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 »

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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.

Posted in Media/News

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 »

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Stalled Federal Import Safety Rules Results in More Illness

Huffington Post
By Michele Simon

The latest example of how even health-conscious eaters are not immune from food-borne illness outbreaks came last week with a recall of organic frozen berries contaminated with Hepatitis A. The products were sold under the brand name of Townsend Farms at two large chains: Costco stores in the west and Harris Teeter stores.

The latest count from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is 87 people infected in eight states: Arizona, California Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Washington. Of these, 36 have been hospitalized.

According to the CDC, Hepatitis A “usually occurs when an infected food handler prepares food without appropriate hand hygiene.” However, the source of this particular strain is still unclear, except that it probably did not originate in the United States.

This outbreak raises several important questions about our food system.

Are Companies Duping Consumers With “Farm-Washing”?

According to the fine print on the back label, shown on food safety attorney Bill Marler’s blog, the fruit came from around the world: Chile, Argentina, and Turkey. The pomegranate seeds processed in Turkey appear to be the culprit. (Marler is suing Townsend on behalf of the victims and just sent the company this demand letter.) Read Full Article »

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Chicago Tribune
By Carey Gillam, Reuters

Image courtesy of Graham Horn

(Reuters) – Pigs fed a diet of only genetically modified grain showed markedly higher stomach inflammation than pigs who dined on conventional feed, according to a new study by a team of Australian scientists and U.S. researchers.

The study adds to an intensifying public debate over the impact of genetically modified crops, which are widely used by U.S. and Latin American farmers and in many other countries around the world.

The study was published in the June issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Organic Systems by researchers from Australia who worked with two veterinarians and a farmer in Iowa to study the U.S. pigs.

Lead researcher Judy Carman is an epidemiologist and biochemist and director of the Institute of Health and Environmental Research in Adelaide, Australia. Read Full Article »

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