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I thought this might be interesting reading for some of you. I just received this from Charlie Brown, the head of the National Counsel for Dental Choice. After years of being stonewalled by the FDA, they are suing the FDA to obey the law. The email I received - follows: We have filed a federal lawsuit against FDA here in Washington, seeking a court order to force FDA to move forward and asking that mercury fillings be taken off the market until FDA deigns to act. The specialized press has begun writing about the case; see, from FDA Website and FDA Review, http://www.toxicteeth.org/Mercury%2... h%20Queen.pdf -- which highlights our argument that the Commissioner of FDA reigns over, but does not actually run, his agency. Here’s the background on why we had to sue: Last May, we notified FDA lawyers that, due to the agency’s decades of (illegal) intransigence in classifying mercury amalgam, we were preparing a complaint in the US District Court, pursuant to the guideposts from the US Court of Appeals ruling in April. FDA asked us for a meeting instead. At that meeting with top FDA officials, Dr. Mike Fleming, lawyer Jim Turner, and I were told that FDA realized it needed to move forward; we said we would wait 30 days. At the end of that 30 days (in June 2007), the FDA Commissioner’s office phoned and said with enthusiasm, “You will like our plan,” promising details the next day. The next day, FDA counsel phoned me and said FDA intended to begin the classifying process, by issuing an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR). I asked the lawyer to put that promise in writing, which she did. I then immediately contacted two reporters (from FDA Week and the Bureau of Nat. Affairs Medical Devices Reporter), both of whom called FDA’s press office, which confirmed the agency would issue such an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, by the end of the calendar year at the latest. Month after month, we waited. No ANPR issued. In November, FDA witness Norris Alderson, FDA’s lead scientist (his degree is in veterinary medicine), appeared before Congress and stonewalled, repeatedly misleading Congress and refusing even to commit to doing an Environmental Assessment (legally required). Over the past 15 years, FDA repeatedly promises (to courts, to Congress, to petitioners) to classify mercury fillings -- then doesn’t. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me repeatedly, shame on me. So I guess the shame is on me for, in my naiveté, actually believing FDA when the agency lawyers make a written promise. FDA lied to us and to the American people -- again. Accordingly, on the last workday of the calendar year (Fri. Dec. 28, 2007), my co-counsel Bob Reeves and I, with substantial assistance from lawyer Johann Wehrle, sued. The lawsuit is at www.toxicteeth.org/Complaint_Dec282007.pdfThe malfeasance at FDA -- this sequence of illegal actions to shield dentists’ pocketbooks instead of showing any concern with children’s health, unborn children’s lives, or the environment -- extends deep into the agency. Accordingly, we sued six individuals at FDA (not just the Commissioner), going several layers deep into the agency. We are going to stop these autocratic bureaucrats from hiding behind each other. Charlie Brown 16 January 2008 Charles G. Brown, National Counsel Consumers for Dental Choice 316 F St., N.E., Suite 210, Washington, DC 20002 www.toxicteeth.org |
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| Posted by Cynthia at | | | |
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San Francisco, CA - A Federal judge today made a final ruling that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) 2005 approval of Monsanto’s genetically engineered (GE) “Roundup Ready” alfalfa was illegal. The Judge called on USDA to ban any further planting of the GE seed until it conducts a complete Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the GE crop.
In the decision, Judge Charles Breyer in the Federal Northern District of California affirmed his preliminary ruling, which echoed the Center for Food Safety’s arguments in their lawsuit against USDA, that the crop could harm the environment and contaminate natural alfalfa. Today’s ruling also requires Forage Genetics to provide the locations of all existing Roundup Ready alfalfa plots to USDA within 30 days. The Judge ordered USDA to make the location of these plots “publicly available as soon as practicable” so that growers of organic and conventional alfalfa “can test their own crops to determine if there has been contamination.”
“This permanent halt to the planting of this risky crop is a great victory for the environment,” said Will Rostov, a Senior Attorney for CFS. “Roundup Ready alfalfa poses threats to farmers, to our export markets, and to the environment. We expect the USDA to abide by the law and insure that American farmers are protected from genetic contamination.”
Today’s decision is consistent with Judge Breyer’s ruling of February 13th, in which Judge Breyer found that the USDA failed to address concerns that Roundup Ready alfalfa will contaminate conventional and organic alfalfa. In calling today for a permanent injunction, Judge Breyer noted that contamination of natural and organic alfalfa by the GE variety has already occurred, and noted that “Such contamination is irreparable environmental harm. The contamination cannot be undone.”
“This ruling is good news for organic farmers and most conventional farmers across the country,” said Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of the Center. “This crop represents a very real threat to their crops and their livelihood. This ruling is a turning point in the regulation of biotech crops in this country,” Kimbrell concluded.
The permanent injunction ordered today by Judge Breyer follows his ruling last month finding that USDA violated national environmental laws by approving GE alfalfa without a full Environmental Impact Statement. Monsanto and Forage Genetics, the developers of the GE alfalfa seed, failed to convince the Judge that their interests outweighed the public interest in food safety, freedom to farm natural crops, and environmental protection. In fact, Judge Breyer specifically noted that Monsanto’s fear of lost sales “does not outweigh the potential irreparable damage to the environment.”
With the integrity of organic food, and conventional export markets at stake, farmers have been watching this court action carefully. Organic alfalfa seed producer Blaine Schmaltz, Rugby ND, said the ruling helps farmers in a time of uncertainty. “The judge’s order to make public the location of Roundup Ready alfalfa fields is a critical part of the decision,” said Schmalz. “It allows GM-free and organic producers like me make sound planting decisions.”
Judge Breyer found that USDA failed to address the problem of Roundup-resistant “superweeds” that could follow commercial planting of GE alfalfa. Commenting on the agency’s refusal to assess this risk, the judge stated, “Finally, the court rejects defendants’ assertion that allowing an expansion in the Roundup Ready alfalfa market is in the public interest because it promotes the use of less toxic herbicides. The record reflects that organic and most conventional forage alfalfa is grown without the use of any herbicides. In any event, a finding that increasing the use of Roundup is in the public interest is premature in light of APHIS’s failure to analyze the potential for the development of Roundup-resistant weeds.”
“This ruling protects the ability of farmers producing organic meat and milk to obtain non-GMO alfalfa seed to grow feed for their animals and preserve the organic integrity of their products,” said Jim Munsch, a certified organic livestock producer from Coon Valley, Wisconsin who represents The Cornucopia Institute, one the plaintiffs. “This is precedent-setting. For the first time the courts have intervened on a USDA ruling to ensure that proper environmental evaluation and consideration for the livelihood of family farmers are accounted for and balance the desires of large companies” Munsch added.
The Center for Food Safety initiated the legal action resulting in today’s ruling in February 2006, representing itself and the following co-plaintiffs in the suit: Western Organization of Resource Councils, National Family Farm Coalition, Sierra Club, Beyond Pesticides, Cornucopia Institute, Dakota Resource Council, Trask Family Seeds, and Geertson Seed Farms.
Pat Trask of Trask Family Seeds, a South Dakota conventional alfalfa grower stated: “It’s a great day for God’s own alfalfa.” |
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Most people know that Teflon chemicals are in cookware. However, chemical coatings used in food packaging have proven to break down into Teflon chemicals as well. Scientists are investigating human exposure from oil, stain, and grease repellent coatings on paper and cartons such as french fries boxes, sandwich wrappers, and microwave popcorn bags.
"According to 3M Company testing, Teflon chemicals are present in the blood of about 95% of people living in the United States. [PFOA or C8] linked to the coatings on take-out food cartons and raincoats is 'likely' to cause cancer in humans, according to a draft report by a panel of an independent advisory board to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Scientists are not sure how the chemical - perfluorooctanoic acid - is getting into people, but it is found widely in human blood throughout the United States. Some researchers say the source is the deterioration of water- and grease-repellant coatings used on carpets, raincoats and takeout-food boxes,” Philadelphia Inquirer, June 29, 2005.
A former top Dupont scientist, Glenn Evers, revealed in November of 2005 that Dupont has known since at least 1987 that Teflon coatings were unsafe for use in food packaging.
According to Evers, Dupont hid studies showing the risks of Teflon chemicals in candy wrappers, pizza boxes, microwave popcorn bags, and hundreds of other food containers. Internal Dupont documents show that Dupont had safe alternatives available but chose not to use them because they were more expensive.
Ohio Citizen Action has been identifying certain brand names which contain Teflon chemicals. One of these products is Orville Redenbacher's microwave popcorn, made by ConAgra. ConAgra acknowledged using Teflon chemicals in food packaging in a letter to Ohio Citizen Action in September, 2005. |
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| Posted by Cynthia at | | | |
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BELTSVILLE, Md., April 23 — What is happening to the bees?
More than a quarter of the country's 2.4 million bee colonies have been lost
— tens of billions of bees, according to an estimate from the Apiary
Inspectors of America, a national group that tracks beekeeping. So far, no
one can say what is causing the bees to become disoriented and fail to
return to their hives.
As with any great mystery, a number of theories have been posed, and many
seem to researchers to be more science fiction than science. People have
blamed genetically modified crops, cellular phone towers and high-voltage
transmission lines for the disappearances. Or was it a secret plot by Russia
or Osama bin Laden to bring down American agriculture? Or, as some blogs
have asserted, the rapture of the bees, in which God recalled them to
heaven? Researchers have heard it all.
The volume of theories "is totally mind-boggling," said Diana Cox-Foster, an
entomologist at Pennsylvania State University. With Jeffrey S. Pettis, an
entomologist from the United States Department of Agriculture, Dr.
Cox-Foster is leading a team of researchers who are trying to find answers
to explain "colony collapse disorder," the name given for the disappearing
bee syndrome.
"Clearly there is an urgency to solve this," Dr. Cox-Foster said. "We are
trying to move as quickly as we can."
Dr. Cox-Foster and fellow scientists who are here at a two-day meeting to
discuss early findings and future plans with government officials have been
focusing on the most likely suspects: a virus, a fungus or a pesticide.
About 60 researchers from North America sifted the possibilities at the
meeting today. Some expressed concern about the speed at which adult bees
are disappearing from their hives; some colonies have collapsed in as little
as two days. Others noted that countries in Europe, as well as Guatemala and
parts of Brazil, are also struggling for answers.
"There are losses around the world that may or not be linked," Dr. Pettis
said.
The investigation is now entering a critical phase. The researchers have
collected samples in several states and have begun doing bee autopsies and
genetic analysis.
So far, known enemies of the bee world, like the varroa mite, on their own
at least, do not appear to be responsible for the unusually high losses.
Genetic testing at Columbia University has revealed the presence of multiple
micro-organisms in bees from hives or colonies that are in decline,
suggesting that something is weakening their immune system. The researchers
have found some fungi in the affected bees that are found in humans whose
immune systems have been suppressed by the Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome or cancer.
"That is extremely unusual," Dr. Cox-Foster said.
Meanwhile, samples were sent to an Agriculture Department laboratory in
North Carolina this month to screen for 117 chemicals. Particular suspicion
falls on a pesticide that France banned out of concern that it may have been
decimating bee colonies. Concern has also mounted among public officials.
"There are so many of our crops that require pollinators," said
Representative Dennis Cardoza, a California Democrat whose district includes
that state's central agricultural valley, and who presided last month at a
Congressional hearing on the bee issue. "We need an urgent call to arms to
try to ascertain what is really going on here with the bees, and bring as
much science as we possibly can to bear on the problem."
So far, colony collapse disorder has been found in 27 states, according to
Bee Alert Technology Inc., a company monitoring the problem. A recent survey
of 13 states by the Apiary Inspectors of America showed that 26 percent of
beekeepers had lost half of their bee colonies between September and March.
Honeybees are arguably the insects that are most important to the human food
chain. They are the principal pollinators of hundreds of fruits, vegetables,
flowers and nuts. The number of bee colonies has been declining since the
1940s, even as the crops that rely on them, such as California almonds, have
grown. In October, at about the time that beekeepers were experiencing huge
bee losses, a study by the National Academy of Sciences questioned whether
American agriculture was relying too heavily on one type of pollinator, the
honeybee.
Bee colonies have been under stress in recent years as more beekeepers have
resorted to crisscrossing the country with 18-wheel trucks full of bees in
search of pollination work. These bees may suffer from a diet that includes
artificial supplements, concoctions akin to energy drinks and power bars. In
several states, suburban sprawl has limited the bees' natural forage areas.
So far, the researchers have discounted the possibility that poor diet alone
could be responsible for the widespread losses. They have also set aside for
now the possibility that the cause could be bees feeding from a commonly
used genetically modified crop, Bt corn, because the symptoms typically
associated with toxins, such as blood poisoning, are not showing up in the
affected bees. But researchers emphasized today that feeding supplements
produced from genetically modified crops, such as high-fructose corn syrup,
need to be studied.
The scientists say that definitive answers for the colony collapses could be
months away. But recent advances in biology and genetic sequencing are
speeding the search.
Computers can decipher information from DNA and match pieces of genetic code
with particular organisms. Luckily, a project to sequence some 11,000 genes
of the honeybee was completed late last year at Baylor University, giving
scientists a huge head start on identifying any unknown pathogens in the bee
tissue.
"Otherwise, we would be looking for the needle in the haystack," Dr.
Cox-Foster said.
Large bee losses are not unheard of. They have been reported at several
points in the past century. But researchers think they are dealing with
something new — or at least with something previously unidentified.
"There could be a number of factors that are weakening the bees or speeding
up things that shorten their lives," said Dr. W. Steve Sheppard, a professor
of entomology at Washington State University. "The answer may already be
with us."
Scientists first learned of the bee disappearances in November, when David
Hackenberg, a Pennsylvania beekeeper, told Dr. Cox-Foster that more than 50
percent of his bee colonies had collapsed in Florida, where he had taken
them for the winter.
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| Posted by Cynthia at | | | |
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By STEPHEN LABATON
WASHINGTON, April 24 — Seven years ago, a Missouri doctor discovered a
troubling pattern at a microwave popcorn plant in the town of Jasper. After
an additive was modified to produce a more buttery taste, nine workers came
down with a rare, life-threatening disease that was ravaging their lungs.
Puzzled Missouri health authorities turned to two federal agencies in
Washington. Scientists at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health, which investigates the causes of workplace health problems, moved quickly to examine patients, inspect factories and run tests. Within months, they concluded that the workers became ill after exposure to diacetyl, a food-flavoring agent. But the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, charged with overseeing workplace safety, reacted with far less urgency. It did not step up plant inspections or mandate safety standards for businesses, even a more workers became ill. On Tuesday, the top official at the agency told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing that it would prepare a safety bulletin and plan to inspect a few
dozen of the thousands of food plants that use the additive.
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| Posted by Cynthia at | | | |
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OXFORD, UK, April 19, 2007 (ENS) - The Inuit of the Arctic can no longer hunt safely as the ice is breaking up around them. Pacific Islanders are losing coral atolls beneath rising seas. Caribbean islanders are battered by violent storms. Tribes in Borneo watch as their rainforests catch fire. Tibetans wonder why their sacred glaciers are melting and why the alpine medicinal plants are disappearing.
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| Posted by Cynthia at | | | |
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Government consultant gets the pink slip
Last Friday, in response to an Environmental Working Group investigation, the government
fired a conflict-ridden industry consulting firm, Sciences International (SI). SI is
no ordinaryscience-for-hire company. For the past eight years, SI was actually
running thefederal center that decides whether or not chemicals pose
reproductive risks to people. At the same time, SI boasted of more than 50 chemical
company clients, many of whom made the chemicals under scrutiny by the SI-controlled
federal center. But sending SI home is only the first step toward safer chemical
reviews. What's to keep the National Toxicology Program (NTP) from replacing one
conflicted contractor with another? Certainly not a conflict of interest policy--because
they don't have one.
Read more at:
LINK: http://ewg.org/issues/bisphenola/20070403/index.php
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| Posted by Cynthia at | | | |
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Pesticide company settles sterility suit for $300,000. A Southern
California pesticide company has agreed to settle a lawsuit alleging
that one of the firm's products caused agricultural workers in
Nicaragua to become sterile.
Los Angeles Times, California.
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| Posted by Cynthia at | | | |
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A huge stockpile of highly toxic waste in Botany, Australia, so dangerous that it can only be handled by robots has caused a furore in Germany, where one of Australia's
top companies wants to incinerate the contaminated material.
Brisbane Times, Australia.
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| Posted by Cynthia at | | | |
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Dairy Food Linked with Parkinson's Disease in Men
by Amy Norton, Reuters
April 19, 2007
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL96686820070419?pageNumber=1
NEW YORK -- A new study has confirmed a relationship between consuming large amounts of dairy products and an increase in the rate of Parkinson's disease in men, but the reason for this relationship remains a puzzle. Researchers found that among more than 130,000 U.S. adults followed for 9 years, those who ate the largest amount of dairy foods had an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease, a disorder in which movement-regulating cells in the brain die or become impaired. There was a clear pattern seen among men, whose Parkinson's risk increased in tandem with consumption of diary, particularly milk. The results were more ambiguous among women, however.
Article Summary: Men with the highest levels of dairy consumption were 60 percent more likely to develop the disease than those who consumed the least amounts of dairy, the study found. The findings echo those of earlier studies that found a link between dairy consumption and Parkinson's in men, but not women. It's not clear what effect, if any, dairy foods might have on women's risk of the disease. Nor is it known why there is a relationship seen in men, said lead study author Dr. Honglei Chen, a researcher at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Larger studies are needed to find out which dairy products might be responsible, and why, according to Chen. Milk, rather than dairy products like yogurt and cheese, explained most of the association, according to Chen's team. This study and previous ones indicate that calcium, vitamin D and fat are not responsible for the link between dairy foods and Parkinson's disease. However, the researcher added, since the dairy-Parkinson's link has now been seen consistently in different studies, further research is needed to understand why.
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| Posted by Cynthia at | | | |
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