Category Archives: Farming

Problems with Cattle Plant in Jefferson

Posted on July 17, 2006 by bfiasamgarchik

Problems with Cattle Plant in Jefferson By Spencer (multiquote@mqins.com) This was posted originally in our open threads area, but I wanted to give it wider circulation… Hi everyone, I wanted to post a comment about an issue going on here … Continue reading →

Posted in Farming, Main Page, Organic Foods & Farming | 2 Comments

ICCI Convention Schedule

Posted on July 12, 2006 by bfiasamgarchik

ICCI Convention Schedule By ICCI Their convention is scheduled for this weekend in Des Moines. They do a lot of good work, so if you can, check them out. Here's the schedule for the two day event. Iowa Citizens for … Continue reading →

Posted in Clean Elections, Environment, Farming, ICCI, Local Events, Main Page, Organic Foods & Farming, Progressive Community, Voter-owned Iowa | Comments Off on ICCI Convention Schedule

National Animal Tag Efforts

Posted on July 11, 2006 by bfiasamgarchik

  National Animal Tag Efforts By JV This is a very interesting story that came to me from JV, who linked back to Rural Heritage, a journal that covers the use of draft animals I don't know how many are … Continue reading →

Posted in Farming, Main Page, Organic Foods & Farming | 1 Comment

Iowa Blog Roundup

Posted on July 8, 2006 by bfiasamgarchik

  Iowa Blog Roundup By Sam Garchik Lot's of news about presidential contenders. George Washington University in DC has the best list, including Repubs and Dems, and what they do when they visit our great state. Looks like Edwards travels here … Continue reading →

Posted in Candidates, Clean Elections, Farming, Iowa Blogosphere, Main Page, Organic Foods & Farming, Voter-owned Iowa | Comments Off on Iowa Blog Roundup

Strengthening Rural America Strengthens All of America!

Posted on June 20, 2006 by bfiasamgarchik

  Strengthening Rural <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 />America Strengthens All of America! By John Crabtree   The Center for Rural Affairs is calling on rural Americans to join the thousands of people that are standing up and speaking out for … Continue reading →

Posted in Calls to Action, Farming, Main Page, Organic Foods & Farming | Comments Off on Strengthening Rural America Strengthens All of America!

ICCI Needs Help Stopping Pro-Factory Farm Bill!

Posted on May 4, 2006 by bfiasamgarchik

  ICCI Needs Help Stopping Pro-Factory Farm Bill! By Sam Garchik ICCI sent this along to Linda, who passed it on to me. The bill was actually passed, so send your comments on to the guv… Dear CCI member, On … Continue reading →

Posted in Calls to Action, Farming, ICCI, Main Page, Organic Foods & Farming | Comments Off on ICCI Needs Help Stopping Pro-Factory Farm Bill!

IOWA’S WATER WOES

Posted on February 19, 2006 by bfiamollyreagan

 IOWA'S WATER WOES Last Sunday, February 12th, the headlines of the Des Moines Register read: 'NO CLEAR SOLUTIONS TO STATE'S TAINTED WATER' This article by Perry Beeman/Register staff writer goes on to say that recreation and more businesses would come … Continue reading →

Posted in Big Government, Calls to Action, Environment, Farming, How You Can Help, Iowa in the News, Main Page | Comments Off on IOWA’S WATER WOES

EPA SAYS ALL IS FORGIVEN FOR SOME ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIORS’ AIR POLLUTION SINS

Posted on February 5, 2006 by bfiamollyreagan

EPA SAYS ALL IS FORGIVEN FOR SOME ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIORS' AIR POLLUTION SINS This week's IOWA Public TV program “Market To Market” just reported: “In what's being hailed as a major step forward, the US Environmental Protection Agency kicked off … Continue reading →

Posted in Big Government, Calls to Action, Corporate Greed, Environment, Farming, Iowa in the News, Main Page | Comments Off on EPA SAYS ALL IS FORGIVEN FOR SOME ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIORS’ AIR POLLUTION SINS

Most Offspring Died When Mother Rats Ate GM Soy Diet

Posted on January 27, 2006 by bfialindathieman

Most Offspring Died When Mother Rats Ate GM Soy Diet

By Jeffrey M. Smith, author of Seeds of Deception

The Russian scientist planned a simple experiment to see if eating genetically modified (GM) soy might influence offspring. What she got, however, was an astounding result that may threaten a multi-billion dollar industry.

Irina Ermakova, a leading scientist at the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), added GM soy flour (5-7 grams) to the diet of female rats. Other females were fed non-GM soy or no soy at all. The experimental diet began two weeks before the rats conceived and continued through pregnancy and nursing.

Ermakova's first surprise came when her pregnant rats started giving birth. Some pups from GM-fed mothers were quite a bit smaller. After 2 weeks, 36% of them weighed less than 20 grams compared to about 6% from the other groups.

But the real shock came when the rats started dying. Within three weeks, 25 of the 45 (55.6%) rats from the GM soy group died compared to only 3 of 33 (9%) from the non-GM soy group and 3 of 44 (6.8%) from the non-soy controls.

Ermakova preserved several major organs from the mother rats and offspring, drew up designs for a detailed organ analysis, created plans to repeat and expand the feeding trial, and promptly ran out of research money. The $70,000 needed was not expected to arrive for a year. Therefore, when she was invited to present her research at a symposium organized by the National Association for Genetic Security, Ermakova wrote 'PRELIMINARY STUDIES' on the top of her paper. She presented it on October 10, 2005 at a session devoted to the risks of GM food.

Her findings are hardly welcome by an industry already steeped in controversy.

GM Soy's Divisive Past

The soy she was testing was Monsanto's Roundup Ready variety. Its DNA has bacterial genes added that allow the soy plant to survive applications of Monsanto's 'Roundup' brand herbicide. About 85% of the soy grown in the US is Roundup Ready. Since soy derivatives, including oil, flour and lecithin, are found in the majority of processed foods sold in the US, many Americans eat ingredients derived from Roundup Ready soy everyday.

The FDA does not require any safety tests on genetically modified foods. If Monsanto or other biotech companies declare their foods safe, the agency has no further questions. The rationale for this hands-off position is a sentence in the FDA's 1992 policy that states, “The agency is not aware of any information showing that foods derived by these new methods differ from other foods in any meaningful or uniform way.”[1] The statement, it turns out, was deceptive. Documents made public from a lawsuit years later revealed that the FDA's own experts agreed that GM foods are different and might lead to hard-to-detect allergens, toxins, new diseases or nutritional problems. They had urged their superiors to require long-term safety studies, but were ignored. The person in charge of FDA policy was, conveniently, Monsanto's former attorney (and later their vice president). One FDA microbiologist described the GM food policy as “just a political document” without scientific basis, and warned that industry would “not do the tests that they would normally do” since the FDA didn't require any.[2] He was correct.

There have been less than 20 published, peer-reviewed animal feeding safety studies and no human clinical trials' in spite of the fact that millions of people eat GM soy, corn, cotton, or canola daily. There are no adequate tests on “biochemistry, immunology, tissue pathology, gut function, liver function and kidney function,”[3] and animal feeding studies are too short to adequately test for cancer, reproductive problems, or effects in the next generation. This makes Ermakova's research particularly significant. It's the first of its kind.

Past Studies Show Significant Effects

Other studies on Roundup Ready soy also raise serious questions. Research on the liver, the body's major de-toxifier, showed that rats fed GM soy developed misshapen nuclei and other cellular anomalies.[4] This indicates increased metabolic activity, probably resulting from a major insult to that organ. Rats also showed changes in the pancreas, including a huge drop in the production of a major enzyme (alpha-amylase),[5] which could inhibit digestion. Cooked GM soy contains about twice the amount of soy lectin, which can also block nutrient assimilation.[6] And one study showed that GM soy has 12-14% less isoflavones, which are touted as cancer fighting.[7]
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Posted in Corporate Greed, Environment, Farming, Health Care & Medicare, Main Page | Comments Off on Most Offspring Died When Mother Rats Ate GM Soy Diet

COW EXCAPES SLAUGHTER

Posted on January 15, 2006 by bfiamollyreagan

COW ESCAPES SLAUGHTER QuadCity Times GREAT FALLS, Mont. – A spirited cow that jumped a slaughterhouse gate and evaded capture for six hours may not be doomed after all.  Appeals to spare the life of the 1,200-pound heifer came from … Continue reading →

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