The RAnts of RA

What a joke.  They are never going to repeal the Monsanto Protection Act and I’ll tell you why.  The chemical company is in bed with most of our politicians.  They can say their going to repeal it:  â€˜Monsanto Protection Act’ might be repealed in Senate, but it’s never going to happen.

GMO cultivation 2009 Deutsch: GVO Anbauflächen

Why?

1. The Monsanto Protection Act was only enacted for 6-months and then it expires.
2. By the time the Senators get around to doing anything it will die of natural causes.

In the meantime…

Monsanto has lots of court cases pending.  I’m certain that one of them, is the reason for the bill.  If the court rules against them, Monsanto won’t lose a dime.

Supreme Court Docket

I just wish the media would tell the truth, instead of half-truths and outright lies.  We have a lot of deception going on by everyone in government and the media, and for that matter congress.  It’s bad enough trying to make sense of what’s going on, but it’s really challenging when you have the whole establishment working again you.

I wish someone would create a law that would require lawmakers to actually READ each and every bill, BEFORE it can be voted on.  This is really where we need to start, legislators need to be held accountable for the bills the vote for.  Right now, there is no  accountability.

Related articles

• The Ugliest of all: Monsanto Protection Act
• RT : Monsanto Protection Act Might Be Repealed In Senate – 18 May 2013
• Vermont wants Monsanto to label its GMOs
• Worldwide march against Monsanto taking place May 25, will you take a stand?
• How Monsanto Is Using Cronies in Congress to Take Away States’ Rights to Label Genetically Modified Foods
• CLN – Leak : US Using Taxpayer Dollars To Promote Monsanto GMOs Overseas – 16 May 2013
• USDA Needs More Time to “Review” Monsanto and GMO Crops?
• States Brace for Monsanto’s ‘Big Stick’ in GMO Labeling Fight

This morning on Facebook I saw a coupon for a chocolate bar exchange, Earth Fare called it, “Take the Boot Challenge.”

They asked, “How much do you know about the food you’re eating and the wellness products you’re using daily? Come back every month for a new Boot Challenge!  Which chocolate bar, based on its ingredients, would you boot.”  Well, I got really excited, until I read the ingredient list…

MYSTERY CHOCOLATE BAR A

Ingredients:Milk Chocolate (Chocolate Liquor, Milk, Unbleached Water-Filtered Beet Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Lactose, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla).

MYSTERY CHOCOLATE BAR B

Ingredients:Sugar, Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, Milk Fat, Lactose, Soy Lecithin, PGPR, Vanillin, Artificial Flavor, Milk.

That’s when things got interesting… So, I posted to Earth Fare’s Facebook page:

“I was excited to see your coupon for the candy bar exchange, that is until I saw the ingredient list… Your chocolate bar might be “healthier,” but it still has GMO in it. So, it’s not HEALTHY.”

Earth Fare: Which ingredient are you referring to? These bars contain no known GMOs….

Annette M. Hall: got a link? I can’t find it.

Earth Fare:  You’re referring to the Boot Challenge, correct?
http://www.earthfare.com/EarthFareVersion2/Home/What-You-Eat/TheBootChallenge.aspx

Annette M. Hall: Filtered Beet Sugar – it’s my understanding that most beet sugar is GMO and Soy Lecithin. Neither of these say they used organic materials.

A chocolate bar exhibiting chocolate bloom

Earth Fare: Since GMOs are not labeled there is no way to tell for sure if it contains GMOs or not. Unfortunately we can only read what is on the label. On that note, we are all for the labeling of GMOs and encourage all of our customers to contact their local government about the labeling of GMOs. I’ll pass along your concern to our grocery team so they can do some more research.

Annette M. Hall: Thank you!

Amy Scott-Lundy: Is the boot challenge coupon still good?

Annette M. Hall:  Yes, it’s still good but be aware this item does contain GMO.

Genetically modified sugar beets make up 95 percent of the crop in the U.S. Farmers who grow sugar beets say there isn’t enough conventional sugar beet seed around anymore, and they no longer have the field equipment necessary to clear weeds from their fields. — NPR

Earth Fare: You can’t say for sure that it contains GMOs. If we knew for sure it would NOT be on our shelves. Thanks!

Annette M. Hall: I can tell you, it has GMO ingredients.

Earth Fare: Haha – ok Maybe you should come work for us and tell us about all the other non-labeled GMOs in our store!

Annette M. Hall: I’m sorry, either it is organic or NOT and I’ve been doing my homework. I am not going to lie for you or anyone. sugar beets – GMO Soy Lecithin – GMO Sorry. [Non GMO Project – Verified Products]

Earth Fare: Actually, to call something “organic” it only has to be 95% organic…so technically even some organic items could contain GMOs. That’s why it’s a problem.

Annette M. Hall: While 95% may be the “legal” definition of organic, it certainly isn’t the “moral” definition – and any company who values the organic market would do well to remember that.

This is a problem for me.

Obviously, I’m not going to buy any of Earth Fare’s products, because “You can’t say for sure that it contains GMOs.”

This is the attitude they have, oh well, sorry, “to call something “organic” it only has to be 95% organic.”

That’s NOT good enough!

I actually, stopped every girl scout I saw out selling girl scout cookies.  I told them, I’m sorry, but they have GMO in them.  I can’t eat them, without getting sick. I guess I’m just supposed to go hungry.  I’ll write more about my medical issues tomorrow.  You won’t believe it.

Related articles

• Real Food 101 Part 3: GMOs and How to Avoid Them
• Are Your Vitamins GMO Too?!?!?
• Nutrex Hawaii to Showcase Non-GMO Project Verified Spirulina Pacifica Superfood at 2013 Natural Products Expo West
• Dear Girl Scouts, we want Non-GMO Cookies please!
• Standards for Organic Foods in Jeopardy – Action Alert!
• Eating GMO-free: Can genetically modified food really be avoided? | Babble

You are what you eat!

Going to the grocery store in recent days has become an extreme act of faith and it’s this author’s opinion that this is just the beginning of things to come. Companies like Monsanto are intent on corrupting our food supply.

To be honest I wasn’t overly concerned with the Spinach recall; I don’t care for it. In fact, I can’t even stand the smell of it, so it’s never served in my home. Ok, I’ll fess up, I don’t eat tomatoes either, however, this issue hits closer to home because ketchup is made from tomatoes and so are many other products we use regularly.

A search turned up some interesting videos about the growing of corn; a huge controversy regarding seeds and growing conflict over who controls the food we buy. Our family has been following the raw milk issue in California very closely. As someone who grew up drinking farm-fresh, pure straight-from-the-cow milk, I’m a firm believer in the tremendous health benefits of drinking natural milk.

I still can’t get the hang of calling milk "raw." I’ve always thought of milk as real and natural. We don’t say I’m going to the store to buy raw eggs or raw onions. The stuff in the store is processed; it’s processed food, just like that nasty Macaroni and Cheese you buy in a box from Kraft Foods. We know it’s bad for us, but our kids just love it. I hated buying Blue’s Clues Macaroni and Cheese – that stuff just looked nasty – but my son claimed he loved the strange looking stuff. Processed milk has had all the benefits of milk killed – it’s dead!

I would be the last person anyone would call an environmentalist. We all know they are extremist, left-leaning whack-jobs that have too much time on their hands and not enough to do. But I no longer live on a farm and unless I want to try growing a pot garden (vegetables in pots, not marijuana), I must shop for my foods at the grocery store. I was shocked to learn that the US is one of only four or five countries that do not require the labeling of genetically modified foods. What?

I am outraged. I am frightened and discouraged. Our children are going to be left with a world that is not only sick from the effects of pollution, but of the long-lasting results of intentional tampering with their natural food supply.

We moved up to the mountains around 6-years ago – you know the place everyone goes to dump their garbage? How could someone disrespect these lovely mountains? The situation is kept at bay by a group of wonderful volunteers, who meet each month to pick up roadside trash.

I’ve turned over a new leaf and become what I think of as a naturalist. (Reminder to self – look up Naturalist.) We’ve never given as much thought as to what we purchase as we do today. After discovering that E. coli and other types of infectious agents, including bacteria are used to introduce spliced genes into GMO foods; corn, soy and tomatoes are the main items. It has been estimated that as much as 80% of the corn we consume and 70-75% of all processed food has been genetically-modified. This is huge.

It’s in our tacos, our corn chips, corn on the cob; it’s fed to cows and chickens. It’s also in everything that has "High Fructose Corn Syrup". No testing has been done; the FDA claims they have no responsibility to warn us, since after all, "it’s just food". This is one huge experiment that will cause untold harm to the public at large.

Today we read labels – closely. We’ve learned to avoid "high-fructose corn syrup." If you aren’t aware of the history of high-fructose corn syrup, check it out. I was appalled by what I had learned. We are buying our fruits, vegetables and meat as close to nature as possible. It requires a great deal of rethinking our buying habits, since these days "natural = $$$$" and lots of it.

We ate our first sloppy joes made with 100% organic ground beef last night. They tasted wonderful! I figure it cost me about $2.00 more to serve the organic meat, than I would normally spend on beef that had consumed the genetically-modified corn. Health-wise, I’m not certain of the health benefits of eating ground up meat and fat scraps but I felt great knowing my son had one less meal of Franken-corn. The way I see it, if we don’t buy it, there won’t be a market for more of it.

I’m reading everything I can about our food supply and the technology being used to create it. I’ve posted some helpful articles at: Food and Nutrition in the News

Multi-Media Resources

• The Future of Food
• Genetically Modified Food: Panacea or Poison
• Bad Seed: The Truth About Our Food
• King Corn
• In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto
• Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education
• Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods
• Genetically Engineered Food: A Self-Defense Guide for Consumers
• Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods
• The Gmo Trilogy And Seeds of Deception Set
• The Hundred-Year Lie: How to Protect Yourself from the Chemicals That Are Destroying Your Health