Finally FDA bans Trans fat and partially-hydrogenated oils. What would it take for FDA to ban genetically modified foods?
In the last few weeks, Food and Drug administration has been imposing regulations and safety rules for pet food manufacturers and has finally imposed a ban on Trans Fat and partially-hydrogenated oils. In a press release, FDA announced that Trans fat and partially-hydrogenated oils (PHOs) are no longer ‘generally regarded as safe’ by the agency and food manufacturers can no longer use PHOs as food additives.
In a Press release FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. said that “while consumption of potentially harmful artificial trans fat has declined over the last two decades in the United States, current intake remains a significant public health concern. The FDA’s action today is an important step toward protecting more Americans from the potential dangers of transfat. Further reduction in the amount of trans fat in the American diet could prevent an additional 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease each year – a critical step in the protection of Americans’ health.” http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm373939.htm
Partially-hydrogenated oils and Trans fats have been killing the American public for a long time:
Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil is made by reacting vegetable oil with hydrogen. When this occurs, the level of polyunsaturated oils (good fat) is reduced and trans fats are created. Trans fats can be found in foods such as vegetable shortening, some margarines, crackers, candies, baked goods, cookies, snack foods, fried foods, salad dressings, and many processed foods.
The junk food industry uses Trans fats (usually made from GM soybean) and Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil as one of the main ingredients in manufacturing processed and junk foods. Trans fats are associated with a wide range of diseases including heart disease, breast and colon cancer, atherosclerosis and elevated cholesterol levels.
What would it take for FDA to come out of the closet and ban other harmful additives, MSG, high fructose corn syrup, heavy metals and toxic foods like GMOs?
Although I admit that FDA does some good and keeps some dangerous stuff away from public by banning it (especially man made drugs), I do disagree with their opinion on many areas such as considering toxic foods, additives and preservatives like GMOs, MSG, aspartame and high fructose corn syrup ‘safe’. I also disagree on their war against raw milk and use of colloidal silver for antibiotic and colloidal platinum for fighting cancer tumors. Raw milk, banned by FDA, is the absolute nonsense that almost every country on the planet laughs at U.S. and even in this country many people laugh at the stupidity of banning raw milk since humans have been safely drinking raw milk from cows for thousands of years.
30 other countries have banned GMOs and more than 56 other countries have required GMO labeling, what do these countries know that we don’t?
More and more countries are banning GM foods and posing restricted laws on genetically modified organisms, while the giant agribusinesses in US spend millions of dollars to keep toxic GMOs hidden in our food supply. Recently, the giant biotech and chemical companies spend $23 million against the will of majority of Americans to defeat ‘Yes on 522’ in Washington. Find out how once again the corporate money seems to buy I-522 elections - Cockroaches will always find a way.
Blatant conflict of interests
The strong ties between US regulatory agencies (FDA, EPA and USDA) and biotech companies including Monsanto and DuPont has raised many questions and concerns among health activists and consumers on why these individuals are allowed to get involved with this blatant conflict of interests.
The role of governmental regulatory agencies must be to keep toxic foods, additives and preservatives away from the public and ban foods that pose a threat to public health. Many people might still believe that FDA performs independent studies and research on its own before approving a product but the truth is that FDA totally relies on the studies that are presented to them by giant Agribusinesses and junk food industry. This is when the giant biotech and chemical companies spend more time and money advertising and selling their products than independent studies and long-term tests about the safety of their products.
For many years now, the key figures in governmental regulatory agencies including FDA and USDA have held important positions in toxic producing companies including Monsanto or DuPont.
Last year, more than 380,000 people signed a petition urging president Obama to cut the strong ties between FDA and Monsanto by removing Mike Taylor (FDA commissioner and former attorney and Monsanto's VP and chief lobbyist) from his position as FDA’s deputy commissioner. The petition states: 'Taylor was in charge of policy for Monsanto's now-discredited GM (genetically modified) bovine growth hormone (rBGH), which is opposed by many medical and hospital organizations. It was Michael Taylor who pursued a policy that milk from rBGH-treated cows should not be labeled with disclosures.'
In fact, The history of Monsanto and FDA starts at 1991 when Margaret Miller (one of the ex-top scientists at Monsanto) was appointed as Deputy Director of FDA by George Bush Sr. Margaret Miller, as one of the top scientists in Monsanto was working on developing rBGH growth hormones linked to breast cancer on women and prostate cancer in men. Later on when she was working in FDA, she approved the same growth hormones that she was previously studying at Monsanto. Click here to find more about the political corruption of Monsanto and its influence on FDA.
How could we minimize the influence of these giant pharmaceutical, chemical and biotech companies?
In every single election in this country, the giant corporations spend billions of dollars lobbying to buy their favorite candidate in order to receive large federal corporate tax breaks and other advantages that come with penetrating deep inside the governmental agencies.
Even if you try to bar corporate campaign contributions, the members of the board will personally contribute and if the board members aren’t allowed to contribute, their spouses will find a way to do it. They are always loopholes for corporations who have the power to buy the elections since they have the most experienced attorneys in the back of their pockets and can pursue legislators to write laws on their favors.
These corporations are treated above the law and so far, any attempts from any group or political party to control corporate contributions have failed:
As a matter of fact, Howard Dean who ran for presidency in 2004 was thrown under the bus by the Democratic National Committee itself, simply because people asked him not to get money from corporations.
The reality is that most of our food supply is regulated and controlled by the same company that was responsible for one of the deadliest chemical weapons in the history of mankind. Giant Pharmaceutical, chemical and biotech companies are all in the business of selling sickness and if there is an opportunity to make profit, even at the expense of destroying our health and environment , they would not hesitate to do it.
The fact is that, eight giant pesticide companies are also the world largest pharmaceutical companies and biggest world biotech companies. These large pesticide companies are also the largest producers of the world’s treatments for cancer, diabetes and many other health problems.
Pharmaceutical and biotech companies spend a lot more money on promotion of their products rather than research or independent studies. In fact, in US alone, people see as much as 16 hours of prescription advertising each year. Researchers at the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity have discovered that kids watch more than 1,000 advertisements for fast food each year. In 2012, the average U.S. preschooler viewed 2.8 fast food ads on TV every day, according to "Fast Food FACTS 2013". [Source: http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/many-fast-food-ads-does-child-see-164800202.html]
The giant pesticides, biotech and pharmaceutical companies are in the business of inventing diseases like Social Phobia, Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Attention deficit disorder and have been very successful to sell mind altering drugs with severe side effects.
As ridicules as it sounds, anxiety is now considered a clinical illness and our children as young as three years old are hooked on anti-depressants like Prozac, Paxil and Zooloft. In fact, drug companies, just like Tobacco industry know that if you get these kids hooked on your product when they’re young enough, you have them as a customer for life.
That’s why in Hillary Clinton's health plan the words "diet" and "exercise" appear once compared to the word ‘drug’ that appear at least 14 times. As the standup comedian Bill Maher says, “We all have hear the sleazy ads and cunning tactics of giant Pharmaceutical companies on when diet and exercise fail, it’s time to pop a pill. But the truth is that diet and exercise don't fail and a new study by Duke University study that shows exercise, (just exercise on its own) is as effective for curing depression as Paxil and Zooloft. So ask your doctor if getting off your ass is good for you”.
The biotech, pesticide and drug companies are spinning out of control and FDA refuses and fails to go after big Pharmaceutical and biotech companies that manufacture and sell diseases and profit from the other end which is treating the diseases they create.
The bottom line is that the giant chemical, biotech and Pharmaceutical companies might be very powerful and resourceful, but so are we. In fact, there is more of us and less of them. They would do anything they could to hurt informational sites and blogs like SeattleOrganicRestaurants by spreading misinformation, lies, demonization and attacks on a regular basis to sabotage our reputation. Find out top 10 Reasons why @OrganicLiveFood is being attacked and demonized by pro-GMO crowd.
