Italy is set to be the first country to ban synthetic food!

Why aren’t U.S. lawmakers talking about this? 

New genetically engineered Frankenfoods made with synthetic biology (what the industry calls “precision fermentation”) are already being sold in stores. They’re different from Monsanto’s first GMOs, the Roundup Ready crops that were tweaked with bacterial DNA that made them impervious to the herbicides that would normally kill them. 

Roundup Ready GMOs grow from seed like normal crops. They look and taste like regular corn, soy, canola, etc. (even though they contain proteins human beings had never eaten before).

The new GMOs are 100% synthetic. Instead of growing in living plants, they are spit out of genetically engineered yeast or E. coli. Instead of having foreign DNA from another living organism, their molecules and DNA might be totally unique structures not found in nature.

These new synthetic Frankenfoods could be toxic or trigger allergies, but companies like Perfect Day, a maker of “dairy identical” synbio GMOs, say they’re just like real food.

Buyer beware! Back in the 1980s, when a manufacturer of the amino acid tryptophan decided to produce it with genetically engineered bacteria, 37 people died and 1500 were permanently disabled.

This dangerous technology shouldn’t be used in food!

TAKE ACTION: Tell your lawmakers to ban genetically engineered Frankenfoods made with synthetic biology (so-called “precision fermentation”)!

Although there has been a small but long standing resistance to Synthetic Biology, spearheaded by public interest non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as ETC Group, Friends of the Earth, and the International Center for Technology Assessment, which we have supported in the past, OCA believes the time is ripe to build up a new, vastly expanded U.S. and global campaign of farmers and consumers to stop the Frankenfoods 2.0 fake meat, fake dairy onslaught.

Through mass public education, litigation, boycotts, and protests, the goal of this revitalized farmer/consumer campaign will be to drive these genetically engineered Frankenfoods (fake meat, fake milk, fake cheese) off the market, and, in the process, turn back the planned demolition of our organic and small farmer-based food and farming system by Bill Gates, the Rockefeller Foundation, Silicon Valley, Perfect Day, Big Meat and Big Dairy who are bringing us closer to farmerless “food” cashless, and worker-less grocery stores.

We need to be talking more about the return to … “decentralized and regenerative systems that can be producing food for all of us moving forward.” Help us take action and please spread the word! Share this newsletter with your friends and family and make a donation today!

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Carey Gillam writes in The Guardian:

“Cancer patients are celebrating a string of courtroom victories after juries in three US states recently ordered Germany’s Bayer to pay more than $500m in damages for failing to warn about the health risks of its Roundup herbicides. But the consumer wins come as proposed federal legislation backed by Bayer and the powerful agricultural industry could limit similar cases from ever going to trial in the future.

Dubbed the Agricultural Labeling Uniformity Act, the proposed measure would provide sweeping protections for pesticide companies and their products, pre-empting local governments from implementing restrictions on pesticide use and blocking many of the legal claims that have been plaguing Bayer, according to the American Association for Justice (AAJ) and other critics.

The measure, which was introduced over the summer, has been gaining traction as a potential amendment to the pending Farm Bill. More than 360 agricultural organizations are throwing their support behind the measure, which was introduced by US representatives Dusty Johnson and Jim Costa. Lobbying disclosure records show that Bayer and the industry-funded CropLife America have made passage of the measure a priority.”

Learn more

TAKE ACTION: For better food, demand a better Farm Bill!

Mark Kurlansky, Bon Appétit:

“Onions are mild unless attacked. Most do not even have a strong smell. But bitten or cut, they retaliate. The vengeful onion sends a toxic spittle into your eyes—it is a low-molecular-weight substance with sulfur atoms, which is an extremely rare way for chemicals to present themselves in nature. It is said that they are spewing sulfur. But to say that is to ignore the unusual complexity of the operation. The molecules are “highly reactive”; in other words, they change very easily. The most famous change, the one we care about, is that they become lacrimatory; they induce tears, make you cry.

Onions are designed to fight against mammals. The molecules dissolve into the water of the eyes and turn into sulfuric acid, a nasty little trick designed for defense. The compound activates nerve endings in the cornea that send a message to the brain translated as pain. The purpose of all pain messages is to tell you to stop whatever is causing it. It teaches most animals to stay away—but humans are undeterred.

They cause pain but are worth it, that, in the words of Pablo Neruda, they make you ‘weep without suffering.’”

Read more

The Core of an Onion Peeling the Rarest Common Food—Featuring More Than 100 Historical Recipes

Good news on SynBio Food!

Euractiv writes:

“Italy will ban synthetic foods, said Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida at an event organized by the European Conservatives and Reformists with the participation of EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski.

On Monday, a bill banning the production, import and sale of food produced in laboratories will be discussed in the lower house of parliament.

The event, titled “Tradition and Innovation: A Conservative Future for European Farmers”, leading conservative politicians discussed the challenges and opportunities arising from European regulation and cooperation in the field of animal husbandry, agriculture and the green economy. Lollobrigida and Wojciechowski participated remotely.

‘Italy will be the first country free of synthetic food and wants to set an example of how it can be regulated,’ said Lollobrigida, who participated remotely in the event held in Kilkenny, Ireland.

“We have chosen the precautionary principle […] Food quality is fundamental and we cannot accept a society divided in two, where quality food is produced only for the rich elite. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to eat well,” the minister added.”

Learn more

Gia Mora writes in Modern Farmer:

“Oaxacan engineer Martha Jimenez Cardoso comes from a farming family. “For us, corn is like gold,” she says. Her mother still plants this ancient crop with a stick and a few kernels, the way the people in her small Indigenous village of Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec Mixe have done for 12,000 years.

Cardoso’s agricultural roots taught her to value and respect nature. Without Mother Earth, says Cardoso, “we have nothing.” She transformed this cultural imperative into a career that not only cares for the planet but helps people along the way. As director of sustainability at Astral Tequila, she takes the waste created during the tequila distillation process and repurposes it into adobe-style bricks. The bricks are then donated to build homes for people in the surrounding communities, nearly half of whom live below the poverty line.

Cardoso helped pioneer a solution to combine soil with the leftover bagasse and vinasse from agave spirits distillation to create an ancient building material known as adobe.”

 

Learn more

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola:

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

• In the United States, daylight saving time (DST), which began Sunday, March 12, 2023, ends Sunday November 5, 2023. On that day, at 2 a.m. local time, clocks “fall back” one hour to 1 a.m., to what’s known as standard time

• March 26, 2019, the European parliament voted to end DST as of 2021

• While the original intention was that extending daylight hours during the summer would result in energy savings, research shows it’s not saving us any money, and is contributing to ill health

• Researchers have noticed a statistically significant increase in the number of car accidents, workplace injuries and heart attacks in the days after the time changes in the spring, which appear to be related to loss of sleep and circadian rhythm disruptions

• While the most adverse health effects are attributed to the springtime switch to DST, the switch back to Standard Time in the fall means your body has to get used to it getting dark earlier in the evening. Tips to help your body adjust to the time change are included

Read: Tips to Protect Your Health During Time Switches

Agnel Philip for ProPublica reports:

“TCP is one of more than a dozen unregulated contaminants that have been found in the country’s drinking water. During the past decade, regulators have identified at least one of these substances at levels that could impact human health in the tap water of 61 million people, according to a ProPublica analysis of EPA data. Nearly 16 million of these people were exposed to potentially dangerous levels of possible or likely carcinogens, including TCP. And over the past 25 years, the agency has identified more than a hundred other water contaminants, including industrial and agricultural chemicals and microorganisms, that may present risks to humans. The potential health effects of these substances include developmental delays, reproductive issues and cancer.

Experts and activists say this demonstrates fundamental shortcomings in the country’s approach to environmental threats. The Safe Drinking Water Act, designed to protect the nation’s water quality, requires an extensive, multistep process before adopting new standards. Critics say the EPA has struggled to move contaminants that have been on its radar for a decade or more through this process in a timely fashion.

The EPA’s inaction on these chemicals “just illustrates how broken the system is.”



Read more

• Sauerkraut: A Natural Source of Gut-Boosting Bacteria
• Asparagus: Nourishing Prebiotic Powerhouse
• Pineapple: Enzyme-Rich Digestive Aid
• Raw Onions: Prebiotic Powerhouses
• Raw Garlic: A Powerful Gut Ally
• Bone Broth: Nourishment for a Healthy Gut
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Digestive Aid and Microbial Balancer
• Kimchi: Fermented Delicacy for Gut Integrity
• Ginger: Calming Aid for Digestive Wellness
• Dandelion Greens: Nutrient-Dense Allies for Detoxification

Learn more about these nutritional powerhouses

Lena Beck writes in Modern Farmer:

‘Do you know what “cage-free” means? How about “free range”? “Pasture-raised”?

Some of the terms used on food labels are official certifications, enforced by the USDA or a nonprofit entity, and the presence of the certification means that the farming operation has been verified in some way for compliance. Other common terms or phrases refer to qualities that are not regulated at all. This means that companies can use these phrases on their packaging whether they conform to a consumer’s understanding of what that label means or not. To make things even more complicated, many certifications require a lot of labor, effort and expense on the producer’s behalf, meaning that small farms can be at a disadvantage when it comes to garnering these certifications, even if they meet the requirements.

As a consumer, it can help to understand what you are looking at and what it means. Below is a list of definitions for common phrases on food labels. But there are many more beyond the ones we have listed.

To help you evaluate their meaning, ask yourself these questions: If it’s a certification, who is the governing body and how do they verify compliance? If it’s not a certification, does the company clarify what it means by the term? Can I find additional information about the product separate from the words used on the label?’

Learn more

Chelsea Green Publishing’s review of Chris Smaje’s book states:

“Everyone in the food business needs to read this book. . . . [A] lively and superbly written polemic.”—Joel Salatin, co-founder of Polyface Farm

*Named the Inc. Non-Obvious Book Awards “Best Books of 2023”

A defense of agroecological, small-scale farming and a robust critique of an industrialized future.

One of the few voices to challenge The Guardian‘s George Monbiot on the future of food and farming (and the restoration of nature) is academic, farmer and author of A Small Farm Future Chris Smaje. In Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future, Smaje presents his defense of small-scale farming and a robust critique of Monbiot’s vision for an urban and industrialized future.

Responding to Monbiot’s portrayal of an urban, high-energy, industrially manufactured food future as the answer to our current crises, and its unchallenged acceptance within the environmental discourse, Smaje was compelled to challenge Monbiot’s evidence and conclusions. At the same time, Smaje presents his powerful counterargument – a low-carbon agrarian localism that puts power in the hands of local communities, not high-tech corporates.

In the ongoing fight for our food future, this book will help you to understand the difference between a congenial, ecological living and a dystopian, factory-centered existence. A must-read!


Learn more about ‘Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future’ and order the book here!

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