I wrote back in June about the fact that the USDA doesn’t follow its own dietary advice.. when it comes to food subsidies. But a new report by the US Public Interest Research Group, “Apples to Twinkies,” puts more numbers to that. Here are some key ones:
One of the sad things about U.S. government today is the revolving door between industry and politics. Politics is for industry these days, not for the people. One “revolving door poster child” is Michael Taylor. Taylor was a Monsanto attorney and chief super lobbyist and (re)joined the FDA in July 2009. He was eventually named the Deputy Commissioner of Food. Conflict of interest?
Internationally recognized plant pathologist Dr. Don Huber has found some things that we should really be concerned about, and they concern GMOs. He has spoken out about it, but the federal government isn’t listening yet.
Dr. Huber “wrote a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack warning of the discovery of a new pathogen and a possible link between Roundup Ready® (GMO) corn and soybeans and severe reproductive problems in livestock as well as widespread crop failure” in January.
We have a great post going up tomorrow morning on the USDA’s recent approval of Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) — “genetically engineered” (“GE”) if you live in Europe — sugar beets and GM alfalfa from Ken Roseboro, editor of The Organic & Non-GMO Report. It will cover health concerns (based on scientific studies), environmental concerns, legal concerns, considerable threats to organic farmers and consumers, and the USDA’s decision to ignore public concerns and comments from hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens. But I wanted to chime in on this with a few comments of my own.
On Friday, while the media was preoccupied with the Superbowl and Egypt’s rioting, the USDA quietly announced it was deregulating Monsanto’s GMO sugar beets – despite a court order.
The Gulf has had a rough few years: monstrous hurricanes, then floods, now oil spills. It’s no wonder that the government and industry are trying to bolster consumer confidence in Gulf seafood. But is it too soon? Obama doesn’t think so. He plans to serve Gulf seafood at his birthday bash. Neither does BP big-wig, …
Something Smells Fishy: Testing the Safety of Gulf Seafood Read More 👉
Recent data showing sugar’s rising popularity over high fructose corn syrup is good news, right? Not if that sugar is genetically-modified. In fact, if you’ve purchased beet sugar recently, there’s a very good chance that you’ve unintentionally consumed a genetically-modified product. Industry statistics show that more than half of the sugar beets grown in the …
On March 20th, 2009, Michelle Obama and the kids broke ground on the White House Lawn for an organic garden. I wrote about it for Ecopreneurist.com, and suggested that the Obamas could help generate thousands of new green businesses across the country as people increasingly hire organic gardeners to tend their backyard and produce food …
In a symbolic victory for sustainable living and home gardening proponents, the White House announced that they will be resurrecting the tradition of planting a kitchen garden at the US capital. First Lady Michelle Obama is scheduled to break ground shortly on the organic garden in conjunction with her agenda of promoting better eating habits …
Obama White House to Plant Organic Garden on South Lawn Read More 👉
The Obamas could change America and the world if they were to swap out some of their White House lawn for an organic or biodynamic garden. But what about YOUR backyard? Heck, for that matter, what about your front yard? Hiring a good landscape designer knowledgeable about permaculture and organic/biodynamic gardening would be a terrific …
Home Grown Food, What Could Be More Sustainable and Healthy? Read More 👉
Today the Obama transition team announced the President Elect’s newest addition to his Cabinet: Tom Vilsack will be the Secretary of Agriculture. Selecting the former governor of Iowa, one of the nation’s top agriculture-based economies, seems natural. As the economic crisis has exacerbated the tumult that had already begun plaguing the American farming industry, Vilsack …
The San Francisco Chronicle today reports that President-elect Barack Obama received a letter from Alice Waters of Chez Panisse; volunteering her services – and those of Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl and New York Union Square restaurateur Danny Meyer – to be the first couple’s informal “kitchen cabinet” on all things culinary, from recommendations for a …
On my short list for job candidates who should be Obama’s White House Chef: Kurt Micheal Friese. As our President-Elect takes office and struggles to wrest the Farm Bill from the deathgrip of one of our nation’s largest lobbyist groups, I think Chef Friese would be ideal to serve up some good advice along with …
