Just Say No to Frankenfish!

I just received an email from The True Food Network about how the FDA is looking to approve Genetically Engineered Salmon.  Here is part of the information shared in the email:

The FDA announced on August 25, 2010 that it will potentially approve the long-shelved AquAdvantage transgenic salmon as the first genetically engineered (GE) animal intended for human consumption. The GE Atlantic salmon has been genetically engineered to produce growth hormones year-round, creating a fish the company claims grows at twice the normal rate. This could allow factory fish farms to crowd the salmon into pens and still get high production rates.


Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences notes that a release of just sixty GE salmon into a wild population of 60,000 could lead to the extinction of the wild population in less than 40 fish generations.

We have only a short window to tell FDA to reject these GE fish - Can you send a comment today?


Please take action today! The hearing for approving the salmon is scheduled for Sunday, September 19, and no public comment period has been established for the approval of genetically engineered fish outside of this meeting, so this may be our only chance to oppose this dangerous approval! Only a public comment period on labeling of the GE fish has been opened.
 
 
Erika

Tell FDA to ban Arsenic in animal feed!

I just got this email from the Center for Food Safety, and thought I'd pass it along.

Last December, the Center for Food Safety and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) calling for the immediate withdrawal of approvals for arsenic-containing compounds used in animal feed. The petition was supported by a coalition of food and farm groups around the country.

Arsenic-containing compounds are most widely used in ch

icken production, and most chickens receive arsenic-laced feed. Most arsenic-containing animal feed additives are not used to treat sickness. Instead, these additives are commonly used in poultry production to induce faster weight gain and create the appearance of a healthy color in meat from chickens (and to a lesser extent, turkeys and hogs).

Arsenic is a known and powerful carcinogen, and it is now well known that these feed additives lead to arsenic residue in conventionally raised chickens—chickens sold in supermarkets and restaurants across the country—and in the environment, putting our health at risk.

A public comment period is now open through June 15th on the petition. Tell FDA to ban arsenic and arsenic-containing compounds in animal feed!

Erika

Want to see healthier standards in Public Schools?

The more I learn about how our food is made, processed, marketed and the political forces behind it all, the more frustrated and infuriated I get. Yep, I said infuriated. The whole system is backward. Many of the people put into leadership, who are supposed to be protecting us the consumers, have also worked as lawyers and lobbyists for the very companies that are putting local farmers out of business and pushing genetically modified foods!

Buying organic and hoping it sends a message doesn't seem like enough. Being one person makes me feel so helpless! Do you ever feel that way too?

I've found that there are a few more things we can do, one of which is writing or emailing our representatives in Congress and the Senate (actually, let's just say I hope this helps. I don't have a lot of faith in the politicians....). I have got to believe that every vote for quality food will help to send a message, right?

Slow Food USA is behind the Child Nutrition Bill and sent out this information:

The progress we've made on the Child Nutrition Bill is in jeopardy.

Why? Senate leaders are thinking about postponing the bill for another year or two. Instead of new funding for healthier food, stronger nutrition standards, and grants for Farm to School programs -- which are all in the current bill -- schools could end up with the same-old system next year.

A "Dear Colleague" letter is circulating in the Senate, urging Senate leaders to schedule time for the bill. The letter will be submitted to the leadership on Wednesday, May 19 -- so our Senators need to sign it ASAP.

Over the last year, hundreds of thousands of people have spoken up for helping schools serve healthier food. The result is a Child Nutrition Bill with the most new funding and strongest standards in the sixty-year history of the National School Lunch Program.

It's still not perfect, but we need to get the legislation moving -- otherwise we risk starting over next year with zero funding, no standards and no grants for local food. Our goal right now is to show the Senate leadership that child nutrition is a priority, and that Senators want to address it -- that's the reasoning behind the "Dear Colleague" Letter.

When this bill reaches the Senate floor, we're hoping Congress will improve it by increasing the funding for healthy food to at least $1 billion per year. But we can't get there unless Congress makes child nutrition a priority.

If you are interested in supporting better quality food in the public schools, go HERE to send an email asking your Senators to sign the petition.

Erika