Category: Health And Wellness Report


Natural News : Urgent action alert: EPA about to raise allowable concentrations of glyphosate on food crops, edible oils and animal feed – comments needed by July 1

Filed under: Activism, Bioethics, Chemicals, Corporate Assault on Our Lives And Our Health, Corruption, Food Production, Food Safety, Fraud, Freedom Of Choice, Fundamental Rights, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO), Geo Engineering, Government, Government Overreach, Greed, Human Experimentation, Human Rights, Hypocrisy, Medical Research, Poisons in Our Foods, Politics, Legislation and Economy News, Special Interests, Unethical — Leave a comment
June 19, 2013

glyphosate

Tuesday, June 18, 2013
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com

(NaturalNews) This is an urgent action alert from Natural News and the Health Ranger. Public comments are due by July 1 to object to new EPA regulations which are already in place, allowing glyphosate contamination of food crops, edible oils and waterways at concentrations which are thousands of times higher than the amount needed to cause cancer.

The new regulation, which can be viewed HERE, sets the following regulations regarding glyphosate residues on crops:

• It allows forage and hay teff to contain up to 100 ppm glyphosate (that’s over one million times the concentration needed to cause cancer according to a recent study). See PubMed source here:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23756170

• Allows oilseed crops (flax oil, canola oil, soybean oil, olive oil, etc.) to contain up to 40 ppm glyphosate (which is over 100,000 times the concentration needed to cause cancer)

• RAISES the allowable glyphosate contamination level of root crops (such as potatoes) from 200 ppb to 6000 ppb.

• Allows glyphosate contamination of fruits at anywhere from 200 ppb to 500 ppb.

Importantly, the EPA says no one even commented on all this when it was initially filed! “There were no comments received in response to the notice of filing.” Since then, a total of just 396 people have posted a public comment at the time of this story being published.

You can post your comments with the EPA at this page:

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-0132-00…

EPA declares glyphosate to be perfectly safe

Borrowing a page right out of Monsanto’s quack science playbook, the EPA says:

A chronic feeding/carcinogenicity study in rats found no systemic effects in any of the parameters examined (body weight, food consumption, clinical signs, mortality, clinical pathology, organ weights, and histopathology).

The EPA even offers this utterly absurd, false statement as justification for its allowable contamination levels of glyphosate: “EPA has concluded that glyphosate does not pose a cancer risk to humans. Therefore, a dietary exposure assessment for the purpose of assessing cancer risk is unnecessary.” (SOURCE)

Huh? Do you understand this? The EPA is saying glyphosate is so incredibly safe that it is not even necessary to study its possible carcinogenic effects in humans. No science needed! The EPA simply waves a magic (Monsanto) wand and says, “Shazam! Glyphosate is safe enough to EAT!”

The EPA, of course, is sadly mistaken. It is apparently not aware of two crucial facts to consider in all this:

1) The Seralini study released last year showed an alarming increase in cancer tumors in rats that were fed glyphosate in their drinking water.

2) Monsanto has already been found guilty of committing scientific fraud by altering the results of “scientific” studies in order to trick regulators.

The “scientific” data proving glyphosate to be “safe” has been fabricated! And the EPA is basing its conclusions on fabricated, corporate-quackified junk science that has one purpose: trick regulators into thinking the deadly poison is safe, thereby vastly increasing the usage of the chemical by farmers.

ACTION ITEM: Post your comments to protest the EPA’s glyphosate poisoning of the American people

It is crucial that We the People let the EPA know that raising the allowable levels of glyphosate in foods is unacceptable. This is especially true given the recent studies linking glyphosate to breast cancer, a disease that is ravaging women across America and has reached epidemic levels.

Post your comments in the following ways:

METHOD #1 – POSTING ONLINE

1) Go to this page:

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-0132-00…

2) Click the “Comment Now!” button on the top right.

3) Enter your information and comment, then click “Submit.” Be sure to include reasons WHY you believe the EPA should not allow such high levels of glyphosate in foods, edible oils and animal feed. You can quote pages like GMOevidence.com:

http://gmoevidence.com/location/roundup-evidence/

You can also quote this excellent article from GM Watch which explains why the corporate-controlled media (and industry) so viciously attacked the Seralini rat study, trying to discredit it:

http://gmwatch.org/latest-listing/51-2012/14514

METHOD #2 – MAIL IT IN

1) Write your letter of protest. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, you must identify docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-0132 on the first page of your letter.

2) Mail it to: (all mail must be received by July 1st)
OPP Docket
Environmental Protection Agency Docket Center (EPA/DC), (28221T)
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.
Washington, DC 20460–0001

METHOD #3 – EMAIL ANDREW ERTMAN

Please use Method #1 or #2 if you want your comments to actually count. But if you also wish to email or phone the EPA person from the Office of Pesticide Programs, you may contact:

Andrew Ertman, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency
Telephone number: (703) 308-9367
Email address: ertman.andrew@epa.gov

Note: If you choose to email Andrew Ertman, please be polite in your email. Do NOT send stupid things like death threats or emails full of profanity. Make your case clearly and politely, and ask him to review the full breadth of the scientific evidence now available instead of just the selected subset Monsanto wants EPA scientists to be aware of.

Over 200 million pounds of glyphosate poison is a chemical attack on America

The following map, compiled by the USDA, shows the use of glyphosate across America:

This is also a map of the mass poisoning of America with a chemical that has been scientifically linked to an increased risk of cancer.

Compare it to this map showing the rates of cancer by state:

By the way, Monsanto has already been caught committing scientific fraud in attempting to fake safety studies on glyphosate. The company also engaged in wildly false advertising, claiming RoundUp was “safer than table salt” (implying that it’s safe to eat in high doses).

Now the EPA is about to allow glyphosate in animal feed at concentrations that are one million times the concentration needed to cause cancer.

At the same time, the EPA continues to allow glyphosate at 700 ppb in public drinking water, too.

We are all being mass poisoned by this deadly chemical, and the EPA is actively conspiring with the chemical industry to downplay the real dangers of glyphosate, pretending it’s safe enough to eat in quantities that are orders of magnitude larger than should be allowed.

Allowing 100 ppm of glyphosate in animal feed is equivalent to allowing 1000 ppm of lead in children’s candy. It’s a deadly poison that inundates our food supply at such high concentrations that it’s guaranteed to cause deadly diseases in huge numbers of people.

EPA document is a blueprint for the mass euthanasia of Americans

This EPA regulation document is a blueprint for billions of dollars in profits for the cancer industry. It’s also a death sentence for America’s soils, farmers and food consumers. And it is insane policies like this that will ultimately lead to the downfall and collapse of modern human civilization… a civilization so stupid that it poisons its own food, water, soils and even its own children… all to make a quarterly profit on the selling of a deadly poison.

Humanity is being mass-euthanized by GMOs and glyphosate, and the EPA is standing by and openly allowing it to happen. This is an agency that did tremendous good back in the 1970′s but has since become nothing more than a corporate sellout and a purveyor of poison.

The EPA wants you to eat glyphosate. There’s no harm, they say. Lick it up!

What concentration of glyphosate should be allowed in foods? No more than 10 ppt

There is no safe level of exposure to glyphosate. The chemical has now been shown to promote cancer cell proliferation at ppt concentrations. This demands that glyphosate be eliminated from being sold in the USA — BANNED for life.

Remember: Glyphosate is the new DDT. But it’s much worse than DDT because its toxic effects kick in at far lower concentrations. If a “safe” level of glyphosate exposure were based on legitimate scientific studies that weren’t faked by Monsanto, it would have to be set no higher than 10 ppt.

In other words, it would need to be virtually undetectable even by the most precise laboratory equipment available today.

Glyphosate has no place in a civilized nation. I call it “Satan’s Molecule” because it is a destroyer of life and a destroyer of worlds.

No wonder it was invented by a scientist working for — guess who? — MonSatan.

Take action today. Comments are due by July 1, and if the EPA doesn’t hear from the People, it’s going to do whatever Monsanto tells it to do. Heck, it will probably do that anyway, but at least if you post a comment, when all of us die from cancer you will know that you did not willfully participate in the mass murder of Americans.

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The future of food: insects, GM rice and edible packaging are on the menu

Filed under: Crossroads News : Changes In The World Around Us And Our Place In It, Food Production, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO), Nutrition, Science, Sustainability2, World News — Leave a comment
June 17, 2013
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As the global population rises and food prices do too, many scientists are looking for alternatives to traditional foodstuffs

Eating insects

Two billion people around the world, primarily in south-east Asia and Africa, eat insects – locusts, grasshoppers, spiders, wasps, ants – on a regular basis. Now, with food scarcity a growing threat, efforts are being made to normalise the concept of entomophagy, or the consumption of insects, for the other 5 billion. Last year, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) published a list of more than 1,900 edible species of insects; the EU, meanwhile, offered its member states $3m to research the use of insects in cooking.

  1. FutureFest
  2. Shoreditch Town Hall, London EC1V 9LT
  3. Date: 28 September 2013
  4. Time: 9:30am
  5. Duration: 2 days
  6. Event website
  7. Add to your calendar

Why? Because insects, compared to livestock and fish, are a much more sustainable food source. They are available in abundance: for every human on Earth, there are 40 tonnes of insects. They have a higher food conversion rate than even our fastest-growing livestock (meaning they need to consume less to produce the same amount of meat) and they emit fewer greenhouse gases. As a fast-food option, which is how people treat them in countries such as Thailand, insects are greatly preferable to the water-guzzling, rainforest-destroying, methane-spewing beefburger. They are nutritious too: rich in protein, low in fat and cholesterol, high in calcium and iron.

That leaves the issue of palatability. Insects are generally viewed with disgust in the west, but attitudes are beginning to change. Thanks to adventurous restaurants – Copenhagen’s Noma has served up ants and fermented grasshoppers – and pioneering organisations such as Ento in London, we are coming to terms with the notion that insects might actually be nice to eat.

Edible packaging

Our current food system is monumentally wasteful. Last January, a report found that almost half of the world’s food is thrown away each year. In the UK alone, according to the government’s waste adviser, Wrap, we generate 6.6m tonnes of food, drink and packaging waste per annum, at a cost of £5bn.

The fight against waste has thrown up some intriguing solutions.

For Harvard bioengineer David Edwards, the answer to the packaging problem is simple: just eat it. Last year, Edwards launched WikiCells, a company that makes edible packaging for fruit juices, coffee, ice cream and other products. Mimicking the design of a piece of fruit, the packaging consists of a soft skin “entirely comprised of natural food particles held together by nutritive ions” encased in a protective outer layer that is edible or at least biodegradable. Not only are the membranes more environmentally friendly than plastic, they are designed to taste good too.

Other packaging innovations promise to lengthen the shelf life of perishables, which would mean a reduction in food and drink waste. Pepceuticals, a company based in Leicester, is developing an antimicrobial film that it claims “should significantly prevent the deterioration of … fresh meat and save waste”.

Read More Here

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CDC and FDA have identified the bacteria and fungi cultured from unopened vials of preservative-free MPA in a Multistate Investigation

Filed under: Diseases, Health, Medical Research, Bioethics, Health And Wellness Report, Pharmaceuticals — Leave a comment
June 14, 2013

 

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WYFF4.com

Fungal, bacterial growth found in steroid

Tenn. pharmacy under investigation for links to reported infections

UPDATED 11:16 AM EDT Jun 10, 2013

(CNN) —The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has identified bacterial and fungal growth in unopened vials of a steroid injection from a Tennessee pharmacy under investigation for links to reported infections.

Main Street Family Pharmacy of Newbern, Tenn., issued a voluntary recall nationwide of all lots of sterile products that the pharmacy compounds on May 28. Products with a use by date on or before Nov. 20, 2013, are subject to the recall.

The steroid in question is preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate. Samples from two separate batches were found to have microbial growth in them, the FDA said.

“At this point in FDA’s investigation, the sterility of all sterile products produced by Main Street is of significant concern and the products should not be used,” the FDA said.

As of Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 24 cases of infection from four states — Arkansas, Florida, Illinois and North Carolina. Most of these people developed skin and soft tissue infections after receiving the intramuscular injection of the steroid.

Read More Here

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CDC

Multistate Investigation of Suspected Infections Following Steroid Injections

Posted June 13, 2013 3 PM ET

At a Glance:

  • Status: On-going Investigation
  • Reported Cases: 26
  • States reporting cases: 4
  • Recall: YesExternal Web Site Icon

Distribution maps

States reporting cases *

Map showing states with reported cases

Map showing states with reported cases.

Click here to view larger map.

States that received recalled MPA

States that have received recalled methylprednisolone acetate product from Main Street Family Pharmacy since December 1, 2012

States that have received recalled methylprednisolone acetate product from Main Street Family Pharmacy since December 1, 2012.

Click here to view larger map.

This website will be updated on Thursdays by 3pm ET.

Initial Announcement

May 30, 2013

Main Street Family Pharmacy in Tennessee: FDA Alerts Health Care Providers of Adverse Reactions Associated with Steroid InjectionsExternal Web Site Icon

State, Federal Health Officials Investigate Reports of Adverse Events among Patients Receiving Methylprednisolone Acetate InjectionsExternal Web Site Icon

Summary of Investigation

This information is preliminary and will be updated as additional details become available.

June 13, 2013

CDC and FDA have identified the bacteria and fungi cultured from unopened vials of preservative-free MPA from Main Street Family Pharmacy (MSFP) in Newbern, TN. These findingsExternal Web Site Icon are important reminders that healthcare providers should ensure that all recalled products from MSFP are no longer in use. In addition, complaints from patients exposed to products from MSFP should be taken seriously and should be promptly reported to both FDA MedWatchExternal Web Site Icon and the health department.

In addition to the findings above, 4 of the 26 cases meeting the CDC case definition* have had bacteria or fungi detected from wounds: 2 patients had Enterobacter cloacae and Klebsiella pneumoniae, 1 had mixed bacterial culture not otherwise identified, and 1 had fungus highly suggestive of an Aspergillus sp., although further studies are needed for confirmation. Although bacteria and fungi have been isolated from unopened vials of MPA from MSFP, it is not possible to determine which infections are due to this contamination event versus other factors including improper handling and/or administration of medications at the injection facility.

Clinicians are reminded that they should 1) use individual containers of compounded or preservative-free medicine for a single-patient only, and 2) promptly  report to MedWatch any infection that might be related to a medication or medical device, even absent a recognized outbreak, as these reports can allow for early detection of a possible contamination event.

Note: The next CDC web update is scheduled for Thursday, June 20.

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Corruption, Monumental Debt,Sexual Assaults , Suicide Rate,Disease,Disintegrating Family Unit, Government Overreach and the list goes on and on……Has America ever been in such bad shape before?

Filed under: American National Debt, Complacency / Apathy, Corruption, Diseases, Elitist Privilege, Fiscal Irresponsibility, Freedom, Freedom of Information, Fundamental Rights, Government Overreach, Greed, Hypocrisy, Invasion Of Privacy I, Irrational Violence, Jobs, Politics, Legislation and Economy News, Power Struggle, Rape, Rule Of Law, Special Interests, Suicide, Surveillance, The American Constitution — 3 Comments
June 14, 2013

20 Examples Of How America Is Rapidly Going Down The Toilet

By Michael, on June 13th, 2013

Toilet - Photo by Tenzinx3Deep corruption is eating away at every level of American society like cancer.  We can see this in our families, we can see this in our businesses, and we can especially see this in our government.  We have the highest rate of divorce in the world, we have the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the world, we have the highest rate of obesity in world, and nobody has higher rates of cancer, heart disease and diabetes than we do.  The suicide rate is soaring and our economy is falling apart.  Meanwhile, our politicians seem absolutely clueless and we have piled up the biggest mountain of debt that the world has ever seen.  Has America ever been in such bad shape before?  The following are 20 examples of how America is rapidly going down the toilet…

#1 Why do so many members of the media have family members that work for the White House?  Is this one of the reasons why the mainstream media is so soft on Obama?  Just check out the following list which was recently compiled by the Washington Post…

The list of prominent news people with close White House relations includes ABC News President Ben Sherwood, who is the brother of Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, a top national-security adviser to President Obama. His counterpart at CBS, news division president David Rhodes, is the brother of Benjamin Rhodes, a key foreign-policy specialist. CNN’s deputy Washington bureau chief, Virginia Moseley, is married to Tom Nides, who until earlier this year was deputy secretary of state under Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Further, White House press secretary Jay Carney’s wife is Claire Shipman, a veteran reporter for ABC. And NPR’s White House correspondent, Ari Shapiro, is married to a lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, who joined the White House counsel’s office in April.

#2 Why are IRS agents training with AR-15 rifles?  Exactly who do those IRS agents expect to be using those weapons against?

#3 The city of Detroit is on the verge of declaring the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, but a 41-year-old city worker is about to starting drawing a $96,000 annual pension…

Matt Schenk isn’t your average retiree. He’s 41, works full-time and collects $194,000 a year at the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.

But as soon as next month, he’ll start collecting an estimated $96,000 annual pension, courtesy of an early retirement incentive offered to Wayne County appointees.  It had no age restriction.

#4 The number of sexual assaults in the U.S. military is up 35 percent since 2010.

#5 The suicide rate for Americans between the ages of 35 and 64 rose by close to 30 percent between 1999 and 2010.  The number of Americans that are killed by suicide now exceeds the number of Americans that die as a result of car accidents.

#6 The United States has the highest rate of obesity on the planet by far.  The U.S. also has the highest rate of cancer, the highest rate of heart disease and the highest rate of diabetes.

#7 An illegal immigrant brutally raped and killed a 9-month-old girl in Richland, Washington recently, but you won’t hear anything about it from the big mainstream news networks because it might hurt the immigration bill being pushed through Congress.

#8 Even though the United States has been able to fully secure the border between North Korea and South Korea for the past 60 years, U.S. Senator Check Schumer says that it would take “years and years and years” to secure the border between the United States and Mexico.

#9 All over America illegal immigrants are turning pleasant communities into crime-infested cesspools.  The following is what Doug Hoagland says is going on down in California…

 

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Tender Beef, Without The Pathogens: USDA Proposes Labeling Rules

Filed under: Food Borne Illness, Food Labels, Food Safety, Health And Wellness Report, Holistic Health, Poisons in Our Foods — Leave a comment
June 14, 2013
NPR .'s profile photo

by Allison Aubrey

June 11, 2013 5:12 PM
Meat tenderized the old-fashioned way. The industrial method is a mechanized process involving needles.

Meat tenderized the old-fashioned way. The industrial method is a mechanized process involving needles.

iStockphoto.com

In order to make tough cuts of beef more tender, the industry uses a mechanical tenderizing process that involves piercing the meat with needles.

This is effective in breaking up the tough muscle fibers, but there’s a downside, too: a higher risk of surface bacteria making their way into the cut of meat, which can set the stage for food poisoning. That’s a particular concern when it comes to the center of meat cuts, which don’t get heated to the same temperatures as the exterior.

Since 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has learned about five foodborne illness outbreaks linked to mechanically tenderized beef.

And what was the common denominator in these outbreaks? Undercooked or raw beef.

So, the USDA has that would require new labels for mechanically tenderized meats, so that consumers know what they are purchasing. The thinking is that if you know your cut of meat has been mechanically tenderized, you’ll be inclined to cook it a little longer.

 

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Even A Small Change In Habits Helps Fend Off Stroke

Filed under: Exercise, Health, Health And Wellness Report, Holistic Health, Medical Research, Nutrition — Leave a comment
June 14, 2013
NPR .'s profile photo

by Nancy Shute

June 06, 2013 4:18 PM
Your brain will appreciate even a modest improvement in stroke risk factors.

Your brain will appreciate even a modest improvement in stroke risk factors.

iStockphoto.com

This is not one of those posts that is going to beat you up for doing a crummy job exercising, eating better and all the other things you’re failing to do to ward off death.

Instead, this post is here to say that if you improve one thing just one teeny bit, it’s going to lower your risk of having a . So pick something, and stick to it.

Stroke, which happens when a blood vessel bursts or is blocked in the brain, is a leading cause of death and disability.

Scientists looked at seven factors known to affect stroke risk: cigarette smoking, body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, physical activity and diet.

Most Americans aren’t doing so well on these. And most of us, knowing we’re supposed to be doing better on them all, just sigh and reach for the remote.

So the scientists dug into a large study that tracked 30,239 people to see how much improvement it takes to prevent stroke. The people were all over age 45 at the start, and the study lasted from 2003 to 2007.

The good news is it doesn’t take much to make a difference. Each risk factor for stroke was scored from 0 to 2, with 0 being crummy, 1 kind of OK, and 2 terrific. Even a one-point improvement in the total score across all seven factors significantly reduced stroke risk. Each improvement of a point on the 14-point scale meant an 8 percent reduction in stroke.

 

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Supreme Court Gene Ruling Splits Hairs Over What’s ‘Natural’

Filed under: Bioethics, Genetics, Health, Health And Wellness Report, Medical Research — Leave a comment
June 14, 2013
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by

June 13, 2013 3:00 PM
A technician loads patient samples into a machine for testing at Myriad Genetics in Salt Lake City in 2002. The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Myriad cannot patent the BRCA genes, which are tested to check a woman's risk for breast and ovarian cancer.

A technician loads patient samples into a machine for testing at Myriad Genetics in Salt Lake City in 2002. The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Myriad cannot patent the BRCA genes, which are tested to check a woman’s risk for breast and ovarian cancer.

Douglas C. Pizac/AP

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that human genes cannot be patented, upending 30 years of patent awards granted by the U.S. Patent Office. The court’s unanimous decision has enormous implications for the future of personalized medicine and in many ways is likely to shape the future of science and technology.

Myriad Genetics, one of the nation’s , isolated two genes with mutations that can indicate a high risk of breast and ovarian cancer. The company patented the genes, known as BRCA 1 and BRCA 2, and developed a test so that women with family or previous cancer histories could see if they had the mutations.

But the patent meant that other researchers could not use the isolated genes to develop potentially more reliable and cheaper tests. A group of doctors, patients and researchers went to court to challenge Myriad’s patent, and on Thursday they won a prtial victory.

The Supreme Court, while acknowledging the importance of Myriad’s discovery, by isolating the two BRCA genes and that the genes are a product of nature.

“The location and order of the nucleotides existed in nature before Myriad found them. Nor did Myriad create or alter the genetic structure of DNA,” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the court. “To be sure, it found an important and useful gene, but separating that gene from its surrounding genetic material is not an act or invention.”

 

Read More Here

 

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WFAA.com

Court ruling may open up breast cancer gene tests

Associated Press

Posted on June 14, 2013 at 1:01 AM

 

A ruling by the Supreme Court that human genes can’t be patented is expected to increase access and drop the cost for tests for gene mutations that greatly raise the risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer.

In a bit of a mixed message, the court unanimously decided that certain types of gene tests may still be protected by patents, yet it struck down patents that a company has long held for BRCA genes. The company makes the only test for two of those breast cancer genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2.

“It appears that it will allow the market to open up so that other laboratories can offer the test,” said Rebecca Nagy, a genetics counselor at Ohio State University and president of the National Society of Genetic Counselors. And that should make the tests cheaper and available to more women, she said.

Hours after the ruling, one company — DNATraits, part of Houston-based Gene By Gene, Ltd. — said it would offer BRCA gene testing in the United States for $995 — less than a third of the current price.

A primer on the case:

Q: What did the court say?

A: Patents held by Myriad Genetics Inc. on BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are not valid, because isolating a naturally occurring segment of DNA cannot be patented. We all have two copies of these genes; mutations in one of them can give a woman up to an 87 percent risk of developing breast cancer and up to a 54 percent risk for ovarian cancer.

 

Read More Here

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Exclusive: The agricultural revolution – UK pushes Europe to embrace GM crops

Filed under: Bioethics, Food Production, Food Safety, Freedom of Information, Fundamental Rights, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO), Geo Engineering, Greed, Health, Legislation, Medical Research, Poisons in Our Foods — 2 Comments
June 12, 2013

 

The Independent

 

Environment Secretary will urge EU to relax restrictions on crop licensing

Tom Bawden Oliver Wright

Tuesday 11 June 2013

Genetically modified maize in Shropshire

Britain is to push the European Union to relax restrictions on the licensing of genetically modified crops for human consumption amid growing scientific evidence that they are safe, and surveys showing they are supported by farmers. The Environment Secretary, Owen Paterson, is expected to use a speech next week to outline the start of a new government approach to GM to ensure Britain “is not left behind” in agricultural science.

The move comes as 61 per cent of UK farmers now say they would like to grow GM crops after a disastrous 12-month cycle of poor weather that is expected significantly to reduce harvest yields. Senior government officials said that ministers are increasingly concerned that the potential moral and ethical benefits of GM are being ignored by costly and bureaucratic licensing regulations.

With one-twelfth of global arable land under GM cultivation they have privately warned that Britain faces being left behind in an important technology that has the potential to improve crop yields, help the UK’s agricultural industry and provide benefits to human health through vitamin fortification.

Government sources added that GM also had applications beyond food including the potential to combat diseases such as ash dieback and in developing new medicines.

“The point about GM is not simply about food production,” they said. “There are wider potential environmental and economic benefits to the technology both in the UK and internationally.

“What we want to do is start a dialogue within Europe on GM based upon the science.”

Ministers are hopeful of building support in Brussels for a change of heart on GM, with Germany seen as a key swing voter. However, any attempts to relax the rules could face opposition from countries such as Poland which in April became the eighth EU member state to ban the cultivation of GM crops.

Mr Paterson is said to believe that Britain should take the lead in moving the debate on from the knee-jerk reaction against GM for much of the last decade.

Read Full Article Here

 

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CDC Data: Raw Milk Safe During Pregnancy

Filed under: Food Safety, Health, Holistic Health, Medical Research, Nutrition — Leave a comment
June 12, 2013

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The Healthy Home Economist

by Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist on June 10, 2013

 

 

When I was first introduced to the benefits of raw milk nearly 12 years ago, I was newly pregnant with my second child. While I wanted to reap the benefits of this nutrient dense food, I was initially cautious to begin consuming it for fear it might harm my baby.

 

Everywhere I turned for research and information about the safety of raw milk during pregnancy was negative.

 

Numerous citations and sources I reviewed warned against consuming raw milk during pregnancy due to the risk of infection with Listeria monocytogenes, a deadly pathogen that can cause fetal death or premature birth.

 

 

 

While the research I uncovered contained dire warnings about infection with Listeria during pregnancy, I couldn’t actually find documentation about anyone who had actually contracted it from drinking raw milk let alone died or miscarried from it!

 

After much reading and thought, I concluded that the warnings against raw milk were unwarranted and the nutritional benefits to myself and my child vastly outweighed any risk.

 

I began to consume raw milk along with aged raw cheese, raw cream and raw butter late in the first trimester of my second pregnancy.  I continued this practice throughout my second and third pregnancy with no ill effects.  Both children were born healthy, full term and a normal weight.

 

Why Does the FDA Warn Against Raw Milk During Pregnancy?

 

In the 12 years since I began consuming raw milk while newly pregnant, the nonexistence of infection with Listeria monocytogenes for raw milk drinkers has continued.  Analysis of Centers for Disease Control data on raw milk outbreaks listed no cases whatsoever of food-borne illness from raw milk caused by Listeria during the entire 13 year period from 1993-2005.

 

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North Dakota – Herdshare Bill Signed into Law

Filed under: Food Safety, Freedom Of Choice, Freedom of Information, Fundamental Rights, Health And Wellness Report, Holistic Health, Legislation, Nutrition — Leave a comment
June 12, 2013

Farm-To-Consumer Legal Defense Fund

by Pete Kennedy, Esq. on June 7, 2013

litigation-milkHerdshares in ND now referred to as “Shared Animal Ownership”

A victory for grassroots efforts!
See Action Alert

NDDA prohibited from restricting herdshares

On April 29 herdshares become officially legal in North Dakota when Governor Jack Dalrymple signed Senate Bill 2072 into law. SB 2072 provides that “it is not a violation [of law] to transfer or obtain raw milk under a shared animal ownership agreement.”

Shared animal ownership is defined in the bill as “any contractual arrangement under which an individual:

      a. Acquires an ownership interest in a milk-producing animal;

b. Agrees to pay another for, reimburse another for, or otherwise accept financial responsibility for the care and boarding of the milk-producing animal at the dairy farm; and

c. Is entitled to receive a proportionate share of the animal’s raw milk production as a condition of the contractual arrangement.

The original version of SB 2072 did not contain a provision on herdshares; the bill only amended the state dairy code to adopt the latest revision of the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO), which governs the production and sale of pasteurized milk in the U.S.

 

Read Full Article Here

 

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Rapid City Journal

Raw milk backers say proposed rules too burdensome

June 07, 2013 6:00 am  •  Bob Mercer Legislative correspondent

PIERRE | A public hearing Thursday served as the latest battleground over regulation of raw milk in South Dakota.

The state Department of Agriculture has proposed nine pages of rules regarding bottled raw milk for human consumption.

More than a dozen residents who believe in what they call the natural benefits of drinking raw milk showed up to oppose the regulations, as did several farmers who produce it.

There are five licensed raw milk producers in South Dakota.

Gena Parkhurst of Rapid City, who described herself as a raw milk consumer, said the proposed rules would prohibit consumption of bottled or packaged raw milk produced by anyone without the necessary state permit, whether or not the milk was free or for sale.

“They cannot offer it to their neighbor; they cannot offer it to their family; they cannot give it away to an informed consumer,” said Parkhurst, a volunteer coordinator for Dakota Rural Action in the Black Hills.

She also claimed that testing for tuberculosis and brucellosis was “unnecessary.”

That’s different than the view of state veterinarian Dustin Oedekoven, who spoke in support of the rules. He said raw milk can spread diseases such as tuberculosis.

The state Department of Health tracks illnesses linked to raw milk, while the Legislature allows its sales.

Mellette County raw milk producer Leland Schoon said the proposed requirement of disease testing would be “burdensome and cost-prohibitive” for him since his cows are in a multi-purpose pasture.

 

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