Independent research identifies cancer-causing chemicals in food packaging, fabric coatings

An independent scientific panel has determined that perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), also known as C-8, a commercial substance produced by chemical giant DuPont, causes kidney and testicular cancer in humans. And because of how pervasive this chemical is — more than 99…

The legalized killing of every person on earth (with pesticides)

Can you imagine making a profit by killing or maiming millions of innocent men, women and children – everyday? Companies like, The Dow Chemical Company, DuPont and Monsanto produce some of the deadliest pesticides on the planet. These pesticides are slowly killing people…

Can berries and herbs be used to preserve meat naturally without the use of chemical additives?

Those readers who eat meat probably already know that conventional meat preserving methods typically involve the use of sodium nitrite and other chemical additives linked to causing cancer and other serious health conditions. But new research out of Denmark could eliminate…

Toxic compounds from fried foods cause cancer and deteriorate brain health

Many health-minded individuals understand that eating fried or overcooked foods is unhealthy due to the chemical transition of normally stable fats to trans fats that have been shown to dramatically increase heart attack risk. Researchers from the University of the Basque…

Petition: Tell the White House to say NO to Dow’s Agent Orange GMO corn

Just in time for the new year, the Dow Chemical Company is quietly trying to convince the federal government to deregulate a new variety of genetically-modified (GM) corn that is resistant to 2,4-D, a chemical component that made up roughly half of the Agent Orange chemical…

Petition: Tell the White House to say NO to Dow’s Agent Orange GMO corn

Just in time for the new year, the Dow Chemical Company is quietly trying to convince the federal government to deregulate a new variety of genetically-modified (GM) corn that is resistant to 2,4-D, a chemical component that made up roughly half of the Agent Orange chemical…

Study confirms GMO herbicide glyphosate contaminates groundwater supplies

Contrary to claims made by the chemical industry and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it does not leach into groundwater, the deadly herbicide glyphosate, also known as Roundup, has been found to be fully capable of contaminating groundwater supplies…

Did you know? Microwave popcorn gives off a toxic, lung-damaging gas when cooked

(NaturalNews) You might be reassured to learn that the buttery flavor in microwave popcorn typically comes from a chemical actually found in butter, but you shouldn’t be. This chemical, called diacetyl , is so toxic that it commonly destroys the lungs of workers in microwave popcorn factories, afflicting them with the crippling and irreversible disease known as bronchiolitis obliterans . Bronchiolitis obliterans is so rare outside of this context that it has become more commonly known as “popcorn lung,” after the primary cause of the disease. Regulators and health professionals have known of this risk for decades, but always assumed that it would only affect people breathing in especially high concentrations in factory settings. Then in 2007, a man who regularly ate two bags of microwave popcorn every day was diagnosed with popcorn lung, indicating that diacetyl enters the air and lungs when microwave popcorn is cooked. Anxious to reassure consumers, most microwave popcorn companies phased out diacetyl — only to replace it with chemicals that have the same effects. Today, you can still find diacetyl in many flavored snack foods and even in some so-called “natural” foods. Make sure you read the ingredients of any food you intend to consume, and make sure it contains no diacetyl (and no “yeast extract” for that matter, either). Sources: http://www.naturalnews.com/024460_popcorn_disease_diacetyl.html http://www.naturalnews.com/023771_popcorn_diacetyl_lung.html http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/just-when-you-thought-it-was-safe-to-make-popcorn/19273632 Source: 25 Amazing Facts About Food , authored by Mike Adams and David Guiterrez. This report reveals surprising things about where your food comes from and what’s really in it! Download the full report (FREE) by clicking here . Inside, you’ll learn 24 more amazing but true facts about foods, beverages and food ingredients. Instant download of the complete PDF. All 25 facts are documented and true.

Exposed: California officials manipulated safety data on methyl iodide, ignored scientist warnings against approving deadly strawberry chemical

(NaturalNews) Many of those plump, juicy strawberries found on produce section shelves are hiding a deadly little secret. In 2010, regulators in California, where over 90 percent of conventional strawberries are grown, quietly approved the use of toxic methyl iodide as a fruit pesticide after the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved it nationally. But new evidence has now surfaced that government officials twisted study data to make the chemical falsely appear safe in order to get it approved — and individuals everywhere are now increasingly demanding that methyl iodide be banned. A recent report from Mother Jones explains that the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) cherry-picked data from varying studies on methyl iodide in order to paint the chemical in an artificially positive light. The agency then used this deceptive data to justify allowing smaller buffer zones between farms that use methyl iodide and farms that do not use methyl iodide. DPR also used the flawed data to increase the permitted spray concentration maximum for the chemical. Early on, DPR’s own scientists decried the agency’s intended actions, having noted in an internal memo that numbers cited in the agency’s report endorsing methyl iodide had been extracted from “different risk assessment methodologies that are not interchangeable.” They added that such data was “not scientifically credible,” and that any data of that type is only accurate when compiled from the same source. But DPR refused to listen to these scientists, and instead approved methyl iodide in spite of the evidence against it. Not long after, environmental protection groups, farmers, and ordinary citizens together sparked a burgeoning battle to force the state to ban methyl iodide, including a recent rally that took place on the steps of the California State Capital. Methyl iodide causes miscarriages, thyroid dysfunction, cancer Arysta LifeScience, the chemical company that produces methyl iodide, claims that it is largely safe, and that the neurotoxic damage it can cause is “transient.” But according to data cited by leading scientists, this is simply not the case, and permanent brain damage can ensue from exposure to methyl iodide. Back in 2007 before methyl iodide’s approval, a group of more than 35 esteemed scientists wrote a letter to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging it to deny approval for the chemical on the grounds that it is “highly toxic,” and has a “significant adverse impact on public health.” After methyl iodide was approved anyway, the same group sent another letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson once again urging the agency to withdraw approval for the chemical (http://www.panna.org/sites/default/files/Jackson_MeI_5-7-11_Final-1.pdf). “Due to the potent toxicity of methyl iodide, its transport and ultimate fate in the environment, adequate control of human exposure would be difficult, if not impossible,” wrote scientists from California’s Scientific Review Committee (SRC) concerning methyl iodide. “We have concluded there is little doubt that the compound possesses significant toxicity.” SRC’s thorough report also notes that, despite claims made by Arysta about methyl iodide’s supposedly transient neurotoxicity, “no robust studies of neurotoxicity (were) actually conducted.” If they had been, it would have been revealed, of course, that methyl iodide is a highly neurotoxic substance that is known and recognized by the state of California to cause cancer (http://www.oehha.ca.gov/prop65/prop65_list/files/P65single061308.pdf). Methyl iodide, of course, is the same chemical that scientists have used to deliberately create cancer cells in laboratories for research purposes that is how powerfully dangerous it is! The Pesticide Action Network – North America (PANNA) also notes that methyl iodide is responsible for causing late-term miscarriages as well, especially at the 100 pounds (lbs) per acre spread rate to which it has been approved for California strawberries (http://www.panna.org/cancer-free-strawberries). Methyl iodide has no legitimate place in American agriculture On December 30, 2010, Earthjustice and California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. filed a lawsuit against DPR for approving of methyl iodide, which ignored all available evidence against the chemical, as well as the more than 53,000 comments submitted by Californians against the chemical’s use. The use of methyl iodide violates the California Environmental Quality Act, the California Birth Defects Prevention Act, and the Pesticide Contamination Prevention Act, according to the suit. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of PANNA and numerous other groups representing farmers and consumers, many of whom stand to be affected most by the pumping of soils with toxic methyl iodide gas. Many of the farm fields that spray methyl iodide are located directly near homes and schools, where high-risk individuals like pregnant mothers and young children face routine exposure. In truth, there really is no need to use methyl iodide on strawberries, peppers, or any of the other varieties of produce for which it has been approved. Several large strawberry growers, including Swanton Berry, Driscoll’s, and Martinez Farms, have been able to develop thriving organic strawberry operations that require no pesticides — surely the rest can make modifications to avoid pumping toxic poisons into the soils of one of America’s major produce production regions. Sources for this story include: http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2011/08/california-methyl-iodide-scientists http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/07/methyl-iodide-controversy_n_602904.html http://www.pesticidereform.org/article.php?id=342

New EPA-approved DuPont herbicide linked to widespread killing of trees, authorities unconcerned

(NaturalNews) The DuPont chemical company recently received approval from the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) for its new herbicide Imprelis (aminocyclopyrachlor), which has been alleged as an “environmentally friendly” alternative to other herbicides. However, a recent New York Times (NYT) report implicates the herbicide in causing the widespread deaths of thousands of trees across the country, including Norway spruces, eastern white pines, willows, poplars, and conifers. DuPont originally designed Imprelis with the stated intent to kill lawn weeds like dandelion and clover — both of these “weeds” happen to be highly nutritious foods, by the way (http://www.naturalnews.com/dandelion.html) — because, frankly, most people want their lawns to be perfectly homogenous in every way. But the chemical, despite being marketed as safe for the environment, is killing off trees as well, which has caused quite an uproar. The NYT report indicates that DuPont, various local nurseries and garden supply stores that carry and sell Imprelis, and even authorities, are receiving hordes of complaints from the public that the herbicide is their killing trees en masse. And yet DuPont remains in denial that Imprelis is to blame, and has already come out claiming that customers might be at fault for improperly mixing or applying the chemical. And the EPA appears to be taking a similar approach, despite giving very unconvincing lip-service that it is taking the situation “very seriously.” “We’ve made 1,000 applications and had 350 complaints of dead trees, and it’s climbing,” lamented Matt Coats, services manager for Underwood Nursery in Adrian, Mich., to the NYT. “I’ve done nothing for the last three weeks but deal with angry customers. We’re seeing some tree doing OK, with just the tips getting brown, and others are completely dead and it looks like someone took a flamethrower to them.” Coats went on to say that while his nursery has liability insurance to replace the dead trees, each incident holds a $500 deductible. In other words, his company has already spent $150,000 out of pocket to pay for damages caused by Imprelis, and these costs are escalating. Many landscapers, however, have it far worse, as their insurance policies largely do not cover dead trees, many of which were mature and irreplaceable. The EPA deserves much of the blame for approving Imprelis in the first place The fact that DuPont markets Imprelis as having “low toxicity to mammals and low environmental impact” — all while the chemical cocktail is actually causing a real-life, utterly-devastating environmental impact as we speak — is despicable. And while it is easy to put all the blame on DuPont for selling a product that is mislabeled, at best, it is important not to forget that the EPA is actually responsible as well because the agency approved the herbicide in the first place. According to the NYT, the EPA spent 23 months investigating Imprelis prior to granting it approval. It is unclear what type of investigating the agency actually performed during this time, though, as one would think that a basic platform of product testing would include seeing how trees, plants, and other non-target shrubs respond to the herbicide — which it appears the agency did not do. The EPA either never performed any safety testing on Imprelis at all, in which case it has proven itself to be an utterly useless “protector” of the environment, or it performed tests and did not consider the findings to be of much concern. In either case, the EPA has demonstrated that it is unable to properly perform its job duties, and deserves to be stripped of all regulatory authority. Since pyralids, the class of herbicides to which Imprelis belongs, have been known to poison non-target plants as far back as 2008, the indictment of the EPA goes even deeper. Pyralids biodegrade so slowly that they can remain in soil for years and leech directly into groundwater supplies. And if the soil is ever composted, the herbicide can spread even further, causing extensive damage (http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2008-10-01/Aminopyralid-Garden-Threat.aspx). Such easily-accessed information must have come up during the EPA’s 23-month “investigation” of Imprelis, which suggests that the EPA was willfully complicit in approving a dangerous product that is mislabeled as being safe. And if this is the case, then the EPA must be immediately investigated and held liable for potential criminal activity. No synthetic chemical herbicide is truly safe, despite claims made by chemical companies What all of this really comes down to is the fact that no synthetic chemical formula is safe. No matter how creatively the chemical companies try to label their products as “safe” or “low impact,” such claims are patently false when the chemicals in question have been synthetically engineered to kill plants. The only effective and safe ways to deal with weeds is either to pull them out by hand, or learn to accept them and the many benefits they can actually provide, which include improving soil health and reducing the need for excess watering. There are also a variety of companies that produce truly-safe and natural lawn care products that will help with lawn management. To learn more, visit: http://www.safelawns.org Sources for this story include: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/15/science/earth/15herbicide.html

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