Alaska Distillery Launches Hemp Vodka (Video)

Associated Press, Apr 20, 2012

Bella Coley, COO of Alaska Distillery, spoke with the AP about the company's hemp vodka product. She says the hemp seeds they use don't contain THC and adds 'it's a great, hardy vodka so you can do any type of drink with it.' (April 20th)

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New Zealand woman's Coca-Cola habit cited in death

Associated Press, by Nick Perry, Apr 20, 2012

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- Experts say a New Zealand woman's 2-gallon-a-day Coca-Cola habit probably contributed to her death, a conclusion that led the soft-drink giant to note that even water can be deadly in excessive amounts.

Natasha Harris.
(AP Photo/New Zealand Herald) 

Natasha Harris, a 30-year-old, stay-at-home mother of eight from Invercargill, died of a heart attack in February 2010. Fairfax Media reported that a pathologist, Dr. Dan Mornin, testified at an inquest Thursday that she probably suffered from hypokalemia, or low potassium, which he thinks was caused by her excessive consumption of Coke and overall poor nutrition.

Symptoms of hypokalemia can include abnormal heart rhythms, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Mornin said that toxic levels of caffeine, a stimulant found in Coke, also may have contributed to her death, according to Fairfax.

Harris' partner, Chris Hodgkinson, testified that Harris drank between 8 and 10 liters (2.1 and 2.6 gallons) of regular Coke every day.

"The first thing she would do in the morning was to have a drink of Coke beside her bed and the last thing she would do at night was have a drink of Coke," Hodgkinson said in a deposition. "She was addicted to Coke."

Hodgkinson also said Harris ate little and smoked about 30 cigarettes a day. In the months before her death, he said, Harris experienced blood pressure problems and lacked energy.

He said that on the morning of her death, Harris helped get her children ready for school before slumping against a wall. He called emergency services and tried mouth-to-mouth resuscitation but couldn't revive her.

Another pathologist, Dr. Martin Sage, said in a deposition that "it is certainly well demonstrated that excessive long or short term cola ingestion can be dramatically symptomatic, and there are strong hypothetical grounds for this becoming fatal in individual cases."

Inquests such as this are sometimes held for unusual or unexplained deaths in New Zealand, and can help shape future health policies. With the evidence in the case now complete, the coroner's office will compile and issue a final report into the death.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Lisa Te Morenga, a nutritionist at the University of Otago, said excessive consumption of any type of liquid in a cool climate would be likely to play havoc with the body's natural systems and balance.

Karen Thompson, a spokeswoman for Coca-Cola Oceania, said in a statement that its products are safe.

"We concur with the information shared by the coroner's office that the grossly excessive ingestion of any food product, including water, over a short period of time with the inadequate consumption of essential nutrients, and the failure to seek appropriate medical intervention when needed, can be dramatically symptomatic."

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Pakistan Doctors Save Life of Baby with Six Legs

Jakarta Globe, April 20, 2012

Doctors in Pakistan say they have successfully operated to save the life
 of a baby born with six legs due to a rare genetic condition, hospital officials
said on Thursday. (AFP Photo)

         

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Karachi. Doctors in Pakistan say they have successfully operated to save the life of a baby born with six legs due to a rare genetic condition, hospital officials said on Thursday.

“A team of five experienced doctors have successfully separated the extra legs and limbs from the baby today. He is very much safe and secure,” said Dr Jamal Raza, the director of National Institute of the Child Health in Karachi.

Raza said it was a case of parasitic conjunction — more than one baby joined together but only one of them fully formed.

The boy was born to the wife of an X-ray technician a couple of weeks ago in Sukkur city, around 450km north of Karachi, and was moved to Karachi for treatment early this week.

“The extra limbs and legs were the result of a genetic disease which would affect only one in a million or more babies,” the doctor said.

Imran Shaikh, the baby’s father, was thrilled.

“It is great news for us. What the parents want is to see their kids healthy and strong. We pray his life remains normal and joyful,” he told reporters.

Pesticide Use on Indonesia Farms ‘Alarming’: NGO

Jakarta Globe, Alina Musta’idah, April 19, 2012

A farmer sprays pesticide in a paddy field in Ngoro village in Mojokerto,
 East Java, in this file photo. According to the People’s Coalition for
Food Sovereignty (KRKP) Indonesian farmers use pesticides with alarming
frequency — an average 5.7 times per growing season. (Antara Photo)

               

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Indonesian farmers use an alarming amount of pesticides — including some with illegal toxic chemicals — on their crops, the People’s Coalition for Food Sovereignty (KRKP) said on Thursday.

The NGO cited a 2011 survey of 306 farmers in Central Java that found that farmers used pesticides an average of 5.7 times per growing season.

“That is a very high use for farms,” KRKP official Said Abdullah said in Jakarta on Thursday.

Pesticides are big business in Indonesia. The local market reaches about Rp 6 trillion ($654 million) a year, Said said. That market includes 350 brands of fungicides, 600 brands of herbicides and 800 brands of insecticides registered with the Indonesian authorities, according to Ministry of Agriculture’s Pesticide Commission numbers.

And these figures don't even include products that enter the country illegally, Said said.

“Between 10 and 12 percent of pesticides circulating [in Indonesia] are illegal,” he said.

Many of these chemicals contain harmful substances like organochlorine and organophosphate, Said said.

The one chemical, organophosphate, is considered hazardous, even in low doses, and its use is highly-regulated, or banned outright, in 23 counties. Organochlorine was present in the pesticide DDT, a chemical that caused massive ecological damage in the United States before its use was banned in the 1960s.

He called on farmers to adopt more environmentally-conscious and sustainable farming methods. 

BeritaSatu

Farm group seeks U.S. halt on "dangerous" crop chemicals

Reuters, by Carey Gillam, Wed Apr 18, 2012

(Reuters) - A coalition of more than 2,000 U.S. farmers and food companies said Wednesday it is taking legal action to force government regulators to analyze potential problems with proposed biotech crops and the weed-killing chemicals to be sprayed over them.

Dow AgroSciences, a unit of Dow Chemical, and Monsanto Co. are among several global chemical and seed companies racing to roll out combinations of genetically altered crops and new herbicides designed to work with the crops as a way to counter rapidly spreading herbicide-resistant weeds that are choking millions of acres of U.S. farmland.

Dow and Monsanto say the new chemical combinations and new crops that tolerate those chemicals are badly needed by corn, soybean and cotton farmers as weeds increasingly resist treatments of the most commonly used herbicide - glyphosate-based Roundup.

"They (farmers) need this new technology," said Dow AgroScience Joe Vertin, global business leader for Dow's new herbicide-protected crops called "Enlist."

But critics say key ingredients in these new herbicides - 2,4-D for Dow and dicamba for Monsanto - already are in use in the marketplace and have proved damaging to "non-target" fields because they are hard to keep on target. Wind, heat and humidity can move the chemical particles miles down the road, damaging gardens, crops, trees. Many farms have suffered significant damage in recent years even though the chemicals are currently sprayed under tight restrictions.

"These are the most dangerous chemicals out there," said John Bode, a Washington lawyer hired by the Save Our Crops Coalition. Bode served as assistant Secretary of Agriculture in the Reagan administration.

Unlike many other protestors of new biotech crops, the coalition comprises many grower groups that use and support biotechnology. This is not a biotech complaint, they say, but one focused on the danger of the chemicals to be used with the biocrops.

"The danger that 2,4-D and dicamba pose is a real threat to crops...nearly every food crop," said Steve Smith, director of agriculture at Red Gold, the world's largest canned tomato processor, and a leader of the Save Our Crops Coalition.

The coalition represents more than 2,000 farmers and groups such as the Indiana Vegetable Growers Association, the Ohio Produce Growers and Marketers Association, and major food processors Seneca and Red Gold.

Over the last four years, more than $1 million in damages have been filed in lawsuits and insurance claims by Midwestern growers who have suffered crop losses due to 2,4-D and dicamba that has drifted onto their farms, Smith said.

Those losses would increase with the new herbicide-tolerant crops because farmers would then be spraying more of the herbicides and later in the growing season, the coalition says.

In their legal petitions, the group is asking the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to conduct an environmental impact study on the ramifications of a release of a new 2,4-D tolerant corn that is to be accompanied by Dow's new herbicide mix containing both 2,4-D and glyphosate. It wants a similar environmental impact statement on the dicamba and glyphosate herbicide tolerant crops being developed by Monsanto.

The coalition is also demanding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conduct a Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) meeting and appoint advisors to the panel to address herbicide spray drift.

The legal petitions are provided for as part of the regulatory process and require a response from the agencies before petitioners can file suit to force a response.

Dow's plans to roll out as early as 2013 its 2,4-D tolerant corn and new 2,4-D based herbicide as the "Enlist Weed Control System" is a hot button issue for many groups because of high profile problems in the past with 2,4-D, which was a component of Agent Orange defoliant used in Vietnam.

A separate petition started by the Center for Food Safety says that 2,4-D, will "likely harm people and their children, including farmers, and the environment" and says USDA has not properly assessed the impacts of Dow's plan for a new 2,4-D based crop system.

Dow AgroSciences executives say the fears are unwarranted as their herbicide formulation does not have the problematic "drift" and volatility problems that other 2,4-D formulations have that cause farms even miles away to be impacted when one farmer sprays the herbicide on his fields.

Dow says as long as farmers use their formulation under their specifications, they would not have the same problems associated with current versions of 2,4-D on the market.

"We're highly into stewardship and want to be sure the farmers get this right," said Dow spokeswoman Kenda Resler-Friend.

"Nobody wants trouble with their neighbor. They want to do the right thing." Kenda Resler-Friend.

Coalition members say no matter how good Dow's formulation might be, generic versions of 2,4-D on the market will be much cheaper and many farmers will use those more volatile versions on the new 2,4-D tolerant crops.

(Editing by Ryan Woo)

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"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Lose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Pedal wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.)  - New !  
 

Pfizer Nears $9b Deal with Nestle: Report

Jakarta Globe, April 18, 2012

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New York. US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is close to reaching a $9 billion deal to sell its infant nutrition business to Nestle, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Journal said Nestle, the Swiss food giant, had apparently beaten out Groupe Danone and Mead Johnson Nutrition, which had considered a joint bid for the business, and that the final deal could be announced next week.

A Pfizer spokeswoman contacted by AFP refused to comment on the report, saying “no decisions have been made at this point” on the sale of the infant nutrition business or an animal health business also set to be auctioned off.

“The animal health and nutrition businesses are highly valued assets, and our decision about strategic options will be driven by value creation and delivering the best after-tax value for our shareholders,” she said.

Pfizer has moved to unload peripheral entities in recent months in order to focus on its core medicine business.

In November its patent on the best-selling drug of all time, the cholesterol-lowering medication Lipitor, expired, opening the path to generic competitors for America’s most popular medication.

Agence France-Presse

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The Manuscript of Survival – Part 120 (Constant Companions channeled through Aisha North)

Aisha North, April 17, 2012

As we have touched upon earlier, mankind has a hard time seeing the things that they are not meant to see. In other words, the programming that has overwritten your original blueprint has taken away your abilities to live as full citizens of this magnificent creation, therefore your outlook will seem bleak at this moment in time. But fear not, dear ones, you are about to be included in the multitude that makes up this vast ocean of creatures and entities once again, and just as in the blink of an eye after opening your eyes from the pitch darkness of night and into a bright new dawn, you too will be able to stretch, yawn and finally marvel at the rich tapestry unfolding on all sides. It will be like going from an old and grainy black and white silent movie and stepping right into a high definition surround sound, widescreen depiction of reality. In other words, this is once again a little reminder not to give in and pack it up as you are so tantalizingly close to finally experiencing this multicolored, multilayered reality we are all revelling in at the moment.

We know we are harping on with the same message, but that is because we know it is much needed. At the moment, there are literally thousands of you out there struggling to make it through just one more day, or maybe just one more night, as even the nights are many times not a time for respite any longer either. But again, the very fact that you can count yourselves in many thousands will be of some solace to some of you, especially if you manage to connect firmly with some of these fellow travellers. Not to bring each other further down, but to help each other shift the focus from the heaviest loads and to the fact that you are in this together, and you will make it all the way to the end if you help each other to really connect to the underlying energy that is fuelling all of these ”ascension symptoms” to call them that. Remember, you are not being put through all of this just to make you feel all of the aches and pains both in your physical and emotional body. This is not meant as a punishment in any way, but we are aware that for some, it will certainly feel like it at times. And again, you have been well trained to think that anything that does not feel easy and ”symptom free” to call it that must be avoided at all costs, because it is probably not good for you. Well, in this case, let us just say that each and every twinge of physical discomfort that accompanies all of these energetic updates are telling you the exact opposite. Namely that you are being upgraded and purified to such a degree that there can be no doubt as to what the outcome of all of this will be. You are becoming as if new again, or rather as if old, as you are all being restored back to the brilliance you once was. And when this process is finished, you will also have been reconnected to the vastness that makes up All of creation, and you will be living that high definition, multicolored version of a life that you have hankered for for so long.

In other words, although the process in itself is more than exhausting, and the temptation to call it quits can come visiting more often than not, know that everything is indeed a sure sign of progress. And for every time you feel something gnawing inside of your physical body or in your mind, rest assured that there are good energies at work, energies that are putting you together again piece by piece to undo all of the dismantling of your powers that took place many lifetimes ago. It is like those diligent workers restoring an old rubble of stone back to its former glory, brick by brick, layer by layer, until it finally stands there in all of its glory for all to see. So too with you, and believe us when we say that even if it feels like the wrecking machines are doing their best to dismantle you completely, it is in fact only the labour from this restoring process you are feeling. In other words, you are not being torn apart, but we do understand that you are feeling as such, so we will not stop giving you these messages and hopefully clarify the process to you during the remainder of this work.

You are too valuable to be mistreated in any way. But as that is what you have been by the forces so intent on bringing and holding you down, this restoration work must be done in the proper way. Otherwise, you could be tempted to just collapse back into a heap of fear again. But never fear, as the work we do will effectively remove any hidden traps that could catch you unawares. The fear we refer to, is the one you yourselves might engender if you get the wrong idea of the work we are putting you trough. In other words, those that fall for the temptation to think that these growing pains are not worth the effort it takes for you to stand in them each and every day, and that even though you feel the hammering going on incessantly, you cannot yet see any difference. Let us just remind you that there are so many reasons why you cannot see the results from all of this yet, and that this is not proof that it is all a waste of time. No time is wasted, and no effort goes unrequited, and the foundation you are standing on now is so strong that nothing outside of you can tear it down again. It is only your mind who can do that, as you are the only ones capable of making your carefully reconstructed entity fall to pieces again. So do not fall for the temptation to topple yourselves dear ones. You are made of much sturdier material than you think, and although you look on the outside like the same flimsy and somewhat shaky building you once was, nothing could be further from the truth. You are as an impenetrable fortress by now, and the only impostor that can be a threat to you, is the one you harbour inside of your mind. So make sure to let the forces of your heart reign sovereign, thereby the insurgence from your mind cannot be of any threat. Not to you, nor to others.

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US busts online drugs ring Farmer's Market

BBC News, 17 April 2012

Related Stories 

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The secret ring supplied drugs to clients
 in 35 countries around the world,
the US said

The US authorities say they have busted a secret internet drugs market, where people around the world could buy LSD, ecstasy and other illegal substances.

The ring - The Farmer's Market - is said to have operated through a computer network which allows users to communicate anonymously.

At least eight people have been held in the US, the Netherlands and Colombia.

They have been charged with drug trafficking and money laundering and will face trial in the US.

'Clear message'

The arrests were the culmination of the two-year Operation Adam Bomb, officials from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced late on Monday.

The sophisticated ring had tried to hide its activities "through the use of advanced anonymising online technology," said Briane Grey, the DEA's acting special agent in charge.

He added that the arrests "should send a clear message to organisations that are using technology to conduct criminal activity that the DEA and our law enforcement partners will track them down and bring them to justice".

The US authorities have identified Marc Willems, 42, as the "lead defendant", who is believed to have created and run the network. He has been arrested at his home in the Netherlands.

It is alleged that more than $1m (£630,000) worth of drugs sales were processed through the sophisticated ring which used the TOR computer network between 2007-09.

The Farmer's Market reportedly provided order forms, customer service and accepted payments through PayPal, Western Union and other means.

It had customers in every US state as well as in 34 countries around the world.

China Detains 22 in Toxic Medicine Scandal

Jakarta Globe, April 17, 2012

Shanghai. Chinese police have detained 22 people for making drug capsules using a toxic raw material produced from scrap leather, state media said, in the latest in a string of product safety scandals.

Police in the eastern province of Zhejiang found the suspects allegedly made and sold capsules with excessive levels of chromium after using industrial gelatin made from discarded leather, the Xinhua News agency said late on Monday.

Chromium, which has several industrial uses including leather tanning, can cause cancer.

China has been hit by a series of product safety scandals, often involving food or pharmaceuticals, despite government pledges to improve supervision, and public outrage over lax controls and official corruption is on the increase.

According to Xinhua, at least half of the people detained worked for capsule makers in Zhejiang’s Xinchang county, a major production base.

Police and government departments of Zhejiang and Xinchang county were not immediately available for comment.

According to the report, the industrial gelatin used to make the capsules came from other factories in the northern province of Hebei and the eastern province of Jiangxi.

In another twist to the scandal, police also detained a factory owner in Hebei for allegedly setting fire to his own plant to destroy evidence of making industrial gelatin, Xinhua said in a separate report on Tuesday.

Song Xunjie, manager of the Xueyang Glair Gelatin Factory, is said to be a supplier to companies across the country, it added.

The government’s State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), the industry regulator, on Sunday also suspended sales of 13 types of drugs confirmed to have excessive levels of chromium.

The case is the latest in a long series of product safety scandals.

In November last year, authorities busted a gang that produced and sold fake medicine — some made of animal feed — arresting 114 suspects and seizing more than 65 million counterfeit tablets.

And Zheng Xiaoyu, former head of the SFDA, was executed in 2007 for accepting $850,000 in bribes in exchange for granting approval for hundreds of medicines, some later found to be dangerous.

Agence France-Presse

Using traditional healers to tackle AIDS

RNW, by Maike Winters, 16 April 2012      

 (Photo: Tanja Odijk)

   

What is a U-process?

The U-process was developed by Otto
Scharmer of the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology to bring about radical 
social change in groups of people and 
organisations.

The letter U stands for the various phases
the group has to go through. In the ‘sensing’
phase everyone involved is given the 
opportunity to present their own vision on a
certain matter.  Then the whole group sees
the extent of the problem in reality. This is
followed by the ‘presencing’ phase, in which
the members of the group join in silence.
Everyone asks themselves how to tackle the
problem. Then comes the  co-creation phase,
in which the solutions are  developed further.

“What is the point of fair trade oranges from South Africa, when the orange pickers die of HIV/AIDS?” That’s what aid worker Tanja Odijk wondered after years of working with this group. So she asked the workers themselves how to improve the situation. They pointed out that they mainly sought help from traditional healers. But how can you use traditional healers when Western health organisations see them as quacks?

“Traditional healers play an important role in South African society. Around 80 percent of people turn to them first when they become ill. Some work with plants, others believe in the powers of their forefathers. And of course there are swindlers among them. Some even claim to cure HIV. Nevertheless the South African government recognises traditional healers a part of the regular health system,” says Ms Odijk, who has been an aid worker for more than 20 years.

Up to now, attempts to bring Western health organisations and traditional healers closer together have failed. “UNAIDS has set up a programme that tries to close the gap. That is great of course, but the problem is traditional healers are asked to learn Western methods to treat HIV and AIDS. That is like asking Christians to become Muslim. That doesn’t work.”

Forefathers

Ms Odijk has chosen a different approach together with a number of NGOs. She got 52 healers from the Limpopo region to give their vision on HIV. Once everyone had got a picture of the extent of the problem they joined each other in ‘silence’, before they started coming up with ideas to tackle the epidemic. This is a so-called 'U-process', which is often used in businesses. The idea is to find solutions in a number of steps.

“We went to a place which many healers have a special relationship with. They felt the presence of their forefathers as soon as they got there and saw healing plants. It was great to have an open debate like this with such a big group of healers, who usually keep the secret of their powers to themselves. The solutions came by themselves.”

Sceptical

Chishi Mashile, of the traditional healers association in the region, is enthusiastic about the process. “We were given the opportunity to come up with our own ideas. Normally, we are not shown this amount of respect from Western organisations: this was a completely different approach. All the healers are very positive about the experience.”

The healers said they wanted to make a special herb garden and to research plants which make the immune systems of HIV patients pick up. They also decided to do training to become counsellors for patients, so that they could carry out their own HIV tests. Unfortunately, a new problem arose: money.

Theo Groot, who has worked with Ms Odijk for many years on the orange farms, understands why there is a lack of money. “The farms are very commercial. There is plenty of money, but farm managers are sceptical, after all seasonal workers can easily be replaced.”

Solutions

The U-process has potential thinks Mr Groot. “I believe in it, but we need to apply it on a much bigger scale before we can draw conclusions. It is a new way of working, but development aid is ready for change. The advantage of the U-process is that it exposes the complexity of the problem and lets people come up with their own solutions.”

Could this be Development Aid 2.0? Ms Odijk: “I hope very much that this becomes the new way of working and that I can contribute to it. Hopefully, in the future we will really be able to say that South African oranges are fair trade products.”

Traditional healers. (Photo: Tanja Odijk) 

Traditional healers. (Photo: Tanja Odijk) 

The perfect drug? Monsanto hooks Nepal on GMO corn

RT.com, 15 April, 2012

Anti-GMO activists rip open bags containing "MON 810", a variety of

 genetically modified maize (corn) developed by Monsanto Company after

 entering a Monsanto storehouse on January 23, 2012 in Trebes near

Carcassonne, southern France. (AFP Photo / Eric Cabanis)

The Nepalese government has teamed up with notorious agricultural giant Monsanto to force farmers use its GMO seeds. The strain, banned in several EU countries, will be used to substitute imports and boost the starving nation’s maize production.

Corn is one of Nepal’s biggest crops but the country produces only about half of what it needs for its feed industry, and imports some 130,000 tons annually to cover the deficit. Still, over 40 per cent of the Nepalese population is malnourished.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is lending the starving country a helping hand. More specifically the hand of Monsanto, an agricultural goliath which reaps as much controversy as it does seed.

USAID announced last September that it wants to create a partnership with Monsanto and the Nepalese government to boost maize production.

“We have been trying to help the Nepalese farmer to increase his total production of the food crops,” making him “a little bit more competitive by bringing his costs down,” said USAID Economic Growth Advisor Rave Aulakh.

Soon after the initiative was introduced, public anger spilled onto both social media and the streets. Hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the US embassy in Katmandu to speak out against Monsanto.

“You start buying seeds from them,” explained protester Sabin Ninglekhu. “Year one: it can produce a bit of yield. Year two: yield starts going down. And then it means you have to increase inputs. You have to annually buy seeds from this company because seed fertility keeps going down.”

While most agree that Nepal must urgently address its food and security problems, critics say that the solution to Nepal’s agricultural problems should come from within the country, not from abroad.

The ultimate goal of the protests was to put pressure on the government of Nepal to cancel its agreement with USAID and Monsanto before the consequences hit. They say the partnership will shift the country's dependence from imported maize to genetically modified seeds from abroad.

Monsanto’s history is not exactly branded in glory. Allegations of monopolization of local markets follow the corporation, as it has been sued by hundreds of thousands of farmers around the globe.

The latest lawsuit against Monsanto was filed last week in New Castle, Delaware. The suit claims that the corporation, "motivated by a desire for unwarranted economic gain,” knowingly poisoned Argentinian farmers that were pressured to use the company’s pesticides. The farmers insist that exposure to Monsanto’s chemicals caused an array of defects in local children.

Some European countries also strongly oppose using Monsanto’s genetically modified seeds. Last month, the MON 810 strain of maize was temporarily banned in France“to protect the environment.” Poland also stated it will move to ban the strain completely. And last week, the European Commission failed to gather enough support to approve cultivation of three corn varieties developed by Monsanto.

Related Articles:


Farm group seeks U.S. halt on "dangerous" crop chemicals

Monsanto and Genetically Modified Crops - Is there a cover-up?

Unilever to phase out factory-farmed chicken

RNW, 15 April 2012

Chicken house / Photo: USDA /

Larry Rana

Anglo-Dutch food giant Unilever has announced it will phase out the use of factory-farmed chicken in its products.

In Dutch, factory-farmed chickens are commonly known as plofkip - blown-up chicken – because they are bred and drugged to grow so large so fast that they are ready for slaughter in just 42 days. Their organs and legs cannot keep up with their accelerated rate of growth, so heart attacks, organ failure and leg deformities are common.

Unilever informed animal rights organisation Wakker Dier that it plans to start phasing out the use of factory-farmed animals in the first quarter of next year, beginning with its chicken hot dogs and later following with its soups and other food products.

Unilever has told Wakker Dier that the industrially farmed chicken will be replaced with chicken which qualifies for at least one star in the Dutch ‘better life’ meat production rankings. One-star chickens are not bred as quickly and have access to a covered outdoor area.

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Unilever seeks out older, healthier fruit

Fruitnet, Mike Knowles, 12 April 2012

Food and beverage marketer launches new project to investigate potentially higher nutrient levels in older varieties

Ed Yourdon, Flickr

Multinational consumer goods company Unilever is leading new scientific research into fruit varieties which it hopes will lead to the development of healthier products while also underlining its reputation as a major player in the global market for health foods.

The group, renowned for sourcing an estimated 6 per cent of the world's entire tomato crop, has brought together a consortium of the UK's leading scientists – including researchers from Cranfield University in southern England and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in West London – to investigate whether older fruit varieties might contain higher levels of nutrients that are beneficial to human health.

Based on initial tests conducted by Unilever itself on the apple variety Egremont Russet, the new project is set to look at fruits and vegetables including apples, mangoes, bananas and onions, although Unilever spokesman Paul Matthews insisted the research was very much at the initial stage.

"This is about understanding the science behind the plants we eat," he told Eurofruit. "It's not just about apples, its about conducting research into the older varieties of fruit and vegetables that potentially could contain higher levels of nutritional content."

He added: "We purchase significant quantities of fresh produce in raw material form and so obviously it's in our interest that the nutritional value of what we buy is as high as possible."

According to Unilever, the project has been set up to identify what are regarded as 'pre-domesticated' plant varieties, ones which have not been altered all that much by modern breeding processes and which, the consortium suspects, could contain "significantly higher" amounts of nutrients than the varieties currently used in food production.

Unilever's preliminary investigation reportedly found that Egremont Russet apples contained up to 10 times the volume of a certain phytonutrient than found in some modern varieties.

Funded partly by the government-backed Technology Strategy Board, that investigation will now be extended, with Unilever's R&D team confident that other older plant varieties will be richer in nutrients and fibre than newer ones.

Unilever's Dr Mark Berry, who is leading the research project, argued that much of the fresh produce consumed in the world today have been selected for their yield potential, rather than their nutritional value.

"This research looks to turn this approach on its head," he commented. "Perhaps a better strategy for human health, not to mention sustainable agriculture, would be to buy plants not based on their weight, but on their nutrient content."

Older, lesser-known varieties could potentially be brought back into the mainstream market, he added.

"It's fascinating to contemplate that these pre-domesticated varieties have remained relatively unchanged for thousands of years. We'll be going back in time to identify the plants from yesteryear that our ancient ancestors would have eaten - with a view to potentially reintroducing them into our diet."

Professor Leon Terry of Cranfield University agreed that more recently introduced fruit and vegetable varieties might often lack the health-enhancing properties found in more established, but less prevalent cultivars.

"Although fruit and vegetable-based products like smoothies are widely available, few contain the benefits of naturally high health-promoting phytochemical content from older cultivars," he insisted.

"This is because the varietal selection of fruit and vegetables supplied by the fresh produce industry today has been increasingly centred on their products' price, size, visual appearance, storage potential and yield."

Professor Monique Simmonds of the Royal Botanic Gardens said the project would provide an exciting opportunity to investigate the chemistry of less common plants and older varieties of some of the market's favourite fruits.

"It enables us to increase our knowledge about the diversity of phytochemicals in these plants and whether their diversity has decreased during domestication," she explained.

"In an age when we are losing so much of our biodiversity due to changes in land use we can also evaluate the loss in phytochemical diversity that could have a negative impact on our health."

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