The more perfect the appearance of the goods, often the more it has been compromised. "Organic" and "natural" means the produce is flawed in appearance but has internal integrity.
Twenty nine years ago I found myself on a remote West Coast island with an infant and no access to the soy milk which she required; a child of South Pacific origin, she did not have the enzymes for cows' milk. I was, however, fortunate to get access to free range goats who shared fields with the local deer. My daughter thrived on this raw milk. Sadly, summer ended and we returned to the city where my only access to goat milk was pasteurized. The reaction was horrific. First diaper rash, diarrhea, and we were back on soy again. I don't know what made the difference but I believe something was removed during the pasteurizing.
Some people balk at restrictions on selling unprocessed milk and other foods. 'How can we not have the freedom to choose what we eat?' one says. Regulators say the rules exist for safety and fairness.
PART ONE
With no warning one weekday morning, investigators entered an organic grocery with a search warrant and ordered the hemp-clad workers to put down their buckets of mashed coconut cream and to step away from the nuts.Then, guns drawn, four officers fanned out across Rawesome Foods in Venice. Skirting past the arugula and peering under crates of zucchini, they found the raid's target inside a walk-in refrigerator: unmarked jugs of raw milk.
Ebrahim Rafatjah stands in the walk-in cooler full of unpasteurized dairy products. On the other side are Ziploc bags of raw chicken, beef and pork, many without expiration dates.
"I still can't believe they took our yogurt," said Rawesome volunteer Sea J. Jones, a few days after the raid. "There's a medical marijuana shop a couple miles away, and they're raiding us because we're selling raw dairy products?"
Cartons of raw goat and cow milk and blocks of unpasteurized goat cheese were among the groceries seized in the June 30 raid by federal, state and local authorities ~ the latest salvo in the heated food fight over what people can put in their mouths.
On one side are government regulators, who say they are enforcing rules designed to protect consumers from unsafe foods and to provide a level playing field for producers. On the other side are " healthy food" consumers ~ a faction of foodies who challenge government science and seek food in its most pure form.
Rawesome Foods members pick up groceries. The private club in Venice is an outlet for raw and unprocessed foods, including unpasteurized dairy products.
They want almonds cracked fresh from the shell, not those run through a federally mandated pasteurization process that uses either heat or a chemical to kill off salmonella and other possible contaminants. They hunger for meat slaughtered on the farm. And they're willing to pay a premium ~ $6, $8 or more ~ for a gallon of milk straight from the cow.
So despite research outlining the dangers of consuming raw milk and other unprocessed foods, they're finding ways to circumnavigate federal, state and local laws that seek to control what they can serve at the dinner table.
Such defiance, they said, comes from growing distrust of a food sector that has become more industrialized and consolidated ~ and whose products have been at the root of some of the country's deadliest food contamination cases.
"This is about control and profit, not our health," said Aajonus Vonderplanitz, co-founder of Rawesome Foods.
"How can we not have
the freedom to choose
what we eat?"
Scientists and regulators point to epidemiological evidence linking disease outbreaks to raw milk: The milk can transmit bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7, salmonella, campylobacter and listeria, which can result in diarrhea, kidney failure or death.
NUTRICIDE IS GENOCIDE IS NUTRICIDE. GOT IT?
PART TWO
ABSOLUTE POWER
COMES FROM
ABSOLUTE CONTROL OVER FOOD
COMES FROM
ABSOLUTE CONTROL OVER FOOD
By Devinder Sharma
September 20, 2010
Ground Reality
Ever since I was a child I have been drinking milk bought directly from a small dairy in my neighbourhood. When I moved to New Delhi, for some months I managed to get my direct supply of milk from a neighbourhood supplier. But soon, the buffalo-keeper moved out his animals under pressure from builders. This was almost two decades back, and since then I am left with little option but to buy processed milk.
However, there are millions in India who can afford to avoid intake of processed milk and I think they are the lucky ones. I wish I could still buy my daily requirement of milk from the small neighbourhood dairies that dot the outskirts of New Delhi, and elsewhere.
I was therefore shocked when I viewed the accompanying video on YouTube.
Police raiding an organic grocery shop in California.
This is certainly outrageous. But this is a grim pointer to where the next battles would be fought. It is not water, as many people believe, but food that will be putting nations at war. You can clearly see, if you want to, where it is coming from. Multinational food giants have been slowly but steadily gaining control over food.
They know that absolute control over food
is the road to absolute power.
is the road to absolute power.
Lela Buttery, left, a Rawesome volunteer and professional biologist, checks in members and hands out legal waivers to sign.
The process of takeover of food simultaneously began on several fronts.
It began with Green Revolution in the late 1960s, which was essentially to provide controlled technology to increase farm production in developing countries.
This was followed with Structural Adjustment Programme that the World Bank/IMF pushed seeking policy changes through the 150-odd conditionality's that came with every loan.
To provide more teeth to the process, the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) have been brought in.
Technology is now controlled through the instruments of Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), and unhindered grain trade is made possible by the unjust obligations that developing countries have been made to accept under the so-called free trade paradigm.
To complete the control over the entire food chain, the third actor in the game ~ food retail ~ is now being moved across the national borders. G-20 is pushing for compliance, asking member countries to streamline the norms that facilitate the entry of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Multi-Brand Retail.
Internationally, the food trio ~
have formed an unholy alliance
They operate in unison,
making the governments fall in line.
Food laws are being changed everywhere across the globe to make it easy for the trio to operate.
WTO is helping to push farmers out of agriculture thereby making it easier for these multinationals to march on.
IPR laws are bringing the necessary changes in national laws in conformity with internationally designed parameters bringing private control over technology.
The process of takeover of food is now complete.
But there are still irritating impediment on the way to absolute control over food.
Alert and conscious consumers are not giving up so easily, and they are gaining in strength. Even in the United States and Europe, more and more people are realizing the dangers of processed foods, and silently moving away to organic foods.
The annual market for organic foods is growing at a phenomenal 20 per cent.
THIS MUST BE STOPPED!
So the regulators are now working overtime to outlaw organic foods. The underlying objective is to limit your food choice. You will be left with no option but to buy what the food giants want you to buy. Hobson's choice, isn't it?
A Hobson's choice is a free choice in which only one option is offered. As a person may refuse to take that option, the choice is therefore between taking the option or not; "take it or leave it". The phrase is said to originate from Thomas Hobson (1544–1631), a livery stable owner at Cambridge, England. To rotate the use of his horses he offered customers the choice of either taking the horse in the stall nearest the door or taking none at all.
In the name of food safety, which is a misnomer, food laws are being changed.
S 510 is one such law that the US is bringing into law in a clandestine manner as when they brought about the Federal Bank Laws in 1913. The reading is planned for a period when attendance would be very small. They are very serious about this. As serious as in 1937 when they moved so swiftly to bring about the illegality of marijuana which was poised to become
One of the world's most corrupt bodies ~ US FDA ~ is at work. It is working overtime to outlaw organic food.
The prescription is simple:
GM food is what you should be eating,
organic food is bad for your health.
That's the best it can do. The police raid in an organic store in California therefore is just the beginning. You wait and watch. The day is not far when the police will enter your kitchen. In the name of Mendel in the Kitchen, Nina Fedoroff, presently science advisor to the Secretary of State, is working hard to police your kitchen.
There are some who realise the threat ahead. This is what someone wrote in the comments section of the YouTube: I go to my apt garbage bin and search out empty general mills cereal boxes and various gmo containers, wash them out and sterilize them and place my organic foodstuff inside because I don't want to be dragged down to jail. I can't afford a criminal record, to maintain my job.
I don't know what is happening to the United States. Whenever I see the Statue of Liberty I can't miss the tears in her eyes.
Only the Americans refuse to see it.
As my film-maker friend Ajay Kanchan often says:
America is the country where civil liberties have been mortgaged to the multinationals.
People live in virtual tyranny. I am in complete agreement.
I can only feel sorry for fellow Americans.
But I can assure you the world outside is waiting to help you, to pull you out of the police rule.
Come, let us join hands.
Let us try to regain our control over what we eat.
And if you still believe the police are acting right. Read this letter (from someone with the user name 12dogpal): 'They did not ban the H1N1 virus infection at the factory pig farm in Mexico where the virus was released. The pork was still sold in the USA.
They didn't close the Wright County Egg farm for poisoning the food supply, they didn't close Wal-Mart for passing out e.coli beef. They didn't stop the drug co's from putting out dangerous drugs, lets face it folks, your government is your worst enemy.'
How true?
As Jawaharlal Nehru had said during the days of the British Raj:
Freedom is in peril,
defend it with all your might.
Start by saying no to S 510.
Remember, regaining control
over our food is the ultimate freedom.
PART THREE
DANGEROUS INGREDIENTS
LURKING IN OUR FOOD SUPPLY
LURKING IN OUR FOOD SUPPLY
Here are examples of what is in many of our foods today ~ unknown and unseen by the general public.
Hormones, steroids, antibiotics found in animal products.
Research shows these compounds can be absorbed by fruits and vegetables grown in soil treated with manure from animals fed antibiotics.
Toxins and pollutants from contaminated soil and water
These can stay in our environment years after they've been banned, such as DDT.
These can stay in our environment years after they've been banned, such as DDT.
Pesticides, fertilizers and fumigants
These are unnatural compounds.
These are unnatural compounds.
MSG (Monosodium Glutamate}
MSG is a neurotoxic flavor enhancer that's hidden in many foods.
MSG is a neurotoxic flavor enhancer that's hidden in many foods.
Partially hydrogenated oil
Gives baked goods and snacks longer shelf life but contains high levels of trans fat.
Gives baked goods and snacks longer shelf life but contains high levels of trans fat.
High fructose corn syrup With a high glycemic index, it converts to fat more than any other sugar. Usually made with genetically modified corn and genetically modified
enzymes.
enzymes.
Genes from bacteria, viruses, plants, animals and even humans inserted into plants like soybeans, corn, canola and cotton
Unlike traditional breeding, genetic engineering can create life forms that would normally never exist in nature.
Artificial colors and flavorings
Artificial colors are chemical compounds made mainly from coal-tar; artificial flavors are cheaply produced chemical mixtures that mimic natural flavors.
Artificial colors are chemical compounds made mainly from coal-tar; artificial flavors are cheaply produced chemical mixtures that mimic natural flavors.
Artificial sweeteners
Despite claims that these are "safe" food additives, remember they are not natural. For example, aspartame is made up of three chemicals.
Despite claims that these are "safe" food additives, remember they are not natural. For example, aspartame is made up of three chemicals.
Benzoate preservatives. These are phenolic compounds often added to food to preserve fats and prevent fats from becoming rancid; these preservatives produce low levels of hormones. The result? Food that has been denatured ~ stripped of much of its nutritional value and integrity. Food that could potentially cause health issues.
Genetically Modified (GM) crops are designed to withstand herbicides...so farmers growing GM soybeans are using two to five times more herbicides than growers of natural varieties.(1)
GM crops easily pollinate with related weeds, creating "super weeds" that are resistant to top-selling herbicides...forcing farmers to use more toxic herbicides.
Unfortunately, U.S. food manufacturers are not required to put "genetically modified" on any food labels! This leaves the consumer in the dark. In fact, according to the International Food Information Council, 62 percent of Americans surveyed said they knew "a little or nothing at all" about genetic engineering of foods.(2)
Another reason why today's common fruits and vegetables are nowhere near the quality of your grandmother's is since the late 1950s, the nutritional content of America's conventionally grown fruits and vegetables has declined, often significantly.
Dr. Donald Davis, a biochemist at the University of Texas, noted that the USDA tracked 13 major nutrients in garden crops from 1950 to 1999 and found six with noticeable declines. Of these, a 38 percent drop in riboflavin...a 15 percent drop in iron...and a 20 percent drop in vitamin C stand out.(3)
Nutritionist Alex Jack found even more shocking evidence when he compared USDA Side food tables from 1963 to those of 2000, as reported in Life Extension.(4)
He found...
50 percent less calcium in broccoli and carrots...
88 percent less iron in watercress...
45.09 percent less vitamin C in spinach...
51.5 percent less potassium in collard greens...
66 percent less iron in apples, oranges and apricots
50 percent less calcium in broccoli and carrots...
88 percent less iron in watercress...
45.09 percent less vitamin C in spinach...
51.5 percent less potassium in collard greens...
66 percent less iron in apples, oranges and apricots
Why such poor nutritional content in our produce today?
The main culprit is "modern agriculture." Today, most farmers and big food conglomerates use any means to squeeze as much produce out of an acre of land as they can. Chemical fertilizers. Manipulation of soil and seeds. Genetic engineering. Pesticides.
And they've violated time-honored holistic farming methods such as crop rotation and natural pest control and fertilization.
So, over time, our soil gets stripped of nutrients, minerals and living organisms. No wonder most fruits and vegetables in America are nutritionally deficient.
Still there is another reason why you cannot rely on today’s common fruits and vegetables to give you real nutrition like you could in the past.
Some of our most trusted food sources may be tainted.
Today, our typical food sources, especially fruits and vegetables are sprayed with synthetic pesticides, herbicides and chemicals on a regular basis.
Just consider these eye-opening facts...
Pesticide use in agriculture and for home and industrial purposes has increased a whopping 50 percent within the past three decades(5).
Vegetables such as corn, lettuce and potatoes absorb antibiotics when they're grown in soil spread with manure containing antibiotics.(6)
Since WWII, more than 80,000 synthetic chemicals have been created and released into the environment, as many as 1,500 new ones each year! These chemicals, even after they're banned, can last a long time in the environment.
For example, DDT was banned over 30 years ago, but it can still be found in the breast milk of women all over the world.(7) And DDT can make its way back into our food supply through foods imported from countries where this pesticide is still used.
High levels of nutrient pollution used in farming and ranching activities are found in our lakes and streams. Is it any wonder there are populations of frogs living in these waters with deformities?(8)
Is it any wonder that according to a recent survey, 70 percent of consumers buy organic foods to avoid pesticides.(9)
(1) Truefoodnetwork.com
(2) seattlepi.nwsource.com/health, March 1,2006
(3) seattlepinwsource.comlhealth/261163, March 1, 2006
(4) Life Extension, March 2001
(5) National Resources Defense Council. www.nrdc.org/health/kids/ocar/chap5.asp
(6) Journal of Environmental Quality, July-August 2007
(7) Global Warming Versus Plant Poisoning by Ellen Holder
(8) www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2007/366.html
(9) FoodTechnology, 10/06
(2) seattlepi.nwsource.com/health, March 1,2006
(3) seattlepinwsource.comlhealth/261163, March 1, 2006
(4) Life Extension, March 2001
(5) National Resources Defense Council. www.nrdc.org/health/kids/ocar/chap5.asp
(6) Journal of Environmental Quality, July-August 2007
(7) Global Warming Versus Plant Poisoning by Ellen Holder
(8) www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2007/366.html
(9) FoodTechnology, 10/06
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