Food Concerns – Quality, Contamination
One would not have anticipated this a couple of decades ago, but food as a cause of poor health has come to the forefront. The majority of animal sickness now has to do with this – the lack of proper nutrients, the huge number of chemicals now in the environment, most dense in meat, dairy and eggs, genetically modified foods with diminished nutrition, the contamination with herbicides and pesticides. This is a big topic but these books are ones I found especially interesting and informative. It is a start if you wish to study this.
| Empty Harvest Nearly twenty years after its initial publication, Dr. Bernard Jensen’s sobering picture of just how interconnected man is with the earth, and how this connection is being destroyed – link by link – still resonates powerfully. In this eye-opening account of the inherent dangers in our agricultural system, Jensen looks at the better-known manmade disasters, such as the greenhouse effect, as well as the ecological and subsequent health related problems hidden from the general public at the time. Empty Harvest is a groundbreaking book that examines just what the total problem was and still is. “In a day when it is cheap and easy to be a doomsday prophet, Empty Harvest shines like a bright beacon of hope and ecological sanity. While exposing the dire consequences of thinking we can grow healthy food with poisons, this excellent book defines positive alternatives, and demonstrates their power to restore us to true health. Empty Harvest lights the way toward living in harmony and happiness with the forces of life.” –John Robbins, author of Diet for a New America. |
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| Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You’re Eating Without knowing it, Americans eat genetically modified (GM) food everyday. While the food and chemical industries claim that GMO food is safe, a considerable amount of evidence shows otherwise. In Seeds of Deception, Jeffrey Smith, a former executive with the leading independent laboratory testing for GM presence in foods, documents these serious health dangers and explains how corporate influence and government collusion have been used to cover them up. The stories Smith presents read like a mystery novel. Scientists are offered bribes or threatened; evidence is stolen; data withheld or distorted. Government scientists who complain are stripped of responsibilities or fired. The FDA even withheld information from congress after a GM food supplement killed nearly a hundred people and permanently disabled thousands. While Smith was employed by the laboratory he was not allowed to speak on the health dangers or the cover-up. No longer bound by this agreement, Smith now reveals what he knows in this groundbreaking exposé. Today, food companies sell GM foods that have not undergone safety studies. FDA scientists opposed this, but White House and industry pressure prevailed and the agency’s final policy–co-authored by a former Monsanto attorney–denied the risks. The scientists’ concerns were made public only after a lawsuit forced the agency to turn over internal documents. Dan Glickman, former Secretary of Agriculture, describes the government’s pro-biotech mindset: “You felt like you were almost an alien, disloyal, by trying to present an open-minded view. . . . So I pretty much spouted the rhetoric. . . . It was written into my speeches.” In Seeds of Deception Smith offers easy-to-understand descriptions of genetic engineering and explains why it can result in serious health problems. This well-documented, pivotal work will show you how to protect yourself and your family. |
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| Living Downstream: An Ecologist’s Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment The first edition of Living Downstream—an exquisite blend of precise science and engaging narrative—set a new standard for scientific writing. Poet, biologist, and cancer survivor, Steingraber uses all three kinds of experience to investigate the links between cancer and environmental toxins. The updated science in this exciting new edition strengthens the case for banning poisons now pervasive in our air, our food, and our bodies. Because synthetic chemicals linked to cancer come mostly from petroleum and coal, Steingraber shows that investing in green energy also helps prevent cancer. Saving the planet becomes a matter of saving ourselves and an issue of human rights. A documentary film based on the book will coincide with publication. |
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| Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food The commercial pet food industry has a secret to hide — and Ann Martin wants to make sure you know it. Her research reveals some startling facts: that the pet food industry conducts animal testing in order to improve their product, and includes euthanized cats and dogs in the mix to heighten protein content. In this revised and updated edition, Martin continues to explore the shocking processes by which commercial pet foods are produced. She offers alternative recipes for feeding pets, nutritional advice, and an exploration of “Pet Peeves,” in which she explores several scams aimed at pet owners. This groundbreaking book gives us a glimpse into exactly what we are doing when we buy pet food. |
