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October 1, 2009

The High Human Cost of Unsafe Food

Published on Wednesday, October 7, 2009 by The Huffington Post
by Marion Nestle
I think we need a whole lot more public outrage about unsafe food. Maybe the recent front-page articles in the Washington Post and New York Times will do the trick.
Both tell tragic stories of women who developed hemolytic uremia syndrome in response to eating a food contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. Both reveal the appalling physical and monetary cost of these illnesses. Recall: we also do not have an effective and affordable health care system.
To me, the most chilling part of the Times investigation had to do with the lack of testing for dangerous pathogens. No meat packing company wants to test. Why not? They know the animals coming into the plant are contaminated. They know that tests would come up positive. They know that if they find pathogens, they have to recall the meat.

New Website Helps Shoppers Avoid GMO Foods

Published on Sunday, December 6, 2009 by the Independent/UK
by the Independent/UK
Shopping for products that aren’t genetically modified (GM) can be challenging, particularly in the United States where there are as yet no laws governing the labeling of products with GM ingredients. To make it a little easier on concerned shoppers, the US advocacy group Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT) this week launched a new website for consumers who want to avoid buying products containing genetically modified organisms (GMO) and gene-spliced food products.

Beta Carotene

By Gary Null Ph.D.
Editor’s comment: Following critical reports of the lack of benefit of beta-carotene in preventing lung cancer in smokers, it is appropriate to review this nutrient’s scientific literature. While some past studies may have indicated an association between synthetic beta-carotene supplements and lung cancer risk in smokers, an extensive international study in the January 2004 issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention concludes that, when consumed as part of whole foods, beta-carotene poses no such risk.
In the past decade, beta-carotene has gained tremendous stature in the nutritional world. This carotenoid, which gives many fruits and vegetables their yellow pigmentation, has always played an important role in health because it becomes vitamin A in the body. But in recent years, researchers have discovered that beta-carotene not only functions as a precursor to vitamin A but also works on its own to maintain health. Unlike vitamin A, which as limited antioxidant properties, beta-carotene is among the most powerful of antioxidant nutrients. As such, it can help to guard against the development of cancer.

A Women’s Perspective – 10/01/09

Download Shakespeare, Money, and Sex w/ Guests: Luis deAmechazurro, Alan Hasnas, and Raul Sigmund Julia Podcast: Play in new window | Download (12.7MB) | Embed

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (12.7MB) | Embed