Monsanto to Be in Charge of It's Own Testing? Interesting...

This sounds like the wolf being in charge of the chicken house.

According to fastcompany.com,

"Monsanto, enemy of organic farmers and anti-GMO advocates alike, will likely be allowed to conduct its own environmental studies as part of a two-year USDA experiment. But there is no good that can possibly come of an experiment where the company behind nearly every genetically modified crop in our daily diets is allowed to decide whether its products are causing any environmental harm. And Monsanto isn't the only biotech company that will be permitted to police itself.

As it stands, the USDA is responsible for assessing environmental impacts of new GMO crops. The agency has been lax about this, to say the least. In 2005, the USDA gave Monsanto the go-ahead to unleash its sugar beets before preparing an Environmental Impact Statement. This decision eventually triggered a judge to rule that Monsanto sugar beet seedlings should be ripped from the ground.

Because the USDA is so bad at doing its job on time, the agency decided to see if anyone else was prepared to do its safety testing work instead. And so it looks like the USDA will at least temporarily hand over environmental impact reporting responsibilities to the biotech companies behind GMO crops. The pilot program will allow these companies to conduct their own environmental assessments of crops or outsource the work to contractors." Read the whole article.

This is important because now we have Round-Up resistant Super Weeds. What's next?

Till next time,
Stephen

BTW: Click HERE for a great cartoon that is so apropos for the subject being discussed, and there's more if you follow the prompts.

GMOs - Risks and Solutions

This is an addendum to the previous post. Pass on this information to those you care about. We can make a difference if more information is shared.

"If you think that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) don’t affect you, then consider this. Up to 90% of all major US grown crops are grown with genetically engineered seed, and can be used in human and animal foods without any safety testing or labeling to let us know what’s been used.

This includes GM corn (maize), soybeans, canola (a North American cultivar of oilseed rape), sugar beet and cotton, which have made their way into approximately 80% of current US grocery store items. Don’t know if you’re eating GMOs? If you’re not buying organically produced foods or growing your own vegetables and raising your own animals for food, you’re probably eating genetically modified ingredients in most of the foods you’re consuming today."

Article-ukprogressive.co.uk

There is power in knowledge. We can't keep our head in the sand and ignore what is happening. To ignore makes ignorance and apathy prevail. It means our health and that of our children to stay aware and awake to the tampering of our food supply and its potential or inevitable consequences depending on the expert consulted. Their future depends on what we do today. Protect our children's and grandchildren's inalienable right to unadulterated food supplies!

To your health,

Stephen

What Is Really In Your Food? You "Should" Want to Know...

Here's a bit of information you'll want to know about the next time you stop for a fast food lunch. Everything from the "milk shake" to the fish sandwich is probably made in the lab and not by nature. It may be hard to swallow, but you have to know...

Let's take the "Fast-Food Hamburger" for a starter:

"It comes from a cow, yes, but before being stuffed in the bun of a Whopper or Big Mac, fast-food hamburger patties pass through the hands of a company called Beef Products. Beef Products specializes in taking slaughterhouse trimmings traditionally used only in pet food and cooking oil and turning them into patties. The challenge is getting this by-product meat clean enough for human consumption, as both E. coli and salmonella like to concentrate themselves in the fatty deposits. So how does Beef Products go about "cleaning" the meat? With an approach similar to what you might use in your bathroom—by using ammonia.

See, the company has developed a process for killing beef-based pathogens by forcing the ground meat through pipes and exposing it to ammonia gas. And not only has the USDA approved the process, but they've also allowed those who sell the beef to keep it hidden from their customers. At Beef Products' behest, ammonia gas has been deemed a "processing agent" that need not be identified on nutrition labels. Never mind that if ammonia gets on your skin, it can cause severe burning, and if it gets in your eyes, it can blind you. As an ingredient in one of the foods we consume most, our government doesn't even deem it important enough to inform eaters of its presence.

Add to the gross-out factor the fact that after moving through this lengthy industrial process, a single beef patty can consist of cobbled-together pieces from different cows all over the world—a practice that only increases the odds of E. coli contamination. So if you're set on the challange of eating fresh, single-source hamburger, pick out a nice hunk of sirloin from the meat case and have your butcher grind it up fresh. Hold the ammonia."

To read about some of the other items served, check out Men's Health HERE. You will be surprised! For instance, is that chicken nugget really what you think it is? And, what about salami? Ordering that may be put way down on the totem pole of choices for your next sandwich or favorite pizza once you know. Just because something may taste good, doesn't mean it's a wise choice for your diet. You are what you eat! So smile and be glad that you now know what's in the fast food...

To your health,
Stephen

"Forks Over Knives"-Great New Documentary for Your Health

Take responsibility for your health and start eating more natural plant based foods. This is a great, new documentary that needs to be considered by everyone.

To your health,

Stephen

Who will protect the public? Not our government: The U.S. Department of Agriculture's nutrition pyramid is laden with food that will guarantee millions will suffer ill health. Not the American Dietetic Association, which is controlled by food corporations. Not the insurance industry, which profits by selling plans to the sick. Not the pharmaceutical industry, which pockets billions from chronic illnesses. And not the medical profession, in which doctors and nurses receive virtually no training in nutrition or behavioral modification, and are handsomely rewarded for administrating drugs and employing technical expertise.

What can save America is a plant-based diet, which will help individuals recover their good health, and which in turn will set our health care system right (as well as our economy). However, for this plant-based diet to take hold, the public must be endowed with nutritional literacy, the kind of knowledge that is portrayed in the new documentary, "Forks Over Knives."

"Forks Over Knives" focuses not just on the research that both of us have been engaged in over the last four decades, whether in China and Cornell or at the Cleveland Clinic; it also traces the journey of several Americans as they move from a lifetime of eating mostly animal-based and processed foods to a whole food plant-based diet, and the extraordinary medical results that follow. It is educational, entertaining, and literally life-saving.

Please see "Forks Over Knives." It could transform your life in ways you never thought possible. And it may just help start the seismic revolution in health care this country so badly needs.

T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D.
Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr., M.D.

Read entire article HERE

Our Health, Obesity, and Sugar

We are what we eat. However, there is so much more to the story and the "bio-chemical process." Statistics show that the average person consumes 141 lbs. of sugar per year. Unbelievable!! Sit back and enjoy the video.



Avoid sugar and artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose, or any of the other commercial sweeteners. Have this as your goal: Make this a soda free summer!!!

In our culture and when we entertain, it is often difficult to avoid sweetening some foods. If you must buy a sweetener, raw and minimally processed sweeteners are best. Organic sweeteners have the added benefit of being grown and processed in a way that is not only healthier for us but for the environment as well. Look for products that have an organic certification to be sure that you are purchasing products that have been grown and processed without using harmful chemicals, pesticides, or herbicides.

Use everything in moderation: Sweeteners are still sweeteners; however, some do have minerals, vitamins, and trace elements when minimally processed and unadulterated.

So, the following are some natural alternatives to consider if you must have something sweetened-two of them are 300 times sweeter than sugar*.

Pure Maple Syrup-Do make sure it's "pure" maple syrup. Those others don't count as "syrup"!

Luo Han Guo* derived from a medicinal fruit/herb in China

Yacon with probiotics
Stevia*

Honey-moderately used & raw, derived from local hives in your area for best benefits.

Natural Sorghum
Unsulpured Molasses-Black Strap

Sucanat
Raw or Turbinado Sugar

Date Sugar
Rice Syrup, etc.

Use depends on your need or preference, physical tolerance to sweets, and recipes.

One natural sweetener that is suggested to take everyday, however, is Yacon. It works like yogurt does in the body with helpful probiotics for digestion and no calories-Amazing substance. It is derived from the sunflower root and has been used for centuries in South American countries. It resembles sorghum in flavor and texture, and it is very good.

Eat natural, avoid soda like the plague, and drink water!!!!

Have a joy-filled week,

Stephen

P.S. Most of these sweeteners are available locally or on-line at the sources on this blog. Looking for local sources for raw honey? Contact your state Beekeepers Association. This is important: Bees can get sick, too. They will have a list of reputable people in your area whose hives are regularly inspected by the state bee inspector. If you are in Arkansas, contact us.