Wal-Mart Deceived Buyers of Organic Eggs, U.S. Lawsuit Says

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and their egg supplier are currently facing a federal lawsuit for misleading consumers by selling organic eggs with packaging that claimed the birds had access to the outdoors. The lawsuit alleges that Cal-Maine Foods Inc., the megastores’ supplier and also the largest egg producer in the country, defined outdoor access as an enclosed structure with screens allowing outdoor air. Wal-Mart has not reviewed the allegations, but according to spokesman Randy Hargrove, “We hold our suppliers to high standards and are committed to providing our customers the quality products they expect.”

Animal Welfare Standards and Consumer Demands

It’s difficult to determine if this lawsuit will go anywhere, especially in light of the USDA’s recent rejection of more humane animal welfare standards. The Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices, intended to allow natural behaviors and reduce stress, was permanently shuttered half a year before it could go into effect. Wal-Mart and Cal-Maine Foods Inc could argue that it has met organic standards as they currently are in an attempt to justify the higher price. The companies would likely win

Where is the consumer in all of this? Demands for verifiably organic, humane, and high-quality products are skyrocketing, making organic foods the largest growing food market. A business like Wal-mart would be crazy not to take advantage of that, but millennials value integrity and the allegations in this lawsuit make it clear that could be an issue for the retail giant. The lawsuit says “Consumers paying more for these eggs have been deceived…The theoretical ability to view the outdoors is not the same as having access to it.”

We Want to Know

As a consumer, how does this make you feel? Do you stop purchasing eggs from Wal-Mart? From Cal-Maine Foods Inc? Is that even possible? Cal-Maine Foods Inc, a company who markets its brands, Egg-Land’s Best, Land O’ Lakes, Farmhouse, and 4-Grain, to a quarter of the population through megastores Wal-Mart and Publix?

How do we eat healthy food in an ethical way within our current food system?

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Honey Bees Attracted to Chemicals That Are Killing Them

Honey bees seem to be attracted to the chemicals that are killing them. based on experiments showing the bees preferred sugar water laced with chemicals known to cause problems for bees over sugar water alone. These findings published in the journal Scientific Reports suggest that herbicides and fungicides pose a greater risk to pollinators than previously assumed.

Scientists found that forager bees were drawn to the fungicide chlorothalonil and the herbicide ingredient glyphosate, found in Monsanto’s Roundup, at certain concentrations.” – Honey bees Love Chemicles That Are Killing Them

The nectar that a bee brings back to the hive will effect on the health of the entire colony. Insecticides have been shown to shorten the lifespans of exposed bees and disrupt organization of the hive. Past research shows that chlorothalonil can inhibit a fungal parasite called Nosema bombi that affects bumblebees. Glyphosate has been shown to potentially affect the ability of bees to navigate.

Recommended: Fungal Infections – How to Eliminate Yeast, Candida, and Mold Infections For Good

The bees are not only not avoiding this fungicide [chlorothalonil], they’re consuming more of it at certain concentrations. People assume that fungicides affect only fungi, but fungi are much more closely related to animals than they are to plants. And toxins that disrupt physiological processes in fungi can also potentially affect them in animals, including insects.” – May Berenbau

The bees in the study were given the choice between a plain sugar syrup and a sweet mixture blended with several fungicides and herbicides at different concentrations. There were also feeders with the sugar water mixed with naturally occurring chemicals.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQkIeN56dt0



Trump’s USDA Ends Animal Welfare Laws for Organic Eggs

The Trump administration announced in late December plans to reject humane-treatment regulations of cage-free chickens that were proposed during the previous administration. This reversal doesn’t come as a huge surprise since the USDA repeatedly delayed the enforcement of those regulations.

In April 2016, the National Organic Program, under Obama’s administration, proposed a new rule called the “Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices” (OLPP) rule. The rule would require basic animal welfare for a food producer to receive the organic label. The OLPP rules state that animals need to have the ability to sit, walk, stretch out, and stand up without having to be in contact with another animal or the walls of the enclosure. The animals require year-round access to the outdoors, which has to include space with nature like plants and soil.

For more on what this means for organic eggs, check out “Why the hell am I paying more for this?” Major egg operation houses “USDA Organic” hens at three per square foot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZRKBtRy4p8

The agribusiness industry is generally opposed to OLPP because the proposed rules would have forced chicken factories to make expensive changes. Not surprisingly, animal welfare groups are furious,

The Obama administration’s rules for animal welfare under the National Organic Program set basic, common sense standards that not only alleviated the most egregious suffering of animals, but also aligned the actual standards in the $30 billion organics industry with consumer expectations of how cows, pigs, and chickens are treated.” – Vandhana Bala, general counsel for Mercy for Animals

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EPA Is Allowing Use of Unapproved Pesticides – New Study

A report released by the Center for Biological Diversity reveals that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows the use of unapproved pesticides in the case of an emergency. The term emergency is defined in the dictionary as an unforeseen combination of circumstances. Looking at the instances of emergency approval from the EPA though, it’s clear the agency does not see it the same way. This loophole allows farmers to use deliberately unapproved or untested pesticides often without a public review or comment process, deliberating bypassing environmental and safety concerns.

It’s disgusting to see the EPA’s broken pesticide program bending over backward to appease the pesticide industry. These exemptions put people and wildlife at tremendous risk because they allow poisons to be applied in ways that would otherwise be illegal.” – Stephanie Parent, a senior attorney in the Center for Biological Diversity’s environmental health program

The report particularly highlights sulfoxaflor, a pesticide that was banned for killing bees while still being approved for 78 emergency approvals over the past six years and affecting more than 17.5 million acres of farmland. This pesticide had actually been approved for spraying on cotton, but that approval was canceled by a judge in 2015. That reversal didn’t stop sulfoxaflor from being sprayed on cotton and bee-favorite sorghum through the emergency approval program. The EPA has yet to examine the effect this program has had on pollinators, though that isn’t anything we didn’t know.

One of the conditions for the approval of an emergency pesticide petition is “loss of pesticide,” wither through insects developing resistance or regulatory agencies canceling the pesticide. This is also known as the EPA doing its job. Yet the agency is more than willing to undermine its previous decisions and credibility. When will we be left with the bill for these shortcuts…or has it already arrived.

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Are You Ready To Pay A Tax For Meat?

Governments are brainstorming for ways to combat the devastating environmental effects of factory farming, and several countries in Europe are calling for a tax on meat. No other industry involves the most pressing environmental and health issues of today, like GMOs, increased greenhouse gases, the destruction of natural habitats, herbicides, pesticides, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, quite like factory farming. Even worse, the meat and the corn and soy that feed them are on the receiving end of a massive amount government subsidies. Our government pays nearly 38 billion dollars a year to hasten the death of our eco-system and ourselves.

Yet meat is still powerfully entrenched in cultures worldwide, and the likelihood of a completely vegan or even vegetarian world is not high. 84% of vegetarians and 70% of vegans return to eating meat at some point in their lives. Our current carnivorous habits are not sustainable. Is a meat tax the way to fix it?

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Progressive Europe

Denmark

The Danish Ethics Council started with a call for a tax on beef. That measure was passed by the council and is now scheduled for government consideration. While beef causes 10 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions, more than chicken and pork, the council has plans to extend the proposed tax to other red meats.

The United Kingdom

Several studies in the United Kingdom have resulted in a national conversation likely to result in meat taxes within the next 10 years. Analysis from Glasglow University and Chatham House, an international thinktank, indicate that public would see government intervention in this issue as a positive. According to Laura Wellesley from Chatham House, lead author of the research,

Governments are ignoring what should be a hugely appealing, win-win policy…The idea that interventions like this are too politically sensitive and too difficult to implement is unjustified. Our focus groups show people expect governments to lead action on issues that are for the global good. Our research indicates any backlash to unpopular policies would likely be short-lived as long as the rationale for action was strong.”

The survey analysis also found that many were surprised to learn of government subsidies for meat production, particularly in the large amounts given by the U.S. government.

Recommended: Start Eating Like That and Start Eating Like This – Your Guide to Homeostasis Through Diet

Germany

Germany already has a tax of 7 percent on animal products. The German federal environment agency has expressed a desire to raise that number to 19 percent, in order to keep with the Paris climate accords. Consumers would be the ones to pay this fine, although the agency has suggested that the estimated 5.2 billion euro tax revenue would lower consumption taxes on other food items.

My Opinion: We Pay to Produce It, Now We Pay to Eat It…?

America is much more attached to its meat products than Europe. The average American eats 200 pounds of meat a year, and for that American to be eating healthy (as it pertains to cancer and heart disease) levels of meat, those 200 pounds need to be reduced by two-thirds. But would Americans be so gung-ho about meat if they knew they’re actually paying an extra 8 dollars in hidden costs (healthcare, subsidies, and environmental degradation) for each Big Mac?

Here’s an idea…rather than tax consumers and charge them twice, slowly pull subsidies away from corporations running businesses contributing to climate change. This likely won’t happen, as the U.S. government cares about businesses, not people. Maybe if businesses weren’t so short-sighted, they would realize that people with more money buy more products.

In our current iteration, a meat tax in the United States is more likely to leave poor people without the funds or the knowledge for proper nutrition. Replacing everything meat with a version of tofurky isn’t sustainable or healthy either. In our school systems, we need real health and real food education that includes gardening.

On the other hand, if the tax happens, and it does promote awareness and reduced meat consumption, we’re not going to be too angry.

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EPA Relies on Industry Studies to Give Glyphosate New Green Light

Glyphosate is tthe most widely used pesticide in the world, and is the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup. On the 18th of December the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a controversial analysis that relies heavily on industry studies to conclude that glyphosate poses no real risks to humans. The EPA  ignored the agency’s own guidelines for assessing cancer risks. The report also contradicts the 2015 World Health Organization analysis showing glyphosate as a probable carcinogen.

Related: Glyphosate Drenched Crops

The only way the EPA could conclude that glyphosate poses no significant risks to human health was to analyze industry studies and ignore its own guidelines when estimating cancer risk. The EPA’s biased assessment falls short of the most basic standards of independent research and fails to give Americans an accurate picture of the risks posed by glyphosate use.” – Nathan Donley, senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity.

Related: Monsanto’s Glyphosate, Fatty Liver Disease Link Proven – Published, Peer-reviewed, Scrutinized Study

A federal advisory panel of independent scientists unanimously found earlier this year that in assessing glyphosate the pesticides office at the EPA failed to follow its own guidelines for determining whether a chemical can cause cancer. In the final draft released today, the EPA stated that the guidelines “… are intended as a guidance only …” and do not necessarily have to be followed.

Related: Dicamba – The Herbicide Monsanto is Promoting to Replace Roundup’s Glyphosate

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GM crops will continue to be banned in Britain after Brexit, says Michael Gove

Michael Gove, Britain’s environment secretary, indicates that food made from genetically modified organisms will continue to be banned in the United Kingdom after Britain leaves the European Union. The US is expected to push for more GM-based foods to be sold in Europe.

The U.S. is putting Britian under intense political pressure drop the ban on GM foods after Brexit. In twenty years European Union scientists have deemed 40 GMO crops safe; but only a GM version of maize is grown, (grown in Spain for animal feed).

Mr Gove was asked by The Telegraph if GM food is more likely to be sold in the UK after Brexit, and if he would eat “chlorine-washed chicken,” which the US wants to export to the UK. He replied: “No and yes,” but then hastily, unsuccessfully, he attempted to cover for his admission, saying “but probably in whichever order you prefer”.

Earlier this month the US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross (Trump appointee) said that food regulations are among several “landmines” that may impede negotiations with the new trade deal. He said complying with EU food standards on GMOs and chlorine-washed chicken is problematic with trade negotiations. Mr Ross said that restrictions imposed by the EU were “really not science-based”.

We’re huge trading partners with each other and our economies are in many ways more similar to each other than either of us is to most of Europe.”

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