Honey For Your Tea

This article really did make me shed tears, and it gave me that funny hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach.  25,000 bumblebees, needlessly slaughtered.  Although authorities are "[not] ready to pin the blame on the landscapers until they have investigated other pesticide applications in the area," they do think it is "a very strong possibility" that the massacre resulted from the spraying of nearby trees.

I am a gardener, and I do like my bees.  Having read this article, I am even more thankful that two bumblebees have decided to take up residence in my wooden garden fence posts.  They're amazing little creatures, with a bizarre crunching sound as they chew a hole for themselves in the wood.

Bees, as everyone knows, are very important for the pollination, and resultant produce bearing of many plants.  Without them, it is a very bleak outlook for our food supply.  Sadly, their populations are being threatened by colony collapse disorder, and there is mounting evidence that this caused by pesticide use; especially neonicotinoid pesticides (although the manufacturers of these pesticides routinely deny this allegation).  Some beekeepers and other supporters have taken legal action against the EPA for "approv[ing] registrations of the pesticides without providing the opportunity for public comment, thereby violating the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and the Administrative Procedure Act."  This is a great instance of people joining together.  If the Environmental Protection Agency is neglecting its responsibilities to protect, it is left up to us; we are our own best advocates, and we must join together to stand up for ourselves.  We need to protect the bees, and by extension protect us.

Yes, filing a lawsuit is a big step, but everyone can help with small steps at home like planting gardens and avoiding any use of pesticides.  Also, support your local beekeeper and buy local honey.  Imported honey (especially from India and China) has been shown to contain harmful substances like illegal antibiotics and heavy metals- and our U.S. grocery shelves are drowning in it.  There are also other recorded instances of honey containing little or no bee pollen, and/or being diluted heavily with corn syrup.  Just another example of why it is so tremendously important that we know where our food comes from.  Think about this the next time you put honey in your tea.

Origins

I would like to take a quick moment to say that, although our food system is in a bad state of dis-repair, I am thankful to be living in the United States of America, and I am extremely grateful that our domestic food news is not quite as disturbing as the following three articles from the NY Times.  It is very important, however, that we read our labels and know where our food comes from.  Please take a few minutes to read these eye-opening articles.  They are listed chronologically in the order they appeared.

A Tide of Death, but This Time Food Supply Is Safe

Rat Meat Sold as Lamb Highlights Fear in China

China’s Food Deal Extends Its Reach, Already Mighty

I would like to highlight a section from the last article:

"The United States government has continued to have concerns about Chinese food exports, with a Congressional hearing this month that was billed as “The Threat of China’s Unsafe Consumables” as the latest example. 'The health and safety, not only of the United States and Europe but that of people around the world, has come to be dependent on the quality of goods imported from China,' Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican who heads the House Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats, said in opening the hearing. 'Yet the task of inspecting and testing Chinese goods is beyond the ability of governments, considering the magnitude of that challenge.'

Imported foods sold in groceries and other food stores must be labeled with their country of origin, but a substantial portion of imports end up in restaurant and food service meals, where consumers have no idea of their source.

Additionally, once imported foods are processed in any way, such labeling is no longer required under government regulations.

Thus, frozen imported peas and carrots would require a label if packaged separately, but mixed together and sold in a single package, they do not need labeling, Ms. Lovera said. Fish fillets must carry labeling, but imported fish sticks or crab patties do not." 
China’s Food Deal Extends Its Reach, Already Mighty - by Stephanie Strom, May 29, 2013, NY Times

Something to think about the next time you're buying groceries.

Tales from the Wheat Fields...

Wheat is in the news. 

This is no surprise for a lot of folks, especially the gluten-free crowd.  Every year there are more and more people discovering that they have Celiac disease or that they have some sort of a gluten-intolerance.  Make no mistake- Celiac disease is not a joke, and the people who have it must have a ZERO gluten diet (not just “mostly gluten free,” which is how I’ve heard some food companies describe their product - it seems to me that this is rather a dangerous statement.  I have also seen a TV show clip wherein it is said that Celiacs can have “almost” no gluten, not to mention several other fallacies.  Needless to say, I just shook my head.)  I myself have begun to suspect that I may have slight issues with gluten, especially after eliminating bread from my regular diet.  I feel more energetic, and am able to think more clearly (and it turns out, there are a myriad of symptoms that may be related to a gluten-intolerance).  I also try to avoid processed foods as much as I can.  And I have to say, that age-old statement, “you are what you eat,” has more truth to it than I like to admit sometimes.

            My personal diet aside, Celiac disease and gluten intolerance are big issues.  Most everyone involved in the food industry is well aware that the gluten-free market has exploded over the past few years and continues to expand.  There are more gluten-free food choices than ever before, and awareness is spreading about Celiac disease and gluten-intolerance issues, but not fast enough.  There isn’t enough space here to list all the websites of gluten-free foods, blogs or help groups, but here are just a few that I found helpful and interesting:

celiaccentral.org

simplygluten-free.com *

delightglutenfree.com *

glutenfreeliving.com *

allergicliving.com *

gluten free allergy free expo

glutenlibre.com

glutenfreeeasily.com

glutenfreeformen.com

glutendude.com

helloglutenfree.com

spruestory.com

glutenfreegirl.com

foodallergygal.blogspot.com

            *traditional print magazine available

(since there are so many, and each page has it’s own unique and interesting flavor, there will be a gluten-free links category on this blog)           

            Short of completely eliminating gluten from one’s diet, there is no cure yet for celiac disease. 

            Medical Note: Before you go eliminating all gluten from your diet, if you are experiencing symptoms it is recommended that you get a blood test first to determine if you have Celiac disease. 

Doctors also are not sure exactly what causes it, though there is evidence to suggest that environmental triggers may be strong contributing factors.   The recent environmentally related news about wheat surely is not helping anybody, whether Celiac, gluten-intolerant or not:

            Strains of GMO wheat have been found in Oregon fields.

That’s right - even though GMO wheat was never approved for commercial use, there are still GMO wheat plants that managed to make it out into the fields.

            You cannot contain Mother Nature.

Try as you might, accidents happen.  Seeds and pollen travel.  Grass and mushrooms grow and break through parking lots.  Trees grow over and around things in their path, moss grows on rooftops…you get the idea.  So why didn’t Monsanto? 

Good Question.

Monsanto asserts that everything from the test-fields of GMO wheat “in 16 states from 1998 to 2005” was cleaned up, and that this incident in Oregon is an isolated one, resulting from "accidental or purposeful mixing of seed.” They maintain that pollen flow is not how it happened.

Whether it happened by human hand or otherwise, our Oregon wheat supply has been contaminated.  Other countries won’t buy U.S. west-coast wheat now, or will not do so without proof of non-gmo by extensive testing.  The whole supply chain has been disrupted, and farmers are getting the chaff. 

            They may have an opportunity to save their livelihood in a class-action suit filed just days ago (June 6, 2013).  This followed a federal suit filed on June 3^rd by a Kansas farmer.  I, for one, certainly don’t blame them for being upset, and we should all join these farmers in taking action.  As consumers united, we have a VERY powerful voice.  Together, through voting regularly, and voting with our wallets, We The People can make change.  This is exactly why Monsanto gave up on getting commercial approval for their GMO wheat in 2004, because we the consumers said “No” to GMO.  When California voted on a GMO labeling law, it was only by a very narrow margin of about 2% that it didn’t pass, despite the millions of dollars spent by large corporations (including Monsanto) to try and bring proposition 37 down.  The state of Connecticut has very clearly said “No” by passing a GMO labeling law, but other eastern states must join in for it to take effect.  As many grass roots leaders have said, we are at a turning point.  We must ban together and continue to fight for real food with our everyday actions - as illustrated by a famous quote (and mentioned by Gary Hirshberg in his great commencement speech at Bates College): 

“Anyone who feels they are too small to make a difference has never been in bed with a mosquito.”  

Everyone can make a difference. 

Let us “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” - Gandhi