Friday, August 27, 2010

Educate "ONE", Bill Gates & the World About the Dangers of GMOs

Thanks to all the readers who are supporting the effort to educate the ONE community and the world about the dangers of GMO Corn and all GMO foods and crops.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Four Paths to Organic Health

 

Four Paths to Organic Health


#239, August 26, 2010

Health, Justice and Sustainability News
from the Organic Consumers Association

Edited by Alexis Baden-Mayer and Ronnie Cummins

 

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Organics

Four Paths to Organic Health

1. Eat Organic to Avoid Cancer
A landmark report released earlier this year from the President's Cancer Panel, "Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk, What We Can Do Now," recommends eating organic food as a strategy to reduce cancer risk.
Though the "O" word itself is scarce, the authors referenced organic food in everything but name.
"Exposure to pesticides can be decreased by choosing, to the extent possible, food grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers  Similarly, exposure to antibiotics, growth hormones, and toxic runoff from livestock feed lots can be minimized by eating free-range meat raised without these medications," the report states.
Food produced without antibiotics, hormones, or toxic agrichemicals is, by definition, organic. Certified organic farms are inspected at least once a year and subject to surprise visits to make sure the harmful chemicals and drugs referred to in the President's Cancer Panel report are not being used.
2. Subsidize Organic - Not GMOs and Junk Food - to Reduce Obesity
Fast-food restaurants charge low prices for "value meals" of hamburgers and french fries because the government provides billions of dollars in subsidies for the genetically engineered corn and soybeans used for animal feed and vegetable oil, says Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the Gillings School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
"We have made it more expensive to eat healthy in a very big way," says Dr. Popkin, who has a doctorate in agricultural economics and is the author of a book called The World Is Fat: The Fads, Trends, Policies and Products That Are Fattening the Human Race.
The inflation-adjusted price of a McDonald's quarter-pounder with cheese, for example, fell 5.44 percent from 1990 to 2007, according to an article on the economics of child obesity published in the journal Health Affairs. But the inflation-adjusted price of fruit and vegetables, which are not subject to federal largess, rose 17 percent just from 1997 to 2003, the study said. Cutting agricultural subsidies would have a big impact on people's eating habits, says Dr. Popkin.
3. Truth in Labeling - "Warning: Eat This, You'll Get Fat & Sick"
Full Disclosure of Hidden Dangers
It takes a food chemist to translate the eight-syllable words commonly found on ingredients lists into plain English, but many of the most dangerous substances found in food today are additives, contaminants, or packaging and processing aids that don't get listed on the label, such as Acrylamide, Bisphenol A, and more.
Health Warnings on Junk Food
Leading public health experts around the world are warning that fatty foods should carry official health warnings, similar to those on cigarettes.
The U.K. is instituting front-label nutrition summaries at the insistence of scientists like Professor David Hunter of Durham University who urged:
"The problem of obesity needs to be tackled by strong action from the government. There are many products which contain such high levels of fat and other ingredients that they are contributing to health problems. Rather than banning foods it would be a system of food labeling and working with the food industry to phase these products out. [Removing unhealthy foods from sale] would be in the interests of industry as well. After all, consumers can't keep buying their products if they are unwell or even dead."
- Professor David Hunter, Durham University, Britain
 4. Junk Food Taxes - Scientists & USDA Say Taxes Can Cut Obesity
To pay for the enormous public health damage caused by junk food, OCA supports a heavy tax on junk foods and beverages, similar to taxes already in place for toxic tobacco products.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service found that a 20 percent increase in the price of high-calorie, sweetened beverages, such as soda and sports drinks, could result in a decrease in the daily calorie intake of beverages by 37 calories for an average adult and 43 calories for children. That translates into an average reduction of 3.8 pounds over a year for an adult and 4.5 pounds for a child.
Similarly, research published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine estimates that an 18 percent tax on pizza and soda could push down U.S. adults' calorie intake enough to lower their average weight by 5 pounds per year. The researchers concluded that taxes could be used to offset and reduce the health care costs of obesity, estimated $147 billion a year.
 

Support the OCA!

OCA Needs Your Help to Fight Junk Food and Spread the Organic Revolution

Heartfelt thanks to everyone who has donated to OCA over the past few weeks. We've successfully overcome our summer financial crisis and will be back to full staffing by September. But we still need your donations to fight Monsanto and junk food. We still need your help to relocalize and rebuild local food and farming systems and prevent our climate crisis from metastasizing into full blown climate catastrophe. Please send us a tax-deductible donation today and we'll send you a free "Millions Against Monsanto" bumper sticker so you can help spread the word in your community. Please be sure to put "sticker" in the comments field of your donation.
Any donation $100 and over will get a free t-shirt. Please specify your interest and size in the comments field. Help OCA and spread the word about the Millions Against Monsanto Campaign!
Please consider joining OCA staff on one or both of our 5-6-day delegations to the Global Climate Summit in Cancun, Mexico at the end of November or early December. Details follow below.
 

Alert Update

Join the OCA at the Historic Global Climate Summit and Protests in Cancun

In 1999 and 2003, the OCA helped organize protests and teach-ins against the World Trade Organization in Seattle and Cancun. These mobilizations were the coming of age of the global grassroots. Now you have the opportunity to join OCA Director Ronnie Cummins and other OCA staff on an escorted delegation to the historic teach-ins and rallies for climate justice and organic agriculture at the Global Climate Summit in Cancun, Mexico November 29-Dec. 10.
Over 100,000 concerned citizens from North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia are expected to converge on Cancun, including leading farm, food, Fair Trade, climate justice, and anti-GE activists. They'll attend a wide range of workshops, forums, and cultural events. Following up on the theme of the World Social Forum, "Another World is Possible," the emphasis in Cancun will be on presenting organic and green solutions to the climate crisis.
The OCA delegation, limited to 100 people, will include international experts on organic agriculture and climate justice, including OCA Directors Ronnie Cummins and Alexis Baden-Mayer, organic farm leader and author, Will Allen, and author and food activist Jill Richardson.
OCA and our sister network in Mexico, Via Organica, will be hosting two tours:
  • 6-Day Tour:  November 29th- December 5th, 2010
  • 5-Day Tour: December 5th-11th, 2010
  • It is also possible to stay for the entire 11 day event from November 29th through December 11th, 2010.
World famous speakers and activists including Vandana Shiva, James Hansen, Bill McKibben, Pat Mooney, and Maude Barlow are expected to make presentations at the Grassroots Summit, which will take place simultaneously with the global negotiations of leaders from every nation in the world. During the week of teach-ins and protests, November 29th to December 10th, the OCA delegation will be housed in comfortable accommodations in the city of Cancun, near Palapas Park, action center of the grassroots summit.
For more information on pricing and housing options and for updates on scheduled speakers, please visit our webpage.
 

Video of the Week

Transition Cities on Studio 12 Episode

Public TV Host Tamara Banks takes a look at the Transition Cities movement that is working for a way of life that is environmentally friendly, supports the local economy and conserves natural resources.
 

Little Bytes

With Salmonella Recall Expanding to Half a Billion Eggs, it's Time to Rethink 'Efficiency'
READ MORE
A Global Shift to Renewable Energy: But Will it be Fast Enough?
READ MORE
The Iraq Legacy: Tell It Like It Is
READ MORE
Climate Change Policy Ignores Women Farmers
READ MORE
Wide Range of Diseases Linked to Pesticides
READ MORE
 

LOCAL GA NEWS OF THE WEEK

GA - Get Involved Locally

  • Learn more about OCA related action alerts and other news in GA here.
  • Join GA discussion groups in our forum.
  • Post events in GA on our community calendar.
 

Message from our Sponsors

Dr. Bronner's is Celebrating Our 60th Anniversary!

Marking the 60th Anniversary of the company, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps is pleased to announce that all classic liquid & bar soaps are now not only certified under the USDA National Organic Program, but also certified Fair Trade! In addition, we are pleased to introduce a revolutionary new range of high-quality organic products, from hair rinses to shaving gels - all certified under the same USDA program that certifies organic foods.
Please visit us on the web at DrBronner.com
 

Become an OCA Sponsor!

Every issue of Organic Bytes now goes to 250,000 organic consumers with a thousand new subscribers each week. Please help us and your business by letting our subscribers know who you are and that you support the work of the OCA. Please contact us if you want more information! (Note: select "Sponsorship Coordinator" from the dropdown menu)
 

Please forward this publication to family and friends, place it on web sites,
print it, duplicate it and post it freely. Knowledge is power!
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Friday, August 20, 2010

Hairy Teeth in 3rd Generation Off-Spring After GM Soy Consumption!

I'm reposting this for my cousin, whom I ran into at the hospital today.  He's a farmer.  We were discussing how farming today is not like it was years ago. 

See the side effects of GM Soy in 2nd generation off-spring (in this case, hampsters, with hair growing inside their mouths by the teeth!


http://www.responsibletechnology.org/utility/showArticle/?objectID=4888

Text of article from responsibletechnology.org:

Genetically Modified Soy Linked to Sterility, Infant Mortality

"This study was just routine," said Russian biologist Alexey V. Surov, in what could end up as the understatement of this century. Surov and his colleagues set out to discover if Monsanto's genetically modified (GM) soy, grown on 91% of US soybean fields, leads to problems in growth or reproduction. What he discovered may uproot a multi-billion dollar industry.

After feeding hamsters for two years over three generations, those on the GM diet, and especially the group on the maximum GM soy diet, showed devastating results. By the third generation, most GM soy-fed hamsters lost the ability to have babies. They also suffered slower growth, and a high mortality rate among the pups.

And if this isn't shocking enough, some in the third generation even had hair growing inside their mouths—a phenomenon rarely seen, but apparently more prevalent among hamsters eating GM soy.

The study, jointly conducted by Surov's Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the National Association for Gene Security, is expected to be published in three months (July 2010)—so the technical details will have to wait. But Surov sketched out the basic set up for me in an email.

He used Campbell hamsters, with a fast reproduction rate, divided into 4 groups. All were fed a normal diet, but one was without any soy, another had non-GM soy, a third used GM soy, and a fourth contained higher amounts of GM soy. They used 5 pairs of hamsters per group, each of which produced 7-8 litters, totally 140 animals.

Surov told The Voice of Russia,

"Originally, everything went smoothly. However, we noticed quite a serious effect when we selected new pairs from their cubs and continued to feed them as before. These pairs' growth rate was slower and reached their sexual maturity slowly."

He selected new pairs from each group, which generated another 39 litters. There were 52 pups born to the control group and 78 to the non-GM soy group. In the GM soy group, however, only 40 pups were born. And of these, 25% died. This was a fivefold higher death rate than the 5% seen among the controls. Of the hamsters that ate high GM soy content, only a single female hamster gave birth. She had 16 pups; about 20% died.

Surov said "The low numbers in F2 [third generation] showed that many animals were sterile."

The published paper will also include measurements of organ size for the third generation animals, including testes, spleen, uterus, etc. And if the team can raise sufficient funds, they will also analyze hormone levels in collected blood samples.

Hair Growing in the Mouth

Earlier this year, Surov co-authored a paper in Doklady Biological Sciences showing that in rare instances, hair grows inside recessed pouches in the mouths of hamsters.

"Some of these pouches contained single hairs; others, thick bundles of colorless or pigmented hairs reaching as high as the chewing surface of the teeth. Sometimes, the tooth row was surrounded with a regular brush of hair bundles on both sides. The hairs grew vertically and had sharp ends, often covered with lumps of a mucous."



Rat Study Oral Hair

“(a) The external appearance of the oral cavity. Gingival pouches (GP) with thick bundles of hair growing from their mucous lining are clearly seen. (b) Perforated bone tissue of the teeth of an adult Ph. campbelli. Numerous hollows are seen. A, hair.”

From A. S. Baranov, O. F. Chernova, N. Yu. Feoktistova, and A. V. Surov, “A New Example of Ectopia: Oral Hair in Some Rodent Species,” Doklady Biological Sciences, 2010, Vol. 431, pp. 117–120, Original Russian Text © A.S. Baranov, O.F. Chernova, N.Yu. Feoktistova, A.V. Surov, 2010, published in Doklady Akademii Nauk, 2010, Vol. 431, No. 4, pp. 559–562.

At the conclusion of the study, the authors surmise that such an astounding defect may be due to the diet of hamsters raised in the laboratory. They write, "This pathology may be exacerbated by elements of the food that are absent in natural food, such as genetically modified (GM) ingredients (GM soybean or maize meal) or contaminants (pesticides, mycotoxins, heavy metals, etc.)." Indeed, the number of hairy mouthed hamsters was much higher among the third generation of GM soy fed animals than anywhere Surov had seen before.

Preliminary, But Ominous

Surov warns against jumping to early conclusions. He said, "It is quite possible that the GMO does not cause these effects by itself." Surov wants to make the analysis of the feed components a priority, to discover just what is causing the effect and how.

In addition to the GMOs, it could be contaminants, he said, or higher herbicide residues, such as Roundup. There is in fact much higher levels of Roundup on these beans; they're called "Roundup Ready." Bacterial genes are forced into their DNA so that the plants can tolerate Monsanto's Roundup herbicide. Therefore, GM soy always carries the double threat of higher herbicide content, couple with any side effects of genetic engineering.

Years of Reproductive Disorders from GMO-Feed

Rats photo #1Surov's hamsters are just the latest animals to suffer from reproductive disorders after consuming GMOs. In 2005, Irina Ermakova, also with the Russian National Academy of Sciences, reported that more than half the babies from mother rats fed GM soy died within three weeks. This was also five times higher than the 10% death rate of the non-GMO soy group. The babies in the GM group were also smaller (see photo) and could not reproduce.

In a telling coincidence, after Ermakova's feeding trials, her laboratory started feeding all the rats in the facility a commercial rat chow using GM soy. Within two months, the infant mortality facility-wide reached 55%.







When Ermakova fed male rats GM soy, their testicles changed from the normal pink to dark blue!

Image - Rat testicles cells - large

Italian scientists similarly found changes in mice testes (PDF), including damaged young sperm cells. Furthermore, the DNA of embryos from parent mice fed GM soy functioned differently.

An Austrian government study published in November 2008 showed that the more GM corn was fed to mice, the fewer the babies they had (PDF), and the smaller the babies were.

Central Iowa Farmer Jerry Rosman also had trouble with pigs and cows becoming sterile. Some of his pigs even had false pregnancies or gave birth to bags of water. After months of investigations and testing, he finally traced the problem to GM corn feed. Every time a newspaper, magazine, or TV show reported Jerry's problems, he would receive calls from more farmers complaining of livestock sterility on their farm, linked to GM corn.

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine accidentally discovered that rats raised on corncob bedding "neither breed nor exhibit reproductive behavior." Tests on the corn material revealed two compounds that stopped the sexual cycle in females "at concentrations approximately two-hundredfold lower than classical phytoestrogens." One compound also curtailed male sexual behavior and both substances contributed to the growth of breast and prostate cancer cell cultures. Researchers found that the amount of the substances varied with GM corn varieties. The crushed corncob used at Baylor was likely shipped from central Iowa, near the farm of Jerry Rosman and others complaining of sterile livestock.

In Haryana, India, a team of investigating veterinarians report that buffalo consuming GM cottonseed suffer from infertility, as well as frequent abortions, premature deliveries, and prolapsed uteruses. Many adult and young buffalo have also died mysteriously.

Denial, Attack and Canceled Follow-up

Scientists who discover adverse findings from GMOs are regularly attacked, ridiculed, denied funding, and even fired. When Ermakova reported the high infant mortality among GM soy fed offspring, for example, she appealed to the scientific community to repeat and verify her preliminary results. She also sought additional funds to analyze preserved organs. Instead, she was attacked and vilified. Samples were stolen from her lab, papers were burnt on her desk, and she said that her boss, under pressure from his boss, told her to stop doing any more GMO research. No one has yet repeated Ermakova's simple, inexpensive studies.

In an attempt to offer her sympathy, one of her colleagues suggested that maybe the GM soy will solve the over population problem!

Surov reports that so far, he has not been under any pressure.

Opting Out of the Massive GMO Feeding Experiment

Without detailed tests, no one can pinpoint exactly what is causing the reproductive travesties in Russian hamsters and rats, Italian and Austrian mice, and livestock in India and America. And we can only speculate about the relationship between the introduction of genetically modified foods in 1996, and the corresponding upsurge in low birth weight babies, infertility, and other problems among the US population. But many scientists, physicians, and concerned citizens don't think that the public should remain the lab animals for the biotech industry's massive uncontrolled experiment.

Alexey Surov says, "We have no right to use GMOs until we understand the possible adverse effects, not only to ourselves but to future generations as well. We definitely need fully detailed studies to clarify this. Any type of contamination has to be tested before we consume it, and GMO is just one of them."

Eat safely! Get the Non-GMO Shopping Guide >

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Female Infants Growing Breasts!

Female Infants Growing Breasts: Another Disaster From Hormones in Milk Production


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-robbins/female-infants-growing-br_b_676402.html

Excerpt:  "... The problem was traced, and found to stem from the misuse of hormones  in dairy cows.  When Dr. Saenz was asked how she could be certain the  babies and children were contaminated with hormones from milk rather  than from some other source, she replied simply:  "When we take our  young  patients off... fresh milk, their symptoms usually regress."

Along with China, the U.S. is today one of the few countries in the  world that still allows bovine growth hormones to be injected into dairy  cows.  Though banned in Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and most  of Europe, the use of these hormones in U.S. dairy is not only legal,  it's routine in all 50 states.

The U.S. dairy industry assures us that this is not a problem. [???]  But  there is a very real problem, and its name is Insulin-like Growth  Factor-1 (IGF-1).  Monsanto's own studies, as well as those of Eli Lilly  & Co., have found a 10-fold increase in IGF-1 levels in the milk of  cows who have been injected with bovine growth hormone (BGH).

Why is that a problem?  A report by the European Commission's  authoritative international 16-member scientific committee not only  confirmed that excessive levels of IGF-1 are always found in the milk of  cows injected with BGH.  It also concluded that excess levels of IGF-1  pose serious risks of breast, colon and prostate cancer.

How serious is the increased risk?  According to an article in the May 9, 1998  issue of the medical journal The Lancetwomen with even a relatively small increase in blood levels of IGF-1  are up to seven times more likely to develop breast cancer than women  with lower levels.

IGF-1 that is consumed by human beings in dairy products is rapidly  absorbed into the bloodstream.  It isn't destroyed by human digestion.   And pasteurization is no help.  In fact, the pasteurization process  actually increases IGF-1 levels in milk.
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