GMO strawberries from Mexico

“A decade ago, Alba Jofre, from the Center for Research and Advanced
Studies (CINVESTAV), and Pedro Antonio Davalos, from the National
Institute of Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock (INIFAP), created two
transgenic varieties of Mexican strawberries…”

Have these GM strawberries really been approved for commercialization? What about for export (or import) to the US, Canada, and other countries? (This is a public posting.)

From the article, it sounds like Mexico is planning to increase the export of these GM Strawberries between August and February. Who will they be exporting too? Wouldn’t those individual countries need to approve this crop?

http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=61490

Maybe you have tried acai berries because they are a great natural way to increase energy.  Perhaps you are using a Resveratrol supplement as a natural way to feel better without having to resort to harmful prescription medicines.  Millions of people are making the choice to go with natural, Non-GMO products instead of human engineered foods and supplements.  This is exactly why it is so disturbing to learn that the majority of Acai Berry and Resveratrol supplements are made with genetically modified ingredients.

The Acai berry has gained international recognition as one of the highest antioxidant fruits in the world.  Dr. Perricone named the Acai berry as the #1 Superfood on the Oprah Winfrey show.  Acai has been featured on the Today Show, CBS Early Show, Wall Street Jounal and the New York Times.  The Acai berry grows in the Acai Palm trees of the Amazon Rainforest and is very high in antioxidants, healthy Omega fats, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.  While other foods and fruits may be high in certain key nutrients, what has made the Acai the top superfood is its complete nutritional profile.

Resveratrol (or Trans-Resveratrol) is a polyphenol that is found in red grapes.  Resveratrol has become the subject of great interest because of its ability to mimic calorie restriction and trigger the release of Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1).  The reason this is so significant is that it is believed that SIRT1 plays a role in slowing the process of aging and disease.  Resveratrol has been featured on CBS News 60 Minutes, the New York Times, Oprah and countless other media organizations.

Both Acai and Resveratrol are natural products which are rarely genetically modified.  The problem is with the Magnesium Stearate that is added to 90% of all acai berry and resveratrol products.  Magnesium Stearate is the magnesium salt or stearic acid from plant or animal sources.  It is is a saturated fatty acid and used in foods and supplements as an anti-caking agent and/or  as an emulsifier.  Most magnesium stearate is made from corn or soy and in the US 80% of the soy and corn crops have been genetically modified. This means if your Acai Berry or Resveratrol product list magnesium stearate in the “other ingredients” there is an excellent chance that your product is made with GMO material.

“The use of magnesium stearate in this industry is just another example of companies trying to save some money.  Magnesium stearate has no advantages for the consumers and there is a chance it is GMO or made from animals or made from saturated fats.  Why would any consumer want any of this things?” states Bob Peters, Director of Communications for PowerSupplements.Com “Is it possible that some of the supplements are using non-GMO magnesium stearate?  Sure, but as a consumer why take the risk.  If you can find a resveratrol or acai berry supplement that does not use magnesium stearate, that is your best bet.”

Read the Report on Acai, Resveratrol and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)

In the PowerSupplements.Com report on GMO and supplements, they recommend that consumers search for supplements that do not use any magnesium stearate.  In the acai berry field, products such as the Perfect Acai do not use any magnesium stearate and are 100% Non-GMO.  In the area of Resveratrol and Muscadine Grape supplements, the recommendation is to use the Perfect ResGrape Resveratrol, it is also free of magnesium stearate and 100% Non-GMO.

Peters concludes, “We think it is great that people are more and more looking to increase their consumption of the amazing fruits that Mother Nature has given us.  I can tell you that no on in the Amazon Rain forest is sprinkling Magnesium Stearate on their Acai. Keep things simple, eat fruit – not magnesium stearate!”

About Power Supplements, LLC:

Power Supplements, LLC does research regarding food, health, supplements and diet. PowerSupplements reviews clinical studies and research to locate supplements and foods that are proven to be effective with real science.

Contact:
Bob Peters,  Director of Communications

PowerSupplements, LLC

646-827-9222

Don’t believe Monsanto’s green-washing. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs), aren’t meant to feed the world or survive the evermore frequent droughts and floods brought on by global warming – they’re designed to sell Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup and the patented “Roundup Ready” genes now spliced into millions of acres of corn, cotton, soy, canola, sugar beets and alfalfa. A 2009 study showed that, in 13 years, Roundup Ready crops increased herbicide use by 383 million pounds.

During the Bush administration, the movement to stop GMOs was making progress. Reflecting public concern over GMOs, in 2007, a Federal court ruled that the Bush USDA’s approval of Roundup Ready alfalfa violated the law because it failed to analyze risks such as the contamination of conventional and organic alfalfa and the development of “super-weeds.” The court banned the planting of GM alfalfa until USDA completed a rigorous analysis of these impacts. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals twice affirmed the national ban on Roundup Ready alfalfa planting, but Monsanto is appealing. They’re taking organic alfalfa farmers all the way to the Supreme Court!

Barack Obama, despite promising us “change we can believe in,” is unfortunately turning out to be just as pro-GMO as the preceding Bush and Clinton administrations, packing the USDA and other government bureaucracies with Monsanto men and biotech cheerleaders such as former Iowa Governor, Tom Vilsack, named “Biotech Governor of the Year” in 2001, now serving as USDA Secretary. Vilsack, notorious for flying around in a Monsanto company jet during one of his previous election campaigns, is now busy trying to get the court-ordered ban on Roundup Ready alfalfa lifted by issuing a new draft environmental impact statement (EIS) that denies or downplays the obvious environmental and human health hazards of GM alfalfa.

Alfalfa is the fourth most widely grown crop in the U.S. and a key source of dairy forage and hay. The first perennial crop to be genetically engineered, GM alfalfa can regenerate itself from its root-stock. It is open-pollinated by bees, which can cross-pollinate at distances of several miles, spreading Monsanto’s patented, foreign DNA to non-GMO and organic crops. Widespread GMO-contamination of organic alfalfa is inevitable if the Obama Administration successfully distorts science and ignores public opinion and allows Monsanto’s GM Roundup Ready alfalfa to be planted across the U.S.

Mounting evidence shows damage to animals and humans from unlabeled and untested Frankenfoods. Consumers who ingest GM alfalfa are likely risking their health; since even the USDA’s EIS admits that, “acute toxicity in mice was observed.”

According to the EIS, consumers who ingest foods with residues of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide may experience “general and non-specific signs of toxicity from subchronic and chronic exposure to glyphosate includ[ing] changes in liver weight, blood chemistry (may suggest mild liver toxicity), liver pathology, and weight of the pituitary gland.”

The EIS warns that, “Based on upper estimates of exposure … infants consuming fruit and all age groups consuming vegetables may be at risk of adverse effects associated with acute exposure to glyphosate [the active ingredient in Roundup] residues.”

Consuming milk and meat from animals fed crops that are genetically engineered is also risky. In Europe, where farmer and consumer rejection has kept GMO crop acreage to a bare minimum, massive quantities of GMO-tainted animal feed is imported from the U.S. and a survey of 60 samples of 12 different milk brands sold in stores in Italy demonstrated the presence of GM maize sequences in 15 (25%) and of GM soybean sequences in 7 samples (11.7%).

Most consumers, especially organic consumers, are determined to avoid Roundup Ready alfalfa, and meat and dairy products derived from animals ingesting Roundup Ready alfalfa, but according to the EIS, we don’t have that right because, “At the present time, there is no policy regarding the unintended presence of GE (genetically engineered) material in organic products or food, consistent with the fact that the NOP (National Organic Program) is a process-based program for certifying a farm or production system as organic, and not a product-based program that tests or certifies individual products as organic.”

We must stop the Obama administration from taking away our right to grow and consume organic and GMO-free food. The “change we believe in” is a healthy and sustainable future based upon organic food and farming and a green economy.

Follow Ronnie Cummins on Twitter: www.twitter.com/OrganicConsumer

source: huffingtonpost.com

The Royal Society has controversially called for a renewed drive to cultivate genetically modified crops  -  despite criticism that the GM lobby is allied to big business.

A study published by the society  -  which is Britain’s national academy of science  -  claims engineered crops could provide new sources of healthy food for the future.

It comes amid a major effort by the biotechnology industry, the Government and the Food Standards Agency to overturn public opposition to so-called Frankenstein Foods.

But opponents criticised the prestigious scientific body for backing an unproven technology.

Purple patch: GM tomatoes could fight cancer

They said the researchers were biased in favour of GM, and warned about the disproportionate influence of the Royal Society on political policymakers.

The majority of consumers remain deeply suspicious about the effects on human health and the environment.

GM advocates, such as U.S. firm Monsanto, have been claiming for more than 20 years it would deliver super-plants capable of feeding the world.

However, critics from the organic farming movement argue it has failed to deliver.

They say pest-resistant crops of maize, being grown on an industrial scale in countries like the U.S.A, are giving agro-chemical giants a virtual monopoly over a large sector of food production.

At the same time, there has been an absence of independent research into the consequences of growing these crops on the environment and health.

Last year a UN study involving academics from 60 nations concluded GM food was not the answer to Third World famine.

But the research from the Royal Society suggests it offers significant benefits, which could allay public fears over its safety.

These include the creation of crops that are resistant to drought or a harsh soil. The study said scientists are ten years away from producing an ‘everlasting’ wheat that can be harvested every few months.

Currently crops have to be ploughed and resown after each harvest.

Soya can be modified to be rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which are associated with improved brain development among school children.

‘Fruit and vegetables have also been developed with high levels of cancer protecting compounds, such as flavonoids in the purple tomato,’ the report said.

Professor Sir David Baulcombe, who led the study, said: ‘We need to take action now to stave off food shortages.

‘In the UK we have the potential to come up with viable scientific solutions for feeding a growing population and we have a responsibility to realise this potential.’

The GM-Freeze campaign said the experts behind the study were biased.

Its director, Pete Riley, said: ‘Some of the authors of this work were rabidly pro-GM, so it is no surprise they have come up with these conclusions.

‘There is a real danger that British science will continue to be dominated by GM technology in the future despite the fact this approach has delivered very little. The balance needs to be shifted to look at other solutions to increase food production.’

The campaigning group Genewatch UK warned: ‘Future research priorities in food and agriculture should not be set by a narrow clique of scientists who have failed to deliver on past promises.’

Spokesman Becky Price said: ‘Policy makers should not be over reliant on unproven technologies.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1221840/GM-crops-Anger-leading-scientists-push-Frankenfoods.html#ixzz1avNRhnEs

(NaturalNews) You can rid you body of most fluorides with some easy natural remedies. Fluorides have been linked to a variety of severe chronic, even acute health issues. First a quick review summary of fluoride.

Fluoride Toxicity

Fluoride is a soluble salt, not a heavy metal. There are two basic types of fluoride. Calcium fluoride appears naturally in underground water sources and even seawater. Enough of it can cause skeletal or dental fluorosis, which weakens bone and dental matter. But it is not nearly as toxic, nor does it negatively affect so many other health issues assodium fluoride, which is added to many water supplies.

Sodium Fluoride is a synthetic waste product of the nuclear, aluminum, and phosphate fertilizer industries. This fluoride has an amazing capacity to combine and increase the potency of other toxic materials. The sodium fluoride obtained from industrial waste and added to water supplies is also already contaminated with lead, aluminum, and cadmium.

It damages the liver and kidneys, weakens the immune system, possibly leading to cancer, creates symptoms that mimic fibromyalgia, and performs as a Trojan Horse to carry aluminum across the blood brain barrier. The latter is recognized as a source of the notorious “dumbing down” with lower IQ’s and Alzheimer’s effects of fluoride.

Another not commonly known organ victim of fluorosis is the pineal gland, located in the middle of the brain. The pineal gland can become calcified from fluorides, inhibiting it’s function as a melatonin producer. Melatonin is needed for sound, deep sleep, and the lack of it also contributes to thyroid problems that affect the entire endocrine system. The pineal gland is also considered the physical link to the upper chakras or third eye for spiritual and intuitive openings.

Various permutations of Sodium Fluoride are also in many insecticides for homes and pesticides for crops. Sometimes it is even added to baby foods and bottled waters. If you live in a water fluoridated area, purchase commercially grown fruits, especially grapes, and vegetables that are chemically sprayed and grown areas irrigated by fluoridated water, you are getting a triple whammy! Better skip that fluoridated toothpaste!

Avoiding Fluoride Contamination

As always, the first step in detoxifying is to curb taking in toxins. Purifying water by reverse osmosis or distillation in fluoridated water communities is a good start to slowing down your fluoride contamination. Distillation comes with a bit of controversy, as all the minerals are removed. A great mineral supplement such as Fulvic Acid (not folic acid) or unsulfured blackstrap molasses is recommended if you distill your water.

Avoiding sprayed, commercially grown foods while consuming organic or locally grown foods is another big step. Watch out for processed foods such as instant tea, grape juice products, and soy milk for babies. They all contain high concentrations of sodium fluoride. So do many pharmaceutical “medicines”. By minimizing your sodium fluoride intake, your body can begin eliminating the fluorides in your system slowly.

Magnesium is a very important mineral that many are lacking. Besides being so important in the metabolism and synthesis of nutrients within your cells, it also inhibits the absorption of fluoride into your cells! Along with magnesium, calcium seems to help attract the fluorides away from your bones and teeth, allowing your body to eliminate those toxins. So during any detox efforts with fluoride, it is essential that you include a healthy supplemental dose of absorbable calcium/magnesium as part of the protocol.

So Now Let’s Speed Up the Fluoride Detox

This author received a comment stating that an earlier article’s source reference to sunlight for decalcifying the pineal gland was inaccurate. He said that darkness, not light, is needed to stimulate the pineal gland into melatonin production, which should lead to breaking up the calcification of that gland. Besides being logical, further source research indicates the critic is correct!

Day time exercise, a healthful diet, not over eating, and meditation all contribute to higher melatonin production from the pineal gland. Though very helpful to many for getting a full night’s deep sleep, it appears inconclusive whether melatonin supplements will help decalcify the pineal gland. But it does seem logical that it might.

Iodine supplementation has been clinically demonstrated to increase the urine irrigation of sodium fluoride from the body as calcium fluoride. The calcium is robbed from your body, so make sure you are taking effective calcium and magnesium supplements. Lecithin is recommended as an adjunct to using iodine for excreting fluorides.

Iodine is another nutrient lacking in most diets and causing hypothyroid symptoms of lethargy or metabolic imbalances. Eating lots of seafood for iodine has it’s constantly rising mercury hazards. Seaweed foods and iodine supplements that combine iodine and potassium iodide are highly recommended over sea food by most.

Tamarind, originally indigenous to Africa but migrated into India and southeast Asia, has been used medicinally in Ayurvedic Medicine. The pulp, bark, and leaves from the tree can be converted to teas and strong tinctures, which have also shown the ability to eliminate fluorides through the urine.

Liver Cleanses are considered effective for eliminating fluorides and other toxins. There are two types of liver cleansing, both of which can be performed easily at home over a week or two of time. One of the protocols focuses on the liver itself , and the other cleanses the gall bladder, which is directly connected with liver functions. Simple instructions for both can be found on line with search engine inquiries.

Boron was studied in other parts of the world with pronounced success for fluoride detoxification. Borox, which contains boron, has a history of anecdotal success for detoxifying sodium fluoride. Yes, this is the borox you can find in the laundry aisles of some supermarkets. It needs to be taken in with pure water in small quantities.

As little as 1/32 of a teaspoon to 1/4 of a teaspoon in one liter of water consumed in small quantities throughout the day is what has been demonstrated as safe and effective. Around 1/8 of a teaspoon with a pinch of pure sea salt in a liter consumed in small quantities daily has been reported to have dramatic results. There is the possibility of a food grade version with sodium borate, if you can find it.

Dry Saunas combined with exercise releases sodium fluoride stored in fatty tissues. It can be intense enough to cause side effects or an occasional healing crisis. So keep the pure water intake high and drink some chickweed tea to protect the kidneys while using a highly absorbable cal/mag supplement. Lecithin is another useful adjunct to this protocol for fluoride detoxification.

Those Adjuncts to the Listed Remedies

Vitamin C in abundance was not mentioned as a helpful adjunct. It is now. But do not use ascorbic acid as your vitamin C source for an adjunct to any of the fluoride detox methods. Do take in as much other types of vitamin C as you can tolerate, along with a couple of tablespoons of lecithin daily. Add those to your absorbable calcium and magnesium supplements with plenty of pure water, get good sleep and rest, and the detox should be relatively smooth.

Chelation therapies are recommended primarily for heavy metal removals. Though fluorides are salts, the synthetic waste product variety, sodium fluoride, comes with a cargo of toxic heavy metals. And these pernicious salts have a way of combining more heavy metals. So including any one of several chelation therapies may be beneficial for overall health improvements while applying your chosen fluoride remedy or remedies.

Those include bentonite clay internally or externally, fulvic acid (NOT folic acid), cilantro pesto with chlorella, and even DMSA or any other chellation therapy with which you are familiar.

Sources:

Boron Testing
http://www.liquidzeoliteplus.com/fl…

List of foods with fluoride contamination
http://poisonfluoride.com/pfpc/html…

Website that offers a bibliography of other sources
http://www.slweb.org/ftrc.html

suana remedy http://www.tldp.com/issue/202/Notes…
http://www.encognitive.com/node/3083

Earth Clinic Folk Remedies
http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/fl…

Great comprehensive overview of fluoride
http://www.tuberose.com/Fluoride.html

Agrolink Director Svetla Nikolova: We Hope for GM Free Bulgaria

Novinite.com – Sofia, Bulgaria

Rossland says no to GE plants
Trail Rossland News – Trail, BC, Canada

Rossland doesn’t want genetically engineered plants and trees in their municipality.

On May 11, 2009, the City of Rossland took leadership on this controversial issue by passing a resolution to oppose the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

The resolution, moved by Councillor Laurie Charlton and seconded by Jill Spearn, stated that Rossland opposes GMOs and will not purchase any for their own use. The matter was brought to the attention of Rossland city council by the regional G.E Free Kootenays campaign, a sub-group of the Kootenay Food Strategy Society.

Many members of the organization refer to GMOs as “Frankenfood.” Morel said the average Rosslander probably consumes a genetically engineered food product every day. Foods such as cereal, potato chips, fruit juices, cookies and any processed food product with corn or soy is likely to have genetically engineered components. “There are a myriad of by-products hidden in our food that the average person just doesn’t know about,” said Morel.

He added there is lots of information online for anyone interested in learning more about the controversy surrounding GMOs. The entire EU has banned genetically altered plants and trees, but North America is yet to get on board. The Regional District of Powell River became the first GMO free zone in the country in 2004, followed by Saltspring Island the same year. The City of Nelson was the first district in the Kootenay region to join the G.E Free Kootenays campaign, in November 2008.

Vaccine: Coming to a farm stand near you

Mother Nature Network – Atlanta,GA,USA

Can diseases be warded off by eating GMO corn? Scientists are working to find out.

How about a little vaccine with your corn on the cob? I’m wondering if there is going to be any room left for actual corn in corn once scientists get done adding pesticides, fertilizers and now possibly vaccines to the genetic makeup of corn.

Meat & Poultry (you need to sign in to see article but registration is free) reports that researchers at Iowa State University are putting vaccine into corn. The goal is to put the vaccine into the corn that the pigs will eat to help stop diseases like swine flu from happening.

“We’re trying to figure out which genes from the swine influenza virus to incorporate into corn so those genes, when expressed, would produce protein,” said Hank Harris, professor in animal science and one of the researchers on the project. “When the pig consumes that corn, it would serve as a vaccine.”

The goal, if things go well, is to have this vaccinated corn available in 5-7 years. Tests need to be done to make sure that the vaccines will work when given to the pigs orally through the corn.

Pigs aren’t the only ones who could “benefit” from this genetically altered corn.

According to the researchers, the corn vaccine would also work in humans when they eat corn or even corn flakes, corn chips, tortillas or anything that contains corn, Harris said.

I’m not to comfortable with this. Will consumers need to fight for “vaccinated corn-free” labels to be put on products that aren’t made from this type of corn, the way they have for the “rBST-free” label on dairy products? Or, if it comes to fruition, will products be unlabled and consumers unaware?

Mean Joe Green #61: Monsanto Grows a Genetically Modified Blogger

Written by Joe Mohr

Published on May 4th, 2009

Monsanto, the company that brought you saccharine, aspartame, herbicides 2,4,5-T, DDT, Agent Orange, a variety of plastics including polystyrene, synthetic fibers, bovine growth hormone (BST, rBGH), PCBs, nuclear weapons, the potentially carcinogenic RoundUp, a variety of maize that may cause liver and kidney toxicity, lawsuits against small farmers who do not want to use their products, a myriad of environmental disasters, and genetically modified crops that are introduced into our food system without proper labelling or proper testing for safety–now offers up in its defense their very own genetically modified blogger.