TIP TALKS
The e-Newsletter of the
Toxics Information Project (TIP)
August, 2011
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IN THIS ISSUE:
IMPORTANT FOOD RESEARCH, REGULATION
& CONSUMER OPTIONS INFO
***Evidence that the “Fox is guarding the henhouse” – with unsurprising
results. News items about how genetically modified crops are regulated
(NOT!), research they knew but we didn’t – till now, and some unhappy
goats caught in the GM process.
***Several action items calling for restrictions and/or labeling
of GM/GM foods.
***A couple of good sources for more info, including on how to
avoid genetically engineered stuff.
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WHO DO YOU TRUST? BEING AN EDUCATED CONSUMER IS MORE CRITICAL
THAN EVER – ESPECIALLY ABOUT OUR FOOD SUPPLY
From: "Spilling the Beans" newsletter@responsibletechnology.org
(A publication of the Institute for Responsible Technology)
GMO REGULATIONS & RESEARCH: Industry and regulators covered up
Roundup/birth defect link for decades. The pesticide industry
knew from its own studies (including one by Monsanto) as long ago
as the 1980s—and EU regulators knew since the 1990s—that the
best-selling herbicide Roundup causes birth defects. A new report
by international scientists now exposes the 30-year cover-up,
including efforts as recent as last year by the German government's
consumer protection office to rebut a 2010 study showing Roundup
causes birth defects in frogs & chickens at tiny doses. The study
was prompted by reports of high rates of birth defects & cancers
in areas of South America growing GM Roundup Ready soy, which is
sprayed with high doses of the herbicide.
Read a lengthy article on this in the Huffington Post, a summary
in The Ecologist, or the full report, “Roundup and Birth Defects:
Is the Public Being Kept in the Dark?”:
www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13274
www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13268
www.scribd.com/doc/57277946/RoundupandBirthDefectsv5
Monsanto responded to the report, but the report's authors pick apart
the company's statements, showing how they are unsupported and
unscientific.
www.monsantoblog.com/2011/06/09/june-2011-earth-open-source-report-on-roundup/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=june-2011-earth-open-source-report-on-roundup
www.facebook.com/notes/earth-open-source-eos/earth-open-source-response-to-monsanto/169537173111096
USDA PILOT PROGRAM ALLOWS COMPANIES TO DO THEIR OWN ENVIRONMENTAL
ASSESSMENTS. The FDA already allows biotech companies to decide if
their own crops are safe—the companies conduct whatever studies they
want. Now the USDA announced a two-year pilot plan to also allow the
companies to write their own environmental assessment of a GM crop
or pay contractors to do so.
www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13106
A close look at their track record, however, reveals how companies
like Monsanto design their research to avoid finding problems. They've
got bad science down to a science! Watch this new 2-minute video,
Rigged Research, by Jeffrey Smith and Alex Bogusky, exposing the biotech
industry's sleight-of-hand. Watch it now. http://vimeo.com/22310092
GM GOATS NEITHER MALE NOR FEMALE: The New Zealand government's GM
animal research program has unintentionally produced a herd of goats
that are neither girls nor boys, but transgender, or "goys" as the
researchers dubbed them. The scientists now intend to induce these
"females in sterile male bodies" to produce milk to see whether it
contains the intended protein. This is just the latest in unexpected
and sometimes cruel outcomes of this program, which has also produced
animals with disabilities including arthritis, respiratory distress,
deformities, & ruptured ovaries. www.responsibletechnology.org/news/1501
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ACTION OPPORTUNITIES – TAKE A MINUTE TO SIGN
Tell Congress to support the bipartisan legislation to ban GE fish,
require labeling! Despite nearly 400,000 comments in opposition, the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to announce its approval
of genetically engineered (GE) salmon any day now. To make matters
worse, FDA argues that these GE salmon don't even need to be labeled! In
response to FDA's imminent approval, Congress is taking action. Senator
Mark Begich (D-Alaska) and Representative Don Young (R-Alaska) recently
introduced bipartisan legislation in Congress that would ban GE fish
(Bill# S. 230/H.R. 521) and require mandatory labeling for consumers if
approved (Bill# S. 229/H.R. 520)
http://action.responsibletechnology.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=7242
Tell Secretary Vilsack to halt GM planting until Dr. Huber's research is
completed! US scientists claim to have discovered a type of microscopic
organism linked to genetically modified crops and the pesticides used on
them. The research, which is yet to be completed, suggests the pathogen
could be the cause of recent widespread crop failure and miscarriages in
livestock. Emeritus Professor Don Huber from Perdue University says his
research shows that animals fed on GM corn or soybeans may suffer
serious health problems due the pathogen. Learn more and sign the
petition to Agriculture Secretary Vilsack to stop the planting of these
seeds until further research is done:.
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/sign/dr_hubers_warning
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SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
WITH INFO ON FOOD CONCERNS & CHOICES
CARE2.COM – REAL FOOD
www.care2.com/causes/real-food
www.care2.com/find/site#q=avoiding+GM+foods
ORGANIC CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION
www.organicconsumers.org/organicbytes.cfm
http://organicconsumers.org/btc/BuyingGuide.cfm
ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP (EWG)
www.ewg.org/foodnews
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Liberty Goodwin, Director
Toxics Information Project
P.O. Box 40572,
Providence, RI 02940
Tel. 401-351-9193
Website: www.toxicsinfo.org
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