By Betsy Keller, MS, RD

In the summer of 1996, my first child was born, TWA flight 800 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean and genetically engineered ingredients were introduced into our food supply.  I was too distracted by the birth of my first child and the tragic CNN images to be aware that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were approved for the Flavr Savr tomato and being introduced indirectly into my breast milk.

Where’s the GMO?  The New Label Game

I am a registered dietitian and have spent countless hours teaching the workshop “How to Read a Food Label.”   It is inconceivable that I never once included information on GMO ingredients in my lectures.  There is a simple explanation for this-GMO ingredients are not listed on food labels. I did not become aware of the controversial issues surrounding GMOs until I purposefully became involved in the green food movement.

WHAT- GMOs can be simply explained as plants that contain genes transferred into their DNA from another living organism. Plant genes can be changed with DNA taken from bacteria, viruses, insects and animals.For example, genes from an arctic flounder which has an “antifreeze” property can be placed into a tomato to prevent frost damage.  I wonder what Watson and Crick would have thought about their DNA research being used to scientifically alter the world’s food supply 50 years later.

WHO- Four major players-Monsanto, DuPont, Dow, Bayer, and Syngenta – lead the way with bioengineering and marketing of four principal GM crops –soybeans, corn, rice canola and cottonseed.

WHY-These companies manipulated plants to either resist herbicides (like Monsanto’s RoundUp) or produce their own internal pesticides to protect against pests. The claims and chief selling points have been and remain, despite growing evidence to the contrary,  that GMO crops require fewer chemicals while producing a greater yield.

WHERE- As my son was growing into a young man, GMO crops were multiplying exponentially and being processed into several hidden ingredients used in packaged foods.  According to the Institute for Responsible Technology, GMO crops in the U.S. include soy (91%), cotton (88%), canola (88%), corn (85%), Hawaiian papaya (more than 50%), zucchini and yellow squash (small amount), and tobacco (Quest® brand). About half of the sugar beets grown for sugar in 2008 were GM and current projections are that about 90% grown in 2009 will be GM. The GM potatoes and tomatoes were taken off the market.

NO TRANSPARENCY – Today, at least one GMO ingredient is found in 90% of packaged food products in US grocery stores, but you’d never know it because they aren’t labeled. Despite efforts to pass state or federal mandatory GMO labeling laws, none have succeeded. Just yesterday California failed to pass legislation mandating the labeling of GE salmon.

UNFETTERED GROWTH -The majority of GMO corn and soy is routinely fed to farm animals and studies show that GMO material can appear in the resulting food products. In addition, GMO wheat and vegetables are being developed.

Issues

Change in DNA- Like other novel ingredients such as Trans fats, it has taken decades to realize they may be harmful to our health.  Change to DNA may ultimately affect the organism (humans included) in ways that scientists may not be able to predict.

Allergies- Many genes being introduced into GMO plants have not been part of the food supply so we may not know if they cause allergies. In one case, soy beans blended with a gene from a Brazil nut caused allergic reactions.

Change in gut bacteria- Preliminary studies show unexpected changes in gut bacteria in animals fed GMO feed.

Genetic Pollution - Genes engineered into plants can be transferred to other plant species, and seed and pollen can drift to non-GE farms, thereby contaminating them. The introduction of GMOs into complex ecosystems, like our oceans, may bring effects that we can’t predict or control. The USDA approved a strain of Monsanto’s GMO sweet corn that will be incorporated into the food supply with no ability to track safety. Chances are this corn is being planted this season in our state and will be sold to you as fresh ears of corn this summer.

GMO Crops Show Resistance- As weeds adapt to herbicides systematically sprayed on them, they develop resistance and evolve into what are called “super weeds.” With the rise of Round-Up resistant ‘super weeds’ the company is simply telling farmers to go on the offense and spray even more potent toxic herbicides. New generation GM corn varieties are being created to resist not only Round-Up, but older more toxic herbicides that fell out of use but are now being reintroduced to fight off super weeds.

More pesticide use- a next generation GMO corn from Dow has been created to better resist the poisonous herbicide 2, 4-D, a key ingredient from Agent Orange used to defoliate forests and croplands in the Vietnam War. While the USDA tries to assure the public that 2, 4-D is safe, scientists have raised serious concerns about its effects on human health including increased cancer risks especially for soft tissue sarcoma and malignant lymphoma. According to the Cornucopia Institute, the approval of a crop resistant to 2, 4-D will cause an exponential increase in use of the herbicides.

What do the Europeans and Peruvians understand that we don’t? In Europe, GMO labeling laws first came into effect in 1997 and were updated in 2004 to include all food products that utilize GMOs during any point in their production. GMO crops have been rejected by consumers in Europe, possibly due to balanced media coverage of the including health issues. In Europe, at least 174 regions, more than 4,500 councils and local governments have declared themselves GMO free. Peru recently declared a 10-year ban on genetically modified foods.

FDA and GMO- Two acronyms to be wary of.

In 1992, the FDA declared that GMO food ingredients need not be labeled based on industry sponsored research showing that GMO ingredients are nutritionally equivalent to non-GMOs.

The FDA did not conduct its own research or hire third party researchers and to this day continues to rely on GMO industry findings. One Monsanto study involved a nutritional analysis of non-GMO soybeans vs. GMO “Roundup Ready” soybeans, which were created to be resistant to Monsanto’s “Roundup” herbicide. The nutritional content of the two soybeans were found to be similar in composition and amount. It’s important to remember that there are 1000’s of plant substances we are still unaware of that protect our health  (i.e polyphenols – more than 8,000- were discovered in the last 20 years).  We need to look beyond the Dietary Reference Intakes on food labels – established originally as the RDA for only 30 + nutrients in 1941- by the Institute of Medicine as a baseline to determine good nutrition for our armed forces. http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=4&tax_level=3&tax_subject=256&topic_id=1342&level3_id=5140

We are Confused-A recently published Neilson Survey of global healthy eating trends, found that 6 out of 10 people in the US don’t understand why a food is healthy or not. Interesting to note that three of the top five foods purchased for their apparent health benefits – whole grains, bread fortified with calcium, and yogurt with probiotics – all contain GMOs in some form or another.

Consumers are being encouraged to move away from packaged, processed food products and get back to the basics – preparing meals at home from scratch with fresh ingredients. But that advice becomes a labeling Tower of Babel as even basic ingredients will contain GMOs unless the product is Certified Organic.  Even then,  a small amount of non-organic ingredients are allowed in organic foods.

What can you do?

Educate yourself and avoid GMOs in your diet using these resources:

A GMO  primer by Analiese Paik, founder and editor of the Fairfield Green Food Guide

The Institute for Responsible Technology- Founded in 2003 by international author and GMO expert Jeffrey Smith, IRT has worked in more than 30 countries on 6 continents, and is credited with improving government policies and influencing consumer-buying  http://www.responsibletechnology.org/ Smith’s Campaign for Healthier Eating in America is designed to “end the genetic engineering of our food supply quickly” through consumer rejection rather than through “politics and government.” IRT’s Executive Directory, Jeffrey Smith, will be the keynote speaker and a workshop leader at CT NOFA’s annual winter conference on March 3. Click her for more information and to RSVP.

The Center for Food Safety – works to protect human health and the environment by curbing the proliferation of harmful food production technologies and by promoting organic and other forms of sustainable agriculture. Their recent claim to fame- a California court case halting the planting of GMO alfalfa.  Monsanto appealed twice and lost. http://truefoodnow.org/about/. Join the CFS effort and link here- http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/1881/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5440

Read Food Labels- Ignore marketing hype and look for three items on the package label- the nutrition label, the ingredient list and the certified organic logo. Take a mental picture of your pantry- the canola oil, the soy lecithin in every bakery product…all from soy crops, 80% of which are GMO.Whole Foods Market and 365 brands are non-GMO and all of Trader Joe’s store brand products are Non-GMO! According to Jeffrey Smith, founder of the Institute for Responsible Technology, the 5-digit PLU code on produce does not tell you what is genetically modified or natural. This can now be classified as an urban legend. http://www.responsibletechnology.org/blog/24

Check out the Non-GMO Shopping Guide-http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/

Email a letter- Write your legislators and encourage them to support laws and policies that protect our food supply from GMO industry pressure. A group of Connecticut legislators will be once again be introducing legislation mandating package labeling of products containing GMOs. According to the Institute for Responsible Technology, the industry pressured USDA to let GMO products pass as organic. During the public comment period, the USDA received more than 275,000 angry letters from citizens. Thanks to this public protest, GMO products cannot be labeled organic.

Join the Pro-Labeling Movement-A pro-labeling movement has been gaining momentum and a coalition of sustainable-food NGOs and organic businesses has launched a campaign to raise awareness both at the government level and publicly to support GMO food labeling.  Major print and broadcast media-CNN, Time and Grist- have taken on the topic and are helping to raise awareness about GMO content in foods and halt Monsanto’s monopoly on seed crops. Gary Hirshberg recently stepped down from his position as CEO of Stonyfield Farm to lead the Just Label It campaign. Join the CFS effort and link here- http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/1881/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5440

Food Democracy Now (from website)- On January 31 (today!), family farmers will take part in the first phase of a court case filed to protect farmers from genetic trespass by Monsanto’s GMO seed, which contaminates organic and non-GMO farmer’s crops and opens them up to abusive lawsuits.

“Like” and follow tweets by Adam Eidinger, the GMO protest poster child who organized last October’s a 100 person, 313 mile “Right2Know March” from New York City to the White House for federally mandated GMO food labeling.  On January 24, 2012 he presented to Monsanto officers and shareholders a proposal to create a study of “material financial risks or operational impacts” associated with its chemical products and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/monsanto-attempts-to-lockout-socially-responsible-shareholder-at-annual-meeting-137783058.html

Say No To GMOs! The Non GMO Project verifies and labels processed food products using a trustworthy standard. Right now there are efforts underway for an industry wide effort to create labels for non-GMO foods.

Betsy Keller, MS, RD is a nutrition marketing and communications consultant specializing in sustainable food, nutrition and health-related issues. She is a freelance writer and also lectures in Fairfield County, CT.

By Analiese Paik

It’s time celebrate the bean. This lowly legume has a reputation as peasant food, but it’s a comfort food in our house and my go-to solution for quick meals. Beans are easy to cook and will come out great if you follow my Golden Rules. Once cooked, beans are both versatile and delicious. Serve them as a side dish with pork, a main dish with rice and a vegetable, in a burrito, as soup, and in chili.

I suppose beans got their peasant reputation from being relatively inexpensive compared to other proteins. With all of us watching our budgets, figuring out ways to serve family-friendly meals on Meatless Mondays, and searching for leftovers that actually reheat well day after day, reaching for beans is a no-brainer. Additionally, groundbreaking research has revealed that the iron in beans is more readily absorbed by the body than iron supplements or the iron found in meat, making it a top food choice for anyone suffering from iron deficiency, the most common nutrient deficiency worldwide and the most common nutrient deficiency in children.

Besides the superior taste and texture of home-cooked beans, they’re also healthier than canned beans containing bisphenol-A (BPA) in their linings. BPA is a known endocrine disruptor commonly found in the lining of canned foods and made headlines when it was banned in baby bottles and sippy cups in 10 US states. Some companies, like Eden Foods, never put BPA in their liners. It’s not just canned beans that can expose you to BPA, it’s all canned foods. Prevention Magazine recently published a list of 7 Foods That Should Never Cross Your Lips and canned tomatoes topped the list because their linings contain BPA and the acidic nature of tomates causes it to leach. Choose jarred tomatoes instead, a product available at farmers’ markets. Visit this post on TreeHugger for a list of retailers and food manufacturers that use BPA-free cans.

Don’t wait for the FDA to finish its “in-depth studies” in order to make a determination about whether to ban BPA on March 31; take steps to avoid it now. Canada declared BPA toxic in 2010 and regulates its use in food and consumer products. The FDA is way behind as usual. This excerpt from the FDA’s website should get you motivated to avoid canned food with BPA in their liners (you will not find any such information on the cans.)

“….both the National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health and FDA have some concern about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and young children. In cooperation with the National Toxicology Program, FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research is carrying out in-depth studies to answer key questions and clarify uncertainties about the risks of BPA.”

Now, back to making beans. Follow these simple rules and you won’t go wrong. Beans are cheapest when purchased in bulk and one of the widest selections is available in the bulk aisle at Whole Foods Market, including an enticing line of heirloom beans from Cayuga Pure Organics in New York state.

The Golden Rules of Cooking Beans

1. Always soak dried beans overnight in water.
2. Always rinse beans before cooking.
3. Never boil beans or they will crack and break.
4. Always skim off the foam that rises to the top.
5. Never add salt until they are tender.
6. Do not drain excess cooking water after the beans are done.
7. Season beans with aromatics and spices during or after cooking.

Anyone who wants to quibble about my Golden Rules is welcome to comment below. There’s scientific research and/or common sense behind each one, not to mention firsthand experience!

Basic Bean Recipe

Time: overnight soaking plus at least 2 hours for cooking

Servings: 6-8 as a main dish, 12 as a side dish or snack

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups dried beans – black, pinto, cannellini, navy, or heirloom varietal

Preparation:

1. Measure out beans, place in a single layer on a cutting board or sheet pan, and remove any damaged beans or foreign objects. The light background of a cutting board provides a contrast that makes this easier.
2. Rinse the beans, place them in a medium bowl and cover  with cold water until it rises above the level of the beans by 4 inches. They beans will absorb the water and expand to fill the bowl. Leave them undisturbed overnight or at least 6 hours.
3. When ready to cook the beans (within 24 hours of beginning the soak), drain and rinse them, then place them in a cast iron French Oven (Le Creuset) or other sturdy pot with a lid that’s large enough to hold the beans and enough water to cover them by 2 inches.
4. Add cold water to cover the beans by 2 inches, cover with a lid, and turn heat to medium to bring it to a boil. Once the beans reach a full boil, immediately remove the lid and turn the heat down to a low simmer.
5. Take a metal or wooden spoon and skim the foam that rises to the top of the beans. Optional: If you wish to add aromatics like onion, celery and carrots to the pot, now’s the time. Just tie them up in a piece of cheesecloth so you can easily remove them when the beans are done. Add a fresh habanero or dried chipotle to the pot for a simple seasoning. Dried, ground chiles like Anchos, make a delicious addition along with some ground cumin and Mexican oregano.
6. Cook uncovered at barely a simmer until beans are soft, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, depending on the bean. The beans should remain covered with water so add some fresh, cold water if necessary.
7. When the beans are tender, add salt and taste. Add more salt as necessary to bring out their flavor.
8. Serve with rice and a vegetable for lunch or dinner; spoon into a tortilla and top with roasted peppers, aged or fresh cheese, and some hot sauce to make a burrito; or spoon into a bowl and top with cheese for a quick snack. To make soup, remove and puree half the beans or puree the entire pot with an immersion blender.
9. Store leftover beans in their cooking liquid. When you reheat the beans, this liquid is your insurance against dried out or burned beans. Beans freeze well!

CT NOFA’s Winter Conference Welcomes Families, Farmers and Foodies

March 3, 2012

8:30 am – 4:30 pm

Manchester Community College

Manchester, CT

The Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut (CT NOFA) announces its 30^th Annual Winter Conference, an important day or learning and sharing for farmers, gardeners, locavores, homesteaders and anyone interested in sustainable living. The conference features workshops (listed in detail below), internationally-celebrated speakers, and the largest local-sustainable food potluck lunch you’ve ever seen. (Yes, attendees are expected to bring a dish to share. No stress; we’ll be posting recipes.)

The 2012 Winter Conference’s keynote speaker is Jeffrey Smith, noted author and speaker on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and the leading consumer advocate promoting healthier, non-GMO choices. He is the author of Seeds of Deception and Genetic Roulette, and will share insights on the real threats that GMOs pose to local food production as well as to consumers’ health.  A second workshop on GMOs will be hosted by Daniel Ravicher, legal counsel representing CT NOFA and 80 other plaintiffs against Monsanto to legally protect small farms and farmers.

In this video Jeffrey Smith succinctly (2 minutes!) explains why corporate science is wrong when they say GMOs are safe.

If you’re in the mood to be entertained while learning more about GMOs, Rob Herring’s rap video is excellent!

All workshops are taught by Connecticut professionals bringing expertise from the farm, kitchen, government, or non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable living. Learn to grow fruit, garlic, honey, nuts, and mushrooms. Classes on pollination, nitrogen management and soil microbiology are among those that will provide more technical instruction. Sustainable home-life classes include seminars on root cellars, food storage, cooking, household products as well as well as how to make healthy choices in cosmetics. For activists and community organizers, the conference offers workshops in climate change, starting food co-ops, and establishing winter farmers’ markets.

The Winter Conference is a celebration of local foods and farms.  In keeping with this theme, attendees are asked to bring a favorite food dish for the potluck feast.  Local, organic vendors including Sweet Sage Bakery of Madison, CT and Bean & Leaf of New London, will be selling delicious, sustainable treats.  Children are welcome to spend time in the Family Play ‘n’ Chill room.

The CT NOFA 30^th Annual Winter Conference will be held at Manchester Community College, on Great Path Rd in Manchester, CT, on March 3 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Registration is $50 for NOFA members, $60 for non-members ($35 for students or seniors).  This is a bargain considering the value your receive- a keynote address plus multiple workshops that would easily cost $25 each elsewhere. There is a $5 discount for early registration (before  February 18^th) and an additional $10 discount for those interested in volunteering.  For more information and registration online, visit  http://ctnofa.org/events/CAOC/2012/2012_Winter_Conference.html,  or call the office at 203-888-5146.

WORKSHOPS

Organic Seed vs. Monsanto: The Lawsuit Challenging Patents on Seed – Attorney Daniel Ravicher, NYC

Certified Organic Nutrient Dense Small Fruit – Julie Rawson & Jack Kitteredge,  Many Hands Organic Farm, MA

Wild Bees and Pollination – Dr. Kim Stoner of CT Ag Experiment Station

Root Cellars & Food Storage – Chris Chaisson, Whole Farm Services, VT

Public Act 490 - Joan Nichols, CT Farm Bureau

Nitrogen Management on Farms – Tom Morris, UConn Plant Scientist

Science and Principles of Soil Microbiology – Joe Maggazi, Green Earth Agriculture

Pasture Raised Laying Hens – Brianne Casadei, Exec. Director Terra Firma Farm

Better Choices in Rx, Cosmetics, Household Products – Valerie Cookson-Botto

Raising Garlic – Farmer Wayne Hansen, Wayne’s Organic Gardens

Honey Bees – Marina Marchese, Red Bee Honey

Growing Nuts in Connecticut – Dr. Sandra Anagnostakis, CT Agricultural Exp. Station

Mushroom Growing on a Small Scale – Carol Brzozowy & Jim Peppin, Maggie’s Farm

Biotech Threats to Organic Agriculture – Ed Stockman, Summit Farm

Animal Welfare Approved Certification – Brigid Sweeney, Animal Welfare Approved

The Dynamic History of the Connecticut Forest - Jeffrey Ward, CT Agricultural Exp. Station

Collards & Other Cold Weather Greens for Health & Flavor – Chef John Turenne, Farmer Wayne Hansen and Naturopathic Physician Leigh White

Winter Farmers’ Markets Are Hot! - Winter Caplanson, Coventry Regional Farmers’ Market

Worm Composting Simplified – Nick Mancini, Organic Gardening Simplified

Co-ops Build a Better World: Co-operatives and Food Security - Erbin Crowell, Neighboring Food Co-op Association

How You Can Easily Grow Fresh Greens All Winter - David Zemelsky, Starlight Gardens

Climate Change In Connecticut: What Can We Expect and Do – Jennifer Pagach, CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

Raising Dairy Goats and Making Cheese - Paul Trubey, Beltane Farm

Soil Management Techniques – Bryan O’Hara, Tobacco Road Farm

Food as Medicine – Dr. Leigh White, Natural Family Health, LLC

Transition Movement Workshops:

• First:  Transition Success Stories – Tina Clarke & Terry Halwes
• Second: Permaculture and Transition – Cynthia Rabinowitz & Joan Spear
• Third:  Transition: Lighting the Fire for Action – Coleen Spurlock

Lead in Soils – Concerns and Corrections – Dawn Pettinelli, UConn Soil Nutrient Analysis Laboratory

Edible School Gardens – Dan Levinson, Green Village Initiative (GVI)

and more to come…

VENDORS & EXHIBITORS

Interested in being a vendor or promoting your organization at our event?  Last year’s conference attracted over 400 passionate organic-minded individuals, and at least the same number are expected this year.   Email CT NOFA for details, print and mail this form, or call 203-888-5146.

Confirmed exhibitors:

Animal Welfare Approved - Alexandria, VA
Barefoot Books - East Granby, CT
Green Earth Agriculture – North Branford, CT
Healthy Cleaning Solutions- Tolland, CT
Land for Good – Keene, NH
Lancaster Ag Products – Ronks, PA
Natureworks – Northford, CT
Progressive Asset Management – Wellesley, MA
Sunlight Solar Energy – Milford, CT
Sweet Sage Bakery – Rockfall, CT
USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service – Tolland, CT
USDA-New England Agricultural Statistics – Concord, NH

FAMILY PLAY AREA

Music, storytime, children’s workshop, hanging out. CT NOFA provide pillows, books, and comfy places for kids to just shlump down and read!

POTLUCK

Chef John Turenne of Sustainable Food Systems and an impressive staff of kitchen volunteers will once again be on hand to pull it all together, making sure hot dishes are hot and salads are dressed.

Please bring a dish to share with everyone—it need not be local food or even organic—do what you can. Email info@fairfieldgreenfoodguide.com if you need help with a recipe or ingredients or just have a questions. Thanks! Put a label on the bottom of the container and claim it at the end of the conference. Please bring a plate and utensils as this event is committed to avoiding waste.

RAFFLE

CT NOFA is accepting raffle donations. Gently used treasures, duplicate garden tools, gift baskets, unused gift certificates or gift certificates for your business (=great advertizing!) are all welcome. CT NOFA Board member Janet Heller will be coordinating this year. Call the office at 203-888-5146 or email.

By Betsy Keller, MS, RD

This morning I reached into the deep recesses of my fridge to find Pillsbury Cinnabon buns with PINK icing.  I realized I had purchased the can in October during Breast Cancer Awareness month and was fascinated that the expiration date could have lasted until late November.  The canister had the obvious pink banners that clearly stated Pillsbury’s dedication to Breast Cancer Awareness month and announced their partnership with the Susan G. Komen Foundation. While I fully condone and appreciate corporate responsibility campaigns, this particular one was egregiously pink and ironic.

The irony was not lost on my 9-year-old daughter (yes the daughter of a registered dietitian) who exclaimed, “Mom isn’t that pink stuff from red dye number 40 which is a chemical that can cause cancer?” Hmmm.  My daughter held up the peeled label and began reading the ingredients until she arrived at red dye #40 and yellow #5.  It was her idea to open up the cabinet and see if we had other items with this known petroleum chemical masquerading as a food coloring.  She then exclaimed, “Mom, we really don’t eat all that much fake pink and red stuff do we?”  I smiled.  My third and last child had been properly informed of the hazards of man-made chemicals that our government does not feel compelled to remove from our food.  The only red item we could find in our cabinet was a box of red Jell-O which was left over after Halloween when we made fake blood for the haunted house.  It was never meant to be eaten.

Every year in Australia, Bakers Delight bakery franchise holds their annual Pink Bun fundraising campaign and since 1999 has managed to raise over 5.5 million dollars for Breast Cancer Network of Australia (BCNA). From 28 April to May 18, Bakers Delight bakery franchise, the largest bakery chain in Australia, donated 100% of their revenue from sales of their pink finger buns to support the charity’s work in breast cancer. Once again, a noble cause in concept and spirit, but I sure hope it was beet juice they were squeezing in the royal icing mix.

In Europe, red dye #40 is not recommended for consumption by children. It is banned in Denmark, Belgium, France and Switzerland. The European Union approves red dye #40 as a food color, but EU countries’ local laws banning food colors are fortunately upheld. In the United States, red dye #40 is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in cosmetics, drugs, and food such as soft drinks, children’s medications, and cotton candy.

In 2010, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) called for the FDA to ban red  dye $40 and Executive Director Michael Jacobson said, “These synthetic chemicals do absolutely nothing to improve the nutritional quality or safety of foods, but trigger behavior problems in children. And, possibly, cancer in anybody.”

Betsy Keller, MS, RD is a nutrition marketing and communications consultant specializing in sustainable food, nutrition and health-related issues. She is a freelance writer and also lectures in Fairfield County, CT.

Local honey lovers and those on the road to good taste and new discoveries won’t want to miss Red Bee Honey’s annual holiday open house on December 11 from 11 am to 6 pm. Last year’s event was a roaring success and more guests are expected this year due to growing concerns about counterfeit and tainted honey imported from India and China. News outlets around the country last month published articles citing studies which provided incontrovertible evidence that many retail products labeled “honey” contained no pollen and were therefore not real honey according to the USDA’s definition. Consumers in the know are turning to local beekeepers as a trusted source for real honey.

If you’ve never tasted single nectar source honeys side-by-side to compare and contrast them, this is your chance to do so with Red Bee Honey’s founder, beekeeper, and Honey Sommelier Marina Marchese. Once you’ve picked your favorite flavors, choose from a wide assortment of beautifully packaged individual bottles of honey or boxed gift sets that include lavender lip balm and beeswax candles. Or create your own gift boxes at any price point. Relax by the fireplace and enjoy the live music as your gifts are boxed up, wrapped and tied with ribbon- compliments of the house.

For the readers on your list, pick up a signed copy of Marina’s book “Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper”, now also available in paperback. Carol Herman, the Books Editor at The Washington Times, named Marchese’s Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper one of the “Books We Loved” in 2009.

Red Bee Honey is listed in the most recent edition of Patricia Brook’s “Food Lovers’ Guide to Connecticut”, a best of the best foodie guide to Connecticut. James Beard Award-winning author Rowan Jacobsen calls Marina “The Red Queen” and dedicates one chapter of his new book American Terroir to tasting honey with Marina at Red Bee Apiary.

To learn more about Red Bee Honey, visit the web site and read Lessons from a Local Beekeeper on this site. Marina’s transition from art director to beekeeper and Honey Sommelier is also told via a beautifully produced Yahoo  Second Act video.

Red Bee Honey Apiary & Gardens

www.redbee.com

Email: redbee@optonline.net

When news of the passage of Public Act 10-103, An Act Concerning Farms, Food, and Jobs, began to spread last year, I put in a call to the CT Dept. of Agriculture’s legal expert to get an interpretation. Was it true that farms certified by a CT State Poultry Inspection Program created under the law would now be able to process their own birds and sell them to restaurants? That would mean poultry farmers would be spared the inconvenience and expense of taking their chickens, turkeys and ducks to the only USDA slaughterhouse in the state for processing. Processing their birds themselves, in the farm’s facilities, would indeed be legal I was told, but only after jumping through the necessary hoops to become certified. I wasn’t holding my breath.

I’m thrilled to report that this law is working to strengthen the local food movement in Connecticut. Connecticut Agriculture Commissioner Steven K. Reviczky announced today that two farms have been approved by the state Department of Agriculture through this new Poultry Slaughter Inspection Program, making more Connecticut Grown poultry more available to consumers, restaurants, and hotels. MarWin Farm in New Hartford and Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm in Sterling are the first two Connecticut poultry farms to be inspected and approved through the new state program. MarWin Farm is raising approximately 2,500 chickens, 125 turkeys, and 200 specialty birds such as guinea hens and ducks. Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm, the state’s largest grower of pastured turkeys, has 3,000 turkeys and 1,200 chickens in production this year.

Commissioner Reviczky said the new program “opens a new door for restaurants looking to serve Connecticut Grown turkey, chicken, and duck on their menus because they are no longer limited to using USDA inspected poultry in order to comply with the public health code.” This is music to the ears of chefs who have been frustrated by limited availability of local poultry. “I just served my first Connecticut Grown turkey from Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm last week,” said Wayne Kregling, executive chef at Brownson Country Club in Shelton. “The quality and flavor were superb, and I am excited to now be able to offer this delicious poultry to my customers.”

Shortly after the law passed, Jonathan Hermonot of Ekonk Hill was asked what it would mean to their farm.

Anyone who’s purchased a chicken from a farm in Connecticut knows that the only way to legally obtain one that’s not USDA certified is to order the bird directly from the farmer and ask them to do you the favor of processing it. This custom slaughter exemption does not apply to restaurants, however, significantly impairing the growth of poultry farms. This new state program allows poultry producers who successfully comply with requirements, pass inspection, and become approved to sell their poultry to an expanded customer base. To comply with the state program’s strict sanitation requirements, which are comparable to those of the USDA program, both Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm and MarWin Farm made improvements to their existing facilities and developed written Hazardous Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and recall plans. Ekonk Hill applied and was approved for $10,000 in matching funds through the Connecticut Department of Agriculture’s Farm Reinvestment Grant to help pay for the facility upgrades.

Note: Ekonk Hill turkeys are available through two sources in Fairfield County. Visit our 2011 Guide to Local & Heritage Turkeys for more information.

By Analiese Paik

The following is a transcript of A Dozen Ways to Eat Green, a talk I was to deliver today at the Gathering of the Vibes as a guest speaker on the Green Vibes Stage at 1:30. Unfortunately, due to the heat advisory, I won’t be presenting today. A Dozen Ways to Eat Green is perfect for any eater – those just learning how unsustainable our food system is and are looking for ways to reduce their “foodprint” and those already making sustainable choices, yet are looking to do more. The choices we make three times a day have a profound impact on our health and the environment, so eat smart and eat green!

• Reduce your food waste.
  

By some estimates 40 percent of the food grown in the country is wasted. That figure includes everything from food left to rot in farmers’ fields, to imperfect food throw out by stores and restaurants, to the leftovers you scrape into your garbage pail after dinner. Here are three ways to cut down on your food waste:

1. Buy less to avoid buying more than you need.
2. Make “Use it or Freeze It” your mantra and use your freezer to save food for another day.
3. Declare “Clean Out the Refrigerator Night” once a week to eat all the leftovers before they go bad.

• Compost your raw food waste.

Start a compost pile right in your backyard. When you throw food waste into the garbage, it winds up in a landfill where it cannot decompose. Instead, it emits methane gas, a greenhouse gas, which contributes to climate change. Collect your egg shells, coffee grinds, vegetable peels, corn cobs and husks in a kitchen composting pail and toss them in the compost pile with grass clippings and leaves. Over a few months’ time, they’ll decompose with the help of worms and turn into compost – gardener’s gold. You won’t need to buy compost when you start your organic garden! Visit Rodale’s web site for some expert composting advice.

• Eat less meat.

Practice Meatless Mondays by eating no meat one day a week. The Environmental Working Group has just released The Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change and Health, a handy online guide to improving your health and the health of the environment through sustainable meat choices. It includes a recommendation to practice Meatless Mondays, citing this quote from real food activist and author Michael Pollan.

“The single most important thing any of us can do to shrink the environmental footprint of our eating is to cut back on our meat eating — doing so has a bigger impact than eating local or organic.” -Michael Pollan, Author and food activist

When you do eat meat, avoid factory farmed beef, poultry, pork and dairy; choose grass-fed, pasture-raised, and organic meat and dairy instead. Approximately 99 percent of the meat sold in restaurants and grocers if from factory farms (CAFOs) where animals are raised in close confinement, fed an unnatural diet of genetically modified (GM) corn and soy, and are routinely treated with antibiotics to keep them from getting sick. Raising animals in this manner might produce cheap meat for the consumer, but what’s rung up at the register doesn’t factor in the true cost to the environment and human health. Don’t fall victim to the illusion of cheap food. The real cost of producing and eating food from the industrial food chain will have to be paid for by generations to come.

Many Connecticut farmers raise livestock on pasture and sell it at farmers’ markets throughout the state, plus a sustainable butcher shop will be opening in Westport soon.

Learn more by about the impact of factory farming on the climate and human health from EWG’s The Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change and Health.

• Choose organic food over conventionally grown.

Choose organic whenever possible to protect the environment and human health. Organic foods and wines are cultivated without the use of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides so they do not deplete the soil, damage the environment or pose threats to human health. CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) programs are the most economical way to buy fresh, local, organic produce. CSA programs offer consumers a seasonal share in a single farm’s harvest for a fixed price. Each season I publish a guide to CSAs offered by local farms, and each year the list grows.

Processed foods, even those labeled “natural”, commonly contain ingredients made from the “Big Four” genetically-modified (GM) food crops: soybeans, corn, canola and cottonseed, yet they carry no labels declaring “contains GMOs.” The bottle of canola oil innocently sitting in your pantry is likely GM, since eighty percent of the canola grown in the US is genetically modified. Many well-respected members of the sustainable food, agriculture, and science communities believe that GMOs pose threats to human and animal health, the environment, and biodiversity. Choose organic or Non-GMO Project Verified processed foods to avoid GMOs. To learn more about GMOs, please read While You Were Eating on this blog.

• Eat locally with the seasons.

Fresh, local food is delicious, nutritious and in abundant supply at farm stands, farmers’ markets and through CSAs. Buy locally grown food in season to reduce the “food miles” your food has to travel to reach your plate and cut down on food packaging. Fewer food miles translate into reduced use of fossil fuels and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Less packaging means you create less waste. You’ll also be providing a living wage to our farmers, ensuring farmland preservation and our ability to feed ourselves, and encouraging the cultivation of a diversity of species, including heritage and heirloom varietals. Eating locally with the seasons is an investment in the future of our local foodshed.

• Grow some of your own food.

Seeds are very inexpensive, and if you make your own compost, you’ll likely wind up saving money by growing your own. A fantastic source of inspiration and advice for home gardeners is Kitchen Gardeners International, the group behind the campaign to replant a kitchen garden at the White House. Look for gardening workshops and classes, includes those we post, to help you get started. Comstock Ferre & Co., a 200-year-old seed company in Wethersfield, CT, offers a wide variety of heirloom seeds via their catalog, online store, an retail location. Read more about Comstock here.

• Choose organic, Fair Trade coffee, tea, chocolate and sugar.

Fair Trade means farmers are compensated fairly for their work, no child labor is used, and farms employ sustainable growing practices. Organic farming practices don’t rely on synthetic fertilizer and never use synthetic pesticides, herbicides and insecticides. When we choose organic, Fair Trade products, we are rewarding farmers for treating their workers fairly and using sustainable growing practices. These products may cost a little more, but the payoff is priceless.

• Choose sustainable seafood.

Choose sustainable seafood. Download the Sustainable Seafood Guide or iphone app from Seafood Watch and consult it at the fish counter or when ordering in a restaurant. Commit to limiting your consumption to sustainable seafood choices under the Best Choices and Good Alternatives categories. Whenever you eat a sustainable seafood meal, enter it into the app to share your resources with other users.  Whole Foods Markets stores have started using a seafood labeling system for their wild caught products based on Seafood Watch’s ratings to help the consumer at point of purchase. You can learn all about sustainable seafood in an interactive exhibit called Go Fish! at the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk.  It’s perfect for adults and children.

• Stop buying disposable bottled water.

Disposable bottled water is one or the most unsustainable beverage choices you can make. Plastic water bottles are made from petroleum and are designed to be used once, resulting in a product that is thousands of times more expensive than tap water and no safer, according to a report by Food & Water Watch. Most of these bottles are not recycled and wind up in landfills and our oceans where they  leach harmful chemicals into the ground and water. There is a floating garbage patch twice the size of Texas in the North Atlantic that is poisoning sea life. Please carry a thermos filled with filtered tap water instead.

• Learn to cook!

Cooking is becoming a lost art. Take some cooking classes and buy a cookbook that teaches you how to cook with the seasons including Deborah Madison’s Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America’s Farmers’ Markets, Emily Brooks’ Connecticut Farmer & Feast, Michel Nischan’s Sustainably Delicious: Making the World a Better Place One Recipe at a Time, and Harvest to Heat: Cooking with America’s Best Farmers, Chefs and Artisans by Darryl Estrine and Kelly Kochendorfer.

• Start or volunteer at a school or community garden.

School and community gardens are thriving across the country including urban, rooftop, vertical, aquaponic, and hydroponic varieties. Public gardens are revitalizing urban communities and providing food deserts with a source of fresh local food. Creating community while helping to feed yourself and others more sustainably, especially children, is rewarding and laying the groundwork for a more sustainable food future.

• Don’t wait for someone else to fix it.

The food choices you make all day, every day, have small but important impacts. Eat Smart, Eat Green.

Recommended Reading:

• Tomatoland
• Eating Animals
• Righteous Pork Chop
• Diet for a Hot Planet
• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
• Omnivore’s Dilemma (and young reader’s version)

Movies:

• Food, Inc.
• FRESH
• Nourish
  
• The Future of Food
• The World According to Monsanto

Bonus Green Food Tips:

• Bring your own bags wherever you shop. Try keeping a soft, collapsible bag in your pocketbook so you always have one handy.

• Reuse grocery store vegetable bags as liners for your kitchen compost pail. You’ll save money on composting supplies and give the bags and second life.

• Use recycled products. Choose from post-consumer recycled aluminum foil and paper products (napkins & paper towels), phosphate-free dish-washing liquid and dishwasher soap, and biodegradable garbage bags.

• Recycle #5 containers and cork at Whole Foods Markets instead of throwing them in the garbage. Whole Foods collects #5s and cork for recycling (feel free to pop in just to drop off your recycling). Recycling costs you nothing but is a huge gift to the environment.

• Use reusable bags instead of single use plastic lunch and snack bags. There are many on the market and they have become so mainstream that they are now available at Linens ‘n Things. Lunch Skins are eco-chic, reusable lunch and snack bags that are cute enough to give as a gift.
  

• Choose organic and biodynamic wines. These so called “natural” wines rely on low impact methods for solving common problems that plague vineyards. For instance, birds of prey are brought in to control for varmints. Organic wines are cultivated without the use of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides so they do not deplete the soil, damage the environment or pose threats to human health.

By Analiese Paik

Visit any grocery store and you’ll find the meat case packed with cuts from our nation’s four biggest beef producers: Cargill Beef, JBS SA (US subsidiary owns Swift and Smithfield Beef), National Beef Packing, and Tyson. Read the package labels carefully and try to find any mention that the steer were raised in confinement on factory farms, fed a diet of genetically-modified (GM) corn and soy to fatten them up quickly and cheaply, then routinely supplemented with antibiotics and growth hormones to kick the meat-making machine into high gear. You won’t find anything. Factory meat production is Big Business and it’s not in their best interest to tell you what’s in your food.

Nowhere is obfuscation of facts more troubling than with genetically modified foods (GMOs). In the early 1990s large, multinational biotechnology companies including Monsanto, DuPont, Dow, Bayer, and Syngenta began producing and selling seeds whose DNA they had engineered to either resist herbicides or produce pesticides to protect that plant from viruses and insects. Classified as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), these seeds contain portions of DNA from another organism that was inserted into their genetic material in a lab to confer the desired traits. In the case of transgenic GMOs, the inserted DNA was derived from another species, and not always from the plant kingdom.

Processed foods sold in the US commonly contain ingredients made from the “Big Four” GM crops: soybeans, corn, canola and cottonseed, yet they carry no labels declaring “contains GMOs.” The bottle of canola oil innocently sitting in your pantry is likely GM, since eighty percent of the canola grown in the US is genetically modified. “It’s being carefully hidden” explains Bill Duesing, an organic farmer and Executive Director of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of CT ( CT NOFA). “The US food industry will do anything they can to make this stuff seems the same.”

GE seeds are unique enough to be patented as intellectual property (they meet the “usefulness” requirements of patent law), yet were likewise granted generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status in 1992 by the FDA after being deemed “substantially equivalent” to their non-GMO counterparts. GMOs considered GRAS require no long-term, independent animal, human and environmental studies to determine their safety. Wait. We’re eating plants that can produce their own pesticides and contain DNA from other species that was forced into their genetic makeup, yet they’re not being tested and require no labeling? This is a real head-scratcher. Jeffrey Smith, Founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Responsible Technology, and an internationally recognized expert and author of two books on the health dangers of GMOs, Genetic Roulette and Seeds of Deception, weighed in on the topic. “It’s Monsanto’s unprecedented influence on this and previous administrations. It’s hard to know where they end and the government begins. The entire foundation of this technology is based on rhetoric, manipulation, and lies.”

“The number of crossover people from Monsanto to the FDA is phenomenal” adds Duesing. “It’s a revolving door.” The documentary film, The World According to Monsanto, spotlights a few individuals who swung back and forth through the now-famous revolving door between Monsanto, the FDA and the USDA. Perhaps the most salient example is that of Michael Taylor, a former Monsanto attorney appointed by President Obama as Senior Advisor to the Commissioner of the FDA in 2009. Outrage over his appointment from critics of genetically engineered food centered on Taylor’s service between 1991 and 1994 as the FDA’s Deputy Commissioner for Policy, a time when the agency eschewed unnecessary regulation and drafted biotech industry-friendly policies despite warnings by some of its own scientists.

There is growing concern among scientists, watchdog groups, members of the organic agriculture community, and consumers that GMOs pose threats to humans, animals and the environment. Jeffrey Smith said “claims that GM crops will feed the world are not based on reality. They decrease yields and increase the use of agricultural chemicals.” Duesing shares his views. “Genetic engineering is giving pollution a life of its own. It’s a food system that’s built around agricultural chemicals and herbicides designed to kill all green plants, except the GM plant.”

Adding to the unease is the industry’s less-than-stellar track record on environmental stewardship. “These biotech companies have a history of creating long-lived pollutants that damage the environment and then we have to control it” Duesing pointed out. “We can’t eat fish from the Hudson, Housatonic or Quinnipiac Rivers because they’re contaminated with Monsanto’s PCBs dumped in there by GE.”

One instance of cross-contamination vividly illustrates the potential threats GMOs pose to human health. “StarLink [a GM corn approved for animal use only, but which accidentally contaminated human food in 1990 and sickened at least 35] may be part of the collective genome forever and there’s a high probability that it’s an allergen.” recalls Jeffrey Smith. “What we have now is really dangerous technology.”

Jeffrey Smith’s claims are the product of years spent traveling the globe to research and immerse himself in the world of biotech foods. Smith visited Fairfield, CT in April as part of his 2011 lecture tour designed to inform citizens about the dangers of GMOs and teach strategies to identify and avoid them at points of sale. Buying organic and choosing processed foods carrying the Non-GMO Verified seal are among the helpful options outlined in his free publication, The Non-GMO Shopping Guide. Smith’s Campaign for Healthier Eating in America is designed to “end the genetic engineering of our food supply quickly” through consumer rejection rather than through “politics and government.” Buoyed by Europe’s tipping point of consumer rejection of GMOs in 1999, and the US rejection of artificial bovine growth hormone (rbGH) in 2005, Smith is confident that food companies will respond to GMO rejection by a mere five percent of US consumers. “Manufacturers won’t wait for a substantial drop in market share. They won’t lose customers by eliminating GM ingredients either.”

Due to growing concern about the safety of GMOs, lawmakers in 14 states, including Connecticut, have introduced legislation that would mandate, in some form, the labeling of genetically modified foods. Jeffrey Smith explains that “labeling exists in most developed countries with varying levels of thoroughness and enforceability. Europe is the most thorough and .9% is the threshold for labeling.” Duesing believes that it will help if foods containing GM ingredients are labeled, and will be one of the things that drives change, but isn’t convinced it’s the only or best answer. “Energy and the environment would be more important. I’ve been working 30 years to try to influence consumers.”

State Representative Richard Roy (D-Milford), House Chairman of the Environment Committee, recently introduced an amendment requiring products containing GMOs to be labeled in the state of Connecticut. Roy is clearly well-educated on the topic of GMOs and takes a refreshingly consumer-oriented approach to mandatory labeling. “The producers of GMO foods gush their support for what they say is a superior product. If the product is as good and safe as they claim, they should be happy to promote the product” explains Roy. “Instead, they refuse to tell the consumer that a product contains GMOs. What are they hiding?”

Representative Roy attended Jeffrey Smith’s lecture in Fairfield this past April, and briefly shared with the audience his position on GMO labeling and track record of getting difficult legislation passed. “I’m the guy that got the [hands-free] cell phone law passed after a seven-year battle and the pesticides off school grounds.” Undeterred by the GMO labeling amendment’s removal in early May by the General Law Committee, Roy optimistically pointed out that “it can be called again as a proposed amendment on another bill. Support is a growing from a number of legislators, along with environmental groups, especially those involved in toxics legislation and healthy living habits.”

Resources:

Center for Food Safety

CT NOFA

Institute for Responsible Technology

Non-GMO Shopping Guid

Non-GMO Project

By Jeffrey M. Smith, Executive Director of the Institute for Responsible Technology and the Campaign for Healthier Eating in America

Click here to buy tickets to Jeffrey Smith’s lecture about Genetically Modified Foods on April 28 in Fairfield

Non-GMO is quite the buzz in the food industry.

• “GMO-Free” was the fastest growing claim for store brands in 2009; it’s now the third fastest overall Health & Wellness claim.
• Supermarket News predicted that 2010 would see an unprecedented upsurge in consumer concern about GMOs.
• Over 600 retailers and manufacturers participated in last October’s Non-GMO Month.
• And the FDA’s attempt to fast-track Frankenfish, and the court cases and approvals of GM alfalfa and sugar beets, has resulted in unprecedented coverage in mainstream media.

If you think all this awareness will finally get the government to do something, don’t hold your breath. The FDA is pushing for GE salmon by ignoring the 91% of Americans who don’t want genetically modified (GM) animals. The agency doesn’t require GMO labeling in spite of the 95% of us who want it. President Obama packed top positions at the USDA with pro-GMO people. And he actually put Michael Taylor back in the FDA as the US Food Safety Czar.

Taylor had been an outside attorney for Monsanto in 1991 before being recruited by the FDA to be the man in charge of policy. According to formerly secret FDA documents, the GMO policy that Taylor presided over ignored repeated warnings by agency scientists about the health dangers of GMOs. Instead, it waives unlabeled genetically modified (GM) foods onto the market without a single required safety study. Taylor later became Monsanto’s vice president.

Consumers can kick out GMOs

Don’t let the marriage between our government and the biotech industry get you down. There’s a much easier way to stop GMOs than trying to arm wrestle biotech lobbyists to change government policies. Consumers are at the top of the food chain. Since GMOs don’t offer a single consumer benefit, if even a small percentage of shoppers stopped eating them, they’d be kicked out by food companies trying to save market share.

This is precisely what happened in Europe. In January 1999, the biotech industry was still projecting a 95% replacement of all commercial seeds within 5 years. But three weeks later, a gag order was lifted on Dr. Arpad Pusztai, a top scientist who had discovered profound health dangers related to GMOs. A media firestorm ensued; 10 weeks and 750 GMO articles later, most European food companies had committed to stop using GM ingredients.

Likewise in the US, consumers booted GM bovine growth hormone (rbGH) out of most dairies, including Wal-mart, Starbucks, Dannon, and Yoplait.

Starting a revolution in the natural products store

Although the condemnation of rbGH is now institutionalized by medical organizations such as the American Public Health Association and American Nurses Association (they denounce the milk’s higher levels of a cancer promoting hormone, IGF-1), it didn’t begin with them. The tipping point against rbGH was jump-started by health-conscious shoppers, especially parents, who shop at natural products stores.

It is this same demographic that can push out all GMOs. Many people estimate that only about 5% of committed non-GMO shoppers are needed in the US to achieve the tipping point. Already 28 million Americans, 9.3%, buy organic products regularly. That’s more than we need.

Although the vast majority of these folks say they would avoid GMOs if they had a choice, most are still a bit vague about which products are genetically modified, and how dangerous they can be. The retailers can fill in the missing information here, and empower this trend-setting force to launch the non-GMO tidal wave. Here’s the missing pieces:

Which products are GMOs and how to avoid them

The vast majority of soy (91%), corn (85%), cottonseed (93%) (used for oil), canola (85%), and sugar beets (95%), are GMOs. Their derivatives are found in more than 70% of foods sold in the supermarket. All five crops have varieties that are spliced with bacterial genes to allow them to withstand deadly weed killers like Roundup. Some corn and cotton varieties are engineered to produce an insect killing poison called Bt-toxin (for the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis). Some corn and cotton do both.

Most Hawaiian papaya is engineered to resist a virus, as are some zucchini and yellow crook neck squash. Popcorn is not yet modified.

There’s also milk from cows treated with rbGH, and all dairy and meat from animals fed GM feed. Aspartame is made from a GM micro-organism. And there are GM enzymes used in food production that aren’t even on the label.

Organic products don’t allow the use of GMOs, and plenty of products are labeled as non-GMO. Although organic products have always been a trusted oasis for finicky non-GMO eaters, they don’t require any actual testing for at-risk ingredients. And generic non-GMO labels don’t guarantee testing either.

The Non-GMO Project third-party verified non-GMO claim

Fortunately, there’s a nonprofit organization called the Non-GMO Project that has sparked a major shift in non-GMO claim-making. They offer the nation’s first uniform standard. It does require testing of at-risk ingredients, as well as third-party verification. This program was originally started by retailers, and now includes participation from manufacturers, distributors, and consumers as well.

Our Institute’s Campaign for Healthier Eating in America, publishes the popular free public service reference, the Non-GMO Shopping Guide (see www.NonGMOShoppingGuide.com) which features products enrolled in the Non-GMO Project.

Why avoid GMOs?

Although most natural products shoppers say they would avoid GMOs if given a choice, it helps to give them compelling reasons to switch brands. That’s easy. The American Academy of Environmental Medicine cites animal feeding studies linking GMOs to reproductive, immune, gastrointestinal, organ, and aging disorders. They are urging all doctors to prescribe non-GMO diets. For more detailed information on the health risks, visit www.responsibletechnololgy.org for articles, videos, audios, and a free electronic newsletter.

Take charge and change the world

There are now more than 100 local and national Non-GMO Action Groups forming in order to help get the word out and promote the tipping point of consumer rejection against GMOs—to force them out of the market. People are warmly invited to join the Non-GMO Tipping Point Network to find their group, and we also offer GMO speaker training, either online or in one-day workshops. The next one-day training in the Northeast is Sunday May 1^st, at Columbia University in New York.

Help plant the seeds for a non-GMO future.

Jeffrey M. Smith is the leading consumer advocate for promoting healthier non-GMO eating. His first book, Seeds of Deception, is the world’s bestselling and #1 rated book on the subject. His second, Genetic Roulette, documents 65 health risks of the GM crops Americans eat everyday. Mr. Smith has spoken in more than 30 countries, and has been quoted in hundreds of media outlets including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Time Magazine. He is the Executive Director of the Institute for Responsible Technology and the Campaign for Healthier Eating in America, which produces the Non-GMO Shopping Guide, Health Risk Brochures, Non-GMO Education Centers, and other consumer education tools. He lives with his wife in Iowa, surrounded by genetically modified corn and soybeans.

Please join us for two very special events in Greenwich and Fairfield featuring guest speaker and author Jeffrey Smith

“DON’T PUT THAT IN YOUR MOUTH”
Lecture + Q&A + Book Signing

WHEN: Wednesday April 27th  @ 7:00pm
WHERE: Audubon in Greenwich  613 Riversville Rd  Greenwich, CT
CONTACT:  Jeff 203-869-5272 x239
——————————
WHEN: Thursday April 28th  @ 7:00pm
WHERE: Community Film Institute 1424 Post Rd. Fairfield Ct.
CONTACT: Catch A Healthy Habit Cafe 203 292 8190
www.catchahealthyhabit.com/gmo

Read More or Purchase Tickets Now
—————————————————-

Jeffrey Smith is offering a special day of

SPEAKER TRAINING
WHEN: Sunday May 1st  @  9:30am-5:00pm
WHERE:Columbia University, Uris Hall (business school), Room # Uris 301.
CONTACT:  margherita@responsibletechnology.org 641-209-1765
www.responsibletechnology.org/

Cost: $80
Columbia University students: Free (donations gratefully accepted)

Spend a day with international bestselling author and filmmaker Jeffrey M. Smith to learn how to speak about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and to organize effective activism on the issue. Help achieve the tipping point of consumer rejection to force GMOs out of our food supply!

Whether you want to be a leading anti-GMO campaigner or simply help out when you can, don’t miss this unique opportunity to learn from the leading spokesperson on GMO health dangers. Jeffrey has presented in 32 countries, counseled world leaders on every continent, and written the world’s bestselling book on the topic—Seeds of Deception.

You will learn:

The five components of a GMO presentation, and the studies, quotes, statistics, and concepts to convey.

Why genetically engineered foods are dangerous for our health and environment. How to customize PowerPoint slides (provided) for desired length and focus.

Proven ways to motivate people to change their diets on-the-spot.

During the workshop you will:

Receive a scripted PowerPoint, sample recorded lectures, a facilitators’ guide, and comprehensive list of reference materials.

Practice presenting in small groups; and

Have plenty of time for questions and answers, to gain confidence in the material.

“Don’t Put That In Your Mouth”

A Lecture and Q&A by Jeffrey M. Smith about the Dangers of Genetically Modified Foods

Don’t Miss the Most Important Food

Education Event of the Year

at

Greenwich Audubon on Wednesday, April 27

or

Community Film Institute, Fairfield on Thursday April 28

(Formerly Fairfield Community Theatre)

Buy tickets online now (Fairfield only)

Download a free Non-GMO Shopping Guide

Join international bestselling author Jeffrey M. Smith for a lecture about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and the dangers they pose to our health. Mr. Smith is the world’s leading spokesperson on the health dangers of GMOs and has launched “The Campaign for Healthier Eating in America”, an industry and consumer movement that takes action to remove GMOs from the US food supply. He is the Executive Director of the Institute for Responsible Technology (www.responsibletechnology.org) and his books present evidence linking GMOs to toxic and allergic reactions, sick livestock, and damage to virtually every organ studied in lab animals.

Smith’s first book Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies about the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You’re Eating became the world’s best-selling and # 1 rated book on GMOs. His second book, Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods, is the authoritative work that presents irrefutable evidence that GMOs are harmful. It includes 65 health dangers, linking GMOs to toxic and allergic reactions, thousands of sick, sterile, and dead livestock, and damage to virtually every organ studied in lab animals.

Many nations, including several in the European Union, have banned the planting of GMOs and former UK environment minister Michael Meacher says the revelations in Jeffrey Smith’s book, Genetic Roulette, may “change the global course of events this century.” The American Academy of Environmental Medicine now urges all doctors to prescribe diets without any GMO foods. Get up-to-date with this irreversible experiment with food crops and learn some steps that will protect you and all future generations. Topics will include the health dangers of GMOs, how to avoid them, and most importantly, how we can eliminate GMOs from our food supply – quickly.

Greenwich Audubon Event: Reception from 5:30-7:00 pm, lecture and Q&A from 7:00-9:00 pm. on April 27. $15 per person. Space is limited. RSVPs required. Contact Jeff at jcordulack@audubon.org or 203-869-5272 x239 for more information and to secure tickets for this special guest lecture.

Fairfield Community Film Institute Event, 1424 Post Road, Fairfield is sponsored by Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe and will take place from 7-9 pm on April 28. Tickets may be purchased online via BrownPaperTicket for $20 and at the door for $25 (if seats remain). You may also register by calling (203) 292-8190 or stopping by the Cafe on 39 Unquowa Road, Fairifield. Bonus event: A free screening on April 14 of “The World According to Monsanto” at the Cafe.

Fairfield Event Exhibitors

Fairfield Green Food Guide is a proud co-sponsor of both events and will be exhibiting at the Fairfield event along with Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe (event sponsor), Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm, Sport Hill Farm, Feeney Farm, and Northeast Organic Farming Association of CT (CT-NOFA).