A reminder from Natural News of what sugar does to our bodies.
“Cleaning a toilet is cheap and easy with a can of Coca-Cola. After the Coke sits in the toilet for an hour, the carbonic and phosphoric acid gets the job done, leaving behind a scum-free toilet bowl!
When that same can of Coke is poured into the mouth and down the esophagus of a human being, a much more complex chain of events occurs. After burning its way down the throat and leaving behind a film of caramel coloring on the teeth, the Coca-Cola begins its nutritional destruction on the inside of the body...” Read More
Aside from what the soda does to your insides, there’s also the ten teaspoons of sugar per can ….
Head to The Truth About Cancer’s website and learn about cancer’s ‘favourite building block’. The people at this site feature information from medical professionals including Oncologists. They should know what they’re talking about.
Dr Mercola comments:
“Is sugar a sweet old friend that is secretly plotting your demise?
There is a vast sea of research suggesting that it is. Science has now shown us, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that sugar in your food, in all its myriad of forms, is taking a devastating toll on your health…” Read More
GreenMedInfo tells us:
” … a report by Dr. Sanjay Gupta appearing on 60 Minutes featured the work of Dr. Robert Lustig, an endocrinologist from California who gained national attention after a lecture he gave titled “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” went viral in 2009. Lustig’s research has investigated the connection between sugar consumption and the poor health of the American people. He has published twelve articles in peer-reviewed journals identifying sugar as a major factor in the epidemic of degenerative disease that now afflicts our country…” Read More
Educate yourself and protect yourself and your family by eliminating cancer risks.
Sugar is hidden away in so many products now. Check the labels next time you shop and you’ll see.
From the UK’s Guardian, more news on Roundup and glyphosate. Bear in mind glyphosate is in many other products as I recently confirmed. Most of the home garden sprays in our local supermarket, popular brands too, contained glyphosate. So important to read labels and fine print.
The Guardian…. “Monsanto is far from happy. The main ingredient of its highly profitable weedkiller, Roundup, often used in conjunction with GM crops, has been declared a “probable carcinogenic”.
As well as being profitable for Monsanto, glyphosate is one of the most widely adopted weedkillers in the world by gardeners and farmers alike. Use of it by UK farmers, for example, has soared by 400% in the last 20 years.
In response to the cancer warning, the US biotech company has been quick to accuse the body behind the new classification of bias. It says the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an arm of the World Health Organisation (WHO), lacks transparency and has made an irresponsible decision – one likely to cause confusion among farmers and the wider public…
Although campaigners in the UK have tried to focus attention on possible risks to human health from glyphosate residues found in bread, toxicologists suggest gardeners and farm workers are the ones most at risk.
“It is difficult to work out the magnitude of cancer risks of glyphosate, but based on the quantities people come into contact with, it can be expected that agricultural workers applying the pesticide are at much greater risk than consumers in Britain, who are exposed via residues in food…..
For those worried about their health, one organisation now allows you to pay $120 (£75) to have your urine, breast milk or tap water tested for glyphosate contamination. Far from scaremonging, toxicologist Dr Robin Mesnage from Kings College London says such testing could help…”
A couple of years ago I came across a book in a garage sale called ‘Circle of Poison’. Published in 1981 it documents a trail of intriguing scandal regarding the export of banned pesticides from industrial countries to the third world. Products banned in the US saw the sellers simply exporting the separate ingredients to be assembled offshore for sale to unsuspecting customers oblivious to the products’ banned status. Many of these products were then duly sprayed on produce that would be returned to the country of the original banning. ‘Banning problem solved’ as it were. One of the authors David Weir describes how he came upon this scheme. Following a ban in the US of cyclamates, he discovered the ingredient in a packet of Kool-Aid he purchased whilst in Afghanistan. This began his trail of inquiries back in the 1970s which eventually led to an article in the US magazine, Mother Jones in 1979 entitled ‘The Corporate Crime of the Century’ and eventually to the book Circle of Poison. It was found that not only were toxic ingredients being exported, but defective medical devices, lethal drugs, known carcinogens, contaminated foods and other products deemed unsafe for American consumption as well. The results of this dumping are horrific.
“400 Iraqis died in 1972 and 5,000 were hospitalized after consuming the by-products of 8,000 tons of wheat and barley coated with an organic mercury fungicide, whose use had been banned in the U.S.
No one knows how many children may develop cancer since several million children’s garments treated with a carcinogenic fire retardant called Tris were shipped overseas after being forced off the domestic market by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)”. (from Mother Jones … more examples in the article)
Lomotil, an effective prescription-only anti-diarrhea medicine sold in the U.S., fatal in amounts just slightly over the recommended doses, was sold over the counter in Sudan, advertised as a product that was used by astronauts during the Gemini and Apollo space flights and also recommended for use by children as young as 12 months. Another item was Depo Provera, a birth control injection. This was banned in the United States because it caused malignant tumors in beagles and monkeys, yet is sold by the Upjohn Co. in 70 other countries, where it is widely used in U.S.-sponsored population control programs. It is currently also prescribed by GPs in New Zealand. Watch for an article on this product. I intend to research it soon. And the dumping of unwanted stuff is still going on by all appearances. More on that in another post. It does illustrate perfectly the utter disregard corporations hold for the health of the public. Again their bottom line is profits.
Here is the Mother Jones Article:
The Corporate Crime of the Century
It’s called dumping: When the U.S. government forces a dangerous drug, pesticide or other product off the domestic market, the manufacturer then sells that same product—frequently with the direct support of the State Department—throughout the rest of the world.
Tom Mboya was the hope of the western world. Bright, energetic, popular and inclined to be democratic—he was a born leader who, Washington hoped, would rise to power in Kenya and help keep Africa safe for United States commerce. In 1969 he was shot down in the streets of Nairobi. An emergency rescue squad was by his side in minutes. They plugged him into the latest gadget in resuscitative technology—a brand new U.S. export called the Res-Q-Aire. What the rescue team didn’t know as they watched Tom Mboya’s life slip away was that this marvelous device had been recalled from the American market by the US government because it was found to be totally ineffective. The patient died….Read More Here
Are councils in bed with Agrichemical companies? Both the Auckland & Rangitikei District Council are favouring chemical weed control over non-chemical, in spite of the heightened health risks highlighted recently by WHO. They cite outdated & incorrect data to support this preference.
Some Aucklanders are currently objecting to a flip flop on their Council’s current weed management policies. A petition has been circulating (and is on FB also if you would like to sign it) calling (like the Rangitikei) for a ban on the use of glyphosate on Auckland’s streets and parks. Some parts of Auckland are chemical free in terms of weed management however not all, and council is doing a u turn on their current policy of minimal chemical use, indicating in their Ten Year Plan a preference for chemical control.
Public areas are sprayed without any warning before, during or after the fact
Auckland’s Weed Management Advisory (a Community-led organization that helped create the Council’s Weed Management Policy 2013 of minimum agrichemical use, which the Council seems intent on doing away with) are also calling for a BAN on Glyphosate and have put a leaked briefing document up on their website. You can read it here. This is the Long Term Plan featuring quotes for alternative methods of weed management as opposed to management with glyphosate, typically, Roundup. Georgina Blackmore, the petition organizer, states that the figures cited should be taken with a pinch of salt … in fact a very large amount of salt. They are using she says, old, inaccurate and misleading information. “Disingenuous” says Auckland councilor John Watson. The Weed Management Advisory has accused the Auckland Council of putting the public at risk. Read their press statement here.
This line is a very familiar tale. Our own Rangitikei District Council cited inaccurate figures when justifying their rejection of glyphosate-free weed management in our public spaces. We had tried to counter this outcome by citing Auckland contractors who are currently employing mechanical weed control methods. The latter stated emphatically that their costs were a marginal 10-15 percent more than Roundup, and expected soon to even match it. Similarly, with the current Auckland scenario cited here, other Auckland contractors are saying their costs are even less than glyphosate.
When the request for tighter parameters and controls around glyphosate spraying was originally put to the RDC, citing the extensive independent research available on the myriad health risks associated with Roundup use, an internal report was requested by RDC on alternative cost-effective weed-control methods. Councilor Lyn Sheridan asked why health effects were not investigated by RDC and the response by CEO Ross McNeill was, ‘…they weren’t asked for’. They are missing the point here.
We need to be asking, why are Councils so bent on, so adamant, about choosing chemical control, and with a chemical that has recently been re-classified by WHO as a Class 2A carcinogen? Claiming there is insufficient proof of health risks is myopic at best.
That statistic is extremely high and surely deserving of closer examination of the research into environmental causes and the elimination of the probable ones?
Walkways and adjacent herbage where both school children & general public regularly walk is sprayed heavily with Roundup/glyphosate
The thing about Roundup is (and you will hear this in the audio link below) we the public are given no warning in advance of spraying, no signs are put out when they are spraying (so people can walk on it before it’s dry without even knowing) it is sprayed on public walkways where school children walk with no prior warning and it is sometimes sprayed on windy days.
Read Georgina’s piece here on her recent findings and her interview on Radio with Auckland Councilor John Watson and Professor Ian Shaw from Canterbury University.
“In an interview I gave on bFM this week about our campaign to ban the use of Glyphosate on Auckland Roads and Parks, Councillor John Watson and expert of Toxicology Professor Ian Shaw both agreed that we need to be seriously looking at what alternatives we have to spraying Glyphosate…” Read at SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/BanGlyphosate/posts/417049618496545
Around a decade ago I began to notice, just by reading labels, that there were many ‘unknowns’ in our personal care products. Then once connected to the internet I began to research in earnest and came upon the Environmental Working Group, an excellent site for checking out suspect chemicals.
The amounts of these chemicals placed in our products are tiny, however they are products we tend to use virtually daily … shampoos, skin care products, household cleaners etc so we cannot over estimate the cumulative effect the chemicals have. And, worse, many of the ingredients are either known or suspected carcinogens. There are also chemicals which, when mixed with others become carcinogenic. Our skin is very absorbent so these chemicals go straight into our bloodstreams. An excellent expose of this scenario is the film ‘The Idiot Cycle’ found on the ‘Chemicals’ page on this site.
Dr Samuel Epstein wrote a book in the 1970s called ‘The Politics of Cancer’. He clearly describes the effects of these chemicals and points out that they are known environmental causes of cancer that folks, including the companies, refuse to seriously acknowledge. As I say frequently here, corporations do lie at times, they do have legal person hood, however they are not like real human beings. If you do doubt this please watch The Corporation film or read the info at the page in the link. It explains all.
Protect yourself and research the ingredients and don’t believe everything the packaging tells you. The claim to ‘organic’, ‘healthy’ and so on on the label guarantees you nothing unless it is legally certified. Companies are now bandying those labels around to look good but the advertising is often deceptive.
Well today I’ve learned something new. Although I seldom eat these and definitely would put them in the ‘processed foods’ category … I’d never examined their health effects aside from the well known MSG risks. This is from getholistichealth.com
Ramen noodles contain Tertiary-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ), which is a byproduct of the petroleum industry and food additive frequently to preserve cheap processed foods.A gastrointestinal specialist conducted an experiment with a time lapse video inside the stomach to what would happen after two hours of digesting ramen noodles andthe results were staggering.
Even trace exposures to lethal asbestos fibers can cause cancer, and other diseases!
“When you catch a conversation about asbestos, you might think it’s about health problems from at least 30 years ago. You’re not alone. Many Americans assume asbestos has been banned or fallen out of use. And for good reason. It’s a known carcinogen that kills up to 15,000 Americans a year.
The harsh reality is, asbestos is still legal. And it’s everywhere.
When EWG Action Fund launched its Asbestos Nation campaign to raise awareness about today’s asbestos threat, we looked beyond well-known hazards – vehicle brakes and building materials.
We didn’t expect to find asbestos in crayons. But it’s there.
The test results make a scary picture: a child exposed to asbestos is 3.5 more likely than a 25-year-old to develop mesothelioma, a lung disease, that is only caused by asbestos, because of the long lag time between exposure and diagnosis, according to the U.K. Committee on Carcinogenicity
“Asbestos in toys poses an unacceptable risk to children, today as it did in 2000 and 2007, the last time tests found the deadly substance in these children’s products,” Dr. Philip Landrigan, professor of pediatrics and preventive medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, told EWG Action Fund. Landrigan is an internationally- recognized expert in the area of asbestos and other toxic materials and a former senior adviser to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on children’s environmental health…”
I’m recommending here a useful NZ book on pesticides…
“Poisoning Our Future: Children and Pesticides” by Dr Meriel Watts PhD … “This book details the scientific evidence for the insidious effects of pesticides on children and calls on government institutions to adopt a more precautionary approach to better protect human health and the environment…”
Further info about this book can be found at the following website: http://www.pananz.net/publications-2/books/
You can also purchase a hard copy or a download at the website.
THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT THE MARTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
An excellent resource to familiarize yourself with how pesticides affect our kids. The pananz website has more info on glyphosate also. Dr Watts has been a long time campaigner in reducing toxic pesticide use in NZ.
It is phasing out the use of controversial pesticide glyphosate – the active ingredient in Round Up – and introducing natural ways to control weeds, even though regulators from the State Government and CSIRO do not require them to.
Parks manager Mark Presswell says council is concerned that research has shown glyphosate is a health hazard and harmful to the environment….”
The Chronicle is reporting on the leachate. There have been more discussions regarding the ongoing treatment of this toxic runoff: “Leachate from the Bonny Glen landfill may soon be treated on site rather than, or before, being dumped into the Marton wastewater treatment plant…”
We heard on June 12th that: “…it would still be a few months before a solution would be finalised concerning leachate…” and that ” Bonny Glen manager Paul Mullinger … was taking the issue “very seriously”. They are “… considering some sort of on-site treatment and did not view the issue as insurmountable”… and Deputy Mayor Dean McManaway says “It’s important we keep chipping away and not let this rest.”
Note the operative words here: “may … few months … considering … chipping away”.
It is interesting that on one side of the table, the company that managed to secure a nice loose ‘gentleman’s agreement’ to dump the toxic leachate in the first place, and contaminate our local stream to the extent RDC and Horizons seem unwilling to conduct ongoing in-stream biota surveys, concealing just how loose that agreement was … and on the other side that same company managed to effectively exclude all discussion of leachate, truck nuisance and landfill pests from the hearings altogether. And now it’s all go ahead with the consents safely in hand, still we’re required to ‘chip away’ at things. Some of us are not fooled by all this drag-the-chain rhetoric.
In the meantime, as the latest Chronicle article points out, the waste water treatment plant is still non-compliant.
Some important truths here about Genetically Modified Organisms (from GMO Free USA) … and a reminder why we need to eliminate known and suspected carcinogens from our environments. As I repeat often on this site, cancer statistics are now one in three. That is far far too high, and the powers that be need to get serious about eliminating the KNOWN risks, as well as the suspected, instead of acting like cancer is a mystery. It’s not. Please read Dr Samuel Epstein’s book called ‘The Politics of Cancer’, or watch the excellent documentary called ‘The Idiot Cycle’ featured here two days ago. They are forever searching for cures whilst both ignoring and suppressing the existing cures, and failing to look at the causes, many of which have already been exposed by independent research. Folks are wising up however and seeking alternative help for themselves, as did the Northland man who used IV Vitamin C to cure his cancer (note this man had had all the chemo he could have and was sent home to die). To learn of the many cures that exist for cancer now see also on YouTube, Cancer is Curable Now and Every Cancer Can be Cured in Weeks, Dr. Leonard Coldwell. Additionally you can visit the website called The Truth About Cancer. There are some of their docos on YouTube plus they occasionally show online their whole series exposing how the medical industry switched its focus from holistic healing to treating symptoms with pharmaceuticals. These are excellent documentaries that feature qualified health professionals including oncologists.
Currently we have an online petition seeking to curtail or stop the spraying of glyphosate (Roundup) in our Rangitikei District’s public places. Glyphosate which is used liberally in our district was recently re classified by WHO as a Class 2A carcinogen, meaning it probably causes cancer. Our Council however continues to ignore the research and WHO’s announcement, whilst on the other hand, many countries are banning it. For further information on glyphosate please visit the Glyphosate page on this site. If you are from the Rangitikei or connected with it in any way, please consider signing the petition. It is surely wiser to eliminate all known and suspected carcinogens.
The causative factors around cancer are really no mystery … we just never hear about them in mainstream media. Read Dr Samuel Epstein’s book called ‘The Politics of Cancer’, quite an old book too. He points out the many environmental causes, and yet our system, the powers that be, call them what you will, act dumb almost and ask us to contribute to the endless sea of research that seems to go nowhere.
This documentary, ‘The Idiot Cycle’ will enlighten you.
“1/3 of the food currently produced worldwide is thrown away every year.. to help prevent this travesty, France just passed new legislation banning stores from purposefully ruining food … requiring all supermarkets 400 square feet or larger to donate unsold food to charity, for animal feed, or for farming compost.”
In recent weeks we’ve had some intriguing contrasts on this front. In NZ and the UK private organizations have been redistributing waste supermarket food to the needy, then in a town in Spain, we have a Mayor of 35 years seizing food from supermarkets to redistribute ‘Robin Hood’ style, to the poor. He sees speculation in food, and rightly so, as a disgrace. Food he says, is a right. This Mayor has also put the clamps on housing speculation and folks there in Marinaleda can own their own home for $19 a month… so long as it’s never sold for profit.
“We need to rethink our values, the consumer society, the value we place on money, selfishness and individualism,” says their mayor, Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo.
Then in the US of America a young woman has been sacked for giving free cafeteria lunches to children who had no lunch money (see video at the link). Seventy one cities in the US have been trying to pass ordinances forbidding the donation of food to the homeless.
” … 90-year-old World War II veteran Arnold Abbott made national headlines when he got busted by cops in Fort Lauderdale, Florida twice in one week—for giving out food to homeless people. While serving a public meal on November 2, Abbott told the Sun-Sentinel, “a policeman pulled my arm and said, ‘Drop that plate right now,’ like it was a gun.”
What’s the planet coming to? Generosity being criminalized … for what? Much of the food being denied the poor is only headed for landfills anyway. Hopefully other nations will follow the lead on this and practice some civil disobedience to get the message across. It’s not as if the poor will be shopping elsewhere and affecting profits. And profits are the underlying agenda in all of this. Take an hour out and watch ‘The Corporation’ documentary. You will learn from that that profits are the bottom line for corporations. They are not about helping people and the insanity of many of them needs to be challenged. Preventing people from feeding the poor simply isn’t right.
Here is excellent news from Switzerland, joining the ranks of countries that are rejecting the probable carcinogen, glyphosate. This article is from Sustainable Pulse.
“Swiss supermarket giants Coop and Migros have announced that they will no longer sell products that contain glyphosate, following the World Health Organization’s report stating that glyphosate is a probable human carcinogen. They have also announced that they will be exploring non-toxic alternative weed-killers.”
Note: if you consider ‘probably causes cancer’ is not proof enough to stop using glyphosate, consider now the statistics of cancer deaths which are at one in three. That is very high. Is it not worth erring on the side of caution to try and cut down this awful death rate? Consider reading the book by Dr Samuel Epstein called ‘The Politics of Cancer’. This is very enlightening and will get you to consider more deeply the part environment plays in our protection.
Since it’s Queen’s Birthday this weekend (not her official birthday which is 21st April) here are a few pertinent facts you may like to ponder:
Queen Elizabeth is the largest landowner on earth; she has legal ownership of over one sixth of the planet’s surface. The Commonwealth, including Britain, occupies 9,900 mill acres of the earth’s 36,000 mill acres.
in the UK the Queen is the sole legal owner of all land. Everyone else has either of the following forms of tenure: (a) freehold defined as ‘an interest in an estate in land, in fee simple.’ (a medieval term for the sum paid to represent the fact that freehold was actually a tenancy and that the monarch was the ultimate landowner). (b) Leasehold, an interest in an estate in land, in fee simple, for a term of years’.
The corporation called ‘NZ’ (your country Kiwis) is registered as owned by the Queen, on the Securities & Exchange Commission’s (SEC) website, Washington DC.
During WW2 11 million acres of land was seized by the British Govt., with minimal and in some cases no compensation paid.
In the UK, Australia, Canada, NZ and anywhere else there are Crown lands, the relevant Govts can seize land without compensation, acting in the Queen’s name … they can also use the Royal Prerogative (feudal powers) to do the same, beyond the reach of parliaments.
The Queen owns as a private person, about 637,000 acres with a value of over $9,200 million.
For nearly 10,000 years of known history, those claiming ownership of land on the planet has been between 0.2% and 3% of the population, whilst the remaining 97-99% owned nothing. The land owners exclude the majority from owning any by crafting their own land laws and perpetuating the fallacy that land is scarce because there are too many people on the planet.
If all the land on the planet was divvied up equally to all (this calculates roughly to one tenth of an urban acre or two of rural) poverty could be eliminated.
From ‘Who Owns the World’ by Kevin Cahill and Rob McMahon
Kissinger: “Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control the people.”
GE feed is already being fed to some of our farm animals … it is unlabeled as GE so farmers can give no guarantee it’s not
They’ve been doing it by increments for decades. Once they own all the seed companies, you will have no other option than buying their genetically modified seed which we already know is dangerous to health. GE feed is already fed to some of our NZ animals … so it is in our food… be aware and treasure your organic/heirloom seed like gold.
Some history here … in the late 1980s a bill was passed in NZ (now world-wide) called Plant Variety Rights (PVR) or Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR). This allowed companies to emasculate seeds, removing their ability to reproduce by removing the reproductive organs. This meant of course that you couldn’t save seed from the resultant plants and would be forced to return to the store and buy another packet of seeds next season. Now what good could transpire from such an arrangement except profits for the …. yes …. the corporation? Corporations are about profits not the well being of populations. They are not averse to suing poor farmers for saving seed, something they’ve done for thousands of years. How helpful is that for struggling farmers from struggling nations? Already in poorer nations the promise by Monsanto of greater yields with their emasculated seed (aka genetically modified) have fallen flat and these farmers find themselves in very great debt instead, many committing suicide.
Just ten companies own 67% of the world’s proprietary seed market, and of that, Monsanto owns 23% and DuPont 15%. Need I say more? Do take the time to research this topic for yourself. You can read the full article on Monsanto at permaculture.co.uk:
” … Monsanto is buying heirloom seed companies. They are also buying the trademarks to a number of heirloom seeds. This means that you may think you are supporting an heirloom seed company but in reality the company is owned by Monsanto… “
More on glyphosate … another nation bans it. Since its reclassification by WHO to a class 2A carcinogen, many countries are moving to protect the public:
“Sri Lanka’s newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena announced Friday that the import of the World’s most used herbicide glyphosate will be banned with immediate effect. The release of already imported stocks has also been stopped. Sirisena, a farmer and ex Health Minister, stated that glyphosate is responsible for the increasing number of chronic kidney disease (CKDu) patients in Sri Lanka and added that the move would protect the Sri Lankan farming community…”
This is an inspiring report from NZ’s Campbell Live about how waste food from shops and supermarkets, still quite edible, yet destined for landfills, is gathered up and distributed to the less fortunate folks who can’t afford food. This is efficient recycling at its best … with a unique touch of kindness to boot.
“Earlier this year, Campbell Live covered New Zealand’s $872 million food scandal and highlighted the amount of food we waste and the food we buy to eat but never do.
As a nation, we throw away 122,000 tonnes of food per annum, just from households.
That study got us thinking, and many of you too – what about commercial food waste, uneaten food from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants?
Sadly, most of it is also dumped – but not all.
Campbell Live reporter Jendy Harper spent the day rescuing the food and feeding the less fortunate in Wellington.”
Germany’s state consumer protection ministers are calling for an EU-wide ban on the leading global pesticide Glyphosate, after it was categorized as carcinogenic by the WHO. However, the federal government sees no need for action. EurActiv Germany reports.
Major oat buyer says no to glyphosate: no more shipments of crops sprayed pre-harvest with deadly herbicide
(NaturalNews) One of Canada’s leading manufacturers of conventional and organic whole grain ingredients used in cereals, breads, bars and many other products served around the world has decided to stop accepting oats sprayed with Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide (glyphosate) prior to harvest, noting consumer preference as a major contributing factor to this decision.
This case is shocking. As I recall, Johnson & Johnson was always a trusted brand. I spoke recently with some women in their senior years who all nodded at that name as being trusted. Trust unfortunately is a word that doesn’t feature so prominently nowadays. Corporations regularly fail in their promises it seems … and if you doubt this please watch the doco entitled ‘The Corporation’. You will find it here on the Corporations page. It will explain to you how this all happened … how a corporation functions … to whom its first loyalties are. Be aware, it is not you, the customer by any stretch of the imagination. And so here, we have a big corporation being ordered to pay $50 million to an injured child, when in the bigger picture, in light of the profits made, that sum of money is not all that large. And not compared to the suffering this child and her family have endured. As always with these sad and unfortunate stories, we need to be aware to read the very fine print and do our own private research on medications. The information is there but is seldom given to us unless requested.
“(NaturalNews) The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld a lower court’s judgment that pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson should be required to pay $50 million to a girl who suffered a rare but devastating side effect from Children’s Motrin when she was seven years old. The judgment took more than a decade to be reached.
Samantha Reckis experienced toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), which burned off 90 percent of her skin, destroyed 80 percent of her lung capacity and left her blind. Only luck and the efforts of her doctors prevented her from dying or suffering permanent brain damage…”
Currently in the Rangitikei, as in many other places, Roundup is the herbicide of choice for cleaning up weeds. Recently however, the World Health Organization (WHO) has taken recognition of the decades of independent research that warns of its health risk. WHO is warning people of the fact that it probably causes cancer. Check out the Glyphosate page on this site for further information on that.
Roundup, the herbicide of choice that contains glyphosate and is toxic to our bees
Personally I approached the Rangitikei District Council (RDC) twelve months ago to warn them of these dangers and make known to them the vast amount of research that exists linking it with not only cancer but many other illnesses including birth defects. Now, add to this another damning factor … its toxicity to bees. Bees are essential for pollinating our plants. As the poster above conveys,experts confirm that if the bees die off, we humans could well follow. Our toxic environments are destroying the very organisms that ensure the continuation of life on planet earth.
That said, the RDC is not convinced by either the extensive research or any announcements by WHO. Currently in fact, going by the last time I heard them discuss this (March 2015) they are of the opinion that I am the only person in the Rangitikei who is concerned about this. We now have a petition that indicates there are in fact another 97 who are. Good news. If you are connected with the Rangitikei, spend any time visiting, live here or intend to, please consider signing the petition.
Watch for further updates and information on the role of bees in our food chain.
More news on the glyphosate front as more and more people wake up to the toxicity of glyphosate based herbicides. May the trend continue until it is hopefully banned altogether.
“Colombia will suspend aerial fumigation of illegal coca plants in light of a number of studies linking the herbicide involved to cancer, a move that marks the end of a decades-long strategy in the country’s fight against drug trafficking.
Spraying coca leaves, which are used to make cocaine, has been a key part of Colombia’s efforts to curb production of some 300 tonnes of cocaine a year that make it one of the world’s biggest producers of the drug…”
This is from the Feed the World website and via GM Watch, by Claire Robinson.
“The International Society of Doctors for the Environment (ISDE) has written to officials of the EU Parliament and Commission asking for an immediate ban on glyphosate herbicides and four insecticides judged by the World Health Organisation’s cancer agency, IARC, to be probable carcinogens.
The letter states that glyphosate herbicides are associated with health problems such as birth defects, infertility, damage to the nervous system, Parkinson’s disease and several forms of cancer.
The letter adds, “for safeguarding the health of European populations, ISDE states that the rational basis is already strong enough” to justify an immediate and permanent ban…”
From the NaturalNews website … more damning information on glyphosate. The stream of articles on this product is constant. Bear in mind, scientists have been raising this alarm for years, spending a great deal of time researching this supposedly safe herbicide ingredient, their warnings falling largely on deaf ears. WHO’s recent public recognition and acknowledgement of its toxicity is now opening a floodgate of reaction world wide.
“(NaturalNews) Key data outlining the toxicity of glyphosate (Roundup) was recently uncovered, revealing that Monsanto knew about the cancer-causing effects of its best-selling herbicide more than 35 years ago, as did the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and yet neither entity chose to make this information known in the interest of public health. Both Monsanto and the EPA knew full well, at least as early as 1981, that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide causes cancer in mammals….”
Bermuda has joined the ranks of countries banning this ‘probable carcinogen’. WHO’s reclassification of glyphosate to Class 2A is creating a knock on effect around the world. Nations are re thinking the risk involved.
“Effective immediately, all importers of glyphosate/Roundup will be notified that the approval for all glyphosate products has been suspended, pending the continuing assessment of the emerging research.” – Jeanne Atherden, Bermuda Minister of Health
Bermuda’s farmers are also backing the Government’s decision stating it “would not have a significant effect on Bermudian agriculture as alternatives can easily be used.”
Here’s good news. With the topic now heating up since WHO’s recent announcement that glyphosate ‘probably causes cancer’, this is another good decision for the public.
If you haven’t already signed our petition to ban the use of glyphosate in the Rangitikei’s urban public places, please go to the petition page and consider signing.
” ‘As a responsible company, it is important to regularly review our entire range and seek to protect the environment and nature with alternative and more sustainable options. Toom Baumarkt is constantly and consistently developing a more sustainable portfolio of products,” explains Dominique Rotondi, General Purchasing Manager for toom Baumarkt….’
The 350 ‘toom Baumarkt DIY’ stores belonging to the REWE Group will carry no glyphosate-containing products later than September 30, 2015. From Monday such products cannot be re-ordered for the stores. By the end of 2013 toom Baumarkt had begun to switch the range and had removed about 60 percent of glyphosate-containing products from sale. Toom Baumarkt offers its customers alternative environmentally acceptable products. Thus toom Baumarkt was well ahead of the upcoming decision on the extension of the EU approval for glyphosate.”
Following on from the RDC meeting in late March 2015 where the topic of eliminating the spraying of glyphosate in urban Rangitikei’s public places was discussed following a report by Council into cost effective alternatives. If you missed the previous parts, follow the links to Part 1 and Part 2 before continuing here.
The Cost Effective Alternative
Returning to the Council discussion that day, Cr Ash raised the issue regarding cost effective alternatives to spraying Glyphosate. As outlined there, the alternatives were explored in the Council report however some of the detail was incorrect. It was claimed hot water treatment is fifteen times more expensive than chemical spraying. In fact, a company in Auckland, whose contact details I had supplied prior to the completion of the report, was prepared to present information to Council on their system that can operate at the small margin of 10-15% more than chemical spraying. That price, says the company director, is set to drop even further by the end of 2015 to be on a par with that of chemical spraying. This option however was never pursued and by all appearances isn’t going to be. According to the recent Rangitikei Mail article, Mayor Andy Watson, who was not available for comment, “endorsed the council’s position based on the commissioned report”. The RDC will only be establishing a no-spray register where those who wish to opt out can, and they take responsibility themselves for keeping that area weed free. A no-spray register is standard practice in many cities. If you wish to avoid any other exposure to public spraying activity, basically you can’t, and I’ve seen folk spraying in fairly high wind around here. I’ve also observed children walking on the regularly used track that they take to school … within minutes of being sprayed. The label on Roundup packaging warns about spraying on calm days and waiting for the product to dry before touching what is sprayed. My initial presentation had also included a request for warning the public of imminent spraying and/or the placing out of signs saying spraying is in progress. Nobody has been agreeable to this either. Neither the contractors nor RDC.
The Market
One of the bonuses we’ve been told about market competition is that prices will be driven down. In this respect I’ve suggested in previous discussions with those concerned here that surely the Council need only seek quotes for chemical free treatment from several competing contractors then secure the most favourable price. During my own research a contractor in one city who applies a salt solution to hardstand areas, said they were simply told to submit a quote for chemical free treatment. For some reason that remains unclear to me, the RDC prefers to lean favourably towards helping the current contractor, Fulton Hogan, to continue the status quo, and are not willing to introduce any competition. Surely this would benefit the rate payers. It is possible a local contractor may go even lower than the current one. The Auckland company is willing to look at working with and training a suitable contractor to establish its system of hot water and foam here in Marton.
In Summary
The important matter for me in all this, is health. There is a very long list of health issues with glyphosate and research clearly states it is a ‘probable carcinogen’. Class 2A. I’m left wondering, are people really interested in figuring out what causes cancer?
Bear in mind also, this product is sprayed all over pastures so it has to be in much of our food. It has been found in blood, urine and even breast milk. As I pointed out in my presentation, the cancer stats are now ONE in THREE. So one third of your friends / acquaintances / family will statistically be affected by this terrible
The Seralini Rats
plague, and plague it is. I personally can name three brushes with it in my close family. In one branch of my extended family, three deaths from it. In another, two. Among friends, two deaths. These stats are very high. Common sense should be telling us to err on the side of caution and when an organization like WHO is sounding warnings, why are we not listening? Or should I say, why are they not listening?
So, in summary, should you be interested in curbing the spraying of chemicals in your vicinity, be prepared for possible unpleasantness and vilification. Not for the faint hearted. I have received similar from the contractors themselves, one, when I asked him not to spray near my flat, walked right by me spraying within inches of my feet. The company has now agreed to a compromise and they are weed whacking again. I am spraying a non toxic spray under the trees, at their request and at my own expense.
For further information on glyphosate visit the glyphosate page on this site. You will find direct links to the extensive research near the bottom of the page. (You can view the actual research reports by the researchers themselves). There is also the very defining video by Professor Seralini illustrating his research conducted for two years on lab rats, after which France’s highest Court ruled Monsanto had deceived the public about the safety of their product.
This is from the Environmental Working Group (EWG), and an important reminder we carefully scrutinize the labels on our food, but research the chemicals present in our cookware. Be warned…EnvirowatchRangitikei
This article is by By David Andrews, Senior Scientist and Bill Walker, Consultant.
POISONED LEGACY
Ten Years Later, Chemical Safety and Justice for DuPont’s Teflon Victims Remain Elusive
DuPont’s Dirty History
In 2005 the Environmental Protection Agency fined chemical giant DuPont a record $16.5 million over its decades-long cover-up of the health hazards of C8, also known as PFOA. One of a family of perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs, PFOA was a key ingredient in making Teflon, the non-stick, waterproof, stain-resistant “miracle of modern chemistry” used in thousands of household products….
DuPont had long known that PFOA caused cancer, had poisoned drinking water in the mid-Ohio River Valley and polluted the blood of people and animals worldwide.
It’s been 10 years since the EPA’s history-making judgment against DuPont and PFOA, but its victims are still seeking justice. DuPont has failed to clean up water supplies, is shirking its promise to monitor the health of the communities it poisoned and is gearing up to fight in court against paying damages to its victims. EWG – and the victims of DuPont
Read the article at EWG’s website & download pdf guide to avoiding PFCS:
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