Why does the CDC ask parents to use low fluoride or non-fluoridated water when mixing water with baby formula? Once again, it seems there is more to the story than we are being told…

Is our water decaying our teeth and damaging our bodies? CBS Atlanta recently interviewed Daniel Stocktin of the Lillie Center, a group whose sole mission is to remove fluoride from the public water supply. Stocktin warns of the known dangers associated with too much fluoride—dental fluorosis—and the unknown effects of the chemical on the soft tissues of the body. He warns that we ingest fluoride through water, food, and toothpaste and that it accumulates in the body.

Dental fluorosis is caused by the ingestion of too much fluoride. The first symptom is spotting on the teeth. More severe cases involve pits and holes in the enamel that resemble cavities. The worst cases involve severe erosion of the teeth.

The American Dental Association and the Centers for Disease Control continue to endorse water fluoridation, though they do admit excessive doses can be toxic. Both organizations declined to be interviewed by CBS Atlanta, instead referring the reporters to written information which Stoktin said is bad science and outdated.

Why does the CDC ask parents to use low fluoride or non-fluoridated water when mixing water with baby formula? Once again, it seems there is more to the story than we are being told, especially when recent data from the CDC states that two out of every five children have mild fluoridosis (spots on their teeth.

We want to applaud CBS Atlanta for taking on stories such as these. It is time for us to question all of the chemicals we breathe, put on our bodies, or ingest.

Cat Mutiny

I’ve been eating healthier than the average American for years and years. I stopped cooking processed foods thirty years ago when I realized the effect food colorings, preservatives, and additives had on my children’s ADHD and allergies. Eating better wasn’t good enough. Eating well, really well, took effort and discipline.

I struggled with my diet for years in an effort to battle auto-immune disease. I finally discovered what foods fed Candida and that I was sensitive to gluten. I’m sure I have celiac disease, but I have no intention of spending a few thousand dollars to confirm the diagnosis through conventional means. Why should I go through a biopsy when I know every time I eat gluten I break out in weeping sores and suffer from muscle and joint pain? Obviously gluten and I don’t get along.

So I’ve really cleaned up my diet. And because I eat so well and have eaten so well for so many years, processed foods and fast foods don’t taste good to me. The more I eat organic fresh fruits and veggies, the more anything else is second best—a far second. But this is only true because I don’t eat junk foods. The truth is, bad food and junk food, is truly addictive.

Recently our cats have reminded us how cheap bad foods crowd out the desire to eat well. We raised our cats on a clean, raw diet. Their typical fare was Bell and Evans ground turkey mixed with a little quinoa, spinach, carrots, eggs and eggshells, and a few other veggies thrown in. They loved it, so much so, we had to train them not to attack our hands as we lowered their bowls to the floor. Then they growled at one another and at us if we were stupid enough to try and pick the bowl back up.

But our indoor/outdoor kitties started eating junk food. We have a neighbor who feeds her cat regular kibble and leaves the bowl outside. So our cats have started eating out. And now, they have little interest in anything we try to feed them, even plain raw or cooked meat or fish. They sniff at their bowl and reject their food, going so far as to scratch the floor as if they could bury the offensive offering. So we bought a bag of organic kibble and they ate a little, then rushed outside to raid the neighbor’s bowl.

Now their health is suffering. Taz is chronically constipated. Both she and Jazz are copiously shedding for the first time in their lives. Obviously, an intervention is in order.

A recent study showed that rats fed a healthy diet and later fed junk food would rather starve than go back to eating a healthy diet.

This is such a reminder to us about the addictive nature of processed foods. If we give in to our children’s demands to eat fast foods, candy, sodas, and other junk foods—even as a rare treat, we are training their palates. We are toying with addiction. We are making food that is bad for them, deadly for them, a reward.

We deserve the best food. Our children deserve the best food. And so do our pets-100% of the time.

As the debate about vaccine safety intensifies, new laws have been passed to protect the pharmaceutical companies from litigation. No new laws have been passed to protect the victims of vaccine injury. Against rising proof that vaccines are unsafe and linked to autism, ADHD, and other serious outcomes, the same mantra is repeated by government sources—that there is no proof of cause and effect between vaccinations and health concerns.

Now let’s get real. The truth is, risks have always been known and accepted. Every parent who signs a vaccination form and bothers to read it, knows that they are risking their child’s life by agreeing to a vaccination. I will never forget the dread I felt signing those forms. Oh the risk was slight, but my child could contract the very disease I was vaccinating against or encephalitis or another complication. And death? Oh yes, that was listed as a possible outcome. And as this fact was sinking in, the nurse was pushing me to sign, telling me it was perfectly safe. I felt like I was sending my child outside to run back and forth across the street in hopes he would not get hit by a car. After all, the odds were on his side for that risk as well.

When my ADHD child was 3 and I told the testing psychologist I was going to try diet management (rather than the Ritalin he wanted to prescribe) he told me the link between diet and ADHD was nonsense and he had a study to prove it. When diet mnagement worked, with amazing and immediate results, he didn’t want to see the proof or witness the change in behavior. We do not as yet have good solid research to prove a link between autism and vaccines, but all you have to do is speak to a parent of a bright, verbal toddler who, after a vaccination, suddenly lost both speech and normal behavior to know the link is real. It is an dramatic cause and effect, witnessed over and over and over again by parents across the country.

I work for non-profit organizations, writing grant proposals. One of my jobs is to search grant databases, including grants.gov, the site for federal grant opportunities. Today I stumbled across two requests for proposals from the Department of Social and Health Services, grant opportunities to research vaccine safety.

One announcement reads, “This R21 research opportunity invites studies that address scientific areas potentially relevant to vaccine safety such as 1) physiological and immunological responses to vaccines and vaccine components, 2) how genetic variations affect immune/physiological responses that may impact vaccine safety, 3) identification of risk factors and biological markers that may be used to assess whether there is a relationship between certain diseases or disorders and licensed vaccines, or 4) the application of genomic/molecular technologies to improve knowledge of vaccine safety.”

Our government may be continuing to deny the link between autism and vaccines, but at least they are funding research.

At OLM we believe that knowledge is power, and transparency is the key to emotional and spiritual human evolution. This is why we love WikiLeaks. We as a society will not learn from our mistakes when we hide them. We as a society will not grow spiritually if we do not learn from our mistakes. Humans will continue to be at war as long as we continue to hide truth.

WikiLeaks follows this philosophy. They believe the government should work for us. They believe in transparency. They believe in accountability. And we love what they are doing. And we understand the fight they are going through.

And the ramifications of the choices we make within our sick society

We live in a sick, sick society. And yes, I mean that literally as well as figuratively. We put toxins in our water through pollution and through fluoridation. We alter and process food until it doesn’t resemble its original components and loses all of its nutrition, then we put a little artificial nutrition back in before adding artificial coloring, preservatives, and flavorings to make it taste better and look inviting while increasing its shelf life.  We send our children to schools that feed them this processed garbage once or twice a day.

Most of us believe the FDA protects us, so we feed our children sugared cereal made from genetically modified corn for their breakfast along with pasteurized juice and milk from cows shot full of rBGH. Maybe we add a little fruit sprayed with herbicides and pesticides. For lunch our kids eat fast food with plenty of trans fats. Dinner comes out of a can, a box, or a frozen packet and is often irradiated. Oh and don’t forget the snacks: sugar filled sodas, cakes, cookies, and candy. We are raising a generation of children whose sugar and toxin intake negates their immune systems and their exposure to real foods is so negligible they cannot recognize or name most of our vegetables and fruits.

Next come the pharmaceuticals. We vaccinate our children with dirty, toxic vaccines. Our children get sick (need I repeat why?) and we treat their symptoms (not the cause) with over-the-counter drugs and prescription drugs. Our children exhibit behavior and mental health problems. Rather than clean up their diets and detoxify their bodies, we give them more drugs. At some point we may not be given a choice. If our child has cancer or another serious disease or is diagnosed with a mental illness we may be forced by Child Protective Services or the courts to follow conventional treatment including chemotherapy or psychotropic drugs. If we choose not to vaccinate, we may be forced by law to comply.

Pharmaceuticals, both over the counter and prescriptive, are marketed to us through television and print media. We are encouraged (brainwashed?) to improve our lives with the use of sleeping pills, tranquilizers, anti-depressive drugs, and stimulants. Our society demands that we be the best we can be through the use of these pills. And yet, cancer is at an all time high. ADHD, autism, and Alzheimer’s are epidemic.

We are cogs in the wheel of the 21st century economic machine. Wherever we turn, the typical American lifestyle is ruled by the interests of big business: the food industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and the health care industry. Poor health is a profitable outcome for all three. Processed food is cheap to buy and cheaper to make. It yields enormous profits. Factory farming is profitable. Huge farming enterprises raising crops with chemicals on land stripped of nutrients are profitable. Pharmaceuticals are criminally profitable. The medical industry is fed by illness and married to pharmaceuticals. The cycle goes round and round. And the powers that be continue in their efforts to shut down naturopathic treatments including the sale of vitamins and supplements.

The strange thing is, this same diseased society that embraces conventional treatment is punitive and vengeful to those who use these prescription drugs. Are you aware that the use of a prescription drug may be the deciding factor of whether you spend the next fifteen to twenty years in prison if you are involved in a fatal accident? Even though you took that drug as prescribed?

In the State of Georgia, drivers involved in fatal crashes can be charged with a misdemeanor, second degree homicide by vehicle or with a felony, first degree homicide by a vehicle.  If charged in the second degree, the driver can face up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine. If charged with first degree, the driver faces three to fifteen years (or up to twenty if the offender is found to be habitual).

So what constitutes a first degree crime in this instance? The law includes cases of death involving fleeing a police officer, failure to stop for a school bus, hit and run, previously being declared a habitual offender, reckless driving, or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Again, drugs don’t have to be illegal drugs nor do prescription drugs have to be abused. If you take a prescription drug and are involved in a fatal accident, you could be in trouble.

Michael Edwards (editor-in-chief) met a man who was sentenced to ten years in prison due to a sleeping pill prescription. He hadn’t taken the medication for several days before the accident, but the medication was the basis for a first degree charge. A recent case was bumped up to first degree when it was learned that the driver was prescribed Adderol for ADD.

We have a choice, a huge choice. We can continue to be a cog in the wheel or we can choose health—real health. We can eat real food, unadulterated, organic fruits and vegetables. Organic grains. Organic meats and raw dairy. We  have to fight to keep these foods available. We have to care about the foods given to children in our schools. We have to demand our rights to refuse medications, to choose whether or not to vaccinate, to demand, at the very least, that vaccinations be pure, that they are not tainted with mercury or other toxic substances. We have to demand that pharmaceutical companies are held responsible if they fail to provide safe vaccinations and medications.

The incarceration rate is obscene and rising. Justice has become a joke in this country. Once upon a time, an accident was an accident. A painful, horrific reality for a driver who lost control of a vehicle. Today, an accident is an opportunity to incarcerate someone, even if there was no negligence, criminal intent, or criminal wrongdoing.

When you choose your lifestyle, look at the whole picture. Which do you choose? If you choose an unhealthy lifestyle maintained through pills, be aware that your choices may sentence you to years in prison if, God forbid, the worst happens. An accident may be just that—an accident. Your choices are not.

How about some common sense? Vaccines are toxic!

I met another parent whose normal, happy, healthy child received an MMR vaccination and was sucked into the vortex of autism. “One day he was normal, the next day it was lights out,” said his father. “You can’t tell me there is no connection between vaccinations and autism.”

Many, many parents have reported the same result. And yet, we are told to ignore these reports, that there is no scientific “proof” of a connection.

For a minute let’s ignore the reality that scientific studies regularly contradict one another and let’s ask ourselves, “What happened to common sense?” You stick your hand in the fire and it’s burned. You give a child a shot and the next day your child’s speech disappears, he withdraws from the world, and his life is irrevocably changed. You don’t need the scientific method to deduce cause and effect.

The reports we read that refute parents’ claims gloss over the fact that the change is dramatic, clear, and immediate. We aren’t talking a change in behavior and ability weeks, months, or even days later. We’re talking about a 24-48 hour response to a vaccination. When any parent tells me his/her child was normal the day before a shot and autistic the next day I am infuriated when I read reports from the scientific community that deny the possibility of cause and effect.

We are bombarded with propaganda from pharmaceutical companies on a daily basis. We are taught to believe our government protects us. The truth is, our government protects the pharmaceutical companies, not us.

The news is finally reporting a possible connection between vaccinations and autism. But did we really need science to tell us this? Are we so disconnected from common sense we can’t open our eyes and see what’s right in front of us?

New analysis highlights organic agriculture as an eco-friendly means of improving livelihoods and preserving natural resources.

Washington, D.C. – Despite the crippling effects of the recent economic slowdown on many industries, the organic agriculture sector not only sustained itself during this period but also showed signs of growth. “In 2009, organic farming was practiced on 37.2 million hectares worldwide, a 5.7 percent increase from 2008 and 150 percent increase since 2000,” writes policy analyst E.L. Beck, in the latest Vital Signs Online release from the Worldwatch Institute.

The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) defines organic agriculture as: “a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment.”

Although organic agriculture is practiced around the world, certified organic agriculture tends to be concentrated in wealthier countries. The Group of 20 (G20), comprising both developing and industrialized countries, is home to 89 percent of the global certified organic agricultural area. But nongovernmental organizations, including Slow Food International and ACDI/VOCA, are working with farmers to promote organic agriculture in developing countries as a means of bettering livelihoods and rejuvenating the land.

In western Tanzania, organic agroforestry practices have helped rehabilitate some 350,000 hectares of desert land over the span of two decades. And in Ethiopia, coffee farmers are learning how to protect wild coffee plants, fertilize them using organic compost, and process them in a manner that retains the quality of the crop, without damaging the environment.

Although the global organic market has shown growth in the past few years, the rate has slowed since 2000, and there are several challenges that impede large-scale expansion of organic practices. The price premium on organic foods, for example, may dissuade many consumers from buying organic products, despite the potential environmental, ethical, and health benefits these products provide.

Two other challenges are the lack of organic standards and the scarcity of equivalency agreements. An equivalency agreement between two countries acknowledges each other’s organic standards and allows for a smooth flow of certified organic goods between the two countries. The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation finances the Global Organic Market Access (GOMA) project, which facilitates the trade of organic products by establishing organic standards and negotiating equivalency agreements, but more progress is needed in this area.

Rising farmland prices are putting a further strain on organic agriculture. Research by the International Food Policy Research Institute shows that foreign investors have spent up to $20-30 billion on land purchases since 2006. These price hikes are threatening global food security and are especially detrimental to small-scale farmers’ ability to enter the organic agriculture field.

Despite all these challenges, organic agriculture holds untapped potential for helping farmers and consumers alike build resilience to food price shocks, climate change, and water scarcity. By turning to organic agroforestry and switching from synthetic to organic fertilizers, farmers are not only raising their incomes by reducing input costs, but also adapting to the effects of climate change and helping to protect the environment.

“In order to keep feeding humanity for generations to come, and to feed people better, farming must reinforce conservation goals by adding diversity to the food chain and by healing ecosystems,” said Danielle Nierenberg, Worldwatch senior researcher and co-director of the Institute’s Nourishing the Planet project.