FOOD JUSTICE NOW, Organic Farming

35,000 Hit Streets of Berlin to Demand Agricultural Revolution

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Common Dreams - by Andrea Germanos - Jan 20, 2019

“This protest shows that the desire for a different agricultural policy is now undeniable.”

Organizers said 35,000 people marched through the streets of the German capital on Saturday to say they’re “fed up” with industrial agriculture and call for a transformation to a system that instead supports the welfare of the environment, animals, and rural farmers.

Many held placards reading “Eating is political” at the action in Berlin, which coincided with the so-called “Green Week” agricultural fair.

The protest also featured a procession of 170 farmers driving tractors to the rally at the Brandenburg Gate.

“This protest,” said Green party co-leader Robert Habeck, “shows that the desire for a different agricultural policy is now undeniable.”

As DW reports

Protesters called out by some 100 organizations asserted that alleviation of climate change and species depletion required a reorganization of EU farming policy, including subsidies, currently amounting to €60 billion ($68 billion) annually, including €6.3 billion allocated in Germany.

That flowed mainly to larger companies focused on boosting yields, they said, but instead the funds should be distributed better to avert further farmyard closures and rural village die-offs.

“With over €6 billion that Germany distributes every year as EU farming monies, environmental and animal-appropriate transformation of agriculture must be promoted,” said protest spokesperson Saskia Richartz.

Slow Food Europe captured some of the scenes on social media, and stated in a Twitter thread: “We believe that instead of propping up agro-industries, politicians should support the determination of small-scale farmers to keep climate-friendly farms, which are the future of agriculture.”

 

Co-ops, Education

Farming While Black: An Interview with Soul Fire Farm’s Leah Penniman

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Garden Therapy - Nov 18, 2018 - INTERVIEW· SOUL FIRE FARM

Gardening is therapy to so many of us and yet there is ecology and politics behind growing food that limits that opportunity for far too many people. Leah Penniman, co-founder of Soul Fire Farm and author of the just released book Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land is working to change that. Soul Fire Farm is an organization designed to uplift and empower farmers of color through practical skills and fostering a connection to the earth.

We have been fans of Soul Fire Farm on social media where they share snippets of stories, politics, and culture like this fascinating video about the Afro-Indigenous roots of many common vegetables that we normally think of as having European origins. When Farming While Black was announced, we immediately approached them to ask for an interview. Just a brief conversation with Leah Penniman covered a lot of complex issues including race, an oppressive food system, and the writing process.

Farming While Black is the first comprehensive “how to” guide for aspiring African-heritage growers to reclaim their dignity as agriculturists and for all farmers to understand the distinct, technical contributions of African-heritage people to sustainable agriculture. But you will quickly see that it is also so much more. A practical farming guide, a memoir, and history book intertwined on the pages, Farming While Black is a must read for everyone who loves plants and the healing benefits of working in the soil.

In Conversation with Leah Penniman

Garden Therapy: First, for our readers who don’t know, can you tell me a little about Soul Fire Farm and its mission?

Leah Penniman: Soul Fire Farm is a people-of-color-led community farm in Grafton, New York. We are committed to ending racism and injustice in the food system and we do that in three ways.

Read on…

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health

How to do a ketogenic diet?

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Reposted Jan 18, 2019 - Living Non-GMO

Read part one of this blog.

More and more people are following an extreme low-carb and high-fat diet - the keto diet. How it helps you lose weight, does keto slim really work, what disadvantages it has and whether it is suitable for you, plus sample days and recipes.

Benefits of ketogenic diet and ketosis

  • Anti-inflammatory: Thek ketogenic diet and the resulting ketosis have a strong anti-inflammatory effect. This is likely to reduce the risk of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and cancer.
  • Energy-increasing: The state of ketosis supports the cells, especially the brain, to produce more mitochondria. These mitochondria are the energy power plants of your body and ensure that you are awake and focused from morning to night.

A ketogenic diet is a wonderful way to stimulate the body's metabolism, increase metabolic flexibility and even treat diseases.

Read on…

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Sports

Canada Sports Betting: Online Sportsbooks Set to Launch

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Reposted Nov 23, 2021 - Living Non-GMO

Read part one of this blog.

As Canadians get all set to start wagering on sports events it becomes necessary to check out the best sport betting sites Canada for 2021. Now all residents are free to place bets on a variety of sporting events, regardless of whether they stay in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec, or Ontario.

All Canadian provinces have now made way for single-game sports betting; you can bet on both national teams and on your favorite teams and sports in North America and enjoy high payouts. Single-game bets are legal and this rule came about in August 2021. In view of this regulation, all provinces have their own regulations to oversee sports betting within their borders.

Earlier, there were sportsbooks accessing Canada’s market but even when they offered sports wagering, they paid no taxes and provinces failed to collect revenues as a result. All this is supposed to change with provinces now creating their own rules about single-game betting. So, money is being taken out of the hands of crime groups which had been hitherto running illicit betting operations in the country.

Because of parlay betting rule of different provinces, betting on the big single-event sports such as the Super Bowl was earlier not possible. Bettors would have to place wagers on a minimum of 3 different events, predicting each of these correctly in order to win. This rule does not exist anymore and sports bettors can bet on whichever game they want to at their own convenience. So, you can bet on the NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL, MMA, CFL, soccer, and lacrosse.

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Nuclear

Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMNRs or SMRs) will directly affect indigenous lands and rights

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Dr. Gordon Edwards - CCNR.org - Jan 16, 2019

IMPORTANT: Without any adequate consultation with Canadians, including First Nations, the Government of Canada is unilaterally moving ahead with the development and deployment of a whole new generation of nuclear reactors all over Canada, especially in the north, directly impinging on indigenous lands and rights.  These “small modular nuclear reactors” (SMNRs, or SMRs) will ALL generate post-fission radioactive wastes of all varieties: the high level waste which is the irradiated nuclear fuel, and the low and intermediate level wastes such as decommissioning wastes (rubble from dismantling the shut-down reactors or — more likely — just grouting them in place.)

Meanwhile we have learned that the CNSC has been trying to “rig the game” by getting the Canadian Government to EXCLUDE most of these new reactors from the requirement of having a FULL PANEL Environmental Assessment Review. This has been done by CNSC lobbying government officials behind closed doors without any public process, debate, oversight or discussion.

Most of us in the safe energy / renewable energy movement, who are fighting to have a more responsible approach to the long-term management of radioactive waste — including not producing more of this stuff — believe that now is the time to speak up loud and clear in opposition to these dangerous and misguided initiatives.

There should be NO federal money (tax dollars) spent on the subsidization of new nuclear reactors, there should be WIDE-RANGING PUBLIC HEARINGS on the long-term management of radioactive waste, and there should be a requirement for a FULL PANEL Environmental Review for any new nuclear reactor project in Canada.  In addition, First Nations should be fully consulted regarding each and every one of these initiatives.

_______________________________

As you can see from the following article, not only CNL and NRCan, but also OPG and Bruce Power and the provinces of Ontario and New Brunswick are also deeply involved in plans for SMNRs

CNL is the same consortium of multinational corporations that is planning the MEGADUMP beside the Ottawa River, and the GROUTING AND ABANDONMENT of two shut-down nuclear reactors (the NPD reactor on the Ottawa River and the WR-1 reactor on the Winnipeg River).

CNL has also been working hard behind closed doors to get the Canadian Ministry of Natural Resources (NRCan) and the CNSC completely on board to finance (pay for) and approve (licence) the building of prototype SMNRs (Small Modular Nuclear Reactors) in Canada, at the two federal sites: Chalk River (ON) and Whiteshell (MB).

In early November, at the same time that the Anishinabek Lands and Resources Forum was taking place in North Bay (where Dr. Ole Hendrickson and I gave workshops on radioactive waste storage and transport issues), NRCan was releasing its “Roadmap” for SMNRs in Canada (we always call them SMNRs; they like to leave out the “N” because they know that no one likes “nuclear” anymore).

The NRCan roadmap indicates a desire to build small modular nuclear reactors all over Canada, especially in the north, to support the accelerated exploitation of natural resources and to replace diesel generators with SMNRs in small northern communities, including indigenous communities. - Gordon Edwards

Article referred to below:

Canadian utilities build SMR alliances  as developers tackle licensing - Nuclear Energy Insider

 

Cereals, glyphosate

New EWG Tests Find Glyphosate in All Kids’ Cereals Sampled

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Sustainable Pulse - Oct 26 2018

A second round of tests commissioned by the Environmental Working Group found the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer in every sample of popular oat-based cereal and other oat-based food marketed to children. These test results fly in the face of claims by two companies, Quaker and General Mills, which have said there is no reason for concern. This is because, they say, their products meet the legal standards.

Yet almost all of the samples tested by EWG had residues of glyphosate at levels higher than what EWG scientists consider protective of children’s health with an adequate margin of safety. The EWG findings of a chemical identified as probably carcinogenic by the World Health Organization come on the heels of a major study published in JAMA Internal Medicine that found a significant reduction in cancer risk for individuals who ate a lot of organic food.

The first testing of cereals and other popular U.S. food products was carried out by The Detox Project and Food Democracy Now! in 2016 – you can find the results here.

The tests detected glyphosate in all 28 samples of products made with conventionally grown oats. All but two of the 28 samples had levels of glyphosate above EWG’s health benchmark of 160 parts per billion, or ppb.

Products tested by Anresco Laboratories in San Francisco included 10 samples of different types of General Mills’ Cheerios and 18 samples of different Quaker brand products from PepsiCo, including instant oatmeal, breakfast cereal and snack bars. The highest level of glyphosate found by the lab was 2,837 ppb in Quaker Oatmeal Squares breakfast cereal, nearly 18 times higher than EWG’s children’s health benchmark.

Glyphosate Box

Glyphosate Residue Free Certification for Food Brands – Click Here

Test Your Food and Water at Home for Glyphosate – Click Here

Test Your Hair for Glyphosate and other Pesticides – Click Here to Find Our Your Long-Term Exposure

Glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the world, is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as “probably carcinogenic” to people. The IARC has steadfastly defended that decision despite ongoing attacks by Monsanto.

In 2017, glyphosate was also listed by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment as a chemical known to the state to cause cancer.

“How many bowls of cereal and oatmeal have American kids eaten that came with a dose of weed killer? That’s a question only General Mills, PepsiCo and other food companies can answer,” said EWG President Ken Cook. “But if those companies would just switch to oats that aren’t sprayed with glyphosate, parents wouldn’t have to wonder if their kids’ breakfasts contained a chemical linked to cancer. Glyphosate and other cancer-causing chemicals simply don’t belong in children’s food, period.”

Results of the new tests come two months after EWG’s first series of tests found glyphosate in all but two of 45 samples of foods made with conventionally grown oats, and in about one-third of the 16 products made with organic oats. About two-thirds of the samples of conventional foods had levels of glyphosate above EWG’s health benchmark.

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GMO Salmon

Canadian Environmental Groups and Seafood Companies Concerned Over GM Salmon Introduction

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CBAN - Lucy Sharratt - Dec 3, 2018

Monday, December 3, 2018. Halifax – Twenty-eight environmental groups and seafood companies are together expressing concern over the introduction of genetically modified (GM or genetically engineered) salmon in Canada and calling on the Minister of Environment and Climate Change (ECC) to ensure precautionary and transparent regulation of GM fish.

“We need to set a stronger precedent for regulating such a potentially dangerous organism,” said Karen Wristen of Living Oceans Society in BC. “We cannot afford to make any mistakes with GM fish.”

A joint letter signed by 21 environmental groups and 7 seafood companies in Canada is calling on the Minister to ensure better regulation of GM fish and establish mandatory GM food labelling.

“Without mandatory labelling of GM salmon, we risk undermining consumer confidence in Canadian seafood,” said Franz Perrot, Quality Control Manager at seafood importer Lagoon Seafood.

The Minister could soon grant permission for the company AquaBounty to produce its GM Atlantic salmon at one or more on-land sites in Canada. A review appears to be underway for multiple locations, not identified for the public. The GM salmon is approved for eating in Canada and has been on the market unlabelled since the summer of 2017.

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