Another compilation of the news.
GMO Claims Debunked and Exposed — Two major claims and justifications by proponents of genetically engineered seeds and foods are: 1) GMOs lower the need to use chemical pesticides; and 2) GMO crops are needed to feed the world. There are many other spurious claims about GMOs but we hear those two all the time. Well, turns out both are falsehoods. (Who’d a thought?) A new study released by Food & Water Watch finds the goal of reduced chemical use isn’t true. In fact, according to the USDA and EPA data used in the report, the use of genetically engineered crops has increased herbicide use over the past 9 years in the U.S. The report follows on the heels of similar findings by Washington State University professor Charles Benbrook just last year. As for feeding the world, studies have found that we already produce twice as much food as needed but we do a lousy job of getting it to those who need it. It’s not a production problem. It’s a distribution problem. Plus, we send food to people who need it instead of teaching and helping them to grow it themselves. So pesticide use due to GMOs is not down. Food production due to GMOs is not up. One thing is likely, profits to the GMO Giant Corporations is skyrocketing. Tee shirt: Just say “No!” to GMO.
Studies find Raw Milk is Safe — Pasteurization, the process of lightly cooking foods to kill most bacteria, became popular when population growth outstripped common sense and industrialized food production became dangerous. In the early 1900s, deplorable conditions led to less than sanitary food products. Of course, pasteurizing milk changes it considerably and foodies have criticized the destruction of important nutrients by pasteurization. Milk that is not pasteurized is usually called “raw” milk or sometimes, “fresh” milk. Most government agencies restrict or prohibit sales of raw milk and establishment health officials pillory advocates and dairy farmers who are proponents. Fact is, modern awareness of the importance of pristine production methods have now been shown to produce raw milk that is as safe or safer than the pasteurized version. Critics of pasteurization say it is actually just a backstop to cover for the sloppy production methods of Big Dairy. Thankfully, three quantitative microbial risk assessments (QMRAs) recently published in the “Journal of Food Protection” have demonstrated that unpasteurized milk is a low-risk food, contrary to previous, inappropriately evidenced claims suggesting a high-risk profile. For those who still drink milk, seems high-quality raw is both better and safer.
Human Scientists Agree Animals have Conscious Awareness — A group of prominent scientists signed The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness in which they proclaimed support for the idea that animals are conscious and aware to the degree that humans are. When I was a kid, adults told me that animals couldn’t think and weren’t aware. I believe we all have seen the light on that one. I recall a study a few years ago that found definitively that dogs can attain at least a 200-word English vocabulary. Doesn’t sound like much until I realized Duke can understand 200 words and I can’t reliably define a single bark of his. Who’s the “dumb” animal now?
Obama indicates He May Stop the Keystone Pipeline — In a speech at Washington University, President O said he would approve the pipeline “…only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution.” Well, we all know that extracting muck from the tundra will irreversibly add to carbon (and methane) emissions. So it looks pretty good for BOLD Nebraska and those who don’t condone TransCanada taking farmland from locals who declare, “Nebraska is not Canada’s Bitch.”
Obama indicates He May Approve the Keystone Pipeline — In a speech at Washington University, President O said he would approve the pipeline “…only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution.” Well, we all know politicians are expert at taking data and spinning it whichever way they want. So it looks pretty bad for BOLD Nebraska and those who don’t condone TransCanada taking farmland from locals who declare, “Nebraska is not Canada’s Bitch.”
Mammogram Parties Offer Wine, Cheese And X-Rays — Will healthcare profiteers stoop to liquoring up recruits to squeeze money and breasts with a controversial medical test? Hard to believe but true. Apparently “mammogram parties” are popping up. That’s when women are invited to drink wine and enjoy hors d’oeuvres then get a mammogram. Dr. Julie Silver, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School told ABC, “It may be a good way to improve compliance…” “Compliance?” As Mike Adams on NaturalNews.com pointed out, that word is usually used in the context of someone giving an order or command to do something. Ike warned us about the “military-industrial complex.” Look out for the “techno-pharmaceutical-medical complex.”
Links to all the above stories at HeartlandHealing.com/news
Heartland Healing is a New Age polemic describing alternatives to conventional methods of healing the body, mind and planet. It is provided as information and entertainment, certainly not medical advice. It is not an endorsement of any particular therapy, either by the writer or The Reader. Visit HeartlandHealing.com for more information.