Digital Journal By Anne Sewell Washington – On April 24, the Genetically Engineered Right-to-Know Act was introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR), to require food manufacturers to inform consumers of genetically engineered ingredients in their products. Katey Parker of “Just Label It“, which has more than 650 partner organizations, hailed this introduction: Americans want to know more, not less, about their food.” “More than 90 percent of Americans want the

Abbott Laboratories Shareholders Set To Vote on Non-GMO Policy Cornucopia, WI – Shareholders of Abbott Laboratories will vote on whether the manufacturer of Similac, a leading brand of infant formula, should adopt a policy of sourcing ingredients that have not been genetically engineered. The vast majority of corn and soy-based ingredients in processed foods in the United States, including infant formula, come from genetically engineered crops developed by Monsanto and other biotechnology companies.  Dairy ingredients

GMOs—foods that have been genetically engineered by Monsanto and other chemical manufacturers—have never been adequately tested for long-term human health or environmental safety. Many of the ingredients used in infant formula, especially soy-based formula, are derived from crops that have been genetically altered to internally produce pesticides or to be resistant to specific herbicides, so that weed killers that would normally kill or injure the plant can be sprayed more frequently and at higher doses.

By Charlotte Vallaeys For babies and children, whose brains are rapidly developing, it is especially important to buy organic versions of foods whose counterparts are commonly sprayed with neurotoxic pesticides or fumigants. Even on relatively “clean” conventional foods, if pesticides were used someone was exposed to them – if not you or your child then farmworkers and possibly their children. But avoiding neurotoxic residues is not the only reason to buy organic. Organic also means

Unwrap the world of chocolate and things aren’t always sweet. The cacao plant’s legacy is ancient and complex, while the business surrounding it is bitter, messy, and even ruthless. Its future, meanwhile, is both exciting and uncertain. honeycolony.com By Maryam Henein Back in the Mayan age, around 1100 BCE, cacao was recognized as a “super” food, traded as a precious currency with a value on par with gold and jewels. By the 17th century the