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 »

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 »

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 »

When I review organic food products, I do my best to make sure that they are available either online or at retail locations throughout much of the country, so readers can go buy them.

Sometimes, however, my excitement about a product is so strong that I have to make an exception.

Over the Thanksgiving holidays, not only was I fortunate to have eaten at Dr. Andrew Weil’s restaurant True Food Kitchen for the very first time, but I was also lucky enough to have discovered Zuké kimchi by the Esoteric Food Company.

For the most part, sauerkraut, kimchi and other fermented foods is a very regional business.

So, wherever you go in the U.S., there tends to be a different local producer of these foods. Read more »

When I heard that Men’s Health magazine recently came out with its 125 Best Foods for Men, I was very curious to see what they selected.

Late Monday night, I read about the Stanford University report on organic food, which said that organic and conventionally-grown food offered similar nutritional benefits, and have spent the last few days processing this news.

Here are my key takeaways.

INTELLECTUAL HONESTY MUST REIGN SUPREME

Based on the parameters that the Stanford professors used, it was obvious that organic was going to be the clear loser before they even got started.

Why? Read more »

Let’s put this under the You Just Can’t Make This Stuff Up category.

Under a new USDA fast-track process, a Canadian company is asking the USDA to approve a genetically-engineered (GE) apple that will not turn brown when sliced.

Now for some questions……

What happens when an apple is sliced open and exposed to oxygen? It turns brown.

Does it lose any of its flavor or nutritional value? No. Read more »