TIP TALKS
The e-Newsletter of the
Toxics Information Project (TIP)
September, 2014
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IN THIS ISSUE
**LIB TALKS: Thoughts Re: Corporate Influence on Academia,
Choosing Effective Actions – Who Cares What We Say?
RI Note: "Story of Seeds" Film Again in Bristol
**CONCERNS: New Evidence of Artificial Turf Health Hazards
**ACTIONS & ALERTS: No to GMO Vanilla, No to a “Homegrown”
Sellout, Call to Retailers to Label Sweet Corn, Tell Organic
Producers to Get Out of the Anti-Labeling Lawsuit
**GOOD NEWS: Sunscreen Innovation Act Passed
**TIPS & RESOURCES: New EWG Good Seafood Guide
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LIB TALKS:
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**THOUGHTS RE: ACADEMIA: The URI GMO Food Safety
Conference went about as expected – biased presentations.
This is not surprising, because universities face a kind of
Hobson’s choice – they need money to do research, but the
sources of that expect to see results that don’t hurt their
bottom line! I don’t have a magic solution for this to offer.
There is one major thing we can do, though – recognize the
corporate influence on “science” and the skewing of results.
Then share that skepticism with others, to counteract the use
of “cooked books” to mislead the public about safety issues.
Seek out independent research not funded by or connected
with industry.
**WHAT CAN WE DO – EFFECTIVELY? BUY WISELY –
MOST IMPORTANT - LET THE RETAILERS
& FOOD PRODUCERS KNOW1
In a time when the Federal Government & its agencies are so
corporate-controlled, we have little power at that level. But those
who want our dollars at the cash register do care what we think –
they have to…Consumer power has caused quite a few nasty
products to get lost. If they know we won’t buy the stuff, they
won’t carry it. And, even without GMO labeling, we have ways
to ascertain a large part of the bad stuff – and the companies
that offer it. Even if we don’t Know for sure what’s in something –
we can tell its seller we won’t buy it until they fess up! This, along
with our active work of consumer education, can win the day!
This is why our action items are mostly focused on the guys from
whom we buy – see several such in today’s newsletter.
NOTE TO RI & OTHERS: There will be a second showing of
"Open Sesame: The Story of Seeds" at the Bristol Library this
coming Saturday at 2:30 p.m. It is a very moving and informative
film, and I recommend that folks in other states show it as well.
Blessings, Liberty G
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CONCERNS
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NEW EVIDENCE OF HEALTH HAZARDS FROM ARTIFICIAL TURF
TWO LETTERS RE: CANCER CONCERNS ON THE SOCCER FIELDS
On May 25, 2014 Nancy Alderman nancy.alderman@ehhi.org wrote:
Although Environment & Human Health, Inc. tried to warn everyone
that the ground up rubber tires in synthetic turf & toddler playgrounds
were carcinogenic - no one listened. Schools & towns continued -
& still continue today - to install them. Neither state nor federal
government stopped them. Today there are hundreds of thousands
of these fields around the country. Cancer takes a while to develop
-- but now the cases are coming in -- hugely disproportionately
for the soccer goalies. Goalies spend more time diving on the
ground - picking up even more of the ground up rubber tire pellets
than the other players. Millions of dollars has been spent installing
these fields - every field has 40,000 ground-up tires in it and has
a cost of about a million dollars to install -- what will it cost be in
cancer treatments for all these children - and what will it cost
to finally pull all these fields up? Nancy Alderman, President,
Environment & Human Health, Inc. (EHHI)
PLEASE READ THE LETTER BELOW
Dear Dr. Brown and Environment and Human Health, Inc.
I understand that you and your organization has been on the
front lines of the issue of whether artificial turf is safe. Earlier
this week, the local news here in Seattle featured a story that
highlights a potential cancer cluster emerging among soccer
players, specifically goalies. Here is the link to the news story
which features the University of Washington
assistant soccer coach, Amy Griffin:
www.komonews.com/news/local/Soccer-coach-Could-field-turf-be-causing-cancer-259895701.html
Since the story aired, Amy has been contacted by 4 more soccer players
who say they have or have had cancer and should be added to her list.
Here is an excerpt from one of those emails:
"Just saw the news story about turf being possible cause of cancer in
soccer goalies. My daughter, who is 22 and a senior at Oregon State
University, played soccer since she was 3 and a goalie since about
age 5. She was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma in Jan. 2013
and went thru chemo... My concern is that these goalies are the
canary in the coal mine, just the tip of the iceberg, and that a wave
of others including non-goalie players may be just behind.I did a
Google search to find other soccer players who may not be on
Amy's list and who have cancer. I attached my informal results.
The list includes any player with cancer. Curiously, most of the
cancers look to be lymphoma-type cancers.
Amy Griffin, the UW coach, is very interested in this issue and
would be happy to talk to anyone about her list of players.
Her email is amygriff65@gmail.com (she is using
her personal email for this issue since she is doing this work
more as a concerned individual rather than as an employee for
the university). Thank you in advance for your work in this area.
Sincerely, Susan Takemoto, Concerned Soccer Mom"
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ACTIONS
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GMO VANILLA ICE CREAM ?
NO WAY! WARN HAAGEN DAZS
Pure, natural vanilla ice cream. Sounds delicious, right? One of our
favorite treats may not be so natural for long. A new vanilla flavor,
squeezed out of genetically engineered yeast raised in vats, could
soon replace real vanilla from vanilla beans in foods from ice cream
to yogurt. Synthetic biology (synbio) vanilla, made from an "extreme"
form of genetic engineering, seems like science fiction, but it's real.
And it's at the forefront of a whole slew of computer-synthesized
GMO ingredients about to enter our food and be falsely promoted
as "natural." ] Synbio companies are trying to market their new
ingredients as "natural." But in reality, they are made with digital
DNA and genetically engineered yeast. There's nothing natural
about that. Synbio companies are rushing these untested ingredients
into our favorite foods and consumer products, ahead of adequate
regulation and without labels.
As the first major synbio ingredient in our food, synbio vanilla
could set a precedent for replacing truly natural, safe ingredients
with these risky, new, unlabeled ingredients created in a lab.
Ice cream companies like Haagen Dazs are some of the biggest
purchasers of vanilla flavoring. We need to send them a strong
message: Don't use this unnatural "synbio vanilla."! We want
to show food companies that we're serious about wanting truly
natural food. We do not want to feed our children products of
risky biotech experiments. .Tell Haagen Dazs to keep
extreme genetic engineering out of our ice cream!
http://action.foe.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=16327 ]
ORGANIC PRODUCERS: STOP FUNDING
THE OUTRAGEOUS ANTI-GMO LABELING LAWSUIT
Tell organic dairy producers to end their support of the Vermont GMO
labeling lawsuit This May, Vermont passed a historic GMO labeling
bill into law, setting the stage for states across the country to follow
suit and protect our right to know what's in our food. But now the law
is under attack from the unlikeliest of places. Four of the country’s
largest organic dairy producers are helping to fund a shameful
industry-led lawsuit to overturn Vermont’s landmark law and keep
people in the dark about what we're eating.
Stonyfield Farms, Organic Valley, Aurora Organic, and Horizon Organic
all belong to the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) which
has joined the Grocery Manufacturers Association’s deep-pocketed
lawsuit against the state of Vermont. These organic companies’
continued membership and financial support of the IDFA directly
fund this misguided lawsuit. We must pressure these companies
to end their membership in the IDFA and stand with consumers,
not anti-GMO labeling special interests.
If this lawsuit to invalidate Vermont’s first-in-the-nation GMO
labeling law is successful, it will set a dangerous precedent for
GMO labeling laws across the country. Not only will other states
with pending legislation see their efforts stalled by more special
interest lawsuits, but any chance for a national GMO labeling
standard could be in jeopardy. We’d expect large corporate
food companies and their lobbyists to spend millions to
take down the Vermont law, but not a handful of organic dairy
producers. By law, organic food must not contain genetically
engineered ingredients, and some of these dairy companies
publicly support GMO labeling. But if they are truly committed to
producing organic food that their customers can trust, they must
take a stand now by ending their association with the IDFA.
Sign the petition now and urge big organic dairy companies
to stop funding the fight against GMO labeling.
http://act.credoaction.com/sign/vermont-gmo-lawsuit?t=3&akid=11453.5291347.GbRZ_7
"HOMEGROWN" NO MORE? SAY “NO!” TO ANOTHER SELLOUT
The company whose mission it is to “cultivate a healthier and happier
world by spreading goodness through nourishing foods, honest words
and conduct that is considerate and forever kind to the planet” has
sold out—to the company whose mission it is to keep you in the dark
about what’s in your food. Earlier this month (September 2014),
General Mills announced it will buy Annie’s Homegrown in a deal
worth $820 million. Annie’s CEO, John Foraker, defended the sale
of the Berkeley, Calif.-based maker of natural and organic pastas,
meals and snacks: “We felt that is was a really great time to partner
up with somebody like General Mills because our mission is really
making products like ours available to a much, much broader set
of consumers.”
“Somebody like General Mills”? As in “somebody” who spent $2.1 million
to defeat GMO labeling initiatives in California (Prop 37, in 2012) and
Washington State (I-522 in 2013)? As in “somebody” who belongs
to the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), which not only has
spent millions to defeat GMO labeling laws, but also sued the state
of Vermont for passing a GMO labeling bill? And helped draft a bill
in Congress that, if passed, will deny states the right to pass GMO
labeling laws? As in “somebody” whose shareholders voted
overwhelmingly to continue to use genetically modified organisms
(GMOs) in the company’s food products?
Think it’s time to add Annie’s to the Traitor Boycott list?
TAKE ACTION: Tell Annie’s CEO John Foraker that you’re
boycotting Annie’s until General Mills pulls out of the Grocery
Manufacturers Association and supports state GMO labeling laws!
http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=14875
NOT ALL SWEET CORN IS EQUAL – DID YOU EAT
MONSANTO’S GMO SWEET CORN THIS SUMMER?
TELL THE RETAILERS CONSUMERS WANT TO KNOW
Monsanto's genetically engineered sweet corn was first available for
growing and planting in 2011, but it wasn't widely planted due to
concern from consumers. The USDA did not do any independent
safety testing of this crop, and we know that Monsanto's sweet corn
has been altered in a way that could never happen in nature —
the corn actually produces its own pesticide to kill the bugs that try
to eat it. Now, we're concerned that genetically engineered sweet
corn may be appearing in grocery stores, but there's no way to know
without labeling.’
Even though companies already label genetically engineered foods
for 64 other countries around the world, they aren't yet required to
label those same foods when they are sold to us in the United States.
And even though we delivered more than 100,000 petition signatures
to Walmart asking them to not sell the sweet corn, they wouldn't commit.
Now we're coming back with an even bigger effort, with more of our
allies. Food & Water Watch is partnering with other groups who care
about this issue, and want to reach 100,000 signatures that we can
deliver to major retailers like Walmart, Kroger, Safeway and others.
Please sign the petition today to label
genetically engineered sweet corn:
www.grassrootsact.com/gmocorn?utm_source=FWW
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GOOD NEWS (From EWG)
SUNSCREEN INNOVATION ACT PASSED!
We did it! Thank you for joining with thousands of other EWG
activists in support of the Sunscreen Innovation Act. Because you
spoke up, both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate
unanimously passed the bill. This is huge, Liberty. Finally we may
see more sunscreen ingredients – substances that have been used
safely all over the world for years – introduced into the U.S. market.
Requiring the Food & Drug Administration to review sunscreen
ingredients in a timely way is likely to give consumers like you
access to the most up-to-date ways to protect your skin from
cancer-causing UVA rays. (LIB NOTE: Sometimes we actually do
get the government to do something right! I guess the sun product
makers don't have as much lobbying money to spend as others.)
(YES, VIRGINIA - SOME REGULATION IS ACTUALLY POSSIBLE IN DC!)
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RESOURCES
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EWG’S BRAND-NEW SEAFOOD CALCULATOR
AND GOOD SEAFOOD GUIDE
Ever wonder how much seafood you should be eating?
The truth is, there’s no universal answer. The amount of mercury
a person can handle differs largely based on an individual’s age,
weight, pregnancy status and more. Everyone benefits from the
healthy omega-3 fatty acids in seafood, but the benefits are strongest
for pregnant women, children and people with heart disease.
Environmental Working Group (EWG) has created this new guide
to help people like you shop for fish and shellfish that are lower
in mercury, higher in omega-3 fatty acids and sustainably
This interactive tool offers people critical details about seafood
safety – details that are missing from the draft guidance by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration & the Environmental Protection Agency,
which recently recommended that pregnant and nursing women
increase their fish consumption to eight to 12 ounces of seafood
per week and encouraged young children to eat fish twice a week.
EWG believes the FDA and EPA’s guidelines could lead some people
to consume too much mercury, and others, too few omega-3s.
EWG’s Good Seafood Guide and Calculator aim to fill in the gaps
of the government's flawed advice and to help families determine
how to get the most nutrition from seafood without risking their health.
Click here to check out EWG’s brand-new Seafood Calculator & get
your personalized recommendations for more than 80 species of seafood!
www.ewg.org/research/ewgs-good-seafood-guide?utm_source=201409SeafoodGuideSubA&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=201409SeafoodGuideSubA
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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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