Once upon a time...

You've probably seen the meme: Once upon a time, all food was organic. Truth. And once upon a time, it was safe to roll around on lawns spattered with weeds rather than Roundup and its toxic friends. The real danger in walking barefoot was the occasional bee sting, not a cocktail of toxins absorbing through your skin into your non-Roundup ready system.

Photo from 2015 March Against Monsanto in Pittsburgh

When I think about it too much, I become weepy and the sadness clings like a toddler not wanting his mommy to leave. Life changes. It always has and always will. But that doesn't mean it's always a good thing. Our toxic environment is full of someone's idea of progress, much of which started in the minds behind Monsanto, Dow, Bayer, etc. Progress, as it often does, led to greed, and now those corporate giants seem almost unstoppable. They're gambling with the health of your children and mine. And we cannot remain silent.

Talk to your friends, relatives, coworkers, and neighbors. Read everything you can about the dangers of Roundup, GMOs, neonicotinoids, etc. Learn about safe alternatives. Whenever possible, buy organics. Ask the farmers at your local markets and farm stands if their produce is non-GMO. Ask if they grow their flowers with or without neonics. Talk to them about the crisis of the bee colony collapses of recent years. 

Our kids' and grandkids' lives are at stake. We cannot continue to bury our heads in the sand. We can make a difference with our voices, our dollars, and our votes when election time rolls around. Find out which presidential candidates are in bed with Monsanto and let others know. 

I believe this is the most critical issue facing our nation and our world. There is no room for genetic modifications of any sort. There is no room for poisonous chemicals sprayed on our lawns, parks, ball fields, and food. There simply is no room for it. Think about seeing your precious little one lying in a hospital bed with a shaved head and tubes coming out of their body. Then speak up. Let's do this... together.

Answers to your questions about GMOs

Sometimes, I just assume you all know what I'm talking about when I mention GMOs (which I do on a regular basis!). So I thought it would be a good idea to refresh you a bit on what they are exactly, and why I am so opposed to them. The info I'm sharing today is from a brochure from Non GMO Project Verified.

What are GMOs?

GMO stands for 'genetically modified organisms.' These are plants or animals created through genetic engineering (GE). It's done through a gene splicing technique of biotechnology where the DNA from different species are merged. The results are organisms that cannot occur in nature or traditional crossbreeding (i.e. hybrids).

For the most part, commercial GMOs are created to either produce an insecticide or to survive the direct application of herbicide.

What about safety?

When it comes to consuming genetically modified foods, there are various opinions. Many are based on biased studies done from the very companies set to profit from GMO crops (think Monsanto, Syngenta, etc.). The thing is, 60+ countries worldwide do not believe these foods are safe for consumption. There are strict regulations and/or complete bans on production and sale of GMOs in these countries (Australia, Japan, and all of the countries in the European Union, for example) However, in the good ol' U. S. of A., the government has approved most GMOs. 

Fortunately, as consumers who care about our health and our families, we have the right to choose non-GMO food. But that brings up the issue:

Why aren't GMOs labeled?

Despite the continual outcry from the public, there are no requirements in the U.S. regarding the labeling of GMOs. In this, as in many cases, what you don't know can hurt you. You can trust, however, that there are no genetically modified organisms in any food labeled 'organic' or with the Non GMO Project Verified label. 

What about the environment and GMOs?

I'm glad you asked. At this point, over 80% of GMOs are engineered for herbicide tolerance. That means the use of products like Roundup and other toxic herbicides has increased dramatically since the introduction of GMOs. Now we have 'super weeds' and 'super bugs.' And, you guessed it, we now have a need for more toxic products to control them. Products like 2,4-D (a major ingredient in Agent Orange). 

Here are the facts: 

• GMOs are a direct extension of chemical agriculture
• GMOs are developed and sold by the world's biggest chemical companies
• The long-term impact of GMOs on the environment are a mystery right now
• Once these GMOs are released into the environment, these lab-created organisms cannot be recalled (kind of reminds you of a horror movie, doesn't it?)

Are most farmers benefiting from GMOs?

Ask a farmer who's been sued by Monsanto or other biotechnology companies because the companies patented seeds have contaminated the farmers fields. Wait... that sounds backwards. Yep. Sure does. Farmers who opt for non-GMO crops and don't buy into the whole GMO scam the government is propagating cannot sue Monsanto for contaminating their crops by cross pollination, etc., but Monsanto can sue them. Makes me want to puke.

Is the produce at local farmers markets safe?

Maybe. Maybe not. I caution you to ask questions about GMOs and Roundup. Move on to the next booth if

• the farmer pretends to not know what you're talking about
• the farmer actually does not know what you're talking about
• the farmer starts to defend GMOs, Monsanto, or the use of Roundup (Yikes! Run!!)

There, that's my little overview on GMOs and some of the reasons I am opposed to them. I'll share some of the health concerns I have in another post.

Happy and healthy eating,

 

TBT -- GMOs, RoundUp and Monsanto -- when will it end??

Here's an oldie but goody for Throwback Thursday. Here's what I had to say about GMOs, RoundUp, and Monsanto in February 2012. Nothing's changed since then.

There's poison in those soybeans! Look out!

I don't know about you, but I'm frustrated. And angry. And scared. The more I learn, the more upset I become.

When will we wise up? GMOs are NOT the way to go. Healthy-looking, weed-free lawns are not a sign of a responsible homeowner. Cleaners smelling like pine or lemon or fresh meadows are not an indication of a safely cleaned surface. The list could go on and on. And does.

Yesterday, I stopped by a friend's store and while speaking with her, an employee was cleaning ... with a mighty strong cleanser. The result for me? A night of severe fibromyalgia pain brought on by the toxins I breathed in while at the store. And that, quite honestly, makes me angry. It affected my night and my day so far. While I am better today, I'm still sluggish and treading carefully, so as not to aggravate the condition.

I didn't turn on my computer this morning. When I did, I went on Facebook and read the following, which added to my misery. Not that it shouldn't have been there, but the truths it contains makes me angrier and angrier. Monsanto is an evil corporation, despite what Bill Gates says. After all, Gates knows money. But does he understand poison?!

Here is what my friend, Allin Faragalli, of Leaf and Bud Naturals, wrote:

Ever hear of Roundup resistant Soybean? I assume you know what Roundup is, the toxic spray that has been banned because it is SOOO horribly toxic. It is used to kill weeds. You spray it on the leaves and it enters the plant and goes right to the roots. Kills the plant from the inside out so it can't come back. Most of Canada has banned it and there is a whole black market for it because conformed lawn lovers who think their lawn = life have decided this terrible poison that is poisoning waters, environment, humans (mostly our children and grandchildren) and animals is more important than having a weedy lawn or having to do some good ol' fashioned hard work ... That's not what this note is about ...

When you buy a soy product, (unless it is "certified" organic), whether all soy or just soy ingredients, there is a very very good chance (almost guaranteed) the plant that produced the soybeans was genetically modified. Specifically modified to not die when sprayed with Roundup. This enables farmers to spray weeds in hard to reach areas or simply to avoid having to do the hard work in tending to the weeds in the fields.

Farmers are under great pressures and not treated all that good these days. The extra hard work isn't wanted. Understandably! And they are being pushed to use these crops! ... Back on topic --> When a plant is sprayed with Roundup the poison enters the plant. The poison is now IN the soybean, which instead of dying, grows to harvest, is processed and ends up in our stomachs! The worst part is soy is pushed to be put in all our food. Try to find an item without soy something in it. It's hard! Kraft Peanut Butter for example is LOADED with soy oil. I just realized this a few days ago. I wanted a sandwich, but tried to skip the natural peanut butter 'cause I didn't want to make it sweet myself and because I grew up on the Kraft so Im addicted to the fake texture and taste ... Before creating this sandwich is when I saw the word soy ... I won't eat it now! Natural peanut butter for me! No hydrogenated, modified ingredients AND no Roundup! (It feels very odd to think there is Roundup in Peanut Butter ...) What I'm getting at is watch the soy intake. Don't eat unnecessary soy. It's tough to avoid, but take time and read ingredients on things before you buy. Then you'll see how much of this you are actually taking in. And you can get a different kind of cracker, cookie, cereal, salad dressing ... whatever it is.

Here's a scary fact ... it doesn't stop at soy. That's just one of the most commonly used GMO crops at the moment. Corn is another huge one that has a Roundup modification. Monsanto is one of the leading companies pushing and causing the world to harness the dangerous power of GM crops. Monsanto is poisoning the world's food supply with heavy pesticide use and untested GM crops. 

What Allin has presented here is a small overview of a HUGE problem. We have to stand against this. We have to get involved.

Please, please take action. Read this from Natural News:

The one man who may be responsible for more food related illnesses and deaths than anyone in history, Michael R. Taylor, has just been promoted from US Food Safety Czar to Senior Advisor to the Commissioner of the FDA, a position which would enable the giant biotech company Monsanto to silently and legally feed cancer causing vegetables to every living person who is not 100% strictly organic.

President Obama has appointed the former Monsanto Vice President and lobbyist Michael R. Taylor to the throne. This is the same man who was Food Safety Czar for the FDA when Genetically Modified Organisms were allowed into the US food supply without undergoing a single test to determine their safety or risks. This is like putting a terrorist in charge of the world's food supply. What will the cancer numbers look like in 2016? Read more

Do something. If you are a U.S. citizen, please sign this petition to President Obama. There are no political sides here. There is just one side -- the side of common sense safety and health for ourselves, our children and our children's children. The time to act is NOW.

Caring for the future for our kids and grandkids,

The GMO trade-off

Today, I just want to continue this week's series on the EWG's report on GMOs. On Monday, I told you about a few products to watch for that may or may not be genetically engineered. Yesterday, I listed the Environment Working Group's Factory Four (the most common GE ingredients in food). Now, I thought it would be good to fill you in on some other info we all need to know.

Image by Petr Kratochvil

Did you know that while the U.S. government mandates strict safety evaluations on each new drug before it hits the shelves, there is no requirements to do the same for GMOs. None. Is that because they're safe? Of course not. The fact is there have been few studies, and they've all been conducted by independent scientific institutions. The independent research includes testing for carcinogenicity, for harm to fetuses, and for long term risks to animals and humans. The government hasn't bothered.

As we continue to genetically modify the crops to make them herbicide-tolerant, we reap the "benefits" of what the industry calls "superweeds." These weeds have mutated in order to survive the herbicides sprayed on them. As a result, 61 million plus acres of farmland in the U.S. have Roundup-resistant weeds cropping up everywhere (according to Farm Industry News 2013). So what happens? The farmers have to treat their fields with older, more toxic herbicides (dicamba, and 2,4-D). In addition to posing an increased risk of cancer, these chemicals cause birth defects and reproductive problems. That's not a assumption. It's a documented fact.

So, the bottom line is that these genetically engineered crops have created the need for even more toxic chemicals being sprayed on our food! Does this not make you furious?! According to Charles M. Benbrook, research professor at the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources at Washington State University, herbicide-tolerant crops that stimulated superweed growth caused farmers to use an estimated 527 million pounds more herbicide between 1997 and 2011 than they would have needed had they planted only non-GE crops. Click here to read more about this issue from Environmental Sciences Europe.

Then there's the problem of cross-contamination. Wind, insects, floods, and machinery all play a part in cross-contamination of crops due from the pollen of GE plants. Wonderful. Some of the results include a potential lost income for organic farmers totally $90 million annually from their corn crops alone -- and that's according to research over a decade ago by the Union of Concerned Scientists!

Do genetically engineered crops produce more? Perhaps. But at what cost? Thanks to Monsanto and the likes, we now have many, many more herbicide-resistant weeds and our exposure to toxic pesticides is higher than ever. Gee, thanks.

On tomorrow's Use This Instead Of This, I'll touch upon some ways to avoid GMOs. All week, I've presented problems. Tomorrow, I'd like to present some solutions.

Caring about you and your families,

Other posts in this series:

Dr. Frankenstein, you've created a monster

The EWG's Factory Four -- can you spot the GMOs?

City kid, Country kid and Real Maple Syrup

BY JOHN MESSEDER 

Photo by Charles Rondeau

Someone asked recently what could be done about Citizens United, the Supreme Court decision in 2010 that allows unlimited money to be spent on presidential campaigns – as long as the donors don’t actually talk with the candidate about where and how to spend it.

Last week SCOTUS affirmed that decision with an addition: the same rule – there is only the one – applies now to state campaigns.

The answer to the writer’s query is simple. About the decision, nothing. Contrary to the opinion of at least one politician, the Supreme Court, by definition, has the last word. Until a new Supreme Court changes it. Those who say they want to follow the U.S. Constitution need to read that part; it’s in there.

The way to change the decision is to get the grass roots companies to become uncomfortable giving millions of dollars to guide candidates’ legislative hands.

In 2010, the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania gave gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett $1.6 million dollars; he promised there would be no new taxes on the industry. So far, he’s done well on his promise.

So far, the $1.6 million given to his campaign has been well spent.

Last year, his party being in control of the state legislature, he got to sign into law a very nominal “impact fee” on the drillers, name a coal baron to the Department of Community and Economic Development with the power to “streamline” the Department of Environmental Protection permitting process, and remove authority for municipalities to zone or prohibit natural gas drilling.

Early this year, the legislature passed and Corbett signed a law giving Shell Oil Co. a 15-year free ride on state income and property taxes if the company builds a new ethane “cracker” plant in western Pa. The plant will create about 400 new jobs.

A couple weeks ago, Corbett got to sign another law, this time guaranteeing Shell, which only made about $6 billion profit during the Spring quarter of 2011, another $1.65 billion in taxpayer-funded credits over 25 years.

Monsanto has become the poster child for genetic engineering of the food supply, largely with its “Roundup Ready” system of pesticide to kill weeds and pesticide-resistant seed. Each year, weeds develop resistance to the herbicide, and a new batch of Roundup is concocted. The desired crop seeds, e.g. corn or soy beans, are reengineered to make them immune to the latest Roundup genetics, and farmers buy the herbicide and seed from Monsanto, which calls it the Roundup Ready System.

The world’s largest seed company spends millions trying to convince us its genetically crafted produce is making agriculture better as it traps farmers worldwide into a cycle of annually purchasing seed only from Monsanto. In October last year, the company reported a 16 percent profit growth. Noting the price of corn had increased 25 percent – meaning more money for farmers – Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant said he would raise seed prices 10 percent in 2012.

Meanwhile, innumerable organizations are attempting to establish urban and suburban gardens intended to provide fresh produce for low income residents. Programs are spreading to allow the same recipients to use their benefits to purchase fresh produce at farmers markets.

This week, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a program to makes that happen in the Big Apple. The city’s Health Bucks coupons will for the first time be accepted at all 138 farmers markets, resulting in more than $350,000 in free fruits and vegetables for low-income New Yorkers this season.

But even those efforts are under constant attack from agribusiness attempting to quash competition. In Maine, a farmer with one cow has been sued by the state – many observers think at the behest of major producers – for selling raw milk at farm market stands. No one has been sickened by his milk, but the hype is that it could happen (as it has with strawberries, meat and other products from large, USDA-approved providers).

I am a Country Kid, raised milking cows and slaughtering hogs. We grew most of what we ate from a garden that fed six of us. I drank “raw” milk with breakfast, lunch and dinner, tapped sugar maple trees to boil the sap into maple syrup to pour over waffles and pancakes.

When my granddaughter was about three, I offered her some maple syrup a friend had brought down from New Hampshire.

“I want the real kind,” said The Girl.

By “real kind” she meant the stuff in the plastic bottle shaped like a grandma. She had not yet seen a cow or picked an apple from a tree. She was a City Kid. (She’s older now, and still mostly a City Kid, but when she asks for “real” maple syrup, she means the kind from Sugar Maple trees.)

I've earned some reputation as a rebel, so maybe my desire for farm fresh, non-processed food and rare hamburger – and my suspicion of huge companies that claim to have only my best interest at their heart – can be thus at least partially attributed, but I will be 65 in October and I'm still here.

 

© 2012 by John Messeder. Readers may contact  john@JohnMesseder.com

John Messeder is an award winning environmental journalist based in Gettysburg, Pa., with more than 35 years experience writing about education, environment and local government issues.  He may be contacted via his blog at http://johnmesseder.com

Thursday's Truths and Tidbits

I hate cancer.

Later today, we'll be going to my daughter's mother-in-law's viewing. She just turned 51 in the middle of June. Now she's gone. Cancer ate away at her until she could no longer fight it. And, plainly speaking, that sucks.

Cancer. That insidious disease that just worms its way in and wreaks havoc wherever it goes. Yet we still don't seem to get it. We surround ourselves with carcinogens and we joke about it, "Well, I'm gonna die sometime." Yeah, real funny.

For the most part, I've come to accept that we cannot rid our lives of carcinogens and other toxins completely. After all, no matter what we do in our own homes, once we step foot outside, we're exposed.

We eat at a restaurant on a table that's been cleaned with bleach. We go to the restroom and breathe in air freshener with naphthalene. We wash our hands with antibacterial soap with triclosan. We work in office buildings or schools full of formaldehyde and other toxins. Our neighbors douse their yards with Roundup. The list goes on and on. And on and on. And it's enough to make us ... well ... sick!

Recently, my husband and I stayed at a B&B. It was lovely, until I laid my head down on the pillow and breathed in a nice whiff of fabric softener!! Gasp. Gag. Gross.

We can't get away from it. Do you know why they label something as a carcinogen? Because it's been proven to cause cancer. What part of that do people not get?????

Do not use toxic shampoos on your baby's tender scalp. Do not use sunscreens on your kids that are high on the list of toxins on the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetics Database. Be a responsible parent and check these things out. Don't just assume that they are safe because they have the words "gentle" or "natural" or "safe for baby" on them. Advertisers lie. The FDA does not have your best interest in mind. Every day we learn of more and more hazardous products that the FDA deemed safe.

And while I'm on a rant ... it's about those stupid pink ribbons. I'm all for research. I'm all for finding a cure. What I'm not for is the fact that they slap the pink ribbons on anything that will accept them, without checking to see if any of the ingredients cause cancer ... and many of them do. There are no words.

Parents -- you have to be proactive in keeping your kids safe. Can you protect them completely from carcinogens? Unfortunately, no. But you can do your best, and I encourage you to do just that. For many of us, like my daughter's mother-in-law, it's too late. We are part of a generation that didn't know any better. We embraced innovation without regards to potential dangers. We ditched natural products for ones laden with chemicals we couldn't pronounce because they promised better results. Yikes.

You have some choices. Use them wisely.

And that's it for today's truths and tidbits. Any thoughts?

GMOs, Roundup and Monsanto -- when will it end??

There's poison in those soybeans! Look out!

I don't know about you, but I'm frustrated. And angry. And scared. The more I learn, the more upset I become.

When will we wise up? GMOs are NOT the way to go. Healthy-looking, weed-free lawns are not a sign of a responsible homeowner. Cleaners smelling like pine or lemon or fresh meadows are not an indication of a safely cleaned surface. The list could go on and on. And does.

Yesterday, I stopped by a friend's store and while speaking with her, an employee was cleaning ... with a mighty strong cleanser. The result for me? A night of severe fibromyalgia pain brought on by the toxins I breathed in while at the store. And that, quite honestly, makes me angry. It affected my night and my day so far. While I am better today, I'm still sluggish and treading carefully, so as not to aggravate the condition.

I didn't turn on my computer this morning. When I did, I went on Facebook and read the following, which added to my misery. Not that it shouldn't have been there, but the truths it contains makes me angrier and angrier. Monsanto is an evil corporation, despite what Bill Gates says. After all, Gates knows money. But does he understand poison?!

Here is what my friend, Allin Faragalli, of Leaf and Bud Naturals, wrote:

Ever hear of Roundup resistant Soybean? I assume you know what Roundup is, the toxic spray that has been banned because it is SOOO horribly toxic. It is used to kill weeds. You spray it on the leaves and it enters the plant and goes right to the roots. Kills the plant from the inside out so it can't come back. Most of Canada has banned it and there is a whole black market for it because conformed lawn lovers who think their lawn = life have decided this terrible poison that is poisoning waters, environment, humans (mostly our children and grandchildren) and animals is more important than having a weedy lawn or having to do some good ol' fashioned hard work ... That's not what this note is about ...

When you buy a soy product, (unless it is "certified" organic), whether all soy or just soy ingredients, there is a very very good chance (almost guaranteed) the plant that produced the soybeans was genetically modified. Specifically modified to not die when sprayed with Roundup. This enables farmers to spray weeds in hard to reach areas or simply to avoid having to do the hard work in tending to the weeds in the fields.

Farmers are under great pressures and not treated all that good these days. The extra hard work isn't wanted. Understandably! And they are being pushed to use these crops! ... Back on topic --> When a plant is sprayed with Roundup the poison enters the plant. The poison is now IN the soybean, which instead of dying, grows to harvest, is processed and ends up in our stomachs! The worst part is soy is pushed to be put in all our food. Try to find an item without soy something in it. It's hard! Kraft Peanut Butter for example is LOADED with soy oil. I just realized this a few days ago. I wanted a sandwich, but tried to skip the natural peanut butter 'cause I didn't want to make it sweet myself and because I grew up on the Kraft so Im addicted to the fake texture and taste ... Before creating this sandwich is when I saw the word soy ... I won't eat it now! Natural peanut butter for me! No hydrogenated, modified ingredients AND no Roundup! (It feels very odd to think there is Roundup in Peanut Butter ...) What I'm getting at is watch the soy intake. Don't eat unnecessary soy. It's tough to avoid, but take time and read ingredients on things before you buy. Then you'll see how much of this you are actually taking in. And you can get a different kind of cracker, cookie, cereal, salad dressing ... whatever it is.

Here's a scary fact ... it doesn't stop at soy. That's just one of the most commonly used GMO crops at the moment. Corn is another huge one that has a Roundup modification. Monsanto is one of the leading companies pushing and causing the world to harness the dangerous power of GM crops. Monsanto is poisoning the world's food supply with heavy pesticide use and untested GM crops. Here's a link to a Facebook page I found called Exposing Monsanto. Judging by their freaky picture, they are standing out against the poisons in kids foods and I could personally go into a whole other note about that. The toxic F D & C dyes alone could take up a few paragraphs.

What Allin has presented here is a small overview of a HUGE problem. We have to stand against this. We have to get involved.

Please, please take action. Read this from Natural News:

The one man who may be responsible for more food related illnesses and deaths than anyone in history, Michael R. Taylor, has just been promoted from US Food Safety Czar to Senior Advisor to the Commissioner of the FDA, a position which would enable the giant biotech company Monsanto to silently and legally feed cancer causing vegetables to every living person who is not 100% strictly organic.

President Obama has appointed the former Monsanto Vice President and lobbyist Michael R. Taylor to the throne. This is the same man who was Food Safety Czar for the FDA when Genetically Modified Organisms were allowed into the US food supply without undergoing a single test to determine their safety or risks. This is like putting a terrorist in charge of the world's food supply. What will the cancer numbers look like in 2016? Read more

Do something. If you are a U.S. citizen, please sign this petition to President Obama. There are no political sides here. There is just one side -- the side of common sense safety and health for ourselves, our children and our children's children. The time to act is NOW.

Caring for the future for our kids and grandkids,

Hana