Let Us Label, Or There Will Be Hell To Pay

Barry Estabrook, over at Gourmet's Food Politics, is telling us that genetically modified (GM) salmon may soon land on our dinner plate without us knowing it. Plop. Not that salmon will mysteriously appear, but that we won't know if the salmon we purchased at a supermarket or other fish counter had its genes modified to grow very big and very fast compared to its non-GM counterparts. We won't know because it won't be labeled as such. And the FDA prefers it that way.

The Center For Food Safety, in a letter responding to the FDA's September 18 draft guidance outlining the approval process for genetically engineered (GE) animals said:

"At a time when the FDA has inadequate resources to protect the food system and is reeling under allegations of conflicts of interest, this new proposal uses a secret approval process wherein no one other than FDA reviewers can see the data submitted before final approval. And, unlike drugs which can be recalled because they are labeled, FDA maintains that genetically engineered animals should not be labeled."

"Under this draft, the public cannot know if the review of a product met the highest scientific standards until after its approval, and then they cannot avoid the product in the marketplace because it is not labeled. The FDA feels it deserves the public's trust, but refuses to give us the tools to verify that it is doing its job fairly and adequately."

"While we support many features of the new animal drug process; it has major deficiencies for reviewing a technology as new as GE animals. Secret approval and lack of labeling indicates a complete lack of transparency and the potential conflicts of interest in an industry as small as the cloning/GE animal business cannot be reviewed without an open process. The FDA needs to request Congress to amend the new animal drug law so that the process is transparent AND it needs to require labeling so that the public can report any problems they discover with the product."

This lack of labeling applies to products made from GM organisms too, including sweeteners, fibers, pharmaceuticals, and supplements ... like fish oil.

There are a number of reasons why someone might want to opt out of consuming the products of genetic engineering - possible health risks to the GM organism, risks to the organism consuming the GM organism (us), risks to the environment, or ethical and religious reasons.

In fact, the Catholic Church considers genetic manipulation, and support of same, a mortal sin:

Pollution and genetic engineering, as well as drug dealing, abortion, pedophilia, social injustice and extreme wealth were now on record as mortal sins, those the Church deems most offensive to God and those that could land you a spot in hell without repentance.
- Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti, second in command at the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Vatican body responsible for confessions and absolutions, Vatican Official: New Sins On The Horizon

A spot in hell. Without a label, what's an abstainer to do? The end of the FDA's comment period is November 18:

Tell Congress to Support Labeling and Safety Testing of GE Foods
________

When Humanely Raised Is Not Humane

What I'm discovering about how poultry is raised in this country, and how eggs are produced, even supposed "organic" and "free-range" products, is making me ill. I fell for advertisements that claimed chickens roamed freely, were not in cages, and were humanely handled.

It is not humane to:

Slice off a bird's beak (which has a high concentration of nerve endings), with a hot blade, without anesthesia, leaving the bird at times so mutilated it cannot eat properly. This is done to, as one organic egg producer explained to me, prevent cannibalism. "When chickens are crowded together ... their innate sense of pecking order is obliterated. ... They become violent and sometimes peck each other to death." ^{1, 2}

"Cage-Free," "Free-Range," "Organic," "Certified Humane," and other labels do not mean birds don't have their beaks mutilated, as the following examples demonstrate:

• Trader Joe's "Cage-Free" eggs come from hens with mutilated beaks.
  
• Shelton's "Free-Range" eggs come from hens with mutilated beaks.
  
• The Country Hen "Organic" "Cage Free" eggs come from hens with mutilated beaks.

Speaking of The Country Hen ... a private organic labeling program, the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) "denied certification to The Country Hen because [The Country Hen] did not provide its birds with access to the outdoors." The USDA overruled NOFA (the next day!) and ordered them to issue The Country Hen an organic certificate. NOFA/MICI sued the USDA for overruling them. It went to court. A judge ruled that "accredited certifying agents have no right to appeal when USDA overturns their decisions." ^{3, 4}

This effectively thwarts the ability of private organic labeling programs to make certifications. It's especially disconcerting that the USDA can do something like this without gathering information or holding a hearing:

"No one from USDA ever reviewed our files, talked to our certification committee, or even asked us a single question concerning the denial."
- Don Franczyk, a NOFA/MICI certification administrator

The state where I live has a USDA-accredited organic certifying agency, the Pennsylvania Certified Organic program (PCO) that specifically allows beak severing as part of its organic certification.

It is not humane to:

"Deny hens food and water to "shock" their bodies into a new egg-laying cycle," a practice called "forced molting." Great Britain banned forced molting in 1987. ^{1, 2}

It is not humane to:

Cut off birds' toes and claws. "Bird's toes and claws often become permanently entangled in the wire on which they're forced to stand (99% of hens that lay eggs in the US are kept in cages). The producers typically handle this difficulty by simple cutting off the birds' toes and claws." ¹

It is not humane to:

Dispose of non-egg-laying male chicks by "throwing them into garbage bags to suffocate, or hurling them live into a giant meat grinder, then feeding them back to chickens or other livestock." ^{1, 2}
________
If you'd like to investigate the meaning of a particular label, go to the Consumer Reports site called Greener Choices, Eco-Labels Center, and type in your label. About "free range" it said:

The "free range" label doesn’t necessarily mean the animals went outdoors. ... and ... "Free range" claims on eggs are not regulated at all.

________¹ The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World, John Robbins, p. 191-194
² Chickens, Eggs and the “Free-Range” Fallacy, Monica Engebretson, Satya, 2006
³ The National Agriculture Law Center, In re Massachusetts Independent Certification, Inc., OFPA Docket No. 03-0002

"Order Dismissing Petitioner's Appeal (April 27, 2004) In this decision, the Judicial Officer concluded that he did not have jurisdiction over the proceeding and dismissed petitioner’s appeal. This decision is based on the Agricultural Marketing Service Administrator’s decision to overrule the Massachusetts Independent Certification, Inc.’s (MICI) denial of organic certification to egg producer The Country Hen. MICI, a NOP/OFPA organic certifying agent, denied certification to The Country Hen because the applicant did not provide its birds with access to the outdoors, a requirement under NOP regulations. Nonetheless, the Administrator directed MICI to issue an organic certificate, prompting MICI to file an appeal with the USDA challenging the Administrator’s authority to overrule MICI and order the certifying agent to issue certification. MICI bases its right to appeal under both OFPA and the Constitution’s Due Process clause. Relevant litigation documents are located on the website of the Farmer’s Legal Action Group, Inc. (FLAG) at http://www.flaginc.org/news/MICI/MICI.htm
FLAG is representing MICI in this matter, and provides hypertext links to pertinent orders, complaints, briefs, and petitions."

⁴ USDA Decision Jeopardizes Organic Standards In Attempt to Quell Dispute Over Organic Eggs, NOFA Massachusettes, 2006

Related posts:
Where Do You Get Your Eggs?
"Certified Humane" Allows Beak Cutting

Meals High In Saturated Fat Increase Insulin Resistance

More evidence¹ for the benefits of a low-fat diet, especially a low-saturated fat diet.

This month, from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:

Distinctive Postprandial Modulation Of Βeta Cell Function And Insulin Sensitivity By Dietary Fats: Monounsaturated Compared With Saturated Fatty Acids, AJCN, September, 2008

"High-fat meals increased the postprandial concentrations of insulin, triglycerides, and FFAs, and they enhanced postprandial β cell function while decreasing insulin sensitivity."

"These effects were significantly ameliorated, in a direct linear relation, when MUFAs were substituted for SFAs."

"The data presented here suggest that β cell function and insulin sensitivity progressively improve in the postprandial state as the proportion of MUFAs with respect to SFAs in dietary fats increases."

MUFA - monounsaturated fatty acid (olive oil is a good source)
SFA - saturated fatty acid (meats and dairy fats are good sources)
FFA - free fatty acid

These were postprandial measurements (taken shortly after eating), as opposed to fasting measurements. It makes me wonder how useful an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is, since it only administers glucose, not fat - and most people consume some amount of fat in their meals. If fat can increase insulin resistance, you may not be able to clear glucose after an average meal as effectively as you did during an OGTT.

________¹ Related posts:
Dietary Fat Raises Insulin Levels, May 2008
Type Of Fat Eaten Affects Insulin Levels, May 2008
The More Fat You Eat, And The More Saturated That Fat, The Higher Your Risk For Diabetes, September 2008
Photo of Whole Foods Cheddar from Kirk Samuels' 365 Cheeses site.

Body Weight Fee

Do you support health insurance surcharges for carrying extra weight?

State employees in Dothan, Alabama will soon have to pay $25 per month for health insurance (which is usually provided at no cost) if their BMI exceeds 35:

Overweight Surcharge, Dothan Eagle, August 29, 2008

This is a slippery slope. I can understand the state trying to offset some of its costs for providing health insurance. But which behaviors and conditions do you penalize?

Would it be okay to charge someone for having high cholesterol or high blood sugar? For being depressed? For living in a high crime area? These are all modifiable factors that impact health.
________
The graphic up there allows you to calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI) via the NIH's Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's site.

Where Do You Get Your Eggs?

Since the topic of eggs came up, here's an article my best friend sent to me last week:

Sorting Through the Claims of the Boastful Egg, New York Times, September 16, 2008

It defines:

"CAGE FREE - The agriculture department says this means that the chickens were kept out of cages and had continuous access to food and water, but did not necessarily have access to the outdoors."

"FREE RANGE - The agriculture department says that in addition to meeting the cage-free standards, free-range birds must have continuous access to the outdoors, unless there’s a health risk present. There are no standards, though, for what that outdoor area must be like. (A concrete lot could do.)"

The article includes other definitions, including the meanings of: ORGANIC, VEGETARIAN-FED (chickens are not vegetarians), NO HORMONES (meaningless, no hormones are approved for any eggs), NO ANTIBIOTICS, NATURALLY-RAISED, and some on how humanely the animals were raised. Only one of the following is preferred:

• ANIMAL WELFARE APPROVED (Preferred. No more than 500 birds/flock. No debeaking.)
  
• CERTIFIED HUMANE RAISED AND HANDLED (Cage-free, not necessarily outdoors. Dense housing, 1.5 sq. ft. per bird.)
  
• AMERICAN HUMANE CERTIFIED (Cage-free, not necessarily outdoors. Dense housing, 1.25 sq. ft. per bird.)
  
• UNITED EGG PRODUCERS CERTIFIED (Not endorsed by animal welfare groups. Dense housing, 67 sq. in. per bird, less than a sheet of paper. A member of the Egg Producer's own advisory board says that 80 inches is a "meager" space allowance that is "barely enough for the hen to turn around," let alone spread her wings.)
  

David Sudarsky, writing for The Vegetarian Site in 2004, discovered that:

• Trader Joe's "Cage Free" hens are debeaked.
  
• Shelton's "Free range" hens are debeaked.

Birds are debeaked (rather inhumanely) when they are housed in high-density environments.

People in California are fortunate. They get to vote for Proposition 2 this November, which could at least put an end to battery cages, something Europe has done away with. Right now, "almost all of California's 19 million egg-laying hens are packed into battery cages, forced to stand on wire and denied the ability to perch or nest."
________Related posts:
"Certified Humane" Allows Beak Cutting
When Humanely Raised Is Not Humane

Germy Poultry

Consumer Reports tested chicken for campylobacter or salmonella, the leading bacterial causes of foodborne illness. They found a lot of germs.

Dirty Birds: Even ‘Premium’ Chickens Harbor Dangerous Bacteria

They tested 525 fresh, whole broilers bought at supermarkets, mass merchandisers, gourmet shops, and natural-food stores in 23 states. They found an average of 83% were contaminated with campylobacter, salmonella, or both:

No-antibiotics brands: Bell & Evans (air-chilled) Buddy’s Coleman MBA Brand Smart Chicken (air-chilled) Murray’s North Country Farms Ranger Rocky Rocky Jr. Springer Mountain Farms Wegman’s Whole Foods

USDA Organic brands: Coastal Range Coleman D’Artagnan Eberly’s Maverick Ranch MBA Brand Smart Chicken (air-chilled) Organic Raised Right Rosie Whole Foods Wise

Not that a wild bird couldn't harbor infectious bacteria. But our farming of poultry, including tight housing and sloppy slaughter practices (organic or not) contribute to higher contamination rates.

(I was reading that Happy Hen Organic Fertile Brown Eggs from Pennsylvania, which are advertised as coming from hens that run free "in a natural setting" and are "humanely housed in healthy, open-sided housing, for daily sunning - something Happy Hens enjoy." are actually housed in barns containing more than 7000 birds each ... "the wall-to-wall birds are severely debeaked; and individual hens have even less space than the abysmal industry standard.")

When it comes to cleanliness, I can see it doesn't pay to spend extra on organic, air-chilled, antibiotic-free, gourmet, or other high-end poultry.
________

Obama And McCain On Healthcare

Below is a health questionnaire, developed by Research!America, that all 2008 presidential and congressional candidates were invited to complete.

Senator Obama submitted his answers first. They were made public and available to subsequent respondents. The only other presidential candidate to respond so far has been Senator McCain.

You can read their full answers at www.YourCandidatesYourHealth.org

I've integrated the short answers from Senators Obama and McCain. Senator McCain chose not to select an answer from the multiple-choice list, replying exclusively through comments. This foils a stark comparison between the two.

After reading through it all several times, it's apparent that Obama did more homework than McCain on healthcare.

In some places their responses mirrored each other; it looked like one (McCain's) was based on a template of the other (Obama's).

There were some differences that stood out for me:

Obama's health care plan:

• Guarantees coverage for every American. (Creates a National Health Insurance Exchange to help Americans and businesses purchase private health insurance directly.)
  
• Closes doughnut hole in Medicare prescription drug benefit. (Halleluiah.)
  
• Distributes annual prescription drug report to seniors that details their spending and outlines options for reducing spending by switching to a new plan. (Boy, is this needed.)
  
• Funding:
  • Allocates money (grants, loans, training, assistance) to schools and workplaces for prevention plans.
    
  • Gives $10 billion/yr for 5 years to move health records from paper to computers.
    
  • Increases funding to the NIH, CDC, AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality), FDA.
    
  • Doubles foreign aid assistance by 2012.
    
  • Increases funding to state and local health departments and hospitals.

McCain's health care plan:

• Will work to provide health care to more Americans.
  
• Provides families with a $5,000 refundable tax credit ($2,500 for individuals) to purchase insurance of their choice. (Some of that money comes from a new tax he has proposed on our employer-supplied health benefits.)
  
• Reduces the use of hospitals and nursing homes. (I don't get this one.)
  
• Aims to increase personal responsibility for health.
  
• Supports surcharges for unhealthy behaviors, reduced premiums for healthy behaviors
  
• Funding:
  • Recommends decisions be made at the local level for prevention plans.
    
  • No commitment of money to move health records from paper to computers, but supports the idea.
    
  • No commitment to increase funding to the NIH, CDC, AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality), FDA.
    
  • No commitment to increase foreign aid assistance.
    
  • No commitment to increase funding to state/local health departments and hospitals.

Similarities between Obama and McCain:

• Increase competition among insurers, providers.
  
• Allow people to keep their current coverage.
  
• Support drug re-importation. (Why can't drug companies charge the same here as they do abroad? It would save money not having to export drugs, then reimport them so people can pay the lower prices charged in other countries.)
  
• Oppose the intentional creation of human embryos for research.
  
• Support mental health parity (mental health services covered on a par with physical health services).

________
Your Candidates Your Health Questionairre:
(You can also access answers from your Senators and Representatives who are up for election this fall.)

1. Which of the following statements best describes your view of our current health care system?

• Overall, the health care system is working and needs only some minor adjustments
  
• Significant changes are needed to make our health care system work much better
  
• Our health care system is broken and needs a complete overhaul

Obama Answer - Our health care system is broken and needs a complete overhaul.
McCain Answer - (Declined to make a selection.)

2. In a recent survey, a majority of Americans (81%) say they are dissatisfied with the cost of health care in this country. As President how will you address health care costs for Americans?

See their comments.

3. Do you agree or disagree that it is the responsibility of the federal government to ensure all Americans have basic health care coverage?

• Agree
  
• Disagree
  
• Don't know
  
• No opinion

Obama Answer - Agree
McCain Answer - (Declined to make a selection.)

4. How well do you think the Medicare prescription drug benefit for seniors is working?

• Working very well
  
• Working well
  
• Working somewhat
  
• Not working well
  
• Don't know
  
• No opinion

Obama Answer - Not working well
McCain Answer - (Declined to make a selection.)

5. What strategies would you use to increase the focus on prevention and wellness in our health care system?

See their comments.

6. Most agree that the use of standardized electronic health records (EHRs) will make the health care system more efficient and reduce medical errors. As President, do you think the cost of implementing EHRs should be paid for by the public sector, the private sector or some combination of the two?

• Public
  
• Private
  
• Combination
  
• Don't know
  
• No opinion

Obama Answer - Combination
McCain Answer - (Declined to make a selection.)

7. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the agency that funds most of the medical and health research paid for by U.S. taxpayers. Since 2003, funding for the NIH has been outpaced by inflation. Which of the following statements comes closest to your view on funding for NIH?

• Funding for NIH is not a priority
  
• Current U.S. funding for medical and health research is sufficient and other budget items are higher priorities now
  
• The U.S. must increase investment in NIH as a critical strategy to improve health care

Obama Answer - The U.S. must increase investment in NIH as a critical strategy to improve health care
McCain Answer - (Declined to make a selection.)

8. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is charged with protecting the health and safety of Americans. In recent years, funding for core programs (such as chronic disease and injury prevention, tobacco control and environmental health) at the CDC has been cut. Which of the following statements most accurately reflects your view?

• Funding for CDC core programs is not a priority
  
• Maintain current funding levels for CDC core programs because other budget items take precedence
  
• Increase funding for core programs at CDC to improve public health

Obama Answer - Increase funding for core programs at CDC to improve public health
McCain Answer - (Declined to make a selection.)

9. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is the lead federal agency charged with funding health services research, which seeks to rapidly translate discoveries from research into medical practice and improve the quality, safety and effectiveness of health care. Since 2002, funding for AHRQ has been cut or remained flat. Which of the following statements most accurately reflects your view?

• Funding for AHRQ is not a priority
  
• Current funding for AHRQ is sufficient and other budget priorities exist
  
• AHRQ funding should be increased as a strategy to improve health care quality and safety in the U.S.

Obama Answer - AHRQ funding should be increased as a strategy to improve health care quality and safety in the U.S.
McCain Answer - (Declined to make a selection.)

10. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety and effectiveness of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation's food supply, cosmetics and products that emit radiation. Which of the following statements best reflects your opinion?

• Funding for FDA is not a priority
  
• Current funding levels are sufficient for FDA to fulfill its mission
  
• Current funding levels for FDA are not keeping pace with accelerated drug and device creation or the increasing globalization of food supplies

Obama Answer - Current funding levels for FDA are not keeping pace with accelerated drug and device creation or the increasing globalization of food supplies
McCain Answer - (Declined to make a selection.)

11. How important would you say it is that the U.S. work to improve health globally? If important, please describe how you plan to increase our nation's role in promoting and improving global health. If not, please explain why.

• Very important
  
• Somewhat important
  
• Not too important
  
• Not at all important
  
• Don't know
  
• No opinion

Obama Answer - Very important
McCain Answer - (Declined to make a selection.)

12. Do you support or oppose increasing federal funding for state/local health departments and hospitals across the country that are expected to prepare for and respond to threats to our health?

• Support
  
• Oppose
  
• Don't know
  
• No opinion

Obama Answer - Support
McCain Answer - (Declined to make a selection.)

13. Current evidence suggests that the U.S. is experiencing shortages and/or poor distribution of certain health care professionals. How high a priority would you say it is for policy makers to create more incentives to encourage individuals to pursue careers as:

Physicians

• A top priority
  
• High priority
  
• Somewhat of a priority
  
• Not too much of a priority
  
• Low priority
  
• Not a priority at all
  
• Don't know
  
• No opinion

Obama Answer - Top priority
McCain Answer - (Declined to make a selection.)

Nurses

• A top priority
  
• High priority
  
• Somewhat of a priority
  
• Not too much of a priority
  
• Low priority
  
• Not a priority at all
  
• Don't know
  
• No opinion

Obama Answer - Top priority
McCain Answer - (Declined to make a selection.)

Dentists

• A top priority
  
• High priority
  
• Somewhat of a priority
  
• Not too much of a priority
  
• Low priority
  
• Not a priority at all
  
• Don't know
  
• No opinion

Obama Answer - Top priority
McCain Answer - (Declined to make a selection.)

14. Do you support or oppose expanding federal funding for research using embryonic stem cells?

• Support
  
• Oppose
  
• Don't know
  
• No opinion

Obama Answer - Support
McCain Answer - (Declined to make a selection.)

15. Do you agree or disagree that mental health services should be part of all health care plans in the public and private sectors?

• Agree
  
• Disagree
  
• Don't know
  
• No opinion

Obama Answer - Agree
McCain Answer - (Declined to make a selection.)

16. Comparative effectiveness research compares two alternative treatments for the same condition to see which works better for the average patient. Many feel Medicare and private insurers should only cover the most effective treatment. Others feel, since comparative effectiveness only determines which treatment works best on average, the ultimate decision as to what treatment to be used should be left to doctors and not the government or insurance companies. Which is closer to your own view?

Do you feel that:

• Comparative effectiveness research should be used by insurers and government to deny coverage for treatments that are less effective on average
  
• Comparative effectiveness research should be used to inform patients and doctors but the decision on which treatment to use should be made by patients and doctors, not government or insurance companies
  
• Don't know
  
• No opinion

Obama Answer - Comparative effectiveness research should be used to inform patients and doctors but the decision on which treatment to use should be made by patients and doctors, not government or insurance companies
McCain Answer - (Declined to make a selection.)

17. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? "The U.S. is in danger of losing its global competitive edge in science, technology and innovation." If you agree, what approach would you take to change this trend?

• Agree
  
• Disagree
  
• Don't know
  
• No opinion

Obama Answer - Agree
McCain Answer - (Declined to make a selection.)
________

Ceramic Peeler

Am I late to the ceramic peeler game? Oh, it doesn't matter. I'm here and I'm glad. I'm growing quite attached to this peeler.

Compared to my trusty, rusty straight peeler, this Kyocera Y-Shaped Ceramic Peeler:

• Is sharp! It has remained sharp. It's advertised as being able too hold its edge ten times longer than a stainless steel (SS) blade. I think they might be telling the truth.
  
• It won't rust. Rust tastes terrible.
  
• Its "Y" shape is easier to grip, delivering these increasingly claw-like hands from evil, Amen.
  
• It shaves off the thinnest, almost translucent peels, preserving precious vitamin A near the skin. My old SS peeler carved away a good 2 or 3 millimeters. Downright pulp-maker that thing.
  
• It's dishwasher safe.
  
• It shares a name with a cell phone I once owned. I grew attached to that Kyocera too.
  
• It can be had for under $10.

Everyone's peeling should be so sublime.________Photo: Homegrown

Is Bayer's Pesticide Killing Bees?

Some background: The USDA claims that bees pollinate $15 billion worth of US crops; that one in three mouthfuls in the typical American diet has a connection to bee pollination.

In his recent column for Gourmet magazine, Barry Estabrook (who I still can't believe Gourmet is allowing to write for their magazine, but I'll read his every word until they receive enough complaints and pull him) (Then again, Gourmet did publish David Foster Wallace's article on the ethics of lobster cooking, where he asked, "Is it all right to boil a sentient creature alive just for our gustatory pleasure?") shed some light on the disease killing bees - in droves - across the US and Europe. It's being called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).

German beekeepers suspect one of Bayer's best-selling pesticides, clothianidin, is killing the bees.

A German prosecutor is investigating [top executives at] Bayer CropScience, after critics alleged that they knowingly polluted the environment.

"We're suspecting that Bayer submitted flawed studies to play down the risks of pesticide residues in treated plants." said Harro Schultze (attorney for the Coalition Against Bayer Dangers). ¹

The pesticide is a known nerve toxin to bees. France conducted their own studies years ago and won't approve it, or its cousins. Germany just suspended sales of the chemical after "a state-run crop research institute in Germany collected samples of dead honeybees and determined that clothianidin caused the deaths." ¹

What's going on in the US? The EPA "approved the pesticide in 2003 under the condition that Bayer submit additional data." ¹ They didn't have to submit the data before approval? What a deal.

Since then, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed a request to the EPA, under the Freedom of Information Act, concerning the pesticide's toxicity. The EPA failed to respond.²

On August 18, 2008, the NRDC sued the EPA for this information.²

The EPA is an acronym for the Environmental Protection Agency.

Wait, this gets more insane. Congress gave the USDA $20 million to get to the bottom of CCD. So we have one branch of government, the EPA, withholding information that could resolve the crisis, while another branch, the USDA, gets funded, via our tax dollars, to find out what the EPA knows but isn't telling.

And even more insane. "In recent Congressional hearings, the USDA was unable to account for the $20 million."²

The USDA says that worsening bee die-off is contributing to the increase in food prices. So we, as taxpayers, are paying twice for this nefariousness. Once at the food market, and again in our taxes.

In the meantime, truckloads of clothianidin and its kind are being delivered and dispersed on crops like there's no tomorrow.
________¹ Bayer On Defensive In Bee Deaths, The News&Observer, August 26, 2008.
² EPA Buzz Kill: Is The Agency Hiding Colony Collapse Disorder Information? NRDC Forced To Sue To Get Public Records On Bee Mystery, NRDC Press release, August 18, 2008.

Budgeting: Taxes and Food

From Friday's Washington Post:
Obama and McCain Tax Proposals

"According to a new analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are both proposing tax plans that would result in cuts for most American families.

Obama's plan gives the biggest cuts to those who make the least, while McCain would give the largest cuts to the very wealthy."

Click for larger.
Do you think it will be enough to offset the rising cost of food? (Look at the jump for fats and oils. Is that because they can be used to make fuel?)


Click for larger.Source: USDA Consumer Price Index for Food Forecast and Food Price Outlook 2008
________

David Foster Wallace, 1962-2008

Sad day today:

Writer David Foster Wallace Was Found Dead Last Night At His Home In Claremont, California. He Was 46. His Wife Told Claremont Police That The Novelist And Humorist Who Wrote 'Infinite Jest' Hanged Himself Friday Night

If you read this blog, you might be familiar with David Foster Wallace by my post, David Foster Wallace Considers The Lobster ... where I included a few excerpts from his unsettling and almost-unpublished essay that appeared in Gourmet magazine in 2003.

As a tribute, here's another excerpt. It's from another of his essays, "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again", from his book (a collection of essays) of the same name.

The fun thing he'd never do again was take a cruise. He did it on assignment from Harper's, who paid him to "go, plow the Caribbean in style, come back, say what you've seen."

Here, he describes an exchange between two of his tablemates ("On a 7-Night Caribbean Cruise you eat at the same designated table with the same companions all seven nights."):

"Nothing escaped the attention of Trudy and Ester - the symmetry of the parsley sprigs atop the boiled baby carrots, the consistency of the bread, the flavor and mastication-friendliness of various cuts of meat, the celerity and flambé technique of the various pastry guys in tall white hats who appeared tableside when items had to be set on fire (a major percentage of the desserts in the Five-Star Caravelle Restaurant had to be set on fire), and so on. The waiter and busboy kept circling the table, going "Finish? Finish?" while Ester and Trudy had exchanges like:

"Honey, you don't look happy with the conch, what's the problem."
"I'm fine. It's fine. Everything's fine."
"Don't lie. Honey with that face who could lie. Frank am I right? This is a person with a face incapable of lying. Is it the potatoes or the conch? Is it the conch?"
"There's nothing wrong Ester darling I swear it."
"You're not happy with the conch."
"All right. I've got a problem with the conch."
"Did I tell you? Frank, did I tell her?"
[Frank silently probes own ear with pinkie.]
"Was I right? I could tell just by looking you weren't happy."
"I'm fine with the potatoes. It's the conch."
"Did I tell you about seasonal fish on ships? What did I tell you?"
"The potatoes are good."

________Photo of David Foster Wallace during a book reading in 2006, from Steve Rhode's Flicker photostream. More there.

The More Fat You Eat, And The More Saturated That Fat, The Higher Your Risk For Diabetes

That has been the finding of several large epidemiological studies.

• It was the finding of the San Luis Valley Diabetes Study:
Dietary Fat Predicts Conversion From Impaired Glucose Tolerance To NIDDM. The San Luis Valley Diabetes Study

... which found that an extra 40 grams of fat a day led to a 3.4 times increased risk for type 2 diabetes. That association was adjusted for obesity and energy intake... meaning someone could be lean and not eat a lot, but if what they did eat was high in fat, it raised their risk for diabetes.

• It was the finding of the EPIC-Norfolk Study in the US:
Fat Consumption And HbA1c Levels

... which found that HbA1c (an indicator of average blood glucose over the previous three months) was positively associated with total fat intake ... the more fat one ate, the higher their average blood glucose. It also found that the more saturated the fat, the higher the average blood glucose. These findings, as above, were adjusted for obesity and energy intake.

• It was the finding of two cohorts in the Seven Countries Study:
Dietary Factors Determining Diabetes And Impaired Glucose Tolerance. A 20-Year Follow-Up Of The Finnish And Dutch Cohorts Of The Seven Countries Study

... which found that "a high intake of fat, especially that of saturated fatty acids, contributes to the risk of glucose intolerance and [diabetes]." These findings, as above, were adjusted for obesity and energy intake.

For so many years, I thought it was the carbohydrate.
________Photo of double cheeseburger from Aman*Duh's Flicker photostream.

Peas

________Photo: Homegrown

We Are More Bacteria Than We Are Us

And that's a good thing. I think.

I've been giving microorganisms a hard time. I need to show more respect. I owe my life to them. So do cows for that matter, and just about all other living things: ¹

"Neither cows nor termites can digest the cellulose of grass and wood without communities of microbes in their guts."

"Certain families of plants (such as the pea family, including peas, beans, and their relatives such as clover and vetch) cannot live in nitrogen-poor soil without the nitrogen-fixing bacteria in their root nodules, and we cannot live without the nitrogen that comes from such plants."

Talk About Symbiosis

"Fully ten percent of our own dry body weight consists of bacteria, some of which, although they are not a congenital part of our bodies, we can't live without."

I may outweigh them, but cell-for-cell, my bacteria outnumber me by a factor of 10:
Humans Carry More Bacterial Cells than Human Ones

According to the authors of Microcosmos, all life is nothing but symbiosis:

"All visible organisms evolved through symbiosis, the coming together that leads to physical interdependence and permanent sharing of cells and bodies."

"The most important examples of symbiosis [are] the chloroplasts (of all plants) and the mitochondria (of all plants and all animals), both of which were formerly independent bacteria."

(Above is a diagram of a mitochondrion I swiped from Wikipedia. Most of our cells contain these; some cells have thousands of them. Our mitochondria came from our mother, they were in the fertilized egg at conception. Mitochondria generate most of our energy (in the form of ATP). This function requires oxygen, and is why we breathe/intake oxygen. Mitochondria are descendants of bacteria and contain their own DNA - different from our own. )

"Let evolution continue a few million years more, for example, and those microorganisms producing vitamin B₁₂ in our intestines may become parts of our own cells."

If a vitamin is any organic substance that our bodies cannot synthesize, but which our bodies cannot live without, then bacteria must be the mother of all vitamins. Or maybe my bacteria (that 10% of my body weight that I voluntarily carry around so they don't have to grow muscles or a skeleton, that, for crying out loud, I breathe for) consider me their primary vitamin.

Gotta run, my bacteria just sent a message to my brain via my gut that they want some food.
________¹ Microcosmos: Four Billion Years of Microbial Evolution, Lynn Margulis, Dorion Sagan, 1997.

Food Availability in the US from 1909 - 2008

The USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) recently updated their three data sets on food availability in the US:
Food Availability (Per Capita) Data System

Food availability doesn't equate directly to food consumption; spoilage and waste aren't accounted for. One of the data sets, Loss-Adjusted Food Availability, "adjusts aggregate food availability data for nonedible food parts and food lost through spoilage, plate waste, and other losses in the home and marketing system." It accounts for some loss but only goes back to 1970, that I can tell.

I can't determine how or if they accounted for food produced by a consumer, instead of by a marketing entity. That is, if you're eating eggs from your hen or carrots from your garden, are they accounted for in these data sets? It doesn't look like they are.

Still, as a proxy for consumption, they're revealing.

So, did we eat more meat 100 years ago than we do today? (Click graphs for larger.)


Grain:


Fats and oils:


This one shows just oat products. What's that blip between 1988 to about 1995?


A couple beverage graphs ... First, coffee/tea/cocoa. Imagine if Starbucks was around in the 40s? (When I was growing up, everyone drank hot coffee with breakfast. I see a lot more carbonated beverages these days.)


Is America more a wine- or beer-drinking country?


Using data in their Loss-Adjusted Food Availability Set, I generated this graph for calorie consumption. We're eating (or what is available for us to eat) 519 more calories a day (24% more) than we did in 1970.


You can easily generate these charts on their site. The raw data is accessible in Excel worksheets too. It's what I used for the calorie graph. I could play with this all day.
________
Photo above is of a kitchen classroom in a housekeeping flat, New York, circa 1910, from Shorpy: The 100-Year-Old Photo Blog. Here's another: "December 1936. Farmer's wife churning butter. Emmet County, Iowa." (Click for larger.)

Is Grass-Fed Safer Than Grain-Fed Beef?

Possibly not.

Bill Marler posted some research:
Grass-Fed vs Grain-Fed Beef and the Holy Grail: A Literature Review

Some highlights:

"E. coli O157:H7, Campylobacter, Salmonella, and other dangerous pathogens have been repeatedly isolated from both grass and grain fed livestock."

"Studies by other researchers worldwide have since found little difference in acid resistant E. coli O157:H7 among grain- verses grass-fed cattle, and some even found more E. coli O157:H7 shed by grass-fed animals."

"Outbreaks have been traced back to grass-fed and pastured animals, as well as animals in feedlots. Notably, the E. coli O157:H7 spinach outbreak strain in 2006 was isolated from grass-fed cattle."

"Another outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 was linked recently to raw milk and colostrum from cattle raised organically on grass."

He concluded:

"In summary, the scientific evidence at this time does not support a broad conclusion that grass feeding significantly reduces the risk of E. coli O157:H7 or other dangerous foodborne pathogens from entering the food chain."

________