Food police target organic foods in California! on TV News

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifvp3Fxi7Uo
Police raided the Rawsome Foods organic grocery store with guns drawn in search of “raw-foods”. George Hemminger (George4Title) said the battle over organic foods is heating up because large agricultural businesses and corporations feel threatened by local co-ops and have hijacked the FDA and other government regulatory agencies.

RAW VIDEO: California Police raid Organic Food store GUNS DRAWN looking for raw milk!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHoFY7h-do8
California Police raid organic food store looking for raw milk!!

Keep Raw Milk LEGAL!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56tiOnGSgyQ
In October 2007, California State Legislature passed a bill banning the sale of raw milk. Despite its medicinal value, raw milk will no longer be available to the public. Republican Presidential Candidate Dr. Ron Paul has introduced a bill to legalize the transportation of unpasteurized milk. Please help save raw milk. Visit www.organicpastures.com to make a donation.

H. R. 778 Unpasteurized (Raw) Milk Legalization Bill

To authorize the interstate traffic of unpasteurized milk and milk products that are packaged for direct human consumption.

The White House, Office of the Press Secretary

WASHINGTON, May 10, 2010 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Office of Food Safety is sponsoring a public meeting to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft U.S. positions that will be discussed at the 33rd Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, July 5-9, 2010.

The public meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 8, 2010, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., in Room 107-A, USDA, Jamie L. Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Ave. S.W., Washington, D.C. To participate through teleconference for the meeting, dial (866) 692-3158, and enter the passcode 5986642.

Documents and agenda items related to the 33rd Session of the CAC will be accessible at the Codex Web site at www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.

Codex was established in 1963 by two United Nations organizations, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Through adoption of food standards, codes of practice and other guidelines developed by its committees, and by promoting their adoption and implementation by governments, Codex seeks to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade.

For further information about the 33rd Session of the CAC and about the public meeting, contact Barbara McNiff by mail at U.S. Codex Office, 1400 Independence Ave. S.W., Room 4861-S, Washington, D.C. 20250, by phone at (202) 690-4719 or by fax at (202) 720-3157. Interested U.S. parties are also invited to request information about the 33rd Session of the CAC and about the public meeting, as well as submit comments about the 33rd Session of the CAC, electronically to the following e-mail address: Barbara.McNiff@fsis.usda.gov.

Written comments on the public meeting may be offered at the meeting or sent by e-mail to the U.S. Delegate for the 33rd Session of the CAC, Karen Stuck, U.S. Codex Manager, at USCodex@fsis.usda.gov. Written comments should state that they relate to activities of the 33rd session of the CAC.

The Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine adopted as a basis the bill on amendments to the Law on Baby Food (concerning toughening of the demands to the production and sale of foodstuffs).

The bill is called to strengthen requirements to the production of baby food and raw materials used for this production. The bill specifies the norms concerning the ban on the use in the production of baby foods of the raw materials made of genetically modified organisms, containing hormonal substances, antibiotics, heavy metals, pesticides, radionuclides and other harmful substances. It was also determined that the production of baby food shall proceed on an exclusively industrial basis, at specializes enterprises, shops or technology lines.

source: National Radio Company of Ukraine

In 2007, Carol Goland drove home from a meeting of the Dairy Labeling Advisory Committee in Reynoldsburg feeling optimistic. There had been heated debate over a seemingly simple issue: the fairest and most informative way to label dairy products made from cows that have not been injected with a controversial growth hormone intended to increase milk production.

The farmers using the hormone — commonly known as rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone), but also rBST (recombinant bovine somatotrophin) — were worried about losing business to competitors labeling their products as “rBGH-free.” Goland, executive director of the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, could empathize. Still, she’d argued — successfully, it would turn out — that Ohio consumers have the right to know how their food is produced.

But the matter did not stay settled. In February 2008, Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) head Robert Boggs issued a ruling that tilted the labeling issue in favor of farmers using rBGH.

Since 1994, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recommended that labels touting “rBGH-free” also state that the FDA has determined that “no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rBST-supplemented and non-rBST supplemented cows.” But the FDA remained silent on details like size and placement of the disclaimer.

this article is VERY long… read more:
http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/got-artificial-hormoned-milk/Content?oid=1638383

(9/9/2009)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety & Inspection Service and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a public meeting to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft U.S. positions that will be discussed at the 3rd Session of the Codex Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on antimicrobial resistance to be held in Jeju, Republic of Korea, Oct. 12-16.

The public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., Rm. 107-A, USDA, Jamie L. Whitten Federal Building, 1200 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250. Attendees will be required to present photo identification at the door.

Documents and agenda items related to the 3rd Session of the Codex Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on antimicrobial resistance will be accessible at www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.

Codex was created in 1963 by two United Nations organizations, the Food & Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization. Codex develops food standards, guidelines and codes of practice in order to protect the health of consumers, to ensure fair food trade practices, and to promote the coordination of food standards undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations.

The Codex Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on antimicrobial resistance was established by the 29th session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in 2006 to help develop science-based guidelines to be used to assess the risks to human health that are associated with the presence of antimicrobial resistant microorganisms and antimicrobial resistant genes in food and feed, including aquaculture, and their transmission through food and feed. The Codex Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on antimicrobial resistance is hosted by the Republic of Korea.

Interested parties may submit written comments at the public meeting, or by e-mail to David G. White at David.White@fda.hhs.gov.

For further information about the public meeting, contact Doreen Chen-Moulec, U.S. Codex Office, FSIS by e-mail at Doreen.Chen-Moulec@fsis.usda.gov or uscodex@fsis.usda.gov or by phone at (202) 205-7760 or fax at (202) 720-3157.

feedstuffs.com

The Lyme Induced Autism Foundation (LIA) has joined with other leading health organizations to call on medical practitioners to prescribe diets free from all genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and urged individuals, especially those with autism, Lyme disease, and associated conditions, to avoid eating genetically modified (GM) foods. The LIA Foundation recognizes the unique health dangers posed by GMOs, especially for populations suffering from autism, Lyme disease, and other chronic disorders, and they have concluded, “There is an urgent need for independent research to evaluate the role that GM foods play in contributing to the prevalence or severity of autism, Lyme disease, and related conditions.”

The LIA Foundation calls for: 
• A moratorium on all genetically modified foods 
• Research to evaluate the role of GM foods on autism, Lyme disease, and related conditions 
• Physician and patient advocacy groups to advise patients on the role of GM foods in disease processes
• Health practitioners to distribute non-GMO educational materials (www.nonGMOGuide.com)

http://www.examiner.com/x-5148-LA-Environmental-Health-Examiner~y2009m8d31-Food-Prescription-The-Lyme-Induced-Autism-Foundation-prescribes-100-NonGMO-diet

At the intersection of cocaine and Roundup in rural South America, Monsanto and the U.S. government are struggling to keep up appearances. That’s becoming more and more difficult as the unanticipated hazards of genetic modification become clearer.

Back in April, Argentinean embryologist Andrés Carrasco gave an interview with a Buenos Aires newspaper describing his recent findings suggesting the chemical glyphosate, a chemical herbicide widely used in agriculture as well as in U.S. anti-narcotic efforts, could cause defects in fetuses in much smaller doses than those to which peasants and farmers in his country were already being exposed. Loud calls for a ban on the substance were issued by Argentinean environmental lawyers, and the country’s Ministry of Defense banned the planting of glyphosate-resistant soya crops in its fields.

Then came the backlash. An article in an Argentinean paper recently reported that Carrasco was assaulted in a way he described as “violent” by four men associated with agricultural interests:

Two of the men were said to be members of an agrochemical industry body but refused to give their names. The other two claimed to be a lawyer and notary. They apparently interrogated Dr. Carrasco and demanded to see details of the experiments. They left a card Basílico, Andrada & Santurio, attorneys on behalf of Felipe Alejandro Noël.

It’s still unclear who these people are. But the interest in keeping such information quiet or discrediting Carrasco and his findings are strongest with Monsanto, the agricultural company who first patented a glyphosate product (sold as Roundup) and also created genetically-modified crops specifically to resist the herbicide.

http://blog.buzzflash.com/analysis/894

The Pitchfork Rebellion founder involved in a 2008 police conflict puts Monsanto “on trial”

BY KAREN MCCOWAN
The Register-Guard
Appeared in print: Sunday, Aug 30, 2009

News Updates: Story

The Pitchfork Rebellion, organized to restrict or halt aerial herbicide spraying on Oregon’s forests, went to the local doorstep of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Saturday to lampoon what they said were the agency’s ties to pesticide manufacturer Monsanto.

Triangle Lake area resident Day Owen, a co-founder of the activist group, donned a jester’s hat to preside over mock trials of Monsanto and the state Department of Forestry before a crowd of more than 100 people.

Owen’s wife, his daughter and neighbor Maya Gee also said they were personally affected after helicopters sprayed the Monsanto product Round-Up on forests near their farms in 2007. The women said they were sickened by their exposure to drifted spray, immediately suffering breathing problems and muscle weakness, followed by diarrhea, early and painful menstrual cycles, and muscle and joint pain lasting for months.

Owen accused the St. Louis-based multinational company of covering up evidence that the herbicide poses human health risks. According to Monsanto’s Web site, increased sales of Round-Up helped the corporation post record net sales of $11.4 billion in 2008.

Monsanto’s Web site also states that regulatory agencies around the world, including the United States Environmental Protection Agency, have concluded that glyphosate herbicides such as Round-Up “pose no unreasonable risks to human health and the environment when used according to label directions.”

Rally organizers set a nonviolent tone early in Saturday’s event, with Owen inviting attendees to walk in a circle around the building’s plaza to the song “We Are All in This Together.” Before beginning the music, he addressed several law enforcement officers monitoring the rally from inside the building, saying the song’s “we” included Eugene police and Homeland Security officers.

The last public encounter between Owen and those agencies did not end peacefully.

Owen was among several people arrested at a downtown Eugene anti-pesticide rally in May 2008, when a Eugene police officer used a Taser to apprehend a University of Oregon student later convicted of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Owen said he was slammed to the grand and knocked unconscious after he questioned a different Eugene officer about use of the Taser when the student, Ian Van Ornum, was already face down on the ground.

Owen, who was never charged with a crime, said he was also kicked in the knee by a Homeland Security officer assisting in his arrest. Owen has filed an excessive use of force complaint with Eugene’s police auditor.

Eugene police testified at Van Ornum’s trial that they had been summoned to the downtown protest by a Department of Homeland Security agent monitoring the May 2008 demonstration. The agent, Tom Keedy, testified that he was there because Owen, a featured speaker, had urged people attending a March 2008 rally at the federal courthouse to “commit acts of civil disobedience … in a peaceful, nonviolent revolution.”

Owen on Saturday disputed that reason, charging that the federal agency was monitoring him because of the title of his talk at the May 2008 rally: “The Need to Reform Homeland Security.” He also said top officials at Homeland Security don’t want him to publicize what he alleges are ties between Homeland Security and Monsanto, including what he says is the agency’s financing of the development of genetically engineered food by Monsanto.

He called Monsanto and clear-cutting timber companies “the real bioterrorists.”

Rally participants were invited to launch a boycott of all crops treated with Round-Up and to sign a petition calling for aerial spraying buffer zones around homes and schools.

The Basics:

What’s a GMO?

A GMO (genetically modified organism) is the result of a laboratory process of taking genes from one species and inserting them into another in an attempt to obtain a desired trait or characteristic, hence they are also known as transgenic organisms. This process may be called either Genetic Engineering (GE) or Genetic Modification (GM); they are one and the same.

What foods are GM?

Currently commercialized GM crops in the U.S. include soy (91%), cotton (88%), canola (80-85%), corn (85%), Hawaiian papaya (more than 50%), zucchini and yellow squash (small amount), and tobacco (Quest® brand). About half of the sugar beets grown for sugar in 2008 were GM and current projections are that about 90% grown in 2009 will be GM.

What are other sources of GMOs?

Products derived from the above, including oils from all four, soy protein, soy lecithin, cornstarch, corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup among others. Also:

• meat, eggs, and dairy products from animals that have eaten GM feed (and the majority of the GM corn and soy is used for feed);
• dairy products from cows injected with rbGH (a GM hormone);
• food additives, enzymes, flavorings, and processing agents, including the sweetener aspartame (NutraSweet®) and rennet used to make hard cheeses; and
• honey and bee pollen that may have GM sources of pollen.

The Health Dangers:

What are the potential dangers of eating GM foods?

There are a number of dangers that broadly fall into the categories of potential toxins, allergens, carcinogens, new diseases, antibiotic resistant diseases, and nutritional problems.

View all 65 health risks of GM foods, excerpted from Jeffrey Smith’s comprehensive book Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods. Other References

What combinations have been tried?

It is now possible for plants to be engineered with genes taken from bacteria, viruses, insects, animals or even humans. Scientists have worked on some interesting combinations:

• Spider genes were inserted into goat DNA, in hopes that the goat milk would contain spider web protein for use in bulletproof vests.
• Cow genes turned pigskins into cowhides.
• Jellyfish genes lit up pigs’ noses in the dark.
• Artic fish genes gave tomatoes and strawberries tolerance to frost.
• Potatoes that glowed in the dark when they needed watering.
• Human genes were inserted into corn to produce spermicide.

http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/Safety/biotech/290820090926_gmos_in_foods.html