Wilderness Family Naturals still in business, despite FDA prosecution

From David E. Gumpert on the Complete Patient blog:

“Once upon a time, in the year 2000, Annette and Ken Fischer decided to start a business supplying healthy nutrient dense products like coconut oil, dried berries, and spices over the Internet. They started the business in their home in the remote forests of Minnesota and named it Wilderness Family Naturals.

The couple worked hard, involved their children as helpers, and gradually grew the business so much that they had to move it out of their house to a small town about twenty miles away, so they’d have regular mail and delivery service and the ability to hire employees. After another couple years, they moved to even larger facilities in the neighboring town of Silver Bay, a town of 2,000 people. Soon Wilderness Family Naturals was the town’s second largest employer, with close to thirty people, and it was selling its coconut oil, dried berries, and herbs to people all around the U.S.

E-coli deaths across Europe were not caused by Spanish cucumbers after all

By Janet Stobart, Los Angeles Times / For the Booster Shots blog

LONDON — Cases of E. coli-related illness are springing up around Europe, particularly in northern Germany, causing 16 deaths so far and infecting more than 1,000 people, according to the Guardian.

The bacteria are commonly linked to raw or undercooked meat or to unwashed vegetables and fruit. Cucumbers imported into Germany from Spain had initially been blamed for this outbreak, but new evidence suggested that isn’t the case.

The deaths have been attributed to hemolytic-uremic syndrome, which can occur after infection with some especially virulent strains of E. coli. The World Health Organization has warned countries about the severity of the condition, one of the more dangerous complications of E. coli poisoning.

Magnesium, and radiation protection

From Dr. Mark Sircus, on the Intel Hub:

It is in a list of medicinals that prevent and treat cancer that we find helpful substances that treat and strengthen us against radiation contamination. Image and caption from The Intel Hub

“In the years leading up to Chernobyl, some dairy farmers in Austria were using remineralization as a part of their operations. They added rock dust to liquid manure as well as combining it with compost, thereby removing odors and greatly increasing soil biota.

As a result, cows had twice the normal lifespan and produced much more milk. Amazingly enough, after Chernobyl, the cheeses that were remineralized (as well as biodynamic cheeses) measured no radioactivity whatsoever. Austrians would stand in long lines in order to buy these safe, remineralized products,” writes Joanna Campe.

U.S. farm bill to favour the big guys

From Russ on the Volatility blog:

“It’s that time again. Farm Bill season is upon us! It’ll actually be an agonizing, protracted process; the unlamented previous House Agriculture chairman Colin Peterson had wanted to get much of the work done in 2011; new and unwanted chairman Frank Lucas says there’s no hurry. The thing probably won’t be done before the election, and maybe never.

At any rate, we’re off to a stuttering, smoky start with the first official hearing in the Senate committee last Thursday. Ag Secretary Vilsack promised or threatened that the next Farm Bill will be “smaller”. This echoes the previously congealed conventional wisdom.

Although most of the rhetoric has focused on cutting the direct payment program, we know that favorite targets will also be the crumbs for relocalization, small farmers, organic production, sustainable practices, and other things which got some modest support in the 2008 Farm Bill. These are already being targeted by the crafters of the Appropriations Bill.

Kentucky raw milk coop members defy quarantine order from Dept. of Health

From David E. Gumpert on the Complete Patient blog:

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On Friday afternoon, as the administrator of a Kentucky buying club was setting out raw milk and other food for pickup by members, an inspector for the Louisville Metro Department of Health and Wellness appeared at the church basement storage site.

He presented two pieces of paper: a cease-and-desist order (from the Louisville Metro Department of Health and Wellness) and a quarantine order (from the Kentucky Department of Health Services), and placed “Quarantine” notices on each of several coolers containing 76 half gallons of milk. (See the quarantine order above.)

Edible RFID tags to trace food products

From Amar Toor on Engadget.com

Edible RFID tags could track food during digestion. Picture via Engadget.com

RFID tags are already used to trace everything from poker chips to hotel towels, but what if these little pellets were embedded directly within your lunch, providing everything you’d ever wanna know about that ham sandwich you’re about to beast? That’s the idea behind NutriSmart — a food tracking system that revolves around edible RFID tags.

GMOs and the organic movement

Click image above to download a 12 page PDF version of the report

(May 25, 2011) A 12-page report on The Organic Movement was published today as a circular in the Washington Post. Offering a current look at the inspiring growth and success of the organic movement, the circular also considers some of the challenges we face. It includes an article on GMOs by Non-GMO Project Executive Director Megan Westgate. The report is expected to reach over 2 million readers.

Half of children chronically diseased

From Augie’s “Journal of Natural Food and Health”:

“….American children are suffering more and more disorders—and are growing into even sicker adults—the worst of most major countries. Two studies were released this week underscore this alarming reality.

In a study published in Academic Pediatrics, an estimated 43% of US children (32 million) currently have at least 1 of 20 chronic health conditions assessed, increasing to 54.1% when overweight, obesity, or being at risk for developmental delays are included. The estimate is derived from 2007 data—4 years old. This tells us matters are much worse now–perhaps 50% are now chronically ill not counting obesity.

Don’t “have a cow” over raw milk

An editorial from Philly.com

Quoting the initimable Bart Simpson. -- from the Simpsons, via the Interwebs

“About a year ago, after months of investigation complete with undercover purchases, a posse of federal agents made a predawn move on a Pennsylvania farm and discovered a sizable stash of pure, unadulterated . . . milk.

The government’s pursuit of Daniel Allgyer, an Amish dairy farmer in Lancaster County, continued last month with a federal complaint seeking to stop his hustling of unpasteurized milk, which has long been popular among the crunchy set but illegal to sell across state lines. A lawyer for some of Allgyer’s eager customers told The Inquirer, “He is being treated as if he were a drug lord.”

Facebook founder to kill his own meat

From Patricia Sellers on CNN Money:

Last year Mark Zuckerberg set out to learn Chinese. Now he’s determined to get in touch with his food. If the goats, lobsters and chickens of Silicon Valley aren’t trembling, they should be.

When he’s not too busy connecting people across the universe, Mark Zuckerberg is pursuing a new “personal challenge,” as he calls it. “The only meat I’m eating is from animals I’ve killed myself,” says the Facebook founder and CEO.

It’s an odd dietary direction for the 27-year-old Internet billionaire, but since he has taken to killing goats, pigs and chickens, “I’m eating a lot healthier foods. And I’ve learned a lot about sustainable farming and raising of animals,” he says. “It’s easy to take the food we eat for granted when we can eat good things every day.”