Health Scandal of the Decade – Monsanto’s GMO Perversion of Food

By Byron Richards, CCN
Wellness Resources

In the 2010 growing season Monsanto plans to unleash its latest Frankenfood experiment on the American and Canadian public, a new version of genetically mutated corn with eight abnormal gene traits called Genuity SmartStax corn. It is the culmination of an astonishing scandal that has been steadily building over the past decade. During this time Monsanto’s mutated seeds have grown to 90% of the U.S. soy crop and 85% of the corn crop – and wheat is next on their agenda.

Their efforts have been marked by corporate bullying and have drawn the attention of the Justice Department who is conducting an antitrust investigation. All the while they have been spending millions on lobbying to fast track their agenda before the American public even realizes what hit them.

Biotech Battle Escalates; India Prepares to Sue GMO Giants

India bans some GMO crops while biotech illegally plants others

By Rady Ananda

2/23 Update: India’s Prime Minister voids GMO ban: Sets up pro-GMO committee to vote this Saturday

India’s battles over genetically modified organisms (GMO) intensified this month as both sides maneuvered to promote or resist their proliferation. Mediating the debate, at least for now, is India’s Minister of Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh.

13 million acres of GMO corn illegally planted in US

By Union for Concerned Scientists
November 2009 FEED

Farmers growing 13.23 million acres of genetically engineered (GE) corn to kill insect pests aren’t complying with federal requirements, according to a new report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest. [See Complacency on the Farm: Significant Noncompliance with EPA's Refuge Requirements Threatens the Future Effectiveness of Genetically Engineered Pest-protected Corn, pdf]

Developers Cannot Be Regulators

The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill 2009
(A proposal for deepening the Regulatory Chaos and the Crisis Created by Conflict of Interest)

By Dr. Vandana Shiva
February 16, 2010 Statement to Food Freedom

The proposed Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill of India, 2009 (BRAI), which is a new version of the older National Biotechnology Regulatory Bill, 2008, is a recipe for deepening the regulatory chaos as well as deepening the crisis created by conflict of interest issues related to issues of genetic engineering.

The conflict of interest issues had become a major concern because the panel which approved the Bt. Brinjal included some of the scientists involved in its development. That is why the public hearings were organized by the Ministry of Environment. As the Minister of Environment observed in his statement justifying the moratorium “while there may be a debate on the nature and number of tests that need to be carried out for establishing human safety, it is incontrovertible that the tests have been carried out by the Bt. Brinjal developers themselves and not in any independent lab. This does raise legitimate doubts on the reliability of the tests.”

Séralini Speaks: Organ Damage Linked to GM Maize

By Rady Ananda

Much attention has been given to our breaking piece, Three Approved GMOs Linked to Organ Damage, with hundreds of websites around the globe publishing it – from North and South America to Europe, Asia and Africa. Bullhorn Journal has just posted an interview with Séralini, the scientist spokesperson for the research team that revealed the organ damage link:

Whistleblower: Monsanto ‘faked’ data for approvals

By Dinesh C. Sharma
India Today

The debate on genetically modified (GM) brinjal variety continues to generate heat. Former managing director of Monsanto India, Tiruvadi Jagadisan, is the latest to join the critics of Bt brinjal, perhaps the first industry insider to do so.

Jagadisan, who worked with Monsanto for nearly two decades, including eight years as the managing director of India operations, spoke against the new variety during the public consultation held in Bangalore on Saturday.

NAIS, Indie Ranchers and California Food Safety

Could California be a step closer toward determining its own food safety standards?

By Chris Hinyub
California Independent Voter Network

Most pathogens are introduced at slaughter and packinghouses, where animal tracing ends, and deregulated, self-inspection begins (under HACCP).

In response to overwhelming public opposition to its livestock tracing policies, the USDA announced last week that it is revising the standards for its National Animal Identification System. In a surprising yet welcome move, a federal agency is abandoning a blanket policy approach on a heavily lobbied issue and all because of grassroots action. Yet this may not be the lasting victory the majority of farmers and ranchers were hoping for. Enforcement of new federal mandates for animal identification may simply be shifted to the states in an end-run around the sovereignty of California farmers.

Tribute to Chesney, Former Cockfighting Rooster

Guest Blogged by Annette Fisher
Happy Trails Farm

From Chesney’s story we can imagine the conditions in CAFOs, as Ms. Fisher implores: “Think of the animals such as those on factory farms — chickens in battery cages, pigs in gestation crates, geese being force-fed with tubes on foi gras farms, small baby calves used for veal and chained to small calf hutches, and so on.” There is a better, healthier, kinder way to eat or to entertain ourselves.

Raw milk crusader Schmidt says Ont. govt wasting time by appealing his acquittal

By Keith Leslie
The Canadian Press

The Ontario government is wasting its time by appealing a court ruling that found raw milk crusader Michael Schmidt was not guilty of violating the Health Protection and Promotion Act, the Durham-based farmer and activist said Friday.

The Ministry of the Attorney General confirmed it is appealing last month’s decision by a justice of the peace to dismiss 19 charges against Schmidt to the Ontario Court of Justice, but did not elaborate on the reasons.

Diet May Protect against Gene Changes in Smokers

By Medical News Today

Leafy green vegetables, folate, and some multivitamins could serve as protective factors against lung cancer in current and former smokers, according to a study that is a first step in understanding a complex association. The study was supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. The study appeared online Jan. 12, 2010, in Cancer Research.

A Million Acts of Kindness

By Suzana Megles

It is so good to read stories about people who are either doing acts of kindness or promoting it. I was delighted to read about a Cleveland native – Bob Votruba who, after hearing about the Virginia Tech shootings three years ago, decided that he wanted to do something to make the world a better place for his three grown children.

Over-Drugged Animals, Superbugs and DIRT! the Movie

By Rady Ananda

The Union of Concerned Scientists advises that a recent study reveals “the number of genes for antibiotic resistance in soil microbes has significantly increased over the past 70 years” – fifteen-fold in the case of tetracyclins. Linked below is a petition to support the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act, and a discount for DIRT! the movie.

Ohio HB 414 Would Jeopardize Farmers

By Clint Ziegler
Ohio Freedom Alliance

House Bill 414 grants the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board (LCSB) the authority to enter onto any private property to inspect or investigate, obtain samples, and examine or copy records without a search warrant, in direct violation of the Constitution, writes Clint Ziegler.

Innovation Bears Fruit for Family Farm

By Peak Moment

28-min video: Tour the century-old organic Chaffin Family Orchards where even the animals are “farm hands.” Visit chickens in their egg-mobile, scratching for bugs and pooping fertilizer in the heirloom stone-fruit orchards. Goats chomp off low branches from the olive trees, so no fuel or human labor is needed. This certified predator-friendly enterprise includes 200 acres of olive trees plus various fruit and nut trees; sheep, goats, broiler and egg-laying chickens.

Breast cancer virtually eradicated with higher levels of vitamin D

By Mike Adams
Natural News

In a gathering of vitamin D researchers recently held in Toronto, Dr. Cedric Garland delivered a blockbuster announcement: Breast cancer can be virtually “eradicated” by raising vitamin D levels.

Vitamin D is “the cure” for breast cancer that the cancer industry ridiculously claims to be searching for. The cure already exists! But the breast cancer industry simply refuses to acknowledge any “cure” that doesn’t involve mammography, chemotherapy or high-profit pharmaceuticals.

FDA Invades Non-Commercial Amish Farm in PA

By Deborah Stockton
National Independent Consumers and Farmers Assn.

Kinzers, PA – At 9:40 a.m. Thursday, February 4, only a few miles from the scene of the Nickel Mines Amish massacre of 2006, another drama against the Amish began as agents of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) came onto the property of Amish farmer Dan Allgyer, without permission, claiming to be conducting an investigation.

Chicago Health Inspectors Destroy Safe Food for Lack of License

By Monica Eng
Chicago Breaking News

City destroys fruit puree during kitchen inspection

City health inspectors used bleach to destroy hundreds of pounds of frozen fruit puree and threw out other food in a West Town kitchen on Thursday night, citing not safety violations but a lack of proper licensing.

The fruit — apples, plums, raspberries, pears, blueberries and peaches from local growers harvested and frozen last summer — belonged to pastry chef Flora Lazar, who valued it at thousands of dollars.

How Organic Is Organic? Codex Alimentarius Cohorts Wage War Against Food

Video by Megan ‘Verb’ Kargher
COTO Report

This is a short documentary on Codex Alimentarius and genetically modified foods.

ADM Tries to Take Down Funny Video; Big Business Has No Solutions; Now What?

By The Yes Men

A legal complaint from agribusiness giant ADM has resulted in the removal from Youtube of a fake video of ADM’s CEO making over-honest pronouncements. (The video is still available here and here.)

Contraband Chickens Invade Canada

Photo by Baugher Webmaster Services-FlickrCC

By Sarah Elton
The Atlantic

From the street, the large gray house, with its wide driveway, landscaped garden, and grand front door, looked like every other home in the upscale 1950s Toronto development. Around back it was a different story. Behind a knee-high, plastic orange fence was an unusual sight: two chickens pecked at the grass while a third broody one sat on a nest.

It’s illegal to keep chickens in Toronto.