[Note:  The use of GMO inputs is expressly prohibited in organic food and agriculture.]

EatDrinkBetter.com
By Chris Keenan

Genetically modified organisms, such as plants and livestock are already found in our supermarkets. GM plants are much more common than many people realize too. Here is a list of the 10 most common GMO foods so you can be more aware while grocery shopping.

1. Soy

Up to 90% of soybeans in the market have been genetically modified to be naturally resistant to an herbicide called, Round Up. This increased resistance to the herbicide allows farmers to use more Round Up to kill weeds. However, this results not only in a genetically modified food product, but also a food product loaded with more chemicals.

2. Corn

Half of the US farms growing corn to sell to the conglomerate, Monsanto, are growing GMO corn. Most of this corn is going to be used for human consumption. Genetically modified corn has been linked to health problems, including weight gain and organ disruption.

3. Canola oil

Canola oil is derived from rapeseed oil. It is considered one of the most chemically altered oils sold in the US.

4. Cotton

Even cotton has been genetically modified to increase yield and resistance to disease. Most concern relates to the cotton oil. Cotton originating from India, and China, in particular, is considered higher risk for personal health. Read Full Article »

[Note from Mark Kastel:  Since Dean Foods purchased the Silk product line they took a company that was 100% organic and switched it to virtually 100% conventional ingredients for their soy, almond, coconut and other "plant-based beverages."  They even experimented with a non-organic yogurt, aimed specifically at toddlers with their Horizon products (including conventional fruits and vegetables on the dirty dozen list!).  Although WhiteWave has recently been spun-off from the nation's largest dairy conglomerate, Dean Foods, their DNA has not changed much.  The major investors that own Dean Foods stock now own most of WhiteWave.  The executives, including the former CEO at Dean Foods, are now running WhiteWave.  This is how you make real money in America: on Wall Street.] 

DenverPost.com
By Alicia Wallace, Daily Camera

WhiteWave Foods, the Broomfield-based, $2.3 billion operator of Horizon Organic and Silk soy milk that recently was spun off by Dean Foods Co., was founded with a $500 loan. In 1977, Steve Demos took those funds and started White Wave Inc., a vegetarian-food company specializing in tofu products.

The Daily Camera connected with Demos on Thursday after Dean Foods completed its spinoff of WhiteWave Foods.

Demos was traveling, but he responded to questions via e-mail.

The following has been edited for clarity and space.

Q: What involvement/ownership stake, if any, do you have in WhiteWave Foods now?

A: I have no personal investment or connection to WhiteWave Foods or Dean Foods.

Q: From your perspective, what could both the recent initial public offering and spinoff mean for the company and the natural/organic industry? Read Full Article »

Digital Journal
By Anne Sewell

Friends of the Earth Europe (FoE) commissioned a series of urine tests on people in 18 countries across Europe. The results were released on Thursday and FoE is asking, “Why is there weed killer in our bodies?”

The findings from these tests raise serious concerns about the increasing levels of exposure to glyphosate-based weed killers, which are commonly used by farmers, public authorities and gardeners across Europe. What is worrying is that should more genetically modified (GM) crops be grown in Europe, the use of glyphosate is predicted to rise even further. According to FoE, despite the widespread use of the weed killer, there is little monitoring of glyphosate at present in food, water or the wider environment.

The FoE test is the first of its kind in Europe to test for the presence of the weed killer in human bodies. Spokesperson for Friends of the Earth Europe, Adrian Bebb said on their website: “Most people will be worried to discover they may have weed killer in their bodies. We tested people living in cities in 18 countries and found traces in every country. These results suggest we are being exposed to glyphosate in our everyday lives, yet we don’t know where it is coming from, how widespread it is in the environment, or what it is doing to our health.

“Our testing highlights a serious lack of action by public authorities across Europe and indicates that this weed killer is being widely overused. Governments need to step-up their monitoring and bring in urgent measures to reduce its use. This includes rejecting any genetically modified crops that would increase the use of glyphosate.” Read Full Article »

Dr. David Suzuki

Prominent Canadian geneticist David Suzuki outlines the lack of any conclusive research proving GMOs are safe for human consumption and makes the argument that we should be able to choose in the marketplace (labeling).  And he “speaks truth to power” in his messaging to the Monsanto.

Click here to view this video.

Brattleboro Reformer
By Jon Potter

Image courtesy of Putneypics

BRATTLEBORO — Time was when “organic” was a word of the lunatic fringe, and nobody had ever heard of “localvores.” Time was when there weren’t co-ops or CSAs or farmers’ markets in our local food system when nobody was even thinking there was such a thing as a “local food system.”

Somebody changed that or more specifically, a few somebodies. They were pioneers in a movement, founding fathers of what may someday become our slow food nation, and they came to Vermont in the late 1960s and ‘70s and began farming in a different way organically.

Typical was Howard Prussack, who rode a Greyhound bus from Brooklyn to Bellows Falls in 1971 to help some friends who were homesteading. Ten years later, he became Vermont’s first certified organic farmer, and he’s still doing it at High Meadows Farm in Putney.

Prussack and the other farmers at the vanguard of Vermont’s organic movement are still growing, still leading, still working hard and taking delight in coaxing food from seed. Now some of their energies are focused on cultivating legacy as well as kale and carrots. Read Full Article »