The USDA is Set to Approve a GM-Corn Resistant to 2,4-D, a Primary Ingredient in Agent Orange

Written by Max Goldberg on January 9, 2012. Follow Max on Twitter: @livingmaxwell.

Does our government have any interest in putting the health of its citizens ahead of corporate profits of the chemical industry?

Based on recent news, it doesn’t appear that this is the case.

The USDA is poised to approve Dow Chemical’s genetically-modified corn that is resistant to 2,4-D, a primary ingredient in Agent Orange.

In case you’re not familiar with Agent Orange, it was the code name for one of the chemicals used in Vietnam as part of a broad herbicidal warfare program.

Vietnam estimates 400,000 people were killed or maimed, and 500,000 children were born with birth defects as a result of this lethal strategy.

But it wasn’t just the Vietnamese who suffered greatly. U.S. soldiers came back from the war and realized that exposure to Agent Orange had greatly impacted them as well. Read More »

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Top 5 Organic Food Trends for 2012

Written by Max Goldberg on January 4, 2012. Follow Max on Twitter: @livingmaxwell.

I see these five products, issues and technologies making some real noise in the organic food industry this year.

AFRICAN SUPERFOODS

In the U.S., we are very familiar and comfortable with superfoods from Latin America, such as maca, chia seeds, and acai.

Yet, Africa has its own group of superfoods as well, and they are only going to grow in popularity.

These extremely nutritious, protein-rich and antioxidant-heavy foods, such as moringa (above) and baobab, will become much more ubiquitous and prominent in 2012.

I have read that moringa has 10x the Vitamin A of carrots, 17x the calcium of milk, 15x the potassium of bananas, 25x the iron of spinach, and 4x the chlorophyll of wheatgrass. Read More »

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My Response to the NYT’s “Organic Agriculture May Be Outgrowing Its Ideals”

Written by Max Goldberg on January 2, 2012. Follow Max on Twitter: @livingmaxwell.

On Friday in the New York Times, there was an interesting article titled “Organic Agriculture May Be Outgrowing its Ideals“.

Given the number of emails I received about it, I wanted to address this piece and talk about what I see going forward.

The article points to the the ideal nature of organic – small farms, local farms, an environmental steward of the land, etc. – which has been lost in many parts of the organic industry.

While these are aspects of the organic food industry that everyone would like to hold onto, we live in a capitalist society and market forces have changed the dynamic of the industry, for better and for worse.

FOR BETTER

More people are eating organic food and as a result, they are becoming healthier and fewer pesticides are poisoning workers, the land, and our water supply. Read More »

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Congress Holds First Ever Hearing on Genetically-Engineered Salmon – An Extremely Positive Step

Written by Max Goldberg on December 15, 2011. Follow Max on Twitter: @livingmaxwell.

When you follow the organic industry closely and care deeply about health, it is very easy to get frustrated with how our leaders place such little importance on organic.

While we do have a small number of organic advocates in Washington D.C., the overall policy that emanates from our government is one that supports genetically-modified food, largely because the GM-industry uses its vast resources to influence politicians and regulatory bodies.

And if you think the GM-industry hasn’t gotten to Obama, think again.

Not only did he renege on his promise to label genetically-modified food while on the campaign trail in 2007 but he supported the deregulation of genetically-engineered alfalfa, a policy that has disastrous implications for the organic dairy and meat industries. Read More »

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USDA Announces Amazing Statistics, Gives $19M in Grants for Organic Food

Written by Max Goldberg on October 27, 2011. Follow Max on Twitter: @livingmaxwell.

I’ve always known that organic food is the healthiest food that we can put into our bodies and is truly what people want to be eating.

The Thomson Reuters report a few months ago confirmed this when it claimed that 58% of the country prefers organic food.

But what I read the other day really blew me away. Read More »

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