America's Healthy Eating Problem

But what are you eating?

America has now surpassed every other nation as the land of overweight unhealthy people. Health gurus may tell you that maintaining your weight is a matter of watching what you eat and exercising. But what happens when you aren't told what you are eating?

Monday, the FDA started two days of hearings about whether to let AquaBounty sell the salmon it has genetically engineered for human consumption. Atlantic salmon were altered by adding a growth hormone from Chinook salmon. They consequently grow to maturity twice as fast as naturally occurring salmon.

Opponents to having them used for human consumption are concerned with the potential for unforeseen effects. Allergies to seafood can be severe, requiring hospitalization to prevent death in the most extreme cases. One concern is that these genetically engineered fish could cause greater than normal allergies in those who are already vulnerable.

The FDA already allows sales of numerous genetically engineered crops. This will be their first approval to sell a genetically engineered animal for human consumption.

Last night I watched "Supersize Me," a 2004 movie about the dangers of fast food, and McDonald's in particular, by Morgan Spurlock. For the movie, Spurlock decided to eat nothing but McDonald's food for one month. His physical health was tracked by three doctors, a nutritionist and a personal trainer. They all predicted that a month of eating McDonald's food would probably cause a weight increase and maybe elevate his cholesterol.

What happened was shocking. Within 20 days, Spurlock's blood work resembled someone whose liver was failing. He experienced depression, fatigue and chest pains. Over the course of the full 30 days, he gained more than 20 pounds -- and then took more than 9 months to get rid of the weight when he later returned to a healthy diet.

The point of Spurlock's movie was that fast food is very bad for your health and is likely a major cause of our nation's weight problem. Most people don't think about the nutritional content of the food they are eating. One of Spurlock's experiments showed that, while McDonald's does produce pamphlets with nutritional information, those pamphlets and that information are unavailable in many locations. Lack of good information occurs much more frequently in poorer neighborhoods.

Now, health gurus will probably tell you that a portion of salmon is much healthier than, say, a Big Mac, and for the most part they will be correct. But what about the nutritional value of a genetically engineered salmon and what about your right to know what is in your food and make decisions accordingly?

It turns out that the FDA has decided genetically engineered salmon is not substantially different from naturally occurring salmon. Because of that, they don't have to tell you that what you are buying (or eating) has been genetically engineered. In other words, you have no choice in this because you won't have the data needed to make an informed decision.

The food industry is big business and there are many new innovations, not all of them healthy, being made to our food supply. Organizations like the FDA, which are supposed to inform and protect us, often place themselves on a slippery slope of allowing poor nutrition and potentially dangerous products to slip through in the name of budget restrictions and corporate profits.

Preserve your healthy by making wise choices about what you eat. Preserve the nation's health by becoming an advocate for a strong and healthy food supply.

Judy Downing is a small business coach, consultant, and freelance writer. She shares tips, techniques and strategies with small business owners to clarify and enhance their customer and business practices. Visit her website at http://www.CustomerApproach.com or email her at judy@customerapproach.com.

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The Benefits of Eating a Plant-Based Diet - Avoiding Animal Cloning

One of the top news stories in 2008 was the FDA approval of "food" from cloned animals. I usually only attempt to show the health benefits of eating a diet free from animal products and generally avoid lecturing on the moral and ethical reasons to avoid meat and dairy. This time, however, I seriously doubt that I am alone in my outrage over this, which not only brings up animal cruelty issues, but religious and moral questions, along with a vast array of safety concerns. This is just another sad display of the FDA's willingness to approve anything in order to line its pockets with money from the USDA and pharmaceutical lobbies. Time and time again, the FDA has proven how inept it is at enforcing proper research and testing into pharmaceutical drugs, and in many cases, thousands upon thousands of deaths have been the result. Rather than protecting the American public from cloned and genetically modified foods, which are being banned or at the very least, labeled in other countries, the FDA has given the factory farm industry the go ahead to sell meat and dairy products from animals cloned and/or possibly genetically engineered by humans.

Barbara Glenn of the Biotechnology Industry Organization calls cloning "a breeding technique that will improve the quality and consistency of food" (1). However, Michael Hansen, a senior scientist with Consumers Union, says that "data supporting the FDA decision are based on just a few cloned animals and include little information about their offspring." Hmm. Imagine that. The FDA making the decision to approve something based on little to no scientific evidence rather than on extensive research into its safety. Michael Hansen goes on to say that "The vast majority of clones don't make it to adulthood...There are a lot of sickly animals." Such health problems among clones raise concerns about animal welfare and food safety (1). I'm not sure that I understand how sickly cloned animals will "improve the quality" of food, but I guess we won't have to wait long to find out. According to The Wall Street Journal, some farmers have reported that the offspring of cloned animals have already entered the marketplace (3). But you would never know whether the meat you are eating is coming from a traditionally bred animal or a cloned version because the FDA determined that meat and milk from cloned animals and their offspring would not be labeled because it was "the same as conventional food and did not pose a safety risk," (2).

Despite the FDA's assurance, some companies have declared that they will not sell milk or meat from cloned animals or their offspring for fear over the safety of such foods, and to spearhead a possible consumer backlash fueled by religious and moral opposition to cloning. During a public comment period that ended in 2007, the FDA heard from more than 150,000 consumers who rejected the Agency's plan to introduce cloned animals into the U.S. food supply (4). Many polls show that the public's opposition to food from clones is incredibly high. A national survey conducted in 2007 by Consumers Union reported that 89% of Americans want cloned foods to be labeled. Additionally, 69% said that they have concerns about the safety of cloned meat and dairy products. A Gallup Poll from December 2007 reported that more than 60% of Americans believe that cloning animals is immoral. A Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology from the same time found that a similar percentage say, despite FDA approval, they will not buy milk from cloned animals (4).

There is concern from animal advocacy groups that the use of cloning may contribute to creating even harsher factory farm conditions than presently exist. "The surveys show that the public is morally opposed to cloning. Animals suffer terribly in the cloning process, and the FDA has ignored these issues," said Tracie Letterman, Executive Director of the American Anti-Vivisection Society (2). There is also concern that introducing cloned animals and the offspring of clones into the US market could have economic ramifications in the global marketplace (2).

According to Joseph Mendelson, Legal Director of the Center for Food Safety, "The FDA's flawed and cavalier approach to cloned food and its potential impacts called for a truly rigorous scientific assessment," (4). While the FDA repeatedly claimed that it conducted extensive, peer reviewed studies on the safety of "food" from cloned animals, it turns out that the agency's assessment only referenced three peer-reviewed food safety studies, all of which focus only on the issue of milk from cloned cows (4). The most disturbing part of the lack of objective research on the part of the FDA is that the studies the Agency sited were funded in part by the very biotech firms that produce clones for profit (4). Not one of the studies focused on the safety of meat from cloned cows or pigs, or milk or meat from the offspring of cloned animals, and there was absolutely no data on milk or meat from cloned goats (4).

Behavior like this is what we, as Americans, have come to expect from the FDA. What is supposed to be a consumer advocacy and safety watchdog, in actuality, is unethical and time and time again shows little real concern for the safety and well-being of the American public. The issue of unlabeled food products from cloned animals being introduced into the US market place is not only an issue of animal rights, but an issue of religious freedom, as those who oppose cloning for moral or religious reasons should have the right to know if the foods they choose to consume are from cloned animals. This is also an issue of economic stability as the decision to allow foods from cloned animals and their offspring into the market could very well create issues in the global marketplace. And then, there is the issue of the safety of foods from cloned animals, which we are still unsure of due to the FDA's lack of genuine and long-term research.

What can you do about this issue? Well, if you like the political route, you can contact your legislators and tell them that you do not support allowing meat and dairy from cloned animals or their offspring to be sold as food. Or demand that food from cloned animals be labeled as such. I believe that the best and most vital way to make your voice heard every single day is to vote with your dollar. By choosing to avoid purchasing and consuming animal products, you are sending a message. Remember, those with the money make the decisions. If you don't support what they are doing, do not give them your money! By eating a plant-based diet, you can avoid unknowingly consuming "food" from cloned animals. I really don't have much else to say about this, except that cancerous, diseased, pus-filled, antibiotic-filled, hormone-filled, steroid-filled, and now cloned "food" is what you can expect to consume if you choose to eat animal products from a typical American factory farm.

1. "FDA Approves Food From Cloned Animals", Webb, Sarah, Discover Magazine
2. "F.D.A. Says Food From Cloned Animals Is Safe", Martin, Andrew and Andrew Pollack, The New York Times
3. "FDA Is Set To Approve Milk, Meat From Clones", Weiss, Rick, The Washington Post
4. "FDA Approval of Clones Stalled by Passage of Milulski-Specter Amendment in Farm Bill", [http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/cloning]

Erin Brennan is a Raw Foods Chef and the owner of Living Bliss, a company based out of Louisville, Kentucky which provides fresh and delicious raw and living whole foods, event catering, uncooking classes and workshops, nutritional consultations, and wellness coaching.

[http://www.livingblissfoods.com]

http://erinbrennan.blogspot.com

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Genetically Engineered Salmons - Are They Safe for the World?

Genetically altered salmon, also known as the frankenfish has become a centre of talk in recent days. The Aqua Bounty Technologies has provided their research output which grows much faster than the normal species of salmons. The altered species has much of abnormal characteristics than a normal fish in the same group.

Some of the abnormal behaviour detected by the FDA includes increased prevalence of jaw erosions, increased skeletal malformations and multi-systemic inflammation. However, FDA has considered these irregular characteristics as acceptable saying that these characteristics come within the observed range of accepted Atlantic salmons.

The abnormal behaviour was compared with the farmed salmon species which are also genetically modified but with the help of other resources. Here question arises about the comparison, how can a fish that grows in a natural environment be compared with the factory farmed species? FDA tried to justify the comparison stating the control substance that is Aspartame as the reason.

The modified species has lots of chances of diseases as observed in previous altered species of other animals. One of the prevalent examples of such problem is the chickens which are made to grow fast and lay more eggs; suffer from the skeletal disorders every year. Some of the turkeys are so much pushed to the biological limits that they can't even mate naturally and produce because of their heavy weights. How much of these biotechnology can push the biological limits to the max stressing the poor animals, that is still to be seen more.

One of the major concern about the genetically altered salmon is if they escapes in the wild won't they finish their own natural species which basically grow smaller than them. However, the company creating the altered species manages to justify itself by saying, the metabolic demands of such species make them less likely to escape into the wild and survive.

Final concern here is the transgenic DNA transferring to human being from the consumption of such fish in the long run. We still have to see the outcome of genetically altered salmon introduction to the everyday life. Let's hope everything goes fine as the FDA says, if the genetically altered salmons are brought in the market.

If you would like to know more about the frankenfish salmons or other frankenfish species like bullseye snakehead, northern snakehead,trouts and other fish species in detail please feel free to visit Frankenfish site.

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Genetically Modified Foods - Fact You Need to Know

Based on information compiled by the Label GMOs Grassroots Committee, the following are facts we all need to keep in mind to protect our health and to make informed political decisions:

GMO Fact #1

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are laboratory creations of agricultural biotechnology engineered by forcing DNA from a foreign species into plants or animals. This foreign DNA may be from a virus, bacteria such as E. coli, insects, animals or humans, resulting in traits that would not occur naturally.

Upwards of 70 percent of supermarket foods in the U.S. contain GMOs. While 50 other countries including the entire European Union require labeling of GMOs, the U.S. does not.

GMO Fact #2

Animal studies have shown GMOs cause infertility, accelerated aging, dysfunctional insulin regulation, changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system, and immune problems such as asthma, allergies, and inflammation. As a result of these studies, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine has called for a moratorium on GMOs. The FDA's own scientists warned that GMOs have serious health hazards, but no safety studies are required. Europe has rejected GMOs due to health effects.

GMO Fact #3

GM food poses higher risks for children - In feeding studies, adolescent rats showed damaged immune systems and digestive function; smaller brains, livers, and testicles; atrophy of the liver; and pre-cancerous cell growth in the intestines after only 10 days of GM feed. One study showed that offspring of rats fed GM soy died within three weeks. Bt toxin, a pesticide that has been engineered into GM corn, has been found in the placenta of pregnant women and and in fetuses. In newborns, since the blood-brain barrier is not yet developed, scientists speculate these toxins may enter the brain and cause serious cognitive problems such ADHD and autism.

GMO Fact #4

Agricultural bio-tech companies have undue influence on government institutions that are supposed to regulate them to protect public health. Many former Monsanto executives are now in the FDA and USDA. Michael Taylor, former VP and attorney for the biggest GMO company, Monsanto, is now the Deputy Commissioner at the FDA. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is a former Monsanto attorney. Agritech companies give generous campaign contributions and use heavy lobbying to politicians. The FDA has chosen to disregard strong warnings of its own scientists and allowed GMOs in our food supply without any health studies or even labeling.

GMO Fact#5

GMOs offer no benefits to consumers or farmers . GMOs do not provide higher yields, are not more drought tolerant than conventional crops, are less nutritious, and do not taste better. Many GM crops are created to increase tolerance to herbicides, which encourages more herbicide use and increases agritech profits. Because GM plants are engineered to produce sterile seed, farmers must purchase new seed every year. Farmers who do not use GM seed and whose fields become contaminated by GMOs have lost their livelihood due to lawsuits from agritech companies.

GMO Fact #6

Overuse of herbicide on GM crops has led to super-weeds that require super-toxic herbicides, increased incidence of deadly plant diseases, degradation of the soil, and pollution of waterways.

GMO Fact #7

GMOs are widespread in our food supply. U.S. supermarkets sell products containing unlabeled ingredients from genetically engineered soybeans, sugar beets, corn, canola and cottonseed. Genetically engineered Hawaiian papaya, zucchini and crook neck squash are also sold in the U.S. The bovine growth hormone rBGH is genetically engineered. Livestock are routinely raised on feed containing GM soy, corn and cottonseed. The FDA has recently deregulated GM alfalfa, a common feed crop for dairy cattle. The FDA is weighing approval of GM salmon and a variety of other foods.

GMO Fact #8

GMOs could be contributing to the increases seen in childhood food allergies, asthma and autism, which have risen dramatically over the past 15 years since GMOs were introduced. The process of creating GMOs can increase levels of existing allergens, or introduce new allergens. GMO animal feeding studies show immune dysregulation, which is associated with asthma. The pesticide Bt from GM corn has been found in the bloodstream of women and fetuses; pesticides are linked to Autism via their potential to affect changes in the fetal brain.

GMO Fact #9

GMOs can be avoided by using the Non-GMO Shopping Guide or choosing organic foods. The most at-risk ingredients are corn, soy, cottonseed and canola. The guide available at nongmoshoppingguide.com tells how to avoid hidden GM ingredients, e.g. lecithin, modified food starch and high fructose corn syrup. Certified organic products cannot intentionally contain any genetically engineered ingredients.

GMO Fact #10

You can make a difference! Here are action steps recommended by Karen Hudson, Sonoma County Coordinator of Label GMOs Grassroots Committee encourages everyone to do:

*Contact carighttoknow.org to endorse, donate, volunteer, and get more information.

*Watch "Future of Food," "The World According to Monsanto" or

*See Jeffrey Smith's new video "Genetic Roulette."

*Check out Nutiva's 2 min. video on YouTube: "What is a GMO?".

*Forward this article to everyone in your network.

Pamela Levin is an R.N., a Teaching & Supervising Transactional Analyst and award winning author and nutritional journalist with 500 + hours post-graduate training in clinical nutrition, herbology and applied kinesiology. In private practice 42 years, she shares health improvement tips for body, mind, spirit, emotions and relationships in her complimentary bi-weekly newsletter, available at BetterHealthBytes.com. You're invited to register there and to request a topic you'd like covered.

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