Foods That Kill

http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=BCED96C19361449686F6E68ED178FFFF

USDA Uncovers Plot to Import Fake Chinese Organic Food

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/health-headlines/2011/2/18/usda-uncovers-plot-to-import-fake-chinese-organic-food.html

Fix the U.S. Food Safety System Now!

Target: U.S. Congress
Sponsored by: Consumers Union

Our nation's lax food safety system has deadly consequences. Nine people died in the recent tainted-peanut products outbreak, and countless others suffered terribly. We need Congress to pass strong food safety reform this year, before another deadly outbreak occurs.

Americans have suffered through unnecessary food contamination nightmares in recent years, including spinach, pet food and peppers. As the recent salmonella outbreak in peanut products revealed, the FDA rarely inspects U.S. food processing plants or tests for contaminants. And it does just as poor a job of inspecting imported food.

We need Congress to support real reform for a stronger food safety system! Send your message today and urge your member of Congress to support the Food Safety Enhancement Act now!


deadline: Ongoing...
goal: 25,000

12,535
signatures!


http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/673377770?z00m=19837914

Early Blight, New Strains, Potato Crop, Canada

EARLY BLIGHT, POTATO - CANADA: NEW STRAINS
******************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases


Date: Tue 17 Mar 2009
Source: Manitoba Co-operator [edited]
Click on title above to see article;



Potato blight develops fungicide resistance
-------------------------------------------
Samples taken last summer [2008] by provincial potato specialists and
ag chem firm Bayer CropScience show "widespread" presence of fungi
that have mutated to resist the fungicides used most often to control
them. Of 113 isolates of _Alternaria solani_, the cause of early
blight in potatoes, Bayer said over 80 percent carried the F129L
mutation that causes "reduced sensitivity to strobilurins."
Strobilurins "don't work as well as they have in the past." Early
blight leaf tissue samples were collected during the summer of 2008
in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island [PEI].

"Initial results confirm that mutant strains are widespread in
Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario, which is not surprising given the
widespread distribution of mutants in the United States," said Rick
Peters, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. "To date, PEI is the only
area that we've surveyed where all samples were still sensitive to
strobilurins, likely due to the less frequent use of strobilurins in
this province."

"We're putting our heads in the sand if we ignore this growing
issue," said potato pest specialist Tracy Shinners-Carnelley of
Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives. "When the risk for
early blight is high, use the available tools appropriately in a
planned program. And if strobilurins are part of that program, they
must be tank mixed with a protectant fungicide."

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail


[Early blight of potato and tomato is caused by the fungus
_Alternaria solani_. It causes leaf spots and tuber blight on potato,
and leaf spots, fruit rot, and stem lesions on tomato. The disease
can occur over a wide range of climatic conditions and can result in
complete defoliation and severe yield losses. The pathogen often
causes no visible symptoms until plants approach maturity. It is
spread with infected plant material (including tubers, transplants
and seed), by mechanical means, wind, and rain. Solanaceous weeds and
volunteer crop plants may serve as pathogen reservoirs. Disease
management includes use of certified clean propagation material,
fungicides, crop rotation, and use of cultivars with reduced
susceptibility.

Strobilurins are strongly antifungal agents produced by fungi. Being
derived from natural products, strobilurins are considered
environmentally safe. Like several other fungicide classes, they have
single-site activity and therefore pathogens must be expected to
develop resistance or tolerance over time.

The finding that many strains of _A. solani_ with increased tolerance
levels to this important group of fungal control agents have emerged
is of major concern to potato and tomato industries worldwide.
Furthermore, it highlights the importance of rotating or mixing
chemical classes for management of all fungal pathogens, as suggested
above, to reduce the risk of resistant strains emerging.

Maps
Canada:
and


Pictures of early blight
On potato leaf:

On potato tubers:

On tomato fruit:


Links
Early blight fact sheets (with pictures):
,
,
, and

Management of potato diseases including early blight:

_A. solani_ taxonomy:

Information on strobilurins:
,
,
and
. - Mod.DHA]

[see also:
Blight & undiagnosed disease, potato, chilli - Bhutan 20090211.0612
Leaf blight, potato - Bangladesh: (KH) 20090121.0255
2008
----
Fungal diseases, potato - Bangladesh 20080107.0091]
........................................dha/mj/jw
*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Become a ProMED-mail Premium Subscriber at

************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at .
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org
(NOT to an individual moderator). If you do not give your
full name and affiliation, it may not be posted. Send
commands to subscribe/unsubscribe, get archives, help,
etc. to: majordomo@promedmail.org. For assistance from a
human being send mail to: owner-promed@promedmail.org.

Rat LungWorm Infection through Eating of Vegetables

ANGIOSTRONGYLUS MENINGITIS - USA (02): (HAWAII)
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases


Date: Sun 22 Mar 2009
Source: KPUA Hawaii News, Associated Press (AP) report [edited]



Rat lungworm patients recovering
--------------------------------
Two Big Island victims of a rare disease spread through homegrown
vegetables have emerged from their comas.

[The 38-year-old woman] has come out of the coma caused by rat
lungworm disease enough to respond to friends and her parents. She
has been hospitalized since 8 Dec 2008. [The 24-year-old man] is now
conscious and able to track people with his eyes. He was put in
intensive care in January [2009].

Both remain at Hilo Medical Center, where they are breathing with the
assistance of a machine. The disease is spread through vegetables
containing larvae of a slug that carries the rat lungworm. A 3rd
person who contracted rat lungworm disease has recovered enough to
walk and live at home.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Brent Barrett

[ProMED-mail thanks Brent Barrett for the follow up report on the 3
patients. The CDC fact sheet on angiostrongyliasis can be found at
or by clicking onto the title above;

The HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of Hawaii is available at
. - Mod.EP]

[see also:
Angiostrongylus meningitis - USA: (HI) 20090106.0046
2008
----
Angiostrongylus meningitis - Ecuador: (Los Rios) 20081231.4123
2007
----
Angiostrongylus meningitis - Brazil (ES) 20070414.1244
2000
----
Eosinophilic meningitis - USA (Chicago) ex Jamaica (03) 20000508.0705
1998
----
Angiostrongylus cantonensis - USA (LA & MS) 19981113.2193
Angiostrongyliasis & eosinophilic meningitis (03) 19980511.0928
1997
----
Angiostrongylus costaricensis - Dominica (05) 19970619.1306]
...................................ep/mj/jw
*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Become a ProMED-mail Premium Subscriber at

************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at .
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org
(NOT to an individual moderator). If you do not give your
full name and affiliation, it may not be posted. Send
commands to subscribe/unsubscribe, get archives, help,
etc. to: majordomo@promedmail.org. For assistance from a
human being send mail to: owner-promed@promedmail.org

HR 875: Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 / A Very Bad Idea

From Clay Hill Farm Blog;

I love the Farmer's Market. One of my favorite things to do on a weekend is drop by the market and bring home fresh ingredients for the evening meal - there's nothing better, except growing the food yourself! And, while this is not a political blog, it is a blog about my life and our farm. And I just discovered a bill that has the potential to catastrophically affect both.

HR 875 (Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009) is sponsored, evidently, by a representative whose husband has ties to Monsanto. Monsanto is a large biotechnology company that is heavily vested in the factory farm model. They're the guys who tried to patent pig breeding, and the guys who created "terminator" seeds whose plants don't produce viable seeds - the farmer has to keep going back to Monsanto to get more seeds each year. Not exactly friends of the small farmer, huh?

The bill is very broadly written and includes anyone who grows or produces food for human consumption. There is no exception for small farms, or even for backyard gardens. The fines are staggering (up to a million dollars for each incident?). If this bill passes, most of the folks I know will be unable to afford to grow produce or meat for the farmer's market or even for their own family's use without running afoul of the law.

The regulatory burdens of this bill are staggering, too. Food producers (and if you grow tomatoes in the summer, YOU are a food producer, according to this bill) are required to keep extensive records, to test soil (and keep the samples) and to follow government regulations regarding the type of fertilizer used, temperature controls, etc... fines for failure to comply can be up to one million dollars per incident.

And I don't believe that the law will be used only to deal with large corporations - if the state is given a power, the state has the potential to abuse that power. And, the thing is, we already have many of these regulations in place through the USDA and the FDA. Why create another level of bureaucracy when simply fully staffing these agencies with the appropriate number of inspectors would solve many of the current problems we've seen?

In a poor economy, the ability to grow one's own food could make a huge difference in one's standard of living. We can't let that right be taken from us, and we must look out for the small farmers who provide organic meat and produce at the local level. If you eat, this bill has the potential to affect you.

You can read more about the bill here: Campaign for Liberty and here: Open Congress HR 875. And, if the content of this bill alarms you at all, please consider writing your representatives to tell them how you feel. Help us save the Farmer's Market! Thank you to Dunappaloosa at Small Farm Living for bringing this to my attention.

http://clayhillfarm.blogspot.com/2009/03/very-bad-idea.html