Bush: A Review of 8 Years

Keith Olbermann: I love him. Here's his succinct, emphatic, and heart-wrenching list of the travesties wrought by GW Bush, Dick Cheney and those with whom they colluded at incalculable expense on inconceivable levels.

What do these crimes and violations against our citizenship, the world's people and nature say about our nation and our system of justice? If money and power can so readily supersede truth and accountability, do we have real democracy?

Olbermann / Bush Years: 8 In 8 Minutes (Friday, 16 January, 2009)
Full transcript

Proposition 2 is Passed in CA

Fantastic! California's Proposition 2—the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act—won 63% of the votes on Nov 4, so the statute passed. The proposition will prohibit confining some farm animals in a manner that does not allow them to turn around freely, lie down, stand up, and fully extend their limbs.

Unfortunately, the animals that will benefit from this—calves raised for veal, egg-laying hens and pregnant pigs—may have to wait until January 1, 2015 for any change in the deplorable treatment they currently receive. Farming operations have until that date to implement the new space requirements. Also unfortunately, a failure to comply will result only in misdemeanor penalties, including a fine not to exceed $1,000 and/or imprisonment in jail for up to 180 days.

The good news is that farm animal treatment is gaining exposure as an issue of tremendous importance. When we understand that the way we treat farm animals affects us directly and indirectly in multiple and significant ways—health, economy, and environmental sustainability, to name a few—we will make choices more circumspectly. Everyone gains, and most importantly our animal friends are accorded a life more worth living.

Photo by Phillie Casablanca. Creative Commons.

Fighting to Keep Food Local at Polyface Farm

Joel Salatin is an amazing writer, speaker, community-based agriculture advocate and owner of Polyface Farm in Swoope, VA. In this short video, he succinctly explains the methods he uses to farm. I've been a customer of Joel's for roughly a decade, and I continue to appreciate the many gifts he gives, including the best eggs, poultry and pork I've ever had. Joel informs as well as inspires, and you'll see why in this video. (Apologies ahead of time for the commercials in the video - I wish I could take them out...)

Also below: a video about a measure being proposed in California - Proposition 2 - to require more humane treatment of factory farm animals. If it is passed, it will be a great boon for animals, farmers, and consumers.

Update on Yoo-hoo Creature

This afternoon I received a letter from the Consumer Relations department at Cadbury Schweppes "America's Beverages" in Plano, Texas. They apologized "for any inconvenience this
situation may have caused," and stated that "we have forwarded your comments to our quality assurance team." As a gesture of good will, they enclosed two coupons, each worth "up to $4.29" for any of their regular or diet drinks.

I do appreciate them sending the letter. However, I wonder how they arrived at $8.58 as an agreeable gesture of conciliation for a consumer who imbibed a rancid, bacteria-laden drink of theirs with a dead snake in it (or worm, leach, salamander, newt, fluke or whatever it was) and its egg sac.

I also wonder how many other people around the world have unwittingly consumed tainted beverages from their factories. I wonder what their factories are like - what their "food" production system entails. I wonder where they get their water from. I wonder how rotten that drink would have to be in order for someone to get seriously sick from one sip. I wonder if Erica has been subjected to something insidiously disease-promoting. I wonder if the company is more aware than they may let on about serious quality issues.

I believe Cadbury Schweppes cares about our experience, and I will tell them this. But I wonder if it will change anything. I hope so!

Yoo-hoo Critter

Here are a few photos of an amphibious creature and her egg sac that were in the Yoo-hoo bottle Erica took a swig from on Tuesday, April 29, 2008. Evidently the critter was alive when it entered the Yoo-hoo food prep system, but was dead by the time Erica popped the bottle top.

How disgusting: bacteria-laden, dead-animal filled Yoo-hoo!

Erica seems to be fine, although she'll never forget the shocking taste of the rancid liquid and her subsequent horror in realizing what was in the bottle.

If you're tempted to buy Yoo-hoo, please think twice. And check out this CBS story from Nov '06 of a woman with a similar encounter: she found a human appendage in her Yoo-hoo.



Here's a video of Erica and Alexa describing the experience.



And here's most of the report I filed with the US Food and Drug Administration, after speaking with Yoo-hoo ("We've received a few similar calls"), Erica's doctor (who wouldn't see her because she had no overt, related symptoms after 3 days), the Anne Arundel County Department of Health ("We only license the stores and handle out of date products"), and the Maryland Department of Health ("Call the FDA").

• Description of Complaint/Injury: On Tuesday, April 29, 2008, my daughter, Erica, took a sip of a Yoo-hoo drink directly from the bottle and encountered a horrendous, offensive, toxic taste. Her friend, Alexa, looked in the bottle and said, “There’s something black in there.” I looked inside the bottle and noted the same, so I took the bottle to the kitchen sink and poured out the liquid so that I could detect what the black object was. Into the sink poured two objects: 1) a 3” snake-like animal, and 2) a jelly-like substance with multiple black bumps in it – presumably an egg sac.
• Amount Consumed & Date and Time Consumed: Erica swallowed perhaps 1-2 mouthfuls of the tainted Yoo-hoo liquid that was in the bottle. Date consumed: Tuesday, April 29, 2008
• Initials Symptoms: Erica’s immediate reaction to swallowing the liquid was one of extreme distaste. She spent a good deal of time washing out her mouth to try to alleviate this. After we discovered the animal and its sac, Erica was horrified (as Alexa and I were as well); Erica fell on the floor in disgust. The following day (Wednesday, April 30, 2008) Erica had a stomach ache. On Friday, May 1, 2008, her school nurse called me to say that Erica was sick and needed to return home from school. Erica went to her doctor.
• Brand Name of Product: Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink
• Size and Package Type: 9 FL OZ (266mL) glass bottle
• Name and Location of Store where Purchased: Unknown store; bottle came from a 6 pack and was purchased in Maryland
• Package Code/Serial Number: Inked number on face of glass bottle: 305236-2035 CT897
• Expiration/Use by Date: None indicated
• UPC Code: 723584
• Toll free phone numbers or e-mail address listed on labeling: 1-800-966-4669
• Contact information made with manufacturer, distributor, or place of purchase: On Wednesday, April 30, 2008 I called Yoo-hoo customer service at 1-800-966-4669. Crystal S. opened up my case #[xxx]. I reported the incident in detail. She related that she had received a few other similar calls. She apologized on behalf of the company and said there was nothing really that they could do since I had disposed of the liquid. She said that if my daughter got sick that I should call.
  

If this isn't enough to sway you to not drink Yoo-hoo, then consider this list of ingredients. It doesn't exactly say "yum yum."

• Water, dairy whey, high fructose corn syrup and/or sugar, non-fat milk, corn syrup solids, cocoa (processed with potassium carbonate), soybean oil (partially hydrogenated), sodium caseinate (protein source), salt, tricalcium phosphate, dipotassium phosphate, xanthum gum, guar gum, mono-and diglycerides, vanillin (an artificial flavor), soy lechitin, calcium ascorbate (vitamin C), natural flavor, vitamin A palmiate, niacinamide (vitamin B3), vitamin D3 and riboflavoin (vitamin B2)

Sweet Misery - A Poisoned World

Sweet Misery - A Poisoned World is a compelling documentary about the toxic effects of aspartame, one of the most widespread chemical food additives in the world. WATCH THE MOVIE BELOW.

"Narrator Cori Brackett had a strange cause-and-effect experience with the diet cokes she was drinking and quickly found herself disabled and diagnosed with MS. Slowly able to walk and speak again, she believes her illness is linked to aspartame. After 7000 miles, and 25 hours of footage, Sweet Misery will reveal one of the most pervasive, insidious forms of corporate negligence since tobacco." imdb.com

Some facts about aspartame:

• Aspartame was approved for widespread use in the U.S. in July 1983. Within six months, brain tumor rates climbed 10%, diabetes went up 30% and brain lymphoma tumors skyrocketed 60%.
• Aspartame is also sold as NutraSweet and Equal.
• The National Institutes of Health in 1991 listed 167 symptoms and reasons to avoid the use of aspartame.
• Some of the most common symptoms caused by aspartame include headaches, migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain.
• Aspartame is made up of three chemicals: aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol. Prescription for Nutritional Healing (James and Phyllis Balch) lists aspartame under the category "chemical poison."
• Some resources indicate that aspartame may be found in more than 9000 consumable products. It is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid.

Resources:
Read some consumer reviews of the movie
Aspartame: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You
Could You Be Suffering from an Aspartame-related Illness?
Alternative site for viewing the movie

From Sound and Fury Productions Inc., 2004 (89 minutes)

Why I Eat Organic Foods

Photo: Warren Wilson College (Asheville, NC) where students grow organic foods that are served on campus

Needing a label like “Certified Organic” is an indictment of our ill society. We shouldn’t need a label to tell us that the foods we buy and eat are viable. All foods should be produced in balance with nature. All foods should support optimum health and well-being. And all foods should be ethically grown and distributed.

But the industrial agricultural system in the United States is so far removed from reasonable, health-promoting, sustainable and ethical that a label like “organic” is indeed needed.

In legal terms, organic means crops are grown “without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waste, or sewage sludge,” and are processed without ionizing radiation or food additives. It means animals are “reared without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones. In most countries, organic produce must not be genetically modified.” (Wikipedia)

In philosophic terms, organic signifies respect for nature’s wisdom. It shows appreciation for the foundations of health and for the basics of good food production and consumption. And it illustrates what is critical in our society for our health and well being—particularly since both are statistically rapidly declining.

Most of the food I buy and eat is organic. This is because I want to be healthy in body, mind, and spirit. The chemicals used in so-called “conventional” farming are neurotoxins—polychlorinated bromides, herbicides, pesticides, dioxins, antibiotics, and furines—all poisonous to our nervous system. So if you eat non-organic food from the average American grocery store, you are putting these toxins in your body bite after bite, day after day, year after year, decade after decade.

All of these toxins are traceable to neurological disorders, whether or not the FDA, the EPA, the USDA and the AMA acknowledge it. We don’t have to look any farther than our homes and workplaces, schools, churches and gathering places of any other sort—not to mention doctor’s offices and hospitals—to see the plethora of neurological disorders that toxins cause: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, autism, epilepsy, migraines, hyperactivity, attention deficit, etc. Many studies show that these disorders have increased manifold in the last 50 years, since we began our industrial agricultural practices. Before then, the major causes of disease were pestilence and contagion.

I also eat organically because I want to help protect the earth. When I eat organic foods, I feel pleased and proud that I am supporting change in the way Earth and nature are treated. Organic agriculture works in harmony with nature: it protects water sources, it builds and protects soil, and it enhances the diversity of animal and plant species, all of which are essential to maintaining a balance in our ecosystems.

Water, air, animals, vegetables, fruits, grains and soil are all part of our natural resources, whether or not we consume them. So when we squander, waste and destroy these resources, as industrial agriculture does, everyone and everything loses. But as we build up the resources and respect their value and sustainability, we provide for ourselves in both the short run and the long run. And we can have a sense of pride that we are being good stewards of the Earth.

Organic food tastes better, too. Flavor isn’t a deal breaker for me, but it’s a strong motivator because I want to eat tasty food as well as healthy food. One of my most sensory memories from childhood is sitting on my front porch eating a ripe, whole tomato. It was sweet, salty, juicy, crunchy and bursting with flavor. How delicious! It’s not often that a tomato like that can be found anymore, especially with genetic engineering, where your tomato might even include flounder fish genes. Who is this benefiting? When I eat organic, I feel the essence of health in every flavorful bite. And I feel like I’m nurturing myself and anyone I’m cooking for with the simplicity and perfection of nature’s brand.

With all these benefits, why not eat organic? Price? Other quality issues? If we examine true cost, we can see that the extra cents we may pay per pound for organic food is monumentally less than what we ultimately pay in hidden costs as our health care is affected, the environment degrades, crop variety diminishes, animals are exploited, antibiotic resistance increases, hormone disruption takes its infertile toll, CO2 emissions are worsened globally, small farmers are trampled…the list is extensive. To me, the most serious issue of all is that with genetic engineering the miracle of life, regeneration, is being removed from seeds! We don’t have to peer far into the future to see the catastrophe that this forebodes.

As I eat organic foods, I feel that I am doing more than just putting good food on my plate. I feel that I am supporting my health and well being and that of my family, the environment, the farmers who are freed from toxic chemical handling, our economy (which depends upon our natural resources, with citizens being part of those resources), the animals, and all the leaders in the organic foods movement who have, much at their own expense, helped guide consumers and fierce industrial foes to look at the benefits for all in returning to some of the basics of respecting, valuing, appreciating, and honoring each other and nature in its infinite expression.

We can move forward as consumers by buying and eating organic foods. We also need to encourage elected leaders to put our true welfare ahead of donor interests. The USDA and members of Congress are heavily influenced by the multi-billion dollar industrial agriculture industry, and are moving to lower organic standards and seize control of the organic label. We must work to keep the integrity of the label. Organics need strong and reliable political and institutional support in order to flourish.

Enjoy your health and happiness!

• Excellent video interview with Michael Pollan
  
• In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto (Michael Pollan)
• Organic Food (Wikipedia)
• The Future is Organic (Sue Kedgley)
  
• Ten Good Reasons to Buy Organic