When It's Best to Buy Organic

A recent study by Stanford University purports that organic food isn't any healthier than non-organic food. With studies such as this coming from reputable organizations like Stanford, unfortunately it emphasizes the need that we must always be vigilant and can still not trust our general food supply. 

It's true, you don't have to spring for organic if the food has a thick skin that you will discard, such as bananas, avocados, melons and citrus.  If it's a leaf you will eat, if the fruit has skin you will eat, or if it was grown in the ground it's worth it to buy organic.  Countless studies have shown these foods absorb and retain pesticides & herbicides used on them, and that these chemicals act as carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, and immune disruptors in the human body.  For more information about who is behind the study, see what Mike Adam's team of sleuths revealed.

Are They Renaming High Fructose Corn Syrup?

High fructose corn syrup is bad for you. Let’s unpack this controversial topic, so you can understand what high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is and why it is harmful.

Put in simple terms, HFCS is a combination of glucose (the sugar found in blood) and fructose (fruit sugar) that is sweeter than sucrose (table sugar) and also less expensive to manufacture.  (Read Marion Nestle’s guide for details on the chemical makeup of these sugars.) The increased use of HFCS in the Standard American Diet over the past few decades has correlated with the increase in diabetes and obesity.

Nutritional scientists such as Dr. Bruce Ames have proven that high fructose corn syrup is more readily absorbed into the blood stream than table sugar. The glucose causes insulin spikes—which in turn causes weight gain—and the fructose adversely affects the liver by prompting the production of triglycerides and cholesterol. In addition, HFCS makes glycated end products that are pro-inflammatory to brain neurons. This, in turn, leads to Alzheimer’s Disease.

If this isn’t enough to have you boycott it completely, other research suggests that HFCS contains traces of mercury and other contaminants, not to mention the fact that it comes from GMO corn, which carries bacteriotoxic genes, can cause dysbiosis of the gut because it imbalances healthy intestinal microbes.

The corn industry, backed by government subsidies that do little to support sustainable farming and the general health of the population, disputes HFCS’ negative effects in their alarmingly Orwellian, propagandist websites. They claim that high fructose corn syrup is the same as any other sugar, and your body can’t tell the difference. Obviously, this is absolutely untrue. The corn industry has even gone so far as to attempt to get high fructose corn syrup renamed “corn sugar” on food packaging. Though FDA struck this down, the Corn Refiners Association has threatened to call HFCS  “corn sugar” anyway. Their eagerness to rename it reinforces the idea they have something to hide.

How can you stay away from high fructose corn syrup? Read labels on food packaging, to begin. HFCS lurks in condiments, cereals, crackers, and other packaged foods. It’s important to remember that consuming sugar, no matter what type of sugar it is, negatively impacts your health. Soft drinks should be completely avoided, and sugary foods should not be a regular part of your diet. Preferred sweets include natural treats like fresh, whole, organic fruit.

How do you satisfy your sweet tooth without high fructose corn syrup? Share your favorite natural treats in the comments section below.

Arsenic in Brown Rice Syrup

Recently an organic toddler soy formula using organic brown rice syrup was found to be high in arsenic by Dartmouth College researchers. It has been known for years that rice tends to concentrate arsenic.  This is worse in rice from southern states and Bangladesh.  Unless you have the genetic polymorphism of being a "collector" of toxic metals, your body will detoxify the arsenic you may have been exposed to.  If brown rice syrup has been a staple in your child's diet, you can do a hair toxic metals test.  The test is $55 and is easily performed with a sample of hair.  The kits are available through my office. If needed, there are some simple steps you can take to detox arsenic. 

The Fight for GMO Labeling

Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMOs, are not labeled on our food packaging, yet they comprise up to 90% of common products such as corn, soybeans, and sugar beets (and their derivatives, which include corn syrup, soy lecithin, and corn starch). As I mentioned in a blog post last year, it is vital to our individual health and to the health of our environment to avoid consuming toxic and altered foods. Bacterio-toxic (BT) corn, for example, is engineered to kill pests that threaten the corn crop, but when we consume it, it affects the healthy bacteria in our intestines. A European study done over ten years ago showed that GM genes can spread to people and animals.  A group of organic farmers recently sued Monsanto to have its patents on GMOs invalidated because they were worried that GMO crops planted adjacent to their fields would contaminate their organic crops through cross-pollination. A federal judge struck down their case, accusing the organic farmers of “creating a controversy where none exists.”  While many countries in the European Union have banned GM crops, and Peru recently announced a 10-year GMO ban, in the United States it seems that big corporations like Monsanto call the shots.

How can we avoid GMOs if we don’t know where they are? Companies that manufacture GMOs are insistent that GMOs cause no harm to human beings, so why do they refuse to label them? Marion Nestle, a public policy expert who was a member of the FDA’s Food Advisory committee when the first GM products became available in 1994, emphasizes that “Intelligent people can argue about whether GM crops are good, bad or indifferent for agriculture, the environment and market economies, or whether the products are safe. But one point is clear. The absence of labeling cannot be good in the long run for business or American democracy.”

We need to demand GMO labeling on our food products. A legal petition has been filed with the FDA, asking them to require labeling of GMOs. Please sign it at JustLabelIt.org. Additionally, if you are a registered voter in the state of California, you can add your signature to a ballot initiative that would allow voters to vote on labeling GMOs. Eight hundred thousand signatures must be collected by April 22 for this to make it onto the ballot, and signatures must be collected in person. Stop by my office to sign or visit LabelGMOs.org for more information.

While we wait to see if legislation will be passed, what can you do?

• Educate yourself by watching documentaries about modern agriculture, such as King Corn, Food Inc, and the Future of Food.
•   Keep up-to-date on GMOs in the news by following The Non GMO Project’s blog, Facebook, and/or Twitter pages, and take action when you can.
• Avoid purchasing products that are likely to contain GMOs. The Center for Food Safety has a comprehensive shopping guide you can download from their site, and they also have apps for iPhone and Android.

 What are your thoughts on GMOs? Share them here.

 

Meat Eaters Guide

The Environmental Working Group has done a great study on the different protein options we have and their impact on our health and on the environment. When eating beef or pork, it is important to eat grass-fed, organic meat free of hormones and antibiotics. Poultry, as long as it’s free-range and organic, is a better option for everyday consumption because it’s less expensive and has a smaller carbon footprint. For years I’ve been saying we need to eat beef less frequently and eat only premium-grade grass-fed beef. It’s nice to have the EWG back this up with all the facts!  

If you choose not to eat meat it's vital to get enough protein from beans, legumes, and/or clean protein powder.

Child Labor and Cocoa Farming

Are you aware that the chocolate you eat may be the product of child slavery?  At least seventy percent of the world’s chocolate supply originates in West Africa, with the Ivory Coast and Ghana as leading producers. A shocking report in 2001 called “A Taste of Slavery” exposed a world in which boys as young as 12 were forced to work 13-hour work days on cacao plantations in the Ivory Coast, enduring malnutrition, beatings, and psychological abuse. 

The easiest way to make a difference?  Vote with your purchases.   The major chocolate companies – Hershey, Kraft, and Nestle – do not have fair trade certification, which includes strict policies that monitor and prohibit child labor.  These certifications also ensure that suppliers earn an appropriate fair wage. Look for fair-trade chocolates made by Alter Eco, Coco-Zen, Divine, Equal Exchange, Sjaak’s, Sweet Earth Organic, and Theo Chocolate. All of these chocolates are organic, too! An added benefit of buying chocolate from companies that support fair trade is that they tend to be more health-conscious, socially responsible, and environmentally friendly. Alter Eco’s products are made using sustainable farming methods, for example, and 45% of Divine is actually owned by the cacao farmers themselves.

To take further action, write to your congresspeople and encourage them to make sure the International Cocoa Initiative implements ethical labor practices. You can also write to the major chocolate companies and urge them to adopt third-party certification for their cocoa. Green American magazine provides a form on their website that you can email directly to Hershey.

By shifting our focus as consumers to companies that promote social responsibility instead of ignore it, we can have an impact on ending child labor.


Updated on December 18, 2012 to add:  

Hershey has recently pledged to source 100% third-party certified cocoa by 2020. The company has also announced plans to spend $10 million on solving child labor problems in West Africa.

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REFERENCES

Korfhage, Andrew: “Valentine Chocolates Tainted by Child Labor.” Green American, January-February 2011

Raghavan, Sudarsan and Sumana Chatterjee: “A Taste of Slavery.” Knight Ridder newspapers, June 24, 2001.