Vote for Real Food Stars to Get Their OWN Show on Oprah Channel

By Kimberly Hartke

Oprah Please Help Us Get the Truth Out to America!

Oprah is leaving network television, but she won’t be off the airwaves. She is launching the Oprah Winfrey Network on cable television, and looking for the next generation TV stars to join her. Oprah is a kingmaker, having taken Dr. Phil and made him an overnight sensation.

Cast your vote by July 3, 2010.

Health Care Reform in Action: Calorie Labeling Goes National

By Marion Nestle, Ph.D., M.P.H.
The New England Journal of Medicine

Whenthe Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 went into effectin 1994, it required that nutrition labels be placed on foodproducts but exempted restaurants. The new law removes thatexemption. Implementing this policy has its problems and modest benefits, but calorielabeling is well worth the trouble.

Superfood Expert, David Wolfe, Shares Latest Insights on How to Stay Healthy

By Dr. Joseph Mercola

David “Avocado” Wolfe, a leading authority on raw foods and superfoods, coaches Hollywood celebrities and leading business people on nutrition and wellness. In this interview, David shares his extensive knowledge about the holistic treatment of chronic inflammation.

Bill Maher: Spinach or Drugs

By Dr. Joseph Mercola

“If you believe you need all the pills and drugs the pharmaceutical industry says you do — then you‘re already on drugs.” ~ Bill Maher, 2007

Choosing healthy foods now called a mental disorder

By Mike Adams
Natural News

In its never-ending attempt to fabricate “mental disorders” out of every human activity, the psychiatric industry is now pushing the most ridiculous disease they’ve invented yet: Healthy eating disorder. This is no joke: If you focus on eating healthy foods, you’re “mentally diseased” and probably need some sort of chemical treatment involving powerful psychotropic drugs.

Genetically Altered Salmon Get Closer to the Table

GE salmon compared to normal one. AquaBounty

By Andrew Pollack
New York Times

The Food and Drug Administration is seriously considering whether to approve the first genetically engineered animal that people would eat — salmon that can grow at twice the normal rate.

Lawmakers’ letter to USDA: Ban GMO alfalfa, protect organic crops

Sen. Leahy, et al. Letter to USDA

June 21, 2010

The Honorable Thomas Vilsack
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, D.C. 20250

Dear Secretary Vilsack:

We have serious concerns regarding the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa. We have concluded that USDA’s preliminary finding of “No Significant Impact” cannot be justified and we call on you to correct the serious deficiencies in the DEIS and to deny the request for deregulated GE alfalfa.

Dennis Kucinich Introduces Right to Know Legislation (anti-GMO)

By Dennis Kucinich

Bills Create Regulatory Framework for Genetically Engineered Organisms

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), a long-time advocate of family farmers and organic foods, today introduced H.R. 5577, The Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act, as well as supporting legislation that will provide a comprehensive regulatory framework for all Genetically Engineered (GE) plants, animals, bacteria, and other organisms.

Voices from the Gulf Coast (Video)

By Kerry Kennedy
RFK Center

Please take a look at this video, shot by my 15-year-old daughter Mariah and my niece Kate Kennedy, 17, during the RFK Center’s recent trip to the Gulf. Local  residents speak with raw honesty about the impact of the toxic tsunami on their lives and neighborhoods.

Over 50 Lawmakers ask USDA to deny Monsanto GMO alfalfa

By Carey Gillam
Reuters

* U.S. lawmakers call for continued ban on biotech alfalfa
* Say USDA has “ignored” regulatory authority
* Say U.S. organic dairy industry threatened
* Related sugarbeet court case delayed
(Releads, Adds details, delay in sugarbeet case, Monsanto comments)

KANSAS CITY, June 23 (Reuters) – More than 50 U.S. lawmakers are calling on the U.S. Agriculture Department to keep Monsanto’s biotech alfalfa out of farm fields, despite a Supreme Court ruling this week that cleared the way for limited planting pending environmental reviews.

SCOTUS lifts partial ban on GM alfalfa in Monsanto v Geertson Seed

Condemns District Court for taking “middle course” instead of “extreme action”

By Rady Ananda

On June 21, the US Supreme Court released its long awaited decision on the first case involving genetically modified crops, allowing the USDA to impose a partial deregulation, should it so choose. This would permit the sale of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready alfalfa (RRA).  However, in its 7-1 ruling, the court also upheld the lower decision to ban complete deregulation.

SCOTUS found that the “District Court abused its discretion when banning a partial deregulation and in prohibiting the planting of RRA pending completion of a detailed environmental review,” known as an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). 

The decision flies in the face of the facts in this case, and subjects us to further contamination of our food supply.

Which Veggie Burgers Were Made with a Neurotoxin?

By Kiera Butler
Mother Jones

This is about the time of year when I start keeping packages of veggie burgers in the freezer, just in case of an impromptu barbecue. In the past, I haven’t had much fake meat brand loyalty: I’ve found that once I smother my hunk of textured vegetable protein in barbeque sauce, all soy patties are pretty much created equal. But after reading a recent investigation by the Cornucopia Institute, I’m going to be a lot more picky. The food and agriculture nonprofit found that most non-organic veggie burgers currently on the market are made with the chemical hexane, an EPA-registered air pollutant and neurotoxin.

USDA opens public comments on Monsanto’s H1-7 GM beet

By Rady Ananda

No-GMO campaigns won victories recently in Bolivia, Luxembourg, and Japan (at least temporarily), while Bulgaria saw the introduction of a bill to clearly label all genetically modified products and to ban distribution of GM food to children. We’re not so lucky here in the States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has deregulated over 79 GM products – the most recent being a genetically engineered (GE) soybean line developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International. Now, APHIS seeks public input on deregulating Monsanto’s GE sugar beet known as H1-7.

You know you have something to say. You have until June 28 to do so. At this link, you can read the Notice and submit a comment.

Ten good reasons why GMOs are not compatible with organic agriculture

By Jim Riddle
Rodale Institute

Despite fundamental differences in what they represent, there are occasional calls to allow the use of genetic engineering  (which produces genetically modified organisms, known as GMOs) within the USDA National Organic Program. GMO varieties are currently most widespread in corn, soybean, canola and cotton crops, in dairy production, and in minor ingredients, such as dairy cultures, used in food processing, but new products are being introduced and commercialized.

Here are 10 essential points that I believe show why GMOs are incompatible with organic production:

Lugar-Casey Global Food Security Act, Genetic Engineering and the Gates Foundation

Mural in Oaxaxa, Mexico

By Ashley Fent, Phil Bereano, and Katie Talbot
Community Alliance for Global Justice

AGRA Watch formed in 2008 to challenge the Gates Foundation’s participation in the problematic Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, and to support sustainable, agro-ecological alternatives already practiced in Africa. We have witnessed an acceleration in the push for genetic engineering as a “solution” to hunger in Africa, a criminalization of GE’s opponents as eco-imperialists unwilling to accept scientific advancements, and a deification of philanthropic support for corporate solutions to global food issues. The Lugar-Carey bill is a case study in the interlocking interests of big business, big philanthropy, US foreign policy and US aid. Furthermore, several new developments in Kenyan legislation and in the international political economy threaten to use the global food crisis as an opening to solidify genetic engineering as a necessary part of food security strategies.

Haitian farmer Jean-Baptiste tells NY ‘hybrid seeds a poison gift’

By Lisa Madison
FRESH the Movie

The Fight Against Monsanto in Haiti

This past Saturday [June 12], I was lucky enough to attend a Brooklyn church’s community meeting where I heard farm leader Chavannes Jean-Baptiste of the Peasant Movement of Papay (MPP) share the concerns of Haitian peasants regarding Monsanto’s donation of hybrid seeds. 

Luxembourg bans BASF’s ‘Amflora’ GM potato

By Greenpeace France
[Translation courtesy GM-free Ireland]

During a “Safety on my plate” conference on the safety of the food chain, Luxembourg’s Health Minister Mars Di Bartolomeo banned the cultivation of BASF’s “Amflora” GM potato in Luxembourg, in the presence of the Agriculture Minister Romain Schneider.

Luxembourg’s ban on the cultivation of the GM potato was announced barely a few months after its approval by the European Commission, before the high representatives of the authority in charge of food safety in Europe (EFSA).

Organic farming gives Indian farmers greater financial security

NatGeo image

By James
Greepeace India

A Greenpeace report released today said the monetary benefits of organic cotton farming are much greater than using the Genetically Engineered variety that makes farmers more vulnerable to financial collapse due to high debts and increased costs of cultivation.

The report, “Picking Cotton: The choice between organic and genetically-engineered cotton for farmers in South India“, shows that in the 2009-10 season, farmers cultivating cotton through organic practices earned 200% more net income than farmers who grew Genetically Engineered cotton [Bt cotton].

Bolivia gives up GM crops in 5-year transition plan

By Carmelo Ruiz-Marrero
Americas Program Biodiversity Report

Bolivian president Evo Morales decreed a five-year transition period in which to eliminate genetically modified (GM) crops from the national territory, as well as a process for rescuing local seeds in order to promote food sovereignty.

“The process of recovering food sovereignty in Bolivia has had to overcome various obstacles,” commented Radio Mundo Real.  “In addition to the problem of the Brazilian latifundistas who appropriated vast areas of land without pause for decades, the penetration of GM seeds is a true ‘Trojan Horse’ in the popular project of Evo Morales and Bolivian campesino organizations.”

92 percent of customers want GM labeling

By GM Freeze

Asda Customers Reject Company Policy on GM Animal Feed

A new opinion survey carried out by GfK/NOP on behalf of GM Freeze and Friends of the Earth [1] shows that [UK supermarket chain - owned by Walmart] Asda’s decisions about sourcing GM poultry feed are not supported by the majority of its customers. [2]