("medical professionals and government officials?") know best, or at least know what they are doing. We are bombarded hundreds of times a day by subtle advertising messages indicating "they" are more educated and/or informed than we are, so the vast majority have given up individual responsibility for our own health and well-fare. Our self-inflicted ignorance has let the government (and us) buy into corporate hype of all kinds (which interestingly also put money in many, many pockets). 

Thus the many corporate tribes and alphabet government agencies motivated by... (power? greed? or something else??) have given us obesity and disease by catering to and building on a human weakness for convenience, sugar and other junk foods. We have become a nation of addicts... and we are addicted to all kinds of substances. For far too many people [including children], it is sugary beverages and junk foods, while for others it might be an escape into alcohol or drugs. But as with any addiction, we never think with 100% clarity under the influence... and will do almost anything to keep getting our "fix" in spite of what our minds know. 

As a nation, we eat more so called "food" and gain less energy (nutrition) from it all the time. The working mother eating the SAD diet (Standard American Diet) has NO energy left to prepare real food meals when she comes home from work, even if she could buy real food anymore in most places. (She says she doesn't have "time" but in reality, she also doesn't have the "energy".) So instead of having enough energy to prepare a real food meal, she barely has the energy to pick up junk fast food on the way home, or frozen boxed junk food to nuke for dinner for the family. Eating this way, she never gains a storehouse of energy for the next day, and simply repeats the process over and over, becoming more frazzled every day from lack of good nutrition. 

Adele Davis always said a food without nutrients would not support life, and her example was a loaf of factory bread left on the counter (unwrapped) for weeks. It might dry out, but it would not support any bacterial life to decompose it. If it won't even support bacterial life, how could it support life for us?? Recently someone left a McD's cheeseburger on the counter for a whole year, and nothing grew there either. It sustained no bacterial life. (Source)

Change is never easy, but for the most part it can be started in small steps. Two years ago when I changed my food intake drastically to eliminate adulterated foods all at once (including foods with added sweeteners), I thought I would starve to death during the first 2-3 weeks. It took a long time for me to learn to think outside the box and change from what I had been accustomed to eating for years, to finding real foods to eat. Then as I started feeling the increased energy every day from eating real food (and probably eliminating some built-up toxins during that time), I began to understand what sugar and chemical-laden foods do to my body.

Unfortunately over the last year, I have slowly added some adulterated foods back to my diet, and I really see the poor consequences, both in my energy levels... and my weight. The good news is that I never deviated from my commitment to eating only grass-fed meats. I'm doing much better now in avoiding chemical-laden packaged foods (thus no GMO's) but where I am still struggling is to get sugars out of my diet again. The traditional and accepted flush of sweet goodies over the holidays put me right back into sugar addiction, and I really cannot totally blame the food industry... They only make the stuff; it's my hand that lifts the cookie to my mouth. 

Then there are the sweets in other foods... "research and development teams have done studies and conducted taste panels that have found sweet sells. The more we sell sweet stuff the more people come to expect it. Sweet is found in loads of savory items. Sweet tomato sauces, crackers, salad dressings, mustards, coated chicken products, sausages, and more. Many of our fresh products are enhanced with sugar also. Butterball turkey, pumped brined pork loins, stewing hens. Our palates are being distorted by sweet." (Source)
 

Some small but positive steps:

Make a commitment to one family meal every week or two that contains only real foods. Nothing from a chemical-laden package (cookie/cake mix, packaged salad dressings, sweetened yogurt, BBQ sauce, yada, yada), no GMO's. You probably cannot escape the GMO's in the meats from factory meat animals, including chickens and their eggs, unless you can afford pastured meats... but start somewhere. No fake butters, no canola or soy oils (both GMO's), no sugar substitutes, nothing fake. I know many of the regular readers of this blog eat real foods almost exclusively... but perhaps just as many readers do not.

Make the time for a friendly email or telephone call to your local congressional representative saying you'd like to see food labels that state GMO or not, and hopefully even whether routine animal antibiotics in healthy animals were used. Tell them politely that you'd like to know what's actually in your food.

It may take years of persistence, but remember the soil in our yards is the result of eons of weathering effects on rocks that turned them into soil.

It CAN Happen Here

There is a long history of populations saying, "It can't happen here..." and then it does. There is a new food bill pending in New Zealand that takes away the human "right" to grow food and save seeds, and instead makes it a government-authorized "privilege" that can be revoked on any pretext.

I've heard for years about the freedom hazards of adopting Codex Alimentarius, which is a world-wide attempt at regulating foods, vitamins and OTC medicines/herbal medicines, and now even water. Codex is what's behind the move to take supplements off the shelves in the US and make it necessary to get a doctor's prescription for vitamins.

The spin on Codex is food safety, but I believe it is more about control pushed by BigAg, BigPharma, and BigBusiness in general. For sure, food safety is a major concern to all of us, but that phrase is used to push the buttons on an uninformed public to get legislation passed. We'll pass almost any ridiculous Law if it guarantees food safety, even with a great but hidden expense to our freedom to choose.

I get frequent email updates from the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA/FSIS), along with updates from CMS.gov and and every week we move closer to full acceptance and implementation of Codex here in the US.

Here are 2 quotes from the article I read about the New Zealand Bill: 

"I read that the bill is being brought in because of the WTO [World Trade Organisation], which of course has the US FDA behind it, and of course that is influenced by big business (Monsanto and other players). It looks like this NZ food bill will pave the way to reduce the plant diversity and small owner operations in New Zealand, for example by way of controlling the legality of seed saving and trading/barter/giving away; all will be potentially illegal. The best website to read about the problems with the new bill is http://nzfoodsecurity.org".

"- The Government has created this bill to keep in line with its World Trade Organisation obligations under an international scheme called Codex Alimentarius (“Food Book”). So it has to pass this bill in one form or another." (emphasis mine)

Already in the US, new regulations about cleaning seeds (Multi-million dollar special equipment now required for each seed type) has put many non-GMO seed sellers out of business.

I just downloaded the 252 page Codex bulletin on milk. It will take a while to read and decipher because many regs are based on mandates listed elsewhere on Codex, rather than in the brochure. Typical legalese! I suspect I will find the USDA push against raw milk has a foundation somewhere in Codex. JMHO.

"Lobbying" Victories for Victory Gardens

Growing our own food anywhere we can on our own property should not be against the Law. Here's a few recent cases where public outcry and support has helped return "Common Sense" instead of "Jail and Loss of Gardens". In effect, it's public lobbying... free, and in support of our rights, as opposed to those $$$'s lobbying congressional lawmakers in the name of profit.

Adam Keeps His Front Yard Garden!
Memphis high school teacher, Adam Guerrero, was ordered to remove his garden or face legal action.  After a social media outcry to the tune of thousands of supporters, and even some national media attention, Guerrero's story moves toward a happy resolution: He will keep his front yard garden, although better trimmed, install a bubbler and introduce mosquito-eating fish into his existing backyard pond, reduce the number of on-site worm bins, and install mesh covers on his rain barrels to keep mosquitoes out. 

And it gets even better because the city of Memphis was so impressed by the support Adam and his garden received that it's going to help him locate a lot in his neighborhood for a new community garden. (Source)

Michigan Woman Faced 93 days in Jail for Front Yard Garden: Charges Dropped!

According to Mrs. Bass' latest post on her blog, the misdemeanor charge against her for growing vegetables in her front yard has been dropped. Her attorney went to the courthouse earlier today to file a motion to dismiss the charges, and was told that the charges had already been dropped. However: the ordinance has not been changed, and Mrs. Bass still has her garden. We'll be keeping an eye on this story for further developments. (Source)

Toronto Changing Ordinance; Will Allow Front Yard Vegetable Gardens
Last summer, the Oliveira family of Toronto planted a front yard vegetable garden. Their four children loved it, the neighbors admired it, and the Oliveira family enjoyed harvesting home grown food from their yard. The city of Toronto's Traffic Planning Department did not share their enthusiasm.

They issued a letter telling the family they had to remove the garden.

Local newspaper columnists and media picked up the story. The family received support from all over the world. Letters and phone calls poured into the Traffic Planning department.

And the city saw the light. As of this spring, they're rewriting the city ordinances! Previously, sod was the only acceptable material for the front yard of a residence. The city is now adopting an ordinance which will permit the use of "soft landscaping" -- plants other than grass, including flowers, shrubs, and -- (yes!) vegetables.

A combination of media coverage and the support of people from around the world made the difference for the Oliveira family and their garden. Here's hoping the same is true for other gardeners dealing with overzealous city bureaucrats, intent on maintaining the status quo rather than adapting to a new reality. Growing our own food was once common, and it is becoming more common again. We should have the right to grow food, regardless of what bureaucrats and nosy neighbors think. (Source)

British Columbia Man Faces Six Months in Jail for Growing Food

I haven't seen any updates on this case. Does anybody know?

Of course, it isn't all that way... 

Wisconsin Judge Patrick J. Fielder recently said:  "no, Plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to consume the milk from their own cow;"

And in a kind of exclamation point, he added this to his list of no-nos: "no, Plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to produce and consume the foods of their choice..."

(Source)

 

The Food Threat to Our Health

I don't usually post what others have written, but this is too important not to pass on in case you missed it elsewhere. I generally prefer to write about what we can do at home for ourselves to combat what the government is doing against our Health and Well-Being, but sometimes that is not enough.

Genetically Modified Crops in the Food Supply: The Threat to Your Health
by Judith McGeary, Esq. – May 9, 2011

"The case against genetically modified (GM) crops has been growing for years.  While there are no long-term studies on the health effects of eating food from GM crops, even short-term studies have raised very troubling questions.  For example, a panel of scientists in India recently reviewed studies that purported to show that GM crops modified to produce Bt were safe. The reviewers concluded that the studies did not meet international standards, did not accurately summarize the results, and “ignored toxic endpoints” that occurred in rats that were fed the GM grain for just 3 months.  The rats suffered organ and system damage to ovaries, spleens, and the immune system, and demonstrated toxic effects to the liver [L. Gallagher, BT Brinjal Event EEa: The Scope and Adequacy of the GEAC Toxicological Risk Assessment: Review of Oral Toxicity Studies in Rats (2010)].  Other studies have come to similar conclusions, namely that even a relatively short period of feeding GM foods to lab animals indicate serious potential health impacts.

Despite that, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to allow GM crops to enter our food supply without labeling, leaving the majority of Americans in the dark about the fact that almost every processed food contains ingredients from GM corn, soy, and/ or canola.


As serious as these problems are, the concerns over GM crops rose to an even higher level recently. On January 17, 2011, Dr. Don M. Huber, an internationally recognized plant pathologist and Professor Emeritus from Purdue University, sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack warning him of a previously unknown pathogen that "should be treated as an emergency."  As explained in the letter, the pathogen poses a serious threat to plant health, animal health, and potentially human health – and has been connected to GM crops engineered to be resistant to the herbicide Roundup, whose active ingredient is glyphosate.

“Roundup Ready” crops, as they are called, allow farmers to spray the herbicide glyphosate to kill weeds throughout the growing season.  This has two effects: it significantly increases the amount of glyphosate used, and results in glyphosate residues on the crop itself.

As outlined in Dr. Huber’s letter and subsequent materials, veterinarians first identified this organism in livestock herds experiencing extremely high rates, up to 45%, of spontaneous abortions and infertility rates of 20% and higher. The vets confirmed that the pathogen was the cause of the problem, and then searched for the source of the pathogen, ultimately finding it in the animals’ feed. The contaminated feeds were made from Roundup Ready soy, Roundup Ready corn, and crops raised for feed in fields treated with glyphosate.

The connection was then made with plant pathologists who have been working to understand the growing scope and severity of plant diseases such as Goss’ Wilt in corn and Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) in soybeans. When examined, the new pathogen was found in very high levels in the infected crops.

Dr. Huber’s January letter urged Secretary Vilsack not to approve Roundup Ready alfalfa and to conduct research on the relationship between Roundup Ready crops, glyphosate, and this new pathogen. The USDA chose to ignore this warning and less than three weeks later approved two new GMO crops, including Monsanto’s Roundup Ready alfalfa, creating a threat to the primary forage feed crop for US livestock.

The letter, although intended to be confidential, was leaked by a third party, after which Dr. Huber gave permission for the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance and others to post it.  The now-public letter unleashed a storm of accusations and recriminations, including a quick response from Monsanto.  Yet, while Monsanto and its allies attacked the letter, they presented no evidence that contradicted it – just their own unsupported claims that circled around Dr. Huber’s statements without addressing them directly.

At the request of other scientists and European leaders, Dr. Huber wrote a second, more in-depth letter in March which can be read at the Farm and Ranch Freedom website. 

Food Democracy Now! released an exclusive 20-minute interview with Dr. Huber.  We encourage everyone to view it and share it with their friends and neighbors.  If you have trouble downloading the full video because of the file size, shorter segments of it are posted on the website of Food Democracy Now!

The FDA should impose an immediate moratorium on GM alfalfa and sugar beets."

Can someone tell me WHY the FDA doesn't put our health interests in the forefront, other than Follow the Money??

It's NOT the cucumbers, nor the spinach...

I've been reading a lot about the current E.coli outbreak in Europe. E.coli isn't new, nor are the outbreaks... only these strains are thought to be "new"... meaning they have morphed into being antibiotic resistant because of the abundance of antibiotics fed to CAFO animals as a safety precaution rather than for actual infections. (They also feed the antibiotics to help the animals gain weight.)

In my opinion there is one primary source to almost all of the outbreaks, and it goes hand in hand with overfeeding antibiotics to healthy animals: using their poorly-treated (if treated at all) animal wastes on fields, where contaminated waste containing antibiotic-resistant bacteria not only infects the fields, it enters the creeks, rivers and our water table as contaminated run-off.

The amount of daily animal waste from just one CAFO is astounding; they sometimes put it in ponds but eventually it goes on fields, carrying bacteria like antibiotic-resistant E.coli along with it. A few days ago, in a post about Fresh Milk, I mentioned one CAFO dairy in CA with 8,000 cows, responsible for a deadly outbreak in the early 1970's. Can you imagine how much the daily amount of feces is from 8,000 cows? Multiply that by the thousands of cow, hog, chicken and turkey CAFO's around the US. What do you think they do with that much shit?

So, is BigAg-controlled government going to go after unhealthy waste products and the abuse of CAFO animal antibiotics in the US? I doubt it. They will most likely just increase the already strict requirements and inspections for the small farmer, be it a farmer who grows 2 acres of tomatoes and cucumbers, or the local farmer's market guy who grows a small patch of tomatoes and cukes in his side yard. The Big Guys will still get away with putting contaminated crap on vegetable fields and over-use of antibiotics.

Added 6/8/2011: 

Superbug Suit: Groups Sue FDA Over Risky Use of Human Antibiotics in Animal Feed

Maybe there's Hope?

Fresh (Raw) Milk!

Photo by dybarber

I use FRESH milk, and I choose not to call it RAW, which implies it needs treatment to consume. It does NOT. Fresh milk is far healthier than the CAFO (Confined Animal Feeding Operation) milk sold in stores. Fresh milk is nutritious, and safe as long as you find a scrupulously clean dairy; hygiene starts in the dairy.  Local milk is the best because you can actually visit the farm, inspect the operation, and get to know the farmer!

People have been drinking fresh milk for many centuries, usually from their own cow, sheep, and goat, but sometimes from camel, yak, or water buffalo depending on the animals they kept. They knew to keep everything clean, just as local dairymen do today.

Photo by chrisada

Fresh milk is full of healthy enzymes our body needs, plus lots of vitamins and minerals, and even beneficial bacteria for our large intestines. Fresh milk is Alive... until they kill everything good in it with pasteurization. "Dr Lanctôt (The Medical Mafia) points out that germs that bring us typhoid, coli bacillus [e.coli], and tuberculosis are not killed by the temperatures used for pasteurization, and there have been a good number of salmonella epidemics traced to pasteurized milk.

The heating process injures the milk. Dr Lanctôt points out that pasteurization destroys milk’s intrinsic germicidal properties, not to mention healthy enzymes. She goes on to state that 50% of milks’ calcium is unusable [the body cannot assimilate it] after pasteurization. So much for all those milk commercials!" ¹

The internet abounds with stories of people with improved lipid profiles (cholesterol levels) just months after switching to fresh milk, and lactose intolerance is vanishing among both children and adults consuming fresh milk.

The CDC data since 1973 says 442,000 people were sickened from PASTEURIZED milk, and 1,100 from fresh milk... with 22 deaths from pasteurized milk, and none from fresh milk. (Sorry, I lost the CDC source link.)

ANY product can become contaminated after harvesting, milking, packaging, or whatever... even after we get them home, if we neglect sanitation, or refrigeration where necessary. (Note: there were 2 deaths in 1998 from Mexican bathtub "queso fresco cheese" attributed by the CDC to fluid raw milk although it was from unsanitary conditions in making the cheese, not the milk.)

There was a big outbreak in the early 1970's in California from fresh milk that resulted in a few deaths of already seriously ill cancer patients, but the milk was ALL FROM ONE CAFO dairy with 8,000 confined cows. I won't even drink pasteurized milk (or buy beef) from a confined dairy/cattle operation, much less fresh milk!

The Battle for Our Right to Choose our Own Healthy Foods is heating up, with the fresh milk issue right at the top. Last week (late May, 2011) in Kentucky, a Food Buying Club had their fresh (raw) milk quarantined by local "health" officials... and NOT FOR ANY SAFETY or contamination concerns, but just because it was fresh milk.

That scenario is going on all around the country as public officials bow down to the lobbying influence the dairy industry (follow the money) has over the USDA and the FDA as they try to fill us with FEAR of fresh milk. Some prime examples are Vernon Herschberger in Wisconsin; the Rawesome Food Club in Venice, CA; a Buying Club in Georgia in 2009... and 2 months ago, Dan Allgyer in Pennsylvania, who was supplying fresh milk under contract to a Maryland Buying Club.

I have endorsed fresh milk from the beginning of this blog, out of the deep belief that it is my Right to Choose. Now that I am learning to make cheese, and studying a LOT about fresh milk vs pasteurized milk in the final cheese, I'm really coming to know what pasteurization robs from our milk... and I don't like it one bit. Cheese from pasteurized milk lacks the enzymes present in fresh milk that give real cheese that exceptional flavor. I even have to add calcium to pasteurized milk to make curds! So much for the "drink milk, the calcium is good for strong bones and teeth" hype still in the ads about pasteurized milk... plus the amount of Vitamin D added is so faint as to be a joke.

The good news is that we CAN stop this unwarranted government harassment if we take a stand at the grassroots level, ALL of us. (The bad news is that most people either believe the "authorities", or don't care enough, or know enough about their health, to get involved and take a stand.)

As for me, I will continue to drink fresh milk and use fresh cream in my coffee, and make ice cream, butter and all kinds of cheese from fresh milk... even if I must build a bedroom attached to my house for a milk animal!

¹ http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/history/biographies/louis_pasteur.htm

ALERT!!!

I just received this email from Sarah Alexander, Outreach Director, Food & Water Watch:

"I was outraged when I found out that Jack DeCoster's eggs, which are at the center of the largest egg recall in history, are ending up back in our food supply. Recalled eggs shouldn't get a second life in the food system as liquid or powdered eggs.

Jack DeCoster is the "habitual violater" who's at the center of the massive egg recall.  Unfortunately he's still making a profit from his bad eggs because they are now being made into liquid or powdered eggs, and being put back into food products like ice cream, pies and cake mixes.

Under current FDA rules this is totally legal, but we think that if eggs are bad enough to be recalled, they should be destroyed, not put back into our food."

I'm outraged too! Although I don't buy liquid eggs (like Eggbeaters) or products that contain liquid eggs like mayo (I make my own, fresh), I do occasionally buy ice cream which usually contains egg yolks. I don't buy products that may contain dried eggs only because I don't buy most products requiring any label at all. I also don't eat scrambled eggs from a restaurant food bar.

But YOU might... and should be outraged too.

The USDA has this to say:

Egg Products and Food Safety
Of the 76 billion eggs consumed in 2004, more than 30 percent were in the form of egg products (eggs removed from their shells). Liquid, frozen, and dried egg products are widely used by the foodservice industry and as ingredients in other foods, such as prepared mayonnaise and ice cream.