Toxic Sludge is Good for You!

I read at Smartplanet here :

Radioactive waste near New Mexico water supply not a health risk, officials say
http://www.smartplanet.com/business/blog/smart-takes/officials-say-radioactive-waste-near-new-mexico-water-supply-not-a-health-risk/1875/

"Radioactive waste is seeping from mountain burial sites in the canyons of northern New Mexico and moving toward the area’s springs and streams, but officials insist it’s not a health risk."

Heh, that reminds me of a great book that I read more than once and which I keep handy in my bookshelf, whose title inspires this post...


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1567510604?ie=UTF8&tag=mnmsprst-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1567510604

FC

The BBC gives Monsanto a little helping hand?

Eco-farmer Jimmy in the streets of London

Most -if not all- of the BBC documentaries and investigative news reports I´ve seen are technically impressive. The guys do know their job, and they hire the best. From a content standpoint they are often progressive: from the war in Iraq, to the situation in Palestine, to Global Warming.

So I was a bit disappointed when I watched the Beeb´s program titled "Jimmy´s GM food fight" part of the otherwise great "BBC Horizon" series which I recommend wholeheartedly (For instance the one titled "The Ghost in your Genes" is great).

Jimmy gives the girls a taste of his sausage...
cooked with regular soybean oil and GM soybean oil

He mentions that one saves the environment, while
the other can give the world+dog enough to eat.
...It really goes downhill from there...

To put it in a few words, the program host starts with a supposed skeptical look at genetically modified crops, but soon (at around minute 12:00) the balance starts titlting towards the pro-GM side. I was actually dismayed when he started saying "we've been tinkering with plants for years" equalling genetic selection with genetic MODIFICATION. And more importantly, ignoring the chemicals that come with it, namely Monsanto´s RoundUp (Glyphosate and add-ons).

In short: overlooked was the chemical industry's big business with pesticides and herbicides. The dangers of Glyphosate are only recently being known. While Glyphosate itself might have low toxicity, the compound as delivered and sprayed over crops contains various toxic chemicals IN ADDITION TO glyphosate itself.

So "RoundUp" contains more than just glyphosate. Plus, "enhancers" are sold and mixed to RoundUp, to make it permeate the plant deeper, and be "more effective"..

A court down here in Argentina has recently banned crop dusters from spraying glyphosate near rural towns, where it affected the health of the local population.

http://bit.ly/glyphosateban-spanish

English version:

Court in Argentina bans crop dusters spraying Monsanto´s Glyphosate over soybean fields near urban areas. - AYN
http://bit.ly/glyphosatebaninargentina-english

More from the wikipedia:

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Scientific fraud

On two occasions the United States Environmental Protection Agency has caught scientists deliberately falsifying test results at research laboratories hired by Monsanto to study glyphosate
--
False advertising

In 1996 Monsanto was accused of false and misleading advertising of glyphosate products, prompting a law suit by the New York State attorney general.[13] Environmental and consumer rights campaigners brought a case in France in 2001 for presenting Roundup as biodegradable and claiming that it left the soil clean after use; glyphosate, Roundup's main ingredient, is classed by the European Union as "dangerous for the environment" and "toxic for aquatic organisms". In January 2007, Monsanto was convicted of false advertising
--------
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundup

So as you can see things aren´t as simple as "toying with plants"... and GM crops aren´t as harmless as depicted in this BBC programme, because they aren´t just modified seends, they come with the added chemicals sprayed on them.

Here, an Austrialian study which confirmed Glyphosate´s toxicity to frogs,
http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/frog-overview.html

Fortunately, an eco-friendly farming UK blog has noticed this little bias in Jimmy´s programme, and is asking people to file a complaint with the BBC.

Let´s hope Europe does not repeat our mistake, and that we can eventually get rid of GMs too.

FC
PS: He came down here and the first part of the programme shows neat images of Argentina's vast GM soybean fields, even from the air.

Too much smog? Blame Big Oil and car manufacturers

The film details the California Air Resources Board's reversal of the "Zero Emissions" mandate after suits from automobile manufacturers, the oil industry, and the George W. Bush administration. It points out that Bush's chief influences, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, and Andrew Card, are all former executives and board members of oil and auto companies.

Well worth the viewing time.

Available for $9.99 with free ground shipping on DVD at Amazon.com, HERE.

FC
PS: I couldn't help noticing how the name of California's air-quality regulatory agency was changed over the years... yea, like the original "Motor Vehicle POLLUTION CONTROL" was too harsh on car manufacturers. Let's name it something more ambiguous... let's see... mmm... yea... "Air Resources Board" sounds meaningless enough, and no mention of "Pollution" next to "motor vehicles"! ;-)

Agency overview
Formed	1967
Preceding Agencies	Bureau of Air Sanitation Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board
Headquarters	1001 I Street Sacramento, California
Annual Budget	$759 million
Agency Executive	Mary D. Nichols, Chairman
Parent agency	California Environmental Protection Agency

Natural alternative to Aspartame might come from Argentina

Two years ago, I read this interesting comment about an unknown plant dubbed Stevia. I saved the post.

I was surprised this week to read that Coca Cola is going to use it as natural sweetener to replace controversial/unhealthy artificial sweeteners like Aspartame.

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2005:
" Why not a STEVIA coke.. its about time these large companies got on the back of the FDA and got stevia legalised... its a sham that i dont have the choice to have that natural sweetner in products i like. Call your congressperson!"

http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2005/06/14/coke_zero_confused_anyone.php

May 31, 2007:

Coke teams up with Cargill to launch new sweetener
"Giants of food and drinks aim to develop their own natural rival to NutraSweet and sucralose, to meet health demand"

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consumer_goods/article1864667.ece

"It has spent the past three years developing Stevia plantations in China, Paraguay and Argentina."

For those who can read Spanish, more info about Coke/Cargill's moves in .AR, here:
http://www.clarin.com/diario/2007/06/01/elpais/p-02202.htm

My translation of a key paragraph:

"Originating in Paraguay and Northern Argentina, Stevia is produced in the country in industrial scale only by the Tobbaco Cooperative in the province of Misiones, which in 2004 used 100 has of land for the plant, and plans to produce about 500 tons. This co-operative associated with a laboratory from Mar del Plata for Stevia post-processing".
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So... I would start investigating this Stevia plant if I had a piece of productive land. Since I don't... I'll leave this exercise for young entrepreneurs like Mike... :). Who knows, maybe this natural sweetener without the health problems of Sugar or Aspartame could be even used in Cookies!. ;-)

Good for people like me with bloody chronic liver disease... my doc told me to avoid artificial sweeteners whenever possible, and it's harder to do every day as the profit-hungry companies are starting to add it to more products every passing day, from cookies to 'flavoured water' to gelatin (even the non-Diet ones, damn you, Royal!).

PS: This is the closest to an admission about the dangers of artificial sweeteners (if those were safe, why would they need to change to something "healthy"?.

If you think that artificial sweeteners like Aspartame are 100% safe over long term use... you are not aware of all the material casting doubt on artificial sweeteners.

CNN follows my lead wrt under-water life (OK, I wish ;-)

Ocean living: From Hydropolis to Trilobis - Feb. 1, 2007
http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/19/magazines/business2/ocean_real_estate.biz2/?postversion=2007020210

"With land getting so crowded, the age-old fantasy of sea-based living is becoming reality.
Business 2.0 dives in."

Despite the hype, who said it first? me! ;)

As the underwater age approaches, a waterproof digicam is a must
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=37325
Jan 31, 2007