Tag Archives: food

GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING: The History of Health Tyranny: Codex Alimentarius, part 1

http://globalpoliticalawakening.blogspot.com/2010/11/history-of-health-tyranny-c… Contrary to popular belief Codex Alimentarius is neither a law nor a policy. It is in fact a functioning body, a Commission, created by the Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Health Organization under the direction of the United Nations. The confusion in this regard is largely due to statements made by many critics referring to the “implementation” of Codex Alimentarius as if it were legislation waiting to come into effect. A more accurate phrase would be the “implementation of Codex Alimentarius guidelines,” as it would more adequately describe the situation. Codex is merely another tool in the chest of an elite group of individuals whose goal is to create a one world government in which they wield complete control. Power over the food supply is essential in order to achieve this. As will be discussed later, Codex Alimentarius will be “implemented” whenever guidelines are established and national governments begin to arrange their domestic laws in accordance with the standards set by the organization. The existence of Codex Alimentarius as a policy-making body has roots going back over a hundred years. The name itself, Codex Alimentarius, is Latin for “food code”[1] and directly descended from the Codex Alimentarius Austriacus, a set of standards and descriptions of a variety of foods in the Austria-Hungarian Empire between 1897 and 1911.[2] This set of standards was the brainchild of both the food industry and academia and was used by the courts in order to determine food identity in a legal fashion. Even as far back as 1897, nations were being pushed toward harmonization of national laws into an international set of standards that would reduce the “barriers to trade” created by differences in national laws.[3] As the Codex Alimentarius Austriacus gained steam in its localized area, the idea of having a single set of standards for all of Europe began to pick up steam as well. From 1954-1958, Austria successfully pursued the creation of the Codex Alimentarius Europaeus (the European Codex Alimentarius). Almost immediately the UN directed FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization) sprang into action when the FAO Regional Conference for Europe expressed the desire for a global international set of standards for food. The FAO Regional Conference then sent a proposal up the chain of command to the FAO itself with the suggestion to create a joint FAO/WHO programme dealing with food standards. The very next year, the Codex Alimentarius Europeaus adopted a resolution that its work on food standards be taken over by the FAO. In 1961, it was decided by the WHO, Codex Alimentarius Europaeus, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the FAO Conference to create an international food standards programme known as the Codex Alimentarius.[4] In 1963, as a result of the resolutions passed by these organizations two years earlier, Codex Alimentarius was officially created.[5] Although created under the auspices of the FAO and the WHO, there is some controversy regarding individuals who may or may not have participated in the establishment of Codex. Many anti-Codex organizations have asserted that Nazi war criminals, Fritz Ter Meer[6] and Hermann Schmitz[7] in particular, were principal architects of the organization. Because many of these claims are made with only indirect evidence, or no evidence at all, one might be tempted to disregard them at first glance. However, as the allegations gain more and more adherents, Codex has attempted to refute them. In its Frequently Asked Questions section, Codex answers the question, “Is it true that Codex was created by a former war criminal to control the world food supply?”[8] It then goes on to answer the charges by stating: No. It is a false claim. You just need to type the words “Codex Alimentarius” in any search engine and you will find lots of these rumors about Codex. Usually the people spreading them will give no proof but will ask you to send donations or to sign petitions against Codex. Truthful information about Codex is found on the Internet – there is nothing to hide from our side – we are a public institution working in public for the public – we are happy if people want to know more about our work and ask questions. There is an official Codex Contact Point in each member country who will be pleased to answer your questions on Codex.[9] But, as one can see from the statement above, Codex’s response does very little to answer this question beyond simply disagreeing with it. While it is true that many individuals who make this claim provide little evidence for it, the presentation of the information does not necessarily negate its truthfulness. In fact, Codex offers its own website as a source for accurate information about the organization; yet, beyond the FAQ section, there is nothing to be found that is relevant to the “war criminal” allegations. Furthermore, the codexalimentarius.net website is virtually indecipherable, almost to the point of being completely useless. In the end, this response raises more questions than it answers. This is because Codex, if it wanted, could put these rumors to rest by simply posting a list of the individuals and organizations that funded or played an integral role in its creation. However, it does nothing of the sort. Beyond mentioning the FAO and the WHO, we are completely unaware of who or how many other individuals and organizations participated in the creation of Codex Alimentarius. READ MORE: http://globalpoliticalawakening.blogspot.com/2010/11/history-of-health-tyranny-c… added by: GLOBALPOLITICAL

Why Sustainable Agriculture is Important to Walmart

Photo credit: Walmart This guest post was written by Beth Keck, senior director of sustainability at Walmart. Walmart customers—whether they live in Chicago or Tokyo—want locally grown fresh produce. Yet, while grocery sales make up more than half our business, we haven’t focused enough of our sustainability efforts toward the food we sell. We’ve set dozens of sustainability goals for the company during the past five years, but only four of our 39 public sustainability goals addressed food…A year ago, we realized we … Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Why Sustainable Agriculture is Important to Walmart

A Healthy Thanksgiving Begins in a Green Kitchen

Photo credit: eBay This guest post was written by Annie Lescroart, a member of eBay’s Green Team. We’re well aware of the importance of health when it comes to preparing foods in the kitchen—between Salmonella, E. Coli, and a variety of other food-borne diseases , we’ve learned to pay close attention to how we prepare our food. But what about the things we bring into the kitchen—and the kitchen itself?… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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A Healthy Thanksgiving Begins in a Green Kitchen

Last Suppers: How Do You Choose a Final Meal on Death Row? [Decisions]

Yesterday Virginia executed 41-year-old Teresa Lewis . For her last meal, she requested “two fried chicken breasts, sweet peas with butter, a piece of German cake or apple pie for dessert, and a Dr. Pepper.” What would you choose? More

Americans Reject Frankenfish

Photo credit jlastras via flickr. If you’ve been following AquaBounty ‘s attempt to get Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its AquAdvantage genetically engineered salmon (the salmon has extra genes from Chinook salmon and an eel-like species called the ocean pout to make it grow much faster than normal) you might already know that FDA has given preliminary approval and is weighing final approval in two day of hearings. What you might not know is that a strong majority of Americans surveyed by the environmen… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Americans Reject Frankenfish

High-Fructose Corn Syrup Getting Rebranded as Corn Sugar

“The good news: Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup is at a 20-year low. The bad news: The folks who make this insidious sweetener aim to rebrand it to boost sales. High-fructose corn syrup is cheaper than cane sugar and acts as a food preservative, too, so the food industry loves the stuff. But it's been added to so many foods — yogurt, cereal, bread, drinks and even condiments — that researchers have fingered it as a culprit in the obesity epidemic. The Corn Refiners Association has in the past marketed high-fructose corn syrup as natural. Our Bad Medicine columnist Christopher Wanjek argues otherwise: “High-fructose corn syrup could be all-natural if cornstarch happened to fall into a vat of alpha-amylase, soak there for a while, then trickle into another vat of glucoamylase, get strained to remove the Aspergillus fungus likely growing on top, and then find its way into some industrial-grade D-xylose isomerase. This funny coincidence didn't happen in nature until the 1970s in a lab somewhere in Japan.” Now the Corn Refiners Association plans to ask the FDA to allow high-fructose corn syrup to be called simple “corn sugar” instead, AP reports. And already the group is advertising it with that name. The adds also claims there's no difference between corn sugar and cane sugar.” http://www.livescience.com/health/etc/high-fructose-corn-syrup-getting-rebranded… added by: DeliaTheArtist

Paper-To-Pencil Machine Repurposes Printed Pages

Images via Yanko Design For all the offices trying to go green by minimizing paper use, there are still those that have a pile of wasted print-outs in the recycling bin. This concept by designers Chengzhu Ruan, Yuanyuan Liu, Xinwei Yuan & Chao Chen takes old office paper and spits out whole pencils. And interesting idea for reusing wasted materials, upcycling rather than recycling. But, how many people still use pencils, especially those without erasers? So, is it a good idea, or a waste of energy? … Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Paper-To-Pencil Machine Repurposes Printed Pages

7 Tips for Enjoying Nature’s Mushroom Bounty

Image: Are they edible? scoobygirl, Flickr Few things are finer than taking advantage of fresh, local ingredients growing wild and free to spice up a fantastic meal. In Germany, mushroom season is celebrated with special menus featuring the famous pfifferling mushrooms in classic and modern dishes. But after a moist summer perfect for mushroom proliferation, the headines in Germany are a reminder that nature’s bounty can be dangerous: reports of possible mushroom poisonings have doubled. Following some si… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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7 Tips for Enjoying Nature’s Mushroom Bounty

Waste Fruit Feeds the Hungry in Canada

Image credit: A News Yesterday I posted about the Fresh 1% sustainable food grant . In the process, I came across an awesome project called LifeCycle which is working in Victoria, Canada, to glean unwanted fruit and redistribute it to those in need. The trouble is, this year has not been a great year for tree fruits. LifeCycle needs more trees. … Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Waste Fruit Feeds the Hungry in Canada

The Incredible Vulnerability of Our Food System, and What Can be Done About It (Video)

Image credit: Milpa Films Back in 2008, the UK’s Chief Scientist warned that the food crisis would hit us long before climate change , and the UN has just warned that food prices could rise 45% in the coming decade . Our food system is incredibly vulnerable to disruption from fuel shortages or price hikes, strikes, natural disasters, wars or any number of other problems. But how did it get this … Read the full story on TreeHugger

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The Incredible Vulnerability of Our Food System, and What Can be Done About It (Video)