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Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 16:33:52 PM PST
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Here are all of the stories on my plate this afternoon that predict - in one way or another - that the sky is falling. Hope it doesn't give you indigestion!
- A study finds three kinds of evidence of declining fruit and vegetable nutrient content.
- Yum! Want some mercury in your high fructose corn syrup? Cuz you might be getting it whether you want it or not. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy found it in 9 out of 20 HCFS samples from 3 manufacturers. Then they tested 55 brand name foods and beverages and found mercury in 1/3 of them.
The mercury comes originally from chlor-alkali plants used to make caustic soda. The caustic soda is used, in turn, to separate corn starch from the corn kernal. The mercury can contaminate the caustic soda and then contaminate the HFCS. There IS newer, cleaner technology that the chlor-alkali plants can use (in fact, only 4 U.S. plants still use mercury and the rest don't).
- The FDA just decided how to regulate genetically engineered animals, bringing them a step closer to becoming a reality. The GE DNA will be treated as a drug, the same as a hormone or antibiotic, and does not need to be labeled on the final product.
- Welcome to nanotechnology - the newest threat to food. Kraft and Nestlé are designing "smart" food that interacts with consumers to personalize flavors. Mars is designing packaging with nanotechnology to extend shelf-life. Currently nanotechnology is a wild frontier of the food industry, with little if any oversight or regulation. If nothing else, it certainly serves to increase corporate control of our food supply.
- Civil Eats reports on MRSA with your BLT. Looks like the real consequences of overusing antibiotics in livestock are coming home to roost.
- Industrial ag has ruined everything else, and now they are ruining manure, says Elanor from The Ethicurean. Turns out all those antibiotics we needlessly give to livestock wind up in the manure - and then in the veggies the manure fertilized.
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| Jill Richardson :: Chicken Little Sampler Platter |
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