Dr. Terry Wahls learned how to properly fuel her body. Using the lessons she learned at the subcellular level, she used diet to cure her MS and get out of her wheelchair.
Sharing the type of news you are unlikely to come across in the mainstream media.
Showing posts with label meat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meat. Show all posts
Saturday, 17 January 2015
Saturday, 13 September 2014
German Supermarket Giants Demand Return to GMO-Free Fed Poultry
Written By: Henry Rowlands
Germany's top supermarkets, the powerhouses of Europe when it comes to retail, have delivered a blow to the biotech industry by forcing the German poultry industry to return to the use of non-GMO feed.
It was announced last Thursday that the German supermarkets, with a broad consensus, recently demanded from the German Poultry Association (ZDG) to stop using GMO feed for both egg and poultry meat production, starting from January 1st 2015. That is the date when the retailers want to receive GMO-free fed products again, meaning poultry suppliers will have to rush to get their feed supply chains free from GMO feed once more.
German language source: www.db.zs-intern.de
In February this year, the ZDG unilaterally declared that it was stopping using GM-free animal feed, following similar moves by other associations in England and Denmark. The reasons provided for the step after over a decade of GMO-free feeding were an alleged shortage of GMO-free soya, the risk of contamination, and the associated legal uncertainty.
However, following close consultation with Brazilian authorities, the German supermarkets have realized that the reasons given by ZDG do not stand up: There is clearly enough Brazilian GMO-free feed in the system to supply Europe's needs.
Global GMO Free Coalition Coordinator, Henry Rowlands, stated:
"The wool has been pulled over the eyes of retailers across Europe by the GMO industry over the past year. We welcome the news that they have started to fight back in the interest of their customers, who do not want to buy GM-fed eggs and meat."
Claire Robinson of Earth Open Source, a Global GMO Free Coalition partner organisation, said, "Retailers must ensure that their GMO-free feed requirements are communicated all the way along the supply chain to the Brazilian soymeal exporters."
Vandana Shiva of Navdanya (India), added: "This is an important step towards food democracy, the right to choose what you eat, and the right to know how it was produced."
"By taking a stand against the biotech and poultry industries, German supermarkets have proven that it's possible to respond to consumer demand for poultry that is fed non-GMO feed and in doing so, force significant changes to the supply chain despite pressure from Monsanto and industry trade associations," said Ronnie Cummins, international director of the Organic Consumers Association and its Mexico affiliate, Via Organica.
"The use of glyphosate-contaminated GMO feed in poultry adds significant toxicological risks to the food chain both through bioaccumulation of agrochemicals and the shift in microbial communities within poultry towards higher pathogenicity. This promising decision by Germany's leading supermarkets should be applauded and used as an example of where the rest of the world should head for both a safer and more sustainable business model."
ZDG has reacted to the pressure from the supermarkets and consumers by proposing to the retailers to set up a working group to discuss options, but the truth is they do not look as if they have many. The argument of insufficient availability of non-GMO soya has been formally retracted by the ZDG.
The German retailers also indicated that they will demand a completely GMO-free feed supply chain in all animal feed sectors, including dairy, pork and beef as a next step that is to follow relatively soon.
In 2013 12 supermarkets from across Europe signed the Brussels Soy Declaration, stating that they want EU consumers and farmers to have a choice to eat and use non-GMO soy. This development came soon after the announcement by some UK supermarkets that they would abandon requirements that their poultry suppliers use non-GMO feed.
Original article can be read at:
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/german-supermarket-giants-demand-return-gmo-free-fed-poultry
Saturday, 5 July 2014
Cereal Killers - Don't Fear Fat
Yekra Player
Yekra is a revolutionary new distribution network for feature films.
Cereal Killers
The film follows Donal – a lean, fit, seemingly healthy 41 year old man – on a quest to hack his genes and drop dead healthy by avoiding the heart disease and diabetes that has afflicted his family.
Donal’s father Kevin, an Irish gaelic football star from the 1960s, won the first of 2 All Ireland Championships with the Down Senior Football Team in 1960 before the biggest crowd (94,000) ever seen at an Irish sporting event.
When Kevin suffered a heart attack later in life, family and friends were shocked. How does a lean, fit and seemingly healthy man – who has sailed through cardiac stress tests – suddenly fall victim to heart disease?
Can a controversial diet consisting of 70% fat provide the answers?
Yekra is a revolutionary new distribution network for feature films.
Cereal Killers
The film follows Donal – a lean, fit, seemingly healthy 41 year old man – on a quest to hack his genes and drop dead healthy by avoiding the heart disease and diabetes that has afflicted his family.
Donal’s father Kevin, an Irish gaelic football star from the 1960s, won the first of 2 All Ireland Championships with the Down Senior Football Team in 1960 before the biggest crowd (94,000) ever seen at an Irish sporting event.
When Kevin suffered a heart attack later in life, family and friends were shocked. How does a lean, fit and seemingly healthy man – who has sailed through cardiac stress tests – suddenly fall victim to heart disease?
Can a controversial diet consisting of 70% fat provide the answers?
Friday, 17 May 2013
Validated Independent News: Human Health
By Project Censored
Campaign to Fluoridate America Corporate media obscure an ongoing battle over water fluoridation in the U.S. While a recent New York Times editorial cites the Center for Disease Control’s claim that fluoridation is one of the top accomplishments in public health over the past century, James Tracy reports that fluoridating the nation’s water supply appears to have been a carefully coordinated plan designed to shield major aluminum and steel producers from liabilities for the substantial fluorine pollution their plants generated. Thus American industrial interests, supported by public relations firms, have been the chief forces behind water fluoridation.
Cow Hormones in Water Supply A May 2012 study published by the journal Environmental Science & Technology reported that large dairy farms are a “primary source” of estrogen contamination in the environment. Researchers found three primary estrogens in the wastewater, and further analysis revealed that, because of the rapid conversion from one form estrogen to another, these hormones do not degrade, but persist in the environment.
Potential of African-led Health Research A 2011 study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank and USAid found that investing an additional $21-$36 per person on healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa would save more than 3 million lives in the year 2015. 90% of those saved would be women and children. Such an investment would also generate $100 billion in economic benefits.
Wireless Technology a Looming Health Crisis As a multitude of hazardous wireless technologies are deployed in homes, schools and workplaces, government officials and industry representatives continue to insist on their safety despite growing evidence to the contrary. A major health crisis looms that is only hastened through the extensive deployment of “smart grid” technology.
Corporate Hypocrisy in Fight against Breast Cancer Each year in October, corporations such as General Mills and Johnson & Johnson adorn their products in pink to raise awareness and money for breast cancer research; however, many of these companies’ products contain cancer-linked chemicals and toxins. As Brittany Shoot reports, “Food manufacturing giants use packaging full of cancer-linked chemicals, yet partner with breast cancer organizations to funnel money toward research.” This “pink washing” may distract consumers from how these companies actual contribute to the problem.
U.S. Health Law May Curb Rising Maternal Deaths America’s mothers are dying in increasing numbers. The U.S. had the highest rate of maternal mortality of all developed nations in 2009 with 16.1 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, an increase from 6.6 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1987, according to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Definitive explanations for the rising maternal mortality rate are lacking, but some evidence suggests that hew health care laws, improving preventative care for pregnant women, could contribute to reversing the trend.
Should Childhood Vaccination be Mandatory? Childhood vaccines killed or injured 2,699 children last year in America, the US government has admitted – and 101 children developed autism after vaccination, even though researchers continue to insist that no link exists. Paul Offit advocates that, although vaccines are not free of risk, their benefits clearly outweigh their risks. If parents were well informed, they would choose to vaccinate their children.
Missing Medicines in Malawi Malawi suffers from shortages of essential drugs. A 2012 Oxfam report found that only nine percent of local health facilities (54 of 585) had the full Essential Health Package list of drugs for treating 11 common diseases.
China Acknowledges “Cancer Villages” In February 2013, China’s environmental ministry officially acknowledged the presence of cancer hot spots, known informally as “cancer villages,” throughout the country. Chinese media have reported 459 “cancer villages” throughout China, in every province and autonomous region except Qinghai and Tibet. Once a rare disease, cancer is now the biggest killer in both urban and rural China, with mortality rates as high as 80 percent in the last 30 years.
The Drugs in US Meat–We’re Eating What? Synthetic growth hormones routinely administered in the US to livestock are not listed on food package labels. Other drugs used to increase muscle mass in pigs and turkeys, including ractopamine, have been banned in 160 but remain in use in the US. A European scientific commission believes there is an association between steroid hormones and cancers, including breast and prostate cancers, and that meat consumption is the culprit. The US has the highest rates of both and also uses the most hormones in its meat production. Since 1989, Europe has banned most US meat.
Genital Mutilation in the US Although genital mutilation is concentrated in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, thousands of US girls living in immigrant communities are sent out of the country to places where genital mutilation is practiced, or relatives from practicing counties come to the US to do the procedure. The New York metropolitan area has the highest cases of female genital mutilation in the US; approximately 41,000 cases. These women face major complications to their health, including infections, post-traumatic stress disorder and painful menstruation cycles.
Routine Infant Circumcision: Exempt from American Medical Ethics The US is the only country in the world that circumcises male infants for non-religious reasons. This pro-circumcision bias of American culture is reflected in medical theory and policy. However, most proponents lack awareness of the health impact of circumcision.
South Africa “Over 25% Schoolgirls HIV Positive” About five million people in South Africa are HIV positive, which is about 10% of the total population. Those numbers are higher when looking at the school-age female population. Over 25% of school-aged girls are HIV positive, some as young as 10 years old. Many contract HIV as a result of sexual relations with older “sugar-daddies.”
Private equity (PE) firms are targeting the US health-care providers. Growing PE interest in low profit or non-profit sectors like hospitals is expanding. PE investors are betting on new profit opportunities from the growing needs of the baby-boomer generation and from the Affordable Care Act, which will dramatically expand health-insurance coverage.
Federally Funded Health-Care Co-ops —Coming to Your Community With funding from the Affordable Care Act (ACA), communities are coming together to develop Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans—CO-Ops to operate community health care facilities or cooperative insurance plans. Unlike private health insurance companies, these co-ops are owned and democratically controlled by their members. Beginning in 2014, a first wave of co-ops will launch in 24 states, with an estimated 19 million previously uninsured Americans expected to use insurance exchanges to buy health coverage.
The US has left Iraq with an Epidemic of Cancers and Birth Defects After ten years of war in Iraq, Dahr Jamail reports, the US has left Iraq (and especially the city of Fallujah) with a rising epidemic of toxic contamination. After the US military used depleted uranium munitions in 2004, Iraqi medical officials have tracked twice number of cancer cases as in 1995.
Mozambique’s First HIV Vaccine Trial Heralds New Era in Local Research Mozambique’s Polana Cancio Centre for Research and Public Health has finished its first HIV vaccine trial and is preparing to start the second trial. According to the preliminary test, the vaccine is safe for use. According to Ilesh Jani, the studies mark an important step towards bolstering clinical trial and research capacity for diseases such as HIV and malaria. One goal of this research is to develop a vaccine that will be affordable in countries such as Mozambique.
Skyrocketing HIV/AIDS Rates in African American Women In August 2012 at the International AIDS Conference in Washington DC, HIV advocates met to discuss the skyrocketing HIV infection rates in black women that are increasing to levels found in sub-Sahara Africa. The recent growth in HIV cases among African-American women especially among youth has public health professionals concerned. In 2010, black women contracted 44 percent of new HIV infections.
Background TV Poses Danger for Children A recent study conducted at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington (UNCW) sheds new light on the detrimental impact background television has on children’s neural development and social skills. The UNCW study shows that children exposed to more TV are more likely to develop problems with hyperactivity and antisocial behavior. When children accustomed to such high doses of daily television stop watching all together, depression has a tendency to develop.
US Veterans Prescribed Lethal Drugs to Treat PTSD A number of US war veterans were issued a variety of potentially deadly pharmaceuticals to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) including the dangerous antipsychotic drug Seroquel. Pleas from the families of deceased veterans finally persuaded the U.S. Central Command to remove the dangerous antipsychotic from the list of military PTSD treatments. Information about Seroquel and similar drugs is often kept hidden from the public, leaving consumers of generic brands unaware of corporate deceit and veteran deaths.
Antidepressant Drugs Pose Serious Health Concerns for Unborn Babies The world’s largest drug companies are encouraging pregnant women to take prescription drugs, get vaccine shots, and even have chemotherapy. Among these are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or antidepressants, which are causing miscarriages and a variety of birth defects. Excessive prescription drug use in pregnant women is also linked to the increase of babies born with autism, preterm birth, newborn behavioral syndrome, persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn and longer-term neurobehavioral effects.
Pesticides May Lead to Cancer and Autism in Children Pesticides are harmful to the health and intelligence of America’s children, according to an October 2012 report released by the Pesticide Action Network of North America. Titled, “A Generation in Jeopardy,” the study notes how chemicals from pest control products are one key cause of a range of disorders such as ADHD, autism, cancer, disrupted metabolism, and even low IQs.
Laboratory Study of Rats Supports Dangers of GM Corn A study published in September issue of The Food & Chemical Toxicology Journal found that rats fed Monsanto’s genetically modified corn over several months showed significant health problems including premature death and tumors. The study found that over half of the male rats and 70 percent of the females who were fed a lifetime of Monsanto’s corn died prematurely with significant liver and kidney damage. Scientists also found the rats to contain cancerous tumors so large they blocked organ function. While numerous studies have examined their short-term impact, this is the first ever study to examine the long-term effects of GMO consumptions.
Project Censored
The News That Didn't Make The News
Eighteen college and universities worldwide have researched and validated 233 independent news stories for the annual Project Censored review cycle. These independent news stories have seen little if any coverage by the corporate media. The Project Censored network is currently voting on the top 25 most important stories for inclusion in Censored 2014: Fearless Speech in Fateful Times, the latest edition of our annual yearbook, scheduled for release by Seven Stories Press in October 2013.
Please help us maintain this annual process by becoming a subscriber ($5-$10 a month) or by making a one time tax deductible donation of support here.
We thank you for your support and please review the latest Validated Independent News stories on Human Health.
Sincerely,
Mickey Huff—Director of Project Censored
Andy Roth—Associate Director of Project Censored
Tuesday, 1 January 2013
Monday, 12 November 2012
Hormones force kids to grow up fast
Boys are going through puberty up to two years earlier, with their voices starting to crack at the age of 9 in some cases, according to new numbers in the journal Pediatrics.
That's only third or fourth grade, for crying out loud.
But on the other hand, maybe they're just keeping up with their classmates -- because girls are also going through puberty earlier than ever.
For the girls, puberty kicks in so much earlier these days because they're exposed to estrogen at every turn -- the hormone is in meat, milk, soy, packaged foods, canned drinks, toys, shower curtains, scented candles, and more.
There's even estrogen in the water!
Boys are getting estrogen from all those same sources, of course. In theory, that should delay puberty for them -- so researchers are stumped.
But I'm not.
In lakes and rivers around the country, male frogs and fish are spontaneously turning into females -- and it's because of all the estrogen in the water.
It's not happening in humans -- not literally, not yet -- but take a look around. Today's young “men” are weepy, wimpy girlie-men -- and most of them even have their own pair of manboobs.
So, sure, they're going through early puberty... FEMALE puberty! In a generation or two, they may even start menstruating (assuming they haven't already).
By the way, all that estrogen is obviously disastrous for kids. But it's not much better for older folks, and can increase the risk of everything from diabetes to cancer.
Don't wait for the government to act. Protect yourself and your family by swapping hormone-laced processed foods for an all-natural diet of fresh organic meats and dairy, and filtering your own water with reverse osmosis.
Separating the boys from the girls,
William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
The ugly truth behind ground beef
I hope you’re not having hamburger tonight…because this story might change your dinner plans.
One of the key suppliers of hamburger “meat” is coming under fire…as tests show a disturbing number of E. coli and salmonella pathogens, according to a disturbing report in the New York Times.
Want to know why I put “meat” in quotes?
Are you sure?
In an ideal world, a butcher runs a piece of steak through a grinder, and you get hamburger. That’s how I get mine, and if that’s how you get yours then you’ve got nothing to fear.
But fast food, supermarket and even school lunch burgers are made differently. They use “meat” from different sources, like trimmings.
Trimmings are scraps of fatty pieces left over in the slaughterhouse after all the good cuts of meat have been taken. Believe me, I love beef — the fattier, the better. But this is awful garbage that I wouldn’t touch.
Once upon a time, this stuff was destined for pet food. Today, it’s added to burgers from coast to coast, thanks largely to a company called Beef Products Inc.
The company developed a technique that liquefies the trimmings, runs them through a centrifuge to separate the fat from the protein, then injects it with ammonia in an attempt to kill pathogens.
Then it’s turned into blocks and chips that are used to beef up hamburgers. The company sells 7 million pounds of it every week, and school lunch burgers are now 15 percent trimmings.
Did I mention that it’s really, really cheap? It better be — after all, it was practically worthless when they found it on the slaughterhouse floor.
The Times found one message from a USDA microbiologist who called this junk “pink slime” and wrote, “I do not consider the stuff to be ground beef, and I consider allowing it in ground beef to be a form of fraudulent labeling.”
Naturally, he was ignored. So were the other microbiologists who were disgusted by this process.
Instead, the USDA approved this technique and then decided it was so foolproof that they could leave the company in charge of its own testing.
You can see where this is going now, right?
The Times investigation found a disturbing pattern of E. coli and salmonella contamination…one that could force changes on the system — someday.
But as of now, “pink slime” is still in your burgers — and it’s probably here to stay.
The lesson here is to avoid all factory meat. Buy only meat from grass-fed cows from a quality butcher or small farm — and only eat hamburger when you can see a fresh cut of beef go into the grinder yourself.
By Dr Douglass
'Pink slime' back on the menu
"Pink slime" is one of the meat industry's most disgusting creations ever -- and the more people learn about it, the more companies turn away from it.
Even McDonald's has said it won't use this stuff in its burgers anymore.
But thanks to the meat industry's friends in high places there's one place where pink slime is still on the menu every single day: school cafeterias.
Call it one more reason to make sure your kids and grandkids bring their own food to school every day.
If you haven't heard of pink slime yet, prepare to lose your appetite.
As I told you a couple of years ago, this stuff is allegedly beef -- but it's not any cut of meat you'd actually recognize.
It's factory floor meat scraps that would have been tossed into the garbage not long ago.
Because it's so nasty, it has to be heated and treated with ammonia to kill the bacteria crawling all over it. By the time it's done being processed, it looks like... well... the name says it all.
Lately, it's been getting a lot of attention and companies like McDonald's are tripping over themselves to make sure people know they've stopped using it.
In any other circumstance, it would be the end of pink slime. People don't want it... companies won't use it... so the natural laws of supply and demand should kick in.
But these aren't natural circumstances, because the meat industry has a special friend to rescue it in times like this: The United States Department of Agriculture.
While everyone else flees from pink slime, the USDA -- the same group that thinks it has the right to tell you what to eat, by the way -- is ordering 7 MILLION POUNDS of this stuff to use in school lunches.
But the agency says don't worry -- no single school burger will be more than 15 percent slime.
How reassuring.
Seeing red over pink,
William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.
Sunday, 11 March 2012
U.S. defends treated meat dubbed "pink slime" in school meals
By Ian Simpson
Reuters
The Department of Agriculture is defending the use of ammonium-treated beef, dubbed "pink slime" by detractors, in meals destined for schoolchildren as part of the national school lunch program.
The Internet news source The Daily reported this week that 7 million pounds (3.2 million kg) of the product -- beef trimmings treated partly with ammonium hydroxide to fight contamination -- would appear in school lunches this spring.
"All USDA ground beef purchases must meet the highest standards for food safety," the agency said in a statement.
"USDA has strengthened ground beef food safety standards in recent years and only allows products into commerce that we have confidence are safe."
Fast-food chain McDonald's stopped putting the USDA-approved ammonium-treated meat into its hamburgers in August after a number of food activists, including celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, drew attention to the additive.
The USDA, schools and school districts plan to buy the treated meat, categorized as "lean fine textured beef," from South Dakota's Beef Products Inc for the national school lunch program.
The BPI product makes up about 6.5 percent of the 112 million pounds (51 million kg) of ground beef that has been contracted for the National School Lunch Program, the USDA said.
The department oversees the program, which buys about 20 percent of products served in U.S. schools. The rest is bought directly by schools or school districts.
(Reporting By Ian Simpson; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Peter Cooney)
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
FDA Denies Citizen Petitions on Animal Antibiotics
Agency Claims Withdrawing Drugs Is Too Hard; Will Rely on Drug Companies to Self-Regulate
CHICAGO, Nov. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Monday, in a disappointing move, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) denied two citizen petitions that asked the Agency to ban certain uses of antibiotics in food animals. The petitions, filed in 1999 and 2005, urge the FDA to withdraw the approvals for antibiotics given to animals in feed or water for purposes other than disease treatment if the antibiotics are also used in human medicine. The petitions were filed by Environmental Defense, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Food Animal Concerns Trust, and the Union of Concerned Scientists along with other groups because of evidence showing that using antibiotics in this way in food animals can lead to the spread of difficult to treat resistant infections in humans.
The response to these long-standing citizen petitions came after several of the petitioners filed suit in May against the FDA for not responding. In addition to demanding the FDA respond to the citizen petitions, the lawsuit asks that the FDA take action on the Agency's own safety findings from 1977 and withdraw approval for most uses of penicillin and tetracyclines in animal feed.
In denying the petitions, the FDA did not challenge the need to reduce antibiotic use, but instead argued that the withdrawal process itself was too expensive and resource intensive. Rather than implementing its formal process for taking drugs off the market, the Agency stated that it plans "to work with sponsors who approach FDA and are interested in working cooperatively with the Agency to phase out production uses of medically important antimicrobials." FDA has released a draft version of a document that describes its plan to reduce use through the voluntary withdrawal by pharmaceutical companies of currently marketed uses of antibiotics in feed.
"Instead of adhering to its mission to protect consumers, the FDA is waiting for the drug companies to voluntarily do what the Agency is legally mandated to do. There is absolutely no reason to believe that drug companies will voluntarily reduce sales of antibiotics and act against their own financial self-interest. Without reductions in antibiotics used it is impossible for there to be any public health benefit," said Steven Roach, FACT's Public Health Program Director. "For this reason we do not see the FDA's plan as an answer to the petitions or the problem of antibiotic resistance."
In addition to bringing suit against the FDA, FACT also supports the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act. This federal legislation, if passed, would require the FDA to address non-therapeutic antibiotic use and make it easier for the Agency to withdraw animal antibiotics that are found to be unsafe from an antibiotic resistance standpoint.
"Reducing antibiotic overuse is essential for making sure antibiotics will keep working for years to come – to treat our sick children, families and animals. It is outrageous that the FDA considers voluntary self-regulation by drug companies to be enough. It is clearly not," said FACT's Executive Director Richard Wood.
Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT) is a Chicago based non-profit that promotes humane and healthy farms through science-based advocacy, consumer education, and support for humane farmers. For more information visit www.foodanimalconcerns.org.
Contact: Jacki Rossi, (773) 525-4952 w, (219) 218-3824
SOURCE Food Animal Concerns Trust
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Monday, 31 October 2011
Filthy Business - Stop paying the price for factory farming (EU)
By Compassion in World Farming
Economic pressures on farmers, such as the low price they are paid for milk, have led to extreme breeds of dairy cow who are able to produce up to ten times the natural amount of milk, pushed by a constant cycle of feeding and milking.
Demand better farming today
Every single year, billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money are spent by the EU on farm subsidies. A percentage should be used to help farmers invest in changes that will improve the lives of their animals. One study shows, for example, that giving indoor-housed cows access to pasture cuts BY HALF the risk of them becoming lame.
Together we can deliver better farming for Europe – but we need your support. Join us now in taking the action below to alert your MEPs and add your voice to the campaign against the filthy business of factory farming.
The European Union’s policymakers like to boast about high quality farming, often portraying healthy and happy animals pottering in pastures and farmyards. This is of course an absurdly false notion.
Every year, 80% of farm animals in the EU* spend their days confined in sheds, pens and even cages; many growing at an unnatural rate with little to do but eat grain and imported soya; billions dying in under-regulated slaughterhouses or prematurely from injury or exhaustion. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
*Estimated using figured for numbers of farmed animals from Eurostat and FAOSTAT
The more European citizens that voice their demand for EU decision makers to support more humane, sustainable forms of animal husbandry, the closer we are to ending the filthy business of factory farming.
Lameness is the scandalous secret suffered in silence by far too many of the EU's 23 million dairy cows. The factory farming approach of milking cows for 'all they are worth' is becoming increasingly common in much of Europe, including the UK. The strain on their bodies causes exhaustion. The huge volume of milk held in their udders – weighing 15kg (15 bags of sugar!) or more – makes it hard for them to walk normally. And all this brings the risk of painful problems with their hooves and legs.
Add your voice to ask for change in the way the EU spends the subsidies it gives to farmers, so that we move towards better farming practices in the UK and the EU.
Filthy Business – a new campaign to eradicate factory farming in the EU
Filthy Business aims to rid the EU of factory farming, starting with changes to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) which allocates huge subsidies to farmers. We want a percentage of the £45 billion per year that Europe's farmers receive from EU taxpayers to subsidise better farming rather than intensive systems that subject animals to a life of misery and pain.
Right now, our farming future is in the hands of your MEPs
MEPs are discussing how these subsidies should be spent right now. Please help us to support better farming by urging your MEPs to push for more financial support for farmers who are humane towards animals, and who don't devastate the environment as they farm. Write to your MEPs and demand better farming now.
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Food Inc.
Know where your food is coming from and vote for change through your food choices and with your wallet!
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
‘Sad day’ for whistleblowers, union warns as board rules on fired scientists
Mike Blanchfield
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA—Two of three scientists fired by Health Canada in a long-running whistleblowing saga have lost a bid to get their jobs back.
And one of the country’s largest public service unions is calling it a “sad day” for bureaucrats who want to raise concerns about public safety.
In a decision released without fanfare last week, the Public Service Labour Relations Board dismissed the grievances of Shiv Chopra and Margaret Haydon, who were fired for insubordination in 2004.
It did, however, rule that Gerard Lambert was wrongly dismissed.
The three scientists — probably the country’s best-known whistleblowers — have sparked headlines since the 1990s in a series of high-profile disputes over food safety. They have said publicly they were pressured by their bosses to approve drugs despite human safety concerns.
In the late 1990s, they publicly opposed rBST, a bovine growth hormone, which enhances milk production in cows. Their criticism led to a Senate inquiry and a decision not to approve the drug.
The Professional Institute of the Public Service says it will likely appeal the 208-page decision, which followed 150 days of hearings over nearly five years.
“Today is a sad day,” PIPS President Gary Corbett said Monday. “The government of Canada offers little protection to whistleblowers.”
“Their only defiance is that they resisted commercial pressure and provided evidence to official parliamentary committees. Cases of dismissal like these do nothing good to help public-service whistleblowers to come forward and denounce wrongdoing within their departments.”
Chopra, perhaps the most outspoken of the group and the author of a book that is scathingly critical of Health Canada, echoed the sentiment.
“The issue here is not just some employees losing their jobs or whistleblowing,” said Chopra. “We’re not talking about our rights ... the public’s right to know from the people they pay to protect their health and safety — that is the issue.
“All you Canadians — everybody is involved here.”
Lambert greeted the ruling with mixed feelings. The ruling reinstated his job, and an adjudicator will have 90 days to determine how much compensation he is eligible to receive.
Speaking in a soft, halting voice, Lambert estimated that he is owed “$250,000 at least,” but that the ordeal has left him stressed and unhealthy. Neither he nor his two fellow colleagues found other work over the last seven years.
“I was sorry for them and my wife asked me why you are not smiling about the decision because you will be reinstated,” Lambert said.
Still, he said he would like to return to work, “as soon as possible.”
Prior to their firings in June 2004, the scientists raised numerous concerns.
They warned that carbadox, a drug used to promote growth in pigs, could produce carcinogenic residues. They said that Baytril, used to promote growth in cows and chickens, could produce antibiotic resistance in humans.
Chopra criticized then-health minister Allan Rock’s response to the anthrax scare that followed the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. The scientist questioned the expenditure of millions to stockpile antibiotics, saying the fear of bioterrorism was overblown.
Chopra and Haydon warned in 2003, before Canada’s first case of mad cow disease, that measures to prevent the disease were inadequate. They called for a total ban on the use of animals parts in the feed of other animals.
Chopra criticized the board for not directly addressing the broader issue of public safety in its ruling last week.
“Meanwhile the damage to public health continues, and companies keep on selling the same stuff,” he said.
Chopra cited last week’s recall of 36 million pounds of ground turkey by American meat company Cargill as evidence of a continuing problem.
“This is a global problem, right now, of food safety.”
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1036200--sad-day-for-whistleblowers-union-warns-as-board-rules-on-fired-scientists
OTTAWA—Two of three scientists fired by Health Canada in a long-running whistleblowing saga have lost a bid to get their jobs back.
And one of the country’s largest public service unions is calling it a “sad day” for bureaucrats who want to raise concerns about public safety.
In a decision released without fanfare last week, the Public Service Labour Relations Board dismissed the grievances of Shiv Chopra and Margaret Haydon, who were fired for insubordination in 2004.
It did, however, rule that Gerard Lambert was wrongly dismissed.
The three scientists — probably the country’s best-known whistleblowers — have sparked headlines since the 1990s in a series of high-profile disputes over food safety. They have said publicly they were pressured by their bosses to approve drugs despite human safety concerns.
In the late 1990s, they publicly opposed rBST, a bovine growth hormone, which enhances milk production in cows. Their criticism led to a Senate inquiry and a decision not to approve the drug.
The Professional Institute of the Public Service says it will likely appeal the 208-page decision, which followed 150 days of hearings over nearly five years.
“Today is a sad day,” PIPS President Gary Corbett said Monday. “The government of Canada offers little protection to whistleblowers.”
“Their only defiance is that they resisted commercial pressure and provided evidence to official parliamentary committees. Cases of dismissal like these do nothing good to help public-service whistleblowers to come forward and denounce wrongdoing within their departments.”
Chopra, perhaps the most outspoken of the group and the author of a book that is scathingly critical of Health Canada, echoed the sentiment.
“The issue here is not just some employees losing their jobs or whistleblowing,” said Chopra. “We’re not talking about our rights ... the public’s right to know from the people they pay to protect their health and safety — that is the issue.
“All you Canadians — everybody is involved here.”
Lambert greeted the ruling with mixed feelings. The ruling reinstated his job, and an adjudicator will have 90 days to determine how much compensation he is eligible to receive.
Speaking in a soft, halting voice, Lambert estimated that he is owed “$250,000 at least,” but that the ordeal has left him stressed and unhealthy. Neither he nor his two fellow colleagues found other work over the last seven years.
“I was sorry for them and my wife asked me why you are not smiling about the decision because you will be reinstated,” Lambert said.
Still, he said he would like to return to work, “as soon as possible.”
Prior to their firings in June 2004, the scientists raised numerous concerns.
They warned that carbadox, a drug used to promote growth in pigs, could produce carcinogenic residues. They said that Baytril, used to promote growth in cows and chickens, could produce antibiotic resistance in humans.
Chopra criticized then-health minister Allan Rock’s response to the anthrax scare that followed the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. The scientist questioned the expenditure of millions to stockpile antibiotics, saying the fear of bioterrorism was overblown.
Chopra and Haydon warned in 2003, before Canada’s first case of mad cow disease, that measures to prevent the disease were inadequate. They called for a total ban on the use of animals parts in the feed of other animals.
Chopra criticized the board for not directly addressing the broader issue of public safety in its ruling last week.
“Meanwhile the damage to public health continues, and companies keep on selling the same stuff,” he said.
Chopra cited last week’s recall of 36 million pounds of ground turkey by American meat company Cargill as evidence of a continuing problem.
“This is a global problem, right now, of food safety.”
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1036200--sad-day-for-whistleblowers-union-warns-as-board-rules-on-fired-scientists
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Bugs for dinner
By DR Douglass
Supermarket meat crawling with bacteria
Sell a little healthy raw milk to a willing consumer, and you can expect cops to burst through the door with their guns drawn — but you can pass off tainted meat on unsuspecting customers all day long, and the feds won’t do a thing about it.
Case in point: The latest study in Clinical Infectious Diseases, which showed that up to HALF of all supermarket meat is contaminated with bacteria — and half of those are resistant to multiple antibiotics.
Researchers bought 136 packages of beef, chicken, pork, and turkey from 26 supermarkets in five cities — and what they found would even make someone with an iron stomach a bit queasy.
Tests revealed that 47 percent of the meat was contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus. Nearly all of the samples were resistant to one antibiotic, and 52 percent were resistant to at least three different drugs.
And believe it or not, that’s not even the worst news — because S. aureus doesn’t even make the Top 10 list of the U.S.’s leading pathogens.
Americans are routinely infected by campylobacter from poultry, toxoplasma from pork, and E. coli from beef, just to name a few. All told, the top 14 pathogens are responsible for nearly 9 million illnesses a year, including 55,678 hospitalizations and 1,322 deaths.
But wait — because that’s STILL not the worst news.
Overall, food poisoning sickens up to a quarter of all Americans every year –- leading to some 325,000 hospitalizations and up to 5,000 deaths that we know of.
Who knows how big the real numbers are.
You may call it “contaminated meat,” but I call it “biological warfare.”
This is a bigger national crisis than airline safety, terrorism, or natural disasters — and the FDA and USDA won’t do a thing about it.
But you can.
Many of these diseases and infections begin at factory farms — festering stinkholes where animals live in filth, eat filth, and die in filth.
Along the way, they’re pumped so full of so many drugs that you get a dose with every bite.
If you can’t get your meats direct from a small farm, find a good butcher who does. Going organic is often a waste of money with many products — but in this case, it’s worth every last cent.
US beef packed with drugs, metals and poisons
By DR Douglass
Want some antibiotics? Don’t waste time with your doctor — just head to the supermarket.
You’ll find a wide selection of drugs… but they won’t be in the pharmacy section.
They’ll be in the meats department.
The USDA’s own Office of the Inspector General released a report showing that American beef is routinely contaminated with drug residue, toxic heavy metals, and actual poison.
If you’re looking for a recall, don’t hold your breath. Even when the government knows they’re contaminated, the meat is often shipped off and sold before the test results come back!
The report lists four specific instances in 2007 and 2008 when tests revealed enough veterinary drugs in meat to cause stomach, nerve, or skin problems in the humans who might eat it… but there wasn’t a single attempt to recall it.
But when it comes right down to it, the drugs in the meat are the least of your worries. Toxic heavy metals are routinely found in the meat sold to you and your family. Don’t expect that to change any time soon, either. Because as it turns out, no guidelines exist that ban things like copper and arsenic from your meat.
“In 2008, a producer self-reported that arsenic had been mistakenly ingested by his cattle, and voluntarily withheld contaminated animals from the food supply after they were slaughtered and tested positive for arsenic poisoning,” the report reads.
“If the producer had not acted voluntarily, FSIS would not have had a basis to stop distribution of this meat once it was in commerce.”
The FSIS is the Food Safety and Inspection Service, the deliberately crippled arm of the FDA that can only watch as arsenic, copper, and other toxins enter the food chain.
Think this is going to get better? Think again: The feds are CUTTING $10 million from the USDA’s meat and poultry inspection budget.
Happy eating.
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
Saturday, 16 April 2011
Earthlings
Pets, animal testing, factory farms, fishing, bull fights, animal cruelty, ignorance. After watching this film, you may want to become vegetarian.
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Eggs are healthy after all
By WC Douglass MD
Sounds like someone in Washington has egg on his face. The feds have just completed one of the longest, slowest turnarounds in the history of their mistaken food guidelines.
Oops! Turns out eggs aren't so bad for you after all. That's right! You can even eat the yolks now. (Of course, if you've been listening to me, you never stopped eating them in the first place.)
This isn't the first time U.S. government food advice has been badly wrong, and you can bet the farm it won't be the last.
The change of heart was supposedly based on a new survey that shows eggs now contain 14 percent less cholesterol and 64 percent more vitamin D than found in a similar study conducted in 2002.
Give me a break. Those surveys used eggs from just 12 places around the country. It's such a minor sample that it's bound to differ each time it's run -- and, let's face it, 14 percent isn't exactly a major drop.
It's hardly a study worthy of changing guidelines over -- which should give you a clue about what's really going on here.
You're a first-hand witness to the USDA going into C-Y-A mode. They've finally realized what I've been telling you for years: eggs have virtually no impact on blood cholesterol levels.
Even if you're worried about cholesterol (and you shouldn't be -- but that's another story), cutting out eggs won't make a difference.
Repeated studies have shown that two eggs a day have no impact on blood cholesterol levels, even in people who already have elevated cholesterol.
So whether you like yours fried, boiled, sunny side up, over easy, undercooked or not cooked at all, there's no egg-scuses -- eat your eggs, and eat them often.
Just be sure you get yours fresh from the farm, or at least organic -- because eggs HAVE changed in recent years, just not in the ways the USDA will ever admit.
Factory farms give their chickens worthless feed instead of the grass, bugs, and worms they need to produce good-quality, nutrient-dense eggs.
Hens fed naturally, on the other hand, produce eggs with more omega-3 fatty acids, beta-carotene and vitamins A, D and E.
You might have to shell out more for fresh and organic eggs -- but they're worth the extra scratch.
Vegan diet ups heart risk
By WC Douglass MD
Have you ever noticed how vegans tend to look and act like "Addams Family" rejects? It's not a coincidence -- it's the lack of B vitamins.
But that's not the only downside of a meat-free diet. The changes on the inside are even worse than the ones on the outside -- and a new study confirms the warning I issued years ago: The vegan diet will kill you.
The analysis of dozens of studies published over the past 30 years found that vegans miss out on iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and omega-3 fatty acids. No surprise there.
It all adds up to a higher risk of hardened arteries, blood clots, and a higher risk of heart attack and stroke, according to the study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
The researchers also found that vegans have higher levels of the inflammation marker homocysteine -- a much more accurate measure of heart risk than cholesterol -- and low levels of HDL cholesterol.
Now, I know some vegans are already writing angry emails, but stop your typing for a moment and hug a bunny instead. I already know what you're going to say: "But meat eaters have an even higher heart risk!"
No, they don't. The meat-eaters used in the studies you're about to cite aren't healthy low-carb dieters, but people who get their meats the usual way: on a sesame-seed bun, with a side of fries.
Vegans never want compare themselves to low-carb meat eaters -- because they'll lose every time.
So here's my advice: put the bunny down... and eat it!
OK, I'm half-kidding... Rabbit meat is fine, but not everyone can go right from hugging Thumper to cooking him -- so get yourself a nice cut of beef instead.
Hunting wabbits,
William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.
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