TIP TALKS
The e-Newsletter of the
Toxics Information Project (TIP)
June, 2014
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IN THIS ISSUE
**LIB TALKS: Even Activists Can be Shocked, TIP GMO Labeling,
Position, Relief Re: the Latest Scoop, Quick Cut Costs Comment.
**ACTIONS & ALERTS: New Pesticide Health Effects Report,
Say “No!” to The Deadly Duo.
** FOOD CONCERNS Good News from Ben & Jerry’s - & the
Latest Scoop on Non-GMO Ice Cream!
**RESOURCES: Skip the Pesticides: What's Wrong With Kids
Hugging Dogs? Natural Solutions to Summer Pest Problems
NOTE: If any web links in this TT don't work, just
do a copy and paste into your browser.
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LIB TALKS
**SHOCK (BUT NOT AWE) As much as I’ve seen information
about the multitude of health effects from chemicals, including
pesticides, even I was shocked by the latest report below on
glyphosate & 2-4-D. How can people continue in denial about
these dreadful products? Take action (again, we have to keep trying!)
**THE GMO LABELING DEBATE: As I believe I've indicated before,
TIP does not actually support GMO labeling legislation at the federal
level! This is because "Monsanto Mike" Taylor and other corporate
cronies at FDA and USDA would make a mockery of any "regulation"
they put into place on this. States like wonderful, brave Vermont
are the places where we can influence real, honest labeling laws.
**A scoop of hope – good to see Ben & Jerry’s moving forward to
eliminate GMOs from its ice cream! Also, see the helpful list of
which flavors are already good.
**CUTTING COSTS: I keep hoping to have the time to do some
more research on “Cutting Costs” tips, but have been very busy
with the GMO Labeling campaign (education of legislators will still
proceed over the summer, with great hope for next session).
For now, I’ll make one cost comment. You have seen here, and
hopefully elsewhere, the dramatic relationship between chemicals
in everyday products and in the environment. So, never forget
the price one can pay for illness caused by these toxic exposures!
I just heard of someone who was hospitalized for a month – at the
cost of one million dollars. That’s the extreme, of course, but it is
a fact that our medical system is one of the most expensive on the
planet. Makes the moderate cost of healthy food and products
show up as a real bargain, don’t you think? :-) Blessings, Liberty G
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ACTIONS & ALERTS
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STUDY: GLYPHOSATE DOUBLES RISK OF LYMPHOMA
By Emily Cassidy • (1st Published by Environmental Working Group)
www.foodrevolution.org/blog/glyphosate-lymphoma
Scientists at the International Agency for Research on Cancer have
found what appears to be a strong link between pesticide exposure
& a blood cancer called non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Analyzing 44
individual research projects published since 1980, the scientists,
writing in the International Journal of Environmental Research and
Public Health, said that people exposed to the weed killer glyphosate,
marketed by Monsanto under the brand name Roundup, had double
the risk of developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Those exposed to
2,4-D, another potent weed killer marketed by Dow Chemical, were
40 percent more likely to develop this disease.
The authors, scientists who work in the IARC Section of Environment
& Radiation in Lyon, France, theorized that these pesticides were
causing genetic mutations in white blood cells, thereby weakening the
body’s immune system & ability to fight off disease. Previous studies
have observed that farmers with exposure to 2,4-D have experienced
impaired immune systems. Last month, EWG reported that research
by scientists at the Arctic University of Norway had detected “extreme
levels” of glyphosate on genetically engineered soybeans.
Crop scientists have genetically engineered soy to survive blasts of
glyphosate so that farmers can use this chemical to get rid of weeds
near crops. Over time these weeds have become resistant to glyphosate
and grown hardier. In turn some farmers have resorted to spraying more
of the pesticide to try to kill the tougher “super weeds.” Genetic
engineering’s early promise to reduce pesticide use now seems empty.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently reported that herbicide use
doubled—from 62 million pounds in 1996 to 128 million pounds in 2012.
Glyphosate now represents more than 83 percent of the chemical
pesticides used in the U.S. annually.
The IARC study was published April 23, as the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency was considering approving GE seeds of corn and
soybeans engineered to withstand 2,4-D, a suspected carcinogen.
If the EPA approves the new GE seeds and if 2,4-D is used to kill
weeds on some of the 170 million acres of corn and soybeans grown
in the U.S.annually, the USDA estimates that 2,4-D use is likely to
triple, dramatically increasing people’s exposure to a pesticide that
may cause cancer.
Note from Food Revolution Network: Additional tools for reducing
pesticide & GE food exposure are the Environmental Working Group’s
Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce: www.ewg.org/foodnews
and the Institute for Responsible Technology’s non-GMO shopping
guide: www.nongmoshoppingguide.com
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ACTION VS. THE DEADLY DUO
What’s more poisonous than Dow’s 2,4-D “Agent Orange”herbicide
or Monsanto’s Roundup? Enlist Duo, an herbicide made of both
2,4-D and Roundup. DEADLINE MIDNIGHT JUNE 30, 2014:
Tell the EPA, Don’t let Dow poison our food with its “Deadly Duo”
of Agent Orange and Roundup herbicides.
Last week, the OCA submitted more than 19,000 signatures to the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requesting regulators
reject Dow’s request for approval of 2,4-D for use on the company’s
new Enlist brand corn and soy, genetically engineered to tolerate
massive amounts of 2.4-D. But Dow is also asking for approval of
a new, even deadlier herbicide. Enlist Duo uses a combination of
2,4-D, one of the toxic ingredients in Agent Orange, and Roundup,
whose key active ingredient, glyphosate, is linked to a host of ills,
including birth defects, infertility, allergies and cancer. Go to:
http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=14182#sthash.243rTOxV.dpuf
to take action.
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GOOD NEWS & CRITICAL SUMMER INFO!:
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BEN & JERRY’S TAKES THE HEATH OUT OF
'COFFEE CRUNCH' IN GMO SHAKEUP
By Venessa Wong June 16, 2014
www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-06-16/ben-and-jerry-s-takes-the-heath-out-of-coffee-crunch-in-gmo-shakeup
UPDATED |Ben & Jerry’s, known nearly as much for crunchy
politics as for its crunchy ice cream fillings, will temporarily
call its Chocolate Fudge Brownie flavor “Food Fight Fudge
Brownie.” The company says the change—which will appear
for a limited time in company-owned shops, but not grocery
store pints—reflects its support of a new GMO labeling law
in its home state of Vermont, which the food industry is
challenging in court. The scoop shops will give a portion
of sales of this flavor to the Vermont Food Fight Fund
to defend the law.
By Venessa Wong June 16, 2014 UPDATED |Ben & Jerry’s, known
nearly as much for crunchy politics as for its crunchy ice cream
fillings, will temporarily call its Chocolate Fudge Brownie flavor
“Food Fight Fudge Brownie.” The company says the change—
which will appear for a limited time in company-owned shops,
but not grocery store pints—reflects its support of a new GMO
labeling law in its home state of Vermont, which the food industry
is challenging in court. The scoop shops will give a portion of
sales of this flavor to the Vermont Food Fight Fund to defend the law.
Ben & Jerry’s has also made quieter changes to remove genetically
modified organisms from its ice creams; for example, it cast out the
Hershey’s (HSY) toffee bars found since 1986 in its popular Coffee
Heath Bar Crunch flavor. The generic replacement rolled out earlier
this year calls itself simply Coffee Toffee Bar Crunch—no second-party
brand name in the mix. The problem? The Vermont ice cream company
is committed to using non-genetically modified ingredients, and
Hershey is not.
Ben & Jerry’s, the maker of munchie-flavored ice creams such as
Half Baked and Phish Food, has become an vocal champion of
GMO labeling. It’s parent company, Unilever (UL), makes no
mention of GMOs in its sustainability goals, saying only that it
will comply with labeling rules. Ben & Jerry’s threw its support
behind Vermont’s decision last month to become the first state
to require foods to be labeled, in this case by July 2016. The
Grocery Manufacturers Association—of which Unilever is a
member—filed a lawsuit last week challenging the law over
free speech and federal findings that GMOs are safe.
“We’re not scientists, and we know there are debates pro and
con about GMO usage,” Ben & Jerry’s states on its website.
“Regardless of the debate, Ben & Jerry’s believes people should
be informed and have the right to decide for themselves.” Still,
the ice cream company hasn’t yet completely phased out
genetically modified ingredients.
BEN & JERRY’S NON-GMO FLAVORS include
COOKIE DOUGH, CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE THERAPY,
CHERRY GARCIA, PISTACHIO, PHISH FOOD, VANILLA,
PEANUT BUTTER CUP, CHUNKY MONKEY, NEW YORK
SUPER FUDGE CHUNK, MILK & COOKIES, EVERYTHING
BUT THE, COFFEE COFFEE BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ, &
STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE.
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RESOURCES
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SKIP THE PESTICIDES: SPRING INTO PEST SEASON SAFELY
May 6, 2014 By Alexandra Zissu, Editorial Director
http://healthychild.org/spring-into-pest-season-safely
Spring marks the return of oh so many good things. Hello daffodils,
melodious tree frogs, and raised bed gardening with the kids.
But there’s one sign of warmer weather we could all do without:
the myriad insects that ride its first waves right into our homes to
set up shop for summer. Whether minor or major, these pest
problems tend to illicit a similar response. Parents reach all too
quickly for pesticides to provide the cure.
Hang on! Many of the poisons that are toxic to insects are, of course,
also toxic to children and others. A recent decision by the EPA to
take the flea repellent propoxur out of pet flea collars offers a look
at just how dangerous many of these substances can be. The EPA
said that the collars leave residues of this potent neurotoxin on pet
fur that can be absorbed by children playing with the pet the first day
the collar is used. And a Natural Resources Defense Council study
on the issue found that after three days, 100% of pets wearing
propoxur collars had residues on their fur that posed neurological
risks to toddlers. After 14 days, 75% of pets were still dangerously
contaminated. The collars were even polluting indoor air.
Chances are your kids like to hug the family dog. So this is more
than a little alarming. Fortunately, nature provides safer
pest-repelling alternatives. The next time you have a problem—from
fleas to cockroaches—seal up entry points and try solutions like these:
• For fleas, make a flea powder of 1/2 tsp. each of ground dried
eucalyptus, rosemary, and pennyroyal in 1/4 cup of cornstarch.
Shake to blend, sprinkle on your pet and work into their fur.
• Un-invite ants to your kitchen by sprinkling ground cloves or
diatomaceous earth (fossilized sea algae) along “edge zones” like
baseboards, cabinet rears, and countertop backsplashes. Or wipe
down surfaces with peppermint oil.
• Discourage cockroaches with a spray made from two teaspoons
of tea tree or peppermint oil in two cups of water.
• Flies and fruit flies are said to dislike basil, so mix a spray of
two teaspoons basil oil in two cups of water. Or infuse one pint of
basil
leaves in enough gain alcohol or water to cover.You can also make
non-toxic fly strips from Kraft paper coated with 1/4 cup of corn syrup
mixed with 1/2 cup of sugar.
• Banish moths by doing lots of laundry in hot water and carefully
vacuuming shelves and closets. Then use sachets stuffed with a
mixture of bay leaves, dried basil leaves, some spearmint, thyme,
tansy, rosemary, and wormwood. Replace every six months.
• Repel ticks with a solution of two teaspoons rose geranium
or palmerosa essential oil. Getting in the habit of nightly tick checks
is a must.
There are many more DIY insect-repelling recipes like these to be
found online. A great addition to any family reference library is
Better Basics for the Home by Annie B. Bond. Happy spring!
Read More:
• Protect Kids From Pesticides: Grow a Pesticide Free Lawn
http://healthychild.org/easy-steps/protect-kids-from-pesticides-grow-a-pesticide-free-lawn
• Green Spring Cleaning: 9 DIY Recipes for Natural Cleaners
http://healthychild.org/easy-steps/green-spring-cleaning-9-diy-recipes-for-natural-cleaners
• Repel Bugs Without Permethrin and DEET
http://healthychild.org/easy-steps/repel-bugs-without-permethrin-deet
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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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