In an article posted today in Natural News, fluoride is apparently being used on the grape crops particularly in California. And since fluoride does not biodegrade the more it is used the more it collects in the soil and in the grapes.

 

There are some wines that cannot be exported due to the high levels of fluoride in the wines. Other countries are somewhat more vigilant about the use of this deadly chemical than we are here in this country.

 

Even more disturbing is that you cannot avoid the fluoride contamination by choosing organic wines as these fluoride based fertilizers are allowed on organic crops! Unbelievable in my opinion. The organic standard is normally the refuge in a world gone toxic, yet in this instance you cannot depend upon that certification to insure purity.

 

If you want safe wine and grapes you might have to go to Oregon and Washington to get lower fluoride levels. They don’t allow the use of the fertilizers.

 

Be vigilant constantly, many things are not as they seem!

With confirmed door-to-door questioning of stored food supplies in Tennessee, we should stock up and keep quiet about it.

In this news blast from Natural News it has been revealed that Uncle Sam might be nosing into whether and what you have stored away.

Citizens in Tennessee are being asked by government workers to divulge details about their preparedness plans in a door-to-door “assessment” program reported by Janet Kim from local news channel 5 (http://www.newschannel5.com/story/1…). During this assessment, government workers ask residents 22 questions about their preparedness status. NaturalNews has confirmed through reliable sources that these include questions about emergency food supplies.

Fortunately, this effort is being done by a Tennessee group of state employees who are widely recognized throughout the preparedness community as being “good guys” who are truly just trying to help people get prepared. They are not interested in confiscation or anything of the kind, according to our sources. It’s a local community preparedness support effort.

On another front, three days ago Oath Keepers reported that their chapter president in Tennessee was told by a local cannery federal agents were demanding customer lists (http://www.naturalnews.com/034371_f…). This account quickly went viral across alternative news websites, and the news exploded across the ‘net.

The Tennessee cannery that originally relayed that account to Oath Keepers has backed off their account and is now telling customers who call that federal agents never visited their cannery. Oath Keepers has posted an update confirming this (http://oathkeepers.org/oath/2011/12…).

The change in this first-hand account has many people scratching their heads, as this story was confirmed face-to-face by none other than Oath Keepers Tennessee Chapter President Sgt. Rand Cardwell, a USMC veteran (Desert Storm) with a solid reputation. There is virtually no possibility that Sgt. Rand Cardwell invented this story, as he is widely known to be a trustworthy individual who honorably served his country as a U.S. Marine.

A far more likely explanation may be found in the Patriot Act itself, which features a sneak-and-peek with a gag order provision that allows federal agents to conduct searches of any facility and then gag the witnesses from speaking about it for at least one year, after which they may challenge the gag order. The existence of this sneak-and-peek gag order is widely acknowledged and easily verified through common web searches. Even NPR reported on it several years ago: http://www.npr.org/news/specials/pa…

Another possibility is that the original source at the Tennessee cannery may have been instructed to remain silent by higher ups either within their own organization or, theoretically, the Mormon Church with which the cannery is affiliated. This is only speculation, of course. We no longer have access to any further fact-checking because nobody from that cannery is talking. NaturalNews has long admired the preparedness philosophy of the Mormon Church and its members, most of which are far better prepared for an economic collapse than people of any other organized religion.

Who is getting prepared? The smart folks
The bottom line is that government officials are taking a curious interest all of a sudden in the preparedness status of the American people. Whether for innocent reasons or for nefarious purposes, this is a new focus of both state and federal government, and it indicates that somebody up the chain of command is very interested in knowing WHO is preparing and HOW they’re getting prepared.

Mormon canneries can be helpful if you have one in your area. Most Mormon-run canneries graciously open their doors to people of any religious denomination, and for that they deserve tremendous credit.

NaturalNews will continue to investigate this story and bring you any important developments. In the mean time, we encourage all our readers, in Tennessee and elsewhere, to get yourself prepared for what’s coming. Because there will very likely come a day when the federal government begins to look at stored food, cash, and ammunition as “signs of terrorism.” The government already flags people who “pay with cash” as being engaged in suspicious activity — just try to buy an airplane ticket with cash and see what happens if you don’t believe me. Similarly, those who buy quantities of firearms are already being flagged and tracked by the ATF. The federal government runs elaborate infiltration and spying schemes to ensnare raw milk farmers (http://www.naturalnews.com/033428_F…).

For that same government to start asking questions about who has stored food isn’t even a stretch. It fits their pattern of spying on their own people even as the government tries to encroach upon more freedoms we all once took for granted.

Stay prepared, folks. The economic tsunami is headed our way, and there’s a whole lotta paper currency that may end up being worth no more than the paper it’s printed on. For now, I think it’s safe to purchase stored food without drawing too much attention to yourself.

At Enerhealth we all store food. Many have asked for good quality storable foods that are highly nutritious and I will highly recommend the survive2thrive 100% organic preparedness pail. It is great value and highly nutritious.

 

Obesity can Come From Chemicals in Our Diets

Chemicals in Our Diets Produce Fat People
By Kim Evans
Natural News, Sept 14, 2009
Natural news

(NaturalNews) Most people don`t think about how chemicals in their diets affect their weight or weight loss efforts. But the man-made chemicals you consume on a regular basis can play a big role in whether you`re fat or not – even if those chemicals don`t contain a single calorie.

To understand this, you’ll need to know that your liver is your primary detoxification organ. Your liver is also your primary fat-burning organ. Therefore, the more unnatural chemicals you consume on a regular basis, the more time and energy your liver needs to spend detoxifying you. But, the more your liver is consumed with the role of detoxification, the less time and energy it will have for burning fat. It`s really that simple.

For example, we all clearly agree that pesticides are poisons; their primary purpose is to kill living organisms. We know that most non-organic foods are laced with pesticides, and we understand that pesticides don`t magically become non-poisonous inside our bodies. Our bodies see pesticides as poisons too.

How does your body treat a poison? It attempts to detoxify it. This means your body attempts to render the poison harmless, and then removes it from your body, generally through your colon. Your colon is your primary organ used to eliminate toxins from the body, and your liver is the organ most often responsible for rendering poisons harmless.

But what happens when people eat unnatural chemicals in most meals?

Our livers become overwhelmed with the need to detoxify all of those chemicals and poisons, and the poisons start to back up in our blood. The fact that this is happening in just about everyone has been confirmed by several looks inside the average person`s blood.

Your liver will also store toxins and poisons for you that is was unable to render harmless. It does this to keep those poisons out of your bloodstream and from circulating in your body.

But now your liver, in addition to being overwhelmed detoxifying all of the chemicals you`re consuming each day, is also losing its functionality and has become a storage facility for poisons it couldn`t render harmless. Some estimates are that three fourths of the average person`s liver is used to store toxins that the liver was unable to render harmless.

No wonder so many people think losing weight is challenging… Their primary fat burning organ is overwhelmed with another task, and it’s become only half functional.

What is the answer? There are a couple of them.

The first is to stop consuming chemicals in your diet on a regular basis. This generally means giving up processed foods, except perhaps on the rare occasion, and eating organic foods as much as possible. Plant-based foods, particularly vegetables, are very liver friendly. If you learn how to prepare them so they`re delicious, it`ll be much easier for you…

This will prevent many new chemicals from entering your body, and is a tremendous step in the right direction. But what about those poisons already stored in your liver and circulating in your blood? Many people think that simply changing their diet to a more natural, chemical-free diet will address past toxicity, but for most, it isn`t powerful enough.

Liver Cleanse can be powerful healing

Liver cleansing is a powerful hundred year old practice that uses coffee enemas to detoxify the liver. The process helps your liver release its stored toxins into your colon for immediate removal. And through the liver, the bloodstream is also cleansed. Using coffee enemas regularly, with a natural diet, can make weight loss very easy by getting your prime fat-burning organ back on your side.

Mega Food Corps deception continues

Please be vigilant. As more of the high profile, smaller ‘organic’ companies are bought up by the mega food companies there is the possibility that the large companies will switch the production process from Organic to ‘Natural’ without telling you that this has been done! Natural means nothing, absolutely nothing. These are conventionally grown products for the most part, there are a few exceptions.

(NaturalNews) Until early 2009, Silk brand soy milk was made using organic soybeans. But earlier this year, Dean Foods (owner of the Silk brand) quietly switched to conventional soybeans, which are often grown with pesticides. But they kept the same UPC barcodes on their products, and they kept the product label virtually the same, only replacing the word “organic” with “natural” in a way that was barely noticeable. They also kept the price the same, charging consumers “organic” prices for a product that was now suddenly made with conventionally-grown soybeans.

Many retailers and consumers never noticed the bait-and-switch tactic, so they kept buying Silk, thinking it was still organic. The shift on the product label from “organic” to “natural” wasn’t well understood by consumers, either. Many consumers continue to think that the term “natural” is basically the same as “organic,” when in fact they are almost opposites. The term “natural” is entirely unregulated, and almost anything can be claimed to be “natural” even when it’s sprayed with pesticides or treated with other chemicals.

This bait-and-switch ploy continued throughout 2009 until a few watchdog organizations started to catch on to the covert switch. In late October, the Cornucopia Institute (www.Cornucopia.org) accused Target stores of misleading consumers by advertising Silk products using the old “organic” labeling even though the product being sold in stores was not organic. Cornucopia’s Mark Kastel accused Target and Dean Foods for “blurring the line between organic and natural,” thereby confusing consumers while boosting profits from the more lucrative sales of non-organic products sold at organic prices. (http://www.cornucopia.org/2009/10/o…)

Meanwhile, a Sunflower health food store in Texas also found itself caught up in the bait-and-switch tactic. It had been reordering Silk for months, thinking the product was still organic. But now, after discovering the scam, the store posts a hand-written sign in front of the Silk products, warning consumers with this message: “Silk is no longer organic.”

“We don’t want to be part of customer deception,” said the store owner in a Star-Telegram interview.

According to that same story, food retailers in California, Delaware and Texas were also duped by Silk’s bait-and-switch scheme, only discovering the switch to conventional soybeans months after the switch was covertly made. Dean Foods, you see, never bothered to tell retailers they had switched from organic to conventionally-grown soybeans. They just quietly made the switch but kept the same box design and UPC codes, perhaps hoping no one would notice. And the ploy worked!

“Dean has only added to the marketplace confusion between ‘natural’ and ‘organic,’ as they definitely do not mean the same thing, and ‘natural’ requires no verification whatsoever,” said Consumer Reports senior scientist Urvashi Rangan (see Star-Telegram article link below).

Labeling deception

Dean Foods is one of the big food giants that serves processed, factory-made foods and beverages to the American people. It’s the parent company of Horizon Organic, the so-called “organic” milk maker that’s been caught up in a web of deception exposed by the Organic Consumers Association (http://www.naturalnews.com/021763_o…).

The company has pushed hard to lower organic standards so that it could market products as “organic” even though they might contain questionable ingredients. When Dean Foods bought out WhiteWave, the creator of Silk soy milk, WhiteWave founder Steve Demos soon left the company in disgust, saying that “green” values had been abandoned for the sake of profit.

Dean Foods even refused to participate on a “soy scorecard” investigation undertaken by the Cornucopia Institute (http://www.naturalnews.com/026294_s…). The last thing this company wants is scrutiny of its business practices, it seems. For example, in 2002, Dean Foods cut off U.S. soybean farmers and switched to soybeans grown in China (http://www.cornucopia.org/silk-whit…). And for years, the company has waged attacks on the Cornucopia Institute itself.

In my opinion, Dean Foods is the Enron of the food industry. It has no ethics, no moral code and no hesitation about deceiving consumers or hurting American farmers in order to maximize profits.

In America today, the big food companies are all about disinforming consumers. Rather than telling the truth on product labeling, they seek to confuse consumers with misleading information. That’s why they want to weaken the definition of “organic” — so that they can essentially grow conventional foods with pesticides, then misleadingly position them as “near-organic” products that are sold at organic prices.

Consumers end up buying products they think are organic but really aren’t. And because the products are misleadingly positioned as “organic” products, they command a higher price. This, in turn, generates more profits for the food companies.

Lying about being organic pays well in the food industry today. Perhaps that’s why so many companies continue to do it.

If you don’t think that these large companies will lie to you about, well anything to make big profits…I would urge you to reconsider!

Ground Beef recall…here we go again!

I don’t know what to say, these large processors have run amok. I begins with the feed these animals are fed, that creates this deadly strain of E. Coli, to the handling and processing…all highly unsanitary not to mention inhumane. My best suggestion is give up red meat!

Ground beef products recalled due to possible E.coli contamination

Fairbank Farms, an Ashville, NY, establishment, is recalling approximately 545,699 pounds of fresh ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced on Saturday.

FSIS became aware of the problem during the course of an investigation of a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses. Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state health and agriculture departments, FSIS determined that there is an association between the fresh ground beef products subject to recall and illnesses in Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts. FSIS is continuing to work with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Connecticut Department of Public Health, other state health and agriculture departments and the CDC on the investigation. Anyone with signs or symptoms of foodborne illness should consult a physician.

The products subject to recall include:

Trader Joes

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1-pound packages of “TRADER JOE’S BUTCHER SHOP FINE QUALITY MEATS GROUND BEEF 85/15.”

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1-pound packages of “TRADER JOE’S BUTCHER SHOP FINE QUALITY MEATS GROUND BEEF 80/20.”

NOTE: The sell-by dates for the above two products may be October 6 or 7, 2009.

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1-pound trays of “TRADER JOE’S BUTCHER SHOP FINE QUALITY MEATS GROUND BEEF PATTIES 96/4 EXTRA LEAN.”

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1-pound trays of “TRADER JOE’S BUTCHER SHOP FINE QUALITY MEATS GROUND BEEF PATTIES 85/15.”

Price Chopper

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1- and 2.5-pound trays of “PRICE CHOPPER MEATLOAF & MEATBALL MIX.”

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1-pound trays of “PRICE CHOPPER EXTRA LEAN GROUND BEEF 96/4.”

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1-pound trays of “PRICE CHOPPER FRESH GROUND BEEF CHUCK FOR CHILI 80% LEAN 20% FAT.”

Lancaster and Wild Harvest

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1-pound trays of “LANCASTER BRAND 96/4 EXTRA LEAN GROUND BEEF.”

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1- and 2-pound trays of “LANCASTER BRAND 90/10 GROUND BEEF.”

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1-pound trays of “WILD HARVEST NATURAL 85/15 ANGUS GROUND BEEF.

Shaw’s

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1- and 2-pound trays of “SHAW’S FRESH GROUND BEEF 93/7.”

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1-, 2- and 3-pound trays of “SHAW’S FRESH GROUND BEEF 80/20.”

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1- and 3-pound trays of “SHAW’S FRESH GROUND BEEF 75/25.”

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1.3-pound trays of “SHAW’S FRESH GROUND SIRLOIN BEEF PATTIES 90/10.”

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1.3-pound trays of “SHAW’S FRESH GROUND ROUND BEEF PATTIES 85/15.”

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1.3-pound trays of “SHAW’S FRESH GROUND BEEF PATTIES 80/20.”

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3-pound trays of “SHAW’S FRESH GROUND BEEF PATTIES FAMILY PACK 80/20.”

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1-pound trays of “SHAW’S ANGUS GROUND BEEF 85/15.”

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1-, 2- and 3-pound trays of “SHAW’S FRESH GROUND ROUND BEEF 85/15.”

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1-pound trays of “SHAW’S 90% NATURAL GROUND BEEF.”

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1-pound trays of “SHAW’S 85% NATURAL GROUND BEEF.”

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1-, 2- and 3-pound trays of “SHAW’S FRESH GROUND SIRLOIN 90/10.”

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1-pound trays of “MEATLOAF & MEATBALL MIX.”

BJ’s

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5-pound trays of “FRESH GROUND BEEF, CONTAINS 15 % FAT” patties.

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3- and 5-pound trays of “LEAN GROUND BEEF, CONTAINS 7% FAT.”

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2.5-pound trays of “MEATLOAF & MEATBALL MIX.”

Ford Brothers

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3-pound trays of “FRESH GROUND BEEF, CONTAINS 20% FAT” patties.

Giant

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1-pound trays of “GIANT EXTRA LEAN GROUND BEEF 96/4.”

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1-pound trays of “GIANT MEATLOAF & MEATBALL MIX.”

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1-pound trays of “GIANT NATURE’S PROMISE GROUND BEEF.”

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1-pound trays of “GIANT NATURE’S PROMISE GROUND BEEF PATTIES.”

Each package bears the establishment number “EST. 492″ inside the USDA mark of inspection or on the nutrition label. These products were packaged on September 15 and 16, 2009, and may have been labeled at the retail stores with a sell-by date from September 19 through 28, 2009, unless otherwise noted above. Consumers should ask at their point of purchase if the products they have are subject to recall. The products were sent to distribution centers, intended for further distribution to retail establishments in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on FSIS’ Web site at fsis.usda.gov/FSIS_Recalls.

Products for further processing:

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Cases of 10-pound “FAIRBANK FARMS FRESH GROUND BEEF CHUBS.”

Each case bears the establishment number “EST. 492″ inside the USDA mark of inspection; has package dates of “09.14.09,” “09.15.09,” or “09.16.09;” and sell-by dates of “10.3.09,” “10.4.09,” or “10.5.09. These products were distributed to retail establishments in Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia for further processing. However, these products at retail will likely not bear the package dates and sell-by dates listed above. Customers with concerns should contact their point of purchase.

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration, and in the most severe cases, kidney failure. The very young, seniors and persons with weak immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness. Individuals concerned about an illness should contact a physician.

FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers.

FSIS advises all consumers to safely prepare their raw meat products, including fresh and frozen, and only consume ground beef or ground beef patties that have been cooked to a temperature of 160° F. The only way to be sure ground beef is cooked to a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria is to use a food thermometer to measure the internal temperature.

If you can’t stop eating beef then you might want to consider all grass fed beef. This will reduce the risk of E. Coli contamination.

BPA in almost everything

It just gets worse as time goes on and testing is done on more and more things.

Consumer Reports testing finds BPA in canned foods

Consumer Reports revealed on Monday that the magazine recently tested 19 canned foods, including products from Eden Foods and Annie’s Homegrown, and found that almost all products contained bisphenol A, a chemical used in the epoxy resin linings of most food and beverage cans.

“The findings are noteworthy because they indicate the extent of potential exposure,” said Dr. Urvashi Rangan, director of technical policy at Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, in a release. “Children eating multiple servings per day of canned foods with BPA levels comparable to the ones we found in some tested products could get a dose of BPA near levels that have caused adverse effects in several animal studies.”

Some studies have linked BPA with infertility, weight gain, behavioral changes, early onset puberty, prostate and breast cancers and diabetes. According to Consumer Reports, Canada and some U.S. states and cities have restricted BPA use because of potential health risks, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not yet recommended that people stop using products containing BPA.
The highest levels of BPA that Consumer Reports’ tests found were in samples of canned Del Monte Fresh Cut Green Beans Blue Lake with levels ranging from 35.9 parts per billion to 191 ppb. Progresso Vegetable Soup BPA levels ranged from 67 to 134 ppb. Campbell’s Condensed Chicken Noodle Soup had BPA levels ranging from 54.5 to 102 ppb.

Federal guidelines currently put the daily upper limit of safe exposure at 50 micrograms of BPA per kilogram of body weight, but that number is based on experiments done in the 1980s. Consumer Reports’ food-safety scientists recommend limiting daily exposure to BPA to 0.0024 micrograms per kilogram of body weight. The FDA is currently reassessing what it considers a safe level of exposure to BPA.

Consumer Reports also found BPA in organic canned products and some products packaged in cans that claimed to be BPA-free. The canned Organic Cheesy Ravioli produced by Annie’s had BPA levels of 32 ppb. Samples of Eden Foods Baked Beans in “BPA-free” cans averaged 1 ppb of BPA, and Vital Choice’s tuna in “BPA-free” cans were found to contain an average of 20 ppb of BPA. However, tests of the inside of the “BPA-free” cans found that the liners were not epoxy-based, suggesting BPA was not used.

“I’m not surprised at the findings,” said Michael Potter, president of Eden Foods, based in Ann Arbor, Mich. “One of the ingredients [in Eden’s Baked Beans] is tomatoes. When we use canned tomatoes that our organic grower packs for us, a BPA-containing lining is in the can. All canned tomatoes come in BPA-containing cans. However, beans are a low-acid food, so we can use BPA-free cans for them.”

According to the company website, Eden Foods currently packs organic beans in BPA-free steel cans coated with a baked on oleoresinous c-enamel lining. These BPA-free cans cost the company 14 percent more than BPA-containing cans, said Potter.

Potter noted that no alternative currently exists to replace BPA-containing cans for high-acid foods. “We have been working with the Ball Corp. for two years, trying to get them to develop and have available a BPA-free can lining for high-acid foods,” said Potter. In the meantime, Potter plans to investigate whether Eden Foods could pack baked beans with fresh tomatoes, which he said would keep BPA out of the final product.

Although Annie’s would not comment on the Consumer Reports’ findings because they had not yet seen the tests, the company, like Eden, is actively looking for BPA alternatives. “The only Annie’s products that use BPA are our canned Pasta Meals, such as Cheesy Ravioli, All Stars, BernieO’s, Arthur Loops and P’sghetti Loops,” said Aimee Sands, marketing director for Napa, Calif.-based Annie’s. “At this time, the FDA has not approved a BPA-free can for use with our type of tomato-based products. The BPA is needed in the lining of the cans to prevent the acidic tomato sauce and pasta from reacting with and leaching the metal in the cans.”

Full testing results are reported in the December 2009 issue of Consumer Reports.

Please be aware of the incidence of dangerous chemicals in your stored provisions.  Canned goods may not be such a great idea.  Even the ‘organic’ goods can be contaminated.  I am of the opinion, any BPA in your food is not a good thing!

MIKE ADAMS, THE HEALTH RANGER, LIVE 2nd of September

Listen to The Health Ranger, Mike Adams of Natural news fame speak on important health issues that you must be aware of to Survive and Thrive in this challenging environment.  Let’s face it folks we are getting hit from all sides these days.  The air we breath, the water we drink and the food we eat is not what it could be.  Find out how to compensate for less than healthy inputs in our lives.

Farm Subsidies…great commentary

The following commentary was written a year ago about a bill that was current at the time.  However, the comments are ones to really think about.  Why aren’t fruits and vegetables subsidized?  Why are any crops subsidized?  We know why corn and wheat are…fast food nation we are!

…..the federal government heavily subsidizes large, corporate farms to grow five principal crops: corn, wheat, rice, soy beans and cotton. (These farms also receive grants for not planting these crops.) I will return to the relationshp between their assertions and the first food pyramid shown here at Serious Eats in my concluding remarks.

Fruits and vegetables are called “specialty crops” and farms that grow them are ineligible for federal grants. Can you believe it? Cardoons and quinces, okay, in this country they’re still exotic. But why are apples, tomatoes, and green beans classified as “specialty” foods?

There are limited opportunities for their growers to apply for federal loans; the amounts are minimal and they fall due quickly. If you can’t pay, you go under and watch everything you built up get sold at auction.

It’s been a while since I attended a panel in Washington, D.C. in which farmers and journalists spoke for the need to reform the Farm Bill. Many policy wonks and well-informed federal workers attended and contributed as much as the panelists. I don’t have access to my notes, so if memory does not serve me well, please speak up.

However, I seem to recall that the subsidies began under FDR and have remained intact thanks to lobbying efforts and the interests of elected officials from the states that benefit. While FDR’s administration may have saved small family farms, agriculture has changed drastically over the years and the subsidies no longer serve the critical role they once did in feeding–or, I am guessing, clothing (cotton)–us.

According to Michael Pollan, the continuing subsidies explain the ubiquity of corn in unexpected guises. It’s not just in your breakfast cereal and polenta. It’s in your strawberry preserves in the form of the high fructose corn syrup that costs much less than sugar. Who knows? It may be in the tomato sauce that comes with your frozen meal of meatballs and pasta.

Personally, I see the food pyramid’s emphasis on grains as historical and not simply political. “Give us this day our daily bread.” Records from the earliest historical civilizations present grains as the staff of life. In Ancient Greece, bread was the centerpiece of the two daily meals and everything else was lumped together under the rubric of “things that go with bread”.

Many of us lead privileged lives nowadays. We have the luxury to enjoy a variety of foods so that those requiring gluten-free diets eat abundantly well. Cf. this interesting comparison of food pyramids as collected on the web site of the Mayo Clinic where its own model places produce on the bottom, with an emphasis on vegetables, presumably since fruits do not supply protein and concentrate calories in sugar.

* * *

What I find most interesting in the Subsidized Food Pyramid is the premise that a whopping majority of funds goes toward meat and dairy.

Huh?

The numbers on the chart/pyramid seem to contradict everything that Pollan has published in the NYT and in everything I’ve read in other reliable sources.

If you read the first paragraph of the PCRM’s (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) web site, you find this statement: “The bill provides billions of dollars in subsidies, much of which goes to huge agribusinesses producing feed crops, such as corn and soy, which are then fed to animals. By funding these crops, the government supports the production of meat and dairy products—the same products that contribute to our growing rates of obesity and chronic disease.”

I just don’t understand how the pyramid says only 13.23% of federal subsidies go to grains and a whopping 73.8% goes to meat and dairy.

While farmers who raise animals for meat, milk or eggs benefit from the low cost of subsidized grains used as feed, I haven’t heard about them receiving any direct aid.

Has PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) access to information that breaks down subsidies according to targeted markets for the grains? Does livestock eat a lot more of it than human beings? What about the farms that get paid for not growing the feed grain? How do their figures factor into the 73.8% Is the largest cost of ranching feed vs. purchase of equipment, livestock, maintaining property, salaries…?

Could Vaccines Be used as Biological Weapons?

(NaturalNews) There’s a popular medical thriller novel in which a global pandemic is intentionally set off by an evil plot designed to reduce the human population. In the book, a nefarious drug company inserts live avian flu viruses into vaccine materials that are distributed to countries around the world to be injected into patients as “flu shots.” Those patients then become carriers for these highly-virulent strains of avian flu which go on to infect the world population and cause widespread death.

There’s only one problem with this story: It’s not fiction. Or, at least, the part about live avian flu viruses being inserted into vaccine materials isn’t fiction. It’s happening right now.

Deerfield, Illinois-based pharmaceutical company Baxter International Inc. has just been caught shipping live avian flu viruses mixed with vaccine material to medical distributors in 18 countries. The “mistake” (if you can call it that, see below…) was discovered by the National Microbiology Laboratory in Canada. The World Health Organization was alerted and panic spread throughout the vaccine community as health experts asked the obvious question: How could this have happened?

As published on LifeGen.de (http://www.lifegen.de/newsip/showne…), serious questions like this are being raised:

“Baxter International Inc. in Austria ‘unintentionally contaminated samples with the bird flu virus that were used in laboratories in 3 neighbouring countries, raising concern about the potential spread of the deadly disease’. Austria, Germany, Slowenia and the Czech Republic – these are the countries in which labs were hit with dangerous viruses. Not by bioterrorist commandos, but by Baxter. In other words: One of the major global pharmaceutical players seems to have lost control over a virus which is considered by many virologists to be one of the components leading some day to a new pandemic.”

Or, put another way, Baxter is acting a whole lot like a biological terrorism organization these days, sending deadly viral samples around the world. If you mail an envelope full of anthrax to your Senator, you get arrested as a terrorist. So why is Baxter — which mailed samples of a far more deadly viral strain to labs around the world — getting away with saying, essentially, “Oops?”

But there’s a bigger question in all this: How could this company have accidentally mixed LIVE avian flu viruses (both H5N1 and H3N2, the human form) in this vaccine material?

Was the viral contamination intentional?

The shocking answer is that this couldn’t have been an accident. Why? Because Baxter International adheres to something called BSL3 (Biosafety Level 3) – a set of laboratory safety protocols that prevent the cross-contamination of materials.

As explained on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosaf…):

“Laboratory personnel have specific training in handling pathogenic and potentially lethal agents, and are supervised by competent scientists who are experienced in working with these agents. This is considered a neutral or warm zone. All procedures involving the manipulation of infectious materials are conducted within biological safety cabinets or other physical containment devices, or by personnel wearing appropriate personal protective clothing and equipment. The laboratory has special engineering and design features.”

Swine flu jab link to killer nerve disease: Leaked letter reveals

Leaked letter reveals concern of neurologists over 25 deaths in America

By Jo Macfarlane
Last updated at 11:05 PM on 15th August 2009

A warning that the new swine flu jab is linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter.

The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, has been leaked to The Mail on Sunday, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins.

It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine.

GBS attacks the lining of the nerves, causing paralysis and inability to breathe, and can be fatal.

The letter, sent to about 600 neurologists on July 29, is the first sign that there is concern at the highest levels that the vaccine itself could cause serious complications.

It refers to the use of a similar swine flu vaccine in the United States in 1976 when:

• More people died from the vaccination than from swine flu.
• 500 cases of GBS were detected.
• The vaccine may have increased the risk of contracting GBS by eight times.
• The vaccine was withdrawn after just ten weeks when the link with GBS became clear.
• The US Government was forced to pay out millions of dollars to those affected.

Concerns have already been raised that the new vaccine has not been sufficiently tested and that the effects, especially on children, are unknown.

It is being developed by pharmaceutical companies and will be given to about 13million people during the first wave of immunisation, expected to start in October.

Top priority will be given to everyone aged six months to 65 with an underlying health problem, pregnant women and health professionals.

The British Neurological Surveillance Unit (BNSU), part of the British Association of Neurologists, has been asked to monitor closely any cases of GBS as the vaccine is rolled out.

One senior neurologist said last night: ‘I would not have the swine
flu jab because of the GBS risk.’

There are concerns that there could be a repeat of what became known as the ‘1976 debacle’ in the US, where a swine flu vaccine killed 25 people – more than the virus itself.

A mass vaccination was given the go-ahead by President Gerald Ford because scientists believed that the swine flu strain was similar to the one responsible for the 1918-19 pandemic, which killed half a million Americans and 20million people worldwide.

The swine flu vaccine being offered to children has not been tested on infants

Within days, symptoms of GBS were reported among those who had been immunised and 25 people died from respiratory failure after severe paralysis. One in 80,000 people came down with the condition. In contrast, just one person died of swine flu.

More than 40million Americans had received the vaccine by the time the programme was stopped after ten weeks. The US Government paid out millions of dollars in compensation to those affected.

The swine flu virus in the new vaccine is a slightly different strain from the 1976 virus, but the possibility of an increased incidence of GBS remains a concern.

Shadow health spokesman Mike Penning said last night: ‘The last thing we want is secret letters handed around experts within the NHS. We need a vaccine but we also need to know about potential risks.

‘Our job is to make sure that the public knows what’s going on. Why
is the Government not being open about this? It’s also very worrying if GPs, who will be administering the vaccine, aren’t being warned.’

Two letters were posted together to neurologists advising them of the concerns. The first, dated July 29, was written by Professor Elizabeth Miller, head of the HPA’s Immunisation Department.

It says: ‘The vaccines used to combat an expected swine influenza pandemic in 1976 were shown to be associated with GBS and were withdrawn from use.

‘GBS has been identified as a condition needing enhanced surveillance when the swine flu vaccines are rolled out.

‘Reporting every case of GBS irrespective of vaccination or disease history is essential for conducting robust epidemiological analyses capable of identifying whether there is an increased risk of GBS in defined time periods after vaccination, or after influenza itself, compared with the background risk.’

The second letter, dated July 27, is from the Association of British Neurologists and is written by Dr Rustam Al-Shahi Salman, chair of its surveillance unit, and Professor Patrick Chinnery, chair of its clinical research committee.

It says: ‘Traditionally, the BNSU has monitored rare diseases for long periods of time. However, the swine influenza (H1N1) pandemic has overtaken us and we need every member’s involvement with a new BNSU survey of Guillain-Barre Syndrome that will start on August 1 and run for approximately nine months.

‘Following the 1976 programme of vaccination against swine influenza in the US, a retrospective study found a possible eight-fold increase in the incidence of GBS.

‘Active prospective ascertainment of every case of GBS in the UK is required. Please tell BNSU about every case.

‘You will have seen Press coverage describing the Government’s concern about releasing a vaccine of unknown safety.’

If there are signs of a rise in GBS after the vaccination programme begins, the Government could decide to halt it.

GBS attacks the lining of the nerves, leaving them unable to transmit signals to muscles effectively.

It can cause partial paralysis and mostly affects the hands and feet. In serious cases, patients need to be kept on a ventilator, but it can be fatal.

Death is caused by paralysis of the respiratory system, causing the victim to suffocate.
It is not known exactly what causes GBS and research on the subject has been inconclusive.

However, it is thought that one in a million people who have a seasonal flu vaccination could be at risk and it has also been linked to people recovering from a bout of flu of any sort.

The HPA said it was part of the Government’s pandemic plan to monitor GBS cases in the event of a mass vaccination campaign, regardless of the strain of flu involved.
But vaccine experts warned that the letters proved the programme was a ‘guinea-pig trial’.

Dr Tom Jefferson, co-ordinator of the vaccines section of the influential Cochrane Collaboration, an independent group that reviews research, said: ‘New vaccines never behave in the way you expect them to. It may be that there is a link to GBS, which is certainly not something I would wish on anybody.

‘But it could end up being anything because one of the additives in one of the vaccines is a substance called squalene, and none of the studies we’ve extracted have any research on it at all.’

He said squalene, a naturally occurring enzyme, could potentially cause so-far-undiscovered side effects.

Jackie Fletcher, founder of vaccine support group Jabs, said: ‘The Government would not be anticipating this if they didn’t think there was a connection. What we’ve got is a massive guinea-pig trial.’

Professor Chinnery said: ‘During the last swine flu pandemic, it was observed that there was an increased frequency of cases of GBS. No one knows whether it was the virus or the vaccine that caused this.

‘The purpose of the survey is for us to assess rapidly whether there is an increase in the frequency of GBS when the vaccine is released in the UK. It also increases consultants’ awareness of the condition.

Panic over? The number of swine flu cases has fallen sharply in the past few weeks

‘This is a belt-and-braces approach to safety and is not something people should be substantially worried about as it’s a rare condition.’

If neurologists do identify a case of GBS, it will be logged on a central database.

Details about patients, including blood samples, will be collected and monitored by the HPA.

It is hoped this will help scientists establish why some people develop the condition and whether it is directly related to the vaccine.

But some question why there needs to be a vaccine, given the risks. Dr Richard Halvorsen, author of The Truth About Vaccines, said: ‘For people with serious underlying health problems, the risk of dying from swine flu is probably greater than the risk of side effects from the vaccine.

‘But it would be tragic if we repeated the US example and ended up with more casualties from the jabs.

‘I applaud the Government for recognising the risk but in most cases this is a mild virus which needs a few days in bed. I’d question why we need a vaccine at all.’

Professor Miller at the HPA said: ‘This monitoring system activates pandemic plans that have been in place for a number of years. We’ll be able to get information on whether a patient has had a prior influenza illness and will look at whether influenza itself is linked to GBS.

‘We are not expecting a link to the vaccine but a link to disease, which would make having the vaccine even more important.’

The UK’s medicines watchdog, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, is already monitoring reported side effects from Tamiflu and Relenza and it is set to extend that surveillance to the vaccine.

A Department of Health spokesperson said: ‘The European Medicines Agency has strict processes in place for licensing pandemic vaccines.

‘In preparing for a pandemic, appropriate trials to assess safety and the immune responses have been carried out on vaccines very similar to the swine flu vaccine. The vaccines have been shown to have a good safety profile.

‘It is extremely irresponsible to suggest that the UK would use a vaccine without careful consideration of safety issues. The UK has one of the most successful immunisation programmes in the world.’

I COULDN”T EAT OR SPEAK… IT WAS HORRENDOUS

But within hours, she was on a ventilator in intensive care after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

She spent three months in hospital and had to learn how to talk and walk again. But at times, when she was being fed through a drip and needed a tracheotomy just to breathe, she doubted whether she would survive.

The mother of two, 57, from Maryport, Cumbria, had been in good health until she developed a chest infection in March 2006. She gradually became so weak she could not walk downstairs.

Doctors did not diagnose Guillain-Barre until her condition worsened in hospital and tests showed her reflexes slowing down. It is impossible for doctors to know how she contracted the disorder, although it is thought to be linked to some infections.

Mrs Wilkinson said: ‘It was very scary. I couldn’t eat and I couldn’t speak. My arms and feet had no strength and breathing was hard.

I was treated with immunoglobulin, which are proteins found in blood, to stop damage to my nerves. After ten days, I still couldn’t speak and had to mime to nurses or my family.

‘It was absolutely horrendous and I had no idea whether I would get through it. You reach very dark moments at such times and wonder how long it can last.

But I’m a very determined person and I had lots of support.’

After three weeks, she was transferred to a neurological ward, where she had an MRI scan and nerve tests to assess the extent of the damage.

Still unable to speak and in a wheelchair, Mrs Wilkinson eventually began gruelling physiotherapy to improve her muscle strength and movement but it was exhausting and painful.

Three years later, she is almost fully recovered. She can now walk for several miles at a time, has been abroad and carries out voluntary work for a GBS Support Group helpline.

She said: ‘It makes me feel wary that the Government is rolling out this vaccine without any clear idea of the GBS risk, if any. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone and it certainly changed my life.

‘I’m frightened to have the swine flu vaccine if this might happen again – it’s a frightening illness and I think more research needs to be done on the effect of the vaccine.’

Hotline staff given access to confidential records

Confidential NHS staff records and disciplinary complaints could be accessed by hundreds of workers manning the Government’s special swine flu hotline.

They were able to browse through a database of emails containing doctors’ and nurses’ National Insurance numbers, home addresses, dates of birth, mobile phone numbers and scanned passport pages – all details that could be used fraudulently.

And private and confidential complaints sent by hospitals about temporary medical staff – some of whom were named – were also made available to the call-centre workers, who were given a special password to log in to an internal NHS website.

It could be a breach of the Data Protection Act.

The hotline staff work for NHS Professionals, which was set up using taxpayers’ money to employ temporary medical and administrative staff for the health service.

The not-for-profit company runs two of the Government’s swine flu call centres – with 300 staff in Farnborough, Hampshire, and 900 in Watford, Hertfordshire.

Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley described the revelations as ‘disturbing’.

Anne Mitchell, a spokeswoman for Unison, said: ‘There’s no excuse for such a fundamental breach of personal security. Action needs to be taken as soon as possible to make sure this does not happen again.’

A spokeswoman for NHS Professionals would not confirm whether access to the confidential files had been granted.

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