The Republican Governor of California may have stood by W’s side during election campaigns, but when it comes to greenhouse gases, Arnie & Georgie are not on the same page. An article in the NY Times today discusses Bill AB32 that Arnold helped put together, which was passed by California’s Senate yesterday.
Big food corporations don’t want you to know what is actually happening to your food before it makes its way into your shopping basket. They are succeeding in getting the laws changed in their favor.
The House of Representatives passed The National Uniformity for Food Act, H.R. 4167 back in March of this year. In short, States will no longer have the power to require food safety labels that are not identical to Federal Law. To find out more about what this means, check out what the Organic Consumers have to say.
I think the problem stems from the fact that powerful interests groups such as the Grocery Manufacturers of America wield too much influence on the federal government. If Federal Law were to require labels informing me which foods were genetically enginnered or contained rBGH, then I would have no issue with uniformity in labeling across the country.
The Senate will be voting on this shortly and this would be a good time to let them know your thoughts on the issue. It will be interesting to see how this moves forward. It seems to me that the federal government could argue its right to dictate food labeling under section 8 of the Constitution, assigning congress the power to regulate interstate commerce. By that same token, the constitution guarantees the rest of us the right not to be force fed rBGH or it should be interpreted that way.
PANIC!
I read in the reputable german ecological comsumer report (öko-test) that San Pellegrino sparkling water (consumed In USA as well as in Germany) has some of the highest levels of URANIUM (think nuclear) in them. Uranium levels in water are not regulated in Germany but are regulated by the EPA in the US. Uranium is quite unhealthy, not only because it is radioactive but also because it’s a heavy metal with consequences like lead.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) suggested in 1998 to set the level of acceptable Uranium in drinking water at 2 micro grams per liter.
San Pellegrino has 5 to 10 micro grams per liter. Evian is close to 2.
The WHO recently changed its recommended limit to 15 micro grams, more than seven-fold the original without much explanation or a new study – mmh. The EPA in the US says 30 micro grams in a liter of water is okay (seven fold times two!), based on the same studies the WHO used except they used a different body weight as average (which could be legitimate since Americans might be a bit heavier but on the other hand fat is the most efficient storage of waste and so larger people already suffer from more toxicity in their bodies). The WHO used an average of 132 pounds or 60 kilos, and the US EPA used 154 pounds or 70 kilos). The problem with radioactive heavy metals is that they don’t flush out of the body but get comfortable and (bio)accumulate over ones lifetime.
The consumers of water have no lobby, which may be the reason for the limits of acceptable uranium consumption going up instead of down. The article in ecological comsumer report (öko-test) mentioned that as the uranium levels in the water get higher, the acceptable limits are also set higher by our authorities, thereby making the water safe to sell but without any regard for what is safe to digest.
The good people of Finland did some studying themselves and found that limit should be well under 2 micro grams, which would eliminate a lot of water sources we currently consume from.
Tap water can also contain Uranium and other radioactive substances. One way these substances get into the water could be through contaminated fluoride, a pesticide added to our New York driking water and most communitites in the USA. The Fluoride supposedly strengthens teeth (much evidence exists to the contrary) but since it is not a natural mineral but an industrial grade chemical it contains traces of heavy metals, including radioactive ones.
The Environmental Working Group, a reputable watchdog in D.C. has done some research on the issue and you can go to their website and click on the different contaminants (e.g. Uranium-234, Radium-226, etc.) and see which communities are contaminated. To see all the contaminants in the New York (or any other state) water go to the state report.
