TIP TALKS
The e-Newsletter of the
Toxics Information Project (TIP)
July, 2014
*****************************************************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE
**LIB TALKS: Lots of Activity This Month
**MONSANTO MIXED BAG: Horror Stories: Roundup
Linked to Fatal Kidney Epidemic, Birth Defects, Sterility.
Actions: Several Countries Ban It.
Hilary Promotes GMOs – Object to That
**BEE BANES & BANS: City & State Bee-Killer Bans,
Actions for You
**FOOD CONCERNS: Good News Re: Chipotle & GMOs,
Why Splenda Isn’t Splendid,
**RESOURCES: Food on a Budget, Hope in a Book
**ACTION ALERT: Boycott Scott’s GMO Grass
*****************************************************************
**LIB TALKS: It was difficult to organize all the important information
that has come to me in recent weeks, without making this newsletter
too long! There is some really sad information about hazards – but
there is also much Good News. Also, there is another good consumer
guide & an inspiring new book. I’ve included a bunch of action alerts
mostly as brief links – you can read the details of each by clicking on
them. And, don’t forget – the greatest power you have is as a consumer
– if you tell the sellers you won’t buy their bad or unlabeled stuff!
*********************************************************************
A “ROUNDUP OF THE LATEST MONSANTO HORROR STORIES:
GOOD & BAD NEWS – AND ACTIONS
MONSANTO’S HERBICIDE LINKED TO FATAL EPIDEMIC
Monsanto's herbicide Roundup, with glyphosate as the primary
ingredient, has recently been linked to a fatal kidney disease
epidemic ravaging parts of Central America, India and Sri Lanka.
A leading theory hypothesizes that complexes of glyphosate
and heavy metals poison the kidney tubules.
THE GOOD NEWS: El Salvador and Sri Lanka have adopted
the precautionary principle and taken action to ban the herbicide.
www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/25122-exposing-monsanto-herbicide-linked-to-birth-defects-the-vitamin-a-connection
MONSANTO IS MESSING WITH ANIMALS’ SPERM
www.care2.com/greenliving/is-monsanto-making-us-sterile.html
Animals exposed to the commonly-used pesticide Roundup are
more likely to have an impaired sperm structure, suggests new
research from the University of Caen, France.
ANOTHER PRO-GMO PRESIDENT? HILARY CLINTON
Former senator, secretary of state. Mother. Grandmother-to-be.
Potential frontrunner for the Democratic nominee for U.S. president
in 2016. And Monsanto cheerleader. From back in the days when
she worked for the Rose Law Firm, which represented Monsanto,
to her ongoing cozy relationships with pro-GMO appointees Michael
Taylor (Deputy Commissioner for Foods) and Tom Vilsack (Secretary
of Agriculture), Clinton has always pandered to the pesticide and
junk foodmanufacturers.
She hasn't changed her tune—even though she's on the wrong side
of the 93 percent of Americans (future voters) who want mandatory
GMO labeling laws. Last month, Clinton told the pro-GMOers at the
BIO International Convention that the public is "misinformed" on the
safety of GMO foods. Monsanto just needs to put a more positive
spin on the mounting scientific evidence against GMO crops &
GMO-contaminated foods, & Voila! Consumers will no longer
need to worry their pretty little heads.
It's time to tell Hillary: No amount of "spin" will convince consumers
that Monsanto's toxic crops and food are good for public health and
the environment. And no candidate who cheerleads for Monsanto
will get the vote of the millions of consumers who believe politicians
should stop taking Monsanto's money, and start protecting the public.
TAKE ACTION: Hillary Clinton: It's time to dump Monsanto and support
public health, and regenerative, organic agriculture! Watch Hillary
promote Monsanto (approximately 29 minutes in) Read the press
release, & sign the petition. Already signed? Please share this
petition with friends and family!
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/hillary-clinton-its-time?source=c.url&r_by=5382364
*******************************************************************************
BEES, BANES & BANS
GREAT NEWS: CITY OF SPOKANE, WASHINGTON,
BANS NEONICOTINOID PESTICIDES.
City Council President Ben Stuckart, sponsor of the neonic ban
ordinance, had gotten a phone call from Monsanto’s Vice President.
Despite industry pressure, Spokane City Council passed the measure
in a 5 to 2 vote. “Bees are so important, we should be leading the way
to protect them,” Stuckart said. The City of Eugene, Oregon, became
the first community in the nation to specifically ban from city property
the use of neonicotinoid pesticides earlier this year. Spokane now
joins Eugene in the movement to take these Earth poisoning chemicals
out of use. What city will be next? READ (neonic story after the food
truck compromise law story): )
www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/jun/24/spokane-city-council-approves-food-truck
FOUR STATES JUST GOT A LITTLE BIT SAFER FOR BEES
www.care2.com/causes/4-states-just-got-a-little-bit-safer-for-bees.html?cid=email_na#
***********************************************************************
TAKE THESE ACTIONS TO HELP THE BEES
Tell Home Depot and Lowes' CEOs to stop selling plants pre-treated
with bee-killing neonic pesticides:
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/home-depot-and-lowes
Declare your independence from bee-killing pesticides and pledge
to only purchase neonic-free, organic garden plants and seeds.
http://org.salsalabs.com/o/1421/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=16172
Ask your Congressional Representatives to support H.R. 2692
to ban neonics:
http://action.panna.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=13939
Tell the EPA to ban neonics: www.foe.org/epa-bees
***********************************************************************
FOOD CONCERNS
CHIPOTLE STARTS LABELING GMO INGREDIENTS ON WEBSITE MENU The Huffington
Post | By Joe Satran 06/18/2013
www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/18/chipotle-gmo_n_3460402.html
CHIPOTLE IS SAYING NO TO GMOS - HERE'S WHY
Posted: 01/28/2014, Steve Ells, Founder,
Chairman and Co-CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill
www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-ells/chipotle-gmos-no_b_4063994.html
SUCRALOSE’S (SPLENDA) HARMS VASTLY UNDERESTIMATED:
BAKING RELEASES DIOXIN (From Food Revolution Network)
Sucralose, sold under the brand name Splenda, is a no-calorie
sweetener found in tens of thousands of products. It is the most
versatile and widely used artificial sweetener in the world today.
But a new, in-depth review of sucralose, published in the journal
of Toxicology and Environmental Health, is destined to overturn
widely held misconceptions about the purported safety of this
ubiquitous artificial sweetener. There have been concerns for
some time that sucralose could be linked to leukemia, diabetes,
and other ailments. This new study, however, may be the most
concerning yet. It reveals an extensive array of safety concerns,
including the formulation of dioxins when sucralose is used in
baking. http://foodrevolution.org/blog/sucraloses-dioxin
*******************************************************************
RESOURCES:
SHOPPING GUIDE T O GOOD FOOD ON A TIGHT BUDGET
From Environmental Working Group (EWG)
Want to stretch your dollar at the grocery store? Use EWG's
"Good Food on a Tight Budget" to find tips on healthier eating
and smarter shopping. EWG handpicked top foods that pack
in nutrients at a good price and contain the fewest pesticides,
contaminants and artificial ingredients. Eat healthier and
save money at the same time!
www.ewg.org/goodfood/?inlist=Y&utm_source=201406Tips&utm_medium=email&utm_content=link&utm_campaign=food
“GRASS, SOIL, HOPE: A JOURNEY
THROUGH CARBON COUNTRY”
"Hope in a book about the environmental challenges we face in the
twenty-first century is an audacious thing to promise, so I'm pleased
to report that Courtney White delivers on it." - Michael Pollan.
The debate between "saving the environment" and extracting enough
food and energy from nature in order to sustain a growing population
has always been framed in terms of trade-offs. Until now. In his book,
Grass, Soil, Hope: A Journey through Carbon Country, Courtney White
says there may just be a free lunch after all—by making the most of
sunlight, grass and carbon to grow food, while also healing the land.
Grass, Soil, Hope reads like a travelogue, "a journey to the grassy
frontiers of agriculture," according to Michael Pollan, who wrote the
foreword. The book's heroes are the farmers and scientists who are
figuring out that, contrary to conventional wisdom, we can create
significant amounts of new soil in the course of a single generation.
Read Pollan's foreword to Grass, Soil, Hope Go here to order the
book. Enter the code CGP35 to receive a 35-percent discount
(good through Dec.31, 2014). (NOTE: TIP also has several
copies, available in exchange for a donation to assist us in our work.)
www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/grass_soil_hope:paperback
****************************************************************
ONE MORE ACTION ALERT: POISONED PLAYGROUNDS
As if the world's most widely used poison, Monsanto's Roundup, didn't
already pose a huge public health threat. Now, Monsanto and Scotts
have teamed up to market Roundup Ready Kentucky Bluegrass,
genetically engineered to withstand massive doses of Roundup.
You probably won't buy it. But what's to stop commercial landscapers
from using it in parks and playgrounds? Nothing. Because it's
unregulated.
Scotts new GMO grass is genetically engineered to withstand massive
doses of Roundup-a toxic herbicide that contaminates drinking water,
and can be absorbed by your kids' clothing and skin. Let Scotts'
Chairman & CEO Jim Hagedorn, Chief Communications Officer
Jim King, and a few other key executives know that we won't buy their
Miracle-Gro products until they drop plans to market their GMO grass.
TAKE ACTION: Tell Scotts You Don't Want More of Monsanto's Chemicals
in Your Soil and Drinking Water, and that You're Boycotting All Scotts
Products until the Company Drops Plans to Sell GMO Grass.
http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=14090
**************************************************************
Liberty Goodwin, Director
Toxics Information Project
P.O. Box 40572,
Providence, RI 02940
Tel. 401-351-9193
Website: www.toxicsinfo.org
***********************************************