Tag: food

‘Alarming’ Levels of Toxins Found in Popular Frozen Meals

In the early 1900s, many Americans lived in rural areas and engaged in farming. Homegrown foods, fresh produce and locally sourced meats were staples of the U.S. diet. Food processing at the time was minimal, focusing on methods like canning, fermenting and preserving to extend the shelf life of seasonal produce.

By the mid-20th century, America became more industrialized and many people moved to urban areas for jobs. This shift reduced the ability to grow and source food locally, increasing reliance on commercially produced foods. By the late 20th century, the food industry continued to innovate, creating ultraprocessed foods designed for convenience, taste, long shelf life and profits — not nutrition.

Aggressive marketing campaigns and advertising by food companies promoted ultraprocessed foods as desirable and convenient, with many brands, like Stouffer’s, also promoting a wholesome image with “scratch-made taste.”1 But underneath their claims of quality and “ingredients you can feel good about”2 is a dark side — “alarming” levels of toxins in every bite.3

Popular Frozen Food Earns Toxic Rating

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) Food Scores is an online database that rates more than 80,000 foods, 5,000 ingredients and 1,500 brands.4 The scoring system evaluates products based on three key factors: nutrition, ingredient concerns and processing concerns. Each food product is given a score on a scale from 1 (best) to 10 (worst).

Among the brands evaluated is Stouffer’s, which makes popular frozen meals like lasagna, macaroni and cheese and French bread pizza. Though convenient, consuming these meals may come at a steep cost to your health. Healthy Holistic Living reported:5

“The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a respected authority on the intersection of environmental issues and human health, recently turned its investigative lens towards the frozen food industry, with Stouffer’s landing in a particularly harsh spotlight. The findings? Alarming, to say the least.

Stouffer’s products, especially the Cheesy Chicken Bacon Ranch frozen bowl, earned the ignominious distinction of scoring a ’10’ on EWG’s toxicity scale — the worst possible rating — a clear indicator of severe health and safety concerns.”

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Energy Drinks Linked to Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Energy drinks are under scrutiny following research linking their consumption to sudden cardiac arrest.1 The beverages have soared in popularity in recent years among those looking for a quick boost. Energy drinks are the No. 2 most consumed supplement after multivitamins among adolescents and young adults,2 and their market size is expected to reach $90.49 billion in 2028.3

The cocktail of stimulating ingredients in energy drinks, however, could be putting heart health at risk, especially among people with certain genetic heart conditions. According to researchers from the Mayo Clinic, energy drinks may be “arrhythmogenic foods” that increase the risk of sudden cardiac arrest.

Energy Drinks May Increase Risk of Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Cardiac arrest occurs suddenly due to a malfunction in the heart that causes it to stop beating. An electrical signal in the heart may lead to arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat, including ventricular fibrillation, which is the No. 1 cause of cardiac arrest. It describes a heartbeat so rapid that the heart trembles instead of pumping blood.4

“Energy drinks can trigger life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias,” researchers wrote in the journal Heart Rhythm. “It has been postulated that the highly stimulating and unregulated ingredients alter heart rate, blood pressure, cardiac contractility, and cardiac repolarization in a potentially proarrhythmic manner.”5

The study involved electronic medical records of all sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) survivors with proven arrhythmias who came to the Mayo Clinic Windland Smith Rice Genetic Heart Rhythm Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for evaluation. Among 144 SCA survivors with pre-existing genetic heart conditions, seven of them — or 5% — consumed one or more energy drinks around the time the cardiac arrest occurred.

Lead study author Dr. Michael J. Ackerman, Ph.D., genetic cardiologist at Mayo Clinic, explained in a news release:6

“While there seemed to be a temporal relationship between energy drink consumption and the seven patients’ sudden cardiac arrest event, a myriad of potential ‘agitators’ that could have also contributed to a genetic heart disease-associated arrhythmia occurred, like sleep deprivation, dehydration, dieting or extreme fasting, concomitant use of QT-prolonging drugs, or the postpartum period.

As such, unusual consumption of energy drinks most likely combined with other variables to create a ‘perfect storm’ of risk factors, leading to sudden cardiac arrest in these patients.”

That being said, previous studies have linked caffeine and sudden cardiac death. A 16-ounce energy drink may contain 80 milligrams (mg) to 300 mg of caffeine, along with other stimulant ingredients. Panera Bread recently removed caffeinated lemonade from its menu after lawsuits alleged they caused two deaths from cardiac arrest.7

“Although the relative risk is small and the absolute risk of sudden death after consuming an energy drink is even smaller, patients with a known sudden death predisposing genetic heart disease should weigh the risks and benefits of consuming such drinks in the balance,” Ackerman said.8 For people with genetic heart disease, the researchers concluded, “an early warning should be made about the potential risks of these drinks.”9

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Experimental biosynthetic food to replace natural food is happening, now!

A comprehensive presentation by Kate Mason at the recent 100-year Biodynamic Conference in Australia cast light on the true extent of biotechnology experimentation currently underway and also on the techniques being used to deceive the public about its intent and scope.

For one hour at a staccato pace, Mason flashed document after document on the screen detailing the involvement of national and international government and corporate interests determined to alter the nature and content of our food supply. If you can manage it, it is a truly frightening watch. It spoke volumes about the need for the International Genetic Charter.

Wildly imaginative biotech projects are being sold to governments by corporations under the cloak of a glossy facade of virtue signalling using deceptive buzzwords like sustainable development, regenerative agriculture, increased resilience, climate-smart mitigation, crop surveillance, strategic development, the food and agribusiness green revolution, transforming and future-proofing the food system, zero hunger, innovation, the fourth industrial revolution, increasing consistency, nurturing the planet and feeding the world. Whew!!!

Biosynthetic food products are even being falsely promoted as more nutritious than organic food. None of this is backed by sound science. Although most, if not all, of these projects are doomed to fail and will ultimately disappear off the menu, along the way our taxes are being diverted to pay the handsome salaries of biotechnology schemers hungry for profit and fame and boost corporate profits. More importantly, the experimentation will leave a toxic legacy of persistent genetic pollution which will continue to undermine plant health and human longevity through the generations.

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Waste Not, Want Not: The Costly Aftermath of Michigan’s Raid on Nourish Cooperative

This is a follow-up report from the government raid at Nourish Cooperative (which is a farm cooperative that provides farm-fresh food) on May 28, 2024. Link to full story posted last week, here.

Briefly, on May 28, 2024 (the beginning of the nationwide fearmongering around avian influenza in raw milk), Nourish Cooperative was raided, and over $90,000 worth of raw dairy products were put under “cease and desist” order by the state of Michigan.

Meaning, all of that nutrient-dense food was “under seizure,” just sitting in our fridge and freezers. For over two weeks.

It is pretty expensive to just pay energy bills to keep products in fridges and freezers that we can’t sell. Plus, we do not have endless fridge and freezer space to put new product in (that we are able to sell like raw aged cheese and meat).

So, on June 8, after it was pretty clear the government was not going to let us sell this product, we emailed MDARD (Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) asking if we can please remove this product from the fridge. We needed the space, and well, product was starting to sour, and kefir glass bottles were starting to explode. (That is to be expected as kefir continues to ferment, more and more gas is created). The fridge needed to be cleaned out ASAP!

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The Hunger Games: A simulation exercise that reveals their strategy for the war on food

In 2015 a two day simulation game was held dubbed by some as the “hunger games” 65 people played out a food crisis simulation set in the years 2020 to 2030.

Do you recall a pandemic simulation held in 2019 called Event 201 that served as a dress rehearsal for the response to the covid “pandemic” in 2020?

Well, it seems such simulations have been used for the war on food as well.  As pointed out by Tracey Thurman, the food crisis simulation, officially called the Food Reaction Game, reveals their strategy for the war on food.

What is the Food Chain Reaction Game?

On 9 and 10 November 2015, Thomson Reuters and other media organisations joined event organisers Cargill, CNA, Mars, World Wildlife Fund (“WWF”) and the Centre for American Progress for a simulation of a real-world food-crisis scenario called the ‘Food Chain Reaction Game: A Global Food Security Game’.

The simulation exercise was held at WWF’s headquarters in Washington DC where 65 international policymakers, academics, business and thought leaders gathered to game out how the world would respond to a future food crisis.

Over two days, the players – divided into teams for Africa, Brazil, China, the EU, India, the US, international business and investors and multilateral institutions – crafted their policy responses as delegations engaged in intensive negotiations.

The game was set between 2020 and 2030 and was based on a scenario of a global food crisis caused by population growth, rapid urbanisation, extreme weather events and political crises.

Each team was tasked with responding to the global food crisis by making decisions on food production, trade and policy. The game was played over several rounds, with each round representing a year from 2020 to 2030.

Cargill, of course, has a vested interest in understanding the future of food – where it will be grown, how it will be grown, and how it can be traded efficiently and sustainably. It’s their business.  “Cargill, the world’s largest agribusiness, has been a strong supporter both of this initiative and of WWF’s mission. As one of the organisers of Food Chain Reaction, Cargill provided a critical private-sector voice to the dialogue,” World Wildlife Fund noted.

“The most eye-catching result [ ] was a deal between the US, the EU, India and China, standing in for the top 20 greenhouse gas emitters, to institute a global carbon tax and cap CO2 emissions in 2030,” Cargill noted.

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War On Nation’s Food Supply?: Idaho Restricts Water To 500,000 Acres Of Farmland 

In late May, Idaho Department of Water Resources Director Mathew Weaver issued a curtailment order requiring 6,400 junior groundwater rights holders who pump off the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer to shut off their spigots.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little issued a statement following the order on May 30, “Water curtailment is never desired, but the director must follow Idaho law and the Constitution in issuing this order.” 

Brian Murdock, an East Idaho farmer, said the water curtailment affects 500,000 acres, which equates to roughly 781 square miles of farmland. 

“Well, as you said, the state of Idaho and the Idaho Department of Water Resources has issued this curtailment of 500,000 acres. And to help put that in perspective, that’s basically 781 square miles of farm ground that is being taken out of production,” Murdock told the hosts of Fox News. 

The grain and potato farmer continued, “And, of course, the worst problem is this is happening during a very plentiful water year. We have the reservoirs [that] are completely full, and when I mean full, they’re dang near breaking. The rivers are running as high as they possibly can. Just trying to keep those dams from breaking.” 

In eastern Idaho, groundwater users with junior water rights breached the 2016 agreement in 2021 and 2022. Currently, Gov. Little, the lieutenant governor, the Director of Water Resources, and representatives from groundwater and surface water user groups are discussing a new deal. The plan is to strike a new agreement before the curtailment dries up the farmland. 

Murdock told co-hosts Dagen McDowell and Sean Duffy that his family’s century-old farm faces a $3 million loss due to the state-issued order. 

“This is the largest curtailment in the history of the United States as far as farm ground,” Murdock said in a video posted on X. 

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California’s Tortilla Bill Threatens To Flatten Small Businesses

California famously became the first state to ban foie gras in 2004. Now, the Golden State is targeting another culinary tradition: the handmade tortilla. A new bill in Sacramento, if passed, would mandate adding folic acid to corn masa flour. Pushed under the auspices of public health, the costs of this well-intentioned idea—as always—will disproportionately fall on small businesses. 

Assembly Bill 1830, introduced by Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula (D–Fresno), would require all masa manufacturers to fortify their products with folic acid. This will affect producers of tortillas, as well as producers of pupusas, tamales, and taco shells, to name just a few. 

The rationale is based on research showing that the ingestion of folic acid by women of reproductive age can reduce neural tube birth defects, such as spina bifida and anencephaly. 

Since 1998, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has mandated folic acid fortification in enriched flours, which has resulted in a 35 percent reduction in neural tube birth defects, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

However, the FDA mandate does not apply to unenriched grain or corn masa flour. Evidence suggests that Latina mothers have lower folic acid intake than other demographics, resulting in higher rates of birth defects. California Department of Public Health data show only 28 percent of Latinas reported taking folic acid before pregnancy, compared to 46 percent of white women. A 2009 CDC study suggested that mandatory fortification of masa could boost folic acid intake by up to 20 percent among Mexican Americans. 

In 2016, the FDA implemented rules that allowed producers of masa flour to voluntarily add folic acid to their products. A 2023 report by the Center for Science in the Public Interest found that only 14 percent of masa products contained folic acid, prompting calls for mandatory fortification. 

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Pentagon Wants to Feed Troops ‘Experimental’ Lab-Grown Meat to ‘Reduce CO2 Footprint’

A Pentagon-funded company is seeking proposals to feed America’s soldiers lab-grown meat in a bid to “reduce the CO2 footprint” at Defense Department outposts.

BioMADE, a public-private company that has received more than $500 million in funding from the Defense Department, announced earlier this month that it is seeking proposals to develop “innovations in food production that reduce the CO2 footprint of food production at … DoD operational environments,” according to an online announcement.

These include “novel cell culture methods suitable for the production of cultivated meat/protein,” or lab-grown meat, a product that is still in its experimental phases. This type of meat is grown in a lab from animal cells with the aid of other chemicals, and has emerged as a flashpoint in debates about the efficacy and morality of manufacturing meat products without slaughtering animals.

BioMADE—which earlier this year received a $450 million infusion of taxpayer cash—maintains that lab-grown food products will reduce the Pentagon’s carbon footprint, a priority for the American military as it pursues a Biden administration-mandate to address climate change and other cultural issues that critics describe as “woke.”

“Innovations in food production that reduce the CO2 footprint of food production at and/or transport to DoD operational environments are solicited,” the company says in an informational document and accompanying press release. “These could include, but are not limited to, production of nutrient-dense military rations via fermentation processes, utilizing one carbon molecule (C1) feedstocks for food production, and novel cell culture methods suitable for the production of cultivated meat/protein.”

BioMADE is also soliciting proposals for “processes that convert greenhouse gasses” and “projects that develop bioproducts useful in mitigating the negative environmental impacts either regionally or globally,” including “bioproducts that can be used to prevent or slow coastal erosion.”

Critics of the DoD’s partnership with BioMADE say that U.S. troops should not be used as test subjects for lab-grown meat products that are still in their experimental phase.

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Government Raid Seizes $90,000 of Healthy Food Grown by Nourish Cooperative

There is a lot of fearmongering circulating in mainstream media about the “Avian Influenza”. In parallel to the fearmongering, there has been a large increase in the number of inspections and surveillance. Creating fear would certainly help better maintain control of the food system, wouldn’t it?

On Tuesday, May 28th, our farm co-op was randomly “inspected” (raided), and over $90,000 worth of product was put under “cease and desist” by the state of Michigan, including all raw dairy. As this is an evolving story, I will share what we know to be true thus far.

Nourish Cooperative is a farm cooperative that my sister, Sarah, and I started with a few other first generation regenerative farmers in September 2023. After several years of a steadily increasing demand for our farm fresh products (such as our raw milk, sourdough, and “needle-free” grass fed and/or corn- and soy-free meat), we simply could not keep up with the demand ourselves, which led us to create a “cooperative” (co-op) of several small, local regenerative farms.

Our goal is to produce the highest quality food possible while working with Mother Nature through the use of regenerative agriculture practices. This cooperative grew faster than we could ever imagine, and with that, I suppose, more problems arose, inevitably. If interested, you can read more about Nourish Cooperative here.

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1 In 3 Kids Have Elevated Levels Of Lead In Blood, As FDA Investigates Lead-Tainted Fruit Pouches

Many parents turn to fruit pouches whenever their children ask for a quick snack. These travel-friendly, resealable snacks are made from fruit purees designed to take the edge off your child’s hunger in a pinch.

They come in eye-catching and attractive packaging and are sweetened to suit kids’ flavor preferences.

But fruit pouches aren’t as great as they seem to be. Aside from being an inferior substitute for real fruits and fresh fruit juices, these seemingly harmless snacks can mess up your child’s health, as they are found to be contaminated with extremely high levels of lead.

FDA recalls three brands of fruit pouches due to lead contamination

In October 2023, the FDA warned parents and guardians to avoid buying WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches, after it was discovered that the snacks contained high levels of lead.

According to the FDA:

“Parents and caregivers of toddlers and young children who may have consumed WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches should contact their child’s healthcare provider about getting a blood test.

“Lead is toxic to humans and can affect people of any age or health status. Protecting children from exposure to lead is important to lifelong good health.”

Healthy Holistic Living reported that at least seven cases of severe lead poisoning linked to these fruit pouches were identified in more than five states, including Arizona, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri and North Carolina.

WanaBana then voluntarily recalled their fruit puree pouches, which were sold in grocery chains like Dollar Tree as well as online retailers like Amazon.

Following these findings, the FDA also issued a recall for two more brands of fruit pouches — Schnucks cinnamon-flavored applesauce pouches and variety pack, and Weis cinnamon applesauce pouches.

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