Did Trump Just Ruin Mandatory Vaccine Laws?

President Donald Trump has been ignoring his campaign promises regarding vaccine safety. He proposed creating a vaccine safety committee to be led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but it didn’t happen. There is good news for anti-vaxxers, however. President Trump has created a division within the Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights called the “Conscience and Religious Freedom Division.”

Related: We Consume Livestock Vaccines When We Ingest Meat

Law protecting religious freedom and conscience rights are just empty words on paper if they aren’t enforced. No one should be forced to choose between helping sick people and living by one’s deepest moral or religious convictions, and the new division will help guarantee that victims of unlawful discrimination find justice. For too long, governments big and small have treated conscience claims with hostility instead of protection, but change is coming and it begins here and now.” – Press release

This new division is said to allow doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers to be able to “decline to participate in care that goes against their religious beliefs.” Vaxxter.com reported on the story and is hopeful that the new division could allow anyone a formal means to register complaints of infractions on basic religious freedoms and receive protection. This protection could conceivably benefit those who may be forced to vaccinate lest they are removed from school or lose their job.

Related: How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children

Will this protection lend itself to those who are mandatorily forced to take vaccines or be removed from a public school or lose their job? It seems that President Trump has created a form for those who want to report totalitarian abuses by the system.” – Vaxxter.com

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy was helped make this new division a reality,

In the past this office sent the message, now is not the time for freedom, it is time for you to conform. What a difference one year makes.”

Must Read:

Trump’s Vaccine Stance In 2014



Vermont Just Legalized Recreational Marijuana Use

On Monday (1/22) Vermont became the ninth U.S. state to legalize recreational marijuana use on Monday. Republican Governor Phil Scott signed a bill passed by the legislature earlier this month,

Today, with mixed emotions, I have signed H. 511.”

The law legalizes marijuana possession of up to 1 ounce, two mature plants, and up to four immature plants. No one under 21 may possess marijuana and the new law does not trade in the drug. Governor Scott noted that he vetoed the earlier version of the bill that would have allowed sales of the marijuana.

Eight other states have legalized marijuana use as a result of voter initiatives. What makes this law unique is that the law was passed through legislation and not by ballot initiative. Vermont is one of 23 states in the nation that don’t allow ballot initiatives.

As progressive as Vermont is, the state’s new law is one of the most restrictive in the nation. People may possess a limited amount, but are not allowed to buy or sell. The law does not set up any sort of regulation for commercial farming or for sales.

The Law Needs Work

The law contains some tricky use of the word “or” that confuses the issue.

Also: In some places the law says an adult may possess two mature plants or four immature plants. In other places the law says an adult may possess two mature and four immature plants.

Also also: The law mentions “hashish” but makes no mention of edibles, topicals, concentrates like shatter or wax (is “hashish” a catchall?), vape oil, tinctures, or any other common cannabis products. The use of “hashish” makes it seem like the legislators who wrote the law time-traveled to the 1970s to learn about cannabis.” – Leafly

Leafly went through the final language of the bill and come up with the handy guide.

What to Know Before You Go…and Consume

The new law:

  • Removes all criminal and civil penalties for possession of one ounce or less of marijuana, or more than five grams of hashish, for persons 21 years of age or older. As the law is written, it’s unclear whether this is an either/or situation—in other words, whether you can possess both an ounce of flower and five grams of hash, or whether you’re limited to an ounce or five grams and cannot possess both.
  • Does not allow for the commercial cultivation and/or sale of cannabis to persons 21 years of age or older. Vermont’s law is strictly a homegrow, personal-use law as it stands now. The law does, however, mandate that the state make plans to adopt a “comprehensive regulatory structure for legalizing and licensing the marijuana market.” The Governor’s Marijuana Advisory Commission has been directed to report on such a system by Dec. 15, 2018.
  • Legalizes the possession of paraphernalia for cannabis use for persons 21 years of age or older.
  • Legalizes the cultivation of two mature cannabis plants or four immature plants, for anyone 21 years of age or older. “Immature” means a female plant that has not flowered and does not have visible buds. Those plants must be in an enclosure screened from public view and secure so that access is limited to the cultivator. The cultivation limit applies to each dwelling, regardless of how many residents 21 or older reside in the dwelling. So: One house, two mature plants, period. The law is clear that these plants may be possessed in addition to the one ounce of cannabis flower. The law is not clear about whether a person may possess two mature plants and four immature plants—again with the “or” problem in the law’s language. In some of the law’s sections, two mature or four immature plants may be possessed. In other sections, two mature andfour immature plants may be possessed. Read the rest here.
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New York City is Suing BP, Chevron, Exxon, Shell Over Climate Change

Earlier this month Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that New York City is filing suit against all five major oil companies for damages related to climate change.

We’re bringing the fight against climate change straight to the fossil fuel companies. As climate change continues to worsen, it’s up to the fossil fuel companies whose greed put us in this position to shoulder the cost of making New York safer and more resilient.” – Bill de Blasio

https://www.facebook.com/greenlifestylemarket/posts/1046985085452535

Climate Central’s report on sea level rise ranks New York as America’s most vulnerable major city for major coastal flooding and sea-level rise, putting 245,000 Big Apple residents at risk. Another study predicts that by 2030, storms as intense as Hurricane Sandy — which cost more than 40 lives and caused $19 billion in damages — are likely to hit every five years.

Given the fact that by 2100 or sooner, many areas of our five boroughs where a lot of low-income residents live will experience chronic flooding, it’s really critically important that we step up and put our money where our mouths are.” – James Calma

New York will also divest $5 billion in fossil fuel investments from its pension funds. The city’s Public Advocate, Letitia James, has been pushing for this for months.



170 Million in U.S. Drink Radioactive Tap Water – Trump Nominee Faked Data to Hide Cancer Risk

Millians of Americans drink tap water with radioactive elements at levels that may increase the risk of cancer, according to as systems nationwide analysis of by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

The study says 171 million Americans deal with this level of contamination in their tap water, which is more than 50% of the population in the U.S.

Radiation in tap water is known to be a serious health threat, especially with pregnancies. The Environmental Protection Agency’s established legal limits for radioactive elements in tap water are badly outdated, but President Trump’s nominee to be the White House environment czar doesn’t see care if systems comply with the standards, as “outdated and inadequate” as they are.

The nominee, Kathleen Hartnett White, former chair of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, admitted in a 2011 interview that the commission falsified data to make it appear that communities with excessive radiation levels were below the EPA’s limit. She said she did not “believe the science of health effects” to which the EPA subscribes, placing “far more trust” in the work of the TCEQ, which has a reputation of setting polluter-friendly state standards and casually enforcing federal standards.

EWG’s Tap Water Database compiles results of water quality tests for nearly 50,000 utilities nationwide. EWG mapped the nationwide occurrence of radium which is the most common radioactive element found in tap water.

From 2010 to 2015, more than 22,000 utilities serving over 170 million people in all 50 states reported the presence of radium in their water.” EWG

Related Reading: What’s the Best Water for Detoxifying and For Drinking?

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Your Grass-Fed Beef is About to Get More Expensive

More people want to consume meat in a more humane or ethical way, and grass-fed beef has been a large part of that equation. The grass-fed beef market is on the verge of a crisis though, as the levels of protein in the grass for grazing have decreased by 20 percent over the last twenty-five years. Jonah Ventures of Boulder, CO analyzed 50,000 cow pies from Texas and found that the nutritional content of the grass is down, leading to smaller cattle. According to Joe Craine, the co-owner and a researcher at Jonah Ventures, “If we were still back at the forage quality that we would’ve had 25 years ago, no less 100 years ago, our animals would be gaining a lot more weight…”

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

Two Likely Reasons

Researchers haven’t pinpointed the exact reason for the declining nutritional content of grass, but there are two likely suspects. Grass-fed, grain-finished cattle are moved from the prairie to a feedlot for the last 90 to 160 days of their lives. This move takes away cow pies, the best means of returning valuable nutrients back to the soil.

Another reason for the decline of nutritious? The increasing amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is causing plants to grow larger, more quickly with the same nutrient content. According to Irakli Loladze, a mathematician studying the effect of CO2 on pants for 15 years, “Every leaf and every grass blade on earth makes more and more sugars as CO2 levels keep rising…We are witnessing the greatest injection of carbohydrates into the biosphere in human history―[an] injection that dilutes other nutrients in our food supply.”

It All Begins With Food

There aren’t many people talking about what happens when our food is no longer able to sustain us. As many beef farmers are now finding out, that time is fast approaching. It doesn’t really matter why the grass is no longer as nutritious. The most important thing here is that it’s happening to the cows, and it will happen to us.

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Ibuprofen Use Linked to Male Infertility According to New Study

The ibuprofen dosage commonly taken by high-level male athletes can afflict their testicles with a condition seen often in elderly men and linked to lower fertility.

According to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, heavy daily usage of the ibuprofen “alters human testicular physiology” which results in a disorder called compensated hypogonadism.

Must Read: How To Heal Your Gut

The study involved 31 men under the age of 35 and took place in Denmark and France. They looked at 1,200 milligrams of ibuprofen daily, which is the maximum limit to be taken regularly as directed. Within two weeks the amount of testosterone production was contingent upon the amount of ibuprofen in their blood. This disorder is also linked to depression and strokes.

We report a univocal depression of important aspects of testicular function, including testosterone production, after use of over-the-counter ibuprofen.”

Related: Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Acetaminophen – Why They All Are Unsafe

Symptoms are reversible when the ibuprofen was taken for a brief amount of time. More research is needed to understand effects of taking such ibuprofen dosages over longer periods like athletes often do.

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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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