Approval of Dow Chemical’s Very Controversial GMO-Corn to be Delayed

Written by Max Goldberg on January 25, 2013. Follow Max on Twitter: @livingmaxwell.

We just got a piece of good news that I wanted to share with you.

Due to our tremendous protests and outcry, Dow Chemical’s genetically-modified crop that is resistant to 2,4-D has been put on hold until at least 2014. Given that President Obama and the USDA have been giving rubber-stamp approval to every single GMO-crop that crosses their desks, this is a small victory.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this GMO-corn, it is a type of genetically-modified corn that has been developed to be resistant against an herbicide called 2,4-D. The idea is that you can spray 2,4-D (a toxic chemical) on the plant but it won’t damage the crop. It will kill the weeds around it, however.

What makes 2,4-D so fearsome is that it was the primary ingredient in Agent Orange. And as you may remember, Agent Orange 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. Read More »

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USDA Gives $500,000 Grant for Genetically-Engineered Pig Development

Written by Max Goldberg on January 2, 2013. Follow Max on Twitter: @livingmaxwell.

Several days ago when I wrote about the imminent approval of genetically-engineered salmon, I also said something else: this will pave the way for genetically-engineered animals and cloned animals.

Well, the USDA recently announced that it would be giving $500,000 to Recombinetics, a Minnesota-based company for “TALEN-mediated chromosome targeting for monosexing and genetic containment in livestock.”

Translation: money for the company to help introduce genetically-engineered animals (pigs) into the food and biomedical marketplace.

Make no mistake about it. The USDA is very, very pro-biotech.

The grant that Recombinetics received came from the USDA’s Biotechnology Risk Assessment Grants (BRAG) program, which was established in 1992. Read More »

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TAKE ACTION: Protect Organic, Tell Congress “NO” to the Monsanto Rider

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

With Monsanto having carefully orchestrated the defeat of Proposition 37 in California, they are now at it again.

However, this time it is in Washington D.C. and the potential ramifications are much, much more serious.

With Congress back in session and trying to figure out how to fund the government for the coming year, a very treacherous “Monsanto” rider is still on the table for the 2013 Appropriations bill. And we can’t let this get approved.

So, what exactly is this “Monsanto” rider?

Cloaked in “farmer-friendly” language, this Farmer Assurance Provision (Section 733) is nothing more than a ploy by the biotech industry to plant genetically-modified crops (GMOs), even when the courts have told them that they cannot do so.

Not only will this provision allow biotech companies to plant these potentially dangerous crops while legal appeals are being filed, but it will render useless the judicial process and the USDA’s authority to oversee GMOs. Read More »

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IMPORTANT: Synthetic Ingredients in Organic Food?

Written by Max Goldberg on December 11, 2012. Follow Max on Twitter: @livingmaxwell.

One of the reasons that most of us buy organic food is because we are told that they are free from synthetic ingredients.

There is a dangerous loophole, however, in USDA organic regulations which allows companies to use synthetic ingredients in organic food products, and it must be closed immediately.

But we need your help to do this.

The loophole says that “Nutrients allowed [on the National List of Approved Substances] are not limited to the nutrients listed in section 104.20(d)(3), because section 104.20(f) provides that nutrients may be added to foods as permitted or required by applicable regulations elsewhere by FDA.”

In plain English, it means the following.

There is a list of allowed synthetic ingredients in organic foods because they are deemed essential for organic production, are unavailable from natural/organic sources, etc.

For the most part, they are “essential nutrients” for which the FDA has determined a Recommended Daily Intake (RDI): Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin B12, Biotin, Pantothenic acid, Phosphorus, Iodine, Magnesium, Zinc, Selenium, Copper, Manganese, Chromium, Molybdenum and Chloride.

Yet, the organic regulations are written in a way that says as long as a specific nutrient is allowed by the FDA, it can be used in organic foods. So, all an ingredient needs to do is to get approval from the FDA for it to go into an organic product.

This is simply ridiculous and completely precludes the need to meet any type of organic standard. Read More »

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Study Links Pesticides in Water to Food Allergies

Written by Max Goldberg on December 3, 2012. Follow Max on Twitter: @livingmaxwell.

Just the other week, I wrote about a California farming community that MUST buy bottled water because the tap water is so polluted from pesticides and other contaminants.

Well, the news about the horrid quality of our drinking water continues.

Trying to figure out why food allergies have exploded over the past 20 years, a team of researchers published a study in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology which said that there is a relationship between the use of a group of pesticides called dichlorophenols and food allergies.

TIME Magazine explained that the study’s participants who had high levels of dichlorophenols in their bodies were 80% more likely to have food sensitivity than those with lower levels, and the authors believe the exposure to the chemicals may be contributing to a hyper-sensitive immune system that recognizes even common food proteins as foreign. Read More »

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