Feds Too Broke to Protect Our Food Supply?

March 16, 2012

Take Part

By Megan Bedard

“This is why you shouldn’t trust the government when dealing with what you eat. Your own common sense i smuch more effective.” –KTRN

At a time when news of recalls is hardly news, pinched pennies are going to make keeping the public safe even harder.

Plans to create five new centers to fight foodborne illness will likely be delayed due to a shortage of federal funds, CIDRAP News reported Tuesday. The Food Safety Integrated Centers of Excellence—which are estimated to cost $2.75 million—were included in the Food Safety Modernization Act, signed by President Obama in January of 2011.

CIDRAP spoke with Craig Hedberg, PhD, a food safety expert at the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health, who explained that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) put the project on hold after examining its 2012 fiscal budget. The independent working group recruited by the CDC to develop criteria for evaluating the centers was informed that the centers wouldn’t come to fruition until more funding is available.

Such news is unlikely to be welcome among the public, whose confidence in their food supply reportedly dropped by 4 percent in 2011, when only 35 percent of Americans agreed strongly with the statement “I am confident in the safety of the food I eat.”

Click here for the full report.

The Disease Machine: Why Drug Makers Keep You Sick

January 31, 2012

Natural Society

By Anthony Gucciardi

“KT was right again. He has been saying this all along.” –KTRN

Why are ineffective and dangerous drugs peddled by supposed ‘public health’ organizations in place of well-established natural solutions with virtually zero side effects? The truth of the matter is that drug makers simply would not profit if the world were to awaken to the plethora of free health-promoting substances that beat out over-priced pharmaceuticals and medical interventions. There would be no need for pharmaceutical manufacturers, phony ‘public health’ organizations peddling the latest ‘miracle’ drug, and certainly no research organizations feeding off the donations of good-hearted individuals.

You may think that this is an impossibility and that natural solutions simply do not compare to ‘scientifically proven’ pharmaceutical science. The truth of the matter is that scientific evidence is the very thing disproving the safety and effectiveness of pharmaceutical drugs as well as highlighting the surplus of beneficial properties associated with inexpensive and free vital nutrients.
Contrast: Cancer Drugs Causing ‘Mega’ Tumors, Turmeric Reduces Tumors by 81%

It was recently revealed that cancer drugs, toted as the only choice among chemotherapy for many cancer sufferers by ‘public health’ groups, are actually causing massive tumors and subsequently killing the patient. The cancer drugs were found to not only be completely ineffective, but deadly. These are the same drugs that are sold for a premium price and considered to be scientifically validated.

Meanwhile, peer-reviewed research has found that a spice known as turmeric can reduce tumors by 81% naturally. Researchers found that curcumin (a derivative of turmeruc) dramatically decreased brain tumors in 9 out of the 11 studies examined by 81 percent. Furthermore, there was no evidence of toxicity. Widely used as a spice in South Asian and Middle Eastern countries, turmeric is continually being pinpointed as an extremely potent anti-cancer solution. What’s more is the fact that turmeric is extremely inexpensive, and can be found around the globe — from Saudi Arabia to Kentucky.

This is just one example of scientific research validating natural alternatives while simultaneously pinpointing the extreme dangers associated with mainstream pharmaceuticals pushed as the only treatment by drug companies.
Antibiotics Causing Mental Illness, Drug Makers Treat With Antipsychotics

As reported back in 2011, antibiotics have been found to permanently destroy beneficial gut bacteria and damage gut health. As you may know, gut health has been directly linked to the state of your mental health, with some even going as far as saying that your gut is your ‘second brain’. What this means is that antibiotic use can actually breed mental illness (along with diabetes and metabolic syndrome), which is quite concerning when considering that half of all Americans are to be diagnosed with a mental illness within their life time.

What is the answer to these skyrocketing mental illness rates according to drug makers and the mainstream medical industry? Prescribe mind-altering antipsychotics. Prescribe more drugs to treat a side effect of another drug — receive more profits. After all, the extreme profits generated from antipsychotic drugs became apparent in 2008, becoming the top-selling therapeutic class prescription drug in the United States and grossing over $14 billion in sales.

Click here for the full report.

Drug Makers Keeping You Sick For Profit

January 25, 2012

NaturalSociety

By Anthony Gucciardi

Why are ineffective and dangerous drugs peddled by supposed ‘public health’ organizations in place of well-established natural solutions with virtually zero side effects? The truth of the matter is that drug makers simply would not profit if the world were to awaken to the plethora of free health-promoting substances that beat out over-priced pharmaceuticals and medical interventions. There would be no need for pharmaceutical manufacturers, phony ‘public health’ organizations peddling the latest ‘miracle’ drug, and certainly no research organizations feeding off the donations of good-hearted individuals.

You may think that this is an impossibility and that natural solutions simply do not compare to ‘scientifically proven’ pharmaceutical science. The truth of the matter is that scientific evidence is the very thing disproving the safety and effectiveness of pharmaceutical drugs as well as highlighting the surplus of beneficial properties associated with inexpensive and free vital nutrients.

It was recently revealed that cancer drugs, toted as the only choice among chemotherapy for many cancer sufferers by ‘public health’ groups, are actually causing massive tumors and subsequently killing the patient. The cancer drugs were found to not only be completely ineffective, but deadly. These are the same drugs that are sold for a premium price and considered to be scientifically validated.

Meanwhile, peer-reviewed research has found that a spice known as turmeric can reduce tumors by 81% naturally. Researchers found that curcumin (a derivative of turmeric) dramatically decreased brain tumors in 9 out of the 11 studies examined by 81 percent. Furthermore, there was no evidence of toxicity. Widely used as a spice in South Asian and Middle Eastern countries, turmeric is continually being pinpointed as an extremely potent anti-cancer solution. What’s more is the fact that turmeric is extremely inexpensive, and can be found around the globe — from Saudi Arabia to Kentucky.

This is just one example of scientific research validating natural alternatives while simultaneously pinpointing the extreme dangers associated with mainstream pharmaceuticals pushed as the only treatment by drug companies.

Click here for the full report from NaturalSociety.

How Gen X reacted to the H1N1 pandemic

January 24th, 2012

CNN

William Hudson

The CDC identified a new virus in humans: H1N1, or what was then called swine flu, and the wheels of the public health machine started turning.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global H1N1 pandemic in June, and by October 2009, the first doses of an H1N1-specific vaccine were administered.

A study published Tuesday looks at how Americans in their thirties reacted to the availability of a vaccine. In all, about one in five of those in Generation X got the H1N1 vaccine during the 2009-2010 pandemic, according to the researcher’s analysis of survey data.

On average, those with more education in general, and those who knew the most about influenza in particular, were most likely to either have taken or planned to get vaccinated against H1N1.

A slight majority of participants –- 53% – answered “probably true” or “definitely true” when asked whether the vaccine is safe, with 31% replying “not sure.”

Participants also graded information sources –- their doctors and news media, for example – on their trustworthiness regarding H1N1.

Health care professionals topped the list – doctors, researchers, pharmacists, and nurses with medical expertise.

News media fell in the middle of the spectrum, on average, followed closely by “a family member” and “a close friend”.

Read the Full Story.

Four Ways Monsanto Threatens The Environment And Public Health

December 19, 2011

Natural News

By Anthony Gucciardi

“Just one more example of why Monstanto is one of the most evil corporations in the world.” –KTRN

Biotechnology giant Monsanto has been the leader in genetically modifying the planet, altering the genetic structure of crops and seeds that are consumed by individuals around the globe. Scientific research has found that GM crops and herbicides are not only leading to a number of health disorders, but they are also spawning mutated species of insects and powerful superweeds. This is only a couple of the ways that Monsanto continues to recklessly endanger human health and the environment — here are the complete 4.

1. GM crops consistently linked to organ problems, other biological damage
Despite hard evidence linking the consumption of GM crops to organ disruption and a host of other health ailments, Monsanto continues to push its GM crops on developing nations under the guise of solving world hunger and empowering local farmers. In a telling review of 19 studies analyzing the dangers of GM crops including corn and soybeans, scientists reached a shocking conclusion regarding the true safety of these ubiquitous food staples. Researchers concluded that consumption of genetically altered corn and soybean products can actually lead to significant organ disruption in rats and mice.

The organ damage was specific to the liver and kidneys, two organs that are vital in the cleansing of toxins. It is important to remember that over 93 percent of United States soybeans are genetically modified, and this number is increasing. What this means is that public health is continually being threatened by the global food supply, as evidenced by the major study review.

2. Bt-containing gmo crops are spawning mutated superbugs
Going beyond the initial genetic modification process, Monsanto also offers GM crops filled with a toxic biopesticide known as Bt. Incorporated into the crops to kill insects, Bt usage has led to the development of mutated insects that are resistant to the biopesticide. Insects that are continually exposed to Bt actually begin to develop a resistance to the toxin through the act of mutation. In present day, around 8 insect populations have mutated to resist Bt. Of the 8, 2 species are specifically resistant to Bt sprays and a staggering 6 are resistant to Bt crops as a whole.

As a result of the resistance, farmers are forced to increase their pesticide use. Meanwhile, Monsanto continues to genetically manipulate the Bt-filled crops further in an attempt to overcome the powerful mutations exhibited in the insect populations. Despite heavy modification, research has found that even further modified Bt crops provided ‘little or no advantage’ in fighting off the insects. If Monsanto chooses to continue with this process, it will undoubtedly lead to even more pesticide spraying.

Click here for the full report.

How the U.S. Will Become a 3rd World Country

November 15, 2011

Safe Haven

By: Ron Hera

“The USA isn’t what it used to be.  It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”  –KTRN

The United States is increasingly similar to a 3rd world county in several ways and is accelerating towards 3rd world status. Economic data indicate a harsh reality that obviates mainstream political debate. The evidence suggests that, without fundamental reforms, the U.S. will become a post industrial neo-3rd-world country by 2032.

Fundamental characteristics that define a 3rd world country include high unemployment, lack of economic opportunity, low wages, widespread poverty, extreme concentration of wealth, unsustainable government debt, control of the government by international banks and multinational corporations, weak rule of law and counterproductive government policies. All of these characteristics are evident in the U.S. today.

Other factors include poor public health, nutrition and education, as well as lack of infrastructure. Public health and nutrition in the U.S., while below European standards, stand well above those of 3rd world countries. American public education now ranks behind poorer countries, like Estonia, but remains superior to that of 3rd world countries. While crumbling infrastructure can be seen in cities across America, the vast infrastructure of the United States cannot be compared to a 3rd world country. However, all of these factors will rapidly deteriorate in a declining economy.

Click here for the full report.

Denmark Bans Products Containing Added Vitamins

June 20th, 2011

Natural News

By: Ethan A. Huff

So-called food safety laws enacted in Denmark back in 2004 have restricted the sale of any food products that contain added vitamins and minerals, and all on the outlandish premise that such nutrients are a threat to public health. And just recently, the country banned Marmite, a popular food spread sourced from the UK, because it contains added B vitamins.

Perfectly aligned with Codex Alimentarius and the recent EU ban of many herbal remedies, the Danish restrictions allow only the sale of fortified foods and dietary supplements that have been pre-approved by the government. And gaining approval works much the same way as it does in the US with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and pharmaceutical drugs — pay a large sum of money to the regulatory body (mafia) in charge, and purchase approval for your product.

But apparently Marmite slipped through the regulatory cracks, as a single Danish shop that has been supplying the spread to mostly English customers for years was finally discovered by authorities. So the harmless product joins many breakfast cereals, beverages, and other consumer products with added vitamins that have already been banned in Denmark, as it will no longer be permitted for sale to Danish consumers — unless, of course, the Marmite company decides to jump through the regulatory hoops and purchase approval.

“All the English people here are shaking their heads in disbelief and say that it is insane,” said Marianne Orum, owner of the Danish shop that, up until recently, had been selling Marmite. “It’s becoming impossible to run a business in this country. We are not allowed to do anything anymore. It is the way Denmark is going.”

Meanwhile, efforts are underway to push the same highly-restrictive measures in the US. The recent passage of S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, represents a global effort to thwart national food sovereignty and bring all nations under the same type of regulatory system as that of Denmark. Unless Americans wake up and begin to do whatever it takes to stop this horrific power grab, we can all look forward to the government controlling everything we eat, including even basic food spreads.

Click here for the full report from Natural News

EPA Still Evades Zonolite Warnings

December 13th, 2010

AOL News

By: Andrew Schneider

The Environmental Protection Agency turned 40 years old this month, and public health and safety experts say the agency has set a new low in failing to protect millions of people at risk from the cancer-causing, asbestos-tainted insulation detailed in last week’s AOL News series, “A Killer in the Attic.”

The agency also refuses to explain why it is shirking its mandated responsibility to publicize what its own scientists have proved for years to be the extreme danger from even gently disturbing asbestos-laden vermiculite in insulation that was sold until the late 1990s as Zonolite.

“For decades, the EPA has known about the risks Zonolite could pose to millions of American households, but a mix of brute politics, internal agency disputes and old-fashioned foot dragging has left families without the information needed to protect themselves,” Alex Formuzis of the Environmental Working Group told AOL News this week.

“Labeling this inaction an outrage is an understatement. Why EPA cannot move forward with warning the public about this potentially deadly house guest living in their attics is hard for most folks to understand.”

Health- and risk-assessment people in the EPA’s Washington headquarters contacted by AOL News said they were forbidden to talk to reporters by higher-ups because of the potential to embarrass the agency for doing nothing. Three of the people who spoke on condition on anonymity agreed that it wouldn’t cost the agency anything to warn the public, and it most likely could save some lives.

The opposition to the warning, they said, came from two senior political appointees and some “old-timers” from EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics who knew that in 1982 the EPA first learned of the danger of vermiculite mined in the tiny northwest Montana town of Libby and did nothing.

“We were told that if the agency said nothing in reaction to recent news reports of the dangers, the issue of the Zonolite warning would just fade again as it has every time it was raised in the past,” said an agency lawyer who read many of the e-mails between senior people weighing the language in a statement.

However, no comments were released.

“I’ve tried four times to get that statement approved without success. Sorry,” a press officer wrote to AOL News.

Since 2001, the last three EPA administrators have promised a major public announcement of the dangers, but nothing happened.

Ignoring the Medical Experts

Several physicians and toxicologists, including ones who continue to count the hundreds of people killed and the thousands sickened with asbestos-related disease from exposure to killing fibers from the now-closed W.R. Grace & Co. mine in Libby, know the dangers well.

“Some of those [in EPA] who are allowing the failure to adequately warn to continue really don’t have any personal experience with asbestos diseases and cancers, and don’t realize the high cost of their behavior,” said Dr. Michael Harbut, co-director of Karmanos Cancer Institute’s National Center for Vermiculite and Asbestos-Related Cancers.

Click here for the full report from AOL News

Texas Officials Covered Up Dangerously Radioactive Tap Water For Years

November 17th, 2010

Raw Story

By: Stephen Webster

Texas officials charged with protecting the environment and public health have for years made arbitrary subtractions to the measured levels of radiation delivered by water utilities across the state, according to a series of investigative reports out of Houston.

Those subtractions, based on the test results’ margin of error, made all the difference for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ): without the reduction, demonstrated levels of dangerous radiation would have been in excess of federal limits for years.

This was being done in direct contravention of an order by the US Environmental Protection Agency, which told state regulators in 2000 to stop subtracting the margin of error.

The findings are part of an investigation by Houston CBS affiliate KHOU.

Confronted by reporter Mark Greenblatt, TCEQ staffer Linda Brookins claimed that the radiation was “natural” and people shouldn’t be concerned. She also refused to read on camera the EPA’s order to stop subtracting margins of error from radiation test results.

KHOU called it “Texas math,” in part two of its ongoing series.

Thanks to the TCEQ’s under-reporting of radioactive content, one particular water provider in Harris County was able to skirt needed maintenance for years, even though uncensored tests showed radiation was almost always above legal limits.

Independent tests, the station noted, showed that some of the radiation contained harmful alpha particles, which can cause cell mutations and increase the risk of cancer.

The practice of under-reporting radiation continued until last year, when the EPA once again demanded Texas comply with the law.

The state, governed a large majority of Republicans, has long flouted the EPA’s air quality standards, with TCEQ officials claiming the federal agency does not have the authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

“What was illegal and a bad idea yesterday is illegal and a bad idea today,” TCEQ chairman Bryan W. Shaw told The Dallas Morning News. “We won’t see any environmental benefits from this. We’ll just see the additional bureaucracy associated with permitting in this state and across the U.S.”

In an editorial, the paper called Republicans’ fight to protect industry over environmental regulations a “dangerous roll of the dice” when it comes to federal dollars, noting that new regulations require the state to create a permitting authority to govern emissions, but it refuses. When the new rules take effect next year, the state’s energy industry could effectively be brought to a standstill, with no new construction being permitted.

And now water standards, it would seem, may be the next major clash between Texas regulators and federal authorities.

“Is this what [Governor] Rick Perry means when he talks about standing up to the feds?” The Texas Observer asked.

Click here for the full report from Raw Story

Deadly Disease Outbreaks Double Within Last Decade

October 15, 2010
BBC News
Ania Lichtarowicz

Dengue outbreaks are now a major threat to global public health. 

The UN health agency warned that unless countries act now then the situation will only get worse. 

Two fifths of the world’s population are at risk of the disease, with the majority living in the Asia Pacific region. 

Cases double

Dengue is a serious flu-like illness that is transmitted by mosquitoes, and can develop into dengue haemorrhagic fever, which can be fatal. 

The disease is spread by the aedes aegypti mosquito. 

The WHO has warned that the increased number and size of dengue outbreaks in some countries in the Western Pacific region, as well as cases recorded in previously unaffected areas, are signs that firmer action cannot be delayed. 

The WHO’s regional director for the Western Pacific, Dr Shin Young-soo, said: 

“National resources need to be mobilized to sustain dengue prevention and control, and the disease’s profile needs to be raised on the global health agenda to stimulate the interest of international agencies and donors. 

“The fight against this disease is everybody’s problem.” 

The number of cases in the Western Pacific Region has more than doubled over the past 10 years. 

There has been a significant increase in many countries this year alone. 

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic and the Philippines appear to be particularly affected. 

2.5 billion at risk

Two-fifths of the world’s population is at risk of the disease. 

Out of these 2.5 billion people, more than 70% live in Asia Pacific countries. 

The warning was delivered at the WHO’s Regional Committee for the Western Pacific.

The increased number of outbreaks may be caused by a number of factors; including higher temperatures and rainfall which produce perfect breeding conditions for the mosquitoes that carry the disease.

Growing populations, particularly in cities, and greater international travel by infected individuals could also explain the rise.

The WHO says there is as yet no clear evidence that the increase in cases was due to global warming.

But changes in climate do affect mosquitoes which spread the disease.

At a local level eliminating breeding sites like water jars, building sites and discarded garbage is essential in reducing the number of mosquitoes.

But a concerted international effort is vital, with urban planning and improving sanitation essential to reducing the number of dengue cases.

Click here for the full report from BBC News.

Next Page »