Posted: January 14, 2013
Fizzy-drink giant Coca-Cola is set to launch a new advert addressing obesity for the first time on television.
The two-minute commercial highlights the firm's record of making low-calorie drinks and reminds viewers all foods contain calories.
The ad, which airs on US cable networks on Monday, follows mounting pressure on the soft drinks industry.
Read more here: http://www.bbc.co.uk
Posted: January 14, 2013
NEW YORK - Some New York City pharmacies and clinics are reporting flu vaccine shortages prompted by reports of widespread outbreaks.
The city's Health Department said Monday the shortages are in individual locations, and don't reflect a larger supply problem.
The city is maintaining an online map to help residents find flu vaccines.
City Health and Hospitals Corp. facilities, including its clinics, have no shortages.
Read more here: http://online.wsj.com
Posted: January 14, 2013
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) today made public almost all supporting documents and data submitted by Monsanto for the authorization in 2003 of its genetically modified maize (corn) NK603. The data were released alongside the announcement by the EFSA that it intends to embark on a broad transparency initiative designed to make data from its risk assessments more available to the broad scientific community and other interested parties.
The move is consistent with the recommendations of an external evaluation of the EFSA by Ernst & Young last September, which called on the EFSA to increase transparency over how it reached its decisions on applications. James Ramsay, a spokesman for the EFSA, which is based in Parma, Italy, says that the plan to release more data in the future is still in the "very early stages" and that a final scheme will be announced after further discussion with stakeholders. The EFSA announcement follows a similar move by the European Medicines Agency, which this year will make public all clinical-trial data it gets from industry as part of product registration.
The EFSA said that it chose to make the NK603 data publicly available first because of the level of public interest in response to a French-led study published in September, which claimed that rats fed the maize or glyphosate herbicide suffered adverse health effects including increased incidence of tumours. The 500-MB download contains all data apart from a small amount of commercially confidential information, says Ramsay. The French study has been roundly criticized by scientists and authorities as being methodologically flawed.
Read more here: http://blogs.nature.com
Posted: January 14, 2013
The U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) last week said that drought conditions and heat necessitated designating 597 counties in fourteen states as primary natural disaster areas. The affected counties have suffered severe drought for eight consecutive weeks, which qualified them for the automatic designation. 2012 had been the hottest year on record for the continental United States: the year's average temperature of 55.3 degrees Fahrenheit across the Lower 48, which was more than 3.2 degrees warmer than the average for the twentieth century.
The U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) last week said that drought conditions and heat necessitated designating 597 counties in fourteen states as primary natural disaster areas.
"As drought persists,USDA will continue to partner with producers to see them through longer-term recovery, while taking the swift actions needed to help farmers and ranchers prepare their land and operations for the upcoming planting season," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.
Read more here: http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com
Posted: January 11, 2013
Flu activity continues to rise in the U.S., according to new surveillance statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday.
Forty-seven states have now reported widespread influenza activity, according to the CDC's latest FluView report, three more states than officials estimated Wednesday. Two more children have died since last week's report, raising the total to 20 kids who have succumbed to the virus.
The report covers the week of Dec. 30 through Jan. 5, and the CDC releases a revision every Friday.
Twenty-four states and New York City have experienced high influenza activity, with 16 states reporting moderate activity. Last week's report showed high activity in 29 states. A complete look at how your state stacks up can be found on the CDC's website.
Read more here: http://www.cbsnews.com
Posted: January 11, 2013
A new Washington initiative may require labels on genetically engineered foods.
Initiative 522, which was submitted to the Washington Secretary of State Jan. 3, would require companies to label all food produced entirely or partly through genetic engineering beginning July 1, 2015. Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, are plants or animals that have been created using DNA of other organisms. In the United States, this technique is mostly used to create herbicide-resistant crops, according to the initiative.
Formal plant breeding has been going on in agriculture for the last 100 years, said John Tuxill, a professor at Fairhaven College, but primarily through breeding within species or between closely related species.
"It is all dependent upon moving genes through reproduction," he said. "With genetic engineering, you can take genes from completely unrelated organisms and transfer them [to a new organism]."
Read more here: http://www.westernfrontonline.net
Posted: January 11, 2013
What started out as a protest advertised as standing up for the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGTA) in its court case against Monsanto turned into an anti-biotechnology rally in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 10.
Members of Food Democracy Now! and other activists gathered in front of the White House in Lafayette Square, directly after attorneys for the OSGTA presented their appeals court arguments about a district court dismissal of a case against Monsanto. The claimants filed suit against Monsanto originally because they wanted Monsanto to be prevented from ever taking legal action against organic seed producers if genetically modified plant traits crossed over into organic fields. The case was originally dismissed because the whole claim was based on speculation rather than any action ever taken by Monsanto. Results of the appeal will be announced in the near future.
After attending the oral argument to appeal the dismissal of the case at the U.S. Court of Appeals, the group, that might have totaled 300 persons, marched to Lafayette Park to protest the "Obama administration's pending approval of 13 new biotech crops and AquaBounty's 'Frankenfish,' a genetically engineered 'salmon,'" according to Food Democracy Now!, which is against GMOs.
Read more here: http://www.agprofessional.com
Posted: January 11, 2013
In November, voters in Washington's San Juan County banned genetically modified crops. Now Southern Oregon's Rogue Valley could follow suit: a proposed ban has qualified for the 2014 Jackson County ballot.
It all began with sugar beets. A company called Syngenta Seeds grows genetically modified sugar beets in Jackson County.
Chuck Burr, who owns an organic seed company and farm in Ashland, says the pollen from sugar beets can drift and cross breed with other plants. Burr worried that his organic chard and a nearby field of genetically modified beets were swapping pollen, and threw away more than $4,000 of seed crop.
Read more here: http://earthfix.opb.org
Posted: January 11, 2013
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) -- A measure to ban genetically modified crops in Jackson County in Southern Oregon has qualified for the ballot in 2014.
County officials confirmed Wednesday that petitions seeking the vote had enough valid signatures -- 4,662 were required. That means the measure goes to a vote in the May primary election in 2014.
The measure would ban anyone from raising genetically engineered plants in Jackson County, with exemptions for scientific research.
Read more here: http://www.kivitv.com
Posted: January 10, 2013
A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in Washington, D.C., will hear arguments Thursday in the case Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA) v. Monsanto, which includes several plaintiffs from Vermont.
The lawsuit, which centers on patent rights and genetically modified organisms, was thrown out in February by U.S. District Judge Naomi Buchwald of the Southern District of New York. The appeals hearing is an effort by the plaintiffs, who are represented by Daniel Ravicher, executive director of the Public Patent Foundation, to reverse the dismissal .
In her dismissal, Buchwald concluded: "Their (Monsanto's) actions subsequent to the filing of the complaint cannot reasonably be construed as threatening and, regardless, are simply the product of plaintiffs' transparent effort to create a controversy where none exists."
Read more here: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com
Posted: January 10, 2013
California consumers will have more choices this year for buying foods free of genetically modified ingredients, despite the November defeat of a ballot measure that would have required labeling.
Prop. 37 was a first-in-the-nation effort to require labeling of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. The measure was defeated by 51 percent after food, soda and agricultural companies donated $46 million to outspend supporters by about 5 to 1.
A number of studies have concluded that genetically modified foods are safe to eat, but supporters worried about the health and environmental consequences of crops engineered in a lab, often to withstand pesticides. Despite the defeat, the measure has generated sharp interest in a voluntary labeling program that verifies products as free of GMOs.
Read more here: http://www.ocregister.com
Posted: January 9, 2013
Supporters of a Washington State ballot initiative that would require GMO labeling have turned in more than 340,000 signatures to the secretary of state's office, well in excess of the number required for certification, the campaign said. Supporters said early polls show strong support for the initiative.
Read more here: http://www.naturalproductsinsider.com
Posted: January 9, 2013
NEW MEXICO - A lawmaker in New Mexico has pre-filed a bill that would require labeling of food and commercial feed containing genetically modified material.
New Mexico will likely become the third state to mull over GMO (genetically modified organism) labeling.
Introduced by State Senator Peter Wirth, Senate Bill 18 is distinguishable from similar initiatives in California and Washington because it would amend state law rather than create an entirely new law.
SB 18 defines genetically modified material as "a substance that has been produced, enhanced or otherwise modified through the use of recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid technology, genetic engineering or bioengineering." Foods containing more than one percent of genetically modified material would be subject to the labeling requirement. Under a new section of the New Mexico Food Act, the disclosure would have to be "displayed in a manner that is conspicuous and easily understood by consumers."
A genetically modified food would be deemed "misbranded" if it failed to comply with the labeling requirement, and the state department of environment would have the authority to conduct an investigation in order to confirm the accuracy of labeling of food products.
Read more here: http://www.naturalproductsinsider.com
Posted: January 9, 2013
Vocal opponent of genetically modified foods Mark Lynas spoke at the recent Oxford (England) Farming Conference and apologizes for his attack on GMO crops, and for starting the anti-GMO movement.
"I want to start with some apologies," he said in his address. "For the record, here and upfront, I apologize for having spent several years ripping up GM crops. I am also sorry that I helped to start the anti-GM movement back in the mid 1990s, and that I thereby assisted in demonizing an important technological option which can be used to benefit the environment.
"As an environmentalist, and someone who believes that everyone in this world has a right to a healthy and nutritious diet of their choosing, I could not have chosen a more counter-productive path. I now regret it completely. So I guess you'll be wondering - what happened between 1995 and now that made me not only change my mind but come here and admit it? Well, the answer is fairly simple: I discovered science, and in the process I hope I became a better environmentalist."
Read more here: http://www.agweek.com/event/article/id/20366/
Posted: January 7, 2013
We have chosen to highlight United States agencies; however, this top 10 list has global impact, as the U.S. has now proven to be the enforcement division of the overarching globalist agenda of centralized control.
One could argue that every government agency serves the purpose of stifling freedom and wasting taxpayer money. Yet, the 10 listed below go the extra mile for their sheer corruption, draconian regulations, and ultimate impact upon the largest number of citizens.
The main criteria for inclusion in the top 10 is the amount of money spent by the taxpayer according to official budget declarations, and then attaining the highest level of doing exactly the opposite of what they were supposedly created for.
Here is the countdown to the top 10 most dangerous U.S. government agencies to the freedom, prosperity and health of its citizens . . . .
Read more here: http://www.activistpost.com
Posted: January 7, 2013
They're on the dole - and watching the pole.
Welfare recipients took out cash at bars, liquor stores, X-rated video shops, hookah parlors and even strip clubs - where they presumably spent their taxpayer money on lap dances rather than diapers, a Post investigation found.
A database of 200 million Electronic Benefit Transfer records from January 2011 to July 2012, obtained by The Post through a Freedom of Information request, showed welfare recipients using their EBT cards to make dozens of cash withdrawals at ATMs inside Hank's Saloon in Brooklyn; the Blue Door Video porn shop in the East Village; The Anchor, a sleek SoHo lounge; the Patriot Saloon in TriBeCa; and Drinks Galore, a liquor distributor in The Bronx.
The state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), which oversees the "cash assistance program," even lists some of these welfare-ready ATMs on its Web site.
Posted: January 7, 2013
This could give you nightmares: 1 in 24 U.S. adults say they recently fell asleep while driving.
And health officials behind the study think the number is probably higher. That's because some people don't realize it when they nod off for a second or two behind the wheel.
"If I'm on the road, I'd be a little worried about the other drivers," said the study's lead author, Anne Wheaton of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the CDC study released Thursday, about 4 per cent of U.S. adults said they nodded off or fell asleep at least once while driving in the previous month. Some earlier studies reached a similar conclusion, but the CDC telephone survey of 147,000 adults was far larger. It was conducted in 19 states and the District of Columbia in 2009 and 2010.
Read more here: http://www.cbc.ca
Posted: January 7, 2013
Let me explain, gun grabbers, how your confiscatory fantasy plays out. Let us imagine for a moment that a sweeping gun control bill similar to the one currently suggested is passed by the House and Senate, and signed into law by a contemptuous President.
Perhaps 50-100 million firearms currently owned by law-abiding citizens will become contraband with the stroke of a pen. Citizens will either register their firearms, or turn them in to agents of the federal government, or risk becoming criminals themselves. Faced with this choice, millions will indeed register their arms. Perhaps as many will claim they've sold their arms, or had them stolen. Suppose that as many as 200-250 million weapons of other types will go unregistered.
Tens of millions of Americans will refuse to comply with an order that is clearly a violation of the explicit intent of the Second Amendment. Among the most ardent opposing these measures will be military veterans, active duty servicemen, and local law enforcement officers. Many of these individuals will refuse to carry out what they view as Constitutionally illegal orders. Perhaps 40-50 million citizens will view such a law as treason. Perhaps ten percent of those, 4-5 million, would support a rebellion in some way, and maybe 40,000-100,000 Americans will form small independently-functioning active resistance cells, or become lone-wolves.
Read more here: http://www.bob-owens.com
Posted: January 7, 2013
It is time the critics of the Second Amendment put up and repeal it, or shut up about violating it. Their efforts to disarm and short-arm Americans violate the U.S. Constitution in Merriam Webster's first sense of the term - to "disregard" it.
Hard cases make bad law, which is why they are reserved for the Constitution, not left to the caprice of legislatures, the sophistry and casuistry of judges or the despotic rule making of the chief executive and his bureaucracy. And make no mistake, guns pose one of the hardest cases a free people confronts in the 21st century, a test of whether that people cherishes liberty above tyranny, values individual sovereignty above dependency on the state, and whether they dare any longer to live free.
A people cannot simultaneously live free and be bound to any human master or man-made institution, especially to politicians, judges, bureaucrats and faceless government agencies. The Second Amendment along with the other nine amendments of the Bill of Rights was designed to prevent individuals' enslavement to government, not just to guarantee people the right to hunt squirrels or sport shoot at targets, nor was it included in the Bill of Rights just to guarantee individuals the right to defend themselves against robbers, rapers and lunatics, or to make sure the states could raise a militia quick, on the cheap to defend against a foreign invader or domestic unrest.
Read more here: http://www.forbes.com
Posted: January 4, 2013
If you've ever wondered what of your information websites share with other companies when you log on, last month the Wall Street Journal pulled together several websites into one graph to show you.
It pinpoints specific information that is shared - everything from your email address to your name and birthday - by sites like YouTube, Pinterest, Pandora and others. It color codes the information based on that which can identify you personally and other data. It then also shades the info shared based on if it was sent securely or sent in full.
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