Source: http://www.prevention.

com/food/healthy-eating-tips/food-safety-new-gmo-threats

The Biggest Food System Threat of 2012

Although demand for organic is up, new GMO threats still linger, including a crop designed to
be sprayed with a toxic chemical used in warfare.
By LEAH ZERBEJANUARY 12, 2012

Courtesy of Rodale News

While you were hastily baking cookies and celebrating the holiday season, chemical
companies were quietly asking the government to approve a dangerous new genetically
engineered crop designed to withstand heavy sprayings of an old chemical used in
warfare decades ago.
Despite the big push for organic, Dow Agrosciences is asking the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) to allow farmers unrestricted use of a new genetically engineered
corn seed created to withstand heavy sprayings of the herbicide 2,4-D, an ingredient in
Agent Orange, the toxic compound used to defoliate forests and croplands during the
Vietnam War. The product is also linked to lymphoma and other cancers.
Chemical corporations are resurrecting these dangerous compounds because newer
pesticides used in high amounts are no longer workingweeds are actually outsmarting
the chemical compounds and evolving into resistant, hard-to-kill superweeds.
While 2,4-D is already used in some lawn treatments and on some crops, creating GE,
aka GMO, varieties allows farmers to spray even larger amounts on crops without killing
them. But this chemical is anything but harmless. Environmental Protection Agency
researchers found that babies born in counties with high rates of 2,4-D applications
faced a 60- to 90-percent higher rate of respiratory and circulatory birth defects, and
problems like clubfoot and fused or extra fingers or toes. The greatest risk occurred
when women became pregnant in the spring, when pesticide application rates are the
highest.
Chemical companies often say GE crops will reduce the use of pesticides, but the
opposite is actually true. "The concern is that, just like Monsanto's genetically
engineered corn that is resistant to RoundUp (glyphosate) herbicide, the approval of a
cultivar resistant to 2,4-D will cause an exponential increase in the use of this toxic
agrichemical," says Mark Kastel, farm policy analyst at the Cornucopia Institute, an
advocacy group for sustainable family farms.
If this GMO crop is released, many weed scientists and pesticide experts say it's only a
matter of time, probably a few years, until weeds become resistant to 2,4-D, too. "This is
nothing more than a Band-Aid solution to a serious problem, and will only give rise to
more superweeds, more herbicide pollution in our environment, more herbicide

poisoning, while likely leading to the need for even more toxic herbicides a couple of
years down the line," says Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides. "This
foolish circle has to end."
In other GMO news, Monsanto, the company responsible for the massive quantities of
the Roundup chemical weedkiller in our air, water, and soil, is petitioning to have its
new GMO soybeans approved. These soybeans were genetically tampered with to inject
higher, unnatural levels of omega-3s in the beans. Like all GMOs, the finished product
has never been tested for its impact on human health. "Genetically engineering a
ubiquitous monoculture crop to contain higher levels of just one particular nutrient will
not solve our public health crisis, and might even exacerbate it, since a healthy diet is
about much more than simply increasing the levels of one particular omega-3 fatty
acid, says Charlotte Vallaeys, director of farm and food policy at Cornucopia Institute.
"It's another Band-Aid solution that will do little to address the root of the problem with
our nation's "nutrition problem," which is people eating too many processed foods
containing corn and soybean derivatives, and not eating a varied diet of nutrient-rich
wholesome foods.
Over the holidays, USDA also announced its approval of a new type of corn genetically
engineered to withstand droughts. Interestingly, data from the Rodale Institute shows
that corn grown in organically managed soil is drought tolerant without the help of toxic
chemicals. USDA made its decision to approve this "drought-tolerant" corn despite the
fact that 45,000 people petitioned against it. "President Obama and Secretary of
Agriculture Vilsack just sent a clear message to the American public that they do not
care about our concerns with genetically engineered food and their questionable safety,
adverse environmental impacts, and detrimental effects on farmers, especially organic
farmers, says Kastel.

The #1 Oil that Promotes Blindness

Posted on October 27, 2014 by The Alternative Daily

There remains a great deal of confusion around the so called healthy cooking oil called canola. If you
are still cooking with canola or eating foods that contain canola, you will want to read this article.
There is no such thing as a naturally occurring plant named canola, but rather a plant that results from
the superhybridization (genetic modification) of the rapeseed plant, which is a member of the mustard
family.
The name Canola Oil, which stands for Canadian Oil Low Acid, was invented because no one would
buy a product called Rapeseed Oil.
As we reported earlier, oil from the rapeseed plant was originally used as a lubricant for steam engines
and as a penetrating oil in the light rail industry. It was not meant for human consumption.
Canola oil is an excellent insecticide, which is registered with the EPA. It is the primary ingredient in
many organic pesticide products. Vegol YearRound Pesticidal Oil is 96 percent canola oil.
The product label states: CAUTION: Avoid contact with skin or clothing. There is even an
Environmental Hazard warning that states: Do not apply directly to water. Do not contaminate water
when disposing of equipment
The label warns that if you get the product on your skin, you should rinse with water for 15 to 20
minutes, remove all contaminated clothing and then call poison control or a doctor for treatment
advice.
There is no such warning, however, on a bottle of canola oil found in the supermarket. In fact, the label
on this product states that it contains 100 percent canola oil. It is interesting that a product that
contains 96 percent canola can be so hazardous while a product that contains 100 percent is not
hazardous at all.
Although canola was not developed using biotechnology, the majority of what is grown today is from
genetically modified seed so that it is able to withstand herbicides. In fact, canola oil is one of the most
chemically altered foods in the American diet. Almost 90 percent of canola is genetically modified to be
resistant to Roundup.
Because food manufacturers are not required to tell you whether an item contains genetically modified
substances or not, it is wise to assume that if a food item contains canola oil it is genetically modified.
Some common foods that contain canola oil are peanut butter, lunch meat, bread, salad dressing, bread,
garlic salts, baked goods, french fries, diet shakes and bars and cereal.
In addition, the omega3 in canola oil is easily damaged by heat and will become rancid and foulsmelling.
Manufacturers deodorize the oil with dangerous chemicals, which changes the omega3 fat into trans
fats.

According to a study that analyzed canola and soybean oils, between .56 and 4.2 percent contain toxic
trans fats. Of course, trans fats are insanely harmful and directly associated with a number of serious
diseases, especially heart disease. the number one killer in the world.
This highly refined oil is also void of any real nutrient value it has no positive nutritional impact on the
body. It is also high in oxidized omega6 fats, and omega3 fats that we are unable to use. Although
omega6 fatty acids are essential, Americans consume 1130 times more omega6 fatty acids than omega3s mostly in the form of partially hydrogenated oils.
If we consume high amounts of omega6s, it may put the body at risk for lifethreatening conditions such
as cancer, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and a variety of autoimmune disorders.
It is not only heart disease that we should be worried about when using canola oil. Author John Thomas
reported in his book Young Again that rapeseed (canola oil) fed to cows, pigs and sheep between 1986
and 1991 in parts of Europe caused the animals to go blind and attack people. When the rapeseed was
removed from the diet the attacks and blindness stopped. The product was banned in Europe in 1991.
So what oil are we to use Keep in mind the truth that the closer foods are to their natural state the
better they are for us. Any food that has gone through industrial processing has had its personality
changed and is no longer recognizable by the body or of much use to it.
Substances that are of no use, such as those that have been denatured or hyperprocessed, may also
contain dangerous additives or byproducts of the refining process.
However, there is one oil that has been used for thousands of years and, in its most natural form, is not
only delicious but jam packed with nutrients and therapeutic properties which are garnering the
attention of both natural practitioners and mainline physicians alike.
Coconut oil is like no other oil on this planet. Made by by pressing the raw meat of the coconut, this oil,
although high in saturated fat, is translated into immediate energy in the body. It is a stable oil that is
classified as a functional food meaning that it provides a vast array of benefits beyond its nutritional
content.
Along with this energy comes a host of other valuable properties including antimicrobial, antiviral,
antiinflammatory, anticarcinogenic, antiprotozoa and antioxidant capabilities. Coconut oil has been
proven to go head to head with the bacteria that cause ulcers, urinary tract infections, throat infections,
pneumonia and gonorrhea.
Coconut oil also kills fungus and yeasts that can cause such things as candidiasis, ringworm, athletes
foot, thrush, diaper rash and other infections. In addition, coconut oil has been used as an effective
remedy against tapeworms, lice, giardia and other parasites.
Known quite simply as the healthiest oil on this planet, coconut oil is different in composition from
other oils this unique composition is what makes it so effective and healthy.
All fats and oils are comprised of molecules known as fatty acids. Fatty acids can be classified one of two
ways. The first way is by their saturation there are saturated fats, monounsaturated fats and
polyunsaturated fats.

You can also classify fatty acids by the length of the carbon chain within each fatty acid short chain,
medium chain and long chain. Coconut oil is mostly mediumchain fatty acids (MCFAs), also called
mediumchain triglycerides (MCTs).
Most other fats or oils in our diets from both plant and animal sources are longchain fatty acids (LCFAs).
In fact, almost 98 100 percent of all fatty acids we consume are LCFAs.
So, you might ask, what is wrong with a LCFA? The issue comes in when we look at how the body
responds to the size of the chain. LCFAs are received differently in the body than MCFAs, which are
absorbed quickly, transported in the portal blood directly to the liver, and able to be used for energy. In
contrast, the longer chain fatty acids are carried through the lymph and are not readily available for
energy, but rather stored as fat.
But coconut oil contains saturated fat, doesnt it? Yes, it does. However, it is healthy saturated fat, and
besides, it is actually a myth, all in the name of corporate profits, that saturated fat causes heart disease.
The naturally occurring saturated fat that is in coconut oil actually promotes heart health, encourages
weight loss, regulates blood sugar and supports thyroid function.
Using coconut oil is as easy as substituting it for your old oil. The rich tropical taste is an added bonus
just be sure you purchase organic virgin coconut oil from a reputable dealer.

Source: http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/02/consent-isnt-enough-in-fifty-shades-ofgrey/385267/

Consent Isnt Enough: The Troubling Sex

of Fifty Shades
The blockbuster fantasy has become a big movieand a bigger problem.
By Emma Green
FEBRUARY 10, 2015

What is a fantasy? From Freud to Ludacris, it's been an elusive idea, suggesting both an escape
from reality and an expression of hidden desire. In culture, fantasy works like a mirror: It reflects
who we are, but it also shapes what we become.
Love it or despise it, American culture's sexual fantasy of the moment isFifty Shades of
Grey. Since Random House bought the rights to the trilogy in 2012, the series has sold well over
100 million copies worldwide. Trailers for the movie adaptation of the first book have been
viewed 250 million times, according to an ad aired in early February; its expected to gross at
least $60 million at the box office in its opening weekend.
And that means the Fifty Shades fantasy is about to become all the more influential. Yes, the
story will likely reach an even larger audience, but more importantly, it will be told in a new,
visual form. When the movie comes out, the Fifty Shades version of hot, kinky sex will become
explicit and precise, no longer dependent upon the imaginations of readers. Early reports say the
movie shows at least 20 full minutes of sex, although it's only rated R.
The story is fairly simple. Anastasia Steele, a middle-class senior at Washington State University
Vancouver, meets Christian Grey, an incredibly handsome, debonair 27-year-old multimillionaire CEO. They fall in love, hard and fast. Theirs is a romance full of drama and passion,
and they end up living the conventional American fantasy: love, marriage, and a kid.
Whats not so conventional is their sex. Early on in the first book, Ana discovers that Christian
has a dark secret: Hes obsessed with BDSMa condensed abbreviation for bondage and
discipline, dominance and submission, and sadism and masochism. This is the central tension of
the books: Ana loves Christian, but she doesnt want to be his submissive; Christian loves Ana,
but hes turned on by violent sex.
As several experienced BDSM practitioners emphasized to me, there are healthy, ethical ways to
consensually combine sex and pain. All of them require self-knowledge, communication skills,
and emotional maturity in order to make the sex safe and mutually gratifying. The problem is
thatFifty Shades casually associates hot sex with violence, but without any of this context.
Sometimes, Ana says yes to sex shes uncomfortable with because shes too shy to speak her

mind, or because shes afraid of losing Christian; she gives consent when he wants to inflict pain,
yet that doesnt prevent her from being harmed.
This is a troubling fantasy in American culture, where one in five womenwill be raped within
their lifetime, according to the CDC; where nearly 40 percent of those rapes will happen to
women aged 18 to 24; and where troubling evidence of casual attitudes toward rapesuch as in
2010 when a number of Ivy League-educated men thought it was okay to chant no means yes,
yes means anal on their campusis not uncommon. As images of Ana being beaten by
Christian become the new normal for whats considered erotic, they raise questions about what it
means to consent to sex. Clearly, consent is necessary; but is it sufficient?
This is a lot to pin on one book, especially since it is neither the first nor the only romance novel
to feature kink and BDSM. But it's a book 100 million people chose. It's a movie that has already
flooded the Internet with sexy GIFs and endless trailers.
If anything has the power to shape sexual norms, this does.