Why Organic?
What's the big Deal?
Genetically engineered/modified foods, what's the risk?
Genetically engineered/modified foods are a danger to our health and the environment. To learn more read the following exerpt from the True Food Now website and watch the videos on my Must See Videos page by clicking here.
"What's going on 'behind the label' of the food on our supermarket shelves in the United States? A secret genetic experiment... and you should know that just because it's not listed on labels, doesn't mean it's not there. So what's an American consumer to do? Go behind the label!
The True Food Shopping List was compiled because you have the right to know what's in your food! Today, thousands of products on supermarket shelves are made with ingredients from genetically engineered (GE) crops. But GE foods are not labeled in the U.S., despite warnings from doctors and scientists that these foods may not be safe in the diet or the environment.
The list focuses on foods made with ingredients that are commonly derived from GE crops. The most widely grown GE crops, accounting for nearly 99% of the GE crop acreage in North America, are corn, soy, canola and cotton. The list does not include foods that are not yet genetically engineered, such as most fruits and vegetables, olive oils, whole wheat or rice products, or other foods that do not contain GE ingredients on the market. Additionally, as GE ingredients are NOT allowed in organic food production" Click here for the complete Shoppers Guide.
Warning:
If it dose not say Certified organic it probably contains Genetically engineered/modified ingredients
Soybeans:
Soy flour, soy oil, lecithin, soy protein isolates and concentrates.
Products that may contain GE soy Derivatives: vitamin E, tofu dogs, cereals, veggie burgers and sausages, tamari, soy sauce, chips, ice cream, frozen yogurt, infant formula, sauces, protein powder, margarine, soy cheeses, crackers, breads, cookies, chocolates, candies, fried foods, shampoo, bubble bath, cosmetics, enriched flours and pastas.
*special note: soy and corn ingredients are used in 60% of processed foods which is why its time to reexamine the foods we are all eating and question what methods were used to raise them.
Corn:
Corn flour, corn starch, corn oil, corn sweeteners, syrups.
Products that may contain GE corn derivatives: vitamin C, tofu dogs, chips, candies, ice cream, infant formula, salad dressings, tomato sauces, breads, cookies, cereals, baking powder, alcohol, vanilla, margarine, soy sauce, tamari, soda, fried foods, powdered sugar, enriched flours and pastas.
Canola:
Oil. Products that may contain GE canola derivatives: chips, salad dressings, cookies, margarine, soaps, detergents, soy cheeses, fried foods.
Cotton:
Oil, fabric. Products that may contain GE cotton or its derivatives: clothes, linens, chips, peanut butter, crackers, cookies.
Potatoes:
Products that may contain GE potatoes or derivatives: unspecified processed or restaurant potato products (fries, mashed, baked, mixes, etc.), chips, Passover products, vegetable pies, soups.
Tomatoes:
No plum or roma tomatoes have been genetically engineered. But one cherry tomato has, as have regular tomatoes. Products that may contain GE tomatoes or derivatives: sauces, purees, pizza, lasagna, and most Italian and Mexican foods.
Dairy Products:
Milk, cheese, butter, buttermilk, sour cream, yogurt, whey. You have to ask several questions when you are looking at dairy products. Have the cows been treated with rBGH? What kind of feed have they been given? If they are not being fed organic grains, chances are quite likely that they will be eating GE animal feed. What does this do to their milk products? No one knows.
Animal Products:
Because animal feed often contains GEOs, all animal products, or by-products, may be affected
*Please note that a food may contain some of these items and yet be free from GEOs, but we have no way of knowing without tracking down every brand, every product and every ingredient.
source: Genetically Engineered Foods, Are they safe? You decide. by Laura Ticciati and Robin Ticciati, Ph.D., 1998
Premature birth Rates Rising in this Country
The growing premature birth rate in the United States appears to be strongly associated with increased use of pesticides and nitrates, according to work conducted by Paul Winchester, M.D., professor of clinical pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine.
He reports his findings May 7 at the Pediatric Academic Societies' annual meeting, a combined gathering of the American Pediatric Society, the Society for Pediatric Research, the Ambulatory Pediatric Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Dr. Winchester and colleagues found that preterm birth rates peaked when pesticides and nitrates measurements in surface water were highest (April-July) and were lowest when nitrates and pesticides were lowest (Aug.-Sept.).
More than 27 million U.S. live births were studied from 1996-2002. Preterm births varied from a high of 12.03% in June to a low of 10.44% in September. The highest rate of prematurity occurred in May-June (11.91%) and the lowest for Aug-Sept (10.79%) regardless of maternal age, race, education, marital status, alcohol or cigarette use, or whether the mother was an urban, suburban or rural resident. Pesticide and nitrate levels in surface water were also highest in May-June and lowest in August-September, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
For the past four years, Dr. Winchester and colleagues have focused attention on the outcomes of pregnancy in Indiana and the United States in relation to environmental pesticides and nitrates in surface and drinking water. Last year at the Pediatric Academic Societies' annual meeting, Dr. Winchester reported that birth defects peak in Indiana and in the United States as a whole during April through July, the same months as pesticides and nitrates reach their maximum concentrations in surface water. This year's presentation expands upon that work.
"A growing body of evidence suggests that the consequence of prenatal exposure to pesticides and nitrates as well as to other environmental contaminants is detrimental to many outcomes of pregnancy. As a neonatologist, I am seeing a growing number of birth defects and preterm births, and I think we need to face up to environmental causes," said Dr. Winchester, who is also director of Newborn Intensive Care Services at St. Francis Hospital in Indianapolis.
"Preterm births in the United States vary month to month in a recurrent and seasonal manner. Pesticides and nitrates similarly vary seasonally in surface water throughout the U.S. Nitrates and pesticides can disrupt endocrine hormones and nitric oxide pathways in the developing fetus," he said.
Season of conception tied to school performance
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The time of year a woman conceives may influence the future academic performance of her child, according to research reported this week at the Pediatric Academic Societies' annual meeting.
When researchers linked standardized test scores of 1,667,391 Indiana students in grades 3 through 10 with the month in which each student had been conceived, they found that children conceived May through August scored significantly lower on math and language tests than children conceived during other months of the year.
The correlation between test scores and conception season held regardless of race, gender, and grade level.
Why might this be? According to Dr. Paul Winchester of Indiana University School of Medicine who led the study, says the evidence points to environmental pesticides, used most often in the summer months, as a possible player.
"The lower test scores correlated with higher levels of pesticides and nitrates in the surface water (nearby streams and other bodies of water) during that same time period".
"Exposure to pesticides and nitrates can alter the hormonal milieu of the pregnant mother and the developing fetal brain," Winchester explained in a statement. For example, past research has linked exposure to pesticides and nitrates to low thyroid hormone levels ("hypothyroidism") in pregnant women and hypothyroidism in pregnancy has been tied to lower intelligence test scores in offspring.
While the current findings do not prove that pesticides and nitrates contribute to lower test scores, "they strongly support such a hypothesis," Winchester said.
"...there should be no reason particularly why the month of conception should change your (test) scores," he added in an interview, "and yet from our chain of evidence our hypothesis was that if pesticides do alter the friendly environment of the developing fetus than that might be reflected in lower scores. And unfortunately that's what we found."
"There is something going on" and it needs to be studied further, Winchester concluded.
Pesticide & Autism Link
The California Department of Health Services has announced results a of a recent study that directly prove a link between pesticide exposure in pregnant women and an increase chance of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). In fact, women living near fields that are treated with chemical pesticides were six times more likely to give birth to a child with autistic tendencies than were women who live many miles away from treated fields. The study linked the level of risk to the proximity to treated fields and to the degree that the fields were treated with pesticides. Pesticides found in the crops of the fields in the study have also been found in other conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables throughout the country, as well as on imported produce, a good reason to consider buying organic whether you are pregnant or not. Organic product can be more expensive, so it might be helpful to no what foods carry the most risk. In the list below are 47 of the most popular conventionally grown fruits/vegetables and their pesticide levels, from most contaminated; Peaches to Least contaminated; Sweet Corn. As you adjust your budget to include organic foods into your diet you'll have a better idea of where to make the most intelligent exchanges. When I became aware of the high concentrations of pesticides in our food supply I was inspired to experiment with new varieties of less contaminated produce and as a result I found many new favorites.. I also learned that by eating locally grown in season produce I could avoid both higher costs higher concentrations of pesticides prevalent in imported varieties.Check your prices, when a particular variety of produce is in season it's plentiful, and as a result lower in price. I've found open air farmers markets to excellent and enjoyable resources for organic produce, which are available in most cities.
Recently I've begun to seek out local family farmers in order to buy direct, and to support people, not the big corporations. There's nothing like the satisfaction of picking your own food, knowing that you picked it at the peak of freshness, and you know exactly where it's been, and whether or not it's been genetically modified.
Click on the resource links below for more info.
FARMERS MARKETS
WHAT'S IN SEASON
LOCAL FARMS
TRUE FOOD NOW.ORG
Pesticides levels on Popular Produce
The scores given below are a composite of numbers and amounts of pesticides found in studies compiled by the Environmental Working Group from over 100,000 studies by the USDA of the 46 fruits and vegetables listed between 1992 and 2001.
The lists may vary but you get the idea! For more information on the above study, see the complete data table .
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