Go Green » Nutrition and Health

Roundup Ready Wheat coming to Canada

Michelle — Mon, 17 May 2010 13:37:08 +0000

Roundup Ready (TM) resistant superweeds are now spreading across Ontario. Thanks to Monsanto’s special seeds that come with herbicides, weeds have become mixed up too and despite all the toxic sprays, these weeds are thriving. Cough cough.

In the meantime, Monsanto is pushing for a Roundup Resistant wheat. Think about that next time you’re having your pizza!!! Wonderbread could have a new slogan, ‘herbicides in your bread never tasted so good.’

As one farmer said: “From the seed companies, you can expect vigorous denial while they continue to focus on short-term gain ahead of long-term sustainability of the industry. But who is standing up for the what’s really important – sustainability and best practice for health?”

Here are 6 reasons why YOU should resist roundup ready wheat:

1. Genetically-modified wheat crops will contaminate nearby wheat varieties, harming the diversity of wheat around the world and endangering the stability of the global wheat supply .
2. Roundup-Ready Wheat is genetically modified to be resistant to Roundup (glyphosate), but has not been altered to boost crop output. This means more Roundup will be used than before, but the amount of wheat harvest will remain the same.
3. Production costs of genetically-modified crops such as Roundup-Ready Wheat tend to be higher than conventional crops due to expensive seeds and herbicides.
4. Higher quality wheat can be, and has been, achieved through conventional plant breeding rather than through genetic engineering.
5. Unlike many genetically-modified crops grown for fuel and animal fodder, Roundup-Ready Wheat will be grown for human consumption. Some countries require all genetically-modified commodities to be labeled, yet research indicates that consumers reject genetically-modified food when it is labeled as such. Europe will reject any wheat exports if they contain RR!
6. Seed patents to many genetically-modified crops are owned by giant agriculture corporations. Because of these patents, farmers are no longer permitted to save seed from season to season.

Please sign the petition at the CBAN website

Nail salons: toxic jobsites

Michelle — Wed, 05 May 2010 22:02:27 +0000

What is one of the most toxic jobs in the world? Mine worker? Asbestos handler? Try a nail salon worker. Yes, your friendly nail bar down the street houses one of the most toxic chemical environments on the planet.

Along with all the other stuff they’re putting on your nails includes toluene, formaldehyde and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). These chemicals which have been banned in Europe for some time, continue to put salon workers at risk because of consistent exposure. All of these chemicals are volatile organic compounds, which means they evaporate into the air and you the customer and the nail salon worker are inhaling them. Due to their constant exposure manicurists have reported cancer, asthma, rashes that won’t heal, miscarriages, numbness and a slew of other health problems.

What about consumers? What alternatives are out there?

Try checking out the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative which has a good list of resources.

Apparently one of the good nail polishes that is non-toxic (easy on the lungs!) is acquarella. This is not a paid endorsement; I haven’t tried this myself so I don’t know how this works, but it’s a start.

Get Triffid out of our flax!

Michelle — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 13:06:10 +0000

Canada’s entire flax industry – worth $320 million annually – could flub out.

The European Union has put the brakes on flax exports from Canada because the exports were contaminated with the genetically modified version, Triffid. Triffid was a genetically modified (GM) flax seed developed at the University of Saskatchewan in the 1990s and de-registered in 2001. Farmers have not been growing this gm flax for over 10 years and now suddenly Triffid flax is starting to show up.

The EU normally accounts for 60 to 70 per cent Canada’s flax exports and doesn’t allow any contamination above .01%. One Triffid seed in 40,000, or the equivalent of one seed in 3,400 loaves, is enough to reject a 5,000-tonne cargo of flax worth almost $3 million. Richardson International, which handles everything from sourcing to logistics, already has 22,000 tonnes of flax worth $11 million stuck in EU port silos “that we can’t get in or out.”

Even this large company is quoting the NDP, saying that something needs to be done. It could take as much as 3-5 years to get the Triffid out of our flax.

You can also listen to Mr. Atamanenko and others discuss the topic on the radio show “Deconstructing Dinner” on Kootenay Co-op Radio. Audio clip: Talk about GM Flax on Kootenay Co-op Radio.

From official House of Commons records:

March 15, 2010 – Mr. Atamanenko (British Columbia Southern Interior) — That, in the opinion of the House, the government should take the following actions in order to avert another crisis similar to the one of 2009 which severely impacted Canadian flax farmers whereby their 2009 flax exports were found to be widely contaminated with a genetically engineered (GE) flax called CDC Triffid, which was not approved in our major export markets and which led to the wholesale rejection of all Canadian flax shipments to the European Union:

( a ) review the current regulatory process to include consideration of market harm in the approval of unconfined release and confined release of plants with novel traits (genetically engineered plants);

( b ) institute an immediate moratorium on the confined release and unconfined release of genetically engineered alfalfa pending the outcome of the regulatory review; and

( c ) report back to Parliament, through the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the results of the government’s review of the regulatory process within twelve calendar months or at the earliest opportunity following the twelve months if Parliament is not in session.

Give orangutans a break from Kit-Kat

Michelle — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:32:09 +0000

Greenpeace has a short powerful video to illustrate how Nestle’s dependence on cheap palm oil for its chocolates is resulting in the destruction of rainforests in Indonesia by forest giant Sinar Mas. As consumers, while we can’t have much of an effect against Sinar Mas, we can make a difference by not buying from Nestle. As a global chocolate giant, they can put the pressure on Sinar Mas.

If you want chocolate, buy something that won’t kill orangutans!

No fruit from the Okanagan Valley?

Michelle — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:00:26 +0000

Picturesque scenes of apple tree blossoms against the backdrop of Okanagan Lake may no longer exist as fruit packing houses in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley are packing up themselves.

In June 2008, the operations of four grower-owned packinghouses: Okanagan North Growers Cooperative, BC Fruit Packers Cooperative, Sun Fresh Cooperative Growers, and Okanagan Similkameen Cooperative Growers Association, merged into one entity - The Okanagan Tree Fruit Cooperative. Unfortunately, the merger has not been able to stop the downward spiral.

SunOpta Healthy Fruit Snacks announced the pending closure of its Summerland facilities on May 28, 2010. The company makes dried apple leather and fruit snacks under the Kettle Valley Fruit Snacks label. Approximately 40 employees work at the Summerland facilities.

The fruit packing house in Summerland which employs 80 workers, will soon close its doors permanently. This is the third packing house to close in as many years.

Without any government programs to help, these orchardists are seeing the end of their livelihood. They cannot compete against the highly subsidized fruit industry from Washington which allows much cheaper apples and fruits to be sold in chain grocery stores here.

If the major retail chains are buying Canadian fruit, they are now making their purchases in Ontario and no longer have the same level of loyalty to B.C. fruit.

Support your local chickens

Michelle — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:55:53 +0000

rescued battery hen

The life of a battery hen is a harsh one. It is chickens like this who lay the eggs you buy in the supermarket. Unhealthy, featherless and weak. Is this a healthy food choice when the chickens are in this state?

Thankfully there is the Little Hen Rescue in Norfolk, England.

It all started with a hen who escaped a battery farm while they were rounding up the chickens for slaughter. That hen was determined to live in freedom and lucky for her, found a caring family who nursed her back to health. After that, they wondered how many other chickens were suffering the same fate? Little Hen Rescue was born.

Like an SPCA, Little Hen Rescue adopts out these chickens who go on to keep laying eggs in a much healthier environment. You might want to start a similar organization in your area or a chicken co-op. Whatever you do, buy only free range eggs!

Here is a video to explain more of what they do:

What makes Subway sandwiches dangerous?

Michelle — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:00:22 +0000

Subway sandwiches are often touted as being healthy fast food, but are they really?

Bnet.com has an interesting article which you might want to read before you order. First of all, the bread is made with sodium stearoyl lactylate and ammonium sulfate, which are used as a dough conditioners, and azodicarbonamide, a bleaching chemical most commonly employed in the production of foamed plastics. Not exactly like home cooking.

Their meat is something else as well. In order to get that meat like flavour, Subway uses autolyzed yeast extract and hyrolyzed corn gluten which are supposed to act like flavour enhancers. This way when they process the meat, a little bit goes a long way.

What is in your food?

Tip of the Day: eat lower on the food chain

Goodbye to Canadian Milk Producers

Michelle — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:32:41 +0000

Milk in Canada is getting more expensive to buy and more expensive for cheesemakers and others in the dairy industry. Why is this a concern? Food security is a green issue.

Currently, Canada does not have a national framework to deal with the dairy industry. Unlike the U.S., Canada has a quota system which used to work fine until the industry started to squeeze out a lot of small processors. While the U.S. ensures a free market approach for its dairy farmers, there are several ways in which they are subsidized in case they cannot sell all the milk they produce.

Saputo has been using imported dairy solids to make cheese for more than 30 years. Using modified milk helped lower production costs which enabled them to have 35% of the market share at the expense of locally run cheese makers. As an example, Armstrong Cheese used to be made in Armstrong, BC employing over 70 people and relying on milk from local dairy farms. Saputo bought them out and closed down the plant, but you can still buy something called “Armstrong Cheese.” This scenario is being played out all across the country.

With fewer places to sell their milk and the prices for milk beyond their control, dairy farmers face an uncertain future now that the WTO has ruled that the quota system constitutes an export subsidy for dairy products. This ruling resulted in the reduction of the Canadian export program. Claiming that milk is priced too high, companies like Kraft, Saputo and Parmalat continue to pressure for more imports of blends in the case of butter oils or caseins reducing the need for Canadian milk.

If you want to know more about what’s going to happen to our supply of food, visit www.farmsandfood.ca Provincial milk prices are to be re-calculated February 1, 2010.

Europeans buy more genetically modified canola

Michelle — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:25:42 +0000

Contrary to popular belief, Europe does buy genetically modified (GM) canola – referred to as rapeseed oil.

The European Union did relax the moratorium on genetically modified canola, and at least one freighter of gm canola was bound for Europe from Canada in October.

In Australia, Gene Ethics has been trying to pressure processing companies like Grain World to have separate sites for gm-free canola. Some sites reported a mixture of gm-free and gm canola in December, however, Grain World reported that the amounts were below the ‘industry threshold.’

Plan your spring garden with seeds

Michelle — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:00:14 +0000

Now is a good time to plan your spring garden and select some seeds to grow.

The Seed and Plant Santuary for Canada is a charitable organization founded by Salt Spring Seeds which allows a member access to five varieties of seeds from their databases which include rare and heirloom species – everything from tomatoes to grains like quinoa and spelt.

I’ve had lots of tomato seeds go rotten in the fridge and this video shows a better method. Salt Spring Seeds says on their website that they only let the juice ferment for three days as opposed to the ten days in the video: