The right to choose your food

I can’t wrap my brain around this. 

I’m just stunned at the thought that someone could try to label organic food as “junk food”.  As the article points out, this would eliminate the right to choose organic, free range eggs, or gluten-free bread for Celiacs…it’s just mindboggling the ignorance and outright endangerment.  So…I suppose if someone is Celiac and buys food they are not supposed to have in order to have something to eat…if their gut disintegrates from inflammation and they either end up in the hospital for surgically fixing the problem, or dead from a ruptured abdomen.

I really love the fact that the Tea Party members conveniently ignore that people on food stamps and other welfare were once taxpayers that paid into the system.  Same with Social Security and Medicare.

FDA drops the ball…so what else is new?

(As I first started reading this, I thought of a pun with the title:  “Something’s fishy”  but PR Watch beat me to it in their write up. Heh.)

(So…I’ll have to settle for the boring title of FDA drops the ball…so what else is new?)

Note in the comments section the paid flack who attacks the article not based on facts, but wild accusations….um-hmmm…

There are a million souls who do not want frankenfish.  (and probably millions more would be protesting if they only knew what was going on) .

What does it take for American citizens to be heard?  And why is this garbage science of Genetically Modified organisms released without a) thorough testing by independent research labs with no financial/political gain;  b) without follow-up by independent research to investigate the damage that they have caused; and c) why isn’t the entire ecological system considered when making these decisions…?

 

 

 

Finding good food

This website makes it easier in finding organic and sustainable farms.  However, I would caution you that just because someone claims to be organic doesn’t necessarily mean they have their hearts in it.  I know of at least one farm listed here that they were burning asphalt roof tiles, along with plastics and other stuff that you shouldn’t…a half – block away from the organic fields.  They also sprayed weedkiller on gravel that was next to the growing field.  Yep.  That’s not something someone casually shopping would know….so it helps to know the folks you’re dealing with or someone who works for them, but this website is a good start.

I’ve tried to go online to look for local free range egg farmers, but came up empty.  There was one website that was called “farmer’s friend, but there was nothing even in Allen County (FW), where I knew they had free range eggs….<sigh>…it doesn’t do one a whole lot of good if you’re not going to put information on the website for customers.

Hope this helps anyone looking for locally grown food.

 

Eat a damn cup cake

I found this blog on the women and weight issue.  She points out that the same magazines that criticize women for being too skinny also turn around and criticize them for being too *cough* fat.  It is pathological.

She does a great job of listing the statistics of women and how  the media distorts its portrayal of women.

I love the line:  Eat a damn cup cake!

She also advocates, as I do, eating a healthy diet and not sitting on the couch all day.  It’s all about balance.

I will be forever grateful that I started doing aerobics after my first child was born.  I was active as a kid, but slacked off when I became  a teenager–sports were considered unladylike in my hometown–you were a lesbian if you participated in sports (yes, they were that backward)….and people who exercised regularly were considered “health nuts” .  Geez-o-pete.

But I do believe those years of exercising helped with the health issues I’m dealing with now—I think I would have been much, much worse off from the effects of slowly being poisoned if I had not been as healthy to begin with.

And I’ve discovered that I’m much more likely to exercise when it’s something that is active and sports-like.  I do like aerobics, but even they can become routine and boring….I’m more likely to want to do something like playing in the snow or riding a bike or hiking a trail…and on…it’s something that I think is probably more beneficial not only to the body but to the spirit, as well.  Gotta have that.

 

 

Hunger in America

…speaking of hunger:

http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/us_hunger_facts.htm

..an issue for the  poor whom are also Celiacs, would be made ill by bread and other commonly donated food.  Things get more difficult for the poor and sick when the efforts of those trying to help aren’t helping–and would instead make them sick—I’m sure many would seem ungrateful to those trying to help when they would refuse food.

 

 

Fighting efforts to save the bees

PR Watch has this up on Bayer and Syngenta’s trying to stop efforts to save the bees :   HTTP://WWW.PRWATCH.ORG/NODE/12066

(for some reason, my “link” feature is not working on my blog.  Also–I clicked on one of my links yesterday, and now they have ads–I have nothing to do with them, and I’m certainly not being compensated for them advertising with my blog. FYI.)

From the article:

The response of Bayer and Syngenta was to unleash a barrage of letters to the food safety agency and the European Commission, followed later by threatened lawsuits.

~~~~~~~

This is the heart of the matter—Too Big To Fails can quash efforts against them or their interests just by simply litigating their way out of it., a la Monsanto. They don’t even have to win, but keep their opponents fighting in courts to bankrupt them.  Empty what little they may have in their bank accounts, and voila! no more opposition….

More here from Purdue University confirming the neonicotinoids were causing bee deaths: http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?263169-Purdue-university-study-confirms-neonicotinoids-on-maize-killing-honeybees

 

Blood Medicine

I’m watching Kathleen Sharp on BookTV (yay, Book TV) that has written a book called Blood Medicine about a cancer drug, Epo,  that did a great job of helping red blood cells to grow….

….unfortunately, it also helps cancer cells to grow.

Yes, yes, it is freaking amazing that this drug is on the market with serious issues such as suspected of killing people.

The operation was a success.  But the patient died.

Sharp describes a cancer patient was helped by the drug with his cancer fight, but died because he began bleeding out the nose and mouth.

Sharp is adamant against pharmaceutical companies being able to advertise on Tv.  I  believe she said that we and perhaps another country are the only developed countries that allow these commercials.

In Communications, they go to great lengths in order to sell the product.  Advertising agencies will do a study of the targeted audience to see how to construct the message for the best impact — i.e., to get the target audience  to request it from their doctors. or perhaps I should say demand it from their doctors.  They are convinced by slick advertising that *this* drug will help them get healthy again.   As someone who has been *there*, it really doesn’t take much in convincing if you’re so ill that you would do almost anything to regain your health.  Sharp didn’t even touch on the fact that these doctors who are prescribing these drugs, may be invested in these companies, and therefore, have a financial interest to prescribe these drugs.  I’ve seen how pharma works –they are not legally supposed to buy doctors lunches and other gifts….so they have “information sessions” and just happen to have it during the lunch hour….and have lunch brought in.  Ahem.

A sunshine law is part of the Obama health plan.  We’ll see if it does any good.  I’m pessimistic because the whole culture surrounding the FDA and the pharm industry and the billion dollar lobbying by Big Pharma…

More history here.

And here.  How can we forget Bush appointment, Dr. Hager,  and his ex-wife’s allegations of marital rape?

Sharp mentions the revolving door between the pharm industry and the FDA.

A man calling himself  John calls in and is identifying himself as a neonatalogist whom immediately states that Sharp has “poorly researched” her book. (red flag that this guy is perhaps an industry exec or someone tied to the billion dollar industry).   She states that there are some uses for the drug, but  the consumers are not aware of the dangers and that needs to change.

~~~~~~

While researching this, I found this link.  People were protesting Monsanto back in 1994….but Bill Clinton was busy in the Oval Office….something about an intern with a blue dress…

Meniere’s connection to heavy metal poisoning

I came across this book that links meniere’s disease with heavy metal poisoning.   It’s a known fact among us in the support group that heavy metal poisoning affects all your senses–sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell.  Ringing in the ears is common, as are earaches.  I have had both along with dminished hearing at times (although is pretty good now–just rare occasions where I’m affected.)  With the recent migraine, the left side of my face swelled, and it seem to be affected my ear as well.  I turned over in bed to a wave of dizziness–which is also a marker of heavy metal poisoning.  The swelling went down a day after the migraine, and the dizziness went, too.  It’s just fascinating how this poison affects one’s body.

This site mentions low zinc as a factor.  Since heavy metal poisoning interferes with zinc absorption, it goes that a person would have low zinc.  Since folks are more able to absorb liquid zinc, I would recommend it.  I personally take Now Brand’s Zinc Glycinate.  And no, I don’t get paid to say that, nor do I have an investment in their company.   The site also mentions low B12 (methylcobalamin is best because it’s the active form of B12), and a gluten free diet as a factor.  Spot on–these are all connected to heavy metal poisoning.  I don’t know about the homeopathic remedies being recommended—I personally haven’t had much luck with them.

I thought I’d pass this along for the info.