Tag: food

The Crucial Connection Between Animal Feed and Human Health

In our modern quest for optimal health, we often focus intensely on what we put on our plates. However, there’s a crucial aspect of nutrition that often goes overlooked: the diet of the animals we consume. (What we eat, eats) This oversight can have significant consequences for our health, particularly when it comes to our intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).

Consider this startling fact: conventional chicken is now the highest source of linoleic acid, an omega-6 PUFA, in the American diet. This means that a food many consider to be a healthy, lean protein source is actually contributing significantly to our overconsumption of PUFAs.

But it’s not just chicken we need to be concerned about. Pork, another staple in many diets, can be equally problematic. When pigs are fed a high-PUFA diet, their fat can have the same PUFA concentration as canola oil — a fact that might make you think twice about having several pieces of conventional bacon every single day for breakfast.

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The Globalized, Industrialized Food System Is Destroying the World—We Urgently Need to Support Local Food Economies

We can thank small farmers, environmentalists, academic researchers, and food and farming activists for advancing ecologically sound food production methods. Agroecology, holistic resource management, permaculture, and other methods can address many of the global food system’s worst impacts, including biodiversity loss, energy depletion, toxic pollution, food insecurity, and massive carbon emissions.

These inspiring testaments to human ingenuity and goodwill have two things in common: They involve smaller-scale farms adapted to local conditions and depend more on human attention and care than energy and technology. In other words, they are the opposite of industrial monocultures—huge farms that grow just one crop.

However, to significantly reduce the many negative impacts of the food system, these small-scale initiatives need to spread worldwide. Unfortunately, this has not happened because the transformation of farming requires shifting not just how food is produced but also how it is marketed and distributed. The food system is inextricably linked to an economic system that, for decades, has been fundamentally biased against the kinds of changes we need.

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If Common Chemicals Harm Frogs and Rats, What Are They Doing to Your Children?

The TED Talk below features Penelope Jagessar Chaffer, director of the documentary film “Toxic Baby,” and Tyrone Hayes, Ph.D., a professor of integrative biology at the University of California, who has dedicated most of his career to studying the health effects of the herbicide atrazine.

According to Chaffer, the average American woman today has 30,000 to 50,000 chemicals in her body that her grandparents did not have. Many of these chemicals have been linked to the rapidly rising incidence of chronic childhood diseases.

In her talk, Chaffer cites the following statistics, which are likely higher today, since this talk was given in 2010:

  • In the United Kingdom (U.K.), the incidence of childhood leukemia rose by 20% in one generation.
  • In Canada, the prevalence of asthma increased by 400% in 20 years; 1 in 10 children is now diagnosed with asthma.
  • In the U.S., childhood cancers have seen a similar rise as that of childhood leukemia in the U.K. Autism spectrum disorder has also increased by 600% in the past 20 years; the incidence of autism rose by 57% between 2002 and 2006 alone.
  • In the Netherlands, Rotterdam has seen a 400% increase in genital birth defects.

Obesity and juvenile diabetes have also skyrocketed, and while a high-sugar diet likely bears the brunt of the blame, there’s every reason to suspect that endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) — many of which enter our system via processed foods — add to the metabolic dysfunction we now see.

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The emasculation of the American male: Testosterone-crushing chemical herbicide banned in Europe gets sprayed freely on U.S. crops and ends up in our food

We’ve all heard about the historic drop in male testosterone levels over the past 50 to 60 years but rarely does anyone delve into the causes of this disturbing trend.

A recent guest on the Joe Rogan podcast blew the whistle on a chemical herbicide widely used on large swaths American croplands that has wrought catastrophic effects on the reproductive hormones and organs of the American male.

Atrazine, a herbicide sold under various brand names such as Bullet, Lariat, Guardsman Max, Bicep II Magnum, Dual II Magnum, Medal II, and others, is proven to have harmful effects on boys and men of all ages.

Dr. Casey Means explained that atrazine is widely present in American foods. It has even found its way into some public water systems. This testosterone-crushing chemical is banned across Europe but not the United States.

What is atrazine, and how does it do this?

The Vigilant News Network reports that Atrazine is a widely-used herbicide sprayed on crops like corn and sugarcane to control weeds. It disrupts hormone function by increasing the activity of an enzyme called aromatase, which converts testosterone into estrogen.

In men, this can contribute to conditions like decreased muscle mass, low libido, and even feminization.

U.S. farmers spray 70 million pounds of this tasteless, odorless, chemical on our food, while it’s illegal to do so in Europe.

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‘An Act of War’: Big Food Intentionally Addicting Kids to Toxic Foods

Big Food targets young consumers in the U.S. to get them addicted to unhealthy products — which frequently contain ingredients banned by other countries — according to two food safety and nutrition advocates interviewed on SiriusXM’s “Megyn Kelly Show.”

Vani Hari, an author and blogger known as the “Food Babe,” and Grace Price, an investigative journalist and filmmaker who produced “Cancer: A Food-Borne Illness,” are calling on U.S. food manufacturers to change their practices and produce foods with the same healthier ingredients the companies use in identical products they sell in other countries.

Last month, Hari and Price participated in a Senate roundtable on nutrition and the chronic disease epidemic in the U.S.

“We have an opportunity right now to let the American public know” about unsafe ingredients in foods sold in the U.S., Hari said during the interview. “We are under a massive experiment. If any other country was doing this to us, it would be considered an act of war … We’ve got to do something about it.”

Price, who is 18 years old, said American food manufacturers are using tactics that Big Tobacco pioneered to market harmful products to youth. “My generation is so clearly being targeted by these Big Food companies,” she said.

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Government Can Fix neither Food nor Farm

With the national health crisis, food debauchery, and farm exploitation suddenly jumping to headlines via RFK, Jr., numerous people have offered solutions but nothing I’ve seen truly gets to the heart of the problem.

Recently RFK, Jr. gave his recipe but in general, it’s yet another request for government intervention in these fields (pun intended). Capping drug prices, prohibiting research grants from going to people with conflicts of interest, and reforming crop subsidies to incentivize healthier alternatives all sound nice. Eliminating SNAP (formerly food stamps) from being spent on high fructose corn syrup drinks ($9 billion annually) sounds good too. 

Who can disagree with requiring nutrition courses in medical schools and demanding government research grants go toward holistic and alternative health approaches? All of this sounds good in theory, but how? Goodness, we now have official government findings that Cheerios and Fruit Loops are more nutritious than beef. Who is going to make the kinds of U-turns within the bureaucracies that such changes would require?

I remember well when President Obama was elected and Michelle put a garden on the White House lawn. My friends in the organic farming community thought the country would enter ecological farming nirvana…until someone said, “Remember, 10 miles of USDA offices will not change.” Therein lies the Achilles’ heel of all this nice-sounding rhetoric.

Epoch Times carried a full-page column by pediatric Dr. Joel Warsh last week titled “America’s Health Crisis: Expanding on RFK Jr.’s Plan to Make America Healthy Again.” As much as his thoughts may sound good, they still suffer from the same old government interventionist mindset. He wants a “National Emergency Declaration of Health.” Can you imagine the wrangling, jet fuel, focus groups, and lobbying that would occur with such an initiative?

He suggests we should “recreate the food pyramid” with good food and pastured meat and eggs on the bottom instead of the top. You’d have to move the entire climate change, cow farts narrative to make this happen. Then yet more government mandates: corporations with more than 100 employees “should be required to offer wellness programs that include fitness classes, nutritional counseling, and mental health services.” Oh my, we’ve now exchanged one nanny for another.

He wants health education taught in all public schools, regulations banning junk food ads when children watch TV, and subsidies for organic and transitioning farms. This is just a sampling of his list and much of it would indeed be good…if it were possible. But it’s not. Simply put, to get a legislative and bureaucratic push on these kinds of agendas is insanity according to Albert Einstein’s definition: “trying to solve a problem with the same thinking that created it.” I believe we are where we are in all these areas due to government micro-management; asking for government to get us out is asking for all the agencies, all the politicians, all the lobbyists, all the Happy Meals addicts, all the Chick-fil-A cultists, to do a 180. Ain’t gonna happen.

So you ask “Well, it’s easy to be negative. What’s your solution?” I think when we engage in these kinds of same-thinking solutions, we obfuscate the simple and consistent argument that carries the most weight.

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Children’s Diets Are Now “Over 70%” Ultra-Processed Foods; Dietitian Warns

It looks like the “Make America Healthy Again” movement could be showing up right on time…

At least according to one registered dietitian nutritionist in Los Angeles, who recently took to Fox News to lay out the risks from ultra-processed foods in the American diet. 

Ilana Muhlstein said on Fox news that America’s diet is 60% ultra-processed, but that kids consume even more than that. 

“With children, it’s actually over 70%. That is really wild when you think about it,” she said. “What we eat defines how our cells work, how our organs work, and we’re seeing a strong decline in mental health and well-being.”

And a recent BMJ study found that 60% of Americans’ daily calories come from ultra-processed foods (UPFs), which are linked to 32 poor health outcomes, including mental, respiratory, cardiovascular, and metabolic issues like cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes, according to Fox.

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Global Food Prices Jump Most In 18 Months As Supermarket Inflation Storm Worsens

The world could be on the cusp of another food inflation shock as the benchmark for world food commodity prices recorded the fastest monthly increase in 18 months in September.

A perfect storm of war in Eastern Europe and broadening conflicts in the Middle East, snarled maritime supply chains, extreme weather across croplands, de-growth climate change policies pushed by the far-left in the West, and rogue central bank money printing have all contributed to sticky food inflation.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ Food Price Index, which tracks the international prices of a basket of globally traded food, averaged 124.4 in September, up 3% from August and 2.1% higher versus the same month one year ago.

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Bill Gates uses vaccines and genetically modified crops to impoverish and reduce the world’s population

Bill Gates, through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has funded various scientific research programs and vaccination initiatives, such as “Grand Challenges Explorations.”

It’s not only his investment in vaccines globally that is the problem.  He has also invested in companies that contribute to poverty and pollution and seeks maximum returns on his investments regardless of the social cost.

Gates’ advocacy for vaccines is intertwined with population control, with many concluding his true interest is in reduced fertility or even the elimination of a significant portion of the world’s population.

In addition to vaccines, he has also supported genetically modified organisms in food, which have been linked to health and environmental issues such as the development of super-bugs and super-weeds.

His Foundation has invested in genetically modified crops research, claiming to help African farmers grow their own food but it has led to dependence on large corporations for seeds, pesticides and equipment.

You probably think the above is an introduction to an article written fairly recently, but it’s not.  The article that follows was written 9 years ago.

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Famine in Europe: the real goal of anti-Russian policies

The controversy over Ukrainian agricultural products continues. Ukrainian food products have simply invaded the European market and are driving thousands of farmers out of business. Despite the protests and political pressure, no EU decision-maker seems interested in changing this tragic scenario. However, the crisis seems to have even deeper dimensions and could be a real time bomb for the entire European society.

The Bulgarian government recently asked the European Commission to pass a resolution banning the import of Ukrainian chicken eggs. According to the Bulgarian authorities, the large amount of cheap Ukrainian eggs on the European market is hurting Bulgarian producers, who rely on egg sales as a vital part of their business. Thousands of Bulgarian farmers are going bankrupt, and the crisis is only expected to get worse in the near future.

The problem is not limited to eggs or Bulgaria. Selling grain, meat, dairy products and everything that is produced in the countryside seems to be no longer an attractive business in Europe. Since 2022, protests for change have been taking place in all parts of the European continent. From Poland to France, no European farmer is happy to see his products being replaced on the market by massive quantities of cheap Ukrainian agricultural items.

This is due to the irrational decision of European decision-makers to ban all import tariffs on Ukrainian food products. The measure is allegedly intended to boost the Ukrainian economy during the crisis caused by the conflict with Russia – which ironically is sponsored by the West itself. In the current European market, it is cheaper to import Ukrainian food than to resell the native products, which is obviously causing thousands of farmers to abandon their businesses.

As well known, most of Europe does not have a very strong agricultural sector, with local farmers relying on government aid to stay active in the market. Without this aid and with the invasion of Ukrainian products, it is simply no longer profitable to be part of European agribusiness, which is why thousands of people are likely to stop working in the rural areas and join the growing class of the European “precariat”.

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