‘Surprise Side Effects’: USDA Approves Two New Genetically Engineered Potatoes [GMOs]

Source: RT
November 3, 2016

A new report finds that there are no discernable differences in yields or pesticide use when it comes to genetically modified crops. The report comes as the United States Department of Agriculture has approved two new types of genetically modified potatoes to be developed. To discuss, Jeffrey Smith founder of the Institute for Responsible Technology joins RT America’s Simone Del Rosario and says “surprise side effects” are the most common effects of genetic engineering.

Warning: USDA allowing over 20 synthetic substances in organic foods

USDA
Source: NaturalNews.com
Vicki Batts
October 26, 2016

Just one month ago, a California judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit that seeks to challenge the USDA on their recent, unlawful changes to how synthetic substances are evaluated in the production of organic goods.

While the charges are simply “alleged” for now, more than a dozen organizations came forward to press the issue. They discovered that at least 20 substances that would have been banned under the previous evaluation method had been allowed to slide through and into our organic foods.

Unsurprisingly, the federal agency requested that the case be dismissed because they believe that these organizations do not have the legal standing to press such a lawsuit. Our founding fathers probably rolled in their graves when the USDA suggested that any of the citizens of the country for which it serves did not have the “legal standing” to challenge them in court, but particularly those who may be be harmed by its doings.

Fortunately, U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr. of San Francisco disagreed with the USDA’s sentiments, and is allowing the litigation to move forward. Capital Press reports, “Gilliam ruled that it’s plausible the plaintiffs will be harmed by the USDA’s policy change, which they say has allowed more than 20 synthetic substances to continue being used in organic agriculture.”

The organizations came together to voice their concerns (and press charges) last year, arguing that the agency’s changes to their procedures for handling synthetic substances in organics have effectively made it much more difficult to remove a synthetic ingredient from the list of approved substances. In other words, these new regulations are making it harder to keep organic food clean.

The organizations’ concerns are primarily focused on the USDA’s decision in 2013 to change the five-year “sunset process” for synthetics that are approved for organic farming. In the past, synthetic substances were banned from the list, unless two-thirds of the 15-member National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) agreed that they should be permitted to remain on the list.

The USDA has taken this policy and flipped it on its head; in order to eliminate a synthetic chemical from the list, now the NOSB must obtain a vote of at least two-thirds. So instead of voting for a chemical to remain on the list, the NOSB now has to vote to remove them. This means that even a majority of nine people will not be able to effectively remove unwanted substances from organic foods.

Will Fantle, co-founder of the Cornucopia Institute, a nonprofit organic industry watchdog site, commented, “This gets at the heart of decision-making at the National Organic Standards Board.” Fantle also noted that now, instead of allowing these products to “sunset,” or simply fade out of use, the USDA’s new policy will force these ingredients into the “land of the midnight sun.”

The plaintiffs state that the USDA’s newly-minted process harms consumers who pay a premium for organic produce and products, because there is an expectation that these goods are produced with a minimal amount of synthetics. This deception also harms farmers, because it undermines the “organic” label. These are products that are supposed to be produced with integrity in mind.

The first lawsuit presented by the group was dismissed because it lacked specificity. Not to be deterred, the plaintiffs identified 20 different substances that would have been banned under the previous NOSB policy. In their lawsuit, they also state that “the USDA promulgated the regulation without providing the public the opportunity for notice and comment and acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner[.]”

Hopefully, the lawsuit will be successful and the USDA will be forced to revoke their terrible new policy. If Americans continue to band together and fight against such deceitful practices, we may eventually be able to clean up our food (and our country).

Read More At: NaturalNews.com

Sources:

Reason.com

CapitalPress.com

Monsanto’s GMO Wheat Found Growing Illegally AGAIN…This Time In Washington

GMO wheat

Source: NaturalNews.com
Isabelle Z.
August 4, 2016

A farmer has found 22 illegal plants of genetically modified wheat in an unplanted Washington field, sparking fears of another international trade fiasco like the one that occurred three years ago when similar wheat was found growing illegally in Oregon.

The wheat, which has been developed to be resistant to Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, is unapproved for sale and commercial production in this country. The exact location of the wheat plants in question has not been released, and it’s not clear how it got there in the first place. It is being reported that the field where it was found had not been planted since last year.

Federal officials are working together with the farmer to make sure the modified wheat is not sold. They will be testing the farmer’s entire harvest of wheat to make sure none of it is tainted with GMOs. The wheat they have tested so far has all come up clear, and the USDA claims there is no evidence that this wheat has made its way into the market.

The plants found in Washington are eerily similar to wheat that was discovered three years ago in Oregon. The inserted DNA in the plant is the same, although it appears in a different location.

Similar discovery led other countries to ban American wheat in 2013

When genetically modified wheat was discovered in an eastern Oregon field in 2013, a number of Asian countries placed a temporary ban on American wheat imports, including Japan and South Korea, while the European Union began to scrutinize American wheat. The plants involved were discovered after being sprayed with Roundup and surviving. An investigation failed to uncover how the plants got there.

In light of the Washington finding, South Korea, the fifth biggest market for American wheat, has already said it will be inspecting all American wheat imports for signs of GMOs. The USDA said it would make a test available to trading partners. Washington Grain Commission CEO Glen Squires said be believes trading partners will continue to buy the wheat once they have the tests, and he added that he doesn’t anticipate major trade disruptions taking place as a result. Prices on wheat are nearing multi-year lows thanks to tight competition in the international market.

Genetically engineered wheat is illegal for commercial use and production in the U.S. and throughout the world. Monsanto admitted that GMO wheat plants were used during field trails between 1998 and 2001 in the Pacific Northwest, but they were never commercialized. Illegal GMO wheat was also discovered at a university research center in Montana, 14 years after Monsanto had tested it there.

Possibilities of contamination high

Part of the problem is that wheat pollen can blow into neighboring fields, which means it is fairly easy for crops to become contaminated. Wheat is also capable of self-pollination, which means there is no telling just how far the GM wheat from Monsanto’s open-air tests could have spread. It seems to be popping up unexpectedly even more than a decade after the tests. This places the integrity of our nation’s wheat crops at risk, and it means that short of growing your own organic fruits and vegetables at home, there is little that can be done to ensure that the food you consume is completely pure.

Farmers aren’t happy about the possible contamination, and the tests used to check for purity can be quite expensive. Monsanto shelled out $2.4 million in order to settle a lawsuit that was filed by American wheat farmers in the fallout of the Oregon GMO wheat scare. In 2015, the firm paid a further $350,000 to various farmers for the same problem. Of course, these amounts barely make a dent in the firm’s bottom line as their annual profits number in the billions.

Read More At: NaturalNews.com

Sources include:

http://www.businessinsider.com

http://www.ecowatch.com

http://www.naturalnews.com

http://science.naturalnews.com/GMO.html

http://www.naturalnews.com

Top Harvard Nutritionist Warns Processed Milk Is Dangerous, Food Pyramid Is ‘Utterly Ridiculous’

[Editor’s Note]

For those seeking of additional information please read Dr. Mercola’s:

What A Food Pyramid Based On Nutrition Looks Like

Milk

Source: NaturalNews.com
Ethan A. HuffAugust 2, 2016

In order to maintain strong bones and promote good health, you need to drink three glasses of milk every single day – at least according to official U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines. But one of the world’s top scientists says this is horrible advice, calling it “udderly ridiculous,” and out of step with what we know about sound nutrition.

Dr. Walter Willett, M.D., Ph.D., from the Harvard School of Public Health, is the second-most cited scientist in the entire field of clinical medicine, so he knows what he’s talking about. And government recommendations concerning milk intake, he says, are absolute bunk, and shouldn’t be adhered to by anyone looking to reduce his risk of bone fractures.

There are a lot of reasons for this, one being that “milk” today is nothing but a highly-processed, milk-like substance that’s been heavily altered through pasteurization, homogenization and the addition of synthetic vitamins and minerals, making it a processed food that provides little in the way of actual nutrition. But beyond this, the idea that drinking processed milk somehow strengthens bones is an industry myth.

According to Dr. Mark Hyman, M.D., a leading nutrition expert, milk and dairy products in general are something that people should avoid at all costs. Not only is milk a pro-inflammatory food (at least the processed kind), but it’s also counter-intuitive in terms of strengthening bones and reducing one’s risk of disease, and here are some reasons why:

1) The calcium in milk isn’t as bone-protective as we’ve all been led to believe. Studies show that vitamin D, magnesium and other nutrients are more important for strengthening bones than calcium. And the calcium in milk, when consumed by itself, may actually increase one’s risk of bone problems.

2) Processed dairy lacks the enzymes needed for proper digestion. When milk is pasteurized, the lactase enzyme that digests lactose is destroyed, which is why many people now suffer from lactose intolerance, and can’t stomach dairy products without supplemental support.

3) Drinking processed milk can actually increase your risk of cancer. That’s right, the calcium in milk has been shown to increase a man’s risk of prostate cancer by up to 50 percent. Milk consumption also increases levels of insulin-like growth factor-1, or IGF-1, a hormone that’s known to promote the development of cancer.

Don’t bother with the USDA’s food pyramid; it’s garbage

Dr. Willett is also outspoken in condemning the USDA’s food pyramid as a whole, which recommends heavy intake of carbohydrates and low intake of fats, two pieces of advice that constitute a recipe for chronic disease and death. The pyramid also pushes the low-calorie myth, failing to differentiate between the types of calories consumed, and how they affect the body differently.

The scientific consensus is finally switching to an understanding that calories aren’t what we need to look at, but rather the ratios of the types of foods we eat, and when we eat them. We now know that saturated fats are actually good for the body, and should be consumed in high amounts along with clean proteins, complex carbohydrates in the form of whole vegetables and lots of hydration.

Sugars, grains, artificial sweeteners and additives, and low-fat foods, on the other hand, only fuel inflammation and weight gain, leading to chronic health problems in the long run. Salt, which has long been vilified, is another important nutrient that you need as part of your diet, just so long as it’s unrefined sea or mineral salt.

Check out the new book Food Forensics by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, to learn more about how to eat better and avoid disease.

Read More At: NaturalNews.com

Sources for this article include:

DrHyman.com

BMJ.com

Monsanto’s Dark Act Ready For Obama’s Signature

QuestionEverything2
Source: NoMoreFakeNews.com | JonRappoport.wordpress.com
Jon Rappoport
July 20, 2016

(To read about Jon’s mega-collection, Power Outside The Matrix, click here.)

“Let folks know when their food is genetically modified, because Americans have a right to know what they’re buying.” (Barack Obama, 2007)

Really?

In the last eight years, the global outcry against Monsanto and the other biotech giants has accelerated—but not a significant peep has emerged from the Obama White House.

And now, the bill dubbed The Dark Act is ready for Obama’s signature. It will make GMO labels on food an exclusively federal matter—and those labels will be confusing, weak, and therefore meaningless for the majority of Americans. The Dark Act is basically a free pass for Monsanto and the other biotech giants.

After his victory in the 2008 election, Obama filled key posts with Monsanto people, in federal agencies that wield tremendous force in GMO food issues—the USDA and the FDA:

At the USDA, as the director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Roger Beachy, former director of the Monsanto Danforth Center.

As deputy commissioner of the FDA, the new food-safety-issues czar, the infamous Michael Taylor, former vice-president for public policy for Monsanto. Taylor had been instrumental in getting approval for Monsanto’s genetically engineered bovine growth hormone.

As commissioner of the USDA, Iowa governor, Tom Vilsack. Vilsack had set up a national group, the Governors’ Biotechnology Partnership, and had been given a Governor of the Year Award by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, whose members include Monsanto.

As the Agriculture Trade Representative, who would push GMOs for export, Islam Siddiqui, a former Monsanto lobbyist.

As the counsel for the USDA, Ramona Romero, who had been corporate counsel for another biotech giant, DuPont.

As the head of the USAID, Rajiv Shah, who had previously worked in key positions for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a major funder of GMO agriculture research.

We should also remember that Obama’s Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, once worked for the Rose law firm. That firm was counsel to Monsanto.

Obama nominated Elena Kagan to the US Supreme Court. Kagan, as federal solicitor general, had previously argued for Monsanto in the Monsanto v. Geertson seed case before the Supreme Court.

The deck was stacked. Obama hadn’t simply made honest mistakes. Obama hadn’t just failed to exercise proper oversight in selecting appointees. He was staking out territory on behalf of Monsanto and other GMO corporate giants.

Continue Reading At: JonRappoport.wordpress.com
_________________________________________________________________

Jon Rappoport

The author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED, EXIT FROM THE MATRIX, and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX, Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free NoMoreFakeNews emails here or his free OutsideTheRealityMachine emails here.

USDA Running Massive Glyphosate Cover-Up, Refuses To Test Foods For Traces Of Cancer-Causing Herbicide Chemical Used On Genetically Modified Crops

Glyphosate
Source: NaturalNews.com
Sarah Landers
July 7, 2016

Consumer groups have been calling on the U.S. government to test foods for glyphosate residues on behalf of the public, amid a growing body of evidence showing that the chemical is harmful to human health.

Microbiologist Bruce Hemming was hired two years ago to test breast milk samples for residues of glyphosate, a key ingredient in popular weed-killer Roundup. Hemming is the founder of St. Louis-based Microbe Inotech Laboratories and was previously of the opinion that glyphosate was not able to accumulate in the human body.

In fact, Hemming previously worked as a scientist for Monsanto Co., the manufacturer of the popular and toxic herbicide Roundup. Despite his original doubts, Hemming’s lab tests did find residues of glyphosate in the samples of breast milk he received from a small group of mothers.

Food companies, consumer groups and academics have also solicited testing for glyphosate residues, fueled by fears that prevalent use of the pesticide on genetically engineered (GE) crops may be contributing to health problems, as people eat foods containing residues of glyphosate.

Fears have been growing thanks to some recent scientific studies that have revealed health problems tied to glyphosate, as well as data released by the U.S. Department of the Interior which found glyphosate in both water and air samples.

Health concerns regarding glyphosate

Roundup is routinely sprayed on GE crops that have been engineered to be able to tolerate the toxic glyphosate content, such as corn, soy, cotton, canola, sugar beets and alfalfa crops.

However, over recent years concerns have been growing regarding health problems that have been linked with glyphosate, which has started to contaminate the food we eat, water we drink and air we breathe.

People who are suffering with certain conditions have higher levels of glyphosate in their bodies than those who are healthy. The following are some of the conditions that have been associated with glyphosate:

  • In farming communities, there is a strong correlation between exposure to glyphosate and ADHD, possibly due to the chemical’s ability to disrupt thyroid hormone functions
  • Tests on Roundup in the lab show the same type of oxidative stress and neural cell death observed in Alzheimer’s disease
  • Roundup can disrupt the vitamin A-signaling pathway, which is crucial for normal fetal development – causing birth defects
  • Researchers found that if either parent has been exposed to glyphosate during the two years before a child’s birth, the chances of that child developing brain cancer doubled
  • Glyphosate has been found to induce human breast cancer cell growth via estrogen receptors, causing breast cancer

Consumer groups have been calling for the U.S. government to test foods for glyphosate residues on behalf of the public, in an attempt to establish what levels of glyphosate are common and whether the levels are dangerous. However, so far the requests have been ignored.

This doesn’t seem to be a particularly difficult request either – since 1991 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been annually collecting pesticide residue data in its Pesticide Data Program. This testing looks for residues on a range of food products, including baby formula and drinking water.

However, whilst testing occurs for other herbicides, fungicides and insecticides, it seems that the government agency does not test for glyphosate on a regular basis. The USDA claims that it would be too expensive to test for glyphosate residues – however, this seems like a poor excuse considering the costs already approved for the testing of other pesticide residues. It seems that the U.S. government is totally shirking its obligation to provide consumers with clarity over herbicide residues on food, and the associated dangers.

Read More At: NaturalNews.com

New ‘GMO-labeling law’ violates state sovereignty, trampling food transparency laws in Vermont and other regions

GMOs
Source: NaturalNews.com
L.J. Devon
July 7, 2016

Should the American people compromise their health and future by letting the biotech industry continue to operate in sheer secrecy?

The new “anti-GMO labeling law” proposed in the U.S. Senate by Roberts and Stabenow would allow the biotech industry to continue on just as they have – in utter secrecy. The bill, a negotiation between two senators and industry lobbying groups, would exempt major portions of current and future GMO foods from being labeled. For example, if a biotech product is genetically modified with items “found in nature,” (such as bacteria), then it can be passed as a natural food product. Other GMOs, which cannot yet be detected by current technology, would also pass as whole foods under the new law. This would include foods made with non in vitro recombinant DNA techniques.

All food transparency laws to be wiped off the books as USDA pushes new, unreadable QR product code

If signed into law, the bill would also wipe out existing GMO transparency laws established in states like Vermont, and would block any state from passing their own GMO labeling laws. Over the next two years, Americans would be forced to wait, as the USDA gains the power to establish new federal rules for labeling GM foods. Since the USDA has many longstanding ties to Monsanto and the rest of the biotech industry, it is only fitting that the USDA would get to make all the rules for Big Biotech if this law came to pass!

A future USDA Secretary would also gain the power to determine what “amount” of GMO ingredients qualified the food for labeling. This newfound USDA power is a formula for deception. In theory, up to 99 percent of GMOs could pass as natural under the USDA’s rules, which would most definitely cater to Big Biotech’s poisonous domination of the world.

Even more ridiculous is that the new law would roll out a uniform QR code system that would be impossible to read and decipher, from a consumer standpoint.

Current food labels are a fraud, a distraction

Today’s food labels are incomplete, leaving consumers clueless as to what’s really going into their bodies. Consumers are counting calories instead of chemicals, as they are distracted from the real problems with food.

Food labels should be among the most transparent of all documents. A real food label should not be a manipulation of words, of clever marketing, of claims that have not been validated. Food labels should come with full-blown scientific documentation, similar to vaccine insert sheets, giving consumers further knowledge of the product’s chemistry and risks. Consumers should have sufficient knowledge about products to make informed decisions as to what they put into their bodies.

How does genetic modification of food affect human genes over time, from one generation to the next? The study of epigenetics should apply. How do pesticides and changes in the genetic sequence of foods affect the human endocrine system and normal hormone messaging? Changes in food chemistry can signal changes in how the body behaves.

How does glyphosate’s destruction of microbial hosts in the human gut contribute to changes in a person’s behavior, cognitive function and immune system de-activation?

Transparent food labels are not enough. Consumers need to know the science behind the changes in their food. Rigorous testing of foods should list heavy metal, pesticide and herbicide content. Consumers should know what these elements and chemicals are doing to their bodies and minds.

If we had real science and transparency working in the public’s interest, then healthcare could be revolutionized. Consumers would be able to see where all their health problems are actually derived from – the chemicals we’re being secretly force-fed.

No compromising on transparency or human health

American consumers should not compromise one bit on the new Roberts-Stabenow legislation. Organizations like Whole Foods should not be supporting any kind of anti-GMO labeling law compromise that will only blind the American people and prevent the science behind GMOs, heavy metals and pesticides from coming out in the open. Why would Whole Foods CEO Walter Robb come out calling this fraudulent law an “incredible thing” that was “accomplished together?”

There should be no compromise. Consumers should have 100 percent transparency, more than just QR coding language, more than fake labels that gloss over the real health issues created by biotech experiments with food.

In the meantime, for those consumers looking for some way to take back control, be sure to check out the Health Ranger’s Food Rising grow boxes, version 2.0. These packages include all the tools and all the healthy non-GMO seeds needed to successfully grow clean, organic whole foods year round.

Read More At: NaturalNews.com

The 8 Most Insane & Absurd US Laws Regarding Food, Water & Medicine

Food laws
Source: NaturalNews.com
S.D. Wells
July 6, 2016

It’s not conspiracy theory when it’s a law, now is it? People who wish their government cared about them, protected them, and prevented disease and disorder, all would expect written laws that speak to those values, but it’s just the opposite in the United States. Though you are “free” to roam from state to state, to run your own business, and grow food in your back yard, watch out! There are many laws that have been WRITTEN that, if you don’t know about, will land you in a jail, hospital, or worse, your early grave.

You read that right. Don’t you DARE grow natural medicine and tell all your friends about it. For anything to be declared medicine in the US, it must be made in a laboratory with chemicals, be patented, and the FDA must be paid millions of dollars for you to get a “stamp” of approval–then you can even advertise it on television! Don’t you dare try growing any plants either, that could undermine the energy, clothing, food, or healthcare businesses of capitalism, or the swat teams of the FDA, EPA, USDA, and maybe even DHS (Dept. of Homeland Security) will show up at your door, cart you off to jail, and destroy your “garden.”

By the way, the absolute worst “slap in the face” you can give your government is to build you and your children’s immunity naturally, without vaccines, flu shots, antibiotics, and prescription medications. No American shall deny chemical medicine–otherwise they will face the WRATH of the Chemical-Medical Industrial Complex, created by the American Medical Association 100 years ago, and enforced by forced vaccination, mandatory chemotherapy for cancer victims, and Child “Protective” Services–who will confiscate your children if you seek a second opinion after MDs and oncologists tell you how to be chemically treated by the hospitals.

Most healthy people, who live holistically, would be wise to keep it to themselves, and to only share their happy, healthy ways of living privately, while reading alternative health news for more ongoing investigations and reporting of natural remedies that actually work, methods to filter the toxic tap water, and ways to grow organic food and medicine–at home!

Remember, it’s not conspiracy theory when the government makes it a law. Here are the 8 most insane and absurd US laws regarding food, water, and medicine:

#1. Cannabis, which cures almost all cancers, is illegal in nearly every US state, as well as smoking marijuana.

#2. The FDA makes it illegal for natural supplements that prevent, treat, and even cure diseases to be advertised as such, or to say so on the labels.

#3. The FDA makes it totally LEGAL for prescription drug manufacturers to advertise dangerous, experimental, chemical-based medications on TV that have side effects worse than the conditions supposedly being treated.

#4. Growing HEMP is illegal in the USA, even though it does not contain enough THC to get “high” – and hemp can be used for building homes, for making clothing, as fuel for vehicles, for healthy food, and much more.

#5. The State of California passed a law last year (SB277) forcing all school children, public and private, to be force vaccinated, even though several vaccines and most flu shots STILL contain massive amounts of mercury (as thimerosal), which is one of the deadliest heavy metal toxins on earth, and has been definitively linked to causing autism.

#6. Most land owners in the United States are not allowed to grow vegetables in their own front yard, or government officials will visit them, destroy the garden, and possibly fine them thousands of dollars – and for proof – there are plenty of examples of this.

Continue Reading At: NaturalNews.com

Victory! Judge Closes Industry Loophole, Barring Pesticides From Compost Used In Organic Food Production

USDA
Source: NaturalNews.com
David Gutierrez
June 30, 2016

In a victory for organic consumers, a federal judge has tossed out a rule change by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that permitted the use of compost containing synthetic pesticides in growing organic foods.

“The court’s decision upholds the integrity of the organic standard and is an incredible victory for organic consumers, organic farmers and the environment,” said George Kimbrell, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “On the flipside, the decision is a resounding defeat of industrial food actors trying to sell out organic integrity to pad their own pocketbooks.”

The nonprofits, Beyond Pesticides, Center for Food Safety, and Center for Environmental Health, had sued the USDA, claiming that the agency violated the law by implementing the change by means of a “guidance,” and without any public input or participation.

“We applaud the Court’s decision to protect the integrity of the organic program,” said Caroline Cox, research director of the Center for Environmental Health. “We will continue to watchdog the USDA to ensure that the program meets consumers’ expectations for meaningful organic standards.”

Collusion by ‘Big Organics’

Before the USDA’s quiet rule change, the federal organic standard prohibited the use of any compost containing any substance not allowed in organic farming, which included synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. This rule had never been challenged by the composting and waste management industry, until California organic regulators banned several composts from organic use, after finding them to be contaminated with pesticides. The National Organics Program supported this action.

The waste management industry hit back, with the predictable support of the pesticide industry and the more surprising support of the Organic Trade Association, a trade group for large-scale organic producers. The industry asked the USDA to change the rule, and the USDA did so, by issuing a “guidance” on how to interpret the existing organics rules. By doing this, the USDA avoided having to initiate a publicly accountable process on a rule change.

The organic watchdog groups sued, alleging that the “guidance” was actually a rule change and, under federal law, required a public process. The waste management industry and its allies asked the court to dismiss the case, but the court refused.

The industry groups then asked the court to leave the rule in place, even if it was found to have been passed illegally!

The fight is not over!

However, the judge declined to play along. The court ruled that the USDA had in fact violated the law in implementing a rule change via “guidance” without public participation. And it ordered the new rule struck down.

“The court decision upholds an organic industry that has been built on a foundation of consumer and farmer investment in ecologically sound practices, principles and values to protect health and the environment,” said Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides. “USDA has violated a basic requirement of public accountability in the standard setting process, which is fundamental to public trust in the organic label and continued growth in organic production.”

Of course, opponents of the organics movement are not resting. The very day after this victory, the Senate Agriculture Committee introduced its newest version of the anti-GMO-labeling Denying Americans the Right to Know (DARK) Act. This “compromise” bill would allow the labeling of GMO ingredients, but only in the form of “smart labels” and QR codes only accessible to those with smartphones or via a 1-800 number or website.

“This is not a labeling bill; it is a non-labeling bill,” said Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety. “This kind of labeling system is inadequate and inherently discriminatory against one third of Americans who do not own smartphones, and even moreso [sic] against rural, low income, and elderly populations or those without access to the internet.

“We are appalled that our elected officials would support keeping Americans in the dark about what is in our food and even more appalled that they would do it on behalf Big Chemical and food corporations. We will work to defeat this DARK Act just as we have before.”

Read More At: NaturalNews.com

Top 7 Alarming Food Modifications You Should Avoid At All Costs

Food modifications
Source: NaturalNews.com
S.D. Heyes
June 23, 2016

There are many ways corporations modify food products with chemicals in order to increase sales. They use toxic chemicals to extend shelf life, make food look more attractive, kill bugs in the fields, stave off mold and mildew, kill fungus and bacteria, add flavor back in after chemicals kill the taste, and actually make people depressed and anxious to fuel the chemical medicine industry. Most of it’s nothing new, and has been going on since WWII. GMOs have been in existence for 30 years now, though few people are aware of that.

The cumulative effect of poisons in the body is something you can’t sue one food manufacturer for, or one doctor, or one chemical company. The corporate food industry in America is sinister and insidious. They know they can’t be held accountable for long-term chronic sicknesses from which so many Americans suffer. The FDA could care less about Americans’ health and well-being.

The CDC is a criminal organization too, that invests in the demise of children. Just look at all the toxic vaccines and crazy medicines advertised on TV. It’s crazy that people are stupid enough to take these chemical-based, unproven and unsafe medications for the ills they suffer from the toxic meals they consume, one after another, after another. You are what you eat, so how genetically modified, man-made, and artificially-induced are your health problems? You be the judge.

Here are the top 7 alarming food modifications you should avoid at all costs.

#1. Artificial Food Dyes: Did you know that some dyes are used to mask filth and rot in food and candy? You see them listed on just about every non-natural food item that has those colors of the rainbow, and they come from petroleum, an industrial chemical by-product that affects allergies, behavior, cells and brain function. Watch out for Citrus Red 2, Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2 and Green 3 – these are all contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals and trigger allergic reactions.

#2. Food-grade shellac (petroleum): Makes fruit and vegetables shiny. Have you seen this sign at a supermarket yet? It reads, “These Fruits and Vegetables have been coated with FDA-approved food-grade Vegetable-, Petroleum-, Beeswax-, and/or Shellac-based wax or resin to maintain freshness.” Produce is often coated like a new surfboard with shellac and resin, including apples, avocados, oranges, parsnips, pineapples, squash, tomatoes and turnips. Signs say happy stuff like “To maintain freshness,” and “FDA-approved.” Nobody should ever eat shellac or petroleum, no matter what they do in a lab to “verify” its safety for food use.

#3. Chemical pesticides growing inside the produce (GMO): Molecular engineers working in biotechnology laboratories are gene-splicing fruit and vegetable seedlings with poisonous pesticides and herbicides so the plants are inherently protected from the insects and worms that might damage them. The majority of products Americans eat daily contain some form of GMO soy, corn, canola (rapeseed) oil or cotton seed oil. Research shows that consuming GMOs and the popular herbicide Roundup leads to the mutation of cells in the human body, in turn fueling the development of malignant tumors and other various forms of cancer.

#4. Aged red meat turns brown but is dyed back to red with carcinogenic nitrates and nitrites: Cured with toxic chemicals to make it look fresh, red meat like steak and hamburger, as well as most processed meats, usually contain synthetic cancer-causing nitroso compounds to keep them from spoiling so quickly. The FDA has known since the 1970s that nitrites cause leukemia when they turn into nitrosamines in the body. Routinely added to hot dogs, beef jerky, bacon and breakfast sausage, tiny tablets of nitrites the size of a nickel are also used by the USDA to kill wild hogs, which die within a couple of hours after consuming even just one.

#5. Sodium benzoate: This is a chemical used to preserve most jarred and canned foods that strangulates mitochondria (brain cells) and eventually causes cancer. Usually followed by the friendly-sounding words, “as a preservative” or “to preserve freshness,” sodium benzoate extends the life of food while shortening the life of the humans who consume it. Commonly found in pickles, dressings, sauces, fruit cans, jarred vegetables and thousands of shelved food products found in those middle aisles of just about every supermarket in America.

#6. Carrageenan: An emulsifier, gelling and thickening agent that coagulates over time and can cause dangerous lesions in the digestive tract and excretive systems of humans. Permitted even in organic products, carrageenan is derived from a red seaweed compound in products like yogurt, coffee creamer, sour cream, cottage cheese, ice creams, soy milk, almond milk and coconut milk. Research shows that degraded carrageenan triggers inflammation, causes ulceration, and leads to malignancies in the gastrointestinal tract, including lesions, cancer and digestive disorders.

#7. Decaffeination process for coffee: Often involves soaking coffee beans in the toxic chemical benzene to dissolve the caffeine. Continual benzene exposure leads to neurological symptoms. Symptoms include dizziness, drowsiness, headaches and loss of consciousness. Larger doses cause vomiting, dizziness and convulsions, and can eventually lead to death. Dermal exposure leads to reddening and blistering of the skin, and exposure to vapor leads to respiratory problems.

What’s the solution? Start filtering toxins from your daily intake. Where’s the best guide for this? It’s being published next month! View the trailer to the new book Food Forensics by the Health Ranger, that’s available for pre-sale now right here.

“Food Forensics threatens to change the entire future of the food industry” – Mike Adams, scientist, author, editor of Natural News.

Read More At: NaturalNews.com