Auto Immune Disease 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.

Natural World: Farm for the Future

VANDANA SHIVA: Traditional Knowledge, Biodiversity and Sustainable Living

An Interview with Dr Vandana Shiva, one of the world's foremost environmentalist, anti-GM activist and an advocate of ecological farming and sustainable agriculture as a solution to climate change, food security, hunger and peace. The interview was taken on 16th March 2011, during "Grandmonther's University" a three day course at Navdanya Biodiversity Farm at Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India which Dr. Vandana Shiva founded in 1987 to help save traditional seeds. The farm also undertakes research and training, along with the important role of distributing native seeds to farmers in the region. 

Please see the full article at http://www.ecowalkthetalk.com/blog/2011/03/31/vandana-shiva-traditional-knowl...

The interview was conducted by Geraldine, Emiliano and Bhavani. Bhavani Prakash is the Founder of http://www.ecowalkthetalk.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ecowalkthetalk

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ecowalkthetalk

Charlotte Gerson on cancer and disease

89-year-old Charlotte Gerson, Max Gerson's (who founded the Gerson Institute in 1977) daughter, sat down with the Live Foods, Live Bodies team and JayKordich.com to tell us how to be healthy into your 80s, 90s, and even 100s. 

This video contains fascinating 48-minutes of great information and perspective from someone who has dedicated her life to helping others overcome serious illness. Gain valuable knowledge by watching this interview conducted only a few months ago.

Jay Kordich and the Life Foods, Live Bodies LLC team mission is to teach, inspire and motivate people to consume fresh juices and raise awareness of the link between diet and health. Juicing is an easy way to introduce the proven health benefits of fresh fruits and vegetables into anyone's diet.

Protect the Krisna Valley in Hungary

VÉDJUK MEG KRISNA-VÖLGYET ÉS A SZENT TEHENEKET!

A 270 hektáros Krisna-völgy jelenleg 300 szerzetesnek és kisgyermekes családnak, és 52 szentként tisztelt tehénnek valamint ökörnek a lakóhelye. Az egyházügyi törvény módosítása után kialakult rendezetlen jogi helyzet miatt azonban 2012. január 1-én ők mindannyian elveszíthetik otthonukat, életterüket, s az ország egyik legkiemelkedőbb ökogazdasága és turisztikai célpontja bezár.

A Somogyvámos határában lévő Krisna-völgyet 1993-ban kárpótlási jegyekért, saját erőből és adományokból vásárolták a hívők. Az első lakók a telet az akólban, szalmabálák között dideregve töltötték. Főzni, meleg ételhez jutni nem tudtak, mert a palackban megfagyott a gáz. De nem adták fel. Lemondásuknak és eltökéltségüknek köszönhetően az elhanyagolt birkalegelők és az ugaron fekvő területek néhány év alatt virágzó kertekké, lombos ligetekké és dúsan termő biogazdasággá változtak. Krisna-völgy az elmúlt években több, mint félmillió hazai és külföldi kisiskolást, egyetemistát, családot és turistát látott vendégül, s osztotta meg tapasztalatait velük. A vegyszermentes növénytermesztésre és szennyvíztisztításra, és a megújuló energiaforrások használatára épülő, önellátó Krisna-völgyi gazdaság világviszonylatban is elismertséget jelent Magyarországnak.

Védjük meg az ország egyik legfontosabb biogazdaságát és turisztikai célpontját! Mentsük meg a családokat, a szerzeteseket és a szent teheneket! Csatlakozz Te is a december 13-án 14.00 órai kezdettel a Parlament melletti téren (Kossuth tér 4., a Közigazgatási és Igazságügyi Minisztérium előtt), a Krisna-völgyi tehenek jelenlétében tartandó békés demonstrációhoz, melyben cselekvésre kérjük az ország vezetőit!

You can sign the petition here:
http://www.petitions24.com/krisna

Interview in Hungarian:
http://www.krisna.hu/w/?q=node/4256

Kérünk, fejezd ki Te is szimpátiádat petíciónk aláírásával: http://www.peticiok.com/krisna

További információk: www.krisna.hu 

Mérő Mátyás (Madhupati dász) 06-1-212-62-70

Cereal Crimes

"Natural" claims in the cereal and granola aisle mislead consumers. A new research study from The Cornucopia Institute indicates the "natural" claim is mostly meaningless marketing hype, in contrast to the USDA certified organic label which signifies the food was produced without genetically modified organisms (GMOs), toxic pesticides and other potentially dangerous synthetic inputs. Cornucopia and USDA research finds GMOs, and toxic pesticide residues, in "natural" cereal ingredients... and many "natural" brands are often priced higher than equivalent organic products.

For more information: http://www.cornucopia.org/2011/10/natural-vs-organic-cereal/

Taking down Monsanto - The California Ballot initiative

Health Liberty

Health Liberty is a nonprofit coalition formed by Mercola.com, National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), Fluoride Action Network (FAN), Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT), Organic Consumers Association (OCA), and Consumers for Dental Choice, to help protect every American's freedom to make voluntary health choices. Each partner-organization has a rich history of advocacy and active campaigning for change and better access to truly empowering health information.

Food Inc.

Know where your food is coming from and vote for change through your food choices and with your wallet!

African farmers gathered to discuss agro-ecology in Zimbabwe

Via Campesina

By Pambazuka News

(Masvingo, 13 June, 2011) – Zimbabwean farmers’ organization are hosting a training meeting on agroecology , an encounter organized by La Via Campesina (LVC) Africa in Masvingo province in Zimbabwe, from June 13 to 19. The training workshop brings together LVC member organizations in the continent, key allies including academics, NGOs, social science practioners, and small-scale farmers.

More than 50 participants, from 10 African Countries, as well as visitors from Latin America and Asia, are gathering in Masvingo to discuss and share experiences on agroecology and sustainable peasant agriculture, and organic farming and conservation agriculture practices, that keep build on local knowledge and traditional skills to work the land and produce food ecologically.

The participants of the meeting list several challenges and difficulties that affect peasant production in their countries. Among the difficulties they face is the lack of support from their governments, climate change, the interference of multinational corporations in the agricultural sector, as well as the issue of land grabbing whereby smallholder farmers lose their traditional land, finding themselves in the risk of hunger and poverty.

Other challenges include limited access to markets with decent crop prices, donors conditionality driving anti-smallholder policies, and regulations with negative impacts on peasants. These issues need to be resolved for the peasants in Africa to develop their true productive capacity.

At the end of the seven days of the training participants will come up with proposed solutions and a strategic plan which will be implemented by their organizations and the network.

In these meetings participants are expecting to create a permanent space for the exchange and strengthening of agroecological efforts carried out by LVC organizations in Africa, in order to share experiences, methodologies, educational materials and trainers, as well as to develop a strategic action and working plan on agroecology and peasant agriculture at African level. Participants said that agroecology is the way for farmers to become independent and more productive, and to take control over their own farming systems. It puts us back in the drivers seat, they said.

Mr Nelson Mudzingwa, a smallholder farmer from Zimbabwe, speaking at the meeting, said he will open up his mind from the experience to be shared from other countries on agroecology practices. He gave evidence that organic farmers in Zimbabwe who use agroecology practices like native seeds and organic fertilizers are highly productive without dependence on private seed and fertilizer companies nor government handouts.

He said it is very important for farmers to practice agroecology rather than just theorizing, because without practicing there is no success. He also emphasized information sharing and documentation and sharing of lessons from the success stories. “As I believe in information sharing, I call upon my colleagues that we have to expose all success stories so that others they can easily adopt,” he said.

The participants of the meeting will visit strong Zimbabwean successful example of agroecology, from where they expect to learn how local farmers develop sustainable agriculture form their own seeds and techniques.

In a report titled “Sustainable Peasant Agriculture Can Feed the World” (available at www.viacampesina.org), LVC has compiled evidence at the global level to show that agroecological farming is more sustainable, more productive, and more resilient to climate change than conventional chemical and industrialized agriculture. LVC member organizations in Africa believe that agroecology is key to achieving food sovereignty and ending problems of hunger and rural poverty in the continent.

LVC Communication Team in Africa

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Please send comments to editor[at]pambazuka[dot]org or comment online at Pambazuka News

Feds target Amish in bizarre sting operation

By WC Douglass MD

It's the roughest, toughest gang of outlaws you've ever seen -- a band of bearded renegades so dangerous that a federal agency needed help from TWO law enforcement departments during a recent raid. 

The Amish must be stopped! 

These buggy-driving menaces represent such a threat to the American Way of Life that the feds put one of them in the crosshairs of an 18-month sting operation. 

But this wasn't about weapons, drugs or counterfeit money -- it was about RAW MILK. 

This thriller begins with brave FDA agents putting their lives on the line by infiltrating another group of known radicals: Washington, D.C.-area families that enjoy farm-fresh milk and other organic goods. 

These families know that raw milk is superior in every way to Big Dairy's watered-down swill and that it can even cure everything from asthma to autism. But since it's illegal to buy raw milk in Maryland, where most of these families live, they were forced to look elsewhere. 

That's when they joined together to form a cooperative to buy a stake in Dan Allgyer's Pennsylvania farm. It's a way of skirting the law -- you're not "buying" the milk if you already own the farm. 

Little did they know there were traitors in their midst: Undercover FDA agents using assumed names joined the club and attended gatherings in members' homes... where they secretly gathered evidence to use against Allgyer. 

And when the Amish farmer ultimately delivered his contraband, the agents turned into Elliot Ness and the Untouchables, launching an armed predawn raid on his Pennsylvania farm with the help of U.S. marshals and state police. 

All that was missing was a team of Navy SEALS! 

Naturally, there's no real evidence against Allgyer. After a year and a half undercover, the feds can't point to a single sick customer or a single case of contaminated milk. 

The only supposed crime Allgyer committed was "selling" his milk across state lines -- but since the cooperative is technically an owner and not a customer, even that argument is thinner than pasteurized milk.

Conventional farmers won't eat their own produce

Link to the slides on the bottom of the page.
http://homesweetfarm.com/

Icelandic consumers call for factory farm alternative

By IceNews

The Association of Organic Consumers in Iceland has criticised the country’s agriculture industry at a conference this week. One of the group’s board members said in a speech that it is all-but impossible to buy chicken, pork and eggs which were not raised intensively on factory farms.

Oddny Anna Bjornsdottir told guests at the conference this week (which is a part of the Green April campaign) that Icelandic consumers have almost no choice at all when it comes to organic meat and dairy products. While organic lamb is available in specialist health food stores, farmers markets and very occasionally in the supermarkets; there is nothing else on the market, she said.

The conditions and upbringing of Icelandic farm animals have been in the headlines recently like never before and Bjornsdottir puts it down to a national awakening among consumers who increasingly want to buy products from animals with a free range and organic background. Only two slaughter houses in Iceland are certified to process organically reared meat, Visir.is reported.

Bjornsdottir believes that Icelanders have fallen into the same trap with agriculture as they did with many other environmental issues in the past: the assumption that a small nation of people living in a large and unpolluted country automatically means that serious environmental/agricultural problems do not exist in Iceland. She says, on the other hand, that this is changing slowly; despite the fact that the country is far behind its neighbours when it comes to factory farming.

To illustrate the problem, Bjornsdottir points out that very nearly all chicken meat in Iceland comes from intensively reared, caged birds and the same goes for 85 percent of eggs. Even the 15 percent free range eggs fall short of organic standards and usually come from barn birds.

She named five producers of organic lamb and three more who plan to start this year. There are three organic beef producers. Organic pork buyers will need to go direct to farmers, she says; as 90 percent of the country’s pork meat comes from just three factory farms.

Chicken is available in small amounts from the producers of ‘free range’ eggs; but even they are not ‘free range’ enough.

The pressure is mounting from concerned consumers and a shift in the market appears to be in the air.

Read more: http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2011/04/29/icelandic-consumers-call-for-factory-farm-alternative/#ixzz1LlsKZ8Vz

Bill Gates and Monsanto

By Dr Joseph Mercola

Excerpts:

Many have long suspected that U.S. policy on genetically modified (GM) organisms was being influenced by the multinational corporations that profit from genetic engineering and the export-oriented agribusiness. However, recently released Wikileaks cables document just how close that relationship has become.

The U.S. Department of State has virtually become an agency for promoting the private interests of the Monsanto Corporation.

As European social movements pressure their governments for an ongoing moratorium on GM seeds and foods, Monsanto and other biotech corporations have been pushing to find new market footholds, using hybrids even in impoverished Haiti following the January 12, 2010 earthquake. They have been pursuing such goals in collaboration with USAID, the U.S. State Department and the Gates Foundation Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

According to Netline:

"The collusion of the Gates Foundation with Monsanto corporation is no accident, as high level officials leading AGRA are former Monsanto executives. The recent purchase by AGRA of $500,000 worth in Monsanto stocks was vivid proof of that close relationship. Despite many words by Gates officials since the inception of the AGRA agenda denying that GMO seeds would be used as part of AGRA, their close relationship with Monsanto has now been revealed to be a key element in their agronomic 'new green revolution' strategy."

 The Close Alliance Between Gates Foundation and Monsanto

As revealed by previous Wikileaks documents, the Bush administration conspired to find ways to retaliate against Europe for refusing to use genetically modified (GM) seeds, mainly by engaging in aggressive trade wars against reluctant nations.

The Guardian recently reported that the "cables show US diplomats working directly for GM companies such as Monsanto." The cables also revealed that the US has worked closely with Spain to persuade the EU to not strengthen their biotechnology laws. In one cable, the embassy in Madrid wrote: "If Spain falls, the rest of Europe will follow."

But it doesn't end there.

As reported by Netline, Monsanto and other biotech companies have collaborated with the Gates Foundation via the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to inject genetically modified crops into Africa. The Gates Foundation has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to AGRA, and in 2006 Robert Horsch was hired for the AGRA project. Horsch was a Monsanto executive for 25 years.

In a previous Huffington Post article, Eric Holt Gimenez sums it up nicely:

"Under the guise of "sustainability" the [Gates] Foundation has been spearheading a multi-billion dollar effort to transform African into a GMO-friendly continent. The public relations flagship for this effort is the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), a massive Green Revolution project."

It would be naive at this point to think that these collaborations are designed to solve any other problem than how to help Monsanto monopolize the world's food supply with expensive GM seeds that have to be purchased each year and require expensive chemical treatment.

After all, if you own the rights to all the food grown everywhere, you literally rule the world...

Gates tried to keep his ties to genetically modified seeds on the down-low, but the issue got major attention last year when Monsanto tried to inject its hybrid seeds into Haiti after a massive earthquake devastated the island. Fortunately, the Haitian farmers were too smart to fall for this devious scheme. Farmer groups criticized the Gates Foundation's involvement, committed to burning the GM seed, and called for a march to protest Monsanto's presence in Haiti.

Social movements around the world are pressuring their governments for a moratorium on unproven GM seeds and foods, yet the US is giving Monsanto free reign, aiding and abetting their agenda, and the Gates Foundation is starting to look more and more like just another arm to further Monsanto's reach.

 Gates' Financial Conflicts of Interest Sheds Additional Light on his Foundation's Agenda

In the second quarter of 2010, the Gates Foundation purchased 500,000 shares of Monsanto stock with an estimated worth of $23.1 million.

In August of last year, AGRA-Watch wrote:

"The Foundation's direct investment in Monsanto is problematic on two primary levels," said Dr. Phil Bereano, University of Washington Professor Emeritus and recognized expert on genetic engineering.

"First, Monsanto has a history of blatant disregard for the interests and well-being of small farmers around the world, as well as an appalling environmental track record. The strong connections to Monsanto cast serious doubt on the Foundation's heavy funding of agricultural development in Africa and purported goal of alleviating poverty and hunger among small-scale farmers. Second, this investment represents an enormous conflict of interests."

It seems clear that despite the denials that GM seeds would be used as part of AGRA's strategy, the close ties between the Gates Foundation, AGRA, and Monsanto, and the financial conflicts of interest between the Gates Foundation and Monsanto appear to be "a key element of AGRA's "new green revolution" strategy," Netline writes.

"The interlocking and corrupting nature of that agenda as documented further by Wikileaks release of US State Department cables should be of concern to all people of good will concerned about the future biodiversity of crop seeds in the world.

It is an undisputed fact, no matter what one might think of the merits of GMO seeds, that transnational concentration in market share and power inevitably means a diminishing of crop biodiversity, in many cases for all time, as seed varieties are lost in the shuffle. That is the bottom line.

And that is why small-scale farming, based in and loyal to the communities they nourish, must prevail as the model for the future of agriculture! Seeds have always been shared freely among farmers, guaranteeing a biodiverse basis for farming everywhere. Without that basis, there can be no food sovereignty and therefore fewer and fewer practitioners (family farmers) on the ground capable of slowing global warming and feeding the hungry of the world through sustainable land usage and reforestation.

It is our duty, even as community gardeners, to learn how to save seed and to do so. We thus represent the front line primary defense against crop variety loss, famine and pestilence for future generations!"

I agree.

Genetically modified crops represent one of the most significant threats to life on this planet and must be stopped. Unfortunately, there's no shortage of smart men misusing their intelligence. Bill Gates is just one of the most prominent in this group.

 How You Can Avoid GM Foods, and Help Others Do the Same

I urge you to print out and use the Non-GMO Shopping Guide, created by the Institute for Responsible Technology. Share it with your friends and family, and post it to your social networks. You can also download a free iPhone application, available in the iTunes store. You can find it by searching for ShopNoGMO in the applications.

If you're feeling really ambitious you can order the Non-GMO Shopping Tips brochure in bulk and distribute them to the grocery stores in your area. Talk to the owner or manager and get permission to post them in their store.

For more information, I highly recommend reading the following two books, authored by Jeffrey Smith, the executive director of theInstitute for Responsible Technology:

1. Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies about the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You're Eating
2. Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods.

There are also a number of great films and lectures available, including:

• Hidden Dangers in Kid's Meals
• Your Milk on Drugs - Just Say No!
• Everything You Have to Know About Dangerous Genetically Modified Foods

For timely updates, join the Non-GMO Project on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter.

Please, do your homework. Together, we as consumers have the power to stop the biotech industry from destroying our food supply, the future of our children, and the earth as a whole. All we need is about five percent of consumers to simply stop buying GM foods, and the food industry would have to reconsider their source of ingredients.

To read the rest of the article, please click here. 

7 foods that experts won't eat

1. Canned tomatoes

The resin linings of tin cans contain bisphenol-A, a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to ailments ranging from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Unfortunately, acidity (a prominent characteristic of tomatoes) causes BPA to leach into your food. Studies show that the BPA in most people’s body exceeds the amount that suppresses sperm production or causes chromosomal damage to the eggs of animals. “You can get 50 mcg of BPA per liter out of a tomato can, and that’s a level that is going to impact people, particularly the young,” says vom Saal. “I won’t go near canned tomatoes.” Fredrick vom Saal, PhD, endocrinologist

2. Corn - fed beef

Cattle evolved to eat grass, not grains. But farmers today feed their animals corn and soybeans, which fatten up the animals faster for slaughter. More money for cattle farmers (and lower prices at the grocery store) means a lot less nutrition for us. A recent comprehensive study conducted by the USDA and researchers from Clemson University found that compared with corn-fed beef, grass-fed beef is higher in beta-carotene, vitamin E, omega-3s, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), calcium, magnesium, and potassium; lower in inflammatory omega-6s; and lower in saturated fats that have been linked to heart disease. “We need to respect the fact that cows are herbivores, and that does not mean feeding them corn and chicken manure,” says Salatin. Joel Salatin, expert on sustainable farming

3. Microwave popcorn

Chemicals, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in the lining of the bag, are part of a class of compounds that may be linked to infertility in humans, according to a recent study from UCLA. In animal testing, the chemicals cause liver, testicular, and pancreatic cancer. Studies show that microwaving causes the chemicals to vaporize—and migrate into your popcorn. “They stay in your body for years and accumulate there,” says Naidenko, which is why researchers worry that levels in humans could approach the amounts causing cancers in laboratory animals. DuPont and other manufacturers have promised to phase out PFOA by 2015 under a voluntary EPA plan, but millions of bags of popcorn will be sold between now and then. Olga Naidenko, PhD, Environmental Working Group

4. Non-organic potatoes

Root vegetables absorb herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides that wind up in soil. In the case of potatoes—the nation’s most popular vegetable—they’re treated with fungicides during the growing season, then sprayed with herbicides to kill off the fibrous vines before harvesting. After they’re dug up, the potatoes are treated yet again to prevent them from sprouting. “Try this experiment: Buy a conventional potato in a store, and try to get it to sprout. It won’t,” says Moyer, who is also farm director of the Rodale Institute (also owned by Rodale Inc., the publisher of Prevention). “I’ve talked with potato growers who say point-blank they would never eat the potatoes they sell. They have separate plots where they grow potatoes for themselves without all the chemicals.” Jeffrey Moyer, National Organic Standards

5. Farmed salmon

Nature didn’t intend for salmon to be crammed into pens and fed soy, poultry litter, and hydrolyzed chicken feathers. As a result, farmed salmon is lower in vitamin D and higher in contaminants, including carcinogens, PCBs, brominated flame retardants, and pesticides such as dioxin and DDT. According to Carpenter, the most contaminated fish come from Northern Europe, which can be found on American menus. “You can only safely eat one of these salmon dinners every 5 months without increasing your risk of cancer,” says Carpenter, whose 2004 fish contamination study got broad media attention. “It’s that bad.” Preliminary science has also linked DDT to diabetes and obesity, but some nutritionists believe the benefits of omega-3s outweigh the risks. There is also concern about the high level of antibiotics and pesticides used to treat these fish. When you eat farmed salmon, you get dosed with the same drugs and chemicals. David Carpenter MD

6. Milk produced with artificial hormones

Milk producers treat their dairy cattle with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST, as it is also known) to boost milk production. But rBGH also increases udder infections and even pus in the milk. It also leads to higher levels of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor in milk. In people, high levels of IGF-1 may contribute to breast, prostate, and colon cancers. “When the government approved rBGH, it was thought that IGF-1 from milk would be broken down in the human digestive tract,” says North. As it turns out, the casein in milk protects most of it, according to several independent studies. “There’s not 100% proof that this is increasing cancer in humans,” admits North. “However, it’s banned in most industrialized countries.” Nick North Campaign for Safe Food

7. Conventional apples

If fall fruits held a “most doused in pesticides contest,” apples would win. Why? They are individually grafted (descended from a single tree) so that each variety maintains its distinctive flavor. As such, apples don’t develop resistance to pests and are sprayed frequently. The industry maintains that these residues are not harmful. But Kastel counters that it’s just common sense to minimize exposure by avoiding the most doused produce, like apples. “Farm workers have higher rates of many cancers,” he says. And increasing numbers of studies are starting to link a higher body burden of pesticides (from all sources) with Parkinson’s disease. Mark Kastel, Cornucopia Institute

On how to avoid these foods and for the full article, please click here.

Related articles
Top 10 food additives to avoid
More FDA authority won't improve food safety
Say no to methyl iodide
The truth about farmed salmon
Interview with Shiv Chopra
10 organic foods that are worth the money
Teenagers carry 30% more BPA in their bodies than the rest of the population

A 108 year old man's advice on good diet

Moderation, lots of fresh, chemical-free fruit and vegetables, fish; meat (lamb) only once a year. Freshly squeezed orange juice, blueberries and cantaloupe. Still exercises every morning and takes a super food supplement with echinacea. He drinks cinnamon tea to prevent diabetes. Avoids fast food restaurants like the plague! 

No wrinkles, fresh mind, still active, and perfectly healthy. 

Say no to methyl iodide

Arnold Schwarzenegger approves the neurotoxic and carcinogenic pesticide methyl iodide to be used on strawberries in California.

"The decision flies in the face of overwhelming public and scientific opposition. Prior to the decision, the DPR saw its largest public comment period ever, with 53,000 comments, most of them urging the state to ban the pesticide. But in the end, lobbying and media campaign by Arysta LifeScience -- the company that manufactures methyl iodide -- persuaded the DPR to put corporate interests ahead of public health. "

To write to governor- elect Jerry Brown to reverse the decision, click here.

10 Organic foods that are worth the money

Excerpt:
1. Apples

A total of 36 pesticides can be found on apples according to the FDA. One test found 7 different chemicals on a single apple. 

2. Baby foods

3. Butter and milk (animal products), also eggs

Dairy cows are fed with grains that are heavily treated with chemicals; animal products can also contain antibiotics and bovine growth hormone. (the meat you eat should also be organic due to the cumulative effect of toxins)

4. Cantaloupes (melon)

Are often contaminated by the 5 longest lasting of chemicals. Dieldrin, still gets taken up by the roots even though it was banned in 1974.

5. Cucumbers

Cucumbers were ranked the 12th most contaminated food and the second in cancer risk due to their pesticide content.

6. Grapes

7. Green beans

There are over 60 pesticides that are registered for use on green beans in the US.

8. Spinach

The chemicals used to treat spinach can cause cancer and can disrupt hormones.

9. Strawberries

Strawberries are one of the most contaminated ones of all produce.

10. Winter squash

Can absorb Dieldrin from soil.

Fruits and vegetables with the highest pesticide load according to the Environmental Working Group:

peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, lettuce, grapes, pears, spinach, potatoes.

Fruits and vegetables with the lowest pesticide load: 

broccoli, eggplant (aubergine), cabbage, banana, kiwi, asparagus, sweet peas, mango, pineapple, sweet corn, avocado, onion

You can read the full article on:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/11/20/10-organic-foods-that-are-worth-the-money.aspx