TIP TALKS

The e-Newsletter of the

Toxics Information Project (TIP)

March, 2015

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  IN THIS ISSUE             
**LIB TALKS:  GMO Pal Proven Horrible on Two Fronts,
Toxic Green Rugs Boycott?  New TT “Quickies”.
**ACTIONS & ALERTS: Ban Carcinogenic Round-Up,
Say No To GMO Mosquitoes,
**GOOD & BAD NEWS FROM NEAR & FAR:
Organic Veggie Food Drive-Thru,
Updated Info on Synthetic Turf Cancers
**CUTTING COSTS/RESOURCES:
2015 EWG Pesticide Residues Guide
**QUICKIES: Hardy Gardening, Labels, Flame Retardants,
Health Concerns in Wearable Tech, Drop Phony “Natural”
Labels, GMO Labels, Not Bar Codes, Tell Kroger & Lumber
Liquidators to Cut the Toxics,
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                                      LIB TALKS

GLYPHOSATE – GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY!  This inseparable
partner to GMO crops has now been shown to be terribly toxic
in two new reports from respected scientific sources – associated
with both cancer & autism – see alerts below.  Why am I not surprised? 
Truth will out!

SAVE MONEY WHILE AVOIDING PESTICIDES IN YOUR FOOD
See EWG’s new guide on which are the dirtiest  & cleanest fruits
& vegetables – so, which are most important to buy organic.

SHOULD WE BOYCOTT “TOXIC GREEN RUGS?” This is my
nickname for the traditional suburban lawn – boring little green
stalks, the same size and color, on and on – and doused with
sickening herbicides that can kill pets and poison the neighborhood
air.  What do I mean by “boycott”? Substitute natural, interesting,
beautiful and healthy bushes, flowers, wild plants.  For starters,
consider the “Hardy Gardening” item below.

NEW TIP TALKS “QUICKIES  There are so many important
news and actions every month.  So, we are now including items
with only a headline and a link, to save space and time, for you
and me.  They will appear in the appropriate sections, after the
usual  summary plus link topics.  (If links don't work, copy/paste)
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                          ACTIONS & ALERTS

GLYPHOSATE DECLARED "PROBABLY CARCINOGENIC
TO HUMANS", BAN MONSANTO'S ROUNDUP, LABEL GMOS!
Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that
the main chemical ingredient in Monsanto’s best-selling weedkiller
Roundup – Glyphosate, is “Probably carcinogenic to humans”.
According to WHO, glyphosate is used in more than 750 different
weed killers and is routinely detected in the air, water and our food.
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/sign/ban_Monsantos_Roundup_Label_GMOs_now/?t=4&akid=1510.422609.RPs4A6

HALF OF ALL CHILDREN WILL BE AUTISTIC BY 2025,
WARNS SENIOR RESEARCH SCIENTIST AT MIT 12-23-2014
Why? Evidence points to glyphosate toxicity from the overuse of
Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide on our food.
www.anh-usa.org/half-of-all-children-will-be-autistic-by-2025-warns-senior-research-scientist-at-mit

GMO MOSQUITOS?  (From The Frying Pan Into The Fire)
A private company could be releasing GMO mosquitoes in Florida
any day despite massive opposition from local communities. Oxitec
has been working since 2011 to release genetically engineered
(GMO) mosquitoes in Florida. These would kill off one species of
mosquito, but pave the way for possibly more dangerous mosquitoes
to move in, carrying harmful diseases like West Nile virus and dengue
fever. Why release these biotech creatures if they will only allow the
introduction of something worse while costing taxpayers money? 
Tell the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that it's too risky to
allow the release of GMO mosquitoes.
https://secure3.convio.net/fww/site/Advocacy;jsessionid=FB0E91D539320B45AE062D53991758D0.app333b?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=1837&autologin=true

DROP THE MEANINGLESS "NATURAL" FOOD LABEL!
https://secure.consumersunion.org/site/Advocacy;jsessionid=864524A963922C16276F9EB31E181FE0.app213b?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=3005

GMO LABELS, PLEASE – NO BARCODES
TAKE ACTION: Tell Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack:
Consumers Want GMO Labels, not Barcodes!
www.organicconsumers.org/node/1004541

TELL KROGER TO ELIMINATE DANGEROUS CHEMICALS
IN FOOD PACKAGING AND OTHER PRODUCTS THEY SELL.
http://action.sumofus.org/a/krogertoxins/?akid=8845.161757.6kvG73&rd=1&sub=mlt&t=1

LUMBER LIQUIDATORS: STOP SELLING TOXIC FLOORING
www.thepetitionsite.com/297/774/994/?z00m=22776036&redirectID=1634024995
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                GOOD & BAD NEWS FROM NEAR & FAR

THE GOOD NEWS:  AMY’S KITCHEN TO OPEN ITS FIRST
  (Organic & Veggie) DRIVE THRU ON WEST COAST
www.healthfreedoms.org/finally-a-healthy-fast-food-restaurant-is-almost-here-thanks-to-this-organic-frozen-food-brand/
  About a block from a restaurant most would call the antithesis of
Amy’s and its mission, In-N-Out Burger, a new (almost) all-organic
Amy’s restaurant is slated to open in Spring 2015. Located in
Petaluma, California, the all-vegetarian restaurant will include
classic American Drive Thru fare: (veggie) burgers, fries, ice cream
shakes, and even pizza, burritos and salads to round out the menu
according to an article from The Press Democrat.  The fries will
be organic and cooked in sunflower oil while everything on the
menu will be organic except for the soda according to the article.
Gluten-free and vegan options will also be  available for each
menu item.  Prices are expected to be reasonable with a
cheeseburger checking in at about $3 and full meals going
for less than $10.  Testing has been underway for getting the
menu right, and the Berliner family, which founded the company,
spent several months alone working on getting the veggie burger’s
buns just right.

THE BAD NEWS:  UPDATED DATA ON CANCERS AMONG
ATHLETES  PLAYING ON SYNTHETIC TURF (Updated 2-13-15)
http://ehhi.org/turf/cancer_cases_grow_0115.shtml

The University of Washington Women's Soccer Coach, Amy Griffin,
has been keeping a list of athletes who developed cancer after playing
on turf fields containing waste tires. So far she has identified 126
athletes, 109 of which are soccer players, 10 were football players,
and six were field hockey and lacrosse players, who have developed
different forms of cancer.  51 Lymphomas, 19 Leukemias, 10 Brain,
9 Testicular, 9  Sarcoma, 6 Thyroid, and many more.

RISK FROM FLAME-RETARDANT EXPOSURE OFTEN
OUTWEIGHS RISK FROM FIRE, By Nancy Alderman  (EHHI)
New Haven Register Forum  02/25/15
www.nhregister.com/opinion/20150225/forum-risk-from-flame-retardant-exposure-often-outweighs-risk-from-fire

THE HEALTH CONCERNS IN WEARABLE TECH
3-18-15 By Nick Bilton  New York Times
www.nytimes.com/2015/03/19/style/could-wearable-computers-be-as-harmful-as-cigarettes.html?_r=1

HARDY GARDENING:  6 Spring Plants You Can't Kill
(Unless You Really, Really Try)
www.yahoo.com/makers/6-plants-to-plant-this-spring-that-you-cant-kill-112704300335.html
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                                RESOURCES

SHOPPERS’ GUIDE TO PESTICIDES IN PRODUCTS
All 48 fruits and vegetables with pesticide residue data:
EWG analyzed pesticide residue testing data from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration
to come up with rankings for these popular fresh produce items.
All 48 foods are listed below from worst to best (lower numbers
= more pesticides) www.ewg.org/foodnews/list.php

**************************************************************     
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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