Another Reason to Eat Organic – The Water Supply in the Midwest is Becoming a Serious Health Risk

Written by Max Goldberg on May 16, 2012. Follow Max on Twitter: @livingmaxwell.

I got a comment from someone the other day who said “Why should we care about GMOs (genetically-modified organisms)? Let them grow what they want. It doesn’t impact the people who eat organic.”

Unfortunately, this individual could not have been more wrong.

GMOs impact everyone, including people who eat 100% organic, and a recent study from the Pesticide Action Network confirms this.

Water sampling results from communities across four Midwestern states — Illinois, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota — indicate Atrazine is present in drinking water at levels well above those linked to birth defects and low birth weight.

WHAT IS ATRAZINE AND WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IT

Present in 94% of our water supply, Atrazine is a toxic weed killer and 76 million pounds of it is dumped onto our farms each year, mostly for corn.

And the health effects of Atrazine?

- The Pesticide Action Network reports that it has been linked to endocrine disruption, reproductive problems, and cancer. Read More »

  • Comment
  • Print

LABEL IT NOW e-Book: The Most Important $3 You Can Spend

Written by Max Goldberg on April 12, 2012. Follow Max on Twitter: @livingmaxwell.

If you’re a frequent reader of my blog, you know that aside from writing about organic products, restaurants, and trends, I dedicate a good amount of time to what is happening politically in regards to the organic industry.

The reason I do this is the because genetically-modified foods (GMOs) are an extremely serious threat to both the long-term viability of organic and the health of our fellow citizens.

Furthermore, it is a topic that does not receive accurate or adequate coverage in mainstream media.

The unfortunate reality is this.

A very high percentage of the U.S. population does not know what GMOs are and does not understand the very grave health risks that GMOs pose. Even worse, they don’t realize how our government is not protecting our health nor upholding our rights as American citizens.

For those of us who live in the U.S., we have a fundamental right to know if the food we are eating is genetically-modified or not. Read More »

  • Comment
  • Print

Another Reason to Eat Organic – Arsenic, Caffeine, Antidepressants and Banned Antibiotics are Fed to Chicken

Written by Max Goldberg on April 6, 2012. Follow Max on Twitter: @livingmaxwell.

Last year, I put up a post about how arsenic was temporarily banned for use in conventional chickens.

Whether conventional chicken growers actually paid attention to the ban is anyone’s guess, but a column I read yesterday in the New York Times just made me shake my head even further.

In his column, Nicholas Kristof talked about recently released studies that suggest that poultry on factory farms are routinely fed caffeine, active ingredients of Tylenol and Benadryl, banned antibiotics and arsenic.

He went on to say that chicken from China showed that it contained an antidepressant whose active ingredient is in Prozac. Yes, chickens are getting antidepressants. Can you imagine? Read More »

  • 4 Comments
  • Print

Another Reason to Buy Organic – The Link Between Genetically-Modified Foods and Fertility Problems

Written by Max Goldberg on March 23, 2012. Follow Max on Twitter: @livingmaxwell.

For people who are new to organic, the first question they generally have is “Why should I be eating this food?”

The easy response is “because organic food does not contain synthetic and toxic chemicals”.

Organic food also forbids the use of genetically-engineered ingredients, often known as GMOs (genetically-modified organisms).

Since GMOs are a little bit more complicated and a little less tangible, this point either gets overlooked or is not fully understood.

GMOs are species that have been altered, manipulated and designed in a laboratory, and foreign genes, such as viruses or bacteria, have been inserted into them. Read More »

  • Comment
  • Print

Insecticides are Officially Linked to the Disappearance of Bees. Am I Surprised? Not at All.

Written by Max Goldberg on March 18, 2012. Follow Max on Twitter: @livingmaxwell.

The very serious issue we face with colony collapse disorder (CCD) is something that should be on everyone’s radar screen.

Basically, the bees are disappearing. And why should we care exactly that the bees are disappearing?

Well, bees pollinate our plants and without bees, we have four years to live.

While many people believe that CCD is a result of GMOs and the toxic chemicals that we spray on them, there is incredible denial from the chemical industry.

In an article published the other day in Environmental Science & Technology titled “Assessment of the Environmental Exposure of Honeybees to Particulate Matter Containing Neonicotinoid Insecticides Coming from Corn Coated Seeds,” new research identifies a direct link between the bees dying and insecticides used on corn. Read More »

  • Comment
  • Print
« Older Entries