Over 50% Chemicals Aren’t Tested

13Jun10

Is it any surprise that over half of all chemicals in this database haven’t had any testing done? Yes humans love to rush things don’t they?

Filed under: Environment, Health and Wellness, Science   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: ACToR, chemical, database, EPA, pesticide, research, Science, toxin

Your Food, Your Choice: Grounds for Change

04Feb10

COG Toronto is holding its annual conference with an impressive line up of speakers in the organics movement including Baerbel Hoehm, the first Agricultural Minister for the German Green Party and Michael Schmidt, the raw milk dairy farmer. The event will happen on Saturday, February 20, 2010 9 am to 5 pm at the University of Toronto Conference Centre (89 Chestnut St., Toronto).

Filed under: Organic Agriculture, Environment, Food, Toronto, Events, Conferences, GMOs, Ethics, Agriculture, Health and Wellness, CALLS TO ACTION   |  6 Comments
Tags: frankenfoods, gmo, LMOs, Margaret Webb, Michael Schmidt, Organic Agriculture, organic farming, organics, Percy Schmeiser, Pfenning, raw milk, Rick Smith, Tom Manley

7 Points for Fantastic Food and Cities

22Nov09

Dr. Wayne Roberts spoke on food policy and a new vision for cities at Toledo Library in the US. As always his witty humour is always a hit. The photos he uses in the presentation are also quite insightful. Dr. Roberts also proposes hopeful solutions and answers to fixing cities and the food system. If you want the quick written summary you can read it below.

Filed under: Agriculture, Community Development, Community Gardening, Composting, Conferences, Environment, Food, Food Distribution, Food Justice, Food Retail, Food Security, Food Sovereignty, Gardening, Global/World, Health and Wellness, Local Agriculture, Meat Me Organic, Policy and Law, Skill Development, Society, Soil Management, sustainability, Toronto, Urban Agriculture, Urban Development, Vegetables and Fruit, vermicomposting, Video/Film, Youth   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: careers, cities, colleges, Community Development, community food systems, Community Gardens, development, direct trade, economy, fair trade, Food, job, policy, public health, standard of living, urban, Wayne Roberts

Home Pesticides Linked to Childhood Cancers

20Sep09

Apparently pesticide poisons in the home are a big factor in causing bone marrow cancer (aka. ALL). When scientists did a urine test they found that 33% of kids whose mothers used pesticides in the home had cancer than those who did not (14%). These pesticide poisons are found in at least 85% of all homes.

Filed under: Environment, Health and Wellness   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: acute lymphoblastic leukemia, bone marrow, malignant, OP, organophosphates, pesticides

How Vegetarianism Can Stop Global Warming

20Aug09

Eating meat spews out more air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions than driving cars. In fact, cutting meat out helps more than switching to a Toyota Prius (2 times as much) or eating locally (12 times as much). Unfortunately lots of people like eating lots of meat as we’ve mentioned in a previous post.

Filed under: Agriculture, Food, Food Distribution, Food Security, Food Sovereignty, Gardening, Health and Wellness, Local Agriculture, Organic Agriculture, Science, Urban Agriculture, Vegetables and Fruit   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: animals, consumption, energy, food miles, freight, health, lagoons, lifecycle, Lifestyle, manure, meat, Prius, Toyota, vegan, vegetarian

Super Bacteria in Fertilizer Breeding More Super Bugs

21Jul09

According to research just published in the European medical journal Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, that exact scenario may have already happened. Scientists have recently found antibiotic resistant super bugs in sewage sludge — and they are sounding the alarm about the danger of antibiotic resistance genes passing into the human food chain.

Filed under: Health and Wellness, Medicine   |  1 Comment
Tags: antibiotics, bacteria, fertilizers, super bugs

Killer Bugs in Our Pork

20May09

We don’t put antibiotic drugs in baby food or cereal and yet agribusiness keeps giving them to healthy animals. Now we’re creating superbugs that our drugs can’t kill.

Filed under: Agriculture, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Ethics, Food Safety, Health and Wellness   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: antibiotics, factory farming, hog farms, industrial agriculture, MRSA, pathogens, pathology, pig, pork, resistant, staph, swine flu, virology, viruses

The Real Deal: Who Created Swine Flu…

17May09

Fingers are pointing to our current system of agriculture for the outbreak of swine flu (H1N1). When you decide to cram a lot of pigs together you’re creating a perfect place for disease to grow and thrive. In particular, some fingers are pointing towards a massive pig farm run by Smithfield Corporation.

Filed under: Agriculture, Environment, Global/World, Health and Wellness   |  2 Comments
Tags: Agriculture, disease, factory farming, farming, flu, H1N1, industrial agriculture, pig, swine flu

Factory Farming Is Among Top 8 Killers

12May09

Taxpayers are demanding that government enforce existing regulations and create more stringent rules to limit the excess and greed in banking, insurance, housing, and on Wall Street. But, in the rush to regulate, we can’t forget to oversee industrial agriculture. It is one of our most polluting and dangerous industries. Like the financial sectors, its practices have not been well regulated for the last thirty years. Let me run down a few of the major problems that have developed because of our poorly regulated U.S. agriculture.

Filed under: Agriculture, CSR, Environment, Food Sovereignty, Health and Wellness, sustainability   |  3 Comments
Tags: Agriculture, Burger King, chemical, CSR, Environment, factory, farming, industrial, KFC, McDonald's, pollution

Less Means More: Get Your $ Worth with Organic

08May09

Leifert wastes no time getting to his findings. Organic farming methods “are the only way forward,” he begins his talk at COG. “Even in the short term, organic is the only way to achieve acceptable yields.”

Filed under: Agriculture, Environment, Food Sovereignty, Health and Wellness, Organic Agriculture, research   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: academics, carlo leifert, chemicals, ecologically friendly, farming, fertilizers, Food Sovereignty, inputs, low input, Newcastle University, nitrogen, NPK, nutrition, Organic Agriculture, organic farming, pesticide, phosphorous, potash, potassium, qlif, quality, research, sustainable farming, vitamins