NAIS, for the meantime, has been shelved by the USDA. This sounds good, but…. and I say this with a capital “B”… that we should not reduce our vigilance where any sort of government intrusion into our food system is concerned.
Says USDA Secretary Vilsack, “We are committed to working in partnership with States, Tribal Nations and industry in the coming months to address many of the details of this framework, and giving ample opportunity for farmers and ranchers and the public to provide us with continued input through this process.” Let’s make sure this happens; that we who are committed to local food & preserving our small farms stay on the ball and not get complacent. We are not to let our guard down, not even for a minute.
I am bothered by this: These steps will include accelerating actions to lessen the risk from diseases–such as tuberculosis–posed by imported animals, and WHY do we have to IMPORT animals for our food? … improving response capabilities, and focusing on greater collaboration and analyses with States and industry on potential disease risk overall. Keeping in mind, here, that small farmers’ livestock has never contributed to the beef industry food recalls.
One of USDA’s first steps will be to convene a forum with animal health leaders for the States and Tribal Nations to initiate a dialogue about the possible ways of achieving the flexible, coordinated approach to animal disease traceability Flexible should take into consideration the small farmers and consumers who own livestock. They should not be lumped in with the massive feed lots, (CAFOS) and withor compared to facilities which breed disease.
ALL of us need to be more aware of where our food comes from and what’s in it. Read this Organic Consumer’s article for a quick briefing. It’s written by a farmer.
We CANNOT RELAX on this issue! Special interest groups like Monsanto, Cargill, ADM and Tyson and major food retailers like Wal-Mart are NOT out to protect consumers! Wal-Mart is aggressively raising the level of food imports as reported in Supermarket News. U.S. food imports are staggering. WHY should we allow the government to use us as Guinea pigs so that retailers can save money? Imports are on the rise, even since this 2004 article.
Across this land people are starting to wake up regarding our food: what’s in it, where it comes from and how its produced. Everyone who is concerned needs to voice their opinion. The thousands of letters, e-mails and phone calls made obviously reached someone in the government. The 100 organizations who opposed NAIS and millions of consumers who called, faxed or signed online petitions – accomplished something.
Now is NOT the time to quit!
As a child of the 50’s, I ate my share of frozen TV dinners. With the advent of the microwave and improved packaging technology, one can live their life without ever having to cook from scratch.
An article posted by Rachael Ray extols the benefits of the new frozen foods. Reading the ingredients, I noticed a ‘Seafood Multi-Pak’. Hmmmm… knowing that many seafood varieties are imported from China, I’d pass on this one. China’s dubious record for food purity is well documented. Inspections of food from China at U.S. ports have turned up a scary list. Do YOU trust imported Chinese food? I don’t!
Pork from Hormel? I’d skip that, too. If you’ve seen either “Fresh” or “Food, Inc” or done any reading about the food industry at all you’d know that this ‘food’ isn’t really food. The animals are fed hormones and antibiotics, which YOU are eating when you consume this food. They’re fed GMO corn, which has been sprayed with pesticides.
Knowing what I know about food, I would hardly say that these items are “New and Improved.” Read the ingredient listing on any frozen food and see how many words you can pronounce. Some of the contents in food you probably don’t want to know… but should.
A recent study in the International Journal of Biological Sciences, has linked organ damage in mammals (rats) to consumption of Monsanto’s GMO corn, NK603, MON 810 & MON 863. Closely monitoring each animal within set parameters for 90 days, effects were noticed in the kidney, liver, heart, adrenal glands, spleen and haematopoietic system (formation of blood). The study goes on to say that there is a potential toxicity relating to the pesticides specific to each species of corn. It was noted by the scientists in the IJBS:
“Effects were mostly concentrated in kidney and liver function, the two major diet detoxification organs, but in detail differed with each GM type. In addition, some effects on heart, adrenal, spleen and blood cells were also frequently noted. As there normally exists sex differences in liver and kidney metabolism, the highly statistically significant disturbances in the function of these organs, seen between male and female rats, cannot be dismissed as biologically insignificant as has been proposed by others. We therefore conclude that our data strongly suggests that these GM maize varieties induce a state of hepatorenal toxicity….These substances have never before been an integral part of the human or animal diet and therefore their health consequences for those who consume them, especially over long time periods are currently unknown.”
In another GMO report, Greenpeace reiterated that Monsanto’s methods were not intrusive enough to detect inconsistancies in the parameters used in its testing. In other words, the whole testing process is flawed.
Monsanto obviously complicates the test data by testing with unrelated groups, therefore there can be no clear conclusion.
GMOs have been linked to bee colony collapse and butterfly deaths. Why wouldn’t this be so? After all, the plants on which the bees and butterflies feed will kill them. Between GMO crops and the use of pesticides on them, it is a death knell for pollinators.
GMO corn is in all of our food, be it from the U.S. or imported in food from China or other nations.
Forbes has even bought into the lie that Monsanto is ‘The Company of The Year”. Read on and get sick!
We need to push for more organic food. Consumers have a voice against GMO products.
VICFA’s Kathryn Russell tragically died in a car accident on Thursday, October 22nd and this means that the local food movement has lost one of its greatest fighters. She was VICFA’s (Virginia Independent Consumers & Farmers) founder and advocate for local food, raw milk. A political activist, she was leading the fight to enable us to choose our food sources. She was a courageous woman, wife, mother, grandmother and wonderful person.
If first met Kathryn last year following the horrific mauling of another VICFA member, Deb Naylor of Dillwyn. Deb had been attacked and nearly killed by sows at her farm in May. I’d started a fund raising bank account and planned other events for Deb. Kathryn, in her usual take action way, was right there to help with getting the word out. She was so helpful and did so much to make it easier for me - I will never forget her kindness!
At the annual VICFA “Farm Food Voices Day” held outside Charlottesville, we finally met! I fell in love with her genuine kindness, enthusiasm, and was inspired by dedication to local food. She, along with her daughter Laura, had arranged for me to have not only one booth for selling tickets for a quilt raffle for Deb Naylor - but TWO!
Although I didn’t know her well, she impressed me with her total dedication to the local food movement and our right TO HAVE OUR CHOICE of where and who we buy our food from! Realizing, as many of us ‘food activists’ do, that the government isn’t always on our side, more often having been bought by the food industry for it’s own interests - she led her crusade tirelessly. From blogs to radio to TV and in the local press she was a wealth of information and inspiration.
I vow to carry on with my own work in her stead; to stand up for food rights and not back down - just like she did. I’ve launched a new site to continue to spread the word: Good Food For All.
Kathryn - we all will miss you. We thank you for being the voice and inspiring many to join the fight for better food, and a healthier planet for us all. We love you! My most sincere condolences to her family, friends, community in North Garden, VA and to all who knew her far better than I.
Leave it to good ole Mickey D’s to find some obscure fish for their Filet-O-Fish sandwich. Actually - IS IT really just ONE FISH they’re using? Probably not.
Two of my favorite books on food: Eric Schlosser’s “FAST FOOD NATION” and Morton Spurlock’s “SUPERSIZE ME” tell of the hidden dangers of illness, chemical saturation and obesity which lurk in our food. It’s well documented; health risks from additives, high salt and fat. For most people, however, it’s cheaper for them to eat at McDonald’s than to buy real, heathful food! This is the sad part of our culture because we’ve been brainwashed to THINK that fast food purveyors serve us food that is actually good for us!
It isn’t.
Learn what in your food. Read about pesticides, chemicals; read labels while you’re in the store. Don’t be fooled by ‘natural ingredients’ because it is not always so.
Learn about your food. Watch the movie: “FRESH” Get a copy of “FOOD, INC” when it comes out and learn what IS behind your food.