Human parasites are unwanted inhabitants of the gastrointestinal system that have the potential to cause serious damage to their host.  These pathogens consume key nutrients from the foods we eat and release waste products that harm the human body.  They also puncture holes in the intestinal membrane which leads to leaky gut syndrome and chronic inflammation.  Use natural herbal remedies to reduce inflammation and restore integrity to your digestive system (1)

Parasites can range from 10 foot long tapeworms to microscopic amoeba.  These organisms can drop their eggs into the gut lining where they can enter the circulation and travel to major organs such as the liver and cause serious harm.

The Power of Anti-Microbial Herbs

Various different forms of herbs have antimicrobial factors that reduce pathogenic bacteria, yeast and parasites.  These herbs can be used to reduce the microbial load and be an important part of reestablishing a healthy microbial balance.  Here are some unique ones that are clinically proven to be effective:

Sweet Wormwood

Also known as Artemisia annua, sweet wormwood is one of the bitterest herbs on the planet and this bitterness works to drive out worms and parasites.

This is also a potent anti-malarial agent and can kill the most deadly malarial parasite, Plasmodium falciparum (2).  It works to break down iron bridges in the pathogenic organism, causing massive oxidative stress and death of the parasite.

Pumpkin Seed

Pumpkin seed extract is a rich source of zinc and B vitamins and helps to reduce parasite formation.  The vermifugal properties have been demonstrated in studies to be extremely effective at reducing gastrointestinal nematode (roundworm) levels (3).

Grapefruit Seed Extract  

Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE) has very high amounts of disease-fighting, free-radical eliminating antioxidants and phytonutrients called bioflavonoids. One of these powerful bioflavonoids (plant antioxidants) include the chemical component hesperidin, a well-known natural immune system stimulator and booster.

A recent study from The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that grapefruit seed extract was effective in killing over “800 bacterial and viral strains, 100 strains of fungus, and a large number of single and multi-celled parasites.” (4) No other naturally occurring anti-microbial can come close to these results.

Wormseed

Wormseed, also called Chenopodium ambrosioides, are seeds that contain a compound called ascaridoles, which is highly toxic to fungus (5).  Wormseed has been shown to reduce skin infecting fungus and fungal spores on food (6, 7).  It has also been shown to be very effective against gastrointestinal worms (8).

Guarana

These seeds contain a strong antimicrobial and anti-oxidant effect against a wide variety of microorganisms (9).  These seeds have a similar nutritional makeup as cacao and are a natural source of caffeine so they are stimulating and speed up metabolism and fat burning properties.

They also contain cardiac stimulants such as theophylline and theobromine and polyphenol anti-oxidants catechin and epicatechin (ECGC also found in cacao and green tea).

Passion Flower  

This herb has been used for centuries to treat anxiety, hypertension, and insomnia.  It has mild sedative qualities that improve mood and relaxation.  This herb contains plant alkaloids, phenols, glycoside flavonoids, and cyanogenic compounds that have been shown to have profound antimicrobial effects against pathogenic microorganisms (10).

Lavender

This popular essential oil has great anti-microbial, anti-fungal, sedative, antidepressant, and carminative effects in the body (11). Research has shown it is effective against antibiotic-resistant staph infections (12).  Other research has shown that it is highly effective against yeast overgrowth (13).

For more information on testing and overcoming parasitic overgrowth see What Type of Parasites do You Have?

Recommended Reading:

• Common Parasites and How to Kill Them
• How to Kill Fungal Infections
• How to Kill Candida and Balance Your Inner Ecosystem
• Inexpensive, Easy Detox – The One Gallon Challenge

Sources:

1. History of Human Parasitology – American Society for Microbiology
2. Artemisinins: their growing importance in medicine – PubMed.gov
3. Anthelmintic efficacy of pumpkin seed (Cucurbita pepo Linnaeus, 1753) on ostrich gastrointestinal nematodes in a semiarid region of Paraíba State, Brazil. – PubMed.gov
4. The effectiveness of processed grapefruit-seed extract as an antibacterial agent: II. Mechanism of action and in vitro toxicity. – PubMed.gov
5. Composition and antifungal activity of the essential oil of the Brazilian Chenopodium ambrosioides L. – PubMed.gov
6. Fungitoxicity of essential oils against dermatophytes. – PubMed.gov
7. In vitro and in vivo antifungal activity of essential oils of Cymbopogon martini and Chenopodium ambrosioides and their synergism against dermatophytes. – PubMed.gov
8. Effects of aqueous extracts of Mentha piperita L. and Chenopodium ambrosioides L. leaves in infective larvae cultures of gastrointestinal nematodes of goats. – PubMed.gov
9. Antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of guarana seed extracts – Science Direct.com
10. Antibacterial properties of Passiflora foetida L. – a
    common exotic medicinal plant. – Academic Journals.org
11. Biological activities of lavender essential oil. – PubMed.gov
12. The antimicrobial activity of high-necrodane and other lavender oils on methicillin-sensitive and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA and MRSA). – PubMed.gov
13. Antifungal activity of Lavandula angustifolia essential oil against Candida albicans yeast and mycelial form – PubMed.gov

One hundred seventy-nine million dogs and cats live in the U.S. That’s more than the number of people who called this place home in 1959. Back in the days of doo-wop, pets roamed free and did their business wherever. Outdoor cats buried their droppings discretely; we never saw it. Nobody cleaned up after dogs.  Our job was to not step in it.

Fast forward to 2015. The U.S. pet population has grown to nearly half the human population, the highest concentration of pets in the world. Urban dogs and cats are no longer free range. We’re now expected to clean up after our pets, a process expedited by biodegradable poop bags, fragrant clay litter, and kitty bum wipes.

Yes, we’ve commodified pet care big time. The American Pet Products Association estimates that we’ll spend $60.59 billion on our pets in 2015. But we do a disservice to our pets – lights of our lives, best friends, playmates and family members – as long as we deny our responsibility as their environmental stewards. Much has been written about our pets’ conspicuous consumption and carbon paw prints. But we overlook what’s in plain sight:  the simple fact that we have no sensible, sustainable infrastructure in place for disposing of pet waste.

There’s no way around it; the rascals generate mounds of poo.  Our 83 million dogs produce 11 million tons of waste each year—enough to fill more than 100 football fields 10 feet deep.  Our 93 million cats download five million tons (500,000 dump trucks full) of poop and litter per year.

Sixty percent of dog waste and most cat waste is bundled in plastic and trashed: streamed to sealed local landfills where it takes generations to degrade while emitting methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.  The plastic wrap is a forever gift to the universe. As for the 40% of dog waste left at ground zero, don’t kid yourself, poo is potent stuff.

For a small bay watershed (up to 20 square miles), two to three days of droppings from a population of 100 dogs contribute enough bacteria, nitrogen, and phosphorus to temporarily close a bay to swimming. Dog poop left along trails or walkways threatens native plants while spoiling urban landscapes. And it’s still your job to not step in it.

Eco-minded pet removal services, dog day cares, shelters, dog park managers, and vets search for alternatives to dumpsters.  No one but trash haulers will take pet waste.  Food scrap and yard waste recycling programs list pet waste on the “no” side of acceptable refuse. Water treatment plants won’t process large offerings of pet poo. Biodigesters and other trash-to-energy operations are scarce in the U.S.

The EPA says “go for it” – go ahead and flush that dog doo down the toilet. Not real convenient or appealing, right?  The feds leave pet waste disposal to the states, which often delegate responsibility to local jurisdictions (“You take it…no, you take it”). Some districts offer residents rebates to purchase pet waste composting systems or sponsor pet waste recycling classes. Most say trashing is the only option, cautioning pet owners to “double bag it.”

Ah – but don’t we have bigger dogs in the race to zero waste?  Aren’t our huge quantities of food scraps and yard waste a bigger priority?  According to the EPA’s “Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: 2013 Fact Sheet,” food accounts for 14.6% of residential waste and has a paltry 2.1% recovery rate.  We have a better handle on recycling yard trimmings, which make up 13.5% of refuse but have a 23.6% recovery rate thanks to longstanding municipal collections and traditional composters.

A 2006 San Francisco analysis found that pet poop comprised nearly 4% of residential waste. This might be a conservative figure since trash from pet business and parks wasn’t part of the tally. Why should we be concerned with 4% of the pie chart when food and yard waste add up to 28%?

For one thing, carnivore waste, like raw human waste, involves serious sanitation and pollution issues. Collecting and recovering organics containing harmful pathogens require due diligence, systematic treatment and testing.  Most organics recycling facilities aren’t technologically or financially equipped to accommodate potentially hazardous source material.

But, when it comes to long-range planning, let’s be practical.  While we’re developing systems to efficiently boost food and yard waste recycling, shouldn’t we be combining pet waste and disposable diaper recovery with these two other source materials? Shouldn’t we be thinking our way around comingled pet waste, plastic bags, and clay litter at the product source?

The average dog poops more per day than the average person.  The average cat produces somewhat less waste but also generates an indeterminate amount of trashed litter. Throw in the tons of plastic we use in a foolhardy attempt to sanitize this absurd process.

Add it up and you find that U.S. pets in 2015 generate roughly the same amount of solid waste as the U.S. human population in 1959. Can you imagine an advanced country in 1959 not providing a practical sanitary disposal system that works for its 178 million people? I have a hard time wrapping my head around that one and hope you do, too.

Pet Poop Facts

Human population in 1959: 177,829,628 – U.S. Census Bureau

Current pet population: 83 million dogs, 96 million cats in the U.S., total 179 million – U.S. Humane Society

Pet population concentrations

Top Ten Countries With Most Pet Dog Population
Top Ten Countries With Most Pet Cat Population

Pet products spending

Pet Industry Market Size & Ownership Statistics

Pet waste quantities

• Average dog produces .75 lbs. of waste per day (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture)
• Average cat produces .3 lbs. of waste per day (no data, based on author verification)
• Dog waste weighs average of 35 lbs. per sq. ft. (no data, based on weight provided by Sam Johnson, owner, Pet Scoop, Denver, Colorado)
• Assumption: cat waste and dog waste have similar weight

Football field math / dogs

• 83M dogs x .75 = 62,250,000 lbs. per day or 22,721,250,000 lbs. per year or 11,360,625  tons per year or  around 11.4 M tons of dog waste per year
• 1 football field = 57,600 sq. ft. (includes end zones)
  dogs produce 22,721,250,000 lbs. waste per year
• 1 cu. ft. of dog waste = 35 lbs.
  22,721,250,000 lbs. divided by 35 lbs. = 649,178,571.429 cu. ft. 649,178,571.429 cu. ft. covers 64,917,857.1429 sq. ft. and is 1 ft. deep 64,917,857.1429 sq. ft. divided by 57,600 sq. ft. = 1,127.04613095  football fields 1 ft. deep or 112.704613095 football fields 10 ft. deep

Dump truck math / cats

• 96M cats X .3 = 28,800,000 lbs. per day or 10,368,000,000 lbs. per year or 5,184,000 tons per year or 5.2M tons of cat waste per year. 5,200,000 tons divided by 500,000 = 10.4 tons, average dump truck capacity

Dog waste water pollution

“For a small bay watershed (up to 20 square miles), 2 to 3 days of droppings from a population of 100 dogs contribute enough bacteria, nitrogen, and phosphorus to temporarily close a bay to swimming and shellfishing.”  Pollution Prevention Management Measure

Human waste quantities

On average humans excrete 128 g (.28 lb.) of fresh feces per person per day – Rose, C.; Parker, A.; Jefferson, B.; Cartmell, E. (2015). “The Characterization of Feces and Urine: A Review of the Literature to Inform Advanced Treatment Technology”. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology 45 (17): 1827–1879.doi:10.1080/10643389.2014.1000761. ISSN 1064-3389.

(.28 lbs. vs. .75 ave. dog)

But that’s an educated guess. Because, as it turns out, there are no definitive figures. In his book Nanomedicine, Dr. Robert A. Freitas Jr. cites three studies in putting his daily figure at 100-200 grams — that is, .22 to .44 pounds a day. A 1992 study in Gastroenterology found an average of 106 grams a day among 220 UK residents, but with the caveat that “data from other populations of the world show average stool weight to vary from 72 to 470 g/day.” The Merck Manual says that Westerners grunt out 100-300 grams a day (.22 – . 66 or .44 lb.). See more

Further reading:

• The Pet Poo Pocket Guide: How to Safely Compost and Recycle Pet Waste, Rose Seemann, New Society Publishers

Lately, there have been claims that radiation from Wi-Fi technology can lead to certain types of cancer and other diseases, especially in children under 5 years of age.

France recently banned Wi-Fi in day care centers to protect the children from exposure to electromagnetic wave radiation and reduce their risk of incurring cancer or other diseases.

Though there is no concrete scientific proof that relates diseases to the use of Wi-Fi technology, a British radiofrequency and electromagnetic fields expert, Dr. Erica Mallery-Blythe, is advocating for relinquishing wireless gadgets.

In 2009, Dr.Mallery-Blythe noticed the increase of certain ailments among people exposed to wireless technology. Some of these issues include insomnia, fatigue, headaches, palpitation, and even neurological disorders, like Alzheimer’s and autism.

One of her strongest cases was a nine-year-old girl who experienced headaches and other neurological symptoms in 2011. Dr. Mallery-Blythe determined the culprit was the wireless technology close to the young student’s classroom seat.

According to the school, the Wi-Fi exposure in their building adheres to internationally accepted standards set by the government. Dr Simon Mann of the Department of Health said that they stand by Public Health England (PHE), that there is no evident reason Wi-Fi shouldn’t be used in schools and other places.

Claims of Harmful Effects

There has been a lot of literature about the harmful effects of wireless technology on the biological system. The powerful Council of Europe committee, which is composed of 47 member states, claimed back in 2011 that devices with wireless capabilities have “potentially harmful” effects on people and should be banned from schools. The Council had been calling for the ban since 2011, even before France did.

Germany has taken steps to persuade people to avoid using wireless technology whenever possible, so has Los Angeles in the USA.  In 2007, a BBC Panorama programme found that the readings next to a classroom laptop showed radiation at double the level only 100 metres from a mobile phone mast.

According to studies, children who are five years old and below absorb up to 60 percent more radiation than adults because they have thinner skulls and their brains still have a high water content. In some Western countries, brain tumours have become a more prevalent health condition among children than leukaemia. Glioma, a brain cancer related to mobile phone usage, has increased fivefold among people age 20 and below since 2008.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer and some parts of the World Health Organization claim that electromagnetic fields can be carcinogenic. The Journal of Microscopy and Ultrastructure further claims that EMF is even more harmful to children and foetuses.

Disputes Against EMF’s Harmful Effects to Humans

There may be a lot of claims from the growing anti-wireless technology groups about how EMF can harm humans, but there are also a lot of disputes over these claims and there are studies that conclude these fears of adverse effects are actually myths.

The Australian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Agency, the Australian government’s agency that looks into radiation, claims that there is no scientific evidence that “low” RF-EMF from WiFi technology has any adverse effects on children and human beings. According to the agency, WiFi radiation in schools is low powered.

EMF expert Dr. Vitas Anderson from Two Fields Consulting reassured people that there is no need to relinquish their wireless gadgets. He claims that France’s ban on Wi-Fi in schools is “over the top.” Anderson said there were two views when it comes to EMF: the government’s view of WHO claiming that EMF exposure below the international limits is safe and the minority view that asserts Wi-Fi is dangerous. And just like climate change, even if there is a consensus of 98 percent that it actually exists, sceptics will still find studies to prove otherwise.

Suggestions

Dr. Mallery-Blythe recommends keeping your mobile device switched off unless it is really needed and to avoid carrying it close to your body. She suggests using Ethernet cable instead of Wi-Fi and disabling the Wi-Fi if possible. The Australian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Agency suggests the same protocol if you are skeptic about Wi-Fi safety.

Recommended Reading:

• Earthing – Ground Your Body for Optimal Health
• Children, Cell Phones & Health
• Understand Hypothyroidism – Prevention and Natural Remedies

Sources:

• Is Wi-Fi making your child ill? – telegraph.co.uk

The Grocery Manufacturers Association is one of the largest organizations representing the food industry. As of 2013, they had over 300 member businesses in food and beverage production as well as biotech and seed companies.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association is one of the leading opponents of GMO labeling. They have poured millions of dollars into defeating bills to label GMOs introduced in various states and are big supporters of the DARK Act, a bill made to make labeling GMOs illegal at the federal level. In the 2012 ballot initiative in California (Proposition 37) and 2013 ballot initiative in Washington (Proposition 522), the Grocery Manufacturers Association and its members donated over 54 million dollars, just to fight labeling.

This organization spends millions of dollars a year lobbying at the federal and state level, primarily to fight GMO labeling. In 2014, they poured money into fighting the GMO labeling initiatives in Colorado (Proposition 92) and Oregon (Proposition 105). The GMA spent big dollars convincing the public that labeling GMOs will increase overall food prices. Unfortunately, their efforts have been successful, though by a narrow margin. Of the 68 companies and organizations listed that funded opposition to these four propositions, only seven were not members of the Grocery Manufacturers Association as of 2013. These 7 organizations are identified.

Full List of Right To Know Opponents

**GMA member donations included in list

In 2013, the Grocery Manufacturers Association took down the publicly available list of members from their website. The 2013 membership directory is archived online and available here.

The Food and Water Watch, a consumer advocacy group, listed the 2012 Board of Directors of the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the amount of money each group contributed. These companies are some of the biggest opponents of GMO labeling. Additionally, these companies are supporting the GMA’s lawsuit against the State of Vermont. In a democratic process the people of Vermont have spoken, and they want GMOs labeled, the GMA is suing to subvert the results of this democratic process. These companies spend big dollars blocking your right to know, not just through the GMA but by direct campaign donations as well.

In these matters, money talks. However, there was a good reason that the Grocery Manufacturers Association no longer publicizes their list of members; it is becoming increasingly expensive to ignore the will of the people. The companies are obviously worried about damage to their image from blocking your right to know what is in your food. If we don’t vote with our dollars, organizations like Monsanto, the GMA, Pepsi, and other companies will vote with our dollars for us, and not with any regard to our wishes.

Recommended Reading:

• Understanding and Detoxifying Genetically Modified Foods
• Scientists Against GMOs – Hear From Those Who Have Done The Research
• Doctors Against Vaccines – Hear From Those Who Have Done The Research
• Celebrities Against Circumcision

Sources:

• Industry Profile: Grocery Manufacturers Association – Food & Water Watch
• Who are the companies fighting our right to know? – Just Label It!
• GMO Labeling Initiative By State – Just Label It!
• Grocery Manufacturers Association – Source Watch
• Grocery Manufacturers Association – Key Facts – U.S. Right to Know
• GMA Members – Internet Archive

http://documents.foodandwaterwatch.org/doc/GMA_Profile1.pdf#_ga=1.199922478.1015463669.1441382848

Coconut oil has been used since ancient times for its remarkable effects on skin and hair. It is rich in carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, which is the reason coconut oil is used as a major ingredient in many cosmetic soaps and creams and even used in preparation of many dishes and salads in Asian countries.

Coconut oil is a natural and safe alternative to chemical-laden products.

Natural Homemade Hair Conditioner

Coconut oil is the best alternative to your chemical based conditioner. It will make your hair soft and shinier.

Ingredients

• 1 – 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
• 2 – 4 drops of essential oils (rosemary, sage, peppermint, vanilla, geranium, lavender, eucalyptus or grapefruit)
• Something to cover your hair

Instructions

• Heat a small amount of coconut oil until it liquefies and then add essential oils and mix the two.
• Apply the oil directly onto your scalp and gently massage.
• Comb the hair to make sure the oil is evenly distributed throughout the hair. Cover your hair for some time with a shower cap.

Chemical Free Face Moisturizer Recipe

Coconut oil has moisture-retention property and that’s why it can work as a natural moisturizer. Moreover, applying it will also keep your skin soft and smooth and well-hydrated.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
• 1 – 2 tablespoons of shea butter
• 1 teaspoon of vitamin E oil
• 2 – 4 drops of essential oils

Instructions

• Heat coconut oil.
• Add shea butter
• Add vitamin E oil and essential oil
• Mix

You can apply this mixture to your skin to enjoy the benefits of coconut oil.

Coconut Oil Lip Balm Recipe

Although applying unrefined coconut oil to your lips is good enough to keep the moisturized, the following is a simple way to make a lip balm using coconut oil.

Ingredients

• 1 – 2 teaspoons of coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon of beeswax
• 1 – 2 drops of essential oils

Instructions

• Warm your coconut oil till it turns liquid and then add beeswax to it. Allow the beeswax to melt and then add few drops of your favorite essential oil.
• You can store this on-the-go lip balm in small containers and carry them wherever you go.

Homemade Toothpaste with Coconut Oil

Coconut oil’s anti-microbial property makes it efficient enough to buzz off the bacteria and germs in your teeth.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of coconut oil
• 4 – 6 tablespoons of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of powdered stevia
• 15 – 20 drops of essential oils

Instructions

• Heat the coconut oil to make it soft but don’t allow it to turn into liquid.
• Now add baking soda, essential oil, and stevia.
• Mash all the ingredients together and then whip it till it turns light and creamy.
• You can store this mixture in a jar and use it as your daily toothpaste.

Coconut Oil Salt Scrub Recipe

For keeping skin soft and smooth, nothing quite compares to a warm bath and this coconut oil salt scrub!

Ingredients

• 1 cup of coconut oil
• 1/2 cup of Epsom salt
• 1/2 cup of dead sea salt
• 15 – 20 drops of essential oils

Instructions

• Heat the coconut oil till becomes liquid and the add salts and essential oils to it.
• Mix well all the ingredients and then store it in a glass jar.
• You can use this once a week and then soak yourself into warm water to make sure the body gets nourishment due to these ingredients.

Recommended Reading:

• 35 Things You Could Do With Coconut Oil – From Body Care to Health to Household
• Heal Cavities, Gum Disease, Naturally with Organic Oral Care
• Things You Should Know About Garlic – DIY, Recipes, Other Tips

Living a healthy lifestyle is all about making the healthiest choices. But what if the best choice (or the information needed to make the best choice) wasn’t available to you because the people tasked with looking out for you and your interests don’t have the same high standards and the corporations don’t deliver the same high-quality products in the United States as they do in Europe?

Whether it’s an American corporation introducing organic products in Europe but not in the U.S., the fact that we are denied the opportunity to know what’s in our food or where it came from, or the disproportionate amount of refined sugar and chemicals in our everyday products, it’s disheartening to realize that companies are more than happy to take advantage of corporate friendly, health-indifferent attitudes in the United States. For every company claiming that a safer, healthier way of producing food isn’t “cost-effective,” it is interesting to see what they’re doing in other countries. It’s becoming increasingly clear that cost is not the only reason they’re giving consumers in the U.S. less than their best.

Organic Fast Food is Finally an Option – But Not For Everyone

Let’s look at McDonald’s, one of the largest fast food chains and a worldwide symbol of the United States. They’ve been experiencing a decline in sales numbers as consumers make better lifestyle choices and become more health-conscious. The United States is now the largest organic market in the world, and McDonald’s corporate attempt to grab a piece of that pie is their new pledge to use only cage-free eggs by 2025. They’re also introducing a hamburger made entirely of organic meat.

McDonald’s promised the European Union they would only use cage-free eggs by 2011. Now they make the same promise to U.S. citizens with a 10-year target date? And yes, they will be offering an organic burger – but only in Germany, the second-largest organic market.

McDonald’s also sells organic milk at their U.K. locations. Many consumers in the United States are not aware that McDonald’s can and does make more animal welfare friendly and environmentally sustainable choices in other countries even though we are the largest organic market in the world.

Three Little Letters

Countless activists in the United States are fighting for the right to mandate labeling genetically modified foods. Opponents claim labeling all of these products will raise the cost of food, a cost they will be forced to pass on to the consumer. But this argument ignores the fact that the European Union, Japan, Brazil, Australia, and China are among the 64 countries that currently require GMO labeling. If so many countries already require labeling, why not simply extend that consideration to the United States? Obviously, corporations are aware of the rising numbers of health-conscious Americans that will choose a more environmentally conscious and healthy option.

A Little Something Extra

When looking at the way food corporations treat consumers in the United States, it’s also interesting to note the unhealthy things they add to our food. The FDA seems content to let corporations treat us like guinea pigs, sitting back and claiming there is a lack of concrete evidence to remove ingredients until something forces their hand.

For example, the majority of pigs in the United States are still raised using the muscle drug ractopomine, which is banned in the European Union, China, and Russia. The U.S. has been claiming there is no evidence for this ban in science, while China, the largest consumer of pork worldwide, sees it as a threat to food safety. It seems odd that the pork companies in the U.S. argue that there is no science supporting concern when other nations have clearly found evidence to the contrary.

This isn’t the only time products in the United States have added a little something extra that can compromise our health. Companies in the U.S. can sell “bromated bread” which contains potassium bromate. Since the 1980s, that additive has been considered carcinogenic, but the FDA only asks that it be eliminated on a voluntary basis. Unfortunately, this is not the only potentially dangerous food additive that the FDA is unwilling to take a stand on, leaving U.S. consumers at the whims of companies trying to make the most profit possible.

Consumer Action

You’re a consumer in the United States who has done the research, and you’ve decided that you want to lead a healthier, more sustainable, eco-friendly life. It’s hard enough to change old habits and learn to appreciate healthy choices without having to sift through misinformation. As you become more informed and discover the extent to which you need to protect your own health, you may become furious with the American food system. You’d have every right to be. More and more companies show they are willing to accommodate stricter international standards while taking full advantage of lax regulations in the United States.

Let’s face it, corporations run America. Despite the fact that 90% of Americans want GMOs labeled, The DARK Act has passed Congress. Our crops and our soil are poisoned with glyphosate. And it’s not just our food industry that is corrupt. Our personal care products are filled with ingredients that are banned overseas. Our water is contaminated with fluoride. Until we face the fact that our government officials are bought and owned by corporate interests, and we make real change in the electoral process and how we protect consumers, we will have to provide our own due diligence to protect our health.

Recommended Reading:

• Understanding and Detoxifying Genetically Modified Foods
• Scientists Against GMOs – Hear From Those Who Have Done The Research
• Doctors Against Vaccines – Hear From Those Who Have Done The Research
• Celebrities Against Circumcision

Sources:

• McDonald’s Just Unveiled Its First Organic Burger – Grub Street
• Chef Jamie Oliver Praises McDonald’s in England – Politifact
• A Possible Carcinogen Is Still Lurking in America’s Bread – Take Part
• US Is Missing Out On China’s Pork Boom Because Its Pigs On Muscle Drugs – Bloomberg Business

Monsanto has spent a lot of money trying to fight state labeling laws. Despite millions of dollars and deceitful ad campaigns, they haven’t been entirely successful. Laws mandating GMO labeling came close to passing in Oregon, California, and Washington. Vermont successfully passed a GMO labeling law, and initiatives to label genetically modified foods are being introduced all over the country.

Monsanto needed a federal solution to their problem, a federal law that could overturn the people’s will in Vermont and in other states. Unfortunately, Congress agreed. The bill is titled the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015. It is better known by its critics as the DARK Act (which stands for Denying Americans the Right to Know). Despite vocal opposition from the public, independent scientists, and celebrities, the bill has passed the House and it is currently in the Senate’s agriculture committee. This bill, and California’s failed attempt to pass a GMO labeling law, motivated public responses from world-class celebrities. Refusing to passively accept corporate rule, many stars have become outspoken and have begun to use their fame in order to make it clear that they want to know what is in their food. Neil Young tells us in song.

Neil Young

If you don’t like to rock Starbucks A coffee shop
Well you better change your station ’cause that ain’t all that we got
Yeah, I want a cup of coffee but I don’t want a GMO
I like to start my day off without helping Monsanto

… From the fields of Nebraska to the banks of the Ohio
The farmers won’t be free to grow what they want to grow
When corporate control takes over the American farm
With fascist politicians and chemical giants walking arm in arm

… When the people of Vermont wanted to label food with GMOs
So that they could find out what was in what the farmer grows
Monsanto and Starbucks through the Grocery Manufacturers Alliance
They sued the state of Vermont to overturn the people’s will

Chuck Norris

In 2007 alone, the agricultural sector applied between 180 million and 185 million pounds of glyphosate to crops in this country. The home and garden sector applied 5 million to 8 million pounds, and industry, commerce, and government applied 13 million to 15 million pounds of glyphosate. It was the most widely used herbicide in U.S. agriculture and second-most widely used herbicide in the home and garden sector.

The reason it should be on our radar now is that glyphosate is under a standard registration review by the Environmental Protection Agency. The agency is determining whether glyphosate use should continue as is or be limited or even halted.

For years, various interest groups, as well as researchers and scientists from several countries, have complained that heavy use of glyphosate is causing problems for plants and animals, including humans. Studies have been conducted, and findings have been made.

…What do I believe when I read that even the EPA’s technical fact sheet on glyphosate states, for example, that chronic long-term exposure can cause kidney damage and reproductive effects?

And when an MIT study argues that glyphosate’s “negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body”?

Do I read this as it sounds – that maybe what is being called insignificant or low-risk in the short term could escalate into having a significant impact on health over the years? Is it something that could shorten a person’s life?

Jennifer Garner

My friend Gisele [Bundchen] and I are fed up with being kept in the dark about GMO and non-GMO labeling, I got involved because she said, “Do you know what’s happening?” She’s a firecracker. She said, “You have to educate yourself.”

It’s easy for me to shop at places where foods are labeled. Only 3% of the food we produce is non-GMO. But if that 3% is available to you, you kind of take that for granted, but the rest of the country is being fed food—certainly all of the animals that are being turned into our meat, they’re all being fed food that’s been genetically modified.

I cook for my kids, and we have a garden. We try to grow whatever we can, although I can’t say we have the hugest crop in the world, but I do try to pay close attention, and I do my best.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Next week I am going to DC to speak with members of the Senate about voting against a law that would let genetically modified organisms into our food supply without any labels! Monsanto and other big food do not want any GMO labeling. 89% of Americans do. And this law, which passed in the house last week, would overturn the states who have passed labeling laws. The evidence suggests that GMO’s are an environmental disaster, both in the long term and in the short. But I am not asking you to weigh in on whether they are good or bad. We just want a label! We have a right to know what is in our food like the 64 other countries who label or don’t allow GMO’s at all.

… Much the way I want to know if my food is farm-raised or wild or if my orange juice is fresh or from concentrate, I also believe I have the right, and we as Americans all have the right, to know what’s in our food. I’m not here as an expert. I’m here as a mother, an American mother, that honestly believes I have the right to know what’s in the food I feed my family.”

Roseanne Barr

The big island of Hawaii made GMOs illegal. We banned them. We worked so hard…Monsatan I call them. We banned their ass from the big island… It was signed into law.

Dave Matthews

Why would you want to know what’s in your food?

…. Here in America you don’t get the right to know if you’re eating genetically modified organisms.

… If there’s nothing wrong with GMOs, why not put it on the label?…MADE WITH GMOS!!

Tom Colicchio

It’s not surprising that as a chef, I want to know what I am feeding my customers. It’s also not surprising that as a father, I want to know what I am feeding my family. What is surprising is that some in Congress are working so hard to keep consumers like me in the dark as to what’s in the food we eat.

More and more consumers are taking an interest in the ingredients in the products they buy from the grocery store, including whether or not the food contains genetically modified organisms. However, in most cases, there is no way to determine whether or not what you buy at the grocery store contains GMOs. Even when packaging reads “All Natural,” it’s no guarantee that the product has not been genetically modified.

Who’s afraid of transparency? Who’s afraid of disclosure? People who have something to hide.

In a recent national survey, more than 90% of Americans favor GMO labeling. We should all be cheered by the fact that consumers want to be more knowledgeable about the foods they eat. That’s why it’s so disturbing that instead of making it easier for consumers to understand what’s in the food they are buying, there are some in Congress who are actively trying to deny us the basic right to know what we are putting in our bodies.

… I just want to know, I want to know what’s in my food. I really want to know what I’m feeding my family.

Eric Ripert

You don’t have to be a chef to know what is in your food.

Sara Gilbert

All we’re asking is to know what we’re eating and what our kids are eating.

Bill Maher

China labels GMOs – they put lead in baby food. We can’t have that in America, you know why? In America, corporations run the show. Even though nine out of ten Americans would at least like foods to be labeled. At least we know they are Frankenfoods. But it would hurt sales, so shut up and eat your mutant chili.

…Throughout the course of food labeling history, giant processed food companies have claimed that giving consumers basic information about their food would raise the cost of food and guess what? It never has. But that hasn’t stopped the chemical and junk food companies from using this faulty argument to mislead Californians into believing that a label to tell them if their food has been genetically engineered will raise the cost to their food. Enough with the scare tactics already don’t buy their BS.

Michael J Fox

I have a right to know what’s in my food, and you do, too.

… Until we know more about these newly invented foods, just label it.

Jack Johnson

I definitely think people have the right to know what’s in their food. I just shot a public service announcement for the Just Label It campaign, and I’m definitely behind Prop 37 [California’s attempt to pass a labeling law] and the idea that we are what we eat, so we should know what we’re eating. We all have the right to know what’s in our food. When you look at the fact that the European Union has completely banned GMOs, I think we have the right to at least know if we’re eating GMOs.

Julie Bowen

Every modern family has the right to know… What is in their food!!!! And I have the right to know what’s in my food! Don’t you want to know?!

James Franco

Large processed food companies have always claimed that giving consumers basic information about their food, using labels, would increase their grocery costs. And every time it’s been a lie.

Now those same companies are at it again, making more outlandish claims that your grocery bill will skyrocket under Proposition 37, which requires labels for GMOs, well it’s not true, and we’re fighting back with the truth.

… Isn’t labeling genetically modified foods just a fair idea?

Jim Carrey

I’m here to plant a seed today, a seed that will inspire you to go forward in your life with enthusiastic hearts and a clear sense of wholeness. The question is, will that seed have a chance to take root or will I be sued by Monsanto?

Ann Heche

We deserve to know what is on our food. The fact is, we are not being told the truth and there are no laws that demand it.

Rob Schneider

CALL YOUR SENATOR! TELL THEM TO VOTE NO ON THE DARK ACT 1599!! DEMAND THE RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT’S IN YOUR CHILD’S FOOD!

More Celebrities Who Have Spoken Out Against GMOs and Monsanto

• Alexandra Paul
• Ali Larter
• Alicia Silverstone
• Amy Smart
• Barbara Streisand
• Bianca Jagger
• Bill Maher
• Blue Sky Drive (Band)
• Chevy Chase
• Caley Chase
• Carter Oosterhouse
• Danny DeVito
• Darryl Hannah
• Dave Matthews
• Elijah Wood
• Emily Deschanel
• Emily VanCamp
• Exene Cervenka
• Frances Fisher
• Frank Delgado
• Gabriel Mann
• Glenn Howerton
• Ian Somerhalder
• James Taylor
• Jayni Chase
• Jillian Michaels
• John Cho
• Jordana Brewster
• Josh Bowmen
• Julie Bowen
• KaDee Strickland
• Kaitlin Olson
• Kimberly Elise
• Kimberly Van Der Beek
• Kristin Bauer van Straten
• Leah Segedie
• Mariel Hemingway
• Maroon 5 (Band)
• Mehcad Brooks
• Nell Newman, founder, Newman’s Own Organics
• Nick Wechsler
• Rashida Jones
• Roseanne Barr
• Russell Simmons
• Sarah Michelle Gellar
• Suzanne Somers
• Wilder Valderrama
• Ziggy Marley

None of these celebrities are presenting themselves as scientists. So far, scientific objections to genetic engineering (which are many, and well founded) have been completely ignored. Instead of raising scientific objections to genetic engineering, these celebrities are objecting to being denied the right to know what is in our food. At the heart of the matter is freedom, the freedom to choose what goes into our bodies. They want to know what is in their food. Don’t you want to know as well?

Recommended Reading:

• Understanding and Detoxifying Genetically Modified Foods
• Scientists Against GMOs – Hear From Those Who Have Done The Research
• Doctors Against Vaccines – Hear From Those Who Have Done The Research
• Celebrities Against Circumcision

Sources:

• “A Rock Star Bucks a Coffee Shop” – Neil Young
• Do GMOs Accumulate Formaldehyde and Disrupt Molecular Systems Equilibria? Systems Biology May Provide Answers – Scientific Research An Academic Publisher
• Chuck Norris Raises Red Flag Over Monsanto – World Net Daily
• ‘Top Chef’ judge Colicchio on GMOs, and his food activism – MSNBC
• Americans have a right to know when GMOs are in their food: Why the DARK Act is such a huge threat – NY Daily News
• Sara Gilbert: Moms have power, make it count – She Knows
• Bill Maher on the Truth Behind Prop 37 – Food & Water Watch
• Jennifer Garner Grows Her Own Food – E Online
• Jim Carrey takes swipe at Monsanto during commencement speech – St. Louis Business Journal
• Gwyneth Paltrow on GMOs: ‘They could possibly be harmful’ – Nicholas Ballasy
• Gwyneth Paltrow and Neil Young vs. Monsanto – We Are Anonymous
• Celebrities Who Endorse Prop 37 – GMO Labeling
• Conceal or Reveal – Just Label It
• Celebrities Unite Against GMO Foods – Documentary Archive
• Right to Know – Vote Yes on Prop 37 – Food & Water Watch
• Celebrities Against GMOs – Free Your Mind TV
• These celebs want GMOs labeled – Grist