Source: AquaBounty

Just when you thought it would be an uneventful time to go away on a holiday weekend, the FDA conveniently declared on Friday (when most people are not paying attention to the news) that genetically-modified salmon is safe and doesn’t pose an environmental risk.

The timing in all of this was calculated to perfection and displays a real agenda within the government.  After all, with the naming of Islam Siddiqui to a key trade post and other high level nominations, should we be in the least bit surprised at this announcement?  I’m not.

The skinny: A company in Boston named AquaBounty Technologies has genetically altered a salmon so that it grows to its market size in 16 to 18 months instead of three years. They have been working with the FDA for nearly a decade to get approval and now a decision appears very close.

How do they get it to grow so fast? In the cold weather, salmon normally turn off their growth hormone. So, AquaBounty has inserted a growth hormone from a Chinook salmon as well as a genetic on-switch from the ocean pout, a distant relative of the salmon. As a result, the salmon never stops growing.

The company says that the chances of mixing with wild fish and contaminating real fish is close to nothing because it will only be grown inland on fish farms.  Read more »

One of the questions that I have been getting a lot lately is: how do we know if the food we are eating or buying is organic?

The answer is pretty simple. The USDA has a list of approved profit and not-for-profit certifiers that inspect farms and manufacturing facilities. When these certifiers declare that a product is truly organic, based on existing rules and regulations, the food manufacturer may then use the USDA certified organic seal.

While this is no fool-proof system, it is the best we have. Organizations such as the Organic Consumers Association are constantly on the lookout for companies that are trying to circumvent the rules. So, if maintaining the integrity of organic is important to you, please support them.

In this video, I also discuss what you want to look out for when buying organic fruits and vegetables in a store.

The recent salmonella scare, which spurred the recall of over 550 million eggs, has had an unsurprising effect: more people are purchasing local and organic eggs.

If you’ve seen the movie Food, Inc., you know the inhumane conditions in which chickens are raised in our industrial food system. So, how can we be in the least bit shocked that salmonella has emerged?

I’m not. And, with events like this, I am hoping that people are going to be making a more permanent shift to local and organic.

I don’t care what anyone, including our government, says. While by no means 100% fool-proof, organic farming and livestock methods are vastly superior and safer.

A few of the organic rules on chickens:

– They must be managed organically from the 2nd day of life.

– Organic feed and pasture only. Read more »

About a month ago, I wrote a post about a very important Supreme Court case regarding genetically-engineered alfalfa.

Last week, a verdict came out and it was a huge victory for organic food proponents.

Yet, if you read the mainstream press, Monsanto did an amazing spin job and made it seem as if they had won the case. The New York Times certainly portrayed it in this light.

However, one organization that I trust wholeheartedly, The Center for Food Safety (CFS), saw the decision very differently. The legal issues are quite complex and the best way to get a good understanding of the verdict is to read what the CFS had to say.

Dangerous products from China seem to be the norm these days.

U.S. consumers have had to deal with the toxic drywall disaster.  Then, we found out that Chinese-manufactured toys and trinkets contained cadmium instead of lead.  Cadmium is a known carcinogenic.

Oh, and how about the milk that killed several babies and sickened thousands because of the toxic powder that was used.

With doubts swirling that the organic food from China wasn’t really organic, the USDA has banned a major certifier, the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA), from operating there.

The reason: OCIA hired employees of a state-owned agency to inspect state-controlled farms and processing facilities. There was absolutely no independence and a serious conflict of interest at hand.

A video had been circulating on Internet recently about how Whole Foods was using “organic” food from China yet the certifying agency, Quality Assurance International, who was hired by Whole Foods and whose certification seal was on the package, claims it never did any inspections in that country. This created a mini-scandal that Whole Foods refused to comment on. Read more »

Last night, I interviewed Andrew Kimbrell, the Executive Director of The Center for Food Safety (CFS), a non-profit based in Washington DC.

The website says that CFS “protects human health and the environment by curbing the proliferation of harmful food production technologies and by promoting organic and other forms of sustainable agriculture.”

In plain language, this organization battles the people who are polluting our environment and corrupting the integrity of our food supply.

What is important to note is that when CFS files lawsuits, it often succeeds.  This includes several victories against Monsanto and others.  Recent wins include: stopping GE sugar beets, halting GE crops in wildlife refugees, preserving r-BGH free labels on dairy products, and passing California law to protect farmers from the hazards of GE crops.

Andrew Kimbrell and his team are amazing advocates of organic food, and I cannot express how lucky we are to have such competent and committed people fighting for our cause in Washington.

The interview I shot with him will be up very soon, but I received an email from CFS today and wanted to share it immediately.

The organic food community is under serious attack from the USDA.  Yes, the USDA.  It is considering allowing GE alfalfa, which would have disastrous consequences for the organic food industry and the well-being of small and family farms. Read more »