Archive for the ‘Food-Nutrition-Health’ Category

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Proposed Food-labeling Term for GMO/GE Foods: Bio-Engineered

Saturday, May 19th, 2018

Frankenfood

By Catherine Haug, May 19, 2018 (image, right, from Organic Consumers Association and used by permission)

This is an important alert for all who want to avoid GMO foods. Please share this with others, and write to your legislators about proposed use of this new term on genetically modified foods.

Because GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) and GE (Genetically Engineered) are now commonly known as foods to avoid, the USDA has proposed a different term  for a new labeling law (2018) to replace GMO or GE: Bio-Engineered (BE). This newer term, while fairly common in scientific circles, has not been used much in common parlance. It also does not sound as scary as the more familiar terms. Hence if people see this on a food label, they will be less likely to refuse it.

But have no doubt about it: BE foods are just as harmful for your health and that of your pets and livestock, as GMO or GE foods.

Read on for more about the negative impact of these terms. See also: “Food Evolution”: New GMO technology even worse than Roundup-resistance and How much glyphosate is in your body? (more…)

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

“Organic” label is in trouble, and what you can do

Thursday, April 12th, 2018

By Catherine Haug, April 12, 2018 (image, right, from organic (dot) org (3))

I got the following text in an email today from NEXT7.org. I find it very disturbing and hope you do too.  The USDA “Organic” label is in trouble as BIG AG has gotten more than their foot in the door to use that label to their benefit. To quote NEXT7, “Recent decisions by the National Organic Program (NOP) … mean what is being sold under the USDA Organic label is not something anyone would recognize as truly organic.”

Here in the Flathead, we do have access to local, truly organically-grown fruits and vegetables because our local farmers choose to raise their foods that way, and we can visit their farms to verify their methods for ourselves. But people who live in large urban areas may not have that option, and so depend on the honesty of labels when selecting their foods.

Read on for more, and for a link to a very short survey (1 question) about this issue.

If you want to know more about NEXT7, visit their “about”website (2). (more…)

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Posted in Organics | No Comments »

Online documentary-series: GMOs Revealed

Saturday, March 17th, 2018

Frankenfood

By Catherine Haug, March 17, 2018, and updated same date, for the start date of the series (Image, right, used by permission from the Organic Consumer’s Association)

This new 9-part series, hosted by Dr. Patrick Gentempo, will be available for free viewing beginning today, March 17, 2018  The first episode (almost 2 hours long) is available now (the version on YouTube (1) says Aug 22-30, but that was in 2017). They must be doing a replay now, or this could be an updated version . This first episode features interviews with Dr. Zach Bush, Vani Hari, and Gunnar Lovelace.

You can register (2) to watch the entire 9-part series, GMOs Revealed, for free, prior to the  date the series premier begins, and also any day during the 9-days (but you may not be able to see prior days’ episodes). Each day, a new episode is up for 24 hours and the previous day’s episode is no longer available, for a total of 9 episodes in 9 days. See reference 2 for the link to register for this free showing. (more…)

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Posted in Agriculture, Events: Other, GMO | No Comments »

Beware: Sodium selenite in pet food is toxic

Sunday, February 4th, 2018

Charlie & Cloe

By Catherine Haug, Feb 4, 2018 (photo of my cats, right, by me)

This was originally published on my recipe blog, Cat’s Kitchen.

It is generally known that heavy metals are toxic; metals such as mercury, aluminum, cadmium, lead, arsenic and free-iron. There is a common ingredient present in most pet foods that can be very damaging to the health of your dog or cat, even though it is present in very minute amounts: sodium selenite (NaSeO3). It may be toxic to blood, kidneys, liver, skin, central nervous system of your pet.

Selenium is an essential mineral for most animals, but only when it is present in “organic” forms (meaning it is chelated by proteins or amino acids), such as that in selenium yeast (a form of nutritional yeast that has been grown on selenium). In “inorganic” forms which are typically salts (e.g., sodium selenite), it can be quite toxic, even in very small quantities. Also, as counter-intuitive as this sounds, it is a truth: the smaller the concentration of toxic selenium, the greater the harm because small concentrations mimic hormones, especially estrogen.

NOTE: If you take (or give to your pet) a multi-vitamin, multi-mineral, or specific mineral supplement that contains sodium selenite, stop using it and find a safer brand. For example, a widely used supplement that contains this toxic ingredient is Centrum.

See also: Miscellaneous & Information Menu (scroll down to “Pets”) on my Cat’s Kitchen blog. (more…)

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Beware: Sodium selenite in pet food is toxic

Tuesday, January 30th, 2018

By Catherine Haug, Jan 30, 2018

It is generally known that heavy metals are toxic; metals such as mercury, aluminum, cadmium, lead, arsenic and free-iron. There is a common ingredient present in most dry pet foods and some canned pet foods that can be very damaging to the health of your dog or cat, even though it is present in very minute amounts: sodium selenite (NaSeO3). It may be toxic to blood, kidneys, liver, skin, central nervous system of your pet.

Selenium is an essential mineral for most animals, but only when it is present in certain forms, such as that in selenium yeast (a form of nutritional yeast that has been grown on selenium). In other forms (e.g., sodium selenite), it can be quite toxic. Also, as counter-intuitive as this sounds, it is a truth: the smaller the concentration of toxic selenium, the greater the harm because small concentrations mimic hormones, especially estrogen.

NOTE: If you take (or give such a supplement to your pet): a multi-vitamin, multi-mineral, or specific mineral supplement that contains sodium selenite, stop using it and find a safer brand. (more…)

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

Moringa: green-leafy veggie (tree) grows well during drought

Friday, December 22nd, 2017

Edible leaves of a Moringa tree

By Cat, Dec 2017 (Photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

The leaves of this amazing tree are considered a superfood; plus the tree grows well in a warm, dry climate. Given the progression of climate change in our corner of the world here in NW Montana, this could become an important food source for us as our climate becomes more arid. Plus, its deep roots make it an amazing carbon-sequestor.

Its leaves have the texture of spinach with a radish-like taste, and are packed with nutrients. Use its leaves in salads and soups; add to smoothies or raw veggie juices. Its young seed pods are also edible, similar to green beans.

Important caution: We must be careful when introducing new, non-native species, as they can become problematic, invasive weeds.

Want to know more about this tree, and what makes it a superfood? Read on for more detail. (more…)

Posted in Ecology, Health, Landscaping | No Comments »

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