globalbriefs


News and resources to inspire concerned citizens to work together in building a healthier, stronger society that benefits all.


Whale Wars Military Exercises Threaten Sea Life


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Gumption Citizen Action Wins Against Monsanto and More


he Center for Food Safety (CFS), a national nonprofit


advocating in the public interest, works to protect human health and the environment by curbing the use of harmful food production technologies and promoting organic and other forms of sustainable agriculture. It confirms that actions such as signing petitions really do make a difference. For instance, the CFS cites a hard-fought campaign that pushed the U.S. Food and Drug Administra- tion (FDA) to respond to a lawsuit and remove arsenic from chicken feed. They credit the thousands of consumers that joined the effort, saying, “Together, we forced the FDA to remove arsenic ingredients in animal feed used for our nation’s chickens, turkeys and hogs, and 98 of the 101 drug approvals for arsenic-based animal drugs will be withdrawn.”


More recently, CFS reports that half a million citizen phone calls and emails had a significant effect in killing an extension of the so-called “Monsanto protection act” in the Senate. Formally named the Farmer Assurance Provision, the measure undermined the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s authority to ban geneti- cally modified crops, even if court rulings found they posed risks to human and environmental health.


Source: CenterForFoodSafety.org 10 Natural Awakenings San Antonio


uring the next five years, the U.S. Navy’s war games, using live


munitions in our coastal waters, will potentially kill 186 whales and dolphins off the East Coast and 155 more off Hawaii and Southern California, according to computer models. Rear Admiral Kevin Slates rationalizes the casualties by stating, “Without this realistic testing


and training, our sailors can’t develop or maintain the critical skills they need or ensure the new technologies can be operated effectively.”


On the upside, marine scientists are currently using mobile devices to reduce the number of whales struck and killed off California’s coast by large commercial ships. An app called Whale Spotter employs crowd-sourcing to gather data, allowing sailors, fishermen and marine scientists that spot whales to plot their locations on an interactive map. Such a network can track marine mammals in real time as they migrate. These maps are useful to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Coast Guard officials responsible for recommending changes in vessel routes.


Source: Tinyurl.com/NavyWhaleWars


Life Threat Evidence Mounts of GMO Dangers


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he nonprofit Non-GMO Project, committed to preserving and building sources of non-GMO (genetically modified organism) products and educating consumers on such verified choices, is focusing on Bt corn and Bt soy, which make up 90 percent of America’s total crop. Its scientists explain, “These crops have genes from a bacteria called bacillus thuringiensis spliced into their natural genetic code. This causes the plant to produce Bt-toxin—a pesticide that bursts the stomach of insects that eat it, killing them.” Monsanto and Syngenta, which manufacture genetically engineered seeds, claim that genetically modified (GE, GM or GMO) crops are safe for humans because the Bt-toxin is completely destroyed in the human digestive system and doesn’t have any impact on animals and humans. But Norwegian scientists’ decade-long study of rats, mice, pigs and salmon


raised on GE feed published in 2012 found that due to alterations in their digestive tracts, the animals ate more, got fatter and were less able to digest proteins; they also suffered from diminished immune systems. There is also mounting evidence that the spread of such crops is responsible


for the dramatic decline of the monarch butterfly, the near annihilation of bats and the spread of honeybee colony collapse syndrome.


To get involved, visit NonGMOProject.com.


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