Archive for the ‘GMO’ Category

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Bacterial contamination of produce, including Organic

Saturday, August 22nd, 2015
Friesian-Holsten

Friesian-Holsten

By Catherine Haug, August 21, 2015 (Photo, right, from Wikipedia)

The lifestyle blog, Take Part, featured an article today titled Your Organic Spinach Could Be More Dangerous Than Meat, by Willy Blackmore (1). At issue is contamination of vegetable crops, both Organic and conventional, primarily by contaminated animal waste (primarily from CAFOs – Confinement Animal Feeding Operations) leaching into ground water.

A classic example was a 39-state recall of E. coli-contaminated spinach a few years back, that was caused by animal waste from a nearby CAFO leaching into groundwater regularly used to water the crops. Similar recalls have involved listeria and other pathogens.

Data from the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) indicate food-borne illness is far more likely from produce, than for poultry, seafood, red meat, eggs or dairy (2).

What is the solution to this problem? (more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Ecology, Food-Nutrition-Health, Gardening, GMO, Health, Livestock, Organics | No Comments »

“Why are we being fed by a poison expert?”

Thursday, June 25th, 2015

By Catherine Haug, June 25, 2015 (The title of this post is a quote from the Food Revolution website (1))

Who might that expert be? And why is that statement true? Watch this video to find out. It’s only 5 minutes and it is “humorous, entertaining, and chillingly accurate”. (1)

If the video doesn’t appear below, you can find it on the Food Revolution (1) and The Guardian (2) websites. Please feel free to share this with others.

And Just say no to GMOs. (more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Food-Nutrition-Health, GMO | No Comments »

Glyphosate (Roundup) residues in food and in you

Saturday, June 13th, 2015
Dryland Farming - Palouse Hills

Dryland Farming – Palouse Hills

by Catherine Haug, June 13, 2015; updated Nov 2018 (Photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

The most common GMO crops are Roundup-Ready corn and soy. They can be sprayed with multiple heavy doses of the herbicide, and not die, while the weeds growing alongside them die immediately. When the crops are harvested, the glyphosate stays with the harvest and enters the human food chain through our modern processed foods. Our health suffers – especially our gut microbiome – and we wonder why.

Non-GMO grain crops are sprayed with glyphosate just before harvest as a desiccant (dead crops dry out faster than live ones). The consequence of this is evident in a recent EWG (Environmental Working Group) study that showed high levels of glyphosate in breakfast cereals such as Cheerios and Quaker Oats products (7).

It is getting impossible to avoid glyphosate (Roundup) and other toxic sprays used on crops.

I have long been opposed to GMOs, and the use of herbicide/pesticide sprays used on such crops. I’m an advocate of mandatory testing of foods for herbicide/pesticide residue, and mandatory labeling of GMOs. I’m constantly astonished at the number of people who believe the hype that GMOs are safe and are necessary to stop world hunger – even some people who operate restaurants in our area.

The EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) recently announced US regulators (USDA) may soon start testing for glyphosate residues in food, due to rising consumer concerns about the health impact of this chemical. (1) Will the results be included on food labels?
(more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Food-Nutrition-Health, GMO | No Comments »

Would you eat this chicken?

Wednesday, May 13th, 2015
Caged, stressed laying hens

Caged, stressed laying hens

by Catherine Haug, May 13, 2015 (Photo, right, from WSPA (5)

Includes: 1. Would you eat this chicken? 2. What about eggs?

Would you eat this chicken? If you buy chicken from your favorite supermarket, discount grocery chain, or most of the fast food chains around the country, you already are (eating this chicken).

NOTE: a popular brand in the Flathead is Foster Farms, which has several farms in Washington State. This brand utilizes the CAFO method (Confinement Animal Feeding Operation) as described in this posting. See also The EssentiiaList: Foster Farms chicken and salmonella outbreak (Oct 2013 posting).

(more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Food-Nutrition-Health, GMO, Livestock, Organics | Comments Closed

Ebola cure from ZMapp: another type of GMO

Sunday, September 14th, 2014

by Catherine Haug, September 14, 2014

We know GMOs as a genetically engineered ‘food’ – for example, bT corn which is genetically engineered to produce the toxin normally produced by the bT bacteria. This substance is toxic to pests that eat the corn. Unfortunately, if you eat a food product made from bT corn, it includes the DNA that can produce that toxin, so that when ingested, it can potentially produce the toxin in your body too.

But that type of GMO product is just the tip of the technology iceberg. Bio-tech companies are rapidly expanding and modifying the technique for many other applications. For example, forcing a tobacco plant to produce a new type of antibiotic that helps the body fight off infection by the ebola virus. At first blush, this seems like a good, novel idea. But Science still doesn’t know the long-term effects of the application of this technology, just as it doesn’t know (or doesn’t admit) the long-term effects of GMO ‘foods.’

How does this new antibody technique work? (more…)

Posted in GMO, Remedies | Comments Closed

Fermented vs unfermented soy: friend vs foe

Tuesday, September 9th, 2014

Silk vanilla soy milkBy Catherine Haug, Sept 9, 2014 (photo, right, from silk.com (3))

The vegetarian, vegan and veggie-juicing communities all promote the consumption of soy and soy products as good for you. Many site that Asians consider soy to be a sacred crop as proof of its goodness. But is this really true? What are the facts and history of soy consumption?

It is true that many Asians consider soy to be a sacred crop, but this is primarily because of the nitrogen-fixing benefit it provides, as a legume, to the soil for growing other crops, not because of any dietary healthfulness. It is also true that many Asians include soy products in their daily diet, but not the same soy products sold in Western countries.

May people site the isoflavones present in soy as being beneficial for health, especially women’s health because of their estrogen-like (phytoestrogen) activity. However, one of soy’s isoflavones – genistein – is believed to have toxicity issues, though more research is needed as various studies report conflicting results (see Fact Sheet: Phytoestrogen Genistein, from Breast Cancer and Environment Research Centers, or BCERC (1). Genistein is present in other foods, including mothers’ milk, but in much lesser quantities than in soy.

What is one to believe? The answer lies in the differences between fermented and non-fermented soy. (more…)

Posted in Fermentation, Culturing & Curing, Food-Nutrition-Health, GMO, Health | Comments Closed

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